Andrew Earle Simpson Alfred Schnittke A Crown of Stars Requiem

Cover art: Le Sueur, Eustache. Bacchus and Ariadne. Abandoned by Theseus on the island of Naxos, Ariadne is saved by Bacchus, who crowns her with the crown of stars, conferring immortality. Ca. 1640. Oil on canvas, 69x49 ½ inches, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, U.S.A. Photo Credit: Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY Cantate Chamber Singers Andrew Earle Simpson’s A Crown of Stars is available directly from the composer. Gisèle Becker (www.andrewesimpson.com) conductor Alfred Schnittke’s Requiem is published by C.F. Peters. Lisa Edwards-Burrs soprano Joseph Dietrich Photo of Andrew Earle Simpson by John Armato tenor Photo of Alfred Schnittke from the Alfred Schnittke Archive, London The Maryland Photos of Gisèle Becker & Cantate Chamber Singers by Wayne Guenther State Boychoir Stephen Holmes music director www.albanyrecords.com TROY1358 albany records u.s. 915 broadway, albany, ny 12207 tel: 518.436.8814 fax: 518.436.0643 albany records u.k. box 137, kendal, cumbria la8 0xd tel: 01539 824008 © 2012 Albany Records made in the usa DDD warning: copyright subsists in all recordings issued under this label. Andrew Earle Simpson: A Crown of Stars Orleans jazz, Appalachian folk song, English madrigal and Middle Eastern melody are a few of the elements informing the score. A Crown of Stars is scored for soprano and tenor soloists, SATB chorus, Andrew Earle Simpson, composer, pianist and organist, is Ordinary Professor treble chorus SSA, and large chamber ensemble. Commissioned by the Cantate Chamber Singers, it and head of the Theory-Composition Division at the Benjamin T. Rome School was premiered in June 2006 in Bethesda, Md., under the direction of Gisèle Becker. It is dedicated to of Music of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. A composer my wife, Sarah Ferrario, who as a classicist introduced me to many of these texts, and translated some of opera, choral, orchestral, chamber, and silent film scores, he explores of them from the ancient Greek. Thus the piece springs out of one love story to tell another. music’s interaction with other arts, in concert and on stage. His concert and —Andrew Earle Simpson theatrical works make multifaceted connections with literature, visual art, or film, reflecting his fundamental interest in linking music intimately with the wider world (an approach which Simpson calls “humanistic” music). Following four principal threads of interest — humanistic music, with particular interest in Greco-Roman antiquity and modern Greece; silent film music; theatrical Libretto music, including opera; and folk music, emphasizing American folk styles — Simpson has created a Andrew Earle Simpson |A Crown of Stars prodigious array of works for the concert and operatic stage, which have been performed throughout the U.S., in Europe, and in South America, and widely recorded. His musical output has further led him into creative collaborations with visual artists and digital animators, dancers and choreographers, Part I. Courtship How beautiful is Youth, actors and stage directors. Most recently, Simpson has been exploring deeply the rich world of silent How fast it flies away! film, an ideal genre for his multidisciplinary approach, as a nexus of drama, visual art, and music, 1. At the Carnival (Chorus) Let all who would be full of joy: and he has performed original film scores across the United States and abroad. His music for both If ever I cease to love, Tomorrow is not today. adult and children’s chorus has been widely performed, published and recorded. A Crown of Stars was If ever I cease to love, commissioned by Cantate Chamber Singers while Simpson was the ensemble’s Composer-in-Residence. May the moon be turned to green cream cheese, Here are Bacchus, here Ariadne, If ever I cease to love. For each other they burn with desire; A Crown of Stars is a wedding oratorio celebrating the universality of human love. The title refers to Time will trick us and play us false, the crown of Ariadne, who in Greek mythology was married to Dionysus. After her death, the god placed May cows lay eggs and fish grow legs, So they kindle their lover’s fire. a starry crown in the sky to honor her memory. Like many oratorios, A Crown of Stars is narrative. If ever I cease to love. The story follows two characters — a soprano and a tenor — from meeting and stormy courtship to from “If Ever I Cease to Love” These happy satyrs, in love with their nymphs, triumphant wedding ceremony to blissful wedding night interrupted by their friends’ noisy serenade, (words and music by George Leybourne) Have laid out a hundred sweet traps or “shivaree.” The diverse textual sources echo the story’s universality. Poems from ancient Greece and In the woods and the caves, Rome, medieval France, Renaissance Italy, nineteenth-century Britain, and contemporary