Jazz · Evening prayer · Collective voice · Live album · August 4, 2017
Vespers for the Feast of the Transfiguration
A complete evening prayer recorded live in New York, carried by piano trio, cantors, an answering congregation, and improvisation.
A complete evening prayer shaped through live improvisation and collective song.
Vespers for the Feast of the Transfiguration treats evening prayer as a shared musical event rather than a concert with sacred material placed around it. The inherited sequence remains audible—psalmody, Scripture, Magnificat, intercession, and hymn—but each part is opened by the alertness of a jazz trio.
Recorded live at Saint Peter’s Church in New York, the work brought J.J. Wright together with bassist Ike Sturm, drummer Nate Wood, and cantors Sharon Harms and Ashley Daneman. Refrain, silence, improvisation, and collective voice passed continually between performers and assembly.
The project also became the documentary film Vespers, produced by Ted Reilly and directed by Tom Sandak.
People and credits
- J.J. Wright
- Composer · Arranger · Pianist · Album artist
- Ike Sturm
- Bass
- Nate Wood
- Drums
- Sharon Harms
- Cantor
- Ashley Daneman
- Cantor
- Saint Peter’s Church, New York City
- Live recording location
- Ted Reilly
- Documentary film producer
- Tom Sandak
- Documentary film director
Track list
- 01Invitatory0:33
- 02What Wondrous Love Is This3:36
- 03Antiphon I / Psalm 1134:50
- 04Antiphon II / Psalm 1172:57
- 05Antiphon III / Revelation 196:27
- 06Magnificat2:24
- 07Reading — 2 Kings 22:38
- 08Responsory0:32
- 09J.T.C. III6:29
- 10Intercessions1:27
- 11Our Father2:53
- 12Transfiguration Hymn4:44