Sometimes you just have to stop and marvel at the beauty of nature and wonder how it all got here. That’s the message musician Brian Mapplebeck integrates into the original cantata he composed for Summerland’s Musaic Vocal Ensemble’s spring concert on May 24.
The song, aptly titled ‘In the Beginning,’ tells Mappleback’s version of the story of creation. Using verses from the King James Bible as his inspiration, the Mapplebeck interweaves religious and secular lyrics into telling his 20-minute tale, which is an arrangement that includes vocal and instrumental components.
The piece, which Mapplebeck debuted during the ensemble’s April 25 concert at St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Penticton, is the culmination of three months of countless hours spent agonizing over notes and lyrics.
Mapplebeck, who has received some training (two years of formal piano training and four years of art and music theory), is mainly self-taught. ‘In the Beginning’ is his first “major effort,” Mapplebeck says he has dabbled in composing over the years but last spring, found himself “moved” to create something “substantial and a little more challenging.”
He says hearing his song performed for the first time was worth every minute of work.
“It’s always nice to hear your own work sung,” Mapplebeck pointed out. “It’s exciting. And the choir is well trained. They make it sound wonderful.”
He says he never planned to write a piece for the concert but was convinced it should be added to the choir’s repertoire after sharing it with the ensemble’s music director/conductor Tracy Stuchbery.
In addition to Mapplebeck’s cantata, Stuchbery will also lead the choir in a performance of Squamish composer Joanna Schwarz’s song ‘Mountain, Sea and Sky,’ which pays tribute to the “beauty of the Squamish/Howe Sound area.
Organizers say the two numbers will highlight the concert’s spring theme. The numbers also form the basis for Musaic’s highly anticipated inaugural performance at the prestigious Kathaumiwx celebration, a bi-annual international choiral festival that typically attracts about 1,200 people. This year’s festival is set for July 1-5 in Powell River.
Mapplebeck and the Musaic Vocal ensemble will perform in Oliver on Saturday, May 24 at Oliver Alliance Church. The show starts at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available at Sundance Video in Oliver and Imperial Office Pro in Osoyoos.
Erin Christie
Oliver Chronicle
