Cantare Super Orchestram brings an early-music-infused Handel’s Messiah to Vancouver
Music director Paula DeWit leads newly rebranded ensemble and vocalists of Belle Voci in an intimate take on holiday mainstay
Cantare Super Orchestram.
The Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra presents Cantare Super Orchestram and Belle Voci in Handel’s Messiah at the Holy Rosary Cathedral on December 7 at 2 pm
CANTARE SUPER ORCHESTRAM, Latin for “singing over the orchestra”, is the elevated new name that the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra’s talented early-music ensemble has adopted.
The company’s music director and conductor Paula DeWit, who started out as associate director in 2009 and assumed her current role in 2012, oversaw a rebrand of the professional ensemble last year with the goal of giving it a more distinct identity. Its previous name, the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra Baroque Ensemble, linked it a bit too closely with its parent organization’s locale.
“We’re a touring orchestra, and we go into different communities,” DeWit tells Stir by phone. “Sometimes people will associate the word ‘Chilliwack’ with ‘for Chilliwack audiences only’, but we wanted to make it known that we are performing all over. We’re not just tied down to one community—we want to share our music with everybody.”
The group will partner with renowned a cappella vocal ensemble Belle Voci (of which DeWit is founding artistic director) for several early-music-infused performances of Handel’s Messiah this holiday season, including in Vancouver at the Holy Rosary Cathedral on December 7. The artists will also stop by the Good Shepherd Church in Surrey on December 7, Chilliwack Cultural Centre on December 13, and Sts. Joachim & Ann Church in Aldergrove on December 14.
Handel’s Messiah premiered in 1742 at the tail end of the Baroque era. In a nod to its history, DeWit has brought the instruments of that period—think lute, harpsichord, and organ—to the forefront of the famed oratorio. Along with the cello, the lute and harpsichord form the basso continuo, which is a continuous part that makes up the melodic structure of the work. “They are our solid rock that keeps us all together,” the conductor explains. One more unusual instrument will find its way into the fold, too.
“This year, we’re adding a Baroque flute, which probably isn’t very common in Handel’s Messiah,” DeWit says. “It’s very unique. I stumbled upon another person doing it, and I just loved it, and I said, ‘I want to try this and bring it here to B.C.’” The Baroque flute, she adds, sounds similar to a recorder, and will give the piece a little bit of a Renaissance feel.
Paula DeWit.
Cantare Super Orchestram is spearheaded by concertmaster Chloe Meyers, an accomplished violinist who has performed across North America with the likes of the Victoria Baroque Players, Pacific MusicWorks, Ensemble Masques, and Les Voix Baroques. The ensemble also includes violinist Erin Dorfer, violist Joshua Gomberoff, cellist Shin-Jung Nam, violone player Michael Vaughan, Baroque flute player Mikyla Jensen, lutenist Kosta Bozhinov, and harpsichord, organ, and piano player Connor Page.
There’s a lot in the cards for Cantare Super Orchestram as it continues to tour. Come springtime, for instance, the ensemble will return to the Holy Rosary Cathedral to perform excerpts from Bach’s St John Passion and St Matthew Passion.
It’s worth noting that both Cantare Super Orchestram and the Chilliwack Symphony Orchestra abbreviate to CSO; the two are still closely intertwined, with some musicians even playing for both branches of the organization. So while the ensemble’s name may have been revamped, it will still honour its roots delivering the exciting Baroque and Renaissance music that Lower Mainland listeners have come to know and love.
“It’s going to be a very gentle, intimate Advent setting,” DeWit says of the upcoming Messiah shows. “The audience can expect very brisk tempos—light, dancing, articulate. We’re looking forward to it.” 
Cantare Super Orchestram lutenist Kosta Bozhinov.
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