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One of the most beloved oratorios in the Western classical music canon will be on full display at First Mennonite Church on Notre Dame Avenue this weekend.
The Soli Deo Gloria choir will present Joseph Haydn’s The Creation in English with local soloists Howard Rempel, Aaron Hutton and Ellen Wieser joining a full choir and orchestra under the baton of Yuri Klaz. It’s the latest presentation by the relatively new ensemble, which emerged in the summer of 2023 to provide another avenue for amateur singers to sing the great masterworks.
“This is very much coming out of our community tradition,” says chorister Ingrid Moehlmann of the choir’s welcoming nature. “We want to open the doors to anybody else who feels like this is the thing for them.”
The open doors are made even wider by the fact that this rendition of The Creation is being sung in English, something that is commonplace alongside Haydn’s native German. For Moehlmann, the work represents something of a middle ground. “We do sing a lot of German because a lot of those things are written in German,” says Moehlmann, noting that the choir’s membership is predominantly rooted in the Mennonite tradition. “But, because we started with a lot of German, for some people, that’s difficult because it doesn’t speak to their heritage.”
The choir’s heritage of performing religiously-informed works is something that chorister Karis Wiebe highlights as a strength of the ensemble when it comes to approaching works like this one – indeed, it’s baked into the name. “[Soli Deo Gloria] itself is ‘to the glory of God,” she explains, “and when we are singing, that’s what we do. When we rehearse, that’s what we do. It’s a chance to live the music and breathe the music.”
Breath is very much on the minds of the ensemble as they perform a work praising the wonders of creation as wildfires forcing evacuations from several communities across the province. Moehlmann hopes that people take this performance can bring solace to those both directly impacted but also to those experiencing anxiety over the destruction. “Even as we watch things being destroyed, there’s a comfort in knowing that this beautiful creation all around us is still waking after a long winter, and we need to have some uplifted spirits, I think."
Soli Deo Gloria’s performance of The Creation takes place at 7 p.m. on June 1 at First Mennonite Church. Tickets are available for purchase at the door. More information can be found on the choir’s Facebook page.