François Couperin’s

March 28, 2021 • 6 pm

leçons de ténèbres

Leçons de ténèbres (1714)François Couperin (1668–1733)

Laura Choi Stuart, soprano Elissa Edwards, soprano

Loren Ludwig, viola da gamba William Sims, theorbo

Thomas Sheehan, organ

About the MusicWritten in 1714 for the Holy Week services at the Abbaye royale de Longchamp, François Couperin’s setting of the Leçons de ténèbres has become a mainstay of the French baroque chamber music repertoire. Expressive and emotionally charged, this work sets a portion of the scripture readings for the service of Tenebrae, a nighttime service offered the evenings be-fore Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Couperin’s settings of the Friday and Saturday music have been lost, but the three lessons for Thursday remain, marked with the subtitle “pour le Mercredy,” referring to the practice of be-ginning a liturgical day at sundown the night before. Thus Thursday’s lessons are traditionally read on Wednesday evening.

Meaning “shadows” or “darkness” in Latin, Tenebrae is a Holy Week-specific combination of the traditional services of Matins and Lauds, at which chanted psalms alternate with chanted scriptural readings. The readings on these three nights are partially taken from the Old Testament Lamentations of Jeremiah, which is a series of poetic musings on the ancient destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. In the context of Tenebrae, the Lamentations are presented allegorically, using the heartbreak and disappointment of Jeremiah as an emotional parallel to our feelings surrounding the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Poetically, the Book of Lamentations is quite unusual, since in its original language of Hebrew, it is an acrostic poem, with the first letter of each verse being one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In order to preserve a sense of this poetic structure, the Hebrew letters are traditionally read at the beginning of each verse, even when the text is translated into other languages.

Although Couperin’s setting of these texts is today the most frequently heard, there were numerous settings by his con-temporaries. In fact, the “Leçons de ténèbres genre” became a quite richly developed kind of French baroque vocal cham-ber music. The settings were always scored for a small number of voices. Longchamp Abbey was a convent of nuns, so it is perhaps unsurprising that Couperin chose two sopranos as the vocal forces. The first two leçons are for each soprano as a soloist, and they join together in a richly expressive duet texture for the third.

In the baroque era, the standard starting place for all instrumental chamber music was the basso continuo. In France at this time, that would invariably include a basse de viole (viola da gamba) and at least one chordal instrument, which would improvise harmonic content over the bowed bass line. In this evening’s performance, the chordal instruments are a bass lute known as a theorbo and a chamber organ.

The composition quite deftly avoids the affectual monotony that could be a danger when setting this poetry. Couperin uses the Hebrew letters as emotional turning points. Sometimes their music transitions from one emotion into another, and sometimes they are simply islands of expressive contrast amidst what surrounds them. Some of the most beautiful mu-sic in this piece is contained in these letter sections as they provide a respite from the darkness around them. Each lesson ends with the same refrain, though treated differently. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!” tells us how things can be different, and how all is not lost. It gives us hope in this darkest part of the liturgical year.

Premiere Leçon

Incipit Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae.

Aleph. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo? Facta est quasi vidua, Domina gentium: princeps provincia-rum facta est sub tributo.

Beth. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lachrymae ejus in max-illis ejus: non est qui consoletur eam ex omnibus charis ejus. Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam, et facti sunt ei inimici.

Gimel. Migravit Juda propter afflictionem et multitudi-nem servitutis; habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requi-em: omnes persecutores ejus apprehenderunt eam inter angustias.

Daleth. Viae Sion lugent, eo quod non sint qui veniant ad solemnitatem: omnes portae ejus destructae, sacer-dotes ejus gementes, virgines ejus squalidae, et ipsa op-pressa amaritudine.

He. Facti sunt hostes ejus in capite, inimici ejus locuple-tati sunt; quia Dominus locutus est super eam, propter multitudinem iniquitatem ejus. Parvuli ejus ducti sunt in captivitatem, ante faciem tribulantis.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.

Seconde Leçon

Vau. Et egressus est a filia Sion, omnis decor ejus: facti sunt principes ejus velut arietes non invenientes pascua; et abierunt absque fortitudine ante faciem subsequentis.

