Last week the Bowdoin Chorus and Mozart Mentors Orchestra performed the world premiere of the oratorio “As It Began to Dawn,” by Bowdoin Music Department staff member Delmar Small.

Small’s oratorio was inspired by the story of the Resurrection and Jesus’s later appearances to the disciples. Conducted by Anthony Antolini ’63 in Studzinski Recital Hall on May 2-3, it featured guest tenor David Myers, Jr. in the role of Jesus. Student and community vocal soloists sang the roles of Mary, the Other Mary, the Angel, Life, Death, Hope and Faith.

“It’s a beautifully crafted work that has roots in music of much earlier times,” said Professor of Music Robert Greenlee. Yet the piece has a modern vibrancy, Greenlee added, which shone through in last week’s “powerful rendition.”