The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel hosted a concert debuting a composition focused on interactions with angels found throughout the Bible. The 70-minute oratorio, “Angels Unawares”, is comprised of 12 pieces, each representing a story drawn from the Bible.
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Here's how to cope with in-flight anxietyYoung people are turning to old-school hobbies to get off their phonesPete Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with IranTrump amenaza con desplegar al ICE en aeropuertos desde el lunes si no hay acuerdo con demócratasConductor Harry Christopher, center, with tenor Matthew McKinney, left, soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, and The Sixteen present Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Harry Christopher conducts Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares by James MacMillan and conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Tenor Matthew McKinney, left, and soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, sing Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher, third from left, in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. From left, composer James MacMillan, conductor Harry Christopher, tenor Matthew McKinney, and sopranoElizabeth Watts acknowledge the audience’s applause at the end of McMillan’s oratorio Angels Unawares performed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Conductor Harry Christopher, center, with tenor Matthew McKinney, left, soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, and The Sixteen present Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Conductor Harry Christopher, center, with tenor Matthew McKinney, left, soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, and The Sixteen present Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Harry Christopher conducts Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Harry Christopher conducts Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares by James MacMillan and conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares by James MacMillan and conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Tenor Matthew McKinney, left, and soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, sing Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher, third from left, in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Tenor Matthew McKinney, left, and soprano Elizabeth Watts, second from left, sing Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher, third from left, in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. From left, composer James MacMillan, conductor Harry Christopher, tenor Matthew McKinney, and sopranoElizabeth Watts acknowledge the audience’s applause at the end of McMillan’s oratorio Angels Unawares performed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. From left, composer James MacMillan, conductor Harry Christopher, tenor Matthew McKinney, and sopranoElizabeth Watts acknowledge the audience’s applause at the end of McMillan’s oratorio Angels Unawares performed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s Sistine Chapel hosted a concert Sunday evening, debuting a composition focused on interactions with angels found throughout the Bible. The Vatican sometimes hosts concerts in the chapel for visiting musicians and other special occasions. But the events are always invite-only, and it is extremely rare for photojournalists to receive access. “I have to make an awkward announcement,” Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the archbishop of Westminster, said before the show, then told the roughly 200 attendees, mostly native English speakers, that they couldn’t use their phones to film or photograph the premiere. Guests included Canada’s Prime MinisterThe 70-minute oratorio, “Angels Unawares,” is comprised of 12 pieces, each representing a story drawn from the Bible. Sir James MacMillan composed it using texts by Robert Willis, the former Dean of Canterbury who passed away in late 2024, not long after completing the work. “I wanted a big piece of music for the holy angels, which had never been written before,” financier and philanthropist John Studzinski, whose Genesis Foundation commissioned the composition, told The Associated Press. “When we started it, I think James was uncertain as to whether this was possible. But then when we saw the text that Robert Willis had created; James didn’t change one word, and he was so moved.” “Now we have a piece of music that can live forever, that really reflects some of the most emotional, powerful aspects of angels as messengers, mentors, warriors, motivators,” he added. Harry Christopher conducts Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Harry Christopher conducts Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares by James MacMillan and conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares by James MacMillan and conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. On Sunday, British choir The Sixteen sang the lyrics as Cambridge-based chamber orchestra Britten Sinfonia played. Angels could be seen all around — some on the walls depicting Moses’ life and death, and another above, on Michelangelo’s fresco, banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Their exile is the first song in “Angels Unaware.” “It was sort of the unification of the glory of two of the greatest artistic expressions, music and painting. It was just perfect,” Alison Clarkson, a state senator from Vermont, said afterward. The composition’s title is drawn from a verse of scripture calling for brotherly love, and the need to welcome strangers — some of whom might be angels. Most come to the oratorio’s biblical figures as themselves, but at least one appears incognito. In “The Song of Tobias,” the protagonist repeatedly scolds himself for not recognizing the archangel Raphael. “The dog, I felt, had known it all along,” the tenor soloist sang, then paused for a few moments before the orchestra swelled for the song’s final line. “How could I not have known?” Wingless angels on Michelangelo’s “Last Judgment” were visible only on a cloth screen, behind which restorers on scaffolding areThe Sixteen perform Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. The Sixteen perform Angels Unawares byJames MacMillan, conducted by Harry Christopher in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. “The theme of angels is one instinctively understood by many people and in many different faiths,” Cardinal Nichols told the AP. “Therefore, to explore their presence and the power of angelic presence in our lives will, I think, touch many people’s hearts and souls.” Sunday evening’s concert was recorded and will be aired on BBC radio next week, according to the Genesis Foundation. That upcoming broadcast underscores religious songs sung in English have a different reach than those in Latin or other languages. Last year’s conclave elected Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, and Nichols noted that English is the most commonly spoken language in the world.The choir appreciated the English lyrics, too. “We’d be pretty rubbish at singing in Italian, to be perfectly honest,” Julie Cooper, a soprano, said while wearing a glittering green dress. “We’re used to singing in Latin, but it is wonderful to do these texts in English and to try and bring them alive and tell the story and communicate. To singers, that’s the most important thing.” From left, composer James MacMillan, conductor Harry Christopher, tenor Matthew McKinney, and sopranoElizabeth Watts acknowledge the audience’s applause at the end of McMillan’s oratorio Angels Unawares performed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. From left, composer James MacMillan, conductor Harry Christopher, tenor Matthew McKinney, and sopranoElizabeth Watts acknowledge the audience’s applause at the end of McMillan’s oratorio Angels Unawares performed in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Sunday, March 22, 2026. Biller has been AP’s Southern Europe news director since 2025, based in Rome. He was previously Brazil news director in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived for 12 years, and before that was reporting in Mexico and Chile.
Robert Willis Music Vatican City Classical Music Catholic Church International News John Studzinski Vermont Religion Alison Clarkson Mark Carney Arts And Entertainment Theresa May Pope Leo XIV United Kingdom Concerts Julie Cooper Entertainment
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