Next weekend the Chor Leoni Men鈥檚 Choir will perform at St. Andrew鈥檚-Wesley United Church and West 麻豆传媒映画United Church for their annual Christmas shows. But one song in their repertoire has a particularly strong connection to the choir.
Baritone Greg Mohr learned of is genealogical connection to Father Joseph Mohr, the author 鈥淪ilent Night,鈥� at a young age as part of the family lore. The song was originally written as a poem in the 1800s. The Mohrs confirmed the connection after a family member travelled to Germany and Austria and tracked the lineage back to Joseph Mohr making him Greg鈥檚 great-great-great-great-great-great uncle.
鈥淸The song] is meaningful, it鈥檚 about life, it鈥檚 about hopes and dreams and longings, it鈥檚 about peace for the world and about our place in that world,鈥� said Mohr, who鈥檚 been with Chor Leoni since 2004. He says Christmas shows are some of his and his fellow choir members鈥� favourite performances of the year.
Stories vary about the first performance of 鈥淪ilent Night,鈥� but it is said that the church organ at St. Nicholas Church in Austria stopped working on Christmas Eve 1818. Not to be deterred, Father Joseph Mohr gave his poem 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� to the church musician, Franz Xavier Gruber, who composed a simple melody to be played on guitar. They performed the song together for the first time that day.
Chor Leoni will perform 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� as it was originally intended to close out their Christmas shows. A guitar will play the melody while the audience will be invited to sing along with the choir for the candle-lit performance.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something about the simplicity of the song that is why that guitar and just the voices, it鈥檚 just so beautiful and ethereal and really in the business of our lives and that sort of hyper consumeristic approach that we have in our culture, to just go back to those simple words,鈥� Mohr said.
The shows will also premiere Zachary Wadsworth鈥檚 commission 鈥淪nowflakes鈥� to poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Other performances include 鈥淏ashana Haba鈥檃h,鈥� a work in Hebrew that welcomes the new year and Paul Mealor鈥檚 鈥淚 Saw Eternity,鈥� along with a selection of songs from Chor Leoni鈥檚 holiday CD, Star of Wonder.
In 2011 鈥淪ilent Night鈥� was added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization鈥檚 (UNESCO) World Heritage List and has been translated into more than 300 languages.
Chor Leoni performs at St. Andrew鈥檚-Wesley United Church Dec. 14, 16 and 17 and at West 麻豆传媒映画United Church Dec. 15. For more details, go to .
