THE SOURCE WITH STEPHEN SMITH, PIANO KARI TURUNEN & JON WASHBURN, CONDUCTORS AND GUEST CONDUCTORS: JOANNA DUNDAS (VANCOUVER, BC) KATHY HADDADKAR (ABBOTSFORD, BC) JENNIFER HANSEN HEDER (EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN) LING LU (RICHMOND, BC) DUBRAVKO PAJALIC (VANCOUVER, BC) ANDREW WHITESIDE (RICHMOND, BC) Mike and Kathy Gallagher Alan and Gwendoline Pyatt Foundation 7:30PM | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 KOERNER RECITAL HALL, VANCOUVER ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1270 CHESTNUT STREET
Transcript
THE SOURCE WITH STEPHEN SMITH, PIANO
KARI TURUNEN & JON WASHBURN, CONDUCTORS
AND GUEST CONDUCTORS: JOANNA DUNDAS (VANCOUVER, BC) KATHY HADDADKAR (ABBOTSFORD, BC) JENNIFER HANSEN HEDER (EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN) LING LU (RICHMOND, BC) DUBRAVKO PAJALIC (VANCOUVER, BC) ANDREW WHITESIDE (RICHMOND, BC)
Mike and Kathy Gallagher
Alan and Gwendoline Pyatt Foundation
7:30PM | SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2020 KOERNER RECITAL HALL, VANCOUVER ACADEMY OF MUSIC 1270 CHESTNUT STREET
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VA N C O U V E R C H A M B E R C H O I R
Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading the Vancouver Chamber Choir - one of Canada’s premier professional choral ensembles - in September 2019, its 49th concert season. Jon Washburn founded the choir in 1971 and it has become an amazing success story, ranking with the handful of North America’s best professional choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and performing excellence. The choir has presented concerts at home in Vancouver and on tour across Canada. International excursions have taken them to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America, the choir has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous awards. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and premieres of 334 choral works by 145 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian. Over the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition to their extensive international repertoire. The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young Composers Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.
K A R I T U R U N E N , A R T I S T I C D I R E C T O R
Kari Turunen is the new Artistic Director of the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the former artistic director of the male chorus Akademiska Sångföreningen, Kampin Laulu chamber choir, the choir of the cantors of the Finnish Lutheran Church, Chorus Cantorum Finlandiae, the all-male Ensemble Petraloysio and the Spira Ensemble. He has won numerous prizes at national and international festivals with his groups. He was named choral conductor of the year in Finland in 2008.Dr. Turunen was educated at the University of Helsinki and the Sibelius Academy. He has a Master’s degree in choral conducting and a Doctorate in early music performance practice from the University of the Arts, Helsinki. He tries to balance scholarly activities with his artistic work and firmly believes that scholarship and performance can greatly benefit each other.He is a sought-after guest conductor, adjudicator, clinician and teacher of choral conducting, both in Finland and abroad. He has also acted as the chairman of the Finnish Choral Directors’ Association from the mid-90s until 2017 and is the artistic director of Aurore, an annual Renaissance music festival in Helsinki.Before becoming a full-time conductor, Dr. Turunen taught choral conducting and was the head of choral activities at the School of Music of the Polytechnic University of Tampere from 2001 to 2011. He is also a founding member of Lumen Valo, a professional vocal ensemble of eight voices. Lumen Valo has been a driving force on the early music scene in Finland since its conception in 1993 and has made a name for itself in almost 250 concerts around Finland and Europe. The group has recorded nine CDs, all of them critically acclaimed for their fresh programming and quality of singing.
Board of DirectorsGeorge LaverockPresident
Dr. Jeanette Gallant (Oxford)Vice President
Adam J. Garvin, CPA, CMATreasurer
Brent HunterSecretary
Matthew BairdAnne Bonnycastle Dr. Donna HoggeWendy KishColin MilesAlexandra Nicolas Dr. Robert RothwellDolores ScottCara Ventura Marianne Werner Jennifer Wilnechenko
The Vancouver Chamber Choir acknowledges that it operates and performs on the unceded Indigenous land belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful for this privilege.
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VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR
s o p r a n o sEmily Cheung
Christina CichosBeth Currie
Lorraine ReinhardtMadeline Lucy Smith
a l t o sDinah AyreMaria Golas
Martina GovednikFabiana KatzDolores Scott
t e n o r sEric Biskupski
Tom EllisCarman J. Price
Eric SchwarzhoffTaka Shimojima
b a s s e sSteven Bélanger
Jacob GramitPaul Nash
George RobertsWim Vermeulen
Please turn off all phones.Recording devices of any kind
are strictly prohibited.In order to sustain the mood
it is best to hold your applause until the end of each set.
VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIRJON WASHBURN AND KARI TURUNEN, CONDUCTORS
STEPHEN SMITH, PIANOWITH
SIX SYMPOSIUM CONDUCTORS
The 40th Annual Conductors’ Symposium ConcertTHE SOURCE
Kari Turunen master conductor
Hymne à Saint Martin Vaclovas Augustinas (b. 1959)
Ling Lu conductor
O magnum mysterium (O great mystery) Tomás Luis de Victoria (c. 1548-1611)
Vier Zigeunerlieder, Op. 112 (Four Gypsy Songs) Johannes Brahms
Himmel strahlt so helle und klar Fair and bright the heavens above (1833-1897)
Rote Rosenknospen Roses red, all blooming Brennessel steht an Weges Rand Brambles and thorns on roadways stand Liebe Schwalbe, kleine Schwalbe Dearest swallow, tiny swallow
The Peacock Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967)
Jennifer Hansen Heder conductor
Fire, fire, my heart Thomas Morley (ca. 1557-1602)
Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Londonderry Air Bob Chilcott (b. 1955)
Joanna Dundas conductor
Lacrimosa (from Requiem, K.626) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Ecco mormorar l’onde Claudio Monteverdi
(1567-1643)
Feller from Fortune Harry Somers (1925-1999)
INTERMISSION
James Ong Stage Management
Grant Rowledge Archival Recording
David Rosborough Video Recording
Corporate Graphics Graphic Design
Violet GoosenDevelopment
José VerstappenProgram Typography
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Dubravko Pajalic conductor
Behold, the Tabernacle of God Healey Willan (1880-1968)
Balm in Gilead Jon Washburn (b. 1942)
Jacob Gramit, baritone
Zigeunerleben, Op. 29, No. 3 (Gypsy Life) Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Quartett “Schicksalslenker” (Ruler of Destiny) Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Steven Bélanger, baritone
Go down, Moses / By and by (spirituals from A Child of Our Time) Michael Tippett (1905-1998)
Christina Cichos, soprano Carman J. Price, tenor George Roberts, bass
Andrew Whiteside conductor
Os justi The mouth of the righteous Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Lux aeterna (from Requiem) Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Ain’-a that good news! William Dawson (1899–1990)
Jon Washburn master conductor
The Best of All Possible Worlds (from Candide) Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Pre-Concert Talks
You are invited to attend pre-concert talks at 6:45pm on most concert evenings. You can meet Kari Turunen and learn about the evening’s repertoire and composers. Seating is general admission at the front of the auditorium. You are welcome to reserve your favourite seats elsewhere so that they are waiting for you after the talk.
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Jon Washburn is the Founder and Conductor Emeritus of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Canada’s outstanding professional vocal ensemble which he led as Artistic and Executive Director for 48 years. He has earned international acclaim for mastery of choral technique and interpretation, travelling widely as guest conductor, lecturer, clinician and master teacher.
