First Presbyterian Church

Celebrate with our Christmas Cantata December 19th

Posted on 30. Nov, 2010 by pking in News

The First Presbyterian Chancel Choir will present a Lessons & Carols service on Sunday, December 19.  The service will feature various choral selections as well as Daniel Pinkham’sChristmas Cantata.

Daniel Pinkham (1923-2006) was an American Composer and organist who studied music at Harvard and worked under the direction of both Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. Immersed in an era of 20th century experimental music with dissonant harmonic structure, Pinkham was inspired by the simplicity of the Baroque and Classical music eras after attending a performance by the Trapp Family Singers from Austria.

While Pinkham’s compositions represent a wide array of Twentieth Century musical elements, he composed music in every genre.  Christmas Cantata, composed in 1957, was written as part of Pinkham’s admiration for Medieval and Renaissance music.  The work is structured as a 3-movement symphony that uses antiphonal effects between a full chorus, double brass choir, and organ.

The first movement, Quem vidistis, pastores? (What have you witnessed?), depicts the shepherds joyous account of seeing the newborn child.  The second movement, Magnum Mysterium (O Great Mystery), is presented in a much slower tempo to depict a mood of admiration and contemplation.  The final movement, Gloria, is written like a Renaissance dance song.  Its complex rhythms, along with an intense build-up of sound provided by the brass accompaniment, provide the listener with a feeling of triumph.