Syria partner While Bacchus inflames them with sacred texts and secular carnival songs. The music likewise draws on a wide array of styles: New To dancing and leaping. The amorous nymphs know all, 2. Aria and Scene (Soprano, Tenor and Chorus) Of all the fruits and all the flowers Young love lies dreaming And readily fall for the traps, I do not resemble your other lovers, my lady My garden holds a solitary rose. Till summer days are gone, Full knowing the satyrs’ designs. should another give you a cloud Guillaume de Machaut (trans. A.S. Kline; dreaming and drowsing And both together do join I give you rain used by permission) Away to perfect sleep: In playing and singing the while. Should he give you a lantern, I will give you the moon 3. The Face of All the World is Changed Him perfect music Live, Bacchus, live, Ariadne! Should he give you a branch (Soprano) Doth hush unto his rest, Let us play and dance and sing! I will give you the trees The face of all the world is changed And through the pauses Let sweetness fill your hearts with fire! And if another gives you a ship Since first I heard the footsteps of thy soul The perfect silence calms. Never tire and never despair! I shall give you the journey. Move still, [move] still beside me. What will be, will be, so be happy. Nizar Qabbani, “Love Compared” Young Love lies dreaming; Of tomorrow we have no care. (trans. Lena Jayyusi and Christopher The name of country, the name of heaven, But who shall tell the dream? from Lorenzo de’Medici, “Bacchus and Middleton; used by permission and is changed away A perfect sunlight Ariadne,” (trans. Adam K. Gilbert, freely reprinted courtesy of Interlink Publications) For where thou art or shalt be, there or here: On rustling forest tips; adapted AES. Text reprinted by permission And this … this lute and song … Or perfect moonlight of Piffaro, The Renaissance Band) I’m not afraid of being enslaved (the singing angels know) are only dear Upon a rippling stream; By a glance or a gift or a long pursuit, Because thy name moves right in what they say. Or perfect silence, 1a. Recitative (Tenor) Nor of drowning in flattery’s wave, from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Or song of cherished lips. The beauty I have seen For my heart there’s no man would suit. “The Face of All the World is Changed” from Christina Georgina Rossetti, Transcends all bounds … from Christine de Pisan, Ballade (adapted AES) “Dream-Love” And no poet ever born (trans. A.S. Kline; used by permission) Could sing that beauty full. 4. Dream-Love (Chorus and Soprano) 5. Love’s Secret (Quartet) from Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, Canto 30 Oh Love! They wrong thee much Young love lies sleeping Never seek to tell thy love, (trans. Philip H. Wicksteed, freely that say thy sweet is bitter, In May-time of the year, Love that never told can be; adapted AES) When thy rich fruit is such Among the lilies, For the gentle wind doth move As nothing can be sweeter. Lapped in the tender light: Silently, invisibly. Anonymous White lambs come grazing, from William Blake, “Love’s Secret” White doves come building there: And round about him The May-bushes are white. 6. O Blind God Love Part II. Wedding-Ritual But I found him whom my soul loveth: What thou hast joined together, let no man O blind god Love, why tak’st thou such delight I held him, and would not let him go. put asunder. With darts of divers force our hearts to wound? 8. Bridal Procession, Crowning of the Bride Song of Songs 3:4 (KJ trans.) Anglican rite of marriage (adapted AES) By thy too much abusing of thy might and Groom (Soprano, Tenor and Chorus) This discord great in human hearts is found. Evening is come, young men, arise! With these seven steps we become friends. Yours I am in life; The long-awaited evening at last lifts up its Let me never be parted from your friendship, Yours I will be in death. When I would wade the shallow ford aright, lights to Olympus. and let your friendship never be severed from me. from Propertius, Elegies 2.15 (trans. Thou draw’st me to the deep to have me drowned. Now is the time to rise up: I am the poem, you are the melody; Constance Carrier, The Poems of From those love me my love thou dost recall The bride will come, the bridal-song be sung! You are the melody, I am the poem. Propertius, Indiana University Press, And place it where I find no love at all. from Catullus, Carmina 62 Rig Veda 10.85, traditional Hindu 1963. Freely adapted AES; used by from Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, (trans. S.B. Ferrario; used by permission) wedding text permission of Indiana University Press) Canto 2 (trans. Sir John Harington) By night on my bed I sought him whom my Unite your servants, and crown them in one flesh. 