Singing the stuff of fantasy

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This article was published 07/11/2019 (2139 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A local a cappella group is getting ready to transport audiences to lands of myth and legend, to galaxies far, far away, and places beyond.

The Incantatem Singers is putting on Bardic Inspiration II at Station 8 Cafe (325 Talbot Ave.) on Nov. 22 and 23 at which it will perform songs from venerable geek movie and TV franchises such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, and The Legend of Zelda.

Incantatem (named for a Harry Potter spell) originated as the Wandering Minstrels, a quartet of like-minded, self-described geeks who travelled to local conventions — such as FanQuest and Central Canada Comic Con — to perform. 

Marilyn Rudge, Xiam Webster, Mike Penner and Allison Alexander made up the original group and all are still involved in the current iteration.

Their Christian ministry, Geekdom House, eventually grew into The Hearth, which describes itself as a sanctuary “for the nerds, the geeks, the misfits, and the outcasts,” and so too did the original foursome grow into the Incantatem Singers, now boasting around 16 members. 

The group operates as part of The Hearth’s community outreach efforts, and members hail from Elmwood, the West End, River Heights, St. Vital, and other neighbourhoods across the city.

Sara Jane Schmidt, 62, musical director, joined Incantatem two years ago, and has spent the time getting a crash course in the various fandoms her singers hold near and dear.

“They were looking for a director and I was looking for a choir. I’m not a geek but I’m being inducted,” she said during at Nov. 4 rehearsal at River East Church (755 McLeod Ave.). “I love the music, so this is a new repertoire for me and it’s great to work with it.”

Schmidt said, of this year’s lineup, she’s particularly fond of the Battlestar Galactica theme.

The name Bardic Inspiration may be familiar to Dungeons & Dragons players, referring to the ability of musical adventurers to magically bolster their allies, but it also evokes the concert’s host, William Shakespeare.

“We have introduced William Shakespeare (to the show), the Bard, who will be in character, introducing all the songs,” Schmidt said.

Group members Alexander, Kyla Neufeld and John Sadoway have written Shakespeare’s lines in iambic pentameter for a touch of authenticity.

Penner, 37, one of the group’s primary music arrangers along with Alexander, said converting the orchestral scores of fantasy and sci-fi films — and sometimes, the purely digital tunes of classic video games — for an a cappella group is a real challenge.

“When you’re playing a string instrument you don’t have to breathe,” he said in summation. “There’s also a question of range, because a lot of instruments have a larger range than the human voice does. So, trying to fit it in but make it sound like how it originally did is a bit of a challenge. But at the same time, trying to make it a bit of our own sound instead of just being exactly the same as what you’ve heard before, is what we try to do as well.”

Alyssa Sherlock, 25, said she joined Incantatem after seeing an ad on Facebook while attending Canadian Mennonite University. The ad highlighted the group’s performances of music from Harry Potter, of which Sherlock is a big fan.

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“It seemed like a perfect fit,” Sherlock said. 

In her second season with the group, she said she’s enjoying the repertoire, echoing Schmidt’s fondness for the Battlestar Galactica theme.

“We’re doing a lot of bigger medleys,” Sherlock said, noting the theme from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as one example.

Bardic Inspiration II begins at 7 p.m. on both Nov. 22 and 23. Schmidt said there will be prize draws and trivia challenges as part of the event. All are welcome, and the suggested donation is $5.

For more information on The Hearth and its activities, visit thehearth.church