Forever Gloria!
As promised, my thoughts on our Christmas cantata...
It was fantastic! I'm not exaggerating when I say I look forward to this every year. Not only because the actual performance is always great, but it draws in so many facets of our church. The Sanctuary Choir, the orchestra, children's ministry, drama, lighting and scene production crews, women's ministry ... everyone gets to contribute in some way. In the end, it combines together for a massive celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The theme for this year's musical was "Forever Gloria" (as if the headline didn't give it away). It was composed by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse, with a few notable contributions from Camp Kirkland and Handel's Messiah. Even as the cantata begins with the orchestra performing the "Canticle of Glorias" overture, you know you're in for a powerful experience. The opening canticle sets the tone immediately and gives such an air of triumph and regality, and it should! We are here to celebrate the birth of our Messiah, our Mighty King, a birth made even more incredible by the way it took place. Our Savior didn't come to Earth as the all-powerful and conquering ruler everyone expected. He wasn't born in a lavish palace flanked by royal figures and monarchs. Jesus Christ was born in a dirty, dingy, and smelly manger stable. It all happened according to God's plan. No small chance that Bethlehem was chosen as the site of His birth. Bethlehem was known as the House of Bread. Isn't that so appropriate for Jesus? From the House of Bread comes the Bread of Life, the giver of eternal life to all people. As I enter the Sanctuary with the rest of the choir on the tail end of the canticle, I feel like I'm flashing back to that wondrous night, and perhaps getting just a tiny glimpse of the significance of this little helpless baby's birth.
The triumphant tone stays strong through the opening two songs: "Rejoice!" and "Gloria!" I cannot describe the feeling I get when we hit the chorus of these incredible works. "Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! Rejoice!" Repetitive, I know, but that's all I'd want to do in the presence of Jesus the Messiah. To bow down and rejoice with all of my might, at the top of my lungs, every shred of dignity and pride left behind. Think about it! This is the ultimate gift from Heaven above, the fulfillment of all the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Emannuel, God with us, has come at last! Wow! There's a point in the song where we repeat the word "rejoice" over all four sections (soprano, alto, bass, tenor). I love how it starts strong, and yet restrained, a little mysterious. The second time is stronger, louder, and yet still a bit held back, and the third hits fever pitch, practically yelling out the words: "Rejoice! O Come! Emmanuel!" "Gloria" is simply a really fun song made even more amazing by the contribution of our children's drama players, who come racing down the aisles as the narrator finishes and do an interpretive dance to the music. Watching them get into it really helped those of us in the choir, and we needed to be just as loud as in the first one. Near the end, we repeat the word "Gloria" as an intended closing chorus, and as the music draws to a close, the conductor stops the music, and the audience erupts into applause. We wait about five seconds, then he strikes up the chorus again, we fold our books to our sides and start clapping along to it. Reprise! The volume at the very end of the reprise about knocked me over!
The tone becomes a little more subdued (but still strong and clear) by the third song "Noel, Sing We all Noel" as we move to a celebration of the reverence of the Christ-child. The harmony is beautiful, especially once the tenor and baritones split off from the rest of the choir and then rejoin to sing "Gloria in excelsis deo!" The fourth piece is sort of a combination of two pieces: "Lovely Baby" and "Jesus, King of Angels," and it marvelously continues the reverence theme built up in the third song. Celebrating the lovely baby Mary had and how it "must have come from Heaven to turn out this way." The guitar does a great job in accompaniment with this. "Star of Bethlehem" is just precious because it opens with a child narration and solo. Gracie Strawhorn especially did a great job on it.
"Follow the Light" was difficult to sing at first, but I got better with it the more I practiced. The solo is marvelous, it seemed all the solos were good for this cantata. "Three Gifts" was another tough one because I had to figure out where the tenors came in with the rest of the choir, but once I got that down, I enjoyed it. Then we began the invitation time with "I Give You My Heart." Randy Kirby did a good job leading the music on that piece; Pastor Randy gave a very moving altar call that I'm sure touched a lot of hearts in our congregation. It's pretty much a given that events like these draw in people who are lost or suffering, and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in a mighty way through the sanctuary. I hope some lives were changed last night; even if it was just one, it would be well worth it. Because that's what we're all here for: to become one with Christ, and help others to do the same.
"Forever Gloria" starts off very mysterious, but the chorus kicks it back up to the triumphant tone. I was saving my voice for this piece especially, because I wanted to hit the chorus at full power; it is that incredible to sing. Our finale was called "Thine is the Kingdom" and it includes the climactic chorus from Messiah. This is where the tenors seriously have to dig deep to hit the impossibly high, sustained notes close to the end. There were several moments where I thought my larynx was going to burst, or I'd snap a few vocal cords. But somehow I managed to hold it to the end. "Crown him! Crown him! Crown him! Crown him! Crown Jesus Lord with many crowns!"
So, in a nutshell, this cantata was fabulous! I had to learn it in a very short amount of time, but everything came together so well. I had a great time with lots of terrific people, we helped spread the true meaning of Christmas and I think - no, I'm sure - God lifted our hearts up at the same time. Forever we sing "Gloria, in excelsis deo!"
