Choral Grand Opening:
War & Requiem

Joseph Haydn - Missa in tempore belli (“Paukenmesse”)
Gabriel Fauré - Requiem in D Minor

Thursday, October 29, 2026 @ 7:30PM
Church of the Ascension
36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St.
New York, NY 10011

Soloists to be announced

Voices of Ascension opens its 2026–2027 season under the artistic vision and direction of Dennis Keene with a program that matches musical grandeur with profound humanistic depth. Composed amid the threat of Napoleon’s advancing armies, Mass in Time of War (Paukenmesse) by Joseph Haydn pulses with urgency. Its insistent timpani and bold choral writing transform the Mass into both a plea for mercy and a rallying cry for courage. Beneath the music’s tension lies the spirit of a people facing the shadow of invasion, who refuse to yield. As the work unfolds, Haydn carries the listener from anxiety toward resolve, and by the close of the Agnus Dei, the music affirms an unmistakable conviction that goodness will prevail.

Nearly a century later, Gabriel Fauré took a strikingly different path with his Requiem in D Minor. Where earlier Requiems summon fear of judgment, Fauré turns toward reflections on light and tenderness. The music unfolds with warm, muted colors, a result of an orchestral score without violins for much of the work. Its final luminous In Paradisum offers consolation that feels intimate and deeply personal. For Keene, whose long-standing connection to the French choral tradition has shaped Voices’ artistic identity and soundscape, this Requiem remains a touchstone of our repertoire.

Join us for our season-opening concert as we celebrate the extraordinary creativity of these two composers and the magnificent power of the human voice and the community that choral singing conjures.

Our 2025-26 Season