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Friday, February 8, 2019, 8pm First Congregational Church Cantus Alone Together
TENORS Jacob Christopher, Zachary Colby, Alberto de la Paz, Paul Scholtz
BARITONES David Geist, Sam Kreidenweis
BASSES Chris Foss, Samuel Green
PROGRAM
Laura Mvula She Libby Larsen You – Movement 1, You, here… now Ingrid Michaelson Twitter Song Arcade Fire Deep Blue Libby Larsen You – Movement 2, You, now…know Camille Saint-Saëns Calme Des Nuits (Stillness of the Night) Libby Larsen You – Movement 3, You, know…are, who Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel A Most Peculiar Man Ludwig van Beethoven Gesang der Mönche (Monks’ Song) Dave Matthews Gravedigger Benj Pasek, Justin Paul You Will Be Found
INTERMISSION
John Lennon, Paul McCartney She’s Leaving Home Steven Sametz We Two – Movements 1 –3 Libby Larsen You – Movement 4, You, here…need David Lang Manifesto Libby Larsen You – Movement 5, You, here…know, love Steven Sametz We Two – Movements 4 & 5
Cal Performances’ 2018 –19 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo.
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS
he “engaging” ( The New Yorker ) men’s Committed to the expansion of the vocal vocal ensemble Cantus is widely known music repertoire, Cantus actively commissions Tfor its trademark warmth and blend, new music and seeks to unearth rarely per - innovative programming, and appealing per - formed repertoire for men’s voices. Cantus has formances of music ranging from the Renais- received commissioning grants from New sance to the 21st century. The Washington Post Music USA, the National Endowment for the has hailed the Cantus sound as having both Arts, Chorus America, American Composers “exalting finesse” and “expressive power,” and Forum, and Chamber Music America. Addi- refers to the “spontaneous grace” of its music tionally, Cantus has a rich history of collabora - making. The Philadelphia Inquirer called the tions with other performing arts organizations, group nothing short of “exquisite.” including the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul As one of the nation’s few full-time vocal Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Chanti - ensembles, Cantus has grown in prominence cleer, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Theater Latté with its distinctive approach to creating music. Da, and the James Sewell Ballet. The ensemble Working without a conductor, the members of is heard frequently on both classical public Cantus rehearse and perform as chamber mu - radio nationwide and on SiriusXM Satellite sicians, each contributing to the entirety of the Radio. Cantus has released 18 recordings on the artistic process. group’s self-titled label. Cantus performs more than 60 concerts each Cantus is the recipient of three prestigious year, both in national and international touring, Chorus America awards, including the 2016 and in its home of Minneapolis –St. Paul, Dale Warland Singers Commission Award Minne sota. Cantus has performed at Lincoln (presented in partnership with the American Center, Kennedy Center, UCLA, San Francisco Composers Forum), the Margaret Hillis Award Performances, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, and the for Choral Excellence, and the Education Out - Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. reach Award. Cantus was also an artist in In its 2018–19 touring program Alone To - resi dence on Minnesota Public Radio and on gether , Cantus explores what it means to American Public Media’s Performance Today . connect in a modern world where our ability to Integral to the Cantus mission is its commit - communicate has never been easier or more ad - ment to preserve and deepen music education vanced, but where the rifts between nations, in the schools. Cantus works with more than among communities, and in individual rela - 5,000 students each year in master class and tionships only seem to widen. The program is workshop settings across the country. Now in anchored by three works written for Cantus by its eleventh year, the award-winning High Steven Sametz, David Lang, and Libby Larsen School Residency program brings Cantus into (a new, multi-movement piece commissioned Minnesota schools several times a year for by Music Accord and written specifically mentoring and a culminating public concert in around themes of technology and connection the spring. in our modern world). The program—also in - cluding music by Laura Mvula, Paul McCartney For information, contact: and John Lennon, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Cantus Dave Matthews, Ar cade Fire, and Benj Pasek 612.435.0046 and Justin Paul—will be presented in 36 cities [email protected] and 21 states and provinces including New cantussings.org York, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, Alberta, Cantus is managed by: and British Columbia. Alliance Artist Management 212.304.3538 allianceartistmanagement.com
Opposite: Photo by Curtis Johnson Cal Perf Feb Insert 1.qxp_Layout 1 1/18/19 12:52 PM Page 28
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
She Laura Mvula (b. 1986) She walked towards you with her head Every day she stood hoping for a new light down low She closed her eyes She wondered if there’s a way out of the blue and she heard a small voice say Who’s gonna take her home this time? You don’t stop, no, you belong to me She knew that this time wouldn’t be the She cried, maybe it’s too late last time She don’t stop, she don’t stop, she don’t stop… ere she waits looking for a savior She walked towards you Someone to save her from her dying self with her head down low Always taking ten steps back She wondered if there’s a way out of the blue and one step forward Who’s gonna take her home this time? She’s tired, but she don’t stop She knew that this time She don’t stop, she don’t stop, she don’t stop… wouldn’t be the last time.