During those 48 years with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, he led 400 subscription concerts, 150 radio and TV appearances, 800 concerts and events on 92 separate tours, 59 CD recordings, 350 commissioned/premiered new works, 300 large Baroque works, 40 Conductors’ Symposiums, 60 Composers’ Workshops, thousands of individual pieces in over 40 languages and countless workshops and residencies for choral conductors, composers, students and singers.
Mr. Washburn is an active composer, arranger, lyricist and editor, published by G. Schirmer, Walton, Cypress, Oxford UP, Earthsongs and others. His music is widely published, performed and recorded around the world. He is a noted champion of new choral repertoire, having commissioned and premiered hundreds of new compositions by Canadian, American and European composers. He has conducted thousands of performances of works by Canadian composers, for which he received the Friends of Canadian Music Award from the Canadian League of Composers and Canadian Music Centre.
In 2001 he was given the Order of Canada (the nation’s highest civilian honour) and subsequently received Queen Elizabeth’s Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, recognizing his lifetime contribution to Canadian arts and culture. He was awarded a star on Vancouver’s Entertainment Walk of Fame and has received both the Louis Botto and Michael Korn awards from Chorus America, marking his long devotion to the development of professional choirs and the choral art. Last May, he received the Barbara Pentland Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019 from the Canadian Music Centre.
J O N WA S H B U R N , C O N D U C T O R E M E R I T U S
Photo credit: Yukiko Onley
S T E P H E N S M I T H , P I A N O
Listeners, critics, and audience members alike know Stephen Smith as “a sensitive and dynamic performer” with a “highly poetic touch” and “superb musicianship which illuminates everything he plays.” Renowned pianist Jane Coop has called her former student “an extremely intelligent and perceptive musician who has great facility and strength in his technique”; and Simon Carrington, a founding member of the King’s Singers, has called him “a magnificent pianist,” adding that “it’s a privilege to hear such beautiful playing!”
Mr. Smith grew up in rural Nova Scotia, where he sang and played the piano from an early age. After initial studies in his home province in both piano and organ, he attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. While there, he participated in national and international competitions, and won numerous awards and distinctions. Since 1990, he has lived in Vancouver, obtaining a Doctoral degree in Piano Performance from the University of British Columbia, and becoming a fixture of the city’s choral scene, regularly accompanying the Vancouver Chamber Choir, Vancouver Men’s Chorus, Vancouver Bach Choir, Elektra Women’s Choir, and many other ensembles.
He is also a published composer who has been commissioned by such organizations as the CBC, the National Youth Choir, and the BC Choral Federation, and whose music is recorded and performed with great frequency by choirs all over North America and beyond. His work as both accompanist and composer can be heard on dozens of CDs in commercial release, and he has also produced a solo album entitled Kaleidoscope, available on iTunes.
Photo credit: David Cooper
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PARTICIPATING CONDUCTORS
VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR THE 40th ANNUAL CONDUCTORS’ SYMPOSIUM
February 10-15, 2020
The February 15 concert THE SOURCE concludes the six-day conducting symposium, hosted and organized by Kari Turunen, Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. The advancement of Canadian choral music through workshops, seminars and conductor training has always been an important part of the Vancouver Chamber Choir’s role as a professional choir.
For the past 40 years, the Conductors’ Symposium has given talented conductors from around the world the opportunity to work with a professional choir. Out of the many applications received, six conductors are chosen to work with Master Conductors Kari Turunen, Jon Washburn and the Vancouver Chamber Choir. During the workshop, the selected conductors are observed in morning and evening rehearsals with the Choir. These rehearsals are complemented by sessions on score interpretation and choral techniques. Applicants may also participate in the Symposium as observers and have one opportunity to conduct if they wish, or they may also take part as singers.
The Conductors’ Symposium fulfills an important educational function in Western Canada and is an intensive and practical addition to the formal training programs offered in Canadian educational institutions. Through this Symposium, Conductors Kari Turunen and Jon Washburn, and the Vancouver Chamber Choir hope to provide a vitally important stimulus to the growth of choral music in Canada.
Pille Bunnell (Vancouver, BC)Elizabeth Gilchrist (Surrey, BC)Katherine Y. Lu (Burnaby, BC)
Anna-Marie Ryan (Langley, BC)
2020 SINGER
Maria Koebsch (Vancouver, BC)
Joanna DundasVancouver, BC
Joanna Dundas is an arts management professional with over 20 years of experience working in Vancouver’s cultural community. Trained as a professional singer, she has also served in a variety of roles off-stage: concert, audio and video producer, video director and editor, project manager, facilitator and digital strategist, among others. Ms. Dundas is currently Music on Main’s Digital Content Strategist, where she has produced a number of digital assets, including GLITCH: A Profile on Nicole Lizée, and Discover ISCM2017, a documentary on the largest contemporary music festival in Canadian history, which occurred in November 2017. She is also an Assistant Conductor with the Vancouver Youth Choir. A UBC music graduate, Ms. Dundas has sung with many ensembles, including the Vancouver Chamber Choir and musica intima. She has led singing workshops, and given private voice instruction to students of all ages. In addition, she has enjoyed creating community by leading educational arts programs. She initiated projects such as novum musica – a composer’s workshop, an annual Family Day concert, and Songcology – a BC Cancer choir and fundraising group.
Kathy Haddadkar Abbotsford, BC
Kathy Haddadkar is in her final year of a double performance major degree in piano and voice at Trinity Western University; a student of Dr. Betty Suderman and Christy Derksen. A past member of the National Youth Choir of Canada, she actively lends her talents to choral communities in the lower mainland and beyond. This past summer, she had the privilege of working with Calgary’s professional chamber choir Luminous Voices in an intensive conducting workshop under the guidance of Dr. Timothy Shantz. She is pleased to serve as the Assistant Conductor of the Valley Festival Singers while continuing her position as the Director of Music at Peace Lutheran Church and teaching at her private music studio. A member of the TWU Chamber Choir and Chamber Singers, Ms. Haddadkar has been a featured soloist in works by Britten and Vaughan Williams as well as in upcoming performances of Copland’s In the Beginning. She plans to pursue graduate studies in choral conducting.
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Jennifer Hansen Heder East Lansing, MI
Jennifer Hansen Heder is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University where she is the assistant director of the University Chorale. Previous to her studies, she was the director of choirs at Spanish Fork High School (SFHS) in Utah. SFHS Singers was invited to perform at ACDA Utah in 2018 and UMEA in 2019. From 2017-2019 she directed the community-based choir, Wasatch Chorale in Orem, Utah. Ms. Hansen Heder earned a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Brigham Young University in 2016 and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Brigham Young University in 2013. During her master degree she was the assistant director of BYU Singers, Concert Choir and Women’s Chorus, taught various conducting methods courses, and directed the University Chorale. Ms. Hansen Heder lives in East Lansing with her husband Matt, and their Golden Retriever.
Ling LuRichmond, BC
Ling Lu was born and raised in a musical family and has played piano since childhood. In 1994, she went to Russia to further her studies at the Moscow Gnessin Music Academy Choral Command Department, and graduated with outstanding achievements, receiving a master’s degree in 2001. She was then admitted to Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and continued to study Choral Command, under the direction of professor Stanislav Kalinin. She completed her Aspirantura in 2003. During her studies in Moscow, Ms. Lu conducted several choirs, including the Gnessin Chamber Music Choir, Gnessin College Choir, Moscow Conservatory Choir and Katenikov’s Moscow National College Choir. Since immigrating to Canada she has actively participated in many concerts and music events. While promoting Chinese culture, she presents workshops to community groups, and has conducted the Vancouver Chinese Choir for 15 years, plus the Grand Ensemble Chorus.
