by Kevin T McEneaney
To celebrate 100th anniversary of Lyall Church this past Sunday, The Millbrook Community Festival Choir presented Foundations, under Music and Choral Director Daniel Michael Koch who stressed the theme of building community in an era of frayed social roots. There were eighteen performers in the choir, which included the local noted landscape painter, Susan Hennelly, who sang Alto.
Naseer Ashraf ably accompanied the choir on piano with appropriate inflection and rhythm. (The playing of religious hymns requires an adroit sense of rhythmic flexibility beyond the normal ability to play piano.)
The choir opened with “How Lovely Is Their Dwelling Place,” a theme developed in German by Johannes Brahms and developed in English by composer Daniel Kallman. The text is based on Psalm 84, which stresses the beauty of God’s dwelling place. The tune is adopted from a traditional Irish melody. The eighteen-member choir sang with galvanized unity, imparting a sense of transcendent peace.
“Unless the Lord Shall Build the House” derives from Psalm 127 by way of a 1872 psalter. The hymn declares that belief in God prevents vanity and that religious inspiration ensures better work for the community. The choir sang with calming assurance.
“Lead Me, Lord,” a Methodist hymn (1861) by Samuel Sebastian Wesley, is based on Psalms 4 & 5. The irregular meter of this hymn reflects the difficulty of staying true to one’s beliefs in Christianity. Here the bass singers, Colton Cook and Michael Murphy, enhanced and underlined the theme.
“Verbum Caro Factum Est,” a traditional Catholic hymn based on the Alexandrian-theological Prologue of John’s gospel, composed in the 15th century, is a Latin Christmas carol that glorifies the Blessed Virgin, who gave birth to the prophet enunciating the words and advice of the Creator. This was sung with remarkable reverent solemnity.
“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” features text by John Greenleaf Whittier and music by Frederick Charles Makar (1887) that stresses the beauty of nature as a silent meditation on the works of the Creator. Here sung with unified voices where the Sopranos evoked heavenly voice.
“Hear my Prayer, O Lord” by Roy L. Belfield, Jr., a contemporary paraphrase of Psalm 143, offered a prayer of acknowledging faults, asking for humility, as a form of wisdom. Here the piano sounded as the underlying voice of wisdom.
“The Call,” based on George Herbert (1593-1633), a Welsh-born poet priest, with music by the prolific American composer Z. Randall Stroope (b.1953) that features lush harmonies and lively syncopated rhythm accentuates the thrill of imparting Christian values to society. The choir delivered impressive emotion with the jubilant piano.
“Canticle of Peace” by John Purifoy, based on Luke 2: 29-32 dramatized a longing for international peace, an appropriate conclusion that melded the theme of hoping for earnest peace in community and the world at large. This was a most satisfactory ending to the theme of community dedicated to assisting theme of loving one’s neighbor.
Under the leadership of Rev. Thomas W. Fiet and Music Director Daniel Micael Koch, Lyall Church plans to have more musical events in the future.
On May 29 at Lyall Community Church with “Compass: Musical Distance” — the Baldouret Quartet joined by clarinetist Graeme Steele Johnson for a program built around a stunning new clarinet quintet by Viet Cuong, framed by reimagined Mozart, Milhaud’s Saudades do Brasil, and Brahms’ beloved Clarinet Quintet with Sophia Zhou at piano. The Baldouret Quartet is among the most exciting young ensembles in the country.
Tickets and details are available at https://millbrookmusicsalon.org