The student weekly of St. Olaf College
The program began with the orchestra's "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," a soothing, melodic piece that settled the audience as well as the nerves of the first-year choirs, who had not realized just how full a full house was. After the final notes (and a flurry of coughing), the choirs sang "God So Loved the World," presenting the text of John 3:16-17, the source of this Festival's theme, God So Loves the World. The change of the verb tense was not a typo, but a conscious decision by the program's creators, who wanted to emphasize the Festival's theme of how God's love does not end, but is everlasting.
This piece was sung in the round, with the choirs encircling the audience on the floor. The following song, "Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain," was sung in the same manner, and utilized this positioning by passing the lines and verses of the song between individual choirs and sections, so that different parts of the song came from specific areas of the auditorium.
Although all of the songs were performed excellently, there were a few in particular that really stood out in my mind. I was completely absorbed by Cantorei's singing of "Isaiah's Voice," and I loved how the Ole Choir's following song, "A Spotless Rose," mirrored that text (though the song of theirs that really got me going was "Go Where I Send Thee").
The two first-year choirs were incredible. With musical selections ranging from Manitou's delicate handling of "The Road Ahead" to Viking's intensely-focused "The Word Was God," it was an impressive performance by both groups.
Following Viking's energetic "The Word Was God" was Chapel Choir's "Karin Boyes Evening Prayer," a soft, restful piece which suddenly slowed things down, completely changing the mood in the room.
As for mass-choir pieces, "Betelehemu" and "Go Tell It On the Mountain" tied for my favorite song. They were both a ton of fun, and they both almost caused the audience to ignore the request to hold applause until the end of the performance. "Betelehemu" was a rousing Nigerian carol with percussion accompaniment that got the choirs swaying in the stands. "Go Tell It" had an amazing orchestral accompaniment that ended in a high-energy swing version of the refrain, which, paired with a couple hundred students belting out the song, was probably the loudest part of the entire program for all four performances.
Finally, as it always does, Sunday's show came to an end with the incredibly moving piece "Beautiful Savior," which was followed closely by the tears of certain singers and audience members alike. Seniors wept knowing that this was their last Christmas Fest, and a few alumni's eyes grew moist as they recalled their own time spent on the rickety risers.
"I thought I'd be fine until I started crying in the piece before we ever processed onto the stage," Meredith Sorenson '07 said.