7. Will There Be Any Stars in My Crown? soul loveth: Greek Orthodox wedding liturgy Part III. Wedding Night and Shivaree (Treble Chorus) I sought him, but I found him not. Will there be any stars in my crown, Song of Songs 3:1 (King James trans.) Behold King Solomon, wearing his wedding crown. 9. Raise Up the Roof (Chorus) When at evening the sun goeth down? Song of Songs 3:11 Raise up the roof, hymenaon! When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest, O maidenhood, maidenhood, where do you go (KJ trans., freely adapted AES) Raise it up, builders, hymenaon! Will there be any stars in my crown? now, as you abandon me? Never may I approach you again. May all the gods unite your hearts; The bridegroom is coming like Ares, I am thinking today of that beautiful land Sappho fr. 114 Lobel-Page May the Waters unite your hearts; Far greater than other men. I will reach when the sun goeth down; (trans. S.B. Ferrario; used by permission) May Wind unite your hearts; O happy bridegroom, you have the bride It would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold May the Creator unite your hearts; you sought. Should there be any stars in my crown. Behold, thou art fair, my love: Rig Veda 10:85 adapted from Eliza Hewitt, hymn text Behold, thou art all fair: there is no spot in thee. Your shape is graceful, your eyes are sweet, Song of Songs 4:1, 7 (KJ trans.) Let the couple be filled with joy, And love flows over your longed-for face. as you made your creation joyful in Eden in Aphrodite has blessed you fully. time long past. Sappho fr. 111, 112 Lobel-Page Fifth blessing, Jewish wedding ceremony (trans. S.B. Ferrario; used by permission) 10. O My Bliss (Soprano, Tenor and Chorus) While there is light, do not forsake the joys of life! Alfred Schnittke: Requiem O my bliss! O my shining night! Though you give me all your kisses, And you, O bed, made blest by my delights! There still would be too few. If the 1975 Requiem of Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) evokes vivid from Propertius, Elegies 2.15 (trans. images, it is perhaps because it began as a stage work — incidental How many ways our arms embraced! Constance Carrier, The Poems of music for Schiller’s Don Carlos for a production in Moscow. Born in the How long and long I kissed your lips! Propertius, Indiana University Press, Soviet Union to German-speaking parents, Schnittke felt caught between 1963. Freely adapted AES; used by the two worlds of his Russian homeland and his family heritage. This So long as fate allows, we will fill our eyes with love: permission of Indiana University Press) background, as well as his studies in both Vienna and Moscow, con- For soon the night which has no sunrise overtakes us. tributed to his compositional identity as a “polystylist.” He unabashedly [Hymenaon!] plundered every possible genre of music — from Jewish cantillation to We must be like doves, you and I: pop music — for use in his compositions, which included more than 60 film scores for the Soviet Paired in love, male and female joined entire. 11. Finale (Chorus) cinema. Using familiar sounds in unfamiliar ways, he strove for what he called a “synthesis in which The deathless gods loved Ariadne, genres will become obsolete.” Yours I am in life; and there is proof in the heart of the heavens; Yours I will be in death. a crown of stars, which they say is hers, The Requiem is based on music from the piano quintet that Schnittke dedicated to his mother just revolves all through the night among the after her death. The scoring includes brass, electric and bass guitars, piano, organ, and percussion. [Raise up the roof, hymenaon! constellations. Chimes are heard throughout as tolling funeral bells, most prominent in the “Requiem Aeternam” Raise it up, builders, hymenaon!] from Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3 movement that bookends the work and serves as both a processional and a recessional. Each of the (trans. S.B. Ferrario; used by permission) short movements reflects its text vividly, from the hauntingly beautiful meditations of the “Recordare” If all men would pass their lives this way — and “Lacrimosa” to the terrified apocalyptic pleas of the “Dies Irae” and “Tuba Mirum,” the latter of Reclining, serene, their limbs held down by wine — Place a crown of stars on my head. which uses Sprechstimme technique. The sound of trap drums and a driving rock beat in the “Credo” There would be no need for swords, or warships: AES movement (a text not normally included in Requiem settings) might raise eyebrows; however, it is part No need for sailors’ bones to lie in oceans’ deep, of the composer’s vision of a transforming definition of art music at this late date in the history of Or civil wars to sink our lands in grief. [Hymenaon!] Western society, what he called a stylistic democratization. Alex Ross explains that Schnittke’s music portrays “what is overheard by a society that no longer knows how to listen.” This much, at least, posterity could praise: —Rachel E. Barham Our wine-cups gave no god offense.

