2003-05-04 University Choral Concert [recital program]

              The UNCG School of Music has been recognized for years as one of the elite
music institutions in the United States. Fully accredited by the National
Association of Schools of Music since 1938, the School offers the only
comprehensive music program from undergraduate through doctoral study in
both performance and music education in North Carolina. From a total
population of approximately 12,700 university students, the UNCG School of
Music serves over 575 music majors with a full-time faculty and staff of sixty. As
such, the UNCG School of Music ranks among the largest Schools of Music in
the South.
The UNCG School of Music now occupies a new 26 million dollar music building
which is among the finest music facilities in the nation. In fact, the new music
building is the largest academic building on the UNCG Campus. A large music
library with state-of-the-art playback, study and research facilities houses all
music reference materials. Greatly expanded classroom, studio, practice room,
and rehearsal hall spaces are key components of the new structure. Two new
recital halls, a large computer lab, a psychoacoustics lab, electronic music labs,
and recording studio space are additional features of the new facility. In addition,
an enclosed multi-level parking deck adjoins the new music building to serve
students, faculty and concert patrons.
Living in the artistically thriving Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point “Triad”
area, students enjoy regular opportunities to attend and perform in concerts
sponsored by such organizations as the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, the
Greensboro Opera Company, and the Eastern Music Festival. In addition,
UNCG students interact first-hand with some of the world’s major artists who
frequently schedule informal discussions, open rehearsals, and master classes at
UNCG.
Costs of attending public universities in North Carolina, both for in-state and out-of-
state students, represent a truly exceptional value in higher education.
For information regarding music as a major or minor field of study, please write:
Dr. John J. Deal, Dean
UNCG School of Music
P.O. Box 26167
Greensboro, North Carolina 27402-6167
(336) 334-5789
On the Web: www.uncg.edu/mus/
University Choral
Concert
featuring:
Chamber Singers
Women’s Glee Club
Men’s Glee Club
Women’s Choir
University Chorale
Sunday, May 4, 2003
3:30 pm
Aycock Auditorium
Program
Canciones Negras Xavier Montsalvatge
Canto Negro (Nicolás Guillén) (1912-2002)
Punto de Habanera (Néstor Luián)
Chamber Singers
Randy S. Price, piano
Anne Lewis, conductor
Abendständchen, Op. 42, No. 1 Johannes Brahms
Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (1833-1897)
Weit und breit shaut niemand mich an, No. 9
Chamber Singers
Randy S. Price, piano
Jason Gottschalk, conductor
Gloria from The Masque of Angels Dominick Argento
(b. 1927)
Chamber Singers
Anne Lewis, piano
Terri Vancil, conductor
Betrothal Text by William Shakespeare, Music by R. Mae Trimble
Women’s Glee Club
Rose Congdon, flute
Ben Hutchens, violin
Stephanie Rosenthal, viola
Meaghan Brown, cello
Faith Park, piano
R. Mae Trimble, conductor
This is the Day Gerald T. Smith, arr. Griffiths
Women’s Glee Club
Faith Park, piano
Randy S. Price, conductor
Shenandoah arr. Paul Basler
(b. 1963)
Men’s Glee Club
Harlan Zackery, Jr ., conductor
Jonathan Kuuskoski, piano
_____
The hall is equipped with a listening assistance system.
Patrons needing such assistance should contact an usher in the lobby.
Patrons are encouraged to take note of the exits located on all levels of
the auditorium. In an emergency, please use the nearest exit, which may
be behind you or different from the one through which you entered.
