Haydn: Missa brevis St. Joannis de Deo
Haydn: Salve Regina in g minor
Britten: Cantata Misericordium
Britten: Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

When Britten Met Haydn, Cecilia’s final concert of the season, presents a comparison in style and substance of works by both composers. Haydn’s St. John of God Mass—also known as the Little Organ Mass because of its obbligato organ part—and his rarely performed Salve Regina in g minor, a three-movement work for soloists, chorus and chamber orchestra, will be matched with Benjamin Britten’s Cantata Misericordium and the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, featuring Boston tenor Aaron Sheehan and BSO principal horn James Sommerville.

“In terms of both style and substance,” says Maestro Donald Teeters, “I think Haydn and Britten share so much. How brilliant and often deceptively transparent are the polished, elegant surfaces of both. What lies inside reveals itself quickly to performers but sometimes audiences, at least on first exposure, need to dig a little deeper, to work a little harder to discover the depth and the passion that lie behind the sophisticated facades.”

Featuring:
Aaron Sheehan, tenor
James Sommerville, Boston Symphony principal horn
Barbara Bruns, organist

With:
Teresa Wakim, soprano
Mary Gerbi, mezzo-soprano
Matthew Anderson, tenor
Ron Williams, baritone