Cincinnati’s Musica Sacra community choral group is streaming a special performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, and his “Cantique de Jean Racine,” Nov. 25 through Dec. 4. The most unique aspect of this performance is that it was rehearsed and recorded live with orchestra, with its performers masked and socially distanced at St. Boniface Church in Northside earlier in November.

You may recall that early in the pandemic, it was determined that singing in a chorus could be among the most dangerous things one could do, because of the spread of aerosols while singing. Musica Sacra found a beautiful sanctuary that was also large enough for adequate spacing in St. Boniface Church, which also has a modern HVAC system.

The choir, currently led by music director L. Brett Scott, associate professor of Ensembles and Conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), has been rehearsing in person this fall, following guidance from the American Choral Directors Association and an aerosol study performed by the International Coalition of Performing Arts.

Members of the chorus wore special ‘singers’ masks, sat at the recommended distance apart, and sang for only 30 minutes at a time in small groups.  A 25-minute break between groups allows for the air to be cleared.

The performance also features student soloists Jackie Stevens and Michael Young from CCM as well as this season’s Apprentice Conductor, Joseph Taff, DMA candidate at CCM. Members of the Cincinnati Musicians Association perform in the orchestra, and the recording was made by John Burgess of Sound Foundry.

The choir was founded in 1965 by the late Helmut Roehrig, who developed a distinguished legacy and took the choir on several tours. Fauré’s Requiem and “Cantique de Jean Racine” are the works that Musica Sacra had originally prepared for their scheduled March 23, 2020 performance at Carnegie Hall, which was canceled due to Covid shortly before the event.

The performance stream is available on demand on any device at Musica-Sacra.org/Concerts (Nov. 25-Dec. 4). It is free, but donations are always welcome.

Musica Sacra’s season sponsors are the Louise Dieterle Nippert Musical Arts Fund, Cavalier Distributors, and UBS. Additional support for this concert was provided by the Andrew MacAoidh Jergens Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, the Richard D. Hannan Family Foundation, and Resource Marketing.