‘Saints on the Seas’ tells musical story of early LDS immigrants
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REXBURG — The story of early European members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints immigrating to America across the Atlantic Ocean remains relatively untold. But this week, an original oratorio telling that story will be performed at the Rexburg Tabernacle.
That piece, “Saints on the Seas,” will be performed by the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra and Community Choir and Soloists Thursday, Nov. 3, and Monday, Nov. 7. The oratorio was written around the turn of the 21st Century by Kurt Bestor and Corri Connors and renders the experiences of LDS church members crossing the Atlantic in word and music.
“(‘Saints on the Seas’) is based on journal entries from people who came across the ocean following the Saints as they settled the West,” the show’s conductor, Diane Solberg, told EastIdahoNews.com. “We most frequently hear stories about people coming across the United States in their covered wagons and their handcarts. But we don’t often hear the stories of people who made the trek across the ocean to get here.”
The piece is an oratorio, a musical work for orchestra and voice that often tells a story with a religious theme.
“Most people think of Handel’s ‘Messiah,’” Solberg said. “They include a full orchestra, a choir and then there are several soloists.”
A community choir from the Rexburg area will perform “Saints” alongside the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra.
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“Heide Piper put a choir together,” said Solberg. “Both the choir and the orchestra consist of people from Rexburg and the surrounding areas. I think we have people driving in from as far away as Pocatello to participate. Then we have five soloists, most of whom live here in the Rexburg area.”
Music lovers who attend “Saints on the Seas” will get to see a show that hasn’t been in front of many audiences.
“During the summer of 2001, ‘Saints on the Seas’ was performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and choir,” Solberg said. “They did that in historic cathedrals throughout Europe and Kurt Bestor was conducting. That musical journey was shared with audiences in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Scotland and England in port cities that were the traditional launching for the early Saints.”
Solberg said the final performance for that cycle of shows was scheduled in New York at Madison Square Garden. That performance was canceled due to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“The work got put away, and it’s never been performed since,” she said. “So this is a significant performance for Rexburg. It’s the first time the oratorio is being presented again and produced for over twenty years.”
You can see the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra with Community Choir and Soloists perform “Saints on the Seas” this Thursday, Nov. 3, and Monday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 pm at the Rexburg Tabernacle in Rexburg. Click here for tickets. There will be options for streaming the Nov. 3 show for those who can’t make it out to the event.