Women’s Choir
Welborn E. Young, conductor
Heather Potter, assistant conductor
Harlan Zachery, accompanist
Shatarra Benton
Kim Brooks
Mary Lauren Burrell
Tara Cates
Kellee Church
Sara Dougherty
Kimberly Ebel
Daphne Franklin
Elizabeth Harvey
Melanie Hoffner
Erin Holland
Bethany Jennings
Danielle Jones
Suji Ko
Kelly Krepelka
Stephanie Lilly
Sarah Lisitski
Nicci Mann
Dina Marinakos
Gretchen Marsden
Jenn Mello
Yajaira Morales
Barbara Myers
Anna Oakes
Marva Pittman
Heather Potter
Ellen Robbins
Angel Rudd
Kate Seymour
Jennifer Simpkins
Elaine Smith
Jane Smith
Jessica Tartar
Terri Vancil
Meghan Vaughn
Jennifer Wynn
_____
University Chorale
William P. Carroll, conductor
Laura Moore, pianist
assisted by Marc Foster, Ben Hutchens, Heather Potter,
Kenney Potter, Mae Trimble, and Harlan Zackery
Josh Alexander
John Bennett
Mary Ann Bolick
Courtney Bowden
Ryan Brookshire
Jessica Capak
Jeff Carlson
Stephanie Carter
John Christian
Meredith Covington
Elena DeAngelis
Ryan Deal
Nathan Dellinger
Sara Dougherty
Stephen Durr
Marc Foster
Trinity George
Michael Griffin
Trey Hogan
Song Hi Hor
Ben Hutchins
Shelvia Ivey
Bethany Jennings
Mary Keltgen
Richard King
Matthew Lawing
Adrian Lipscomb
Dusty Lucas
Dalmar Montgomery
Laura Moore
Tony Ndege
Aaron Phillips
Heather Potter
Kenney Potter
Allison Ring
Ellen Robbins
Sarah Roche
Jeff Rutledge
Josh Smith
Morgan Smith
Charles Stanton
Brent Stephens
Mae Trimble
Jayme Updike
Jenny Watson
Hadley Whittenmore
Harlan Zackery
Christina Zoerner
Chamber Singers
Welborn E. Young, conductor
Anne Lewis, pianist
assisted by Jason Gottschalk, Troy Robertson, Terri Vancil,
and Richard Waters
Nicole Asel
Allison Bailey
Sandra Cotton
Todd DeBra
Wade Elkins
Jennifer Gaspar
Jason Gottschalk
Daniel Hunter-Holly
Nathan Kling
Anne Lewis
Renata McCurley
Sidney Outlaw
Randy Price
Troy Robertson
Ariya Sawadivong
Crystal Stroupe
David Trudgen
Terri Vancil
Richard Waters
Women’s Glee Club
Randy Price and Mae Trimble, conductors
Faith Park, accompanist
Tamara Brace
Katie Brotherton
Ryan Brown
Arloa Butler
Jessica Capak
Jessica Cates
Emily Caudle
Rebecca Collins
Rose Congdon
Meredith Crenshaw
Cathy Crotty
Amber Davies
Ashley Dunston
Keisha Dupree
Carrie Ellington
Marian Elliot
Laura Emery
Dena Fauske
Beth Goldstein
Angela Grant
Heather Grigg
Jackie Grossano
Hillary Hellens
Amy Heller
Kelly Higgs
Tiffany Honeycutt
Diana Hunter
Jennifer Jackson
Micah Jackson
Sarah Jedrey
Amy Jerva
Elizabeth Johnson
Allie Keever
Miriam Kirk
Crystal Kitchens
Erin Leatherman
Sarah Lloyd
Niccolina Mann
Erin Martin
Caroline Miller
Kristen Pallotta
Faith Park
Christy Pulliam
Jennifer Riggi
Katie Riggins
Stephanie Rosenthal
Sara Rowland
Mary Sauls
Jennifer E. Smith
Elizabeth Stroud
Mae Trimble
Corinne Van Vliet
Maria Vaughan
Jenny Watson
Amy Wentzel
Catherine Wertz
Beth Wilkerson
Katie Zickafoose
Men’s Glee Club
Richard Waters, conductor
Troy Robertson and Harlan Zackery, Jr., assistant conductors
Harlan Zackery, Jr. and Jonathan Kuuskoski, accompanists
Frank Beaty
John Bennett
Jack Callaham
Kevin Carswell
John Christian
Chris Critcher
Jeffrey Danielson
Adrian Dellinger
Nathan Dellinger
Marc Ashley Foster
Andre C. Graham
Matthew Hayden
Brian Hege
JeMarl Kearney
Brian Kennedy
Jonathan Kuuskoski
Matthew Lawing
Michael Lindsay
Adrian Lipscomb
Matt Lovett
Steven Martin
Christopher R. Nickens
Aaron Phillips
Kenney Potter
Troy Robertson
Ruben Rush, Jr.
