THE CHORISTER May 2016

Issue 12 THE CHORISTER May 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS Notes From The Chair ��1 Music Nerds Unite! (p. 2-4), Upcoming Spring Social Event ��2 Get To Know Our Interns ��3 KUDOS �� 4

Notes from the Chair 6/20 by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the The Selection Committee will membership.” All members of the We’re getting down to the wire provide the Board the following: Oregon Chorale during the concert now, and many of you may be 1. Analysis of the data gathered in year 2015-16 are eligible to vote to wondering, what’s the plan and the 3rd candidate survey. approve the Final Candidate. process for the Artistic Director 2. Analysis and Final Summary of By 6/27 Final Choice? the three Chorale Member surveys. The President will contact the Final Well, I’m going to tell you... We will Candidate and offer the position. continue to communicate this plan 6/21 By 6/30 and process to be sure everyone is The Board will meet and decide on The new Artistic Director is announced on the same page and that there a Final Candidate to recommend to to members and the media. aren’t any questions or issues: the Membership. July & August 5/30 6/22 The Board will meet with the new The 3rd candidate (Scott) survey The Voting Ballot will be sent out Artistic Director to plan for the will be sent out. through Survey Monkey with the name of the Final Candidate. All 2016-2017 year. 6/12 members are eligible to vote on Thanks to all who have provided The 3rd candidate survey is due. the final candidate: input to the Board through this 6/13 Each member will vote either process. We are all in this together, The Selection Committee will meet “Yes” if they approve the Board’s and our goal has always been to do to review the 3rd candidate survey. recommendation, “No” if they do the best thing for the future of the The Candidate Comparison survey not approve the recommendation, Oregon Chorale. It is clear to me will be sent out. or “Abstain.” that the members of the Oregon Chorale are passionate about this 6/16 6/24 organization and what it stands for. The Candidate Comparison survey The Voting Ballot is due by 5pm. is due. According to our Bylaws, Hang on to your hats as we make Article IV: Organization Item 4: this decision together! “The Board shall recommend Karen Kenyon, Board Chair new Artistic Directors to the membership, to be approved

1 Music Nerds Unite! Brought up in London and openly for the Roman church, but educated by his mentor, Thomas also wrote for the Anglican church We begin our concert this June Tallis, he became organist and with equal genius. In 1593, Byrd with two early music pieces— choirmaster at Lincoln Cathedral moved to Essex where he spent the which are favorites of mine: in 1563 and married there in 1568. rest of his life. He was described as This Sweet and Merry Month by He retained this position until the “Father of British Music,” and William Byrd and Revecy Vinir 1572, though he also became a his pupils included Thomas Morley du Printans by Claude LeJeune. Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in and Thomas Tompkins. Because their subject matter deals 1570 where he established himself with the spring and (for me) the as a composer, gaining influential transition into summer, they are friends and patrons and gaining Much of Byrd’s tremendous delightful pieces to open a concert him the favor of Queen Elizabeth. output was published during his just about any time, but especially She subsequently granted him a lifetime. His sacred music ranges one devoted to spring, renewal patent (along with Tallis) in 1575 tremendously in style and mood and summer! for the printing and marketing of with volumes of motets for 5-8 part-music and manuscript paper voices in his two collections of William Byrd (1543-1623) was in England. Renaissance England’s greatest Cantiones Sacrae and his more composer and he remains a After his wife’s death in the 1580’s intimate and devotional Gradualia. personal favorite of mine for he remarried. He and his family He also produced a wide variety the richness and diversity of his were often cited as Catholic of secular music, vocal chamber writing, and the incredible intellect recusants in a newly Protestant music, instrumental music for viols, evident in his compositions. England. He continued to compose solo songs, consort songs and

UPCOMING SPRING SOCIAL EVENT! Come to view the Making of West Side Story and sing some songs! WHEN? Friday, May 13th at 7PM OUR HOSTS: Nan & John Dahlquist 3039 NE Jackson School Rd Hillsboro, Oregon NOTE FROM OUR HOSTS... Please bring snacks to share and your own water bottles. Due to brand new carpet—we have adopted Hillsboro’s open container rule. QUESTIONS? Speak with Nan Dahlquist or Nancy Faunt. You can view the information about this movie here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308495/

