Let Them Not Say Let them not say: we did not see it. We saw. Let them not say: we did not heard it. We heard. Let them not say: they did not taste it. We ate, we trembled. Let them not say: it was not spoken, not written. We spoke, we witnessed with voices and hands. Let them not say: they did nothing. We did not-enough. Let them say, as they must say something: A kerosene beauty. It burned. carillon Let them say we warmed ourselves by it, read by its light, praised, and it burned. — Jane Hirshfield Christmas December 2 – 4, 2019 carillon Christmas December 2 – 4, 2019, 8pm The Carillon Chapel on Exposition Craig Hella Johnson Artistic Director & Conductor Season Sustaining Underwriter Formerly South Texas Money Management SAN ANTONIO | AUSTIN | HOUSTON | DALLAS CORPUS CHRISTI | BRENHAM 1 PROGRAM O virtus Sapientiae Craig Hella Johnson O Antiphons: O radix Jesse Chant, arr. CHJ O Antiphons: O Oriens Lauliku Lapsepõli (Singer’s childhood) Veljo Tormis O Come Little Children Carolyn Jennings We Are Ysaye Barnwell The Prayer of the Children Kurt Bestor Litany John Musto Song From the Road Craig Hella Johnson Angels from the Realms of Glory Henry Smart Let My Love Be Heard Jake Runestad Oh Love, how shall I meet you Annunciation Love came down at Christmas Johann Crüger Even if I don’t see it again—nor ever feel it Pastorale Aaron Copland I know it is—and that if once it hailed me Candlelight Carol John Rutter it ever does— And so it is myself I want to turn in that direction Stars Ēriks Ešenvalds not as towards a place, but it was a tilting The Chanukah Song (We are Lights) Stephen Schwartz, arr. Ryan Nowlin within myself, A Little Lovely Dream Edie Hill as one turns a mirror to flash the light to where Close to you/ O Love That Will Not Let Me Go Hal David/ Christopher Miner it isn’t—I was blinded like that—and swam Annunciation (from To Touch the Sky) Kevin Puts in what shone at me Love Divine, All Loves Excelling John Zundel only able to endure it by being no one and so The Lone Wild Bird Walker’s Southern Harmony, arr. CHJ specifically myself I thought I’d die The First Nowell Traditional, arr. Ola Gjello from being loved like that. Ding Dong Merrily on High arr. Stephen Paulus — Marie Howe God Bless America Irving Berlin Hymn for America Stephen Paulus Let there be Peace on Earth Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller Silent Night Traditional Departure (Reading) Michael Dennis Browne All Together Lance Horne 2 3 TEXT & TRANSLATIONS TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS (Audience, please refrain from applause until the completion O Oriens of the program.) O Oriens, O Rising Sun, O virtus Sapientiae, quae circuiens circuisti O strength of Wisdom who, circling, circled, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness: comprehendendo omnia in una via, quae habet vitam, enclosing all in one lifegiving path, veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis. Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the tres alas habens, shadow of death. three wings you have: – O Antiphons quarum una in altum volat, Lauliku Lapsepõli (Singer’s Childhood) one soars to the heights, Kui ma ol’li väikokõnõ, al’leaa, al’leaa, kas’vi ma sis kaunikõnõ ;al’leaa, al’leaa. et altera de terra sudat, Ol’li üte üü vannu, al’leaa, al’leaa, one distils its essence upon the earth, pääle katõ päävä vannu, al’leaa, al’leaa. Imä vei kiigu kesä pääle, al’leaa, al’leaa, et tertia undique volat. pan’de hällü pa lo pää le, al’leaa, al’leaa. and the third is everywhere. Pan’de par’dsi hällütämmä, al’leaa ,al’leaa, suvõlinnu liigutamma, al’leaa ,al’leaa. Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientiae Par’dsil ol’le pal’lo sõnnu, al’leaa ,al’leaa, Praise to you, as is fitting, O Wisdom. suvõlinnul liia’ laalu’, al’leaa ,al’leaa. — Hildegard von Bingen Par’ts sääl man mul pal’lo lauli, al’leaa ,al’leaa, suvõlindu liiast kõnõli, al’leaa ,al’leaa. O Radix Jesse Säält mina lat’s sis laulu’ ope, al’leaa ,al’leaa, O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, ul’likõnõ sõna’ osasi, al’leaa ,al’leaa. O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples; Kõik mina pan’ni papõrihe, al’leaa ,al’leaa, kõik mina raiõ raamatuhe, al’leaa ,al’leaa. super quem continebunt reges os suum, Selle minol pal’lo sõnnu, al’leaa ,al’leaa, before you kings will shut their mouths, selle laajalt laaluviisi, al’leaa ,al’leaa. quem Gentes deprecabuntur: When I was very little, to you the