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Two Saints for One Admission
Tom Purdom
Benjamin Britten’s St. Nicolas Cantata celebrates the deeds of the Christian saint, not Santa Claus. It’s an irresistible example of Britten’s talent for composing works that can be performed in churches, by mostly amateur forces, with a role for the audience. His Hymn to St. Cecilia, on the other hand, venerates the patron saint of music with a witty, slightly irreverent text by W.H. Auden. Choral Arts Philadelphia presents a very unamateurish event that includes both pieces and celebrates Britten’s 100th birthday, St. Cecilia’s Day, and the fourth-century bishop who morphed into the red-suited patron saint of shopping malls and holiday jollity.
Festival Concert with St. Nicolas, Sunday, November 17, 3 p.m. at Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul
$30 general admission, $20 senior (65+), $10 student. More information at http://choralarts.com/node/45
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