56Thspringchorale Abide.Pdf
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Program In Virtute Tua Veni Sancte Spiritus Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wojciech Kocyan, piano Haven Watts '22, soprano; Carmen Venegas '21, alto Kenichiro Aiso, Violin I & Violin II; Clara Yang, Cello Jeremy Lee '22, tenor; Connor Langley '24, bass Cantique de Jean Racine Pure Imagination arr. Matthew D. Nielsen Gabriel Fauré Neither Angels, Nor Demons, Nor Powers Ode to Thalassa Timothy C. Takach Olga Amelkina-Vera Martha Masters, co-director If Music Be the Food of Love LMU Guitar Ensemble; CSU-Fullerton Guitar Ensemble; LMU Consort Singers Sopranos/Altos arr. David C. Dickau Texts, Translations, & Program Notes Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki (1665-1734) In Virtute Tua Psalm 20: 2-3; Introit from the First Mass of a Martyr Not a Bishop In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall rejoice; And in Thy salvation, he shall rejoice exceedingly. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire. Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki wrote mainly church music made up of unaccompanied compositions for choir, sometimes with basso continuo accompaniment in the stile antico (motets, masses, songs), as well as vocal-instrumental ones with basso continuo accompaniment in the stile moderno featuring rich concertato technique of multiple sections. Works such as In Virtute Tua are written in the Concertante style, composed for small ensemble and choir. Olga Amelkina-Vera Ode to Thalassa A guitarist and composer, she grew up in Belarus and moved to the United States in 1997. Olga holds a Bachelor of Arts degree Summa Cum Laude from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in guitar performance from the University of North Texas, and a Master of Music degree in composition from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Commissioned by Dr. Miroslav Lončar for Park View High School with grant funding from Wolf Trap Foundation for the Arts. Premiered in Sterling, VA at Park View High School on March 12, 2019 with the composer conducting. In ancient Greek mythology, Thalassa is the primordial spirit of the sea. An ode (Greek ōidē, song) is a lyrical, stylistically elevated poem of praise, meant to be sung. This composition is both a celebration of the mystery, beauty, and power of our oceans, and a reflection on their dire current condition. The SSAA chorus is wordless throughout, because it is a symbolic representation of Thalassa and the mythical sea-dwelling sirens and other sea creatures. The guitars, being human constructions, may be thought to represent us and our activities. In the spirit of supporting living composers, we engaged in an innovative collaboration of a new work entitled, Ode to Thalassa, which calls attention to the beauty of our oceans and a reflection of their dire current condition. With the steadfast leadership of my colleague, Martha Masters, we brought together guitarists and vocalists from LMU and Cal State Fullerton for this performance. (notes: Olga Amelkina-Vera) Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) Cantique de Jean Racine Text: A paraphrase by Jean Racine (1639-1699) of the Ambrosian hymn for Tuesday Matins Word, equal to the Almighty, our only hope, Eternal light of the earth and the Heavens; We break the peaceful night's silence, Divine Savior, cast your eyes upon us! Spread the fire of your mighty grace upon us May the entire hell flee at the sound of your voice; Disperse from any slothful soul the drowsiness Which induces it to forget your laws! Oh Christ, look with favor upon this faithful people Which has now gathered to bless you. Receive its singing, offered to your immortal glory, And may it leave with the gifts you have bestowed upon it! Cantique de Jean Racine is a setting of words by the 17th century dramatist and poet Jean Racine. It was Fauré’s first significant composition, written in 1865 whilst he was in his final year at the École Niedermeyer, the ‘École de musique religieuse et classique’. He submitted the piece for the composition prize, and won, though it was only published eleven years later, with a full orchestral version following in 1906. Fauré went on to write a good deal of religious music – most notably the Requiem, written in 1888 – but of the shorter sacred pieces it is the Cantique that has particularly captured the affections of choirs and audiences. (notes: John Bawden) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Veni Sancte Spiritus Text: Medieval Sequence taken from Missale Romanum Come, Holy Spirit, send forth the heavenly radiance of your light. Come, father of the poor, come, Giver of gifts, come, light of