Motet, a vocal ensemble, put on an unusual Christmas concert on the ninth day of Christmas, Jan. 2, at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church to a full house.
These days it seems as if the festive tree comes down on New Year’s Day and the great Christian celebration is over by the Boxing Day sales. But traditionally there are 12 days of Christmas that follow Dec. 25, and Motet celebrated each one of them with an unfamiliar carol or choral piece.
“These are little known gems,” said David Poon of Motet who also played organ on several of the pieces. The first song was a traditional Gregorian chant for Mass and sung beautifully in Latin. Several of the songs were arranged by Sir David Willcocks, notably Angelus ad virginem, an Irish carol of the 14th century that honours the feast of the blessed Virgin Mary. The audience, in fine voice, joined in on a few carols, closing with The First Nowell (as it is spelled in the 18th century English carol version).
Motet stands for musicae opus totam ecclesiam terrestri (the work of music in the church on earth) and is a ministry that strives to preserve sacred musical traditions. It is represented on the Sunshine Coast by Sarah and David Poon performing with other vocalists who are Vancouver based.
The ensemble shows no denominational preference in their choice of venues; though they appeared at St. Hilda’s Anglican, in this case with the support of Rev. Clarence Li, they also sang in Vancouver at a Catholic church and in Langley at a Reformed church. They can be found at www.motet.ca
