In Concert - Schubert’s Mass in G
Folk Songs of America and the British Isles

Magdalen, Cease from Sobs and Sighs, arr. Peter Hurford

Annie Laurie, arr. Shaw & Parker

Keep Your Lamps, arr. André Thomas
Leanne Elmer Herrmann, conga drums

I Love My Love, arr. Gustav Holst

He's Gone Away, arr. Shaw & Parker
Barbara Pettitt, soprano

Beautiful Dreamer, arr. Shaw & Parker
Larry Roddam, tenor

O Waly, Waly, arr. John Rutter

Shenandoah, arr. James Erbe

Fare You Well, arr. Undine Smith Moore
Joel Hansel, tenor; K.C. Hansel, soprano

Danny Boy, arr. Joseph Flummerfelt

Old McDonald Had a Farm, arr. Tristan Foison

PROGRAM NOTES

By Michaelene Gorney

Franz Peter Schubert, Mass No. 2 in G Major, D. 167
The Mass No. 2 in G Major was written within the space of five days, March 2-7, 1815. This is the shortest and simplest of Schubert's seven masses, intended for performance in his parish church of Lichenthal. The chamber instrumentation for strings is a beautifully transparent setting for use in a small church with limited resources. The Mass setting is restrained and conservative, reminiscent of Mozart or early Beethoven. It contains those portions of the Ordinary of the Mass that are most frequently set to music - Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Angus Dei - in the original Latin.

Like Mozart, Schubert was not an orthodox Catholic. His personal piety had its roots in Josephism, a liberal religious attitude prevalent under Emperor Joseph II, which caused him to omit the following line from the Credo: Credo in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam ("I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church"). Though unorthodox, Schubert was a deeply religious man. In a letter to his father, he wrote, "People have wondered at the piety I express in a hymn to the Virgin Mary, which seems to move every soul and to dispose the listener to prayer. I think that is because I never force myself to pray and, except when devotion involuntarily overpowers me, I never compose that kind of hymn or prayer -- when I do, then the piety I give voice to is genuine and deeply felt."

Folksongs of America and the British Isles

Folk music is that body of music which encompasses the everyday lives, loves, dreams, and traditions of a community and which depends upon members of the community to preserve it and to pass it on. By far, the greatest part of folk repertory involves singing and is known as folksong.

The folksongs chosen for this concert represent the closely linked cultures of the United States and the British Isles. Those hailing from the British Isles include "I Love My Love," a Cornish folksong; "Danny Boy," a Londonderry air with words by Frederick B. Wethersby; "O Waly, Waly," from Somerset; "Magdelen, Cease From Sobs and Sighs," originally a German tune with words from The Coznley Carol Book; possibly "Old McDonald," a child's tune; and "Annie Laurie," a Scottish ballad by Lady John Scott. The worlds to "Annie Laurie" were written by William Douglas of Fingland, 1685, who loved the daughter of the First Baronet of Maxwelton, and whose name is immortalized in this song. Of American origin are "He's Gone Away"; two African-American spirituals, "Keep Your Lamps" and "Fare You Well"; "Beautiful Dreamer," by Stephen Foster; and "Shenandoah." There are several versions of "Shenandoah," one of which tells of the love of a riverman for the daughter of a Native American chieftain, Shenandoah.

The skilled arrangements you will hear, by James Erbe, Joseph Flummerfelt, Undine Smith Moore, André Thomas, Peter Hurford, Tristan Foison, John Rutter, Gustav Holst, Alice Parker, and Robert Shaw -many of them composers in their own right-honor and preserve the memory of folksong, the inspiration of many a great work.