Matthew Stein
Chris Swaim
Eric Taylor
Johnny Lee Thompson, Jr.
Hadley E. Whittemore, Jr.
James Wiley
Harlan Zackery, Jr.
Three Scottish Highland Songs arr. Bruce Trinkley
1. Nae Mair We'll Meet Again (b. 1945)
2. Turn Ye to Me
3. Cam' Ye by Atholl
Men’s Glee Club
Harlan Zackery, Jr., piano
Troy Robertson, conductor
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976)
Men’s Glee Club
Harlan Zackery, Jr., piano
Richard Waters, conductor
Laudate Pueri Johann Michael Haydn
(1737-1806)
ed. Martin Banner
Within Thy House Forever Daniel Gawthrop
(b. 1949)
Love is a Rain of Diamonds Gwyneth Walker
(b. 1947)
Women’s Choir
Prepared by Heather Potter
Troy Robertson, conductor
Harlan Zackery , Jr., piano
Psalm 43: Richte mich, Gott Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)
University Chorale
Kenney Potter, conductor
Ubi Caritas Maurice Duruflé
(1902-1986)
University Chorale
R. Benjamin Hutchens, conductor
The Water is Wide Rene Clausen
(b. 1953)
University Chorale
Leslie Miller, clarinet
Michael Hrivnak, horn
Erin Klimstra, cello
Harlan Zackery, piano
Laura Moore, conductor
Do Not Fear to Put Thy Feet Text by John Fletcher, Music by R. Mae Trimble
University Chorale
R. Mae Trimble, conductor
Soon Ah Will Be Done William Dawson
(1899-1990)
University Chorale
Marc Ashley Foster, conductor
Xavier Montsalvatge:
Canciones Negras
Canto Negro (Nicolás Guillén)
Punto de Habanera (Néstor Luián)
Xavier Montsalvatge’s Conco Canciones Negras were written in 1946 for the Catalán singer
Mercedes Plantada. Choral arrangements of three of the songs were made by the
composer in 1993.
Canto Negro
Black Song
Yambambó, yambambe!
The solongo from Congo struts by, the very black man struts by. A-ó-e!
The songo solongo from the Congo dances the yambó on one foot.
Yambambó, yambambe! Mamatomba serembe cuseremba,
The black man sings and gets drunk. Mamatomba serembó cuseremba.
The black man gets drunk and sings. Mamatomba serembó cuseremba.
The black man sings and goes.
“A cue-me-me serembó a-a. Yambambó a-e, yambambe a-ó.
Tamba, tamba, tamba, tamba,”
The black man keeps time and stumbles, the black man keeps time, caramba, caramba!
The black man stumbles, yamba, yamba.
yambambó, yambarnbó, yambambó,
He dances the yambó on one foot!
Punto de Habanera
Habanera strain (18th century)
The creole girl goes by in her white crinoline. How white it is!
Hey! the crepe of her foam; sailors, get a look at her!
She goes by, moist with the shimmer of her dusky skin.
Girl, don't fret over being alone this evening.
I would like to order the water not to escape right away from the prison of your skirt.
Your body this evening contains the sound of a dahlia opening.
Girl, don't fret, your body is fruit asleep in the embroidered air.