Song of the Day: Casting Crowns - "Your Love is Extravagant"
Verse of the Day: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." - Galatians 4:4-5
It was fantastic! I'm not exaggerating when I say I look forward to this every year. Not only because the actual performance is always great, but it draws in so many facets of our church. The Sanctuary Choir, the orchestra, children's ministry, drama, lighting and scene production crews, women's ministry ... everyone gets to contribute in some way. In the end, it combines together for a massive celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
The theme for this year's musical was "Forever Gloria" (as if the headline didn't give it away). It was composed by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse, with a few notable contributions from Camp Kirkland and Handel's Messiah. Even as the cantata begins with the orchestra performing the "Canticle of Glorias" overture, you know you're in for a powerful experience. The opening canticle sets the tone immediately and gives such an air of triumph and regality, and it should! We are here to celebrate the birth of our Messiah, our Mighty King, a birth made even more incredible by the way it took place. Our Savior didn't come to Earth as the all-powerful and conquering ruler everyone expected. He wasn't born in a lavish palace flanked by royal figures and monarchs. Jesus Christ was born in a dirty, dingy, and smelly manger stable. It all happened according to God's plan. No small chance that Bethlehem was chosen as the site of His birth. Bethlehem was known as the House of Bread. Isn't that so appropriate for Jesus? From the House of Bread comes the Bread of Life, the giver of eternal life to all people. As I enter the Sanctuary with the rest of the choir on the tail end of the canticle, I feel like I'm flashing back to that wondrous night, and perhaps getting just a tiny glimpse of the significance of this little helpless baby's birth.
The triumphant tone stays strong through the opening two songs: "Rejoice!" and "Gloria!" I cannot describe the feeling I get when we hit the chorus of these incredible works. "Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! Rejoice!" Repetitive, I know, but that's all I'd want to do in the presence of Jesus the Messiah. To bow down and rejoice with all of my might, at the top of my lungs, every shred of dignity and pride left behind. Think about it! This is the ultimate gift from Heaven above, the fulfillment of all the prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah. Emannuel, God with us, has come at last! Wow! There's a point in the song where we repeat the word "rejoice" over all four sections (soprano, alto, bass, tenor). I love how it starts strong, and yet restrained, a little mysterious. The second time is stronger, louder, and yet still a bit held back, and the third hits fever pitch, practically yelling out the words: "Rejoice! O Come! Emmanuel!" "Gloria" is simply a really fun song made even more amazing by the contribution of our children's drama players, who come racing down the aisles as the narrator finishes and do an interpretive dance to the music. Watching them get into it really helped those of us in the choir, and we needed to be just as loud as in the first one. Near the end, we repeat the word "Gloria" as an intended closing chorus, and as the music draws to a close, the conductor stops the music, and the audience erupts into applause. We wait about five seconds, then he strikes up the chorus again, we fold our books to our sides and start clapping along to it. Reprise! The volume at the very end of the reprise about knocked me over!
The tone becomes a little more subdued (but still strong and clear) by the third song "Noel, Sing We all Noel" as we move to a celebration of the reverence of the Christ-child. The harmony is beautiful, especially once the tenor and baritones split off from the rest of the choir and then rejoin to sing "Gloria in excelsis deo!" The fourth piece is sort of a combination of two pieces: "Lovely Baby" and "Jesus, King of Angels," and it marvelously continues the reverence theme built up in the third song. Celebrating the lovely baby Mary had and how it "must have come from Heaven to turn out this way." The guitar does a great job in accompaniment with this. "Star of Bethlehem" is just precious because it opens with a child narration and solo. Gracie Strawhorn especially did a great job on it.
"Follow the Light" was difficult to sing at first, but I got better with it the more I practiced. The solo is marvelous, it seemed all the solos were good for this cantata. "Three Gifts" was another tough one because I had to figure out where the tenors came in with the rest of the choir, but once I got that down, I enjoyed it. Then we began the invitation time with "I Give You My Heart." Randy Kirby did a good job leading the music on that piece; Pastor Randy gave a very moving altar call that I'm sure touched a lot of hearts in our congregation. It's pretty much a given that events like these draw in people who are lost or suffering, and I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in a mighty way through the sanctuary. I hope some lives were changed last night; even if it was just one, it would be well worth it. Because that's what we're all here for: to become one with Christ, and help others to do the same.
"Forever Gloria" starts off very mysterious, but the chorus kicks it back up to the triumphant tone. I was saving my voice for this piece especially, because I wanted to hit the chorus at full power; it is that incredible to sing. Our finale was called "Thine is the Kingdom" and it includes the climactic chorus from Messiah. This is where the tenors seriously have to dig deep to hit the impossibly high, sustained notes close to the end. There were several moments where I thought my larynx was going to burst, or I'd snap a few vocal cords. But somehow I managed to hold it to the end. "Crown him! Crown him! Crown him! Crown him! Crown Jesus Lord with many crowns!"
So, in a nutshell, this cantata was fabulous! I had to learn it in a very short amount of time, but everything came together so well. I had a great time with lots of terrific people, we helped spread the true meaning of Christmas and I think - no, I'm sure - God lifted our hearts up at the same time. Forever we sing "Gloria, in excelsis deo!"
Song of the Day: Casting Crowns - "Your Love is Extravagant"
Verse of the Day: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons." - Galatians 4:4-5
posted by david @ 6:29 AM
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