Music for Holy Saturday
![The left side features a square excerpt of a vibrant stained-glass window depicting a biblical scene—likely the burial of Jesus—with figures in red, gold, and green mourning over a body. The right side has a solid navy blue background with white text that reads "MUSIC FOR HOLY SATURDAY." At the bottom right is the white Duke University Chapel logo, featuring a stylized graphic of one of the chapel’s iconic Gothic window.](/images/2026/20260404/fe0454d2fbaf761230b560029c7ff910-CR-Music for Holy Saturday Calendar 2025 copy_20260317055053PM.jpg "The left side features a square excerpt of a vibrant stained-glass window depicting a biblical scene—likely the burial of Jesus—with figures in red, gold, and green mourning over a body. The right side has a solid navy blue background with white text that reads "MUSIC FOR HOLY SATURDAY." At the bottom right is the white Duke University Chapel logo, featuring a stylized graphic of one of the chapel’s iconic Gothic window.")
This program presents three rarely heard French Baroque works for Holy Week, setting texts associated with penitence and lament, including Psalm 51 (Miserere mei) and the Lamentations of Jeremiah:
* Psalm 51, Miserere mei, S87, by Michel Richard de Lalande (1657-1726)
* Premier Leçon de Ténèbres by François Couperin (1668-1733)
* Psalm 51, Miserere mei, SdB53, by Sébastian de Brossard (1655-1730)
Free admission. Paid parking is available on a first-come-first-served basis in the Bryan Center Garage at 125 Science Drive. ADA parking is available in the surface lot at the same address.
The settings are for solo voice and small ensemble, with a style of declamation typical of the French tradition of the time, at once elegant and passionate. The performances are given by Duke voice professor Clara Rottsolk, a soprano, with a small vocal and instrumental ensemble including Daniel Swenberg (theorbo), Katerina Kotar (bass viol), and Dr. Philip Cave (organ), the Chapel's conductor-in-residence.