You – Movement 1 Libby Larsen (b. 1950) Commissioned by Music Accord for Cantus Comprised of top classical music presenting organizations throughout the United States, Music Accord is a consortium that commissions new works in the chamber music, instrumental recital, and song genres. e consortium’s goal is to create a significant number of new works and to ensure presentation of these works in venues throughout this country and, if the occasion arises, internationally. For more information, please visit musicaccord.org.
I. You, here… now You cannot put a Fire out – You A ing that can ignite You, here Can go, itself, without a Fan You, Upon the slowest night – now now You, hear You cannot fold a Flood – You hear now. And put it in a Drawer – You Because the Winds would find it out – You, here. And tell your Cedar Floor – You, now. You —Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Twitter Song Ingrid Michaelson (b. 1979) Where do I go when I don’t have a friend? Direct message me Where do I go at another day’s end? Please, say you’ll message me Nobody loves me, somebody loves me on… Or at least please reply to my… Twitter! Twitter! I think I’m a real big loser Tweet, tweet… en I go to my computer Twitter! Turn it on, and I feel grand All because of… Twitter!
Deep Blue Win Butler (b. 1980), Richard R. Perry (b. 1977), William Butler (b.1982), Jeremy Gara (b. 1978), Régine Chassagne (b. 1976) Here in my place and time We saw the signs in the suburbs And here in my own skin I can finally begin You could never have predicted Let the century pass me by, that it could see through you standing under the night sky Kasparove, Deep Blue, 1996 Tomorrow means nothing. Your mind’s playing tricks now Show’s over so take a bow I was only a child then And leave it in the shadows… Feeling barely alive when I heard a song from a speaker of a passing car Hey Praying to a dying star, the memories fading put the cellphone down for a while I can almost remember singing… In the night there is something wild Can you hear it breathing? We watched the end of the century Hey Compressed on a tiny screen put the laptop down for a while A dead star collapsing in and we could see In the night there is something wild Something was ending I feel it, it’s leaving me… Are you through pretending? Can you hear it breathing?
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
You – Movement 2 Libby Larsen
II. You, now…know now you You now you know. You, now You, My Candle burns at both ends; know It will not last the night; now, You know. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends – You Know now. It gives a lovely light! Now you know. You —Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
Calme Des Nuits (Stillness of the Night) Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) Calme des nuits, fraîcheur des soirs, Stillness of the night, cool of the evening, Vaste scintillement des mondes, Vast shimmering of the spheres, Grand silence des antres noirs Great silence of black vaults Vous charmez les âmes profondes. Deep thinkers delight in you. L’éclat du soleil, la gaité, e bright sun, merriment, Le bruit plaisent aux plus futiles; And noise amuse the more frivolous; Le poète seul est hanté Only the poet is possessed Par l’amour des choses tranquilles. By the love of quiet things
You – Movement 3 Libby Larsen
III. You, know…are, who I’m Nobody! Who are you? You Are you — Nobody — Too? You, know en there’s a pair of us! where Don’t tell! they’d advertise — you know! You, are… How dreary — to be — Somebody! You, are… who How public — like a Frog — who are You To tell one’s name — the livelong June — Who are you? To an admiring Bog!
— Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
A Most Peculiar Man Paul Simon (b. 1941), Art Garfunkel (b. 1941) “He was a most peculiar man.” at’s what Mrs. Riordan said and she should know; She lived upstairs from him She said he was a most peculiar man.
He was a most peculiar man. He lived all alone within a house, Within a room, within himself, A most peculiar man. He had no friends, he seldom spoke And no one in turn ever spoke to him, ‘Cause he wasn’t friendly and he didn’t care And he wasn’t like them. Oh, no! He was a most peculiar man.
