Magdalene: A Cantata

Magdalene: A Cantata

Music by Anthony Plog
Words by the Women of Magdalene
Compiled by Ronald Kidd

For orchestra or wind ensemble with chorus, soloists, narrator

Twenty-eight years ago, a community was formed. Known as Magdalene, the community is made up of women with a criminal history of prostitution and drug abuse. The women live together in houses for two years, free of charge, with no resident staff. After two years in the Magdalene community, the women graduate—not to leave, but to become sisters who are committed to one another for life.

The Magdalene community, part of Thistle Farms, starts every day by gathering in a circle, where they read the Bible, pray, and make sure everyone is all right. They share stories and wisdom. They tell the truth.

This cantata presents some of their harrowing, uplifting words and stories in a musical setting—orchestra, chorus, soloists, and narrator—by American composer Anthony Plog. The music of Anthony Plog has been performed in over 30 countries around the world and featured on over 50 recordings worldwide.

In this cantata, the Magdalene women open their circle and invite us in, seeking to share their truth that in whatever brokenness we know, the seeds of healing are sown.

God’s First Temples: An Oratorio

God’s First Temples: An Oratorio

Music by Anthony Plog
Words by John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Theodore Roosevelt
Compiled by Ronald Kidd

For orchestra or string quartet with chorus, soloists

This oratorio depicts the first great battle of the environmental movement, the fight to bring water to San Francisco by damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The text is made up of quotations from President Theodore Roosevelt, father of the National Park System; Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt’s Secretary of the Interior and America’s first professional forester; and John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club and its spiritual leader.

We meet John Muir wandering through the Hetch Hetchy Valley, admiring its beauty. He decides to leave his city life and go live in the mountains. Contacted by President Theodore Roosevelt, he takes Roosevelt on a four-day camping trip in Yosemite, during which they become fast friends. Later, Muir camps with Gifford Pinchot, and they too become friends.

These friendships set the scene for a painful showdown over Hetch Hetchy, when Congress proposes a law damming the valley as a source of water—with Pinchot in favor, Muir strongly against, and Roosevelt caught in the middle, forced to decide between them. We hear the words and thoughts of each man, leading to Roosevelt’s fateful decision to support Pinchot and dam the valley.

In the end, Muir is left alone to ponder Hetch Hetchy and its meaning. He leaves us with questions:

I often wonder what man will do with the mountains. Will human destruction work out a higher good, a finer beauty? What is the human part of the mountain’s destiny?