2 madrigals, dances, and two very influential volumes of keyboard music: My Ladye Nevells Book and Get To Know Our Interns! The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. My name is Kate Endicott. I am a junior from Century This Sweet and Merry Month of High School and have been in choir since I was in 5th Grade. I May is one of few pieces that started in Century Singers and then half way through the year Byrd produced that might rightly I joined Treble Makers, Century’s select women’s ensemble. As be called a madrigal. Byrd was a Sophomore—I continued in Treble Makers. As a Junior—I am reluctant to let the Italian madrigal in Treblemakers, Century High School’s Concert Choir and the style influence his own writing, Select Ensemble Counterpoint. I have enjoyed choir since I first but at the behest of publisher joined and have enjoyed learning more about music. Outside of Thomas Watson to include the Choir I am a Venture Scout with the BSA, a Girl Scout and I have work of a native British composer also been a Band Student since 6th grade; I am now a Clarinetist in his Italian Madrigal’s Englished in Century High School’s Wind Ensemble and a tenor saxophone collection published in 1590, Byrd player with the Century’s Teal Jazz Band. I love being a musician reluctantly agreed to set the text and having the opportunity to work the members of the Oregon provided by Watson first in a four Chorale, people who love music and are dedicated to their craft. voice and subsequently more rich and satisfying six voice version. My name is Tara Peek and I’m a senior in high school at Glencoe. I’ve been participating in choir for most of my life. I This delightful piece is a joined Hillsboro Community Youth Choir when I was in 4th grade contrapuntal tour de force and and have been in it ever since, and I’m in Glencoe’s concert is in three distinct sections. Each choir and their select ensemble. I plan on studying International section makes use of polyphonic Environmental Policy in college, though I haven’t decided where and homophonic movement to I’m going yet, I am definitely going to join a choir at whatever declaim (or alternately obscure!) school I attend. Outside of choir, I am a pole vaulter on Glencoe’s the text while also making use of track team, do welding and metalwork, and volunteer as a word painting or “madrigalism” summer counselor at Audubon Society of Portland. found throughout the composition. As is also typical, Byrd plays with My name is Michael Eclevia and I’m an intern with Oregon hemiola (two against three) and Chorale. I’m a Baritone and I’ve been in choir for 7 years. I enjoy sesquialtera (sections of the hiking, backpacking, camping, and I’m an Eagle Scout from BSA piece in duple and triple meter Troop 240. I plan on attending Oregon State University and alternately) to give the piece a majoring in Music Production. The natural beauty of music joyful and jubilant feeling and enhances with each additional voice or instrument. That’s the ends with an homage to Queen thing about choir, when everyone comes together to make Elizabeth: as was common among something beautiful it lifts your spirit up and lightens up the day. English madrigal composers of the day. Claude Le Jeune (1528-1600) Educated at or near Valenciennes, time as he must have been allowed ranks as one the most prolific Le Jeune was a Protestant who to return. His name appears on and original French composers settled in Paris. Unfortunately, a list of household musicians in of his day . He composed over he was found to have authored the Royal Household of Henry 350 psalms, nearly 150 airs, over an anti-Catholic tract in 1589. He IV. Few details of his late life are 100 chansons, over 40 Italian escaped persecution unlike many known. However, he must have madrigals a mass, motets and other Huegnot composers who lost been composing prolifically, as instrumental fantasies (published their lives. Forced to flee Paris, he many of his works existed only in posthumously). settled in La Rochelle until such manuscript after his death and

3 continued to be published well into His most famous composition, KUDOS to . . . the 17th century. Revecy Venir du Printans was composed some time late in the Paul Minor for making high-quality LeJeune was a significant 16th century and published after concert recordings and offering to composer of the “Parisian” his death and utilizes the musique make CDs. chanson, which was one of the mesureé technique following a most important musical genres pattern of long (L) and short (s) Maurine Granat for accompanying in the latter half of the 16th syllables almost throughout: SS rehearsal in Linda Smith’s absence. century. This genre is characterized LS LS LL. This, coupled with the Karen Kenyon, Silverna Scott, and by simply block chords in root delightful text about spring and the positions and is in stark contrast to Ed Doyle for their presentations at simple block-chordal style (unless our annual meeting. the free flowing polyphonic forms you are a tenor!) creates an air of so prevalent in sacred literature lightness and charm! Sheryl Wood for leading the and also found in the secular music nominations committee to fill next of the Netherlands School of the Many notes and most of the year’s board positions. previous generation of Ockeghem wisdom for this article came from: and Obrecht. Cindy Uecker for keeping the The Norton/Grove Concise Chorale updated on the Bernie He is perhaps best known as the Encyclopedia of Music. Stanley Sadie, Kuehn scholarship. chief representative of a musical ed. London: WW. Norton, 1994. form known as musique mesureé in Terry Blackburn for posting Scott which music was said to reflect the Tuomi’s CD tracks on his website, stresses of the French language. and to Carl Dahlquist for clarifying This was done through the use the Le Jeune tracks. of longer and shorter notes to Please send more KUDOS reflect agogic stress in text with suggestions to Karen Stratton: quarter notes on stressed syllables organizationaldevelopment@ and eighth notes on unstressed oregonchorale.org syllables. This movement was a musical reflection of the poetic vers mesureé—which attempted to do the same with written and spoken French text. These pieces were written for three to seven voices and often sung a cappella, though instrumental doublings were certainly common.