A evening of chant and polyphony at St. Mary's in Norwalk

What do preteens and teenagers do on a hot Friday summer night? Go to the movies? Hit the pool? Well these kids went to church to sing in a concert of Gregorian chant and polyphony, as a fundraiser for their trip to Spain for World Youth Day!

What made it especially amazing, was for artistic reasons, the air conditioner was turned off, to allow the purity of sound to make its way through the church. These kids barely flinched, and the Sisters in full habit never wiped a bead of sweat!

All this was miraculous in itself,  but wait until you hear the music-absolutely heavenly. All the favorites: Ave Verum Corpus of Byrd, Jesu dulcis memoria by Palestrina, all the favorite Marian chants, and a special treat, Ave Maris Stella with alternating versets by Grigny played by David J. Hughes, organist and conductor. The organ at St. Mary's sounds great opened all the way, and, dare I say- it rocked!

Have you ever heard applause or seen a standing ovation in a church? Well, the answer should be "no", but I doubt it. Pastor, Father Greg Markey, told the audience that he and Hughes have an agreement that there will never be applause during Mass (Deo gratias). And Hughes, for all his toil and labors (which he loves), never receives applause. The audience, made up of many parishioners, saved it all for this performance!

Check out the article, and videos that are included. Sit back and enjoy!
http://exm.nr/nliaDo