The Worcester Chorus: Ellington Sacred Concert

Directed by Chris Shepard, The Worcester Chorus is one of America’s oldest and longest-running choral ensembles.

Duke Ellington called his Sacred Concert “the most important thing I’ve ever done” when it premiered in 1965 at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral.

Allmusic reviewer Richard S. Ginell awarded the concert recording 5 stars, saying “the concert taps into Ellington’s roots in showbiz and African-American culture as well as his evidently deep religious faith, throwing it all together in the spirit of universality and sealing everything with the stamps of his musical signatures.”

Ebony magazine called the piece “historic”, situating it as part of a larger movement in the mid-60s that brought together jazz and religion.