The Cathedral of Saint Paul

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Sacred Music

NEWS & UPCOMING EVENTS

DOWNTOWN CONCERT SERIES

  • The FOURTH season of the DOWNTOWN CONCERT SERIES at the Cathedral of St. Paul is live! This concert series seeks to bring the best of art and sacred music to our Cathedral as an offering to the Diocese, city, and parish.
  • These concerts feature renowned organists, choirs, and so much more. This year, we feature our first-ever Christmas concert as well as two of the US’s most awarded college choirs…both in our very own state! We also commemorate the 500th anniversary of G.P. Palestrina’s birth (in concert in October, but also in Cathedral Choir’s repertoire throughout the year).
  • Because the Cathedral Church is consecrated to God, all concerts are presented free of charge, so that all people may find a home here at St. Paul’s.
  • Please check the link above to see if you might help support our mission to bring quality organ, choral, vocal, and instrumental concerts to downtown Birmingham. The late Anna Catharine Grace’s gift of the pipe organ named in her honor is a huge part of this series. She and many other donors over the last few decades laid the foundation of our concert series. We hope you will join us in rejoicing and praying for our many benefactors near and far.
  • Our next FREE concert is on FRIDAY, APRIL 17, at 7:00PM as we present THE AEOLIANS of OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY! One of Alabama’s greatest musical treasures, the group was formed in 1946 and has been a cultural fixture ever since. In the past 20 years especially, the group has achieved international notoriety, including a concert invitation by the President of the United States and wins in the World Choir Games and other prestigious competitions. Aeolian performances present a repertoire of choral music which ranges from the Baroque era to the 21st Century. They have become an authoritative exponent of Negro spirituals and work songs which express the yearnings of their forefathers to be free. This concert is their first solo concert in Birmingham in decades: come support this wonderful group! The program may be found HERE the week of the concert. 
  • For more information, simply call (205.251.1279×107) or email (ludwick@stpaulsbhm.org) the Director of Music. We look forward to seeing you this year at these concerts and in worship!

Liturgical Music week-to-week

  • For the most current information on liturgical and sacramental schedules, check the Cathedral frontpage.
  • The 5:00pm (anticipated) Mass has hymns and a Gregorian chant ordinary led by cantor and organ.
  • The Sunday 8:30AM Mass is led by a cantor or small schola and organ. Hymns and the Gregorian ordinary are sung by all; the schola leads the Gregorian processional propers (Entrance, Offertory, and Communion) as needed.
  • The 11:00am Solemn Mass is our main musical offering, with most (and sometimes all) of the Gregorian proper represented, along with the requisite hymns and Gregorian or vernacular ordinaries. Polyphonic (choral) Mass ordinaries are sung about once a month in part or in whole. Music is led by Cathedral Choir (or Cathedral Choir staff singers during some Summer months), a semi-professional choir of 20-25 voices.
  • The Orders of Worship and Music Lists subpage is kept current so that you may see what we are preparing for upcoming weeks!

In the “Sacred Music” section you can learn about the following sub-topics (also accessible through the menus).