Dubravko PajalicVancouver, BC
Dubravko Pajalic is a conductor, musicologist and composer, originally from Zagreb, Croatia. He was a student of Archival Studies and Informatics in Croatia, Austria and Canada, plus flute and guitar. He edited and arranged many Croatian folk and classical pieces for chamber ensembles and choirs, and created music education TV shows. Mr. Pajalic has lived in Vancouver since 1992 and worked as IT Manager at a research facility until 2018. At the same time, he continued as a conductor, arranger, composer, author and music publisher. He has conducted community and church choirs, and served as organist. Now he is fully engaged in music, actively promoting contemporary music. He served on the Vancouver Chamber Choir Board of Directors, on Vancouver Pro Musica’s board, and is President of Turning Point Ensemble Society.
Andrew WhitesideRichmond, BC
Andrew Whiteside is completing a Bachelor of Arts in Music, including piano, voice, conducting, and timpani, at Trinity Western University. He studies piano with Suzanne Klukas, voice with Alison Nystrom, and conducting with Dr. Joel Tranquilla and Dr. Jon Thompson. He is a tenor in the Trinity Western Chamber Choir and Chamber Singers, and toured extensively with them in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. Mr. Whiteside participated in the Vancouver Chamber Choir’s Focus professional development program for young singers in 2016, 2018 and 2019. He is extremely honoured to now conduct the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and work with Kari Turunen and Jon Washburn. He has conducted Gloria from the Missa Pax by Tim Corlis with the TWU Chamber Choir, and Mozart’s Magic Flute Overture with the TWU Orchestra.
The Vancouver Chamber Choir acknowledges the generosity of
Mike & Kathy Gallagher and the Alan & Gwendoline Pyatt Foundationfor their support of the 40th Annual Conductors’ Symposium
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CHICAGO
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WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO
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in support of
(No prize substitutions. Winners consent to the release of their names by licensee.) Total value of all prizes: $3,810Draw will take place June 30, 2020, 7:00pm, at Hodson Manor, 1254 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6H 1B6
Full details available at www.vancouverchamberchoir.com/raffle • (604) 738-6822
Second Prize: Two tickets to the Vancouver International Wine Festival’s International Festival Tasting on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Must be 19+ to attend.)
Third Prize: Chef’s choice dinner for two guests at Nightingale restaurant and two tickets to a Vancouver Chamber Choir performance in the 2020/21 season.
Grand Prize: Round-trip Economy Class airfare for two to Chicago, a three-night hotel stay, and two tickets to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert in the 2020/21 season. Subject to availability. Additional hotel nights are available at the winner’s expense.
Raffle Ticket Price:$20 each or 3 for $50
Prizes generously furnished by:
Sun Life Community Outreach ProgramSun Life is pleased to provide a Community Outreach Program through which the regular season
concerts of the Vancouver Chamber Choir are made available to hundreds of people with health
related disabilities.
Non-profit organizations involved with community health join with the Vancouver Chamber Choir
to help distribute tickets. For more information on this program or to register your organization,
please call the Vancouver Chamber Choir office at 604-738-6822 and speak with Steven Bélanger.
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P R O G R A M N O T E S , T E X T S & T R A N S L A T I O N S
Vaclovas Augustinas Hymne à Saint Martin
Vaclovas Augustinas is a Lithuanian composer and conductor. His Hymn to St. Martin was written in 1996 for a composition competition in Tours, a city that has Saint Martin as its patron saint. Martin, a fourth century Christian, is known for his compassion to the poor and for being the first documented conscientious objector in history. Augustinas’ music is as gentle as the saint, lilting softly between the two choirs and culminating in dancing hallelujahs at the end of the verses.
O virum ineffabilem, O man beyond words,nec labore victum, Undefeated by labour,nec morte timendum, Unafraid in death,qui nec mori timuit, Who did not fear death nec vivere recusavit. Alleluia. Or renounce life. Hallelujah.
Oculis et manibus Eyes and handsin cælum semper intentus, Always towards heaven,in victum ab oration spiritum From commitment to prayernon relaxabat. Alleluia. He never relaxed. Hallelujah.
Martinus Abrahæ sinu Martin into the bosom of Abrahamlætus excipitus: Was received with joy:Martinus, hic pauper et modicus, Martin, this man of poverty and modesty,cælum dives ingreditur, Is received in heaven a rich man,hymnis cælestibus honoratus. Alleluia. To the sound of celestial hymns. Hallelujah.
Roman Catholic liturgy
John Bishop and the Vancouver Chamber Choir Board of Directorsrequest the pleasure of your company on
Tuesday, February 25th, 2020 at 6:30pmat Bishop’s Restaurant, 2183 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Featuring music byCarman J. Price, vocals & Christopher Fraser, guitar
A donation of $295 (tax receipt for $225) will reserve your place at the table. Reserve by February 18th by calling the Vancouver Chamber Choir at
(604) 738-6822.
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Tomás Luis de Victoria O magnum mysterium
Tomás Luis de Victoria was perhaps the greatest Spanish sacred composer of the Renaissance, a master of the so-called Roman style associated with Palestrina. He spent the most part of his career in Rome where he succeeded Palestrina at the Collegium Germanicum. His exquisite nativity motet O magnum mysterium remains one of the finest and most famous moments of polyphony from any era.
O magnum mysterium O great mystery et admirabile sacramentum, and wondrous sacrament,ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, that animals should see the Lord newly born, jacentem in præsepio. lying in a manger!
O Beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt Blessed is the Virgin, whose womb was worthy portare Dominum Jesum Christum. to bear the Lord Jesus Christ.Alleluia! Alleluia!
Johannes Brahms Vier Zigeunerlieder, Op.112
These Zigeunerlieder, or Gypsy Songs, demonstrate two of Johannes Brahms’ fondest passions: music for vocal ensembles and Hungarian folk music. Brahms wrote an entire collection of 11 Zigeunerlieder in 1887 (Op. 103) which he himself described to a friend as “a playfully extravagant nonsense.” Published the following year, they rivalled the earlier Liebeslieder-Walzer (Lovesong Waltzes) in musical excellence and public acceptance. Two years later he published four more gypsy songs as part of Op. 112; like the earlier songs, these are based on the words of Hungarian folk songs which were rendered into German poetry by Brahms’ Viennese acquaintance Hugo Conrat. These, too, are love songs. In the first, Himmel strahlt, the poet compares his beloved to the heavens, to the singing birds, and to the kiss of the hot sun – a comparison which is, of course, distinctly disadvantageous to all the latter! The second song implies that the red rosebuds signal the maiden’s readiness for romance and the robin red-breast carries sweet words from her lover. Neither Envy nor Hate can touch the lover in the third song, for his beloved is faithful forever! And in the last song it is the swallow who carries the lover’s message, this time one of desperate love.
Fair and bright the heavens above
Himmel strahlt so helle und klar, Fair and bright the heavens above,heller strahlt mir dein Augenpaar. Fairer, brighter your eyes my Love,Du meine Rose, Rosebud, my Dearest,mir ins Auge blick, Could our eyes but meet,dass ich dich segne in meinem Glück. One loving glance, and joy is complete.
Vögleins Lied so lieblich erklingt, Singing birds! so sweetly it rings,süßres Lied mir mein Liebchen singt. Sweeter still when my Dearest sings,Du meine Rose, Rosebud, my Dearest,mir ins Auge blick, Could our eyes but meet,dass ich dich segne in meinem Glück. One loving glance, and joy is complete.
Sonne küsst das ganze Erdenrund, Sun’s hot kisses heat the earth around!heißer küsst mich dein Rosenmund. Warmer love from your kisses found.Du meine Rose, Rosebud, my Dearest,mir ins Auge blick, Could our eyes but meet,dass ich dich segne in meinem Glück. One loving glance, and joy is complete.
