On Sunday, April 29 at 2:30 pm, the choir of St. Matthias Episcopal Church, with Abigayle Williams, guest soprano, and Matthew Edwards, director, will premiere a new cantata by Matthew Alan Edwards. Here is an excerpt from the forward to the score:
As I planned music for Epiphany 2018, I made a startling discovery: the music filing cabinet had been inadvertently locked! The music I could pick from was locked away and no one had a key to this old filing cabinet. I was leaving to visit my family in California for Christmas in less than a week and could not access any anthems for the choir to sing after I returned from California.
To my mind, the solution was simple: compose an anthem. I looked at the Orgelbüchlein for appropriate New Year chorales and found “In dir ist Freude.” Upon examination of the text, I discovered a narrative between the two verses that describes the story of Jesus. I then decided to write a cantata based on the story of Jesus and use these two verses as bookends.
This is how a locked filing cabinet was the impetus for the composition of a cantata. I hope this cantata may bring all involved in its performance–singers, instrumentalists, conductors, and listeners–as much joy as it has brought me.
Please join the St. Matthias Episcopal Church Choir as we celebrate the life of Jesus from his birth to his resurrection as told through the music of this new cantata.
Matthew Alan Edwards 