[Here are Bacchus, here Ariadne] Libretto Cum resurget creatura, when creation rises again to give answer Alfred Schnittke |REQUIEM Judicanti responsura. to its Judge. Liber scriptus proferetur, A written book will be brought forth In quo totum continetur, in which everything is contained from which Requiem Requiem Unde mundus judicetur. the world shall be judged. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, Give them eternal rest, O Lord, Judex ergo cum sedebit, So when the Judge is seated, et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine on them. Quidquid latet apparebit, whatever is hidden will be made known: Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, There will be songs of praise to you in Zion, Nil inultum remanebit. nothing shall go unpunished. et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem; and prayers in Jerusalem. Quid sum miser tunc dicturus, What shall I, wretch, say at that time? exaudi orationem meam, O hear my prayers; all flesh returns to you. Quem patronum rogaturus, What advocate shall I entreat ad te omnis caro veniet. Give them eternal rest, O Lord, Cum vix justus sit securus? (to plead for me) Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. and let perpetual light shine on them. when scarcely the righteous shall be safe from damnation? Kyrie Kyrie Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Rex tremendae Rex tremendae Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. Rex tremendae majestatis, King of awesome majesty, who grants salvation qui salvandos salvas gratis, salva me, to those that are to be saved, save me, Dies irae Dies irae fons pietatis! O fount of Pity. Dies irae, dies illa, A day of wrath; that day, Solvet saeclum in favilla, it will dissolve the world into glowing ashes, Recordare Recordare Teste David cum Sibylla. as attested by David together with the Sibyl. Recordare, Jesu pie, Remember, dear Jesus, that I am the reason Quantus tremor est futurus, What trembling there will be, quod sum causa tuae viae, for Thy journey (into this world): Quando judex est venturus, when the Judge shall come ne me perdas illa die. do not cast me away on that day. Cuncta stricte discussurus! to examine everything in strict justice. Quaerens me sedisti lassus, Seeking me, Thou didst sit down weary, redemisti crucem passus; Thou didst redeem me, suffering the death on Tuba mirum Tuba mirum tantus labor non sit cassus. the Cross: Tuba mirum spargens sonum, The trumpet’s wondrous call sounding let not such toil have been in vain. Per sepulchra regionum, abroad in tombs throughout the world Coget omnes ante thronum. shall drive everybody forward to the throne. Mors stupebit et natura, Death and nature shall stand amazed Lacrimosa Lacrimosa Sanctus Sanctus Lacrimosa dies illa, That day will be one of weeping Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts. qua resurget ex favilla on which shall rise again from the embers Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. judicandus homo reus. the guilty man, to be judged. Osanna in excelsis! Hosanna in the highest. Huic ergo parce, Deus, Therefore spare him, O God. pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem! Amen! Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest! Amen! Benedictus Benedictus Benedictus, qui venit Blessed is he who comes Domine Jesu Domine Jesu in nomine Domini. in the name of the Lord. Domine Jesu Christe, rex gloriae, Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, libera animas omnium fidelium deliver the souls of the dead Agnus Dei Agnus Dei defunctorum de poenis from punishment in the inferno, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins inferni et de profundo lacu. and from the infernal lake. dona eis requiem. of the world, give them rest. Libera eas de ore leonis, Deliver them from the mouth of the lion, Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, Lamb of God, who takes away the sins ne absorbeat eas tartarus, lest the abyss swallow them up, dona eis requiem sempiternam. of the world, give them eternal rest. ne cadant in obscurum: lest they fall into the darkness; sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet but let Michael, the holy standard-bearer, Credo Credo eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim bring them into