Zain. Recordata est Jerusalem dierum afflictionis suae, et praevaricationis omnium desiderabilium suorum, quae habuerat a diebus antiquis, cum caderet populis ejus in manu hostili, et non esset auxiliator. Viderunt eam hostes, et deriserunt sabbata ejus.

Heth. Peccatum peccavit Jerusalem, propterea instabilis facta est. Omnes qui glorificabant eam spreverunt illam: quoniam viderunt ignominiam ejus. Ipsa autem gemens conversa est retrorsum.

Teth. Sordes ejus in pedibus ejus, nec recordata est finis sui: deposita est vehementer non habens consolatorem: vide, Domine, afflictionem meam, quoniam erectus est inimicus.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.

First Lesson

The beginning of the Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet.

Aleph. How solitary lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow has she become, she that was great among the nations! She that was queen among the cities has now become a vassal.

Beth. She weeps bitterly in the night, tears run down her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all become her enemies.

Gimel. Judah has gone into the misery of exile and of hard servitude; she dwells now among the nations, but finds no resting place; all her pursuers overtook her in the midst of her anguish.

Daleth. The roads to Zion mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts; all her gates are desolate, her priests groan and sigh; her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bit-terness.

He. Her adversaries have become her masters, her ene-mies prosper; because the Lord has punished her for the multitude of her rebellions; her children are gone, driven away as captives by the enemy.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

Second Lesson

Waw. And from Daughter Zion all her majesty has de-parted; her princes have become like stags that can find no pasture, and that run without strength before the hunter.

Zayin. Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and bitterness all the precious things that were hers from the days of old; when her people fell into the hand of the foe, and there was none to help her; the adversary saw her, and mocked at her downfall.

Heth. Jerusalem has sinned greatly, therefore she has be-come a thing unclean; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; and now she sighs, and turns her face away.

Teth. Uncleanness clung to her skirts, she took no thought of her doom; therefore her fall is terrible, she has no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

Troisiéme Leçon.

Jod. Manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia ejus; quia vidit gentes ingressas Sanctuarium suum, de quibus praeceperas, ne intrarent in Ecclesiam tuam.

Caph. Omnis populus ejus gemens, et quaerens panem, dederunt pretiosa quaeque procibo, ad refocillandam an-imam. Vide, Domine, et considera quoniam facta sum vilis.

Lamed. O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus; quoniam vindemia-vit me, ut locutus est Dominus in die irae furoris sui.

Mem. De excelso misit ignem in ossibus meis, et erudivit me: Expandit rete pedibus meis, convertit me retrorsum: posuit me desolatam, tota die moerore confectam.

Nun. Vigilavit jugum iniquitatum mearum; in manu ejus convolutae sunt, et impositae collo meo; infirmata est virtus mea: dedit me Dominus in manu, de qua non potero surgere.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.

Third Lesson

Yodh. The adversary has stretched out his hand to seize all her precious things; she has seen the Gentiles invade her sanctuary, those whom you had forbidden to enter your congregation.

Kaph. All her people groan as they search for bread; they sell their own children for food to revive their strength. “Behold, O Lord, and consider, for I am now beneath contempt!”

Lamedh. Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Be-hold and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow, which was brought upon me, which the Lord inflicted, on the day of his burning anger.

Mem. From on high he sent fire, into my bones it de-scended; he spread a net for my feet, and turned me back; he has left me desolate and faint all the day long.

Nun. My transgressions were bound into a yoke; by his hand they were fastened together; their yoke is upon my neck; he has caused my strength to fail. The Lord has de-livered me into their hands, against whom I am not able to stand up.

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return to the Lord your God!

About the Artists

Hailed as “a lyric soprano of ravishing quality” by The Boston Globe, Laura Choi Stuart has appeared on the mainstage with Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Annapolis Opera, Lake George Opera, the In Series, and Opera North in roles includ-ing Musetta, Adina, Gilda, Pamina, and Frasquita.

Equally comfortable in recital and concert settings, Laura was honored for art song performance as 2nd prize winner at both the 2010 and 2012 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards and as one of the 2009 Art Song Discovery Series winners for the Vocal Arts Society. Based in the Washington, DC area, Laura appears regularly with the Washing-ton Bach Consort and the Washington Master Chorale, in addition to solo appearances with many area ensembles. Solo highlights of recent seasons include Messiah at the Washington National Cathedral, Brahms A German Requiem, a holiday celebration featuring Bach Cantata 51 and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with the New Orchestra of Washington, and works of Tavener and Mealor with Cantate. She received her training at The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers, Opera North, and Berkshire Opera, as well as The New England Conservatory and Dartmouth College.

