Calendar of Events

Music from St. Mark’s presents outstanding young American harpist Parker Ramsay in a live performance of J.S. Bach’s masterful Goldberg Variations. The work will be performed in its entirety in the acoustically vibrant sanctuary of St. Mark’s historic downtown church.

Long known as an iconic work for piano or harpsichord, Ramsay chose the Variations as the repertoire for his debut recording, released in 2020, to … “show the world that the harp is an instrument of beauty, sincerity and transcendence, standing alongside the keyboards and string instruments as a worthy vehicle for the music of J S Bach”. It also captures the best elements of the two instruments traditionally used to perform the Variations: “the raw pluckiness of the harpsichord, but with the expressive qualities of the piano,” says Ramsay. Commenting on the recording, the Pulitzer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page notes, “[Parker Ramsay’s new recording] is both brainy and beautiful, its easy-on-the-ear timbres stimulating, paradoxically, an even more intense analysis than usual.”

In centuries past, the four weeks before Christmas were observed as Advent on the church calendar, a season of quiet reflection and anticipation before the celebration of Christmas. In our modern commercial timesatwith Christmas music and decorations appearing even before Thanksgivingatthe special themes and music of Advent can be easily overlooked. The San Antonio Recorder Quartet will observe the first Sunday in Advent with a program featuring traditional music of Advent from the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque eras, along with a few contemporary arrangements. The program will be a quiet meditation on the themes of Advent with music from this special season of the church year played on consorts of Renaissance and Baroque recorders.