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Early for the Holidays

Bryan F. Black, Director
Leanne Elmer Herrmann, Accompanist
Dania McDonald, Harpist

In conjunction with Arts & Ideas at Oglethorpe University

Saturday, December 14, 2002
Conant Center for the Arts
Oglethorpe University
Atlanta, Georgia

Hodie Christus Natus Est (1619) by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621)

Xicochi Xicochi Conetzintle by Gaspar Fernandes (c. 1570-1629), arr. Christopher Moroney (2000)
   Performed by The Chamber Singers

Angelus Ad Virginem (14th Century Carol), arr. David Willcocks (b. 1919)
   Performed by The Chamber Singers
   Terese Rabbitt, soprano

O Nata Lux (1997) by Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) from Lux Aeterna

A Spotless Rose (1919) by Herbert Howells (1892-1983), text from an anonymous 14th century author
   Ben Bailey, baritone

A Ceremony of Carols, Opus 28 (1942-3) by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
   Dania McDonald, harp

   1. Procession
   2. Wolcum Yole!
   3. There is no Rose
   4a. That Yongë Child
      Polly Nelms Hickman, soprano
   4b. Balulalow
      Paula Keinert, soprano
   5. As Dew in Aprille
   6. This Little Babe
   7. Interlude
   8. In Freezing Winter Night
      Peggy Emery, soprano
   9. Spring Carol
      Barb Pettitt and Mary Slaughter, sopranos
   10. Deo Gracias
   11. Recession

A Merry Christmas (1935) arr. Arthur Warrell (1883-1939)
Traditional West Country Carol

The Twelve Days After Christmas by Frederick Silver (b. 1936)

Program Notes

"Hodie Christus Natus Est" was written by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621), a Dutch teacher, composer, and organist who played a major part in the transition of musical style from the Renaissance to the Baroque. Celebrated for his mastery of the keyboard and keyboard improvisation (he was called the "Orpheus of Amsterdam"), Sweelinck was also renowned as a teacher, counting among his pupils several founders of what is referred to as the north German organ school. In addition to his 70 keyboard works, Sweelinck composed about 260 vocal pieces, including psalms, canticles, chansons, and madrigals. "Hodie Christus Natus Est" exemplifies the music of the Renaissance, as Donald Jay Grout defines it, in its use of the a cappella choir as the ideal performing ensemble, in the equality of voices presenting musical motives in imitative counterpoint, and in the "chordal" sonorities resulting from modal melodic movement, with the bass providing a harmonic foundation.

Portuguese-born Gaspar Fernandes (c. 1570-1629) served for many years as Chapelmaster of the Puebla (Mexico) Cathedral, having previously served as organist and Chapelmaster in Guatemala. A volume of his works, carried to the Oaxaca Cathedral after his death, is recognized as the earliest extensive collection of New World vernacular music, or music in the language of the native culture. Fernandes attempted to integrate the styles and traits of New Spain's indigenous peoples into his music as well. "Xicochi xicochi conetzintle," arranged by Christopher Moroney, Artistic Director of the San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble, is a lullaby adapted to the Tlaxcalan dialect of Nahuatl. The Tlaxcalans, ancient enemies of the Axtecs who dominated the area near Puebla, were singing Spanish motets and composing polyphonic masses as early as the 1530s. More arrangements by Mr. Moroney, whose notes are paraphrased here, and other renditions of early Latin American music can be head on SAVAE recordings.

"Angelus ad virginum," is a 14th century carol which first appeared in print in the Dublin Troper (c. 1360). It is mentioned by English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) in his "Miller's Tale" (one of The Canterbury Tales) written in the 1380s. "Angelus ad virginum," as sung in tonight's concert, is arranged by David Willcocks (b. 1919), a dean of English choral literature, who began his musical career at the age of ten as a chorister at Westminster Abbey and is now an Honorary Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.

Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) was born in Colifax, Washington, and raised in Portland, Oregon. He attended Whitman College and studied composition at the University of Southern California. A long-time professor and Chair of the Department of composition at USC, he has been Composer-in-Residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 1994, and a recording of his works won for the Chorale a Grammy nomination. Per the composer, "O Nata Lux" is the central first movement of his Lux Aeterna for chorus and orchestra or organ. Each of the five movements of this work contains references to light from various Latin texts. Lauridsen calls "O Nata Lux" a "serene a cappella motet celebrating the Redeemer." While the ebb and flow of the melodic lines may be suggestive of plainchant, the "swelling" of harmonies, from very close to open and back, is truly contemporary in style. Lauridsen's music is proof that what we call "dissonance" as a result of close harmony need not be strident or harsh, but softly intense.

