Behold, A Saviour! From the longing of Zechariah, the joy and acceptance of Mary, and the courage of Joseph, to the accounts of the shepherds and wise men this musical masterpiece by Jay Rouse and Rose Aspinall is being brought to life in the heart of St. Mary’s Bambalapititya by the St. Mary’s Choral Group.  A premier choral arranger in Christian music Jay Rouse has over three hundred and fifty compositions and arrangements published, including over thirty major sacred choral works, fifty best-selling a cappella arrangements, a highly recognised hymn series for choir or piano and solo instrument entitled Piano Plus, and a number of best selling solo piano books and recordings.

Rouse is a Dove Award-winning producer and has logged many hours on the road travelling in the music ministry. An accredited and talented lyricist in her own right, Rose Aspinall has been in the music industry for over 3 decades and has collaborated with many composers and musicians to create music over her career. She is also responsible for all dramatic scripts, producing and editing blog content, social media, and copy for the Lorensz Corporation based in the US. Active both on and off the stage in local community and church theatre productions, Rose is an accomplished actress and gifted communicator and storyteller.
Together Jay and Rose have skilfully woven a collection of scripture and dramatic first-hand accounts of the birth of Jesus into beloved carols and original songs.

This collection includes a robust, fanfare introduction, powerful music that includes a brief passage from “O Holy Night,” as well as many other modern melodies, which skillfully weave in and out of traditional Christmas tunes and melodies. It also includes an inspired narrative, which provides a detailed third-person point of view of the Christmas story. Formed by Rev Fr. Claver Perera in the late 1960’s The St. Mary’s Choral Group is the main choir singing for 8:30 am Sunday mass at St. Mary’s Church Bambalapitiya, which is a parish in the Archdiocese of Colombo known for its musically enhanced liturgical services. 

A few members of the choir singing for Behold A Saviour are members who have been singing with the choir for over 30 years and bring to the table their knowledge of classical choral music and their knowledge of scripture and liturgy.

Conducted by Eshantha de Andrado the choir will be accompanied by Neomal De Alwis and Neranjan De Silva on piano and keyboards respectively, with Neidra Williams and Naresh Anthony directing the monologues. The cantata will be performed on the 17th of December 2022 at 7pm (right after the 6pm mass on Saturday evening.  The cantata “Behold a Saviour – Songs and Stories of his Birth” is the inaugural project in aid of the parish organ fund, an urgently felt need at St. Mary’s. 

St. Marys Choral Group will also present “Fleeting Moments of Advent” – 30 mts of Christmas Classics featuring soloist: World Renowned Australian – American lyric Soprano Daniel de Neise who will sing Laudate Dominum and The Child of Bethlehem,  backed by the choir.  

The carols will commence at 11:10 pm on the 24th night and will culminate with the midnight mass service, which will also include renditions of O Holy Night and Once in Royal David’s City by Daniel.  Daniel will perform at St. Marys at the Invitation of the Mano Chanmugam Music Trust.

PIx by Kushan Pathiraja

For further details, you can contact Michelle Fonseka at 0773874959 and Geoffrey Alagaratnam on 0777763033