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Roses red, all blooming
Rote Rosenknospen Roses red, all blooming, künden schon des Lenzes Triebe. Live anew with warming showers,Rosenrote Wangen Lovely Maiden, blushingdeuten Mädchens erste Liebe. With her Love in secret bowers.Kleiner roter Vogel, Happy robin red-breast,flieg herab zur roten Rose! Flying among the blooming roses,Bursche geht zum ros’gen Youthful bliss and happiness,Mädchen kosen. Your joy discloses.
Brambles and thorns on roadways stand
Brennessel steht an Weges Rand, Brambles and thorns on roadways stand,Neider und Feinde hab Envy and Hate are foundich in Stadt und Land. Throughout the land!Neidet, hasst, verleumdet, Hatred, spite and slander,doch das bringt mir keine Not. None of these can cause me pain,Wenn mir nur mein süßes Liebchen Only in your love my dearest,treu bleibt bis zum Tod. Happy I ‘til death remain.
Dearest swallow, tiny swallow
Liebe Schwalbe, kleine Schwalbe, Dearest Swallow, tiny Swallow,trage fort mein kleines Briefchen! Fly o’er yonder hill and hollow,Flieg zur Höhe, fliege schnell aus, Take this note my love confessing,flieg hinein in Liebchens Haus! How her soul I am possessing.
Fragt man dich: woher du kommest, Should she ponder, should she question,wessen Bote du geworden, Who has shown this warm affection,sag: du kommst von treusten Herzen, Tell her of the love I cherish,das vergeht in Trennungsschmerzen. Unrequited I must perish.
Hugo Conrat, after Hungarian folklore
Your continued involvement with the Vancouver Chamber Choir is always appreciated.
Thank you,David Cousins,
for supporting the printing of tonight’s program.
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Peter R. Allen The Banks of Newfoundland
Peter R. Allen, who was born and educated in Wales, came to Canada in 1969. He has a Doctorate in Choral Conducting from the University of Iowa, has taught music at universities in four provinces and was active for many years as an adjudicator across Canada. Since 1987 he has been based in Ontario, but this arrangement of The Banks of Newfoundland from 1980 is one of several written around the time he spent teaching at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
The springtime of the year is come,Once more we must away;Out on the stormy Banks to go,In quest of fish to stay.
Where seas do roll tremendously,Like mountain peaks so high;And the wild seabirds around us,In their mad career go by.
Out there we spend our summer months,Midst heavy fog and wind;And often do our thoughts go back,To the dear ones left behind.
CALLING STUDENTS OF ANY AGE!
For only $15, you can enjoy some of Canada’s finest choral concerts when you purchase rush tickets to Vancouver Chamber Choir regular season performances.
All students and youth (26 and under) are welcome.
Tickets are available one hour in advance of this year’s Dunbar Ryerson United Church and Orpheum concerts.
Thank you, John and Leonora Pauls
The Vancouver Chamber Choir appreciates your support of printing
tonight’s concert programand for attending
We hope to see you again this spring!
And when those summer toils are o’er,We return with spirits light;To see our sweethearts and our wives,Who helped us in the fight.
From where the wild sea billows foam,There by cold breezes fanned;Out on the stormy billows,On the Banks of Newfoundland.
Please turn page quietly
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Zoltán Kodály The Peacock
Zoltán Kodály was an eminent Hungarian composer, scholar and music educator, who was almost single-handedly responsible for raising the art of choral singing to the high popularity it now enjoys in that country. He is particularly well known for his works on Hungarian national themes or that embody nationalistic folk idioms. Traditional songs and poetry often depict the peacock as a symbol of freedom, love and salvation. Kodály, whose doctoral dissertation was an insightful study of Hungarian folksongs, was evidently quite taken with this particular melody (which apparently dates back some 1600 years and is a stirring symbol of liberation and salvation), for he used it in both vocal and instrumental works.
O bright plumèd peacock‘Bove the courthouse flying,From oppression free them -Those in bondage lying.Where you stand so proudly.
Bright as any morning,Cry so all can hear you:New will be the dawning!Changed will be tomorrow.
Changed the long years after;New faces gaze to the heavens,Gay with laughter!New winds make the trees cry out,
Ever mournful:Hushed are we,Waiting a new sunlit miracle!Either madness holds us,
Death itself ensnaring,Or shall our faith so find courage in its sharingThat a new meaning may mould a newer nation;Or sleeping, sad we lie,Still in degradation.Shall flames rising high To the courthouse bring destruction,Or shall human spirits Wither in subjection?O bright plumèd peacock‘Bove the courthouse flying,Go, release the pris’nersIn the jail lying.
Thomas Morley Fire, fire, my heart
The 16th-century composer and music publisher Thomas Morley was the Englishman really responsible for importing and anglicizing the various Italianate forms of the madrigal which had already been developed on the Continent. This piece is a ballett, with an infectious fa-la refrain that would indeed seem excellent for dancing. The poem is by that most famous and ubiquitous of all poets: Anon Y Mous.
Fire, fire, my heartOh help, O help alas!Ah, me!I sit and cry me,And call for help, alas!But none comes nigh me!
Anonymous
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Gabriel Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11
Now-famous French composer Gabriel Fauré was a 19-year-old music student when he composed Cantique de Jean Racine to enter into a composing competition at the famous École Niedermeyer de Paris. It is a charming work for mixed choir with piano or organ accompaniment and – yes – it won him the first prize. His text is an elegant French paraphrase of a Latin matins hymn by 17th-century poet and dramatist, Jean Racine.
Verbe égal au Très-Haut, Word of God, one with the Most High, notre unique espérance, in whom alone we have our hope, jour éternel de la terre et des cieux, Everlasting light of heaven and earth, de la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence, We break the silence of the peaceful night; Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux ! Saviour divine, cast thine eyes upon us! Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante, Pour on us the fire of thy mighty grace, que tout l’enfer fuie au son de ta voix. That all hell may flee at the sound of thy voice: Dissipe le sommeil d’une âme languissante, Banish the slumber of a weary soul, qui la conduit à l’oubli de tes lois ! That brings forgetfulness of thy laws!
Ô Christ, sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle O Christ, look with favour upon thy faithful people pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé, Now gathered here to praise thee; reçois les chants qu’il offre, Receive their hymnsà ta gloire immortelle, offered to thy endless glory; et de tes dons qu’il retourne comblé ! May they go forth filled with thy gifts!
Jean Racine
Bob Chilcott Londonderry Air
Bob Chilcott, once known to many of us as “the tenor in the King’s Singers”, is now one of Britain’s most successful and popular choral composers. He is in constant demand around the world as a festival conductor and workshop leader, and a long-time friend of the Vancouver Chamber Choir, which he has composed for and guest-conducted in concert. This beautiful arrangement of Danny Boy features an innovative accompaniment from the piano. The tune itself is traditional Irish, but the familiar words were written by an Englishman, Fred Weatherly, in 1910.
O Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are callingFrom glen to glen, and down the mountain side,The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling,‘Tis you, ‘tis you must go and I must bide.
But come ye back when summer’s in the meadow,Or when the valley’s hushed and white with snow,‘Tis I’ll be there in sunshine or in shadow.O Danny boy, O Danny boy, I love you so.
And when you come, and all the flowers are dying,If I am dead, as dead I well may be,Ye’ll come and find a place where I am lyingAnd kneel and say an Ave there for me.