the holy light, as thou of old Credo in unum Deum, I believe in one God, Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus. hast promised Abraham and his seed. factorem coeli et terrae, maker of heaven and earth, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. and of all things visible and invisible. Hostias Hostias Credo in unum Dominum, Jesum Christum, And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, Sacrifices and prayers to thee, O Lord, Filium Dei unigenitum, only begotten Son of God, laudis offerimus. we offer with praise. et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula, begotten of his Father before all worlds. Tu suscipe pro animabus illis, O receive them for the souls of those Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, quarum hodie memoriam facimus; whom today we commemorate; make them, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum, non factum, begotten, not made, Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. O Lord, to pass from death to life. consubstantialem Patri, qui propter nos homines being of one substance with the Father, et propter nostram salutem who for us men and for our salvation descendit de coelis. came down from heaven. Osanna! Hosanna! Requiem Requiem Cantate’s performances, known for their virtuosity, aim at the same time to create the greatest Requiem aeternam dona eis, domine, Give them eternal rest, O Lord, possible intimacy between performers and audience. Included in Cantate’s annual concert seasons et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine on them. have been guest appearances with the National Philharmonic, Chacabuco at the Kennedy Center, Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, There will be songs of praise to you in Zion, the Dumbarton Concert Series, the Folger Consort Series, the Mansion at Strathmore, the National et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem; and prayers in Jerusalem. Museum of the American Indian, the American Guild of Organists’ National and Regional Conventions, exaudi orationem meam, O hear my prayers; all flesh returns to you. the BlackRock Center for the Arts, the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, the Virginia Chamber Orchestra, the ad te omnis caro veniet. Give them eternal rest, O Lord, 21st Century Consort, Bowen McCauley Dance, and at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine. and let perpetual light shine on them. New York City. Cantate Chamber Singers has been awarded the Choralis Foundation’s 2011 “Ovation” Award for Creative Programming, and has been showcased in the “Front Row Washington” broadcast series on Classical WETA 90.9 FM.

Gisèle Becker, esteemed Washington, D.C. area choral conductor, has received high The Performers accolades from critics, audiences, and professional colleagues for her vision of musical excellence and commitment to imaginative programming. The Washington Post wrote that Ms. Becker “has molded her group into a well-balanced and responsive ensemble … [presenting] focused, intelligent music-making.” The Post called her 2003 performance of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor “a version as transfix- ing as it was bold … riveting in its fresh, impassioned and personal vision.” Music Director of the Cantate Chamber Singers since January 1994, she serves also as Director of Choral Activities at The George Washington University, conducting the University Singers and Chamber Choir. For 26 years Ms. Becker was Assistant Conductor of the Washington Bach Consort, and she also was chorus master for the Cathedral Choral Society. Ms. Becker’s extensive experience in choral preparation has included the Folger Consort’s performances of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia, as well as Hindemith’s When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d for guest conductor Robert Cantate Chamber Singers, acknowledged as one of the Washington, D.C. area’s finest small choral Shaw and Haydn’s The Creation for Leonard Slatkin, both with the Cathedral Choral Society. She prepared ensembles, performs a broad range of great Western choral literature spanning six centuries. Under the Washington Bach Consort for its performances of Handel’s Messiah with conductor Robert King, the artistic direction