Willan West Collective
The St. Matthias the Apostle (Solemn Mass) will be sung by the Willan Collective, with Ruben Valenzuela, Director. Willan West honours St. Matthias the Apostle who saints' day is February 24 in the old Western calendar. Missa Brevis no. 3 (F Major) is one of Willan's 14 Missa Breves, tailored and written specifically for the Gallery Choir of St. Mary Magdalene, Toronto. It is written in the 'sweet' key of F Major and displays Willan's typical mixture of polyphony and homophonic texture. The motet O King to whom all things do live was written for the 1931 dedication of a memorial to the famous Canadian organist Lynwood Farnam at Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal. It was also sung at Willan's funeral at St. Mary Magdalene in 1968. The Eucharistic motet Ave verum corpus first appeared as incidental music for Willan's Brébeuf (a 40 minute pageant commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1943). REPERTOIRE: Missa Brevis no. 3 (F Major) Motet: O King to whom all things do live, 1931 Motet: Ave verum corpus, 1943 Including Gregorian Propers of the Day.