Our May 2013 concert illustrated the evolution of sacred music from 1150 to the present. It followed choral music from early polyphony through a rarely-heard Renaissance work by Francisco de Montanos (1528-1595) and a variety of Baroque and Classical works, to modern works in the early music tradition such as a motet by Grail Singers director Carmen Cavallaro based on the chant Alma Redemptoris Mater. The cornerstone of the program was Pergolesi’s moving Stabat Mater for women’s voices (1736).
In December 2012, the Grail Singers and guest artist Kiri Tollaksen (cornetto) gave the Michigan premiere of a 12th-century St. James Mass. The Codex Calixtinus was compiled in the 12th century as advice for pilgrims following the Way of St. James across southern France to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The Codexincludes the St. James Mass the Grail Singers performed, as well as other text and music for use by pilgrims. The chants in this Mass predate Gregorian chant, and the work also includes one of the earliest known examples of three-part polyphony.