Kathy is right. There are no words to describe the concert last night by the Choir School of the Cathedral of the Madeleine. From the first notes, there was a giant gasp from the audience, and the sense of astonishment lasted for the full hour, as the choir sang music from the renaissance to modern times. The standing (leaping) applause at the end seemed to last ten minutes and it probably would have gone another ten had the choir come out for a curtain call.
I know I felt that way. Truly it was indescribable. The power, the conviction, the utterly unambiguous musical language, the balance and intonation, the relentlessness of what sounded like superhuman musical energy — it all amounted to a revelation for everyone in attendance.
Why is this group not globally famed? Why are Catholics from around the country not moving here and fighting for places in this brilliant school? Surely that is coming. It has to. Nothing this wonderful can be kept a secret long.
Of course director Gregory Glenn, so humble and hard working, deserves vast credit for building what he has built here. The Colloquium is so proud to be here and we were all so deeply touched and inspired by the performance.
It should be noted that this cathedral is in Utah.
The East Coast retained much more if the "glorious
music if the Medieval and Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras", including Latin motets.
Glad the rest of the US is discovering its roots.