Orleans, MA August 14, 7:30 PM | August 15, 3:30 PM
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Arts Empowering Life
July 23, 2026
ORLEANS, Mass., July 23, 2026 /Standard Newswire/ — Incantare, a Renaissance instrumental consort, with world class singers, and the Schola Ecclesia present Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, the dazzling early Baroque work scored for solo singers, chorus, and period instruments including recorders, cornetti, theorbo, sackbuts, chamber organ, and viola da gamba. The venue is fitting—the stunning Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans, MA is itself considered a contemporary expression of ancient forms.
Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi wrote the 1610 Vespers of the Blessed Virgin displaying a genius which defined the beginning of the Baroque period—preserving old-style church music (Gregorian chant) while modernizing it with daring echo effects, inventive virtuosity, and unprecedented grandeur. The impact—then and now—is prayerful, exultant, ambitious, and timeless.
This work was written for Marian holy days and includes the ancient hymn Ave maris stella – referencing Mary’s title Star of the Sea. These performances coincide with the Feast of the Assumption (August 15), traditionally associated in coastal towns, like Orleans, with the blessing of the sea and prayers for intercession.
Soloists:
Andréa Walker, soprano
Katelyn Grace Jackson, soprano
Kristen Dubenion-Smith, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Garza, countertenor
Andrew Fuchs, tenor
Steven Soph, tenor
Oliver Mercer, tenor
Edmund Milly, bass/baritone
Daniel Fridley, bass
Incantare, a consort of sackbuts and violins, has a unique sound, performing works by under-explored musicians from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. The ensemble has a mission to discover, research, transcribe, and perform works that may not have been heard since their conception.
The Church of the Transfiguration is the spiritual center of the ecumenical Benedictine monastic Community of Jesus on the shores of Cape Cod Bay. Combining mosaics and frescos, sculpted bronze, stone, wood, and glass, the art program recounts God’s saving acts from Genesis to Revelation. A contemporary expression of an ancient fourth-century style of architecture, its shape reflects the Community’s monastic tradition and ecumenical vision.
The Schola Ecclesia is made up of singers from the Church of the Transfiguration, steeped in the study, daily practice and performance of Gregorian Chant. The Community preserves this form of sung prayer as a living tradition, chanting the Liturgy of the Hours daily. From its earliest roots of the Christian faith, chant is still considered equally relevant to the modern, ecumenical monastic life.
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SOURCE Arts Empowering Life
CONTACT: Pam Jordan, 774-722-2443, pamj@artsempoweringlife.org