Magnificat to Perform at Berkeley Early Music Festival

Magnificat will join with the Philharmonia Chorale, American Bach Soloists, Schola Cantorum
San Francisco, The Perfect Fifth, and His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts in the American premiere of Alessandro Striggio's Missa sopra Ecco Sì Beato Giorno under the direction of Davitt Moroney.

Striggio's Mass in 40 and 60 parts is the largest known contrapuntal choral work in Western music. Written under the auspices of the 16th-century Medici court and recently discovered in the Bibliotèque Nationale de France by UC Berkeley musicologist Moroney, this example of Florentine art at its most spectacular is "a masterpiece...not just the choral event of the year but possibly of the decade," said London's The Guardian of the work's modern day premiere at the BBC Proms in 2007.

The performances will be on June 7th and 8th. For tickets and information call (510) 642-9988 or visit http://bfx.berkeley.edu.