• Choral Recital

Trevor A. Loes, conductor

Riverside Recital Hall Friday, February 12, 2010 7:30 p.m. • Program

Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 (1685-1750)

Chorale - J esu, M eine Freude Chorus -Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches an denen Chorale - Unter deinen Schirmen Trio - Denn das Gesetz des Geistes Samantha Blickhan, soprano Katie Roller, soprano Jacquelyn Zwiefel, alto Chorale - Trotz dem alten Drachen Chorus - /hr aber seid nicht fleischlich, sondern geistlich Chorale - Weg mit allen Schiitzen! Trio - So aber Christus in euch ist Lauren Tompkins, alto Noah DeLong, tenor Ian Richardson, bass Chorale - Gute Nacht, o Wesen Chorus - So nun der Geist des Chorale - Weicht, ihr Trauergeister!

Exsultate Deo Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)

Christe, du Lamm Gottes Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)

Psalm 148 Gustav Holst (1874-1934) From Two Pslams, Hll 7

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy. This is recital number 4342. Translations and Text

Jesu, meine Freude Trotz dem alten Drachen J esu, Meine Freude Despite the old dragon, Jesu, my joy, despite death's jaws, My heart's delight, and despite fears as well, J esu, my treasure, even though the world might rage and burst, How long, ah, how long I will stand here and sing My heart is troubled In utterly confident peace. And longs for you! God's might holds me in awe; God's lamb, my bridegroom, Earth and abyss must become silent, Besides you, nothing else on earth Even though they still grumble. Shall become dearer to me. - Johann Franck • - Johann Franck 1hr aber seid nicht fleischlich. sondern Es ist nun nichts Verdammliches an denen geistlich There is now nothing condemnable in them You, however, are not carnal, but spiritual, Who are in Christ Jesus, If indeed God's spirit dwells in you. Who walk not according to the flesh, But anyone who does not have Christ's spirit But according to the spirit. Does not belong to him. - Romans 8: 1, 8: 4b -Romans 8: 9

Unter deinen Schirmen Weg mit allen Schiitzen! Under your protection Away with all treasures! I am free from the storms You are my delight, Of all my foes. Jesu, my pleasure! Let Satan curse and swear, A way, you vain honors, Let the foe become bitter; I do not want to hear you; Jesus stands by me. Remain unknown to me! If a storm suddenly crashes and flashes, Misery, distress, cross, shame and death If sin and hell suddenly frighten me, Shall not, though I must suffer greatly, J esu wants to protect me. Separate me from Jesu. - Johann Franck - Johann Franck

Denn das Gesetz des Geistes So aber Christus in euch ist For the law of the spirit, But if Christ is in you, Which gives life in Christ Jesus, The body is indeed dead Has made me free from the law Because of sin; • Of sin and death. The spirit, however, is alive - Romans 8: 2 Because of righteousness. - Romans 8: 10 Gute Nacht. o Wesen Christe, du Lamm Gottes Farewell, 0 life That the world has chosen; Christ, the Lamb of God, You please me not! Who bears the sins of the world, Farewell you sins. Have mercy on us. Stay far behind me; Come no more into the light! Christ, the Lamb of God, Farewell pride and pomp; Who bears the sins of the world, To you, life of iniquity, Have mercy on us. A final farewell be bidden. - Johann Franck Christ, the Lamb of God, Who bears the sins of the world, So nun der Geist des Grant us your peace. If the spirit of him Who has raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, Psalm 148 so will the same one • who has raised Jesus from the dead Lord, who hast made us for thine own, bring life to your mortal bodies, Hear as we sing before thy throne. Alleluia. because his spirit Accept Thy children's reverent praise dwells in you. For all Thy wondrous works and ways. - Romans 8: 11 Alleluia.

Weicht, ihr Trauergeister! Waves, rolling in on every shore, Give way, you spirits of grief! Pause at His footfall and adore. Alleluia. For my lord of joy, Ye torrents rushing from the hills, Jesus, enters in. Bless Him whose hand your fountains fills. For those who love God, Alleluia. Even their sorrows Must be pure sweetness. Earth, ever through the power divine, Even if I must endure mockery and scorn, Seedtime and harvest shall be thine. Alleluia. You still remain, even in suffering, Sweet flowers that perfume all the air, Jesu, my joy! Thank Him that he hath made you fair. - Johann Franck Alleluia.