Herbert Howells (1892-1983) began his musical career as a cathedral organist, later succeeding Gustav Holst as director of music at St. Paul's Girls' School in London and teaching composition at the Royal College of Music. Among his works are orchestral music, including two-piano concertos, chamber music for strings, clarinet and piano; organ music; and choral music. Howells contributed significantly to the church music repertoire of the Church of England with anthem and motets well suited to cathedral acoustics. "A Spotless Rose," an early work dedicated to Howells' mother, is a setting of a 14th century carol, a tribute to the Blessed Virgin. Its fluid melodies and the resulting "harmonic" movement of parallel fourths and fifths impart a modal quality suggestive of plainsong.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was born on November 22nd, the feast day of Saint Cecilia, who is considered the Patron Saint of Music. He began composing at the age of five, never strayed far from his roots, and during his entire life spent only a brief time outside of England. Childhood associations pervade his music in the form of English poetry, plainsong, church music, choirboys' voices and church bells. It is the voice that dominates Britten's music, in operas, songs, cantatas, choruses and other works that cannot be categorized.

As World War II became imminent, Britten, a sincere and ardent pacifist, settled in the United States, for six months sharing an apartment with the poet W. H. Auden. In 1942, however, as the blitz was destroying England, Britten decided to return home, determined to do his part in the war effort, even if out of uniform. It was on his voyage home via a Swedish cargo vessel that A Ceremony of Carols, Op.28, and the "Hymn to Saint Cecilia" (poetry by Auden) were written. [It is interesting to note that the initial drafts of these works were confiscated by the "authorities" who, unable to decipher the notation, feared that they represented an attempt at espionage!] While traveling, Britten studied two harp manuals in preparation for the writing of a commissioned work and purchased a copy of The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems at a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Five of the Galaxy poems were used in A Ceremony of Carols, for Nos. 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10. The final version of A Ceremony of Carols, for boys' choir and harp, was premiered in London on December 4, 1943. Its immense popularity led to an authorized version of the work for mixed chorus by composer Julius Harrison. The following notes on the carols are provided on the website of the Miami University Choraliers of Oxford, Ohio.

"The first carol of the 'Ceremony' is 'Wolcum Yole.' This is an ancient text that calls out the saints, martyrs, and innocents to proclaim the New Year, filled with a naive and cheerful innocence, a child-like excitement at the arrival of the season. This movement is a miniature of the liturgical calendar of the Christmas season. The heavenly child is welcomed as important feast days of the season are referenced. Steven, John and Thomas each have a feast day in this season. December 28 is known as Holy Innocents Day, in remembrance of the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod. The new year and epiphany (twelfth day) are mentioned, as well as saints who have left and were dear to us. Candelmesse refers to February 2, which remembers Mary's purification at the temple, and Jesus' presentation to Simeon. He is remembered for saying 'Let now thy servant depart.' In some countries the crèche is left out until Candelmesse signifies the end of the season.

"'There is no rose of such vertu' is, by contrast, filled with adult wonder at the mysteries of the Nativity. The message here is that Mary was unparalleled. For the first time, heaven and earth were in the same space: within her womb. Because of her, we learn the mystery of the Trinity. The Latin phrases come from the liturgy for the time and typically they would be inserted within a carol to borrow a sense of grandeur from their association with the solemnity of the church. Though most of us do not understand Latin, one can assume that medieval Christians knew the meaning of the inserted phrases: Res miranda ('marvelous thing'), Pares forma ('of equal form'), Gaudeamus ('let us rejoice'), Transeamus ('let us go over'). In a wonderfully simple way, Britten captured the contrast between the common language and the language of the angels--he used a technique known to musicians since the Middle Ages and based on the following logic: 'God is Perfection; God is Triune (Father, Son, Holy Spirit); therefore, Perfection is Triple; Mankind is Imperfect; Mankind is Duple (male/female, arms, eyes, ears, legs); therefore, Duple is Imperfection.' The movement is set in 'imperfect,' human time [2/2] and the harp insistently maintains that duple pulse throughout, but the Latin phrases are set as triplets, as 'perfections,' against the imperfect accompaniment. It sounds very complicated, and it is not the easiest thing to accomplish well, but the effect is worth it.