of Gisèle Becker since 1994, Cantate is recognized especially for its skilled for Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with Harry Christophers, and Charles Ives’ Symphony No. 4 and Sofia interpretation of Baroque style, championing of neglected masterpieces, adventurous programming Gubaidulina’s The Canticle of the Sun, both for Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra. of 20th- and 21st-century music, and commissioning and premiering of new works. Through its bien- Ms. Becker has served on the faculties of The Catholic University of America, Trinity College in nial Young Composers’ Contest, the group encourages emerging compositional talent nationwide. Washington, D.C., and Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Virginia. She received her bachelor of music degree from The Catholic University of America and her master of music degree from Performing extensively for more than 25 years, The Maryland State Boychoir gives more than 60 George Mason University, and she is pursuing her doctor of musical arts degree from the University of concerts per year nationally and internationally. The choristers have toured in more than 30 states, Maryland. In addition to her conducting activities, she is actively engaged as a recording producer, a and in Great Britain, Europe, the Caribbean, and Canada. They have been heard at such distinguished festival adjudicator, and a clinician. venues as the White House and the Kennedy Center, St. Patrick’s and Holy Trinity Cathedrals in New York City, and the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, and they have appeared in concert with the Critically acclaimed for her solo concerts featuring works by African-American composers and world Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Choral Arts Society, the Cantate Chamber Singers, the premieres, soprano Lisa Edwards-Burrs has served as an Artistic Ambassador for the United States Bonifantes Boys’ Choir of the Czech Republic, and the Drakensberg Boys’ Choir of South Africa, among in South America, and has performed at the Amalfi Music and Arts Festival in Italy and at Caux, other musical collaborators. The Boychoir is dedicated to providing talented boys with a holistic and Switzerland. Recent performances include Alice in the world premiere of Lyrics of Sunshine and diverse musical education in the tradition of the great European choir schools, regardless of race, Shadows, an opera by Steven M. Allen; guest artist in the opening gala concert for the International religion, or socioeconomic background. Conference on Hector Villa-Lobos sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University; Miranda in the Philadelphia premiere of the opera Blake by H. Leslie Adams; and Cleopatra in the world premiere Stephen Holmes, Music Director of The Maryland State Boychoir for more than 15 years, is himself of Leslie Burrs’ Egypt’s Nights, both presented by Opera North Inc. Ms. Edwards-Burrs is currently a graduate of the Boychoir training program. In addition to his numerous conducting and program Associate Professor of Voice at Virginia State University. directing activities with the Boychoir and their six performing ensembles, Dr. Holmes is Director of Choral Activities at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Music Director at the Aisquith Presbyterian Joseph Dietrich, tenor, is a graduate of New York’s Mannes College and of The George Washington Church in Baltimore, and conductor of the University of Maryland Men’s Chorus. He serves on the University in Washington, DC. In New York, Mr. Dietrich has appeared as Gastone in Verdi’s La Traviata board of directors of the Canticle Singers of Baltimore and of The Choral Music Educators Association at Merkin Hall, Pedrillo in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Liederkranz Opera, and of Maryland. In demand as a guest conductor, he has appeared with choral organizations throughout the Mayor in Britten’s Albert Herring, and was tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Bach’s Coffee the country, and his choral arrangements have been performed throughout the mid-Atlantic Cantata. In Washington, he performed Purcell’s Hail! Bright Cecilia at the Kennedy Center, Britten’s region. Dr. Holmes received his bachelor of music degree