He died last Saturday. He turned on the gas and he went to sleep With the windows closed s o he’d never wake up To his silent world and his tiny room; And Mrs. Riordon says he has a brother somewhere Who should be notified soon. And all the people said, “What a shame that he’s dead, But wasn’t he a most peculiar man?”
Gesang der Mönche (Monks’ Song) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen an, Quickly comes Man’s death, Es ist ihm keine Frist gegeben; He is given no reprieve; Es stürzt ihn mitten in der Bahn, It strikes him mid-course, Es reißt ihn fort vom vollen Leben. It rips him from the prime of life. Bereitet oder nicht zu gehen! Whether ready to go or not! Er muß vor seinem Richter stehen! He must stand before his judge!
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Gravedigger Muriel Stonewall Dave Matthews (b. 1967) 1903 to 1954 Cyrus Jones 1810 to 1913 She lost both of her babies Made his great grandchildren believe in the second great war You could live to a hundred and three Now you should never have to watch A hundred and three is forever As your only children lowered in the ground when you’re just a little kid I mean you should never have to So, Cyrus Jones lived forever bury your own babies
Gravedigger Ring around the rosy When you dig my grave Pocket full of posy Could you make it shallow Ashes to ashes So that I can feel the rain We all fall down Gravedigger Little Mikey Carson 67 to 75 He rode his Bike like the devil until the day he died When he grows up he wants to be Mr. Vertigo on the flying trapeze Oh, 1940 to 1992
You Will Be Found (from Dear Evan Hansen ) Even when the dark comes crashing through Benj Pasek (b. 1985), Justin Paul (b. 1985) When you need a friend to carry you No one deserves to be forgotten. And when you’re broken on the ground No one deserves to fade away. You will be found No one should come and go So let the sun come streaming in And have no one know ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again ey were ever even here. Li your head and look around No one deserves to disappear. You will be found To disappear… ere’s a place where Have you ever felt like nobody was there? we don’t have to feel unknown Have you ever felt forgotten And every time that you call out in the middle of nowhere? You’re a little less alone Have you ever felt like you could disappear? If you only say the word Like you could fall, and no one would hear? From across the silence Well, let that lonely feeling wash away Your voice is heard Maybe there’s a reason to And oh, someone will come running believe you’ll be okay To take you home ‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand Even when the dark comes crashing through You can reach, reach out your hand When you need a friend to carry you And oh, someone will come running When you’re broken on the ground And oh, they’ll take you home You will be found So let the sun come streaming in ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again If you only look around You will be found
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Out of the shadows Even when the dark comes crashin’ through e morning is breaking When you need someone to carry you And all is new, all is new When you’re broken on the ground It’s filling up the empty You will be found! And suddenly I see that So when the sun comes streaming in All is new, all is new ‘Cause you’ll reach up and you’ll rise again If you only look around You are not alone. You will be found Even when the dark comes crashin’ through You will be found When you need someone to carry you You will be found
She’s Leaving Home John Lennon (1940–1980), Paul McCartney (b. 1942) Wednesday morning at five o’clock Father snores as As the day begins his wife gets into her dressing gown Silently closing her bedroom door Picks up the letter that’s lying there Leaving the note that Standing alone at the top of the stairs she hoped would say more She breaks down and cries to her husband She goes downstairs to the kitchen “Daddy, our baby’s gone. Clutching her handkerchief Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly? Quietly turning the backdoor key How could she do this to me?” Stepping outside, she is free She (we never thought of ourselves) She (we gave her most of our lives) Is leaving (never a thought for ourselves) Is leaving (sacrificed most of our lives) Home Home (we struggled hard all our lives to get by) (we gave her everything money could buy) She’s leaving home aer living alone She’s leaving home aer living alone for so many years for so many years (bye bye) Friday morning, at nine o’clock She is far away Waiting to keep the appointment she made Meeting a man from the Motortrade She (what did we do that was wrong?) Is having (we didn’t know it was wrong) Fun (fun is the one thing that money can’t buy) Something inside that was always denied for so many years She’s leaving home Bye, bye.
