Main Page Christmas Cantata
A quick introduction


      Christmas Cantata is a 100-minute long contemporary oratorio, which has been performed in concert-halls, schools, colleges and churches from San Francisco to Singapore, from Edinburgh to Southern Africa. It features 17 arias and choruses, interspersed by recitatives, and scored for soloists, chorus, continuo and optional orchestra. Unashamedly popular in conception, its classical-pop fusion style ranges through R&B, Monteverdi, orchestral jazz and Bollywood. It is also a sacred work, which consciously stands in the great tradition of western oratorio. The texts are taken from the Bible, with additional lyrics by the composer. Although primarily designed as a concert work, it can also be performed in services of worship, or even staged within a nativity pageant.
     The piano-vocal score contains all voice parts, a piano accompaniment, and some featured instruments. It is possible to put on a simple performance of voices and continuo with this score alone.
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Here are the sections of the work.    
1. Before all things. Soprano solo & chorus.
2. It is written. Recitative.
3. Angel. Chorus.
4. All this took place (0.42). Recitative (St Matthew 1:22-23).
5. Mary (4.30). Mezzo-soprano solo & chorus. A setting of the Magnificat, Mary's song from St Luke 1:68-79. Here the soul-pop diva makes her entrance. She should improvise freely over the third and fourth choral refrains. Light and gentle, not too fast.
6. Behold, I send my messenger. Recitative.
7. Blessed (4.15). R&B chorale. A setting of the Benedictus, Zechariah's song from St Luke 1:68-79.
8. And so it was. Recitative.
9. Lullaby. Mezzo-soprano solo. A Celtic-style cradle song.
10. And there were shepherds. Recitative. The children's chorus can enter at the end of this recitative, in order to sing in 'Gloria' and 'Wake, Little Children'.
11. Gloria (4.15). Chorus. This is a triple fugue of St Luke chapter 2, verse 14, in Zulu, English and Greek, based around the quintessential southern African harmonic sequence: I IV Ic V.
    The SATB chorus needs to be redistributed as SAB. Two-thirds each of altos and tenors join to become the new middle section, while the remaining third of each part joins the sopranos and baritones respectively.
    Zulu pronunciation: the hl of ‘emhlabeni’ is produced by holding the tongue against the roof of the mouth and expelling air from the sides, like the initial consonant of Welsh ‘Lladudno’. The k is implosive. This is a hard sound for non-Bantu speakers. The nearest approximation is a very soft ‘g’.
12. When the angels. Recitative.
13. Shepherds. Vocal octet in barbershop style. It is designed for eight soloists, although it can be sung by the whole chorus with each voice group divided in two. The "doh" syllables should have a strong start and a soft sustain, like a plucked double bass string. The "dumm" syllables should be sustained on the m and not the n. Likewise there should be some hum on the m of "Bethlehem". It may also be sung a capella.
14. When they had seen him. An unaccompanied reading of St Luke 2:17-20.
15. Wake. Children's chorus and chorus.

      Interval.

16. Lord, our Lord (4.00). Chorale. A setting of the eighth psalm, the Christmas psalm, which tells how God uses babes and sucklings to quell the foe, and how the son of man was made a little less than the immortals and then crowned ruler of all things. The piano and the touch is crucial. A good grand piano is ideal. Failing that, a warm electric piano might be good. The song should have a luminous, suspended quality, like Satie's Gymnopédies. Or like the stars.
17. Now there was a man. Sung recitative.
18. Master, now. Solo & chorus. A version of the Nunc dimittis, Simeon's song from St Luke 2:29-32.
19. Now when Jesus was born. Recitative.
20. You, Bethlehem. Trio & chorus. This is a slow processional march. The Magi enter singing with a retinue of percussion, and reach the front stage just before the main chorus entry. Watch the key-signature. It's in the Persian dastgah of Shur, that is, the Phrygian mode; all the supertonics are flattened.
21. And when they came. Recitative.
22. The Star (5.10). Tenor solo.
23. The oracle of Balaam ben Beor. An unaccompanied reading of Numbers 24:15-17.
24. Rorate coeli. Chorus. The words are a reworking of the lyric of the same name by the Scots Franciscan poet, William Dunbar (c. 1460-1520). The melody is Scots traditional.
25. When Herod saw. Recitative.
26. A voice is heard in Ramah (5.10). Solo & female chorus. The high female voices of bar 34 following are a stylized representation of the screaming of wailing women. The song was influenced by Swazi funeral music.
27. When Israel was a child. Choral recitative.
28. News. Solo & chorus.
29. The vision of Isaiah ben Amoz. Recitative.
30. Arise (9.35). Chorale. A setting of Isaiah 60, describing the glory of Jerusalem in the messianic kingdom, with an ending from Ephesians 5:14. The trumpeters stand. Their motif of one long, seven short and one long notes is the teruah given to Moses in the desert. At its sound the Lord promised to come and save his people.
    At bar 192 the soul diva enters and continues into the three-time repeat between bars 199 and 214; the second and third time through she should improvise freely over the chorus. At the second time through the dramatic soprano re-enters and may also improvise freely.
31. Amen. A pseudo-Baroque groove.