David Buckley was music director at Knox, Dundas, Ont. for five years, and in that time he wrote four dramatized oratorios for the youth chorus and choir. Each of the Christmas oratorios are about 30 minutes long.
The first was Angels Calling in 2003, a version of the Christmas story told through the eyes of the shepherds. In 2005, the shepherds returned in Promised Land, where they asked themselves where the angels were now, since they still lived in a land fraught with injustice and oppression. The story ends when they meet the holy family as they flee to Egypt; the shepherds, like the disciples, follow the Christ.
In 2006, Buckley created Sing Hosanna, a three-song oratorio for Palm Sunday. For Christmas, he wrote One Way, a story of young adults living in present day Palestine, near Bethlehem. The tale is a modern recreation of the Christmas story, complete with a baby born in a barn because there was no way to reach the hospital.
In 2008, Sing Hosanna was expanded from its Palm Sunday message to an hour-long work, The Mary Magdalene Message, which continues the Easter story until Jesus appears to his disciples after the resurrection.
Here’s a selection of hits from some of the oratorios:
Song Title: Peace On Earth (from One Way)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Performed by: Choir and youth chorus of Knox, Dundas Ont.
Soloist: Len Barry
Song Title: Mother’s Lullaby (from One Way)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Soloist: Joan Ballantine
Song Title: No Room for a Baby in Bethlehem (from One Way)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Performed by: Youth chorus of Knox, Dundas, Ont.
Soloist: Shaelah Buckley
Song Title: Sheep May Safely Graze (from Promised Land)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Performed by: Choir and youth chorus of Knox, Dundas, Ont.
Song Title: Here as Part of All Creation (from Promised Land)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Soloist: Shaelah Buckley
Song Title: Hangin’ On (from Promised Land)
Composed by: David A. Buckley
Performed by: Knox youth chorus, Dundas, Ont.
