THE ROSE OF SHARON - 2003

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The Rose of Sharon, a contemporary oratorio for soloists, mixed voices, chorus and orchestra was staged on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May 2003 at The First Baptist Church, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The oratorio was done in collaboration with Orkes Praise Malaysia, the country's only interdenominational orchestra comprising mainly students, which gave a commendable performance.

The oratorio presented a rich diversity of Christian music composed over a period of three decades. The concert drew an audience of about 1,500 and included His Excellency Dr Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo, South African High Commissioner to Malaysia and Her Excellency Jean C. McCloskey, High Commissioner for Canada.

Net proceeds of RM20,000 were channeled to The Zahida Perveen Fund and The Shahnaz Bukhari Shelter in Pakistan. Zahida Perveen which was the focus of National Geographic Television's documentary "Honour Killings" which documented Perveen's story and those of other female victims of the ancient, barbaric tradition of so-called "honour killings". The documentary by Michael Davie, National Geographic Producer and Film Maker was aired over the National Geographic Channel in the Asia-Pacific region in early 2003.

Program Notes

The Rose of Sharon

I am the rose of Sharon,

and the lily of the valleys.

As the lily among thorns,

so is my love among the daughters.

As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,

so is my beloved among the sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight,

and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

He brought me to the banqueting house,

and his banner over me was love.

Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples:

for I am sick of love.

His left hand is under my head,

and his right hand doth embrace me.

I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,

by the roes, and by the hinds of the field...

that ye stir not up, nor awake my love...

till he please.

Solomon

Early this year we already had taken a look at “Handel’s Young Messiah”, which is a shorter version of the original work and with an upbeat and contemporary orchestration; as a possible  oratorio for the first part of this year.  However on closer inspection and after a initial review of the vocal trax, many of members were not too receptive towards taking on an entire  classical work with a “rock” type of accompaniment.

We finally decided that we had to assemble our own oratorio with selections from some of the newer as well as more established and older classics such as:

“Saviour” by Greg Nelson and Bob Farrell
“Handel’s Young Messiah” by G F Handel and Don Hart;
“Alleluia The Praise Continues” by  Bill and Gloria Gaither; 
“Everlasting Light” by Claire Cloninger and Mark Hayes;
“My Redeemer Lives” by Greg Nelson and David Hamilton;
“Calvary’s Love” by Greg Nelson, Tom Fettke and Phill McHugh;
“The Witness” and “If My People” by Jimmy and Carol Owens

The result of this is what we have entitled “The Rose of Sharon”; our very own “contemporary oratorio” providing a rich offering of familiar as well as contemporary melodies and lyrics,  woven together.  The oratorio comprises a rich diversity of Christian music in a variety of styles,  over a period of three decades and declares the goodness, love and mercy of God and of man’s relationship with and response to the Creator.

For the first time since its inception, The Canticle Singers held open auditions for new members this year. This attracted a good deal of interest within the local  community and we are blessed to have some very promising voices for the 2003 Performing Season.

Another first for us this year is marked by our collaboration with Orkes Praise Malaysia the country’s first and only interdenominational orchestra,  providing us with live music for the very first time after being on a steady diet of recorded orchestral tracks.  We have attempted to work as closely as we could with this very young orchestra and believe they will find  this production to be as satisfying as we have and at the same time exposing them to the challenges, demands, discipline and management issues associated with a major  undertaking such as this.

We wish to register our thanks to Michael Davie, Producer and Film Maker at National Geographic for sensitively bringing the subject of honour killings to the attention of world television,  The First Baptist Church Petaling Jaya for housing us and hosting this concert, underwriters, corporate sponsors and advertisers whose assistance and support have helped to make this production a reality.

We are also glad to welcome back Chin San Sooi, Artistic Director who is lending us a hand to tighten things up as well as direct the lighting,  dialogue and narratives in this production.

The cast, orchestra,  production crew and support services of "The Rose of Sharon" are  volunteers who have given of their time, talents, energy, and resources to make  this evening’s oratorio an inspirational experience for you.

Thank you for your support and your presence and we trust you will be touched, encouraged and challenged  by the music this evening.

H K Chong

Repertoire

The Singers

Praveen Abraham
May Ang
Elvira Arul
Chang Yow Keong
Michelle Ho
Ronald Khoo
Khu Gek Sim
Deborah Leong
Cheryl Lim
Lim Choo Leong
Thomas Ng Chee Kin
Ng Ee Chiat
Denise Phoon
Philip Poh
Doreen Tang
Tan Ooi Meng
Patrick Ung
Annie Varghese

with

Justin Nga as Narrator
H K Chong, Music Director

The Orchestra