Christmas has always been the season for music for our family, as I am certain it has for families around the globe.
We were able to attend three Christmas concerts during this reflective interval, beginning with the Borealis Chorale and Orchestra annual concert held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church here in Grand Marais.
The following weekend we traveled to the cities for the Minnesota Boy Choir annual Christmas Concert at Plymouth Congregational Church in Minneapolis; followed the next weekend by a performance of the Messiah by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Choral at the Basilica of St. Mary; the first basilica established in the United States.
Plans to build the church were, coincidentally, announced on Christmas Day in 1903. Two years later, Lawrence S. Donaldson (Donaldson’s Department store) donated a oneblock parcel on Hennepin Avenue near Loring Park for the stunning neoclassical structure. The design was awarded to Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, the designer of the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
Wow! …What a setting!
Three songs, one from each of these performances, stood out:
Borealis concert, directed by William Beckstrand
The first: An angelic, beautiful song written by Carolyn Jennings, Professor Emerita of Music at St. Olaf College where she taught for many years and served as Chair of the Music Department and Associate Dean for the Fine Arts.
Titled, Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain, the piece was first published in 1981. It features cascading counterpoint harmonies, simple in terms of sing-ability, but deep in text and meaning: “Love him and trust him as a child, Behold your Lord comes to you. Love him, trust him, as a child.” Jennings adapted the lyrics from chapter 40 of the Old Testament book of Isaiah.
If you’ve ever performed a piece of music, you will be familiar with the notation, that often appears at the top of the sheet music, indicating how the composer would like the song performed. Jennings’ notation encourages the song be sung with “quiet assurance.”
Minnesota Boy Choir, under the artistic direction of Mark Johnson
The second song was a traditional Shaker hymn arranged by Elaine Hagenberg whose compositions have been performed by universities, community choirs, schools, and church choirs throughout the United States and abroad.
Titled, I will be a child of peace, the almost prayerful delivery by over 100 euphonic young voices was persuasive: “For well I know Thy hand will bless the seeker after righteousness.”
Wow! …What a message!
Halfway through the song, my wife and I looked at each other and agreed, this was the treasured song of the evening’s convincing performance.
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Jory Vinikour, conductor and Minnesota Choral, Matthew Culloton, artistic director.
The third song was from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. A musical rite of the holiday season, the Baroque-era oratorio still awes listeners 260 years after the composer’s death.
Originally an Easter offering, it burst onto the stage of Musick Hall in Dublin on April 13, 1742. As Jonathan Kandell recounts in his December 2009 Smithsonian Magazine article, “The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah.”
“The audience swelled to a record 700, as ladies had heeded pleas by management to wear dresses ‘without Hoops’ in order to make ‘room for more company.’”
No hoops to be seen at the Basilica–with the exception of earrings– during the inspirational December 20th performance.
Wow! …What a performance!
Of the many moving arias performed, the song that inspirited is found in Part III of the three-part oratorio, I know that my redeemer liveth. A line from the Old Testament book of Job 19:25.
The clear bell-tone voice of young Russian-American soprano Yulia Van Doren resounded with–as The Cleveland Plain Dealer once praised–“melting poignancy.”
Once again, Christmas has provided that quiet assurance.
Former Cook County Commissioner Garry Gamble is writing this ongoing column about the various ways government works, as well as other topics. At times the column is editorial in nature.
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