To help mark the Solemnity of Pentecost this year, and as an ecumenical expression of our desire for Christian unity, the Cathedral community Choir welcomed the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College Chapel Choir to sing Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral.

The Mass setting was conducted by Chris Watson and accompanied by Thomas Heywood (Organist for the Cathedral Choir) and Geethan Pfiefer (Cantebury Fellowship Organ Scholar) who played the postlude. Cantor for the Mass was Joanne Bonazza from Sacred Heart Cathedral.

The Trinity College Choir sang Messe Solennelle (1949) by French Organist-Composer Jean Langlais (1907-1991). After Holy Communion the Choirs combined to sing Mozart’s Ave verum.

Composer Jean Langlais lived with blindness for most of his life and perhaps because of that, he developed an acute sense of hearing and musical perception. On Pentecost, the traditional birthday of the Church, the life and legacy of Jean Langlais reminds us of the wonderful potential of music to express communion between God and humanity, as well as bridging the boundaries between Christian traditions.

The Messe Solennelle would have been considered avant-garde in style in the 1940s, and probably even still today. The Trinity College Choir will sing the same Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome in July 2023 during its overseas tour of Italy and the United Kingdom.

Trinity College is a residential college for students at the University of Melbourne. It is built on Anglican values. Most of the Choir members are students at the University of Melbourne who are residents at Trinity College and the Choir’s rigour and reputation draws students from other residential Colleges and Universities.

The Trinity College Choir is internationally acclaimed and is the flagship of Trinity College Melbourne’s music life. The Choir has collaborated with various orchestras, instrumental ensembles and conductors and has a reputation for championing new music by Australian composers.

The Choir has undertaken nine international tours, and has visited the United States, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, the Baltic States, the United Kingdom, Russia, France and Spain.

On their 2023 European Tour they will sing at three Masses and an Evensong in Rome, perform at a concert in Florence, then head to Dublin for four liturgical events and then sing at Cambridge and Westminster.