© Jenny Carboni, Luca Concas, Angelo Palmieri
Le ore sacre del giorno
The hours of the divine office in the city’s basilicas
The Tallis Scholars
conductor Peter Phillips
plain song Coro da camera 1685
conductor Antonio Greco
Matins, or the Night Office | 00.00 Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Lauds and Prime | 07.00 Basilica of San Francesco
Terce* | 09.30 Basilica of Sant’Agata Maggiore
“Trinity Sunday Mass for 4 voices” by Joseph Rheinberger
Sext | 12.00 Basilica of San Giovanni Evangelista
None | 15.30 Baptistery of Neon
Vespers | 19.00 Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo
Compline | 21.30 Basilica of San Vitale
* free entrance
Over the centuries, the Liturgy of the Hours has formed the basis of joint prayer in Christian monasteries, where praying together at scheduled times helped reinforce identity and a sense of community. Also among the laity, the Book of Hours, containing the Divine Office from Morning Prayer to Compline, has long been a favourite family reading, the founding text of homes and communities. And even today, at a time of hectic activity, marking the day with set moments where one can stop and think, listen or pray, can be a worthy, intense and revealing experience. Especially so if the experience is led by a vocal ensemble like the Tallis Scholars, acclaimed performers of a cappella sacred music for almost half a century.