the heart. Greatest comforter, sweet guest of the soul, sweet consolation. In labor, rest, in heat, temperance, in tears, solace. O most blessed light, fill the inmost heart of your faithful. Without your grace, there is nothing in us, nothing that is not harmful. Cleanse that which is unclean, Water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded. Bend that which is inflexible, fire that which is chilled, Correct what goes astray. Give to your faithful, those who trust in you, the sevenfold gifts. Grant the reward of virtue, grant the deliverance of salvation, grant eternal joy. The two-part Veni Sancte Spiritus K. 47 was written at the age of 12 by Mozart for the dedication of a chapel on Rennweg and may have also served as a compositional exercise in preparation for the Missa Brevis in G (K. 49) follows the text of the antiphon “Ad invocandum Spiritum Sanctum” before giving way to an “Alleluia” in the second part. It bears the date 1786 and was thus undoubtedly written in Vienna. Mozart makes subtle use of the solo-tutti contrast, and the entrances in imitation testify to the young composer’s thorough training and emulation of the masters of Salzburg church music: Leopold Mozart, Eberlin, and Michael Haydn. (notes: Hellmut Federhofer) arr. Matthew D. Nielsen (b. 1984) Pure Imagination Words & music: Anthony Newley & Leslie Bricusse Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination, Take a look and you'll see into your imagination. We'll begin with a spin travelling in the world of my creation; What we'll see will defy explanation. If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world? There's nothing to it. There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination; Living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be. Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote the score for the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. “Pure Imagination” was featured in the movie when Wonka and the children first enter the room entirely made of candy. The song conveys a message of discovering wonder and magic in our everyday lives. Our ordinary lives can be liberated from expectations and inhibitions through our choices. (notes: Matthew Nielsen) Timothy C. Takach (b. 1978) Neither Angels, Nor Demons, Nor Powers Text: Psalms 121:1 - Felicia Dorothea Hemans - Romans 8:38-39 - Revelation 7:17 And I believe. So I believe. I will lift my eyes to the hills. There, dost thou well believe, No storm should come to mar the stillness of that angel-home; There should thy slumbers be weighed down with honey-dew, serenely blessed. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels, nor demons, nor powers, neither things present nor things to come, neither height nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God. I do believe. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. "When I originally wrote this piece for the commissioning choir in Topeka, KS, I only had their context in mind – they wanted to commission a piece for a student of theirs that was killed in a car crash. I was able to customize the text to fit the sense of hope they wanted to convey, and I used parts of the student's eulogy to glue the text together ("And I believe, so I believe"). What has been rewarding about this piece, though, is that I've been able to see it live on in the voices of other choirs around the country, from the original premiere in Kansas to the National Lutheran Choir, and in Dublin with a new orchestration for strings and brass!" -(notes: Timothy C. Takach) arr. David C. Dickau (b. 1953) If Music Be the Food of Love Text: Henry Heveningham (1651-1700) If music be the food of love, sing on till I am fill'd with joy; For then my list'ning soul you move with pleasures that can never cloy, Your eyes, your mien, your tongue declare that you are music ev'rywhere. Pleasures invade both eye and ear, so fierce the transports are, they wound, And all my senses feasted are, tho' yet the treat is only sound. Sure I must perish by your charms, unless you save me in your arms. If Music Be the Food of Love is the well-known opening line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Poet Henry Heveningham (1651-1700) used Shakespeare’s opening line as fodder for this lovely poem that was originally set three times by Henry Purcell as solo songs. Contemporary composer and choral musician David Dickau creates a rich choral setting of this poem as opposed to Purcell’s comparatively simpler solo settings. (notes: Jamie Spillane) LMU Consort Singers Soprano I Alto I Meara Boughey ‘22 Clara Barnes-Horowitz '24 Bass I Kellie Hall ‘22 Carolyn Gerrior ‘22 Tenor I Frederick Behm ‘24 Jade Tinio ‘21 Allison Jeu ‘23 Zachary Birdsall ‘21 Stefan A.