An Obadiah Slope Column
Obadiah croaks rather than sings, and his mother gave up teaching him the piano remarkably quickly. But even he finds his soul nourished by music. All sorts.
Last weekend it happened twice. Majesty Rising, a 12-piece soul-gospel dynamic ensemble, performed at Sydney’s Scots Church, mixing devout Christianity and thunderous music. “Soul gospel” is how the group describes their music, and this soul felt brought closer to his saviour.
Passionate vocalist Eliza Kate, backed by a chorus line of vocalists and musicians who all play with joy, made the experience more than enjoyable. This is music and musicians celebrating their faith. Its original music, with composer Luke Sweeting leading from his keyboards.
The result is music that speaks for itself.
Catch them this weekend!
Saturday, July 25, 2026: The Street Theatre, Canberra, ACT (7:45 PM)
Sunday, July 26, 2026: Avoca Beach Theatre, Central Coast (7:30 PM)
Friday, August 7, 2026: The Heritage Hotel, Bulli (Wollongong area) (Tickets are $32; doors open earlier, show starts at 7:00 PM)
Tickets and complete venue details are available via the Oztix Majesty Rising platform or the The Street Theatre website for the Canberra performance.
The second musical experience was very different and equally wonderful. St Stephens church was packed on Saturday afternoon for the Sydney Cantata Project continuing their wonderfully self-imposed trek through Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas that he wrote for his church in Leipzig. There are hundreds of them! The words are wonderful – though in German. And the musicians who play Baroque instruments, some of them very strange to Obadiah’s eye, bring real dedication to the task.
The next Sydney Cantata Project concert will be a major one. Here’s their description: “Some of Australia’s leading musicians will gather on the morning of 29 August and, by 3 pm, perform Bach’s St John Passion from beginning to end.
“The St John Passion is Bach’s most visceral, dramatic work — a shattering account of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Christ, drawn from John’s Gospel. The crowd scenes are violent and relentless. The arias cut suddenly into grief and tenderness. And holding it all together is the Evangelist, narrating in real time as the story hurtles toward Golgotha.”
They will try to fill Shore School Chapel, their venue. Tickets at https://www.sydneycantataproject.com/events