Syracuse church to host free concert featuring ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Black Nativity’

Black Nativity

Rehearsing for a presentation of Langston Hughes’s “Black Nativity” are, from left, front row--Charlene Phillips, Mary Carroll, Priyantha Fernando, H. Bernard Alex and Gregory Sheppard; back row--Marcia Hagan, Ava Andrews, Georgia Adams, Sandra Miller and Michael Jones. The music from “Black Nativity” will be paired with Bach’s “Magnificat” Dec. 3 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church.Provided photo

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Some of Central New York’s most celebrated singers will present a free concert of sacred music Dec. 3 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church. New York University vocal instructor and Syracuse native Gregory Sheppard, artistic director, has paired a choral classic from the baroque period with a gospel-style nativity story from mid-20th century.

Johann Sabastian Bach’s “Magnificat,” his first choral work as music director for the city of Leipzig, will be sung in Latin as it was in its premiere in 1723. It was performed at St. Thomas Church, where he was organist and choir director, on Christmas Day. The text is from the Christian New Testament, Luke 1:46-55, in which Mary, having been told by an angel that she will give birth to God’s child, praises God for looking upon her with favor.

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