nations will make their prayer: I grew so prettily, I was but one night old, veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare. just two days old, Come and deliver us, and delay no longer. When mother took my cradle to the meadow, — O Antiphons put my crib on the hearth. Put a duck to rock the cradle, the bird of summer to push me. The duck had many words, the bird of summer had lots of songs. The duck sang many songs to me there, 4 5 TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS the bird of summer, it spoke to me a lot. Prayer of the Children That is where this child learned the songs, Can you hear the prayer of the children? this crazy one [got to] know the words, On bended knee, in the shadow of an unknown room all of them I placed on paper, Empty eyes with no more tears to cry all of them I hewed into a book. Turning Heavenward, toward the light This is why I have so many words, that is why I have lots of tunes. Crying Jesus, help me — Estonian Folk Song / Avis Burgeson Christiansen To see the morning light-of one more day But if I should die before I wake, O Come Little Children I pray my soul to take O come, little children, O come one and all, (breakable, breakable girls and boys) Can you feel the hearts of the children? To Bethlehem haste, Aching for home, for something of their very own to the manger so small, Reaching hands, with nothing to hold on to, God’s son for a gift has been sent you this night But hope for a better day, a better day To be your redeemer, your joy and delight. — J. C. von Schmid Crying Mother, help me To feel the love again in my own land We Are But if unknown roads lead away from home, For each child that’s born Give me loving arms, away from harm a morning star rises and sings to the universe who we are. Can you hear the voice of the children? We are our grandmothers’ prayers. Softly pleading for silence in a shattered world? We are our grandfathers’ dreamings. Angry guns preach a gospel full of hate, We are the breath of our ancestors. Blood of the innocent on their hands We are the spirit of God. We are Mothers of courage Isa-Masih, help me Fathers of time To feel the sun again upon my face, Daughters of dust For when darkness clears I know you’re near, Sons of great vision. Bringing peace again We are Sisters of mercy Brothers of love Guiding Wisdom, help me Lovers of life and the builders of nations. To feel the sun again upon my face, We are Seekers of truth For when darkness clears I know you’re near, Keepers of faith Bringing peace again Makers of peace and the wisdom of ages. — Kurt Bestor We are our grandmothers’ prayers. We are our grandfathers’ dreamings. We are the breath of our ancestors. We are the spirit of God. For each child that’s born a morning star rises and sings to the universe who we are. — Ysaye M. Barnwell 6 7 TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS Litany Song From the Road Gather up Long on this journey, In the arms of your pity Long in these shadows, The sick, the depraved Far from the only home; The desperate, the tired Low all our hoping, All the scum Deep the undoing, Of our weary city Just this forsaken road Gather up Voices we dream of, In the arms of your pity Echoes remember, Gather up We all together there; In the arms of your love– Heaven was once Those who expect Our song to be singing, No love from above Hearts’ every word — Langston Huges In wonder and joy. Prayers and Offerings I am how your heart discovers Speaker: All the hopes that sleep in you Fons et origo, fountainhead, Spring and Source of all I am every silence calling of our songs, like a mother, you hold us in your sway. I am Fountain I am Meadow You call forth from us our own song; you lead us to I am every secret door encounters with those whose songs merge with ours in this life. In this moment, we acknowledge our concerns Sing your ships into their harbors and our sorrows and we offer prayers from a deep place Sing them bring them heal them home within our silent heart. We ask that this music and this Murmur every holy river gathering hold these prayers in sacred attention. I am Harvest I am Blossom I am leaves around your soul (AUDIENCE: After the bell rings three times, reflect on Come from the shadows, into the gleaming, anything or anyone that you hold in your concern— Dawn of the day in us; family, friends, our nation, the environment, anything Open our lives to everything growing-- that you wish to be held in the core of Peace.