Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concert is a unique blend of jazz, choral music, gospel and blues, and taps into Ellington’s roots in African–American culture and his deep religious faith. It is based on a series of three 'Sacred Concerts' presented by Ellington across the United States and Europe between 1965 and 1973 (the year before he died).
His personal religious philosophy reflected the moral tenets of Christianity, rather than the dogma of particular denominations, and he had no interest in creating a ‘jazz mass’. By calling them simply ‘sacred concerts’ he was free to present any music with a sacred theme, designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible: jazz and big band aficionados, choral music lovers or pop fans. Above all, Ellington’s message is entirely positive: one of love, hope and freedom, reflecting his own belief that ‘Every man prays in his own language, and there is no language God doesn’t understand.’
In Ellington’s own performances, the order in which the pieces were played was not fixed, and the musical items in the programme varied from one concert to the next. Ellington and his musicians probably decided upon the contents immediately before the performance. As a result no ‘formal’ score of the Sacred Concert was produced during Ellington’s lifetime, and it wasn’t until 1993 that a complete score was published. It is this version that St George’s Singers will be performing, together with some of the UK’s great jazz performers: the dynamic voice of Mary Carewe, and the creative talents of The Cottontail Orchestra.