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
We Two , Movements 1 –3 II. I am he that aches with amorous love Steven Sametz (b. 1954) Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, I. Earth, my likeness why should you not speak to me? Earth, my likeness, I am he that aches with amorous love. ough you look so impassive, As Adam early in the morning, ample and spheric there, Walking forth from the bower I now suspect that is not all; refresh’d with sleep, I now suspect there is something fierce in you Behold me where I pass, eligible to burst forth, hear my voice, approach, For an athlete is enamour’d of me, Touch me, touch the palm of your hand and I of him, to my body as I pass, But toward him there is something fierce and Be not afraid of my body. terrible in me eligible to burst forth, I dare not tell it in words, III. Here the frailest leaves of me not even in these songs. Here the frailest leaves of me, and yet my strongest-lasting: Here I shade and hide my thoughts— I myself do not expose them, And yet they expose me more than all my other poems.
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
You – Movement 4 Libby Larsen
IV. You, here…need Wild Nights — Wild Nights! You Were I with thee You, are… Wild Nights should be here Our luxury! here You, need — Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) love You need love You, are…here And if I loved you Wednesday, You, need Well, what is that to you? here I do not love you ursday — need You, So much is true. love And why you come complaining You, need love. Is more than I can see. I loved you Wednesday — yes — but what Is that to me?
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Manifesto David Lang (b. 1957) I want to be with someone who is smarter than that, with more depth who won’t get tired of me and more soul who wants to be with me for who I am who feels the same way who will never leave me who won’t clip my wings
I want to be with someone who laughs at my jokes who is actually afraid to lose me who won’t leave who values open communication who likes to have fun who really knows me who will want to be with me who is very comfortable I want to be with someone who respects all the other aspects of me who cares about me, supports me, who gets me encourages me who can see a future with me who makes my heart jump when I hear their who is comfortable key in the door who wants to work who wants to be with me I want to be with someone who is exactly what I’ve said I always wanted who matches me who accepts me for who I am who teaches me who wants to be who I find so interesting and exciting and understands my thinking who accepts me for who I am who’s going to be healthy for the long haul
You – Movement 5 Libby Larsen
V. You, here…know, love You, are… You here You, here, You, love You, here now are…You, You, love know Are…You, love? You, know You, are…love. love. You, love, here.
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TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
We Two , Movements 4 & 5 Steven Sametz (b. 1954)
IV. Not heat flames up and consumes we grow in the openings side by side, Not heat flames up and consumes, We browse, we are two among Not sea-waves hurry in and out, the wild herds spontaneous as any, Not the air, delicious and dry, We are two fishes swimming the air of the ripe summer, bears lightly in the sea together, along white down-balls of myriads of seeds, We are what locust blossoms are, Waed, sailing gracefully, we drop scent to drop where they may; around lanes mornings and evenings, Not these— We are also the coarse smut of beasts, O none of these, more than the flames of me, vegetables, minerals, consuming, burning for his love whom I love! We are two predatory hawks, O none, more than I, hurrying in and out: we soar above and look down, Does the tide hurry, seeking something, We are two resplendent suns, and never give up? O I the same; we it is who balance ourselves orbit and O nor down-balls, nor perfumes, stellar, we are as two comets, nor the high, rain-emitting clouds, We prowl fang’d and four-footed are borne through the open air, in the woods, Any more than my Soul we spring on prey, is borne through the open air, We are two clouds forenoons and Waed in all directions, aernoons driving overhead, O love, for friendship, for you. We are seas mingling, we are two of those cheerful waves rolling over each other and V. We two, how long we were fool’d interwetting each other, We two, how long we were fool’d, We are what the atmosphere is, transparent, Now transmuted, receptive, pervious, impervious, we swily escape as Nature escapes, We are snow, rain, cold, darkness, We are Nature, long have we been absent, we are each but now we return, product and influence of the globe, We become plants, trunks, foliage, roots, bark, We have circled and circled We are bedded in the ground, we are rocks, till we have arrived home again, we two, We are oaks, We have voided all but freedom and all but our own joy.
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
CANTUS ARTISTIC COUNCIL Chris Foss, programming ; David Geist, production ; Paul Scholtz, communications
CANTUS ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Joseph Heitz, executive director ; Joseph Hillesheim, development and marketing manager ; Kelsey Sieverding, engagement associate ; Jacob Christopher, tour manager ; Samuel Green, education outreach coordinator
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