Since jazz musician Wynton Marsalis composed and recorded “In This House, On This Morning” two decades ago, he has remained committed to projecting a theme of universal humanism while reflecting the form of the African American church service. Never has Marsalis coalesced the codes of sacred and secular expression more successfully than with the 2008 extended work “Abyssinian Mass,” commissioned to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Abyssinian Baptist Church on West 138th Street in Harlem, N.Y.
Marsalis will perform “Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration” at 8 p.m. Oct. 18 at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. In this performance, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis revisits this masterwork, augmented by the 70-voice gospel choir, Chorale Le Chateau, conducted by Damien Sneed.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlighted the concert in the newspaper’s fall arts guide.
Tickets for the “Abyssinian: A Gospel Celebration” are $35-$125 and can be purchased at the box office, online at touhill.org or by phone at 314-516-4949.
