Savannah United Church presented their annual Christmas Cantata on Saturday evening (13^th) and on Sunday morning (14^th)

A Christmas Mosaic, as described by Mr. Noel Wallace, Music Minister, is “a musical portrait that expresses the broad spectrum of moods, sounds and colours of Christmas. It’s a holy hush, moments of quiet introspection, jubilant praise and full voiced celebration. The songs presented span generations, from the classics to the contemporary, and celebrate this timeless message in various genres that have marked the Christmas celebration over the years”.

After the lighting of “The Candle of Joy”, the 3^rd Candle of Advent, prayers, and the welcome and family news, the choir took over the service with their spectacular Cantata.

The choir was pleased to welcome guests Rudy Myles and Stephanie Rattan for the performances. The male voices also joined the choir.

(double click on each photo to enlarge)

Part I featured traditional selections from Bach and Handel. The beautiful voices and music filled the church. The singing was interspersed with narration from various choir members. The leads for Part I were Marisa Crawford, Grenda Solomon and Coulson Daniels.

During the intermission (offering) on Saturday, young Nayil Arana played the violin and, on Sunday, we were treated to the unique musical presentation by Mr. Kenneth Melvine on the saw.

Part II highlighted Contemporary/Folk music. Everyone particularly enjoyed “Christmas Breeze” led by Renee Barnes to a Caribbean beat and the “Young Voices” (Jodiann Jackson, Abigail Ebanks and Ornella Leahong) led the choir for the wonderful “African Noel”. Other lead singers in Part II were Robert Cox, Suzzette Stewart, and Kimia Hemmings.

It really was impossible to select a favourite as each selection was memorable. The numerous hours of preparation that went into this performance by the choir and by Mr. Noel Wallace was apparent from the first note. What added to the performance was the obvious enthusiasm and commitment from each choir member and how they enjoyed performing for everyone.

About 300 people attended the Sunday performance which was followed by a Christmas brunch complete with turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry jelly, ham, fish, chicken, macaroni, rice and beans, cornbread, potato salad, coleslaw, green salads plus dessert and fruit punch.

We can hardly wait until next year! In the meantime, we look forward to the Easter Cantata.