PADRE PIO PREMIERES Tuesday 3 June 2008 at Westminster Cathedral. London

The Genesis Foundation has now presented its Padre Pio Premieres, three new settings of a Prayer After Communion written by Saint Pio and set by James MacMillan, Roxanna Panufnik and Will Todd. The premieres were performed by The Sixteen under their founder and conductor, Harry Christophers; and they and the Westminster Cathedral Choir also performed Tudor liturgical music for a gathering of 1200 people.

Part of the inspiration for the programming of the evening came from the words of Pope Benedict XVI, who said:  sacred polyphony constitutes a heritage that should be preserved with care, kept alive and made better known, for the benefit not only of the scholars and specialists but of the ecclesiastical community as a whole.  An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony."

See full programme ...
Introduction by John Studzinski
Padre Pio’s Prayer: Stay with me, Lord
Saint Pio: A New Francis by Brother Mark Elvins
The Composers talk about their work: interviews by Rick Jones