By Alice Huth-Derrah
My discussion with Steve Raml, St. Elizabeth Seton’s Liturgy and Musical Director, begins with a question: Is characterizing a church cantata as a musical sermon accurate? Smiling, Steve agrees and adds “A cantata is a combination of story and song that has a message to tie it all together.” For anyone who has been an audience member at one of St. Elizabeth Seton’s cantata performances, it is an absolute delight to listen to and helps to deepen understanding of special religious celebrations such as Advent, the Epiphany, and Pentecost. Steve describes cantatas as “lots of extra work” for all involved, and yet he appreciates the creative opportunities they provide. Whereas the goal of the choir during Mass is to “support the parishioners,” a cantata “gives the choir a chance to shine with music just for them.”
Cantatas take months of preparation, and Steve and his talented and dedicated choir members begin working on them far in advance of the actual concert. Steve explains that “a weekly Mass alone can have 14 different pieces of music,” yet some cantatas may involve more than 40 people contributing vocals and instrumental work. The first step in the multi-layered preparation process for a cantata is determining its message, or theme.
Once the theme is decided upon, Steve must find the type of cantata to use in order to best support that message. For this task, Steve uses material from a variety of sources including: 1) already existing cantatas, 2) a vast network of fellow musicians and his affiliation with groups such as the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM), and 3) his own extensive experience as a seasoned musician.
Steve explains that there are three types of cantatas. The first type is what he refers to as “completely self-contained, meaning the composer has tied everything together and everything you need is there, [including] the text and music.” These can be purchased “as is” and used in their entirety. The “Awakenings, The Coming of Christ” cantata performed at St. Elizabeth during Christmas 2023 is an example of a fully contained cantata.
A second type of cantata is one in which an entire set of music all written by the same composer is available, but without any accompanying text. When this kind of cantata is chosen, it’s Steve’s job to write the “spoken text…the words the lector will say.” For inspiration, Steve looks to Scripture passages which then become the words spoken by the lectors.
The third example of a cantata is one that Steve completely designs himself, describing it as “the most fun and the most challenging.” He says creating a cantata “frees you up as far as the type of music chosen.” With the common theme in mind, Steve begins to “collect songs around the theme,” and then writes the narration. The “Voice of Angels” cantata, celebrated last Christmas, was entirely compiled by Steve. For the singing of solo parts, duets and even trios, as well as the speaking roles, Steve selects the people he believes will be best suited for them.
To further prepare themselves for a cantata prior to coming together as a group to practice, the choir members are provided with “audio recordings to listen to the music…which gives them an idea of the feel and melody of songs” that will be performed. The choir meets for two hours of rehearsals weekly to learn the songs for Masses and for upcoming cantatas. Members also practice on their own at home.
The beauty, depth, and universality of cantatas and the uplifting messages conveyed through them are reasons enough to attend any of St. Elizabeth Seton’s choir performances. Understanding the time, energy, and creativity that Steve and his choir put into making a cantata happen is another good reason to show up. Simply put, it gives parishioners a chance to show our appreciation for the amazing talent we are privileged to enjoy here every week at Mass.
