Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/264109
With the music of two organs and the singing of two choirs, the Church of the Redeemer in Sarasota will present a free concert show- casing Louis Vierne's Messe Solenelle and Charles-Marie Widor's Mass for Two Organs and Two Choirs on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. "The evening's performance will surround the audience with the sounds of these masses written specifically for two organs," as the choirs of Redeemer and St. Boniface Church on Siesta Key — nearly 100 voices — lend their combined vocal talents to the works of master Parisian organ composers Widor and Vierne, a news release says. Organists Ann Stephenson-Moe of Redeemer and Neil Page of St. Boniface "will perform on Redeemer's magnificent 50-stop Nichols & Simpson pipe organ and a second organ brought in for the event," the release adds. The church is located at 222 S. Palm Ave. in downtown Sarasota. "The audience will be impressed with the majesty of the sound and presence of the two organs," said Stephenson-Moe in the release. "They will be surrounded by choir and organ sounds from every direction." "Louis Vierne and Charles Marie Widor were two of the greatest French composers of the late 19th and 20th centuries," added Stephenson-Moe in the release. "Both organ- ists served in their famous positions for almost a half century, and both upgraded and uplifted organ music to a new level of popularity." She continued, "Louis Vierne died on the organ bench in 1937, but not before he made the Catholic Church of Notre Dame one of the most famous churches in the world. And that fame was largely due to the masterful playing and improvisations that Vierne produced on a daily basis." The concert is free and open to the pub- lic. A freewill offering will be taken to help defray costs, the release points out. For more information, visit redeemersarasota.org or call 955-4263. The Church of the Redeemer is in downtown Sarasota. Photo by Norman Schimmel CHOIRS AND ORGANISTS TO PRESENT WORKS OF MASTER COMPOSERS RELIGION BRIEFS