Vox Holloway
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Vox Holloway in association with St Luke’s Church, West Holloway, presents THE BELLS OF PARADISE CHRISTMAS CONCERT Christmas Music through the ages and from around the world Compiled and arranged by Harvey Brough Vox Holloway London Voices Ann de Renais, Clara Sanabras Melanie Sanders, Jo Marshall Michael Solomon Williams, Harvey Brough Ben Parry, Nicholas Garrett Young Dissenters Soloists Clara Sanabras & Naomi Hammerton James Murray Piano & Organ Rick Leigh Flugelhorn Conducted by Harvey Brough SUNDAY 4TH DECEMBER, 7.30PM ST LUKE’S CHURCH, WEST HOLLOWAY www.voxholloway.com ST LUKE’S CHURCH Hillmarton Road, N7 9RE Vox Holloway in association with St Luke’s Church, West Holloway, presents THE BELLS OF PARADISE CHRISTMAS CONCERT Christmas Music through the ages and from around the world Compiled and arranged by Harvey Brough Vox Holloway London Voices Ann de Renais, Clara Sanabras Melanie Sanders, Jo Marshall Michael Solomon Williams, Harvey Brough Ben Parry, Nicholas Garrett Young Dissenters Soloists Clara Sanabras & Naomi Hammerton The Partners and Staff at Gelbergs are proud James Murray Piano & Organ to support Vox Holloway and wish the choir Rick Leigh Flugelhorn every success with their Christmas concert Conducted by Harvey Brough Sunday 4th December 2016, 7.30pm St Luke’s Church, West Holloway www.voxholloway.com St Luke’s Church, Hillmarton Road, N7 9RE Design: Hannah Barton Design: Hannah Barton Photo: Kevin Summers The Bells of Paradise THE BELLS OF PARADISE Hodie Christus natus est plainsong Welcome to Vox Holloway’s Christmas concert. Although I sang for many years in early music Devising tonight’s programme afforded me an groups and have spent a lot of time studying Ther is no rose of swych vertu opportunity to look back at my life as a musician, how this music might have been performed in A Boy was born in Bethlehem Britten starting from when I was a choir boy at Coventry centuries long gone, I am now interested in taking Cathedral, aged 6, through all my years of studying old material and finding ways to breathe new life O Magnum Mysterium Vittoria (Royal Academy of Music and Clara College, into it. So I have written nine new arrangements Hodie Christus Natus Est Sweelinck Cambridge), and then through the many twists and of old, mostly traditional Christmas melodies turns of my career as a professional musician. where soloists from the wonderful London In Dulci Jubilo Pearsall As a child I was enthralled by the mystery and Voices will add lustre to the mighty sound of emotion of the Christmas story as told through the 120 Vox Holloway singers. They include ‘Rise up Sweet was the Song the Virgin Sung ages by anonymous scribes writing down plainsong, Shepherd and Follow’ and ‘Down in Yon Forest’, Carol of the Bells Leontivich folk musicians passing on melodies and stories from and arrangements of several songs featuring the generation to generation, and the great composers Young Dissenters (appearing by kind permission of The Crown of Roses Tchaikovsky who turned their hand to telling the same story in Chorus of Dissent). This youth choir, which I lead The Three Kings Cornelius their own way. with Naomi Hammerton, dive into proceedings throughout the programme, giving their energy A Hymn to the Virgin Britten For this concert, I’ve avoided a chronological and charm to ‘Carol of the Bells’, ‘Here we come a Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Nöel Poulenc: approach, although at the beginning of the Wassailing’ and other carols. performance there is a mediaeval carol ‘Ther is 1. O Magnum Mysterium no rose of swych virtu’ and then two famous Christmas is a time when indulgence is tolerated Renaissance motets, Vittoria’s ‘O Magnum to a degree and sentimentality can easily creep into 2. Quem Vidistis Mysterium’ and Sweelinck’s ‘Hodie Christus natus the proceedings. I have indulged myself slightly, 3. Videntes Stellam est’. We actually start with a different version of by including the wonderful Christmas Motets ‘Hodie Christus natus est’, the Gregorian antiphon by Poulenc, which I haven’t sung since I was at 4. Hodie Christus natus est to the ‘Magnificat at Second Vespers of Christmas’, college. For sentiment, you can’t do much better The Angel Gabriel a piece of plainsong that I first sang as the opening than to go from Holloway to Hollywood – a fairly movement of Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of lush arrangement of ‘Have yourself a Merry little Down in yon Forest Carols. It announces the story of Christmas: ‘Today Christmas’ for Naomi. Christ is born, Today the Saviour has appeared’. INTERVAL Many of our singers were complete novices when Britten’s music has always loomed large in my life they joined the choir and have learned that singing and, when