We celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of Anton Bruckner, born on September 4, 1824 in a village near Linz, Austria, with a concert featuring his Mass No. 2 in E minor, WAB 27, for eight-part mixed choir, winds, and brass. Additionally, the Cathedral Cantorei sings Bruckner's a cappella sacred motets Locus iste, Vexilla regis, Ave Maria, Virga Jesse, Os justi, and Christus factus est, all in the exceptional acoustic of St. James Cathedral.

Bruckner's Mass in E minor was composed in 1866, then revised extensively and republished in 1882 (the version that we are using). Its first performance was for a Mass that was held outdoors, outside of Linz Cathedral (there is no organ part to this Mass setting), blessing a newly-built votive chapel. Barry Creasy, Chairman of the Collegium Musicum of London writes, "The work illustrates more succinctly than any other Bruckner's unique style – combining the simplicity of expression, devoutness, restraint, poignancy and austere power of Italian Renaissance polyphony with the romantic, fully Brucknerian harmony, bold motivic development and powerful combinations and contrasts of vocal and instrumental texture."

The St. James Cathedral Cantorei is the professional ensemble comprised of section leaders from the Cathedral Choir and the Women of St. James Schola. Cantorei members, who have active and accomplished careers as soloists, choral artists, and music educators, provide music for the 10:00am and 12:00pm Masses during the summer months when the Cathedral Choir is in recess. The individual members of the Cantorei minister as cantors, soloists, and psalmists at all sung liturgies at St. James and at the monthly ecumenical service with music from Taizé—nearly 600 services a year. As a choral ensemble they have performed such works as Desenclos' Requiem, Parry's Songs of Farewell, Bach's Magnificat, Handel's Dixit Dominus, Tallis' Lamentations of Jeremiah, Mozart's Solemn Vespers, and Charpentier's Messe de minuit pour Noël.