The Dark Hours Le Poème Harmonique Vincent Dumestre, Artistic Director

Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2014-15 | 26th Season Early Music The Dark Hours Le Poème Harmonique Vincent Dumestre, artistic director Saturday, October 25, 8:00 p.m. Church of St. Mary the Virgin From the Executive Director Welcome back! From the Lionel Loueke Trio to Le Poème Harmonique to the International Contemporary Ensemble, this October we’ll hear from a wide variety of artists who all have one thing in common: they are part of our community at Miller. It’s a thrill to begin another season of Early Music by welcoming back Le Poème Harmonique. Their work reflects the deep respect and passion for historical performance that this series celebrates, and since their Miller debut in 2008, it’s been a pleasure to partner with them. The opening concert of our Composer Portraits series—a tribute to Chou Wen-chung— also highlighted this theme of homecoming. Professor Chou is a highly esteemed member of the Columbia community, who made his mark both as an innovative composer and as a beloved member of the faculty. Interestingly, I first came to know Professor Chou’s work as a student. As an undergrad I would scour the music library for new flute pieces, and I discoveredCursive (1963) for flute and piano. It was too difficult for me to play—I couldn’t even read bass clef yet—but it introduced me to his work, and I’ve been an admirer ever since. The second Composer Portrait this fall, on October 23, was also a deeply personal one for me. Its seeds were planted a few years ago, at Chaya Czernowin’s Portrait in 2010-11. I’ve always admired Chaya’s music—unique, fearless, and rich—and I was thrilled that she was part of the first season that I programmed at Miller. Even before she left, I knew I wanted to work together again, so a few months later we set the wheels in motion for this month’s program. With two world premieres and a Miller commission, it was vast and ambitious, with dozens of performers and two incredible soloists. All of this month’s artists are people I’ve known for years. Building these lasting relationships is one of the most rewarding aspects of my work, and I’m so excited to share these performances with our community of adventurous listeners. Melissa Smey Executive Director Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2014-15 | 26th Season Early Music Saturday, October 25, 8:00 p.m. Church of St. Mary the Virgin The Dark Hours Le Poème Harmonique Vincent Dumestre, artistic director Psalm In te Domine speravi in faux bourdon Anonymous countertenor, tenor, bass, and continuo Troisième leçon de Ténèbres du Jeudi Michel-Richard de Lalande soprano and continuo (1657-1726) Septième méditation - neuvième méditation Marc-Antoine Charpentier countertenor, tenor, bass, and continuo (1643 - 1704) Miserere mei Deus Michel-Richard de Lalande tutti Le Poème Harmonique Hasnaa Bennani, soprano Bruno Le Levreur, countertenor Serge Goubioud, tenor Florian Götz, bass Lucas Peres, bass viol Marouan Mankar Bennis, organ and harpsichord Vincent Dumestre, theorbo and direction This program runs approximately one hour and fifteen minutes with no intermission. Please note that photography and the use of recording devices are not permitted. Remember to turn off all cellular phones and pagers before tonight’s performance begins. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin is wheelchair accessible. Large print programs are available upon request. For more information or to arrange accommodations, please call 212-854-7799. About the Program Tenebrae In 1680, François Chaperon, maître de musique of the Sainte-Chapelle, entrusted the setting of some of the verses from the Lamentations of Jeremiah to Michel-Richard de Lalande and Jean-Féry Rebel, his brother-in-law. Lalande’s first wife was Anne Rebel, the eldest child of Jean Rebel, renowned for the beauty of her voice. The editor of the Mercure Galant wrote in 1702: “We have never heard a greater voice than hers, it is in- comparable in its sweetness, and perfectly agile. She possesses a lightness of emission and a clarity that are almost inexpressible, with a marvellous sense of rhythm as well as admirable diction.” Jeanne and Marie-Anne de Lalande, their daughters, also became famous singers, noted for the beauty of their voices and their exceptional musicality; Louis XIV awarded them pensions at an early age. The Leçons de Ténèbres of 1680, now lost, probably provided material for the Tenebrae compositions that have come down to us. Although Lalande had written his Leçons and his Miserere for solo voice for the nuns of the convent of the Assumption, they were actually sung, like many of his works for female voices, by his daughters (“à l’admiration de tout Paris”). His Leçons de Ténèbres and Miserere must therefore have been composed some time before 1711, for that year Jeanne and Marie-Anne died (aged twenty-four and twenty- three) in the