Your waist quivers finely with the nobility of a whip,
your whole skin smells gaily of lime and orange trees.
The sailors look at you and keep on looking.
The creole girl goes by in her white crinoline. How white it is!
Johannes Brahms:
Abendständchen, op. 42, no. 1
The gentle and carefree verses of Abendständchen are taken from Clemens Maria
Brentano’s Singspiel entitled Die lustige Musikanten (The Merry Musicians). It is a duet
between a blind old man and his daughter in the fore and an even closer flute in the
background.
Listen! The flute laments again, and the cool springs murmur.
The golden tones waft down: be still, hush, let us listen!
Gracious imploring, gentle longing, how sweetly they speak to the heart!
Through the night, which has embraced me, the light of the music shines.
Kingsport Youth Orchestras, chorusmaster of the Symphony Chorus, and Director of Music
at the First Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. Presently, Ben is the Director of
Music at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Director of Chapel Music at the Canterbury
Episcopal School, and is a member of the violin faculty at Greensboro College.
Marc Ashley Foster is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral
Conducting at UNCG, and teaches Music Theory, Ear Training, English,
Latin and Italian Diction classes. Before entering the DMA program, Marc
served as full-time Director of Music Ministries at Perry United Methodist
Church in Perry, Georgia, and at First Presbyterian Church in Mesquite,
Texas. Marc received his Master of Sacred Music degree from Perkins
School of Theology at Southern Methodist university.
William P. Carroll, Director of Choral Activities and Chair of the Vocal
Studies Division, holds degrees from Millsaps College, Southern
Methodist University, and the University of Cincinnati College-
Conservatory of Music. He has served as guest conductor for numerous
workshops, honor choirs, and clinics, including the North Carolina High
School Honors Chorus and All-State Chorus, the North Carolina Junior
High All-State Chorus, the Virginia Music Camp, Lake Junaluska Music
Week, Eastern Division ACDA Convention, the Fellowship of United
Methodist Musicians National Conference, and the Intercollegiate Men's Choruses
Association National Convocation. He recently completed a fifteen-year tenure as
Conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro. In addition to his University responsibilities
he serves as Editor for Hinshaw Music, Inc.
Welborn Young came from Chicago, Illinois where for five years he was
the Artistic Director and Conductor of Windy City Performing Arts. During
the summer of 1998, Young was invited to be a featured conductor at
the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands, during an international
cultural and music festival and served as guest conductor of Chicago's
Grant Park Symphony Chorus. Young has been the Assistant
Conductor of the Middle Tennessee Choral Society, Artistic Director of
the Augustinian Singers of Nashville, and guest conducted the Nashville
Symphony Chorus and Nashville Opera Association. He completed the B.M. and M.A. at
Middle Tennessee State University and is completing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral
Conducting at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his University
duties, he serves as conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro.
coming events:
Sun Hee Kim, piano
Sunday, May 4 · 5:30 pm
Recital Hall
Student Composers
Sunday, May 4 · 7:30 pm
Organ Hall
Stacy Wilson, saxophone
Sunday, May 4 · 7:30 pm
Recital Hall
Mark Hibshman, trumpet
Monday, May 5 · 5:30 pm
Recital Hall
Studio Voice Recital
Tuesday, May 6 · 5:30 pm
Recital Hall
University Orchestra
Tuesday, May 6 · 7:30 pm
Aycock Auditorium
Phi Mu Alpha and Pi Kappa Lambda. Harlan has taught band and chorus in the Guilford
County Public Schools and at the Downtown Middle School, in Winston-Salem, NC, as well
as serving as Assistant Director of the Durham Youth Symphony.
Troy Robertson received his Bachelor of Music in music education from
Furman University. A student at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro since the fall of 2001, he will complete work on his Master of
Music in choral conducting this spring. After graduating, he plans to
pursue a career in teaching choral music at the postsecondary level.
