The Gloria in excelsis sung in this service is a new composition by David Sinden (b. 1982) and is being sung for the first time today. It was written to complement his setting of the Sanctus, which was written in 2019.

The Offertory Anthem was commissioned by St. Peter’s and premiered at our 150^th Anniversary Festival Eucharist, held on October 14, 2018. The music was written by Melissa Dunphy (b. 1980), an Australian-born composer who lives in Philadelphia. Dunphy, a former composer-in-residence of the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, was drawn to a passage from the Gospel of Matthew which is read every three years in the lectionary cycle. In fact, the lectionary is arranged so that we hear Jesus’ teaching on wealth at least once every fall. In today’s Gospel, from Luke, Jesus gives a simple prohibition on having possessions.

The Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born 500 years ago, in 1525. As we celebrate this significant anniversary, the Choir will sing many pieces from Paletsrina from our choral library in addition to some works that they are singing for the first time. The motet “Sicut cervus” is one of Palestrina’s most widely sung compositions, and it is a piece that is beloved by our Choir.