The First Congregational Church of Wiscasset will celebrate Music Sunday on May 15 at its 10 a.m. service. The Portland-based choir Northern Lights will join the church choir under the direction of Leela Koilpillai to present three beautiful, rarely heard contemporary compositions, including, Way over in Beulah-lan’ by Joseph Jennings, Northern Lights by Ola Gjeilo and Salmo 150 (Psalm 150) by Ernani Aguiar.

In addition to the choral selections, the Clarinotes, an ensemble of clarinetists from the Midcoast region, will present Allegro from Sinfonia II by J.C. Bach; the classic Shaker hymn Simple Gifts as the Offertory; and Two Gavottes by J.S. Bach.

Composer of Way over in Beulah-lan’ Joseph Jennings is a long-time music director of the multiple Grammy winning a cappella ensemble Chanticleer with an affinity for spirituals. The basic idea for this piece comes from Isaiah 62:4 in which Beulah is translated from the Hebrew as “married” and Beulah-land is land that has been symbolically wedded to God.

Northern Lights was composed in December 2007 in Oslo by Ola Gjeilo, a young Norwegian composer. Although the text is taken from the Song of Songs, the composer was inspired to write this piece on Christmas Eve after seeing the aurora borealis which he described as being the most beautiful natural phenomena he’d ever witnessed.

Ernani Aguiar, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a composer, choral conductor, and musicologist. He has specialized in the revising, editing, and revival of works by composers of the 18th century. His most famous works are his choral pieces, such as the fiery Salmo 150 written in 1993 which features rhythmic backgrounds with very rapid articulations.

The First Congregational Church of Wiscasset is located at 28 High Street. All services are open to the public.