You are invited to join others interested in sacred Renaissance polyphony for a weekend to prepare and perform Missa Jam Christus Astra Ascenderat, by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, along with related motets TBD. The occasion is the 23rd annual Renaissance Polyphony Weekend, co-sponsored by the Walsingham Society of Christian Culture and Western Civilization and held at Church of the Holy Cross, 4052 Herschel Avenue in Dallas, the society's headquarters. The retreat will once again be led by Dr. William Mahrt of Stanford University. It will conclude with a celebrated Mass at the church.

Retreat check-in (with coffee) is at 6:30pm on Friday, and the first rehearsal starts at 7:30pm. Directions to the church and other information will be sent to registrants. Rehearsals continue Saturday, concluding with wine and cheese at about 4pm.

It is possible not to attend all of the sessions and still sing the Mass on Sunday afternoon. There will be a morning rehearsal, but participants with church music commitments need not attend it. After a Sunday early afternoon rehearsal at Holy Cross, we will sing the Mass later in the afternoon. Details will be provided in a welcome letter to participants.

All music will be rehearsed and performed a cappella. Participants need not be professional singers, but should be proficient readers with a good sense of pitch.

Download a brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to open) for complete information. The brochure includes a registration form, if you prefer to print out and mail in a form along with your deposit check. Once the form has been made available, you may register online, but we must receive your deposit check by postal mail to complete your registration.

Mail your deposit check for $95.00 (and registration form) to: