Chorus and Orchestra to Heighten Holiday Spirit with Bach's Magnificat

The Community Chorus at South Berwick will give full-throated expression to the anticipatory spirit of the Advent season in performances of its upcoming holiday concert, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, on Dec. 5 and 6. CCSB Music Director Harry Moon will lead the 69 voices of the chorus and a 20-piece orchestra, along with CCSB pianist Gail Adams, in a program designed around the ancient hymn of the concert title.

The concert opens with Harry Moon’s arrangement of the most familiar version of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. The text of this hymn springs from the Old Testament prophecy of the birth of a child named Emmanuel, who will become the protector of the Israelites and their monotheistic beliefs. (The names Emmanuel and Jesus refer to the same person.) This is followed by the centerpiece work of the program, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat, the New Testament depiction of Mary’s reaction to her involvement in the fulfillment of the prophecy. Well-known Bach scholar John Eliot Gardiner has characterized the choral parts of the Magnificat as among the most “hair-raisingly difficult” Bach ever wrote.

With the exception of Sanctus in E-flat, by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of Johann Sebastian’s sons, the rest of the program consists of works by 20th and 21st century composers referencing the O Come, O Come, Emmanuel theme in one way or another. Composer Daniel Gawthrop sets writer Madeleine L’Engle’s reworking of the Emmanuel verses to an entirely new melody. In Daron Hagen’s rendition of the traditional hymn, the roles of chorus and orchestra are reversed: the chorus hums a four-part accompaniment to two cellos playing the melody.

As has become the custom with CCSB holiday performances, the concerts will include audience sing-alongs of carols.

The Dec. 5 performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church, Fox Run Rd., Newington. The Dec. 6 concert, at 3:00 p.m., will be presented at Our Lady of the Angels Church, 160 Agamenticus Rd., South Berwick.

Advance tickets are $12 and may be purchased at Gary’s Guitars, 800 Islington St., Portsmouth; Baldface Books, 488 Central Ave., Dover; South Berwick Pharmacy, 289 Main St.; or online via PayPal at ccsb-sing.org. The price at the door is $15, $12 for seniors and students.