And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me,And oe’r my grave shall warmer, sweeter be,For you will bend and tell me that you love meAnd I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Lacrimosa
Mozart’s Requiem is one of the great monuments of the Classical period despite the fact that the young composer left it unfinished at his death. It was commissioned in the summer of 1791 by a grey-liveried stranger acting on behalf of a certain Count Walsegg, who liked to purchase compositions anonymously and then pass them off to his friends as his own work. Already in a state of declining health, Mozart evidently saw the request that he compose a requiem as an omen of his own death. Needing the money, he agreed to write the work but was hampered by his illness and other work and failed to finish it before he died on December 5th. He completed some of the movements of the work, but his widow, Constanze, had to arrange for his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr to finish several unfinished sections including this prophetic Lacrimosa. This would seem a daunting task for a humble student, even with the dying composer’s instructions and sketches, but we defy the listener to identify the spot where master leaves off and the pupil takes over. (In the manuscript score, of course, the change of handwriting gives away the secret.)
Lacrimosa dies illa, Ah, that day of tears and mourning!qua resurget ex favilla From the dust of earth returningjudicandus homo reus. Man from judgement must prepare him.
Huic ergo parce Deus, Spare, O God, in mercy spare him!pie Jesu Domine! Lord, all pitying, Jesu blest, grantDona eis requiem. Amen. them Thine eternal rest. Amen.
Roman Catholic liturgy
Claudio Monteverdi Ecco mormorar l’onde
The great Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi bridged from the end of the 16th century well into the 17th. His eight published books of madrigals chronicle his musical journey from typical a cappella High Renaissance style to the most innovative Baroque modernities with opera-like soloists, obbligato instruments, basso continuo accompaniments and all the musical accoutrements of the stile concertato which he himself helped define. This madrigal with its delicate sunrise scene comes from his second book, published in 1590. To the outward eye (ear?) it appears to be typically Renaissance sort with pervasive polyphony and obsessive word-painting, but the harmony, rhythm and expression foreshadow his full-blown Baroque style that was still to come with the new century.
Ecco mormorar l’onde Hear the murmuring waterse tremolar le fronde and the rustle in the tree-topsa l’aura mattutina e gl’arborselli as morning breezes stir among the branchese sovra i verdi rami and on the verdant boughsi vagh’augelli cantar soavemente, the birds so sweetly sing airse rider l’oriente; to greet the sunrise;
ecco, già l’alb’appare, see how the dawn arises,e si specchia nel mare mirrored deep in the oceane rasserena il cielo she brightens all the heavense’imperla il dolce gielo, and turns to pearl the dew-drops,e gl’alti monti indora and decks with gold high mountains,o bella e vagh’aurora! O loveliest Aurora!
L’aura è tua messaggiera Breezes are thy heralds e tu de l’aura, and thou their envoy,ch’ogn’arso cor ristaura. sick hearts to life restoring.
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Celebrate!
Celebrate 25 years!
25YEARS25YEARS
Celebrate 25 years!
25YEARS25YEARS
Celebrate 25 years!
25YEARS25YEARS
25YEARS25YEARS
Celebrate 25 years!
Harry Somers Feller from Fortune
Harry Somers was one of the finest and most important Canadian composers of the 20th century. Born and raised in Toronto, he studied with Reginald Godden and John Weinzweig at the Royal Conservatory and later in Paris with Darius Milhaud. He composed in all forms of instrumental and vocal music, including an iconic Canadian opera, Louis Riel, in the centennial year of 1967. An influential figure in the nation’s arts movement, he was one of the founders of the Canadian League of Composers and other important Canadian music organizations, including the Canada Council for the Arts and the Canadian Music Centre. This rambunctious and slightly raunchy folksong arrangement of Feller from Fortune with its seemingly haphazard rhythms is perhaps Somers’ most famous choral piece – part of a vivacious set called Five Songs of the Newfoundland Outports.
There’s lots of fish in Bonavist’ harbour,Lots of fish right in around here’Boys and girls are fishin’ together’Forty-five from Carbonear.
Catch-a-hold this one, catch-a-hold that oneSwing around this one, swing around she;Dance around this one, dance around that oneDiddle-dum this one, diddle-dum dee.
Sally is the pride of Cat Harbour,Ain’t been swung since last year,Drinkin’ rum and wine and cassisWhat the boys brought home from St. Pierre.
Sally goes to church every SundayNot for to sing nor for to hear,But to see the feller from FortuneWhat was down here fishin’ the year.
(Catch-a-hold this one …)
Sally’s got a bouncin’ new baby,Father said that he didn’t care,‘Cause she got that from the feller from FortuneWhat was down here fishin’ the year.
(Catch-a-hold this one …)
Uncle George got up in the mornin’,He got up in an ‘ell of a tearAnd he ripped the arse right out of his britchesNow he’s got ne’er pair to wear.
(Catch-a-hold this one …)
There’s lots of fish in Bonavist’ Harbour,Lots of fishermen in around here;Swing your partner, Jimmy Joe Jacobs,I’ll be home in the spring of the year.
(Catch-a-hold this one …)
INTERMISSION
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1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com
7:30PM | FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 PACIFIC SPIRIT UNITED CHURCH, 2205 W 45TH AVE AT YEW ST
WITH ELMER ISELER SINGERS
A WILDERNESS OF SEA
Two of Canada’s premier ensembles take the stage together – an event not to be missed! The broad theme is the sea and the Vancouver Chamber Choir will present two new works on that theme, with both choirs joining forces in a magical work that has all too long gone unnoted: Toivo Kuula’s Meren virsi (The Hymn of the Sea).
JOIN US FOR A PRE-CONCERT
TALK AT 6:45PM
ELMER ISELER SINGERS LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR
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STUDENTS!For only $15, you can enjoy
some of Canada’s finest choral concerts when you purchase rush tickets to Vancouver Chamber Choir regular
season performances.
All students and youth (26 and under) are welcome.
Tickets are available at the door, one hour before the concert.
Healey Willan Behold, the Tabernacle of God
Healey Willan was Canada’s “Grand Old Man” of choral music. He was a dedicated churchman and liturgist who nevertheless composed prolifically in all forms, sacred and secular. To a large extent Willan’s greatest legacy consists of his many exquisite short a cappella choral works. Behold, the tabernacle is one of these – a masterful combination of balance and expressivity, fluent in melodic and harmonic shape, and containing a true Willan trademark - a phrase of breathtaking length and breadth (it starts on the words “...for the love of whom...”). Composed in 1933, Willan wrote it to mark the 100th anniversary of the Church of St. James (Chicago) and dedicated it to his equally famous American colleague, Leo Sowerby, who was the organist there.
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,and the Spirit of God dwelleth within you:for the temple of God is holy,which temple are ye:for the love of whom ye do this daycelebrate the joys of the templewith a season of festivity.
O how dreadful is this place. This is the house of God,and this is the gate of heav’n.
from antiphons for the Feast of Dedication
Jon WashburnBalm in Gilead
Oxford University Press and their editor Bob Chilcott commissioned this arrangement of Balm in Gilead from Jon Washburn for a collection called Spirituals for Choirs that was published in 2001. The original tune is one of the most well known and beloved songs from the repertory of African-American spirituals. A balm is an ointment or salve that soothes with curative powers. In Biblical times the mountainous region of Gilead west of the Jordan River was famous for its balm, a fragrant oil or gum that came from small evergreen trees. The Bible reference is Jeremiah (8:22), which asks:
“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?” The fervent spiritual song provides the answer: “Yes, there is a balm, and it lies in the Holy Spirit”.
There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole;there is a balm in Gilead,to heal the sin-sick soul.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and think my work in vain,but then the Holy Spiritrevives my soul again.