Bum, lamps of night with constant flame, Exsultate Deo Shine to the honour of His name. Alleluia. Thou sun, whom all the lands obey, Rejoice greatly to God our helper, Renew His praise from day to day. Shout for joy to the God of Jacob. Alleluia. Take up a psalm, and bring the timbrel And the sweet psaltery with the harp. • Program Notes

While the cantatas constitute the largest part of Johann Sebastian Bach's output, the motets constitute the smallest. Jesu, M eine Freude is one of six motets that have traditionally been ascribed to Bach even though speculation continues over the attribu­ tion of two others, and all of the motets were composed after Bach accepted his position at the Thomassule in Leipzig. Very little is known about the specific function of Bach's motets. The only motet connected with an event is Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf, and that event was the death of the Thomasschule Rector, Johann Heinrich Emesti. In the Luteran liturgy the motet was far less important than the cantata. Latin motets were sung at Vespers on Sunday afternoons and at the beginning of the main morning service. The Leipzig repertoire of motets was gleamed from Erhard Bodenschatz's ,. Florilegium Portense, an anthology compiled from 1603 to 1621 of mostly eight-part pieces by German, Italian, and Flemish composers of the sixteenth and early seven­ teenth centuries. The music was relatively simple and only a small percentage of the 270 motets were used. Consequently, they were easily learned and remembered. Bach actually placed little importance on the Latin motet used in the liturgy. In his 1730 Memorandum to the Leipzig council, he divided his singers into three groups: those capable of taking part in figural music (i.e. cantatas), the motet singers, and those able to do little more than lead a chorale. Even a cursory examination of Bach's own motets is enough to illustrate the idea that his motets were not intended for normal use in the Leipzig churches. Bach's motets were written for special occasions and required the best available singers. Unfortunately, little is known about the occasions for which Bach's motets were composed. Although, four of the motets appear to have been writ­ ten for funerals or memorial services. Jesu, Meine Freude is one of the motets connected to funerals. This motet, most likely the best-known of all Bach's motets, is the longest, most musically complex and earliest of the six. Composed in 1723, this motet is thought to have been written for the funeral of Johanna Maria Kasin, the wife of Leipzig's postmaster. It uses as its basis the chorale of the same name by Johann Cruger (words by Joahnn Franck), but six stanzas of Franck's alternate with five verses from the eighth chapter from St. Paul's epis­ tle to the Romans. It is set in eleven short movements and arranged in a symmetrical musical structure. Exsultate Deo is contained in a collection of forty-eight motets called the Sacri Concentus. The collection was first published in Nuremburg in 1601 just as Hans Has­ sler was returning to Nuremburg following the death of Octavian Fugger II, and the col­ lection was published a second time by Pauli Kaufmanni in 1612. The motet is scored for five voices, and it is polyphonic except for two similar homophonic sections. The text is taken from Psalm 81: 1-2 or Psalm 80 in the Vulgate. Hassler wrote 120 Latin motets and 122 German motets. Each were of consis­ tently high quality, although they varied in technique. Before 1601 the motets were pre­ dominantly homophonic, and all of his early motets were written for the Catholic Church. After 1601 many of his motets, like Exsulatate Deo were more contrapuntal. Those later motets also featured distinctive motives that are quite declamatory. Exsul­ tate Deo is one example of how melodic phrasing is built around thematic material and variations of the theme. A choir of 21 singers will be performing Exsulatate Deo a capella for this recital, but there were many occasions at which polyphony in the late sixteenth-century was performed with one person on a part even if large choirs were available. A period per­ formance of Exsultate Deo probably had anywhere from five to twenty singers in the choir. Motets during this period were also largely sung a capella, but occasionally if ~ there were not enough singers to cover all parts, the missing part would be played by '~ organ or solo instrument. In fact, given the conventions of the time, concerted perform­ ances of the Hassler motets would not have been out of the question. The chorale in Bach's time was the crucial expression of the Christian congrega­ tion, and Felix Mendelssohn perceived chorales as the distinguishing feature or essence of the music of J. S. Bach. From the beginning of his student days with Zelter, Men­ delssohn was immersed in the art of chorale writing through countless exercises, and similar to Bach, chorales appear throughout Mendelssohn's body of compositions. For example, his Symphonies No. 2, "Lobgesang" and