British composer Joby Talbot has worked with Paul McCartney, and he wrote the score for the BBC’s comedy series “The League of Ordinary Gentlemen.” His work “Path of Miracles,” composed in 2005 on commission from a London choral ensemble called Tenebrae, is a four-movement cantata with a multilingual libretto by Robert Dickinson that takes the listener along the Camino de Santiago.
Maura Tuffy, a conductor, award-winning ensemble singer, and member of the legendary St. James’ in the City choir, introduced St. James to the work last night during a gala fundraiser in honor of the ministry of the Rev. John Dongjin Kim. The concert was part of Canon Jim Buonemani’s acclaimed Great Music at St. James series. The forces were 17 vocalists, plus Maura’s soprano as she conducted, and a percussionist. As the singers moved around the St. James nave, the thrilling score seemed to rely on every sound a human voice can make. “Sometimes the Saint takes the form of a pilgrim,” they sang in “Burgos,” named for one of the four main posts along the Camino, “[and] sometimes the devil takes the form of a saint.” In “Santiago”: “O blessed James, truly our strength, take our enemies from us and protect your people.”
Protecting God’s people is the life’s ministry of Fr. John, who first welcomed unhoused members of the Korean community during the economic downturn in 2008. Now in a mid-Wilshire facility donated by the faculty of St. James’ Episcopal School, Adullam House has 20 current residents. Those who follow the rules can stay as long as they want. Some 140 people have passed through Adullam’s doors over the years.
After the concert, we moved to the parish hall for delicious munchies and brief speeches, including by our gracious host and the St. James rector, the Rev. Dr. Kate Cress, Maura, Fr. John, and me. The Holy Spirit enabled great conversation about the future of Korean ministry with the Rev. Canon Aidan Koh, the St. James School chaplain. Too many other friends and colleagues to name. Mainly we talked about the scores of paths of miracles that had brought us all together to be inspired by Maura’s beautiful music and Fr. John’s beautiful heart.
