Lifting Their Voices
The tradition of a Palm Sunday cantata at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 420 N. Main St., has been revived.
But there is a new perspective to this latest planned performance of a musical form dating from the baroque era of 17th century Italy.
Barb Galloway, Westminster choir director, said the church had staged a cantata for 11 years running before unforeseen circumstances broke the tradition last year.
Now the religious story set to music returns in a different form.
Dee Demby, a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and its choir, has taken on the big task.
It's a process that she began last year, selecting the music from past cantatas and writing the narration that will accompany the music.
Demby said her cantata, “The Story,” will be performed by the 16-member choir accompanied only by a pianist and herself as the narrator.
Galloway said, “I was talking to Dee about it, and she said, 'Why don't we just go back and use some of the music we have used in the past?'
“What we are saying is the narrative is written and the music is compiled.”
The choir director continued, “There in her mind she had this narration that came together.
“We have been doing cantatas for about 12 years now so we have a lot of music to choose from,” Galloway said. “I also picked out a new one.”
“We will have a solo from 13-year-old Andrew King, who is going to do the Lord's Prayer,” she said. “His grandparents also sing in the choir, Joy and Dick King.”
Demby will also be using the children's choir for part of the cantata.
“We practiced two hours yesterday (April 2) after church so the children can sing the first part of the anthem,” Galloway said.The participants have been rehearsing several hours a week since January to get all the disparate parts in harmony.Demby said the cantata form dates back hundreds of years.“It's a musical play. The churches would do Advent plays about the birth and death of Jesus,” she said. “Our cantata is a compilation of many different musics from different cantatas.”“If you go back to medieval times, the people then didn't read,” Demby said, “So this was the only way to tell these stories that make religion accessible.”“It's basically a work for a chorus,” said Colleen Gray, professor of voice at Slippery Rock University.“It has a storyline and theme,” Gray said. “Cantatas can take a variety of forms.“Bach did cantatas,” Gray said. “They can be relatively short, it just depends on the composer.”“People are still writing cantatas. One of our students just wrote a cantata for his church. It was relatively short, but it was all new music,” she said.“When Bach did his, he did a cantata for every Sunday. It depends on your situation,” Gray said.Cantatas are for special events, Gray said.“Bach cantatas are usually performed in an academic setting,” she said. “Otherwise, the church puts them together for the religious holidays.“They can be Christmas or Easter, either one, We just seem to do them more at Easter.The season's message of renewal is reflected in the cantata, Demby said.“I had a vision of this. I hear this music, and sometimes you have a vision of how it can be done,” Demby said.“The whole idea is to inspire people to change their lives or to find repentance, to repent from our sins whatever those sins might be and do it in a way that leaves a message behind.”
A tall order and one Demby and the choir have been working to meet.“We have been rehearsing since January. You really have to prep for this a year in advance,” she said.She started selecting the music last year.Gray said, “A cantata can be made up of easy songs or it can be very difficult. The Bach cantatas are quite hard.”Demby said, “The Rev. Dan Ledford, (Westminster pastor) when I asked him what he wanted from the cantata, he said he wanted people to take something away from it.“It's the idea that you want to be Christ-like, to have the traits of kindness, love and charity. There is a bigger story and it's one we can live,” she said.This is Demby's first time as the producer/director of a cantata. The licensed practical nurse and former dancer doesn't have a musical background other than singing in the church choir.“I'm scared to death. I want it to be well pleasing in the eyes of the Lord,” she said.“I just want people to come with an open mind and an open spirit and celebrate with us,” she said.