from Towson University, and his masters Serenade at Lisner Auditorium, and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with Choralis in Alexandria, Virginia. and doctoral degrees in choral conducting from the University of Maryland. Mr. Dietrich previously appeared with Cantate as Petrus in Reinhard Keiser’s St. Mark Passion, as Saint Nicolas in Britten’s Saint Nicolas, and as Abraham in Britten’s Abraham and Isaac. Cantate Chamber Singers Simpson Recording Instrumentalists Acknowledgments Anne Ament, clarinet Gisèle Becker, music director & conductor Lori Barnet, cello Andrew Earle Simpson: A Crown of Stars Robert Birch, trumpet Recorded at John Paul Hall, The Catholic Sopranos Tenors Fatma Daglar, oboe University of America, Washington, D.C. Dee Dee Brinkema Wayne Guenther** Eric Dircksen, bassoon/contrabassoon Recorded on March 6-8, 2011 Marilynn Flood Hank Miller Karin Firsow, piano Recording Producers: Judy Guenther** Noah Mlotek††† Michelle Humphreys, percussion Andrew Earle Simpson and Chris Matten Sarah Kerr Robert Thompson Osman Kivrak, viola † Recording and Mastering Engineer: Christine King Doug Throckmorton Jeffrey Koczela, bass † Alan Wonneberger Cynthia Nickerson Eric Wagner Pamela Lassell, contractor † Recording Assistant: Niall Owen McCusker Robin A. Pennington Teri Lazar, violin Deborah Sternberg* †† ††† Basses David Lonkevich, flute/piccolo Alfred Schnittke: Requiem Elizabeth Sullivan John Brooks Kate Hazzard Rogers, harp Recorded at Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church, Ulf Ekernas Bethesda, Maryland Altos/Countertenor Steven Alan Honley Schnittke Recording Instrumentalists Recorded on March 14-16, 2011 Susan Andrea Scott Humburg Robert Birch, trumpet Recording Producer: Scott Dettra Stephanie Cabell Roberto Ifill John Bisesi, timpani Recordist: Ed Kelly Lauren Campbell Todd Leeuwenburgh Mark Carson, percussion Mastering Engineer: Alan Wonneberger Alison Carlson Dennis Tosh** Glenn Dewey, electric bass †† †††† Carrie Lee Eyler Ben Wallis Ben Fritz, trombone Sarah Brown Ferrario Jane Kaye, organ Janet Ishimoto** Pamela Lassell, percussion, contractor Miriam Radakovich * Soloist in “Dream-Love” (A Crown of Stars) Philip Mathieu, electric guitar John Wiecking ** Quartet in “Love’s Secret” (A Crown of Stars) Christopher Rose, percussion † Trio in “Kyrie” (Requiem) Andrew Simpson, celesta †† Duet in “Lacrimosa” (Requiem) Michael Thompson, piano ††† Duet in “Sanctus” (Requiem) †††† Soloist in “Agnus Dei” (Requiem) Simpson A Crown of Stars Schnittke Requiem Cantate Chamber Singers Andrew Earle Simpson Alfred Schnittke A Crown of Stars: Wedding Oratorio in Three Parts (2006/2010) Requiem (1975) troy1358 Part I: Courtship Part II: Wedding Ritual 15 Requiem [3:11] 1 At the Carnival [5:38] 10 Bridal Procession: 16 Kyrie [2:32] chorus Evening Has Come [3:04] 17 Dies irae [1:12]

2 Soprano Vocalise [:31] soprano, tenor, chorus 18 Tuba mirum [2:50]

3 Tenor Recitative: 11 Crowning of the Bride and Groom: 19 Rex tremendae [1:02] The Beauty I Have Seen [1:44] With These Seven Steps [4:04] 20 Recordare [2:28] 4 Aria and Scene: soprano, tenor, chorus, treble chorus 21 Lacrimosa [2:22] I Do Not Resemble [5:06] 22 Domine Jesu [1:35] Part III: Wedding Night and Shivaree soprano, tenor, chorus 23 Hostias [1:16] 12 Raise Up the Roof [3:43] 5 Aria: The Face of All the World 24 Sanctus [3:34] chorus is Changed [2:21] 25 Benedictus [1:42] 13 O My Bliss [5:26] soprano solo 26 Agnus Dei [2:14] soprano, tenor, chorus 6 Dream-Love [4:04] 27 Credo [3:15] 14 Finale: The Deathless Gods chorus 28 Requiem [3:16] Loved Ariadne [1:49] 7 Love’s Secret [:34] chorus, treble chorus solo quartet Total Time = 73:53 8 O Blind God Love [1:29] chorus 9 Will There Be Any Stars Cantate Chamber Singers The Maryland State Boychoir in My Crown? [1:37] Gisèle Becker, conductor Stephen Holmes, music director Lisa Edwards-Burrs, soprano treble chorus

Joseph Dietrich, tenor

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915 broadway, albany, ny 12207 troy1358 tel: 518.436.8814 fax: 518.436.0643 albany records u.k. box 137, kendal, cumbria la8 0xd tel: 01539 824008 © 2012 Albany Records made in the usa DDD warning: copyright subsists in all recordings issued under this label. Simpson A Crown of Stars Schnittke Requiem Cantate Chamber Singers