O never feel discouraged.O never be forlorn,recall that it was to save usthat Jesus Christ was born.
traditional spiritual with additional words by Jon Washburn
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Robert Schumann Zigeunerleben, Op. 29, No.3
Zigeunerleben (Gypsy Life) comes from one of Schumann’s happiest years – 1840, when he married Clara Wieck and embarked on an incredible outpouring of vocal music. This piece uses a “gypsy scale” with a raised 4th degree, and the pairing of voice parts is supposed to evoke two gypsy violins.
Im Schatten de Waldes, im Buchengezweig, From deep in the forest, concealed by trees,da regt’s sich und raschelt und flüstert zugleich. a stirring and rustling is borne on the breeze.Es flackern die Flammen, es gaukelt der Schein A glimmer of torches, a flicker of light,um bunte Gestalten, um Laub und Gestein. as patches of colour take shape in the night.
Da ist der Zigeuner bewegliche Schaar The wandering gypsies, so wild, free of care, mit blitzendem Aug’ und mit wallendem Haar, with eyes flashing brightly, with dark flowing hair;gesäugt an des Niles geheiligter Flut, Some nursed at the bank of the Nile’s sacred flow,gebräunt von Hispaniens südlicher Glut. some burnt by the fire of warm Spain’s southern glow.
Um’s lodernde Feuer in schwellendem Grün ‘Round campfires a-blazing with branches all piled,da lagern die Männer verwildert und kühn, the men making camp look untamed, brutal, wild.da kauern die Weiber und rüsten das Mahl, There crouch all the women preparing the mealund füllen geschäftig den alten Pokal. and filling the goblets with wine as they kneel.
Und Sagen und Lieder ertönen im Rund, Then songs and old legends they sing in the night,wie Spaniens Gärten so blühend und bunt, of gay Spanish gardens so blooming and bright,und magische Sprüche für Not und Gefahr and magical ancestral legends are told,verkündet die Alte der horchenden Schaar. passed on to the young once again by the old.
Schwarzäugige Mädchen beginnen den Tanz; A raven haired maiden begins now to dance,da sprühen die Fackeln im rötlichen Glanz. And bright as a torch burns her passionate glance.Es lockt die Gitarre, die Zimbel klingt, A strumming guitar and the cymbals ring,wie wild und wilder der Reigen sich schlingt! As wilder and wilder they all dance and sing.
Dann ruh’n sie ermüdet vom nächtlichen Reih’n. To rest, then, all weary from nocturnal play.Es rauschen die Buchen im Schlummer sie ein. To rest, deep in slumber, to dream as they may.Und die aus der glücklichen Heimat verbannt, Since they from their beautiful homeland are banned,sie schauen im Traume das glückliche Land. it’s only in dreams they may visit their land.
Doch wie nun im Osten der Morgen erwacht, But as in the east now the darkness takes flight,verlöschen die schönen Gebilde der Nacht, so vanish the gypsies, dark forms of the night.es scharret das Maultier bei Tagesbeginn’, The shuffling of hooves at the breaking of dawn;fort zieh’n die Gestalten, wer sagt dir wohin? they’ve vanished. Who knows where they’ve gone?
Emanuel Geibel
Thank you to tonight’s Concert Patrons,
Mike & Kathy GallagherThe Vancouver Chamber Choir
appreciates your continued support of our performances.
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*
The Healing Seriesh Finding the Still Point music for healing * A healing ambience of calm,
warmth and consolation projected through 15 beloved choral favourites with interconnecting Gregorian chants.
h A Quiet Place music for healing III * An outstanding collection of choral treasures chosen to help find peace, quiet and healing in today’s hectic world.
The Masters Seriesh BaroqueFest Festive music of Bach, Purcell, Handel and Monteverdi from a
gala Expo 86 concert, with Jon Washburn and Michael Corboz conducting their professional choirs from Canada and Switzerland.
h Missa Brevis Four contrasting short masses by Haydn Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo, Fauré Messe basse, von Weber Jubelmesse and Christoph Bernhard Missa Durch Adams Fall.
The Canadian Composer Seriesh A Garden of Bells * R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 1: Early choral works including
Miniwanka, Epitaph for Moonlight, Snowforms, Gamelan, Sun, Fire, Felix’s Girls and A Garden of Bells.
h Imagining Incense* R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 3: Recent choral works including Magic Songs, Three Hymns, Rain Chant, Alleluia, Beautiful Spanish Song, Imagining Incense and other works.
h The Love that Moves the Universe * R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 4: Three outstanding major works recorded in 2018 for the composer’s 85th birthday: the title piece for choir and orchestra, plus The Star Princess and the Waterlilies and Narcissus and Echo.
h Earth Chants Imant Raminsh, Vol. 2 Missa Brevis in C Minor, Earth Chants & smaller works.
h Due West Stephen Chatman, Vol. 2 With oboist Roger Cole and pianist Linda Lee Thomas.
h Due East Stephen Chatman, Vol. 3 The Canadian composer’s latest pieces since 2000.
h Rise! Shine! * Music of Jon Washburn Including The Star, A Stephen Foster Medley, Chinese Melodies, Rossetti Songs, God’s Lamb, Noel Sing We!, Behold I build an house and Rise! Shine!
The Christmas Recordingsh A Dylan Thomas Christmas * The Vancouver Chamber Choir’s signature
performance of A Child’s Christmas in Wales, read by Welsh actor Russell Roberts with special carol settings by Jon Washburn.
h A World Christmas Carols and seasonal songs of many lands from guitarist and arranger Ed Henderson, the Worldfest Ensemble and the Vancouver Chamber Choir with Jon Washburn conducting.
h The Miracle of Christmas Christmas music with a colourful Central and South American flavour played by the ensemble Ancient Cultures with several tracks featuring the Vancouver Chamber Choir.
RECORDINGS FOR SALE IN
THE LOBBY
Thomas Weelkes Like two proud armies
Thomas Weelkes was one of the finest Elizabethan composers of madrigals. Most of his madrigals were composed when he was a very young man - before the age of 25 - working as an organist at Winchester College and pursuing a BMus degree at Oxford. Shortly after that he moved to Chichester Cathedral, got married and settled down to producing anthems and other service music. However, he developed a bad reputation for drinking and unruliness, resulting in his dismissal in his early 40s. Within another half-dozen years, both he and his wife had suffered premature deaths. He was one of the most accomplished and imaginative of the English madrigalists. His best madrigals are full of fantastic imagery and brilliant word-painting, undertaking the time-honoured musical task of describing the tumultuous feelings of a lover. Like two proud armies is distinctly martial in aspect, the opposing forces being beauty and reason.
Like two proud armies marching in the field,joining a thund’ring fight, each scorns to yield; So, in my heart, your beauty and my reason,the one claims the heart, the other says ‘tis treason.But oh your beauty shineth as the Sun,and dazzled reason yields as quite undone.
Thomas Weelkes, we presume
SPRING BREAK A T A R T S U M B R E L L A
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Franz Schubert Quartett “Schicksalslenker”
Schubert’s choral writing falls into two rather distinct styles. The first, found in his masses and other liturgical music, is a “mainstream” classical approach to choral writing, with polyphonic sections that relate directly to traditions of church music that reach back to the Renaissance masters. In most of his secular choral music, however, Schubert found another expression which is more closely related to his Lieder style, where he showed his greatest and most unique genius. Schicksalslenker, a heartfelt song of thanksgiving, is of this kind - a choral song, in which melody reigns supreme and the piano is full partner to the proceedings.
Schicksalslenker, blicke nieder, Ruler of Destiny, look downauf ein dankerfülltes Herz, on a thanks-filled heart;uns belebt die Freude wieder, we are joyful again,fern entfloh’n ist jeder Schmerz. far away is every pain.
Und das Leid, es ist vergessen, And the sorrow, it is forgotten;durch die Nebel strahlt der Glanz through the fog shines the brightness,deiner Größe unermessen, of your immeasurable greatness,wie aus hellem Sternenkranz. as from the brightest ring of stars.
