Celebrating
in perfect pitch
By NADIA MARIA SMITH
CS&T Staff Writer
HAVERTOWN — One way to celebrate an important anniversary is to
congratulate yourself, and rest on your laurels. Another is to set a new
challenge for excellence.
Ralph Purri is clearly in the latter camp.
Purri has directed the music program at St. Denis Parish for 25 years,
and spent five years before that as music director at St. Bridget Parish
in East Falls.
On Nov. 18, he will celebrate those decades of service by doing what he
loves best, in a performance that will reach beyond a traditional parish
concert — Purri will direct his 30-member orchestra and 40-voice
choir in Mozart’s “Requiem, K 626.”
“It’s one of my favorite pieces,” Purri said.
It is also, he knows, an extremely difficult piece. “Most parish
choirs won’t even attempt it,” he said. But Purri has spent
the last 25 years building the choir at St. Denis to a level of excellence
that allows him to expect a superlative performance.
“I’ve always dreamed of having a choir that could sing this
requiem [and] we’ve been working on it for a year-and-a-half,”
he said.
Purri added that if it weren’t for the dedication of the choir and
musicians, and their desire to share their talent, he could never pull
it off.
He has had the choir take on increasingly challenging pieces over the
years, including Handel’s “Messiah” and Fauré’s
“Requiem.” The choir sings everything from Gregorian Chant
to contemporary music, eager to “praise God through song and music
that is well crafted,” Purri added.
Linda Romanowski, a choir member, attributes the choir’s dedication
to Purri’s inspiration.
“He strives to make our adult choir convey the meaning and the spirit
of every musical selection, with enormous patience and style,” she
said. “His talent of enabling ordinary people to sound extraordinary
adds meaning and beauty to our faith.”
He also pays special attention to the congregation. Purri conscientiously
teaches the people in the pews new pieces, and is generous with his compliments,
making them understand the importance of their participation at Mass.
“There is no greater thrill than to hear the whole congregation
singing enthusiastically,” he explained. “Every voice, no
matter what it sounds like, has the responsibility to be a part of that
one voice of praise ….
“It’s like when you look at a stained-glass window …,”
he added. “You look at the whole.”
Through his 25 years at St. Denis, Purri has also taught in the parish
school, and run its children’s choir, developing students who can
read, play and write music by the time they move into high school.
“Ralph is a great asset to the parish and to the school,”
said Msgr. James Graham, the pastor. “He is a great musician, and
he has a great sense of liturgy.”
Purri has been married for 23 years to Carol. They have five children
ranging in age from 7 to 21 — all musically inclined, thanks to
their father’s efforts.
CS&T staff writer Nadia Maria Smith can be reached at npozo@adphila.org
or (215) 965-4614.
Anniversary concert celebrating
Ralph Purri’s 25 years at St. Denis Parish
When: 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18
Where: St. Denis Church, Eagle Road and St. Denis Lane,
Havertown, 19083
Admission is free.
For more information contact Purri at (610) 446-0200 or rpurri@yahoo.com.
To
subscribe now, click here.