"The next two pieces are intended as a unit. 'That yonge child' and 'Balulalow' refer to Mary's lullaby for the infant Jesus. In the former, Britten sets a mood of starkness (the crèche scene as witnessed from a distance) with a mournful three-note motive [D-flat, C-sharp (the same note), and C-natural] in the harp. This motive continues without alteration throughout the movement, but its 'meaning' changes as the vocal melody undulates around it. What seemed stark and barren at the outset (from a distance) is discovered to contain a surprising 'inner warmth' as the listener is drawn toward Mary's lullaby. 'Balulalow' is Mary's song itself. For his text, Britten chose two verses of Martin Luther's Christmas carol 'Vom Himmel hoch,' Luther wrote for his son Hans, as translated into English in 1567 by the Wedderburn brothers. The beauty of the piece lies in its transparent simplicity, with the melody lying over a gentle rocking rhythm. Each of these two movements is lovely, but their effect together is stunning.

"'As dew in Aprille' is an anonymous fifteenth century lyric describing the mystery of God becoming Man. By using many metaphors, we here are reminded of a traditional tale that Mary's labor was painless. Britten's devise is again a simple one: Every phrase relating to God's descent to earth has a falling melodic line. Britten went on to blur the melody, to create a 'soft focus' by repeating each line canonically in other voices. So doing, he achieves a musical portrayal of the dew falling on the grass.

"'This Little Babe' is the antithesis of the dew-fall. The poem is by Robert Southwell, a Jesuit who was executed for treason by Queen Elizabeth. The text details the preparations God made, through the birth of the Babe, for battle with Satan's forces. The metaphors oddly juxtapose infant images with weapons and battles. Again Britten uses canon, but this time it has the opposite effect. Britten inverts the gesture he used in the previous movement and drives every line upward. In each verse he adds another voice to the canon, compressing the music into a 'stretto' and creating an image of the cacophony of battle. Finally, in a dramatic turn, Britten finishes the movement in a flourish of triumph.

"The 'Interlude' is a pastoral movement for harp alone and, at first, it appears to be nothing more; but the melody of the movement is an elaboration of the triumphal chant 'Hodie Christus natus est' that begins and ends the Ceremony. By setting this movement here, Britten accomplished a mixture of victory and serenity that seems central to his view of the Christian faith.

"The 'Spring Carol' re-awakens some of the child-like innocence of the opening 'Wolcum Yole.' This is a duet to thank God after winter. One could interpret that Spring (the birth of Christ) comes after Winter (four thousand years of sin since Adam). Especially in the harp part, Britten has labored to create an aura of ease and improvisation. At the first, the women's voices sing with the delightful simplicity of a nursery rhyme and at the end, they close with a sublime serenity.

"'Deo gracias!' is the final carol. It is a medieval text giving thanks for Adam's Fall, because that was the ultimate cause of the coming of Christ. Humanity was bound by sin for four thousand winters (years) until Christ was born. (Note: We are to assume that time began around 4000 BC, 'as clerkes finden.') We are also to be glad because without Adam's sin, Mary would have never been Queen of Heaven. Here again, Britten evokes the Middle Ages, this time with a low-voiced, rhythmic recitation of the text reminiscent of Orff's 'Carmina Burana.' To finish the carol, Britten piles up entrances of the 'Deo gracias' theme in another 'stretto' until it appears that all the world has joined in the song."

"A Merry Christmas," or "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," a favorite of carolers, is originally an English West County carol. As performed in this concert, it is arranged by English composer Arthur Warrell (1883-1939) and dedicated to Warrell's fellow composer Geoffrey Shaw. According to Walter Ehret and George K. Evans in The International Book of Christmas Carols, strolling carolers date back to the Middle Ages, when beggars roamed the streets at Christmastime hoping to trade their singing for alms, food, or drink. In England, such serenaders came to be known as Waits who, for their efforts, were often invited into a warm home to enjoy a cup of hot, spiced ale or wine called Wassail. Only in recent times has caroling become synonymous with extending charity rather than asking for it.

Another English traditional carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," becomes, in the hands of Frederick Silver (b. 1936), "The Twelve Days after Christmas." Silver's significant revisions of the original text and tune provide what, for some, may be a slightly more realistic view of the holiday season as it is celebrated today. Silver has produced a number of songs in the popular genre and in 1961 became quite well-known for the overtly religious and satirical musical revue, "For Heaven's Sake!," on which he collaborated with Helen Kromer.