Liebevoll nahmst du der Leiden Lovingly, you took on our burdens – herben Kelch von Vaters Mund, a bitter cup from a father’s lips;darum ward in Fern und Weiten making known far and wide deine höchste Milde kund. your most high benevolence.
Anonymous
Michael Tippett Two Spirituals from A Child of Our Time
In 1939, Sir Michael Tippett’s use of well-known spirituals in his oratorio A Child of Our Time was considered quite audacious, as was his score indication that the spirituals should be “slightly swung.” A Child of our Time was born of Tippett’s revulsion to Nazi war atrocities. It is about a man whose god has left the light of the heavens for the dark of the collective unconscious. Modeling his work on the Passions of J.S. Bach, Tippett needed some contemporarily relevant music that could serve a congregational function, as the Lutheran chorale did in Bach’s works. A chance hearing of Steal away led to the brilliant solution of using traditional spirituals to represent the song of the people. In 1958, Tippett’s publisher asked him to arrange five spirituals for unaccompanied choir. The result is quite different in effect from the oratorio context, yet they fare well in their new, more intimate guise. The dramatic Go down, Moses and lighterBy and by are the third and fourth movements of the complete set.
Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt land;Tell old Pharaoh, to let my people go.
When Israel was in Egypt land, Oppressed so hard they could not stand,
“Thus spoke the Lord,” bold Moses said, “If not, I’ll smite your firstborn dead.”
O by and by, I’m going to lay down my heavy load.
I know my robe’s going to fit me well,I’ve tried it on at the gates of Hell.O Hell is deep and a dark despair;O stop, poor sinner and don’t go there.
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Austrian composer Anton Bruckner is most famous today for his massive symphonies, but in his own time, the last half of the 19th century, he was recognized primarily as a virtuoso organist and composer of music for the liturgy. Peasant-like in appearance, orphaned as a child, naive in conversation, socially gauche, awkward with women despite a never-fulfilled desire for marriage, Bruckner was nevertheless a brilliant and genuine musical mind. Comfortable with the most extensive and leisurely symphonic forms, he was also master of the miniature, witness his numerous short Latin motets. His perfect sense of structure and balance in these brief pieces, his effortless amalgam of self-effacing polyphony and simple homophony, his unerring sense of direction and unfailing ability to touch the heart established a Brucknerian paradigm for the unaccompanied Latin motet: simple, masterful, heartfelt. Success in this rarified air is hard to come by — to this day many composers strive, but few can match his mastery.
Os justi meditabitur sapientiam, The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,et lingua ejus loquetur judicium. And his tongue talks of judgment.
Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius: The law of his God is in his heart;et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus. none of his steps shall slide.Alleluja. Alleluia.
Psalm 37: 30-31
Maurice Duruflé Lux aeterna
The Requiem, Op. 9, was composed in 1947 by the little-publicised French master, Maurice Duruflé. He published only a very small number of works in his lifetime, but each is of the highest integrity and beauty. He is remembered today almost exclusively for this setting of the Mass for the Dead. Duruflé was born in 1902, started his music studies in Rouen and finished at the Paris Conservatoire, where he earned almost every prize in sight. Upon graduation in 1930, he became organist at the Church of St-Étienne-du-Mont and in 1942 he was appointed professor of harmony at the Conservatoire. Much of his music was influenced by his love of Gregorian chant. This Requiem, too, is based on that melodic art, enriched with the gentle counterpoint, rich harmonies and lush voicings of a characteristically French impressionism. Tonight we perform the seventh movement, Lux æterna.
Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, Light eternal shine on them, Lord,cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. with your saints forever, for you are merciful.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, Rest eternal grant them, Lord,et lux perpetua luceat eis. and light perpetual shine on them.
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William Dawson Ain’-a that good news!
William Dawson was an African-American composer, choir director and music professor. Born in Alabama, he studied at the Chicago Musical College and the American Conservatory of Music. He taught for 25 years at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. During this period, he developed the Tuskegee Institute Choir into an internationally renowned ensemble; they were invited to sing at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall in 1932 for a week of six daily performances. Dawson’s arrangements of traditional African-American spirituals are widely published in the United States and are still regularly performed by school, college and community choral programs. Ain’-a that good news! is one of the most famous of these many choral arrangements.
I got a crown up in-a the Kingdom,Ain’-a that good news!
I’m a-goin’ to lay down this worl’,Goin’-a shoulder up-uh my cross,Goin’-a take it home-a to my Jesus,Ain’-a that good news!
I got a harp up in-a the Kingdom,Ain’-a that good news!
I got a robe up in-a the Kingdom,Ain’-a that good news!
I got a Saviour in-a the Kingdom,Ain’-a that good news!
Leonard Bernstein The Best of All Possible Worlds
Leonard Bernstein was a 20th-century phenomenon – a fabulously successful, jet-setting conductor, composer, pianist, author, lecturer, entertainer and raconteur. Much of his fame derived from his long tenure as the music director of the New York Philharmonic from 1957-1969. Just prior to that appointment he had completed the music for the operetta Candide, which was first performed in 1956 with a libretto by Lillian Hellman based on the famous novella by Voltaire. Although the first production was considered a failure, closing on Broadway after only (!) two months and 73 performances, there have subsequently been many successful productions, and the brilliant classical/jazz mix of the music has become immensely popular. This vivacious setting of Candide’s effervescent optimism has lyrics from John La Touche and a masterful choral arrangement by Robert Page.
Let us review lesson eleven, paragraph two, axiom seven.Once one dismisses the rest of all possible worlds,one finds that this is the best of all possible worlds.
Pray, classify pigeons and camels.Pigeons can fly. Camels are mammals.There is a reason for everything under the sun.
Objection! Oh? What about snakes? Well, Let me see!
‘Twas Snake that tempted Mother Eve. Because of Snake we now believethat though depraved, we can be saved from hellfire and damnation.Because of Snake’s temptation.If Snake had not seduced our lot, and primed us for salvation,Jehovah could not pardon all the sins that we call cardinal,involving bed and bottle! Now on to Aristotle! Okay!
Mankind is one, all men are brothers.As you’d have done,do unto others,it’s understood in this best of all possible worlds,all’s for the good in the best of all possible worlds.
Objection! Yes! What about war? Well, it seems to me....
Though war may seem a bloody curse,it is a blessing in reverse.When cannons roar, both rich and poor by danger are united. Till ev’ry wrong is righted. Yes!Philosophers make evident the point that I have cited.
‘Tis war makes equal, as it were, the noble and the commoner,thus war improves relations. Now on to conjugations.
Amo, amas, amat, amamus.Proving that this is the best of all possible worlds.With love and kisses, the best of all possible worlds.Quod erat demonstrandum! Q. E. D.
