Dear Friends,
On Sunday, April 3 at 7 p.m., there will be a concert featuring music composed by Dr. Cross and his good friend, Dr. Rosner (who was also on the faculty at Wagner College). On the program are several choral works by Dr. Cross, including his arrangement of a festal hymn and a piece he composed for the St. Cecilia Society on Staten Island in the 1970s, along with some of his organ music. Most fascinating is a work he composed for chorus, piano (played in an unconventional way) and recorded sounds. Also, we will perform a work by Mattheus Pipelare, the Renaissance composer Dr. Cross was the acknowledged expert in. His “St. John Credo” is a large-scale work for five-part choir. Rounding out the concert are several works by Dr. Cross’ favorite composer—Josquin dez Pres.
Dr. Rosner is represented by both secular and sacred choral music, including his beautiful “Benedictus.” Another work the choir will sing is one of his later compositions, “Let Us Praise,” for treble choir, handbells, and organ. This is a joyful setting of Psalm 148. I do not know if Dr. Rosner got the idea to use handbells from Dr. Cross -- who, as you probably know, was a great handbell aficionado -- but we will be using Dr. Cross’s handbells in the concert, the first time they have been played in many years. Also by Dr. Rosner will be a setting of a text by Walt Whitman, ”To All, To Each,” which is an excerpt from his Requiem.
The concert will take place at Christ and St. Stephen’s Church, 122 W. 69th St., Manhattan, near Lincoln Center. It is a few blocks from the 72nd Street subway stations for either the 1,2,3 or the B/C trains. Admission is free, so feel free to invite all music lovers, whether or not they knew Dr. Cross or Dr. Rosner.
Regards,
Jeff Dailey '80