Laura is Head of Vocal Studies at the Washington National Cathedral and maintains a private teaching studio, as well as sharing resources for adult recreational choral singers over at The Weekly Warm-Up. (theweeklywarmup.com)

Soprano Elissa Edwards is an exponent of vocal chamber music and opera of the 17th and 18th centuries. She is also a sacred music specialist and has been a featured soloist in many oratorio and cantata performances in the US and UK. Performance highlights include featured appearances with the 2019 Barbara Strozzi Symposium at Princeton University, Gotham Early Music Series, Bach in Baltimore, American Harp Society, Amherst Early Music Festival, Yorkshire Baroque Soloists and The National Center for Early Music, UK. Ms. Edwards is the Artistic Director of the Élan Ensemble, ensemble-in-resi-dence of the Hammond-Harwood House Museum and is on the faculty of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and the The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Edwards has won many awards and grants for her creative con-tributions to the field including the Maryland State Individual Artist’s Award, the National Endowment for the Humanities and Winterthur Museum & Library for her scholarly presentations of music. Her training includes studies at the Royal College of Music, London and performance degrees from Boston University (BM) and University of York, UK (MA). Her new album, Vago Desio, which features cantatas and arias from Barbara Strozzi’s Opus 8 (Acis APL90277) is now available. (www.elissaedwards.com)

Loren Ludwig is a viola da gamba player and music historian based in Baltimore, MD. He researches what he describes as “polyphonic intimacy,” the idea that music in the Western tradition is constructed to foster social relationships among its performers and listeners. Current research/performance projects include the use of the viola da gamba in eighteenth-century British colonial America and the reconstruction of a lost tradition of Early Republic New England string ensemble playing. Loren’s research on (and interactive recordings of ) the “alchemical fugues” from Michael Maier’s alchemical emblem book Atalanta Fugiens (1618) can be found at www.furnaceandfugue.org. Loren is a co-founder of LeStrange Viols and Science Ficta and performs with ACRONYM, Ruckus, and numerous ensembles in the US and abroad. (www.lorenludwig.com)

William Simms is an active performer of early music. Equally adept on lute, theorbo and baroque guitar, he appears regular-ly with Apollo’s Fire, Washington Bach Consort, Ensemble Vermillian, Tempesta di Mare, and Three Notch’d Road. He has performed numerous operas, cantatas, and oratorios with such ensembles as Washington National Opera, The Cleveland Opera, Opera Lafayette, and American Opera Theatre. Venues include Washington National Cathedral; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Library of Congress; the Corcoran Gallery; the Kennedy Center; and The Barns at Wolftrap. He has toured and recorded with The Baltimore Consort as well as with Apollo’s Fire. His recording with Ronn McFarlane, Two Lutes, was the CD pick of the week on WETA in Washington, DC in 2012. Mr. Simms received a Bachelor of Music from The College of Wooster and a Master of Music from Peabody Conservatory. He serves on the faculties of Mount St. Mary’s University and Hood College and is the founder and director of the Hood College Early Music Ensemble. He has recorded for the Dorian, Centaur, Naxos, and Eclectra labels.

Thomas Sheehan is the Organist and Associate Director of Music at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, where he is responsible for the organ music for the Cathedral’s daily services as well as for the major civic events hosted in this building. This includes most recently the Cathedral’s live-streamed virtual services, which have been viewed by hundreds of thousands around the world, and the virtual National Prayer Service for the Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Prior to this position, he served on the music staff of the Memorial Church, Harvard University; Saint Mark’s Church in Philadelphia, PA; and Trinity Episcopal Church in Princeton, NJ. Tom is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received diplomas in organ and harpsichord, studying with Alan Morrison and Leon Schelhase. He received both the Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, as a student of Ken Cowan. He is currently a doctoral candidate in organ at Boston University as a student of Peter Sykes. He has performed as an organist throughout the United States, in Canada, and in Europe, including international recital appearances in Reykjavík, Toulouse, and Montréal.