I became a composer, I measured my the quite challenging music that I write for them Stille Nacht Gruber efforts against the best of what he wrote – hoping can (in the end) be enormous fun and deeply to achieve some degree of success by comparison. satisfying. We would be failing in our mission Convidando esta la Noche Zéspedes For this concert I have chosen two exquisite Britten to teach the whole world to sing if we didn’t Serafín, que con dulce harmonía Cererols miniatures, both early works – ‘A Boy was Born’ and encourage all of you to join in, however reluctant ‘A Hymn to the Virgin’. you may be. So don’t be surprised if I cajole you Blessed be that Maid Marie into the odd Wassail or refrain – ‘Eya Ihesus Hodie We also dart around the world, to see how other Natus est de Virgine’. Here we come a Wassailing countries view Christmas – Clara Sanabras leads Glory to God on High Ingalls two Latin American Christmas motets, and we To that end, the last number is a supremely silly perform Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous Christmas legend arrangement that you can only enhance, if you Rise up Shepherd and Follow ‘The Crown of Roses’, which links Christmas to will lend us your voices to sing ‘We wish you a Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas Easter in a most affecting way. Merry Christmas’. We wish You a Merry Christmas Harvey Brough The Bells of Paradise Hodie Christus natus est O Magnum Mysterium 4. Ubi sunt gaudia, [where be joys] The Crown of Roses Plainsong – after Benjamin Britten Tomas Luis da Victoria (c. 1548–1611) where, if that they be not there Music P.I. Tchaikovsky, Words Pletchéev, tr. Geoffrey There are angels singing Dearmer Hodie Christus natus est: hodie Salvator apparuit: O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum. Nova cantica [new songs] hodie in terra canunt angeli laetantur archangeli: ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, There the bells are ringing 1. When Jesus Christ was yet a child hodie exsultant justi dicentes: jacentem in praesepio, In Regis curia: [At the King’s court] He had a garden small and wild, gloria in excelsis Deo. O beata Virgo, cuius viscera meruerunt portare O that we were there. Wherein he cherished roses fair, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Dominum Jesum Christum. Alleluia. And wove them into garlands there. [O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, Sweet was the song the Virgin sung [Today is Christ born; today the Saviour has appeared; that animals should see the newborn Lord, Sixteenth century (Egerton MS), arr. Harvey Brough 2. Now once, as summertime drew nigh, today the Angels sing the Archangels rejoice; lying in a manger! There came a troop of children by, today the righteous rejoice, saying: Glory to God in the Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Sweet was the song the Virgin sung, And seeing roses on the tree, highest. Alleluia!] Christ the Lord. Alleluia!] When she to Bethlem Juda came With shouts they plucked them merrily. And was deliver’d of her Sonne, Ther is no rose of swych virtu Hodie Christus Natus est That blessed Jhesus hath to name: 3. ‘Do you bind roses in your hair?’ Fifteenth century (Trinity Roll) J.P. Sweelinck (1562–1621) Lulla, lulla, lullaby, lulla, lulla, lullaby, ‘Swet babe!’ They cried, in scorn, to Jesus there. Quoth she: ‘My sonne and eke a Saviour borne, The boy said humbly: ‘Take, I pray, 1. Ther is no rose of swych virtu As is the rose that Hodie Christus natus est: hodie Salvator apparuit … Which hath vouchsafed from on high to visitt us All but the naked thorns away.’ bare Jhesu, Alleluia that were forlorne. La lulla, lalulla, la lulla by. ‘Swet In Dulci Jubilo Babe,’ sung she, and rockt him featlie one hir knee. 4. Then of the thorns they made a crown, 2. For in this rose conteynyd was Heven and erthe in Thirteenth century?, arr. R.L. Pearsall And with rough fingers pressed it down, littyl space, Res miranda. [It is a miracle] Carol of the Bells Till on his forehead fair and young 1. In dulci jubilo [In quiet joy] Music Mykola Leontivich, Words Peter J. Wilhousky, Red drops of blood like roses sprung. 3. The aungelys sungyn the sheperdes to: Gloria in Let us our homage shew; arr. Harvey Brough excelsis Deo. Gaudeamus. [Let us rejoice] Our heart’s joy reclineth In praesepio [in a manger] The Three Kings And like a bright star shineth, Hark! to the bells: sweet silver bells, Music Peter Cornelius, arr. Ivor Atkins, tr. H.N. Bate 4. Leive we al this worldly merthe, and folwe we this Matris in gremio [in the mother’s lap] all seem to say ‘throw cares away’ joyful berthe: Transeamus. [Let us pass] Alpha es et O. [Thou art Alpha & Omega] Three Kings from Persian lands afar Christmas is here bringing good cheer To Jordan follow the pointing star: A Boy was born 2.