WINGATE: THE NATIVITY ORATORIO
for Soloists, Mixed Chorus, Children’s Chorus, Organ & Orchestra

(THIS PROJECT IS A WORK IN PROGRESS)

Movements:
Choral Overture. God of Peace.
No. 1. Recitative, Scene & Chorus. Annunciation.
No. 2. Recitative & Aria. Canticle of Elisabeth.
No. 3. Aria. Canticle of Mary (Magnificat).
No. 4. Recitative & Children’s Chorus. The Nativity.
No. 5. Recitative, Scene & Chorus. Gloria I.
No. 6. Recitative & Chorus. Adoration of the Shepherds.
No. 7. Recitative & Orchestral Interlude. Meditation.
No. 8. Recitative & Chorus. Canticle of the Shepherds.
No. 9. Recitative & Aria. Canticle of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis).
No. 10. Chorus. Canticle of the Magi.
No. 11. Chorus & Soloists. Gloria II.
No. 12. Chorus & Soloists. Amen.

Soloists:
Mary (soprano); Elisabeth (contralto); Gabriel (tenor); Evangelist (baritone); and Simeon (bass).

Text:
The Lucan Infancy Narratives (KJV), specifically: Luke 1: 28-35; Luke 2: 1-20; 22; 24-32; 34-35; 39-40, as well as Psalms 150: 3-6, texts from the Christmas Matins, and a text adapted from Pope Saint Gregory the Great’s Homilae xl in Evangelia.

Notes:
Wingate’s Nativity Oratorio is a grand and impassioned setting of the biblical Christmas story from the Lucan infancy narratives, and is scored for five soloists, mixed chorus, children’s chorus, organ, and large orchestra. Using the 1611 King James translation, the oratorio puts these quasi-Shakespearean bible verses into the mouths of its vocal soloists in a series of dignified dramatic settings, while surrounding them with a mantle of orchestral richness and splendor. The story itself is told by a baritone soloist, accompanied by a lush cello ensemble in rapturous recitatives evoking the famous cello moments of Debussy’s La Mer, while nodding generously to the traditions of Baroque-era Basso continuo. Interpolated liturgical texts from the Christmas matins are used to garland the oratorio with choral episodes, and a children’s choir sings the requisite cherubic lullaby to le divin enfant. And in response to the Evangelist’s beautiful rendering of mystical intimacy in the line—

     But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
     [Luke 2: 19] 

—the composer has constructed an interlude-like orchestral meditation with solo cello to capture this gem-like psychological moment. And additionally, since Luke’s gospel does not actually mention the Magi, Wingate has added a text adapted from Pope Saint Gregory the Great’s Homily on Matt 2:1-12 for the Epiphany of the Lord near the oratorio’s end in order to include these much beloved nativity story personages in the proceedings. The work then concludes in monumental fashion, with extended fits of choral grandeur and rapturous Amens adorned with soloistic embellishments and heaven-shaking fanfare.

Considering the composer’s history as a cellist who has dutifully performed hundreds of holiday-season performances of Handel’s Messiah and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker over the decades, the creation of Wingate’s own holiday-warhorse-in-waiting can be contextualized as his attempt to create the kind of Christmas piece that he himself has always wanted to play, and indeed, always wanted to hear. With due reverence to all the exquisite holiday music already in existence, the composer has nevertheless been compelled to create this epic work as a gift to his colleagues and to his family, especially his mother—a soprano who has herself sang The Messiah innumerable times, making a specialty of the aria ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion’ in the 1970s and 80s.