smallpox epidemic that had also carried off the Dauphin a few weeks previously. Although Lalande composed the complete cycle of lessons for the Tenebrae offices (attested by Philidor in 1729), only the third lesson for each day has come down to us. As Lalande was in the habit of reworking his scores, it is unlikely that the version we possess (published posthumously in 1730) is in its original state. The Miserere, on the other hand—which has come down to us in manuscript form—is in a better state of preservation, its popularity having ensured that it remained in the repertoire, in church and concert, throughout the reign of Louis XV. The Lessons (from the Latin “lectiones,” “readings”) for the Tenebrae offices are taken from the Old Testament Lamentations of Jeremiah (sixth century BC), a vast elegy on the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, when they were invaded and devastated by the Babylonians, which was seen as punishment for the sins of Israel. Besides their place in the Jewish liturgy as a commemoration of the ensuing diaspora, the laments are used by the Christian Church to express its grief over the Passion and death of Jesus Christ. Like the penitential psalms—of which Psalm 50 (the Miserere mei Domine, “Have mercy upon me, O God”) is probably the finest example—the Lessons serve as a reminder of religious history. Jeremiah makes constant reference to God and offers Christians a model of repentance and conversion. The Office ofTenebrae was in fact that of Matins for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Saturday, the three nights of Holy Week known as the Triduum Sacrum. Matins being such lengthy services, held at such an early hour, the office was moved during the reign of Louis XIV to the previous evening. Thus the Thursday service came to be referred to as that of Wednesday, and so on. The name Tenebrae (“darkness”) derives from the spectacular ritual of gradually extinguishing all the candles—fifteen, set in a great triangular chandelier—as the service unfolded as a reminder of the gradual abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the darkness that came over the earth at the time of the Crucifixion. A single candle, generally concealed behind the altar, was left alight as evidence of the Resurrection. For each of the three Nocturnes making up the Matins service, three psalms were sung with their three antiphons, and three lessons were followed by their responsories. For the first Nocturne, the lessons were based on passages from the Lamentations of Jeremiah (poems 1, 3, and 5). Each verse of the first four poems of the Lamentations begins with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet; those of the fifth poem do not, which explains their absence in the Lessons for Good Friday, based on this poem. The Hebrew letters were given lengthy melismatic embellishment, while the verses of the poems generally received a more sober treatment. This alternation of richness and simplicity was typical of the style of the Tenebrae office. It was also consistent with the dualism that existed between the obvious theatricality of the service, sung by professionals, and the contemplative, introspective mood of the texts, which expressed affliction and penitence. Tenebrae music was very fashionable at the end of the reign of Louis XIV. Some of the greatest composers of the day, including Michel Lambert, Marc Antoine Charpentier, Guillaume Gabriel Nivers, Sébastien de Brossard, Jean-François Lalouette, François Couperin, Nicolas Clérambault, and Jean Gilles, made contributions to the form. All of them except the latter, who opted for a concertante style, took pains to respect the simplicity that was appropriate to the period of penitence preceding the celebration of the Passion of Jesus Christ. The use of musical instruments was forbidden by the About the Program Catholic Church during Holy Week, and the Lessons were generally sung by one (e.g. Lalande, Couperin) or two voices, and continuo. Providing variety in the instruments of the continuo and adding written or improvised instrumental preludes and postludes to the verses were a creative means of circumventing the rule. Many eyewitness accounts testify to the popularity of the female singers in the Tenebrae services; the population of Paris would throng the churches to hear them. The music critic Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de la Viéville complained that the religious atmosphere on such occasions often left much to be desired. Actresses would be employed occasionally to sing a Lesson: “they are placed behind a curtain, which they draw back now and again to smile at their supporters in the congregation.” Virtuosity— particularly meaningful in the ornamentation of the Hebrew letters at the beginning of the verses and in the finesse of the harmonic treatment—undoubtedly played a part in the success of these compositions.

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