Richard Waters is currently pursuing the DMA in Choral Conducting,
conducts the Men's Glee Club, and teaches class voice. In addition, he
is Assistant Conductor of the Choral Society of Greensboro. He
received the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the Hartt
School of Music and the Bachelor of Music degree in music education
from James Madison University.
Heather Williams Potter holds degrees in choral music education from
Furman University and Arizona State University. She is currently pursuing
a DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro. In addition to her full-time studies, Mrs. Potter serves as the
Early Service Music Leader at First Associate Reformed Presbyterian
Church in Gastonia, North Carolina and as an Associate Conductor with
the Charlotte Children's Choir where she conducts the Lyric Choir and
assists with the Concert Choir.
Laura Moore began her DMA studies in Choral Conducting at UNCG in
January. She is the Director of Music at Christ Presbyterian Church in
High Point, and has also worked with the Community Theater of
Greensboro, serving as the Music Director for their 2002 production of
Wizard of Oz. She is active as a vocal accompanist and lives in
Greensboro with her sons Jonathan and Daniel.
Kenney Potter, a native of Kings Mountain, NC, has received degrees in
Choral Music Education from Florida State University and Portland State
University in Oregon. After teaching nine years with Gaston County
Schools, he is now pursuing a doctoral degree in choral conducting at
UNC-Greensboro. Mr. Potter has enjoyed a variety of guest conducting
opportunities as clinician for all-county festivals across North Carolina.
His recent summer engagements include Bonclarken and Lutheridge
Music Conferences, and the Oregon Bach Festival in Eugene, Oregon.
Mr. Potter is published by Hinshaw Music and Choristers Guild. He serves as the North
Carolina ACDA Repertoire and Standards Chair for High School Choirs.
R. Benjamin Hutchens, II, a first year DMA student, is a native of
Statesville and holds the Bachelor of Arts from Furman University and
the Master of Music in Violin from the University of Alabama. He has
been assistant conductor for the Johnson Symphony, Alabama and
Weit und breit shaut niemand mich an from Zigeunerlieder, op. 103
The Zigeunerlieder (Gypsy Songs) epitomize late romatics’ fascination with Gypsies. They
were associated with the exotic and foreign, and concentrated heavily in Hungary. The
Zigeunerlieder are a collection of Hungarian folk songs which Hugo Conrat translated into
poetic German. This cycle contains eleven brief vignettes of “Gypsy” love. Weit und breit
epitomizes the whimsy and zest that was associated with the Gypsies.
Far and wide no one notices me, and if they hate me, what do I care?
Only my darling shall love me always, shall kiss me, embrace me, and caress me forever.
Not a single star shines in the dark night, not a single flower blooms in fragrant splendor.
To me, your eyes are flowers and starlight that shine so kindly on me
and bloom for me alone.
(translation by Ron Jeffers)
Dominick Argento:
Gloria from The Masque of Angels
Dominic Argento, America's pre-eminent composer of lyric opera, was Regent professor of
music theory and composition at University of Minnesota. Argento studied at Peabody and
Eastman with distinguished teachers Hovhaness and Hanson and in Italy with Dallapiccolo.
The Masque of Angels was completed in 1964 with librettist John Olon- Scrymgeour for the
inaugural production of the Center Opera of Minneapolis (later Minnesota Opera) .The one-act
opera is set in a church as a band of angels works to promote a mortal romance in the
face of contemporary defeatism. The Gloria is based upon a dramatically driven head
motive heard in every voice part, varied by augmentation, diminution and inversion, and
concluded by rousing final chords.
R. Mae Trimble (text by William Shakespeare):
Betrothal
The text of Betrothal is taken from the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Trimble
originally wrote it as vocal incidental music for a setting of the play done by Nazareth
College in Rochester NY. She has arranged it for women's voices, flute, violin, viola and
cello.
Honor, riches, marriage blessing, long continuance and increasing.
Hourly joys be still upon you, Juno sings her blessing on you.
