The angels and the music will be soaring this Christmas season at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in McLean. “A lot of the stuff comes from old Christmas carols. Really, really old Christmas carols.” That’s what Immanuel’s Director of Music for the past 16 years, Brian E. Wilhour says about some of the text for a six movement cantata titled “The Angels of Christmas.” which will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 7.
“With most Christmas carols, there is a verse about the shepherds, a verse about the angels, and a verse about the kings.” This year the angels reign supreme.
In addition to often obscure carols, from where does Wilhour find his inspiration? “Every time I walked past my harp, I plucked two or three strings. ‘I like that. I’m going to incorporate it.’” Those kinds of spontaneous musical moments, coupled with countless hours of intense creativity are what lead the composer to create new works which showcase the talented members of Immanuel’s music program.
What about the role of computers in music composition? Wilhour bristles slightly at the question. “Some people are under the false impression that I click a button, and the computer does all of the work for me. No, it is more like a word processor.” Wilhour explains that the computer program he uses merely formats the notes, instruments, voices, and other elements he creates. It is much like an author. The computer doesn’t generate the story, it simply helps to arrange the author’s words into a printable format.
“The other nice thing the computer does, when I have the orchestra score finished, I can click, ‘print flute’ or another instrument, and it extracts each part individually so that I don’t have to hand write everything. That’s where the computer is a real time saver. It also allows me to save everything for later without having to worry that I’m going to lose, wrinkle, or spill coffee on the paper.”
Wilhour’s original composition will come to life with the vocal instruments of a double choir and soloist, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. In addition to strings, there will be flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horns, harp, timpani, and other percussion instruments to help us to rejoice, and to reflect on the spirit and story of Christmas.
“The Angels of Christmas” cantata will be part of Immanuel’s Sunday morning worship services on Dec. 7 at 9 and 11 a.m. The public is invited. Come meet the composer at the coffee and refreshment hour immediately following each service. For more information about Immanuel’s Advent activities, please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ipcmclean.org" h www.ipcmclean.org.