John La Touche
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W I T H O U R T H A N K S
The Vancouver Chamber Choir is pleased to thank and acknowledge our Corporate and Individual Sponsors and Donors as well as the Foundations and Government Agencies who, through their leadership and financial support over the past season, make it possible for the Vancouver Chamber Choir to present outstanding high-quality performances of choral music and deliver award-winning education and community programs.1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212
$15,000+ | Sun Life*$10,000 - $14,999 | Pille Bunnell & David Tait * $ 5,000 - $ 9,999 | Anonymous | Canada Life* | Tama Copithorne* | Cameron Haney* | Ron Haney* | Kinder Morgan Foundation | George Laverock & Jane Coop* | Douglas & Teri Loughran | TD Group* | Tong & Geraldine Louie Family Foundation $ 2,500 - $ 4,999 | Anonymous * | Andrew Mahon Foundation | Bryan & Gail Atkins* | Bishop’s* | Chan Centre Endowment Fund | David Cousins* | C-Pac Canada Ltd* | Deux Mille Foundation | Count Enrico & Countess Aline Dobrzensky* | Charles & Lucile Flavelle* | Mike & Kathy Gallagher | Gramercy Developments Ltd. | Kassia Grewal | Janis Hamilton* | Ann Howe* | Don & Pat Hudson* | Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundation | Doris Luking* | Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation* | Mary & Gordon Christopher Foundation | McLean Foundation | Music BC | Dr. Robert Rothwell* | SOCAN Foundation* | Ian Tait* | Jon Washburn & Linda Lee Thomas* | Fei Wong$ 1,500 - $ 2,499 | Alan & Gwendoline Pyatt Foundation | Anne Bonnycastle & Matt Powell | Mark De Silva* | Al & Violet Goosen* | The Hamber Foundation | Heathcliff Foundation | Donna Hogge* | Linda Johnston* | Lakewood Development Ltd. | Rita Nash* | Viviane Nitting* | Drs. Katherine Paton & Jeff Beckman | John & Leonora Pauls* | RBC Foundation | Rix Family Foundation | ZLC Foundation$ 1,000 - $ 1,499 | Anonymous | Air Canada | Janet Allwork* | Matthew Baird* | Steven Bélanger | Burrowing Owl | Vaughn Chauvin & Carolyn Shiau | The Christopher Foundation* | Drs. Robin & Margaret Cottle* | Sylvia Crooks* | Dan Deranleau for Pacifica Singers | Diamond Foundation | Jerry & Lilli Luking | McGrane-Pearson Endowment Fund | North South Travel | Quails’ Gate | Morag Whitfield* $ 500 - $ 999 | Anonymous (4) | Elizabeth Caskey* | Peter Cass* | Isobel Cole* | Jeanette Gallant | Brian G’froerer | Linda Hamilton* | David Harvey | Brent Hunter | Catherine Imrie | Izumo-Canada Friendship Society | J. Evan & Janice Kreider | Sophia Leung | Natalie Marshik | Colin Miles* | Sharon Newman* | Christine Nicolas* | Philip & Claire Daykin Charitable Fund | The Simons Foundation Canada* | Harry Snyders | Mark & Debbie Toole | Cara Ventura | William Vermeulen | Eric Wilson* | William Worrall$ 250 - $ 499 | Mike Barnett | Shirley Bens | Joost Blom | Peter W. Brown* | Stephen Chatman & Tara Wohlberg | Ed and Dorothy Chiasson | Jane Ciacci | Dr. Terence Dawson | Andrew Dilts | Ellen Doise | Ismail Farahani & Myrna Driol* | Wendy Kish | William Korol | Dr. & Mrs. James & Josephine Lai* | Tim & Fiona Laithwaite* | Carol Ann Lang* | Bonnie MacKenzie* | Kathy Mann | Dubravko Pajalic* | Frances Picherack | R. Lindsay Perceval | Elizabeth Rathbun | Pat Rekert | Judith Roberts | Ilze Roffey | Anthony Roper | Pat Scrivens | Matthew Senf | Elizabeth Spencer | Ching Tien | Cynthia Toze | Victoria Uberall* | Barrie & Margaret Vickers* | Gerald & Johanne Voogd* | Jamie & Ellen Wilcox | Glen Wutzke | Kerri Wyse McNolty $ 100 - $ 249 |Anonymous (5) | Rita Acton | Gloria Aldrich | Bonnie Anderson | Fred & Eva Bild | Lloyd Burritt | George Challies* | Cecilia Chueh* | Reg & Laura Cichos | Cull Family Foundation | Dr. Pamela Dalziel | Marilyn deVerteuil* | Marna Disbrow | Richard Dolan | Monica & Earle Drake | Rod & Janice Dyck | Morna Edmundson | Susan Edwards | Elektra Women’s Choir | Tom Ellis | Ian Farthing | Susie Funk | Thom Geise* | Kenneth Gracie | Roger & Susan Grose | Michael B. Hare | Dr. Peter T. Harmon* | Johanna Hickey | David Hilton | Donna Hinds | Marian Hingston | Ralph Huenemann & Deidre Roberts* | William & Heather Ireland* | Dianne Kennedy | Linda Kinney | Wendy Klein | Dr. & Mrs. Hans Kouwenberg* | Ron Lambert | Brenda Lloyd | Alan & Helen Maberley | Nicolas & Marta Maftei* | Dennis & Christine Magrega | Cynthia Mak | Laurel March | Dr. Jasenka P. Matisic | Chris McGill | Donald McRae | Peter Mercer | Craig Morash* | Alexandra Nicolas | Sumiko Nishizawa | Winnie Nowell | Hazel Osborne | William Patey | Ian Perry* | Jocelyn Pritchard | Walter Quan | Douglas Reid* | Juan Salazar de Leon | Shirley Sexsmith* | Beverly Short* | Judah & Barbara Shumiatcher | Elizabeth Snow | Ian & Jane Strang* | Janice Trenholme | Trinity Western University | Urban Impact Recycling* | José Verstappen* | Olga Volkoff | Mavourneen Wadge | Harry & Penny Sengara | Gwyneth Westwick* | Tom Whalley | Theresa Wright Up to $100 | Anonymous (7) | Frank & Anita Anderson | Lois Bewley | Marylin Clark* | Jenny Crober | Colin Dowson | Judith Forst* | Nancy Garrett | Jane Gilchrist | Drusilla Harding | Stephen Heeney | Raymond Kam | Mary Leach | Nozomi Nakamura | Jean Pamplin | Jennifer Price | David Rain | Lorraine Reinhardt* | Stan Ridley | George & Frances Roberts | Rogers’ Chocolates | Dave Rosborough | Polly Sams | Karen Seaboyer* | David K. Stewart | Dr. Heather Sutherland | Lucille Taylor | Wendy & Christopher Walker
* Special Thanks to our Most Loyal DonorsThe Vancouver Chamber Choir acknowledges the sustained generosity of those who have supported the Choir for five or more continuous years. Their names have been marked with an asterisk (*).
IN REMEMBRANCE
Maurice D. Copithorne, QC, LLD | Fred & Eva Bild | | Joost Blom | Jane Ciacci | Sylvia Crooks | Monica & Earle Drake | Janis Hamilton | Stephen Heeney | David Hilton | Izumo-Canada Friendship Society | Linda Johnston | Raymond Kam | Wendy Klein | Cynthia Mak | Chris McGill | Donald McRae | Nozomi Nakamura | Christine Nicolas | R. Lindsay Perceval | Pat Rekert | Theresa Wright|
Laverne G’froerer | Maurice & Tama Copithorne | Brian G’froerer
My wife, Marion Haney | Ron Haney
Björn Nitting | Al & Violet Goosen | Viviane Nitting | John & Leonora Pauls
In memory of Bob | Jean Pamplin
IN HONOUR
Shirley Bens – in honour of Dr. Robert Rothwell’s retirement
1.855.985.ARTS (2787) vancouverchamberchoir.com
7:30PM | GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020 THE ORPHEUM, 601 SMITHE ST AT SEYMOUR ST WITH ZACH FINKELSTEIN, GUEST TENOR SOLOIST PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
ST. JOHN PASSION
The longevity and success of Bach’s passions are based on their deep grasp of humanity. The range of emotions and the psychological acuity of Bach make the story arresting time after time. The St. John Passion is the more dramatic and concise of the two Bach passions, which are an important part of the cultural inheritance of mankind. While Bach’s works are easy to find in recordings, the intensity of this music needs to be experienced in concert.