Earth's increase, foison plenty, barns and garners never empty.
Vines with clust'ring brances growing, plants with goodly burden bowing.
Spring come to you in the farthest, in the very end of harvest.
Scarcity and want shall shun you, Ceres blessing so is on you.
Gerald T. Smith, arr. Griffiths:
This is the Day
This exciting work is a setting of Psalm 118:24. The arrangement begins with a soulful,
lyric melody and then quickly takes on a gospel feel, treating the idea of ‘rejoicing’ in four
creative variations.
arr. Paul Basler (b. 1963):
Shenandoah
Shenandoah, associated with the Shenandoah River and the Shenandoah River Valley, is a
sea chanty by an unknown author. Through the years many variations of the text and
melody of this beloved tune have been handed down. As many legends tell it, this song is
an expression of an early settler’s devotion to a lost love. Through the use of rubato, a
broad range of dynamics, and a flowing bass line this popular song is brought to life once
again in Paul Basler’s arrangement for men’s voices.
arr. Bruce Trinkley (b. 1945):
Three Scottish Highland Songs
Drawn from a Scottish solo anthology by the concert pianist Helen Hopekirk (1856-1945),
these pieces employ Hopekirk’s original piano accompaniments combined with Bruce
Trinkley’s vocal arrangements.
Benjamin Britten:
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard
This story has been found in texts dating back as early as 1611 , and may have originated
even earlier. There are several variations of both the title and the story. Several folk
singers have recorded one version or another in recent years. The version set by Benjamin
Britten (one of his few pieces for men's choir) tells the story of two secret lovers, Little
Musgrave and Lady Barnard. Lord Barnard finds out that his wife has taken this secret lover
and storms into the “bower at Bucklesfordberry” to “end the matter here.” Tragedy ensues,
as Lord Barnard not only kills Little Musgrave, but his Lady as well. The piece was
composed for a World War II prisoner of war camp with a rather ambitious musical life; it is
dedicated to “Richard Wood and the musicians of Oflag VIIb -Germany, 1943.” It was
premiered in February 1944 by a group of thirty men at the camp with Wood conducting.
Johann Michael Haydn:
Laudate Pueri
O praise the Lord, ye children.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Alleluia
Daniel Gawthrop:
Within Thy House Forever
Let light perpetual shine on them, Lord:
With thy saints throughout eternity: for thou art merciful.
Grant them eternal rest.
Anne Lewis is completing her first year of doctoral study at UNCG. An
honors graduate of Baylor University, she also studied with Gwendolyn
Koldofsky at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, CA. Ms.
Lewis is an assistant professor of music at Averett University and a
summer faculty member at Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan. She is
nationally certified by MTNA. In addition to teaching, Ms. Lewis' passion
is musical theatre and vocal coaching. Recent shows under her direction
include Tintypes; Nunsense; Children of Eden; and The Fantasticks!
Jason Gottschalk is Director of Music at Concordia Lutheran Church in
Conover, North Carolina, where he has been for the past six years. He is
currently pursuing the Doctor of Music Arts degree in choral conducting at
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He received the Master of
Sacred Music degree in organ and choral conducting from Luther
Seminary and St. Olaf College (Minnesota) and the Bachelor of Music
degree in organ from Wheaton College and Conservatory of Music
(Illinois).
Terri Vancil, Assistant Pastor of Music and Worship at First Baptist
Church of Greensboro, is pursuing the Master of Music degree in choral
conducting at UNCG. Terri received the Bachelor of Music degree in
vocal performance from Murray State University in her home state of
Kentucky. She and her husband Doug, Associate Pastor of Music and
Worship at First Baptist, have the unique opportunity of working together
full-time in music ministry previously serving churches in Indiana,
Missouri, Kentucky and North Carolina.
