©1998-2008
The DeKalb Choral Guild, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Songs of Love

Mary E. Root, MM, Director
Leanne Elmer Herrman, Accompanist
With special guest artist Phyllis Herrmann, piano

Presented in conjunction with Arts and Ideas at Oglethorpe

February 14, 1998
Lupton Auditorium
Oglethorpe University
Atlanta, Georgia

This Is My Song by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking by Jean Berger (b. 1909)

Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) from Trois Chansons
Miffanwy Mistretta, soprano; Malie Umbach, alto; Larry Roddam, tenor; Kevin Spears, bass

Sing and Dance by Thomas Benjamin (b 1940)

Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Phyllis Elmer and Leanne Elmer Herrmann, piano

Madrigals Performed by the Chamber Singers

Your Shining Eyes by Thomas Bateson (c. 1570-1630)
In These Delightful, Pleasant Groves by Henry Purcell (1658-1695)
Rest, Sweet Nymphs by Francis Pilkington (?-1638)
Let Go, Why Do You Stay Me? By John Bennett (c. 1570-1615)

Bright Journeys: Songs of Love and Light by Daniel E. Gawthrop (b. 1949)

Folk Songs

Annie Laurie by Lady John Scott (17th century), arr. Robert Shaw and Alice Parker
I Love My Love by Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Beautiful Dreamer by Stephen Foster (1826-1864), arr. Robert Shaw and Alice Parker
Larry Roddam, tenor

Program Notes

by Michaelene Corney

This Is My Song by Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
"This Is My Song" is a harmonization of the well-known melody from the orchestral tone poem, Finlandia, by Jean Sibelius. The DeKalb Choral Guild has proudly adopted this piece as its theme for the 1997-98 season. This particular harmonization is a composite of versions found in The Church Hymnary (Revised, 1927), The Hymnal (Presbyterian, 1933), and Sibelius' own piano score for Finlandia.

If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking by Jean Berger (b. 1909)
Berger is a German-born American composer and conductor. After studying in Vienna and Heidelberg, he pursued studies in France, where he conducted a choral group specializing in the original harmonizations of French folk songs. He became a French citizen in 1935. In 1939, after the Germans invaded Poland, he emigrated to Brazil and found work with the Rio de Janeiro Opera. Berger moved to New York in 1941 and became a vocal coach and arranger for CBS and NBC; in 1942, he became a United States citizen. Since then, he has taught at several colleges, founded the John Sheppard Music Press, and has edited several 17th century works.

Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
from Trois Chansons
Ravel wrote the Trois Chansons prior to his departure for the service in World War I. Having previously been exempted from the military, he begged to serve when the war began. The horrors of war aroused no fear in him, "And yet I am peaceful man." he wrote. "I have never been brave. But there it is, I am eager for adventure. It has such a fascination that it becomes a necessity. What will I do, what will many others do, when the war is over?"

The Trois Chansons, with texts by the composer, recall the French Renaissance chanson, with "Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis" representing the traditional chanson. The colors of the trois beaux oiseaux are those of the French flag - blue, white, and red - and the poem's colloquial refrain refers to the burdens of war.

Sing and Dance by Thomas Benjamin (b 1940)
Thomas Benjamin, born in Beddington, Vermont, studied at Brandeis University, Harvard, the Eastman School of Music, and Bard College. He now lives in Maryland. In "Sing and Dance," Benjamin uses changing rhythms and meters to express the joy and the introspection embodied in selected lines of text from Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet.

Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Lacking a court or public appointment, Brahms made a place for himself in the musical life of Hamburg, Germany, as a pianist and as the conductor of a women's choir which he founded. Though now considered the epitome of Romanticism, his music was little known - and accepted even less - by the public of his time. This even though Robert Schumann hailed Brahms as "a new musical force," acclaimed for his modesty as well as his talent. The performance of his Requiem, Liebeslieder Walzer, and Rhapsodv in close succession finally brought Brahms public recognition.

As texts for the Liebeslieder, Brahms chose poems from Daumer's Polydora, a collection of translations and imitations of folk poetry, primarily Russian, Polish, and Magyar. The predominant sentiments are the joy and rapture of love. These settings, for four-hand piano, would credit the "Waltz King," Johann Strauss, for whom Brahms expressed great admiration. They were written "for piano duet with voices ad libitum," implying that the songs could be performed without voices. But the vocal parts, originally performed by solo quartet, have an integrity of their own, and contribute substantially to the music. Having the character of the Viennese landler (a dance with the rhythm and character of a slow waltz), the Liebeslieder are a true reflection of the Magyar and Slavic poetry that inspired them.

English Madrigals
The word "madrigal" typically refers to Italian vocal music of the 16th century. The derivation of the word, though unclear, indicates several possible origins: "pastoral song"; secular song (as opposed to spiritual); a song "in the mother tongue"; or one "belonging to Mother Church" (in which case the lusty spirit of many a madrigal strays far from its original purpose! Through the madrigal, artists of the 16th century sought to develop a more refined poetry than previously in use, and to enhance its meaning with music. By the end of the 16th century, the music itself became exaggerated and mannered, employing musical "word-painting," dramatic effects, and vocal virtuosity. The madrigal was readily adopted in England, where composers adapted it to peculiarities of the English language and imbued it with the English penchant for merriment and melancholy.

Bright Journeys: Songs of Love and Light, by Daniel E. Gawthrop (b. 1949)
Daniel Gawthrop, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, performed vocal and instrumental music as a youth, and studied organ and composition at Michigan State University and Brigham Young University. He has received several grants and commissions, including one from the American Choral Directors Association, and his choral works have been performed by hundreds of groups in the U.S. and abroad. He is active as a composer, broadcaster, clinician, church musician, conductor, teacher, and writer.

According to the publisher, "The text of 'Bright Journeys'" by Jane Griner, "...makes use of imagery of the changing light of morning, noonday, and dusk as metaphor for the growth of a love through youth, maturity, and into old age." Gawthrop says of his piece, "...I consider it one of my better efforts and it is particularly close to my heart."

Folk Songs
Folk music is that body of music that encompasses the everyday lives, loves, dreams, and traditions of a community. "Annie Laurie" and "I Love My Love" hail from the British Isles, while "Beautiful Dreamer" represents the younger traditions of the United States. "Annie Laurie" is a Scottish ballad by Lady John Scott. The words were written in 1685 by William Douglas of Fingland, who loved the daughter of the First Baronet of Maxwelton; her name is immortalized in this song. "I Love My Love" is a Cornish folk song. "Beautiful Dreamer" was written by Stephen Foster late in his life. Destitute, broken by changing times and the need to produce hack writing just to survive, he still managed to capture this last lyrical gleam of inspiration.