Nazareth - linga
The beautiful sound of acapella chamber music filled the air on Friday evening at the Nazareth Evangelical Baptist Church. The twenty-four voice choir from der Ernst Moritz Arndt Universitat, Greifswald, Germany performed eleven choral pieces, including two original compositions by the chamber conductor, Prof. Jochen A Modess.
The choir entered the church in two separate lines while singing a beautiful arrangement entitled Speret Israel (Israel’s Hope) composed by Prof. Modess. The concert then commenced with songs by Schutz, Kaminski, and Bach to name a few. The concert followed a central theme and was entitled “Israel – Klage und Hoffnung,” or “Israel – Lament and Hope.” Each song was a reflection of this theme and included arrangements of psalms and biblical stories.
Several of the pieces involved vocal solo, duet and quartet movements and were performed by Soprano -Maria Sokoll, Alto - Dr Sigrid Biffar, Tenor - Hyoung-Jun Shin and Bass - Thomas Beck. At certain times during the program, Brother Fadi Hanna gave introductions to the songs and provided translation into Arabic. The program ended with a rousing rendition of Bach’s Singet dem Herr nein neues Lied (Sing ye the Lord a new song). The choir exited in the same way they entered, singing and walking through the crowd. As they left the stage, Brother Fadi reminded the audience that “music is a language everyone understands” and then read Psalm 121 as a closing prayer.
Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
