Submitted by David Warder
The Community Easter Cantata Choir has been rehearsing, since January. The choir is back to about 75% of pre-pandemic numbers, with 23 singers and 2 narrators.
Our Good Friday cantatas have always taken the form of a Tenebrae Service incorporating the lighting and extinguishing of seven candles to leave the church in complete darkness by the end of the performance.
This year’s cantata, entitled “In My Place,” is divided into seven segments but, instead of extinguishing candles, nails are placed at the foot of a cross while the The Story is re-told by Narrators quoting Scripture passages, costumed Readers describing, in their own words, what it was like to be there, and the Choir singing a song to tie each segment together.
“In My Place” is the first new cantata the choir has learned since the pandemic began. I’m always looking for cantatas that present these ancient stories in a way that helps us glean something new that we may have never thought about before. This cantata has been on my list for several years now. It is one of the more difficult cantatas we have ever sung, and probably the most difficult cantata we have performed under my direction. It has been an ambitious undertaking and the choir has risen to the challenge. I am well pleased with how rehearsals are progressing and certain that this will be an excellent portrayal of the familiar story in a unique way.
This cantata very much focuses on Good Friday rather than the entirety of the events of Holy Week. We can’t be everywhere on Good Friday, so we will have our first performance on Palm Sunday, April 2, at 7:30 pm at Tobermory United Church (5 Brock Street). On Good Friday, April 7, you can attend performances at Bethel Evangelical Missionary Church in Lion’s Head (18 Ferndale Road) at 10:30 am, and Cape Croker United Church (Pit Road and Community Centre Road, Neyaashiinigmiing) at 7:30 pm.
The net proceeds from a free-will offering will go towards redecorating at the Golden Dawn Senior Citizen Home in Lion’s Head.
