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Menno Singers: thoroughly modern Mennonites
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MENNONITES ARE CONSIDERED BY MANY TO LIVE OUTSIDE SOCIETY, FOLLOWING ANCIENT TRADITIONS AND avoiding any show of extroversion, so it is surprising to discover a Mennonite musical group that has an increasing profile for performance. Like many people, Peter Nikiforuk held some preconceived ideas when he became the first non-Mennonite artistic director of Menno Singers three years ago. "When someone says Mennonite we think of women in black drapes, men in black hats, horses and buggies. No one in Menno Singers is that conservative. I jokingly call them the thoroughly modem Mennonites."
The choir members may live and work in the secular world of Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario, yet their repertoire and performance style have strong ties with their musical heritage. Morris Sider, a Brethren in Christ Historian said that traditional Mennonite singing "reflected values that governed other parts of their lives. They sang without instrumental accompaniment, and they sang slowly, the better to reflect on the words. Until the latter years of the [nineteenth] century, they generally sang only the melody." The Menno Singers carry on this tradition with an emphasis on a sacred works and a cappella singing.
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In the late nineteenth century, four-part harmonies became a feature of hymn singing. Nikiforuk describes this as "the absolutely unique thing about Mennonites. Here is a group of people that are not trained musicians singing these incredibly intricate hymns from memory." Abner Martin, the founder of the Menno Singers agrees. "Most Mennonite churches don't have choirs per se. Their strong point is congregational part-singing. The church I go to is a choir."
The move from church singing to public performance began in the 1920s when Russian Mennonite immigrants organized mass choirs and Saengerfest (songfests). In the 1950s, musical education was offered through Bible schools and colleges. Students were exposed to...