No. 5, "Reformation", as well as his oratorios St. Paul and Elijah all incorporate the element of chorales. Mendelssohn be­ gan using protestant chorales as early as 1823 and from the years 1827-32 he composed a series of eight chorale cantatas, five of which are based on the chorales of Martin Lu­ ther. Included in that group is Christe, du Lamm Gottes. These chorale cantatas are atypical for the nineteenth century. While composers quoted chorales in compositions in the Romantic era, no other composer wrote chorale cantatas for chorus and orchestra that bore such striking similarities to Bach. Unfortu­ nately, Mendelssohn's cantatas, with the exception of Verleih uns Frieden, were unpub­ lished during his lifetime and as a result information pertaining to this corpus of little­ known works has been incomplete and inaccurate. It is known, however, that Mendels­ sohn himself withdrew most of these works from publication, perhaps because he viewed them largely as student works which he had written to study Bach's works and emulate his style. Mendelssohn's cantatas as a whole can be categorized into two groups: cantatas composed in Berlin (1827-29) and those during his European travel years (1830-32). The Berlin compositions indude Christe, du Lamm Gottes; Jesu, meine Freude; and Wer.nur den lieben Gott lafit walten and are slightly smaller in scale. Mendelssohn's first , Christe, du Lamm Gottes, is scored for SATB choir and strings, but flute, oboe and clarinet can be added to reinforce the chorale tune. The cantata was written for his sister, Fanny, for Christmas in 1827 while Mendelssohn was in Berlin. Christe, du Lamm Gottes is 's German translation of the Agnus Dei text. The entire formal structure of the work is a replica of a Bach cantata, complete with a chorale fantasy, fugato, and a closing homophonic statement of the final chorale strophe. However, Mendelssohn condenses the formal structure into a single movement that spans roughly seven minutes. This single-movement work is governed by the tripartite structure of the text. The three distinct sections receive full treatment of the chorale tune but each is set differently. Christe, du Lamm Gottes is the most intimate of Mendelssohn's chorale cantatas and closely follows Bach's models with the chorale • tune in the soprano voice over imitative counterpoint in the lower three voices. In 1905, Gustav Holst was appointed the Director of Music for the St. Paul's Girls School in Hammersmith. His Two Psalms (Hl 17) for chorus, string orchestra and organ were written in 1912 at a time when the composer's compositional style was un­ dergoing a process of textural and structural refinement. Holst had recently completed the last of his Sanskrit works, The Cloud Messenger, which had been a complete failure. Although, his next major composition was to prove extremely successful, the sym­ phonic picture 'Mars' for The Planets. Holst composed very little religious music probably as a result of his somewhat ambivalent attitude towards the Church. He found the spiritual aspect enormously appealing, but felt stifled by regimented orthodoxy. The Two Psalms consists of Psalm 86 and Psalm 148. Psalm 86 is more striking with its greater textural variety and emotional range, but the beautiful setting of Psalm 148 has a compensating warmth of expression that is rarely found in Holst's music. Both Psalms were originally written for women's voices and organ, and was later re­ vised to include strings and mixed voices. W. G. Whittaker had been planning to give the first public performance of the Two Psalms later in July of 1920, and Holst was in­ vited to Newcastle to conduct. The performance, however, was to take place out in the open air, so the organ part was rearranged for brass band and last minute scoring was done to give the voices and strings some extra support from wind instruments. The text to Psalm 148 is a paraphrase of Psalm 148, Lord, Who Hast Made Us for Thine Own, which Frances Ralph Gray (St. Paul's Headmaster) had written for the inaugu­ ration of the organ. The melody was taken from the Geistliche Kirchengesange of 1623 and was already well-known to users of the English Hymnal from its use in Ye Watchers and Ye . Holy Ones to words by Athelstan Riley. Holst's setting is lush, yet robust, and there are many glimpses of beauty in the leisurely Alleluias that wander up and down in thirds while the familiar hymn tune sails over the heads of performers and listeners alike. The Choir Soprano Samantha Blickhan Stephanie Eck Amy Horstman Natalie Ramlow Laura Roche Katie Roller Alto Julia Brueck Kira Horel Hana Katsenes Lauren Tompkins Jacquelyn Zwiefel • Tenor Scott Allison Jonathan Davies Noah DeLong Joseph Durbin Paul Hille Bass Matthew Erpelding Michael Joyner Ian Richardson Richard Roller Michael Schnack

Instrumentalists Preston Krauska, violin Lauren Trolley, violin Diana Mayne, viola Parker Stanley, cello Jacob Stanbro, bass Kurt Juhl, organ Ana Orduz, rehearsal accompanist Diego Arango, rehearsal accompanist