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At the center of the music program at Epiphany is our outstanding Chancel Choir. Membership in the choir is open to everyone high school age and older. There is no audition. The choir rehearses each Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary from the first Sunday following Labor Day until Pentecost. There is no choir rehearsal during the summer months. At certain times of the year, “extra” rehearsals are scheduled in order to prepare seasonal music. The choir specializes in preparing music of the Sacred Harp and other early American hymnody as well as the standard anthems of the Christian liturgy. Each season, the choir will present a major work either at the Christmas season or at Lent/Easter. Their repertory has included “Gloria,” John Rutter; “Ceremony of Carols,” Benjamin Britten; “Crucifixion,” John Stainer; excerpts from “Messiah,“ George Handel; “Christmas Oratorio,” Camille Saint-Saens; “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” Menotti.
The Chancel Choir rehearses music over a period of several weeks, so you do not have to “read” music in order to participate. There is always ample time to learn your part in rehearsal. If you have questions, please contact a choir member or speak with our director, Joe Burt. The choir is a close-knit group of people who share a love of singing and a belief that sharing music as an integral part of the worship experience. Children’s Music is directed by Phyllis Gabriel and takes place as a part of our Sunday School Program on Sunday mornings. The children sing in worship periodically during the year. The Epiphany Musicians is a loosely formed group of those who play musical instruments and wish to share this with the congregation. Recently, the Epiphany Strings performed the haunting “Adagio for Strings and Organ” by Tomasso Albinoni. We also have handbells for those who wish to play. Our strong contingent of jazz musicians allows us to utilize this resource during the year. If you are an instrumentalist and wish to share your talents, please contact our Music Director, Joe Burt. Click on Title for MP3
“Song of Simeon” by Joseph Burt is scored for baritone solo, chorus, violin, cello, two trumpets, chimes, and organ. It was composed in 2006. The recording is from the premiere performance conducted by Donald McCullough, Music Director of the Master Chorale, Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Vincent Amlin is the soloist. The choir is composed of the Chancel Choir, Epiphany United Church of Christ, and the choir of Trinity United Methodist Church, Wilmette, IL.
“Song of Simeon,” while a concert piece, is also designed to be used as a closing meditation for a funeral. The duet between the violin and the cello are symbolic of man’s lifelong dialogue with God. The trumpets are first reminiscent of the shofar, then later, the “last trumpet.” In the final section of the work, the choir chants, tonally centered around the note “E” which signifies the body being moved down the aisle of the church toward a final resting place. In the end, the bells of the church tower toll.
The text, taken from the Gospel of Luke, recounts the time when Simeon, an aged, devout man of God, has been promised that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. Mary and Joseph take the baby, Jesus, to the Temple for the rites of purification, according to Judaic law. Simeon, taking the child into his arms, exclaims, "Now, Lord, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." In the composition, the baritone sings the English text and the chorus sings the traditional Latin “Nunc Dimittis.”
The dedication reads, “for our fathers and our forefathers.” "The Lone Wild Bird " Elise Kauzlaric, soloist arranged from the Sacred Harp by Joseph Burt
Notes: This setting of a hymn by Henry Richard MacFayden is an arrangement of the tune, Prospect, which first appeared in Walker's Southern Harmony in 1835. It speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit and is traditionally heard at Pentecost. "Lift Thine Eyes " is a three-part chorus for treble voices from the oratorio, ELIJAH, by Felix Mendelssohn, 1848. The text is a paraphrase of Psalm 121.
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