R. Mae Trimble received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Music
Education from Nazareth College, Rochester, NY. She subsequently
taught in the public school system for several years. She plans to
complete the Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting at UNCG in
the summer of 2003 and return in the Fall to pursue a Master of Music
Degree in Music Theory. She is Associate Organist at the Kemersville
Moravian Church and also directs the Youth and Children's Choirs.
Randy S. Price will complete the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral
Conducting this spring. Having completed the Master of Music from
UNCG in the fall of 2000, he is the associate conductor for the Lexington
Choral Society and has worked for the past five years as Minister of
Music at King's Way Baptist Church in Concord. A member of the Robert
Shaw Tribute Singers, Randy has studied under James Conlon, Andre
Previn, Charles Dutoit, and Ann Howard Jones. For the past three years,
he has conducted the UNCG Women's Glee Club and taught class voice.
Harlan Zackery, Jr. is minister of music and worship at Greensboro
Christian Church and serves on the staff of Winston-Salem Bible
College. He completed the BM degree in Music Education Degree, cum
laude, at the University of North Carolina At Greensboro. He has studied
piano with Joseph DiPiazza and harpsichord with Andrew Willis. He is
currently a Master’s student in Choral Conducting at UNCG where he is
the accompanist for the Men’s Glee Club and Women’s Choir, and
rehearsal assistant for the University Chorale. He holds membership in
Gwyneth Walker:
Love is a Rain of Diamonds
Love is a rain of diamonds in the mind
The fruit of the soul sliced in two
A dark spring loosed at the lips of light
Under-earth waters unlocked from their lurking
To sparkle in a crevice parted by the sun
A temple not of stone but cloud
Beyond the roar of the heart and all violence
Blue permanence.
Felix Mendelssohn:
Psalm 43: Richte mich, Gott
Psalm 43 is one of three Psalm settings by Mendelssohn (the others are Psalm 2 and
Psalm 22) and was completed on January 3, 1844. Composed for the cathedral choir of
Berlin, it shows the influence of Mendelssohn’s recent visit to Italy and study of the earlier
Italian polyphonic masters. Venetian in style, with its contrasting vocal colors and
conservative counterpoint, it nonetheless shows its time of composition by the varied and
interesting harmonic choices.
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Maurice Duruflé:
Ubi Caritas
Maurice Durufle's Ubi Caritas is a motet for double choir. All voices (save the sopranos) are
divided. This work is one of four motets published in 1960. Duruflé is noted for incorporating
chant into his works and this motet certainly exemplifies this compositional style. The
beginning and end of Ubi Caritas are very reverent and prayerful, only employing Alto,
Tenor and Bass sections. The soprano section is added in the middle section of the piece
on the text "Let us rejoice . . ."
Where this is charity and love, God is there.
The Love of Christ has gathered us together.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Let us revere and love the living God.
And from a sincere heart let us love one another.
So let it be.
Rene Clausen:
The Water is Wide
Rene Clausen, born in 1953, is a well-known American composer and conductor. He is
currently serving his seventeenth year as conductor of the Concordia College choir in
Minnesota. Clausen’s arrangement of the traditional American folk song, The Water is
Wide, was written for the Concordia Choir. The instruments highlight the gently flowing
nature of the poem, while the text-setting in the choir illustrates the poet’s changing view of
love, after being betrayed by false love.
R. Mae Trimble (text by John Fletcher):
Do Not Fear to Put Thy Feet
Do Not Fear to Put Thy Feet is a poem taken from the play The Faithful Shepherdess
written by John Fletcher (1579-1625). Fletcher was an English playwright and poet who
collaborated with Shakespeare and Beaumont on numerous plays. The poem was set to
music in the summer of 2002 by Trimble, who plans to set other poems by Fletcher as a
cycle.
Do not fear to put thy feet naked in the river sweet.
Think not leech or newt or toad, will bite thy foot when thou has troad.
Nor let the water rising high, as thou wad'st in make thee cry and sob.
But ever live with me, and not a wave shall trouble thee.
