First Parish in Wayland will present a major classical music choral work under the direction of Music Director Pauline Oliver as part its Music Sunday performance December 15 at 10 a.m. The historic 1815 Meeting House is located at 225 Boston Post Rd. The public is warmly welcomed.

Respighi’s Lauda per la Natività del Signore (Laud to the Nativity) is a 25-minute piece that is part of a special, mostly music, one-hour service held twice a year.

First Parish Choir will be joined by a woodwind and keyboard ensemble. Two prominent classical singers also will join the choir: Boston Conservatory at Berklee soloists Erin Matthews, soprano, who sings the role of the Angel, and Megan Callahan, mezzo-soprano, who sings Mary.

Many know Respighi for his The Pines of Rome, Fountains of Rome, and Roman Festivals tone poem trilogy. But the composer wrote with great success in many musical forms. Lauda, from 1930, is his last vocal/choral work. In it, a group of shepherds is called to Bethlehem by a host of angels. When they arrive and find the baby Jesus lying in a stall among farm animals, they can scarcely believe they are looking upon what the Angel (Matthews) claims to be a king. A chorus of angels, shepherds, and mother Mary (Callahan) deliver some of the loveliest music of any choral work First Parish has presented, according to Music Director Oliver.

For more information, please visit www.uuwayland.org or call 508-358-6133. First Parish is located at the intersection of routes 20 and 27.