William Dawson:
Soon Ah Will Be Done
Soon Ah Will Be Done was composed by William Dawson in 1934 in the style of an African-
American Spiritual. Dawson understood the essential elements of a Spiritual and imbued
this piece with all the character that is so evident in much of this genre. Deeply moving and
personal, the text reflects the tragedy of the slave life. “I want to meet my mother,” instead
of “see my mother,” indicates family separation at birth; yet at the same time, there is
always an overtone of hope in the midst of the hell of slavery: “goin’ home to live with God.”
The performance today takes liberties with the tempi to greater enhance the duality of the
textual themes.
_____
Gwyneth Walker:
Love is a Rain of Diamonds
Love is a rain of diamonds in the mind
The fruit of the soul sliced in two
A dark spring loosed at the lips of light
Under-earth waters unlocked from their lurking
To sparkle in a crevice parted by the sun
A temple not of stone but cloud
Beyond the roar of the heart and all violence
Blue permanence.
Felix Mendelssohn:
Psalm 43: Richte mich, Gott
Psalm 43 is one of three Psalm settings by Mendelssohn (the others are Psalm 2 and
Psalm 22) and was completed on January 3, 1844. Composed for the cathedral choir of
Berlin, it shows the influence of Mendelssohn’s recent visit to Italy and study of the earlier
Italian polyphonic masters. Venetian in style, with its contrasting vocal colors and
conservative counterpoint, it nonetheless shows its time of composition by the varied and
interesting harmonic choices.
Vindicate me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation;
rescue me from deceitful and wicked men.
You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Maurice Duruflé:
Ubi Caritas
Maurice Durufle's Ubi Caritas is a motet for double choir. All voices (save the sopranos) are
divided. This work is one of four motets published in 1960. Duruflé is noted for incorporating
chant into his works and this motet certainly exemplifies this compositional style. The
beginning and end of Ubi Caritas are very reverent and prayerful, only employing Alto,
Tenor and Bass sections. The soprano section is added in the middle section of the piece
on the text "Let us rejoice . . ."
Where this is charity and love, God is there.
The Love of Christ has gathered us together.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Let us revere and love the living God.
And from a sincere heart let us love one another.
So let it be.
Rene Clausen:
The Water is Wide
Rene Clausen, born in 1953, is a well-known American composer and conductor. He is
currently serving his seventeenth year as conductor of the Concordia College choir in
Minnesota. Clausen’s arrangement of the traditional American folk song, The Water is
Wide, was written for the Concordia Choir. The instruments highlight the gently flowing
nature of the poem, while the text-setting in the choir illustrates the poet’s changing view of
love, after being betrayed by false love.
R. Mae Trimble (text by John Fletcher):
Do Not Fear to Put Thy Feet
Do Not Fear to Put Thy Feet is a poem taken from the play The Faithful Shepherdess
written by John Fletcher (1579-1625). Fletcher was an English playwright and poet who
collaborated with Shakespeare and Beaumont on numerous plays. The poem was set to
music in the summer of 2002 by Trimble, who plans to set other poems by Fletcher as a
cycle.
Do not fear to put thy feet naked in the river sweet.
Think not leech or newt or toad, will bite thy foot when thou has troad.
Nor let the water rising high, as thou wad'st in make thee cry and sob.
But ever live with me, and not a wave shall trouble thee.
William Dawson:
Soon Ah Will Be Done
Soon Ah Will Be Done was composed by William Dawson in 1934 in the style of an African-
American Spiritual. Dawson understood the essential elements of a Spiritual and imbued
this piece with all the character that is so evident in much of this genre. Deeply moving and
personal, the text reflects the tragedy of the slave life. “I want to meet my mother,” instead
of “see my mother,” indicates family separation at birth; yet at the same time, there is
always an overtone of hope in the midst of the hell of slavery: “goin’ home to live with God.”
The performance today takes liberties with the tempi to greater enhance the duality of the
textual themes.
_____