University Women’s Chorus Alex Underwood, conductor University Mixed Chorus Allegra Martin, conductor Portia Davis, pianist

Thursday, April 21, 2016, 7:30 pm Community United Church of Christ, Champaign

PAUL CALDWELL AND SEAN IVORY A Pescar Camaron (b. 1940 and b. 1942) Jessica Palmisano, conductor

XAVIER MONTSALVATGE Cuba Dentro de un Piano (1912-2002)

MONTSALVATGE Canción de Cuna para Dormir a un Negrito

MONTSALVATGE Canto Negro

SILVIO RODRIGUEZ Un barco sigue al munda (b. 1946) Jennifer Marnul, soloist

RODRIGUEZ Hace no sé qué tiempo ya

Shiqi Fu, soloist

RODRIGUEZ Erase que se era

Emily Alameda, soloist

RODRIGUEZ Rabo de Nube arr. Yosvany Estepe

Grace Moran, soloist

STEPHEN HATFIELD Son de Camaguey (b. 1956)

University Women’s Chorus Portia Davis, pianist INTERMISSION

ANONYMOUS Hanacpachap Cussicuinin (before 1622)

ALBERTO GRAU Kasar Mie La Gaji (b. 1937)

JUAN GUTIÉRREZ DE PADILLA Tristis Est Anima Mea (c. 1590-1664)

PABLO MILANÉS De Que Callada Manera (b. 1943) arr. DIEGO LUNA V

University Mixed Chorus Portia Davis, pianist If you enjoyed today's concert, consider giving to the Harold Decker Fund for Choral Excellence, University Women’s Chorus a new endowment which supports the activities of the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) choral department. Emily Alameda The Fund honors Harold Decker (1914 – 2003), one of the leading fi gures in choral music in Jeannelle Alford the mid-20th century. Professor Decker led the choral program at the University of Illinois Megan Balk from 1957 – 1981, establishing the fi rst doctoral program in the fi eld. Under his leadership, the Celeste Barajas University of Illinois became a preeminent center for the exploration of choral music as both an Jing Cai art and an academic discipline. Decker was admired not only for his artistry and his commitment Annika Dugad to his students, but also for his vision for the choral department at the University of Illinois. Shiqi Fu The Harold Decker Fund for Choral Excellence supports this vision, funding events consistent Kristin Gentile with his dream for the University of Illinois to be recognized as a national center for the study Jiwen Han and performance of choral music: vibrant, intellectually engaged, and generous in sharing the Jisoo Hong transformational power of the art with scholars, conductors, and singers. Jena Johnson Here are some ways your contribution could make a diff erence: Alia Kirsch • $100,000 could take the Chamber Singers on a life-changing international tour Ga Eun Lee • $30,000 to commission a major new work for chorus and orchestra from a leading American Susan Liu composer Nicole Loza • $20,000 enables the Chamber Singers to tour nationally, serving as ambassadors for the Jennifer Marnul University of Illinois • $10,000 supports a major recording project for the choral division Grace Moran • $3,000 allows a talented and needy student to travel with the Chamber Singers to Vienna in Lexie Oliva May 2017 as part of an exchange with the Anton Webern Chamber Choir (the touring choir of Chunqing Qian the Vienna Conservatory) Sara Temple • $ 2,000 provides a scholarship for a graduate student to sing in the Chamber Singers for a Megan Vescio year • $1,500 brings a leading expert in choral music, either a scholar or performer, for a two-day Anika Vogen residency in Champaign-Urbana Cammy Zou • $1,000 pays for a day-trip to Chicago for a performance, or to take the Chamber Singers for a residency/exchange at an Illinois public school • $250 supports the Chamber Singers' initiative to record videos designed to support the work of our choral colleagues working in public shoot music programs • • If you would like to support choral music at the University of Illinois, there are two easy ways you can contribute to the Decker Fund: • you may give online at giving.Illinois.edu (making sure to write Harold Decker Fund for Choral Excellence in the “Designate other Giving Options box”) • or send a check made out to UIF/School of Music to: School of Music Development Offi ce 1114 West Nevada Street Urbana, IL 61801 Please be sure to include Harold Decker Fund for Choral Excellence in the memo section of your check or online payment. University Mixed Chorus Upcoming Choral Department Concerts:

Soprano Varsity Men’s Glee Club Spring Concert April 16, 7:30pm, Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Sarah Blanco Katherine Bohorquez Oratorio Society, Chamber Singers, and Women’s Glee Club with the UISO present Meghan Clodfelter works by Steven Stucky, Johannes Brahms, and Giuseppe Verdi Elizabeth Gartman April 29 7:30pm, Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Olivia Gronenthal Shannon Jameson Boston Kuchar Bridget McCarthy The Choral Division of the School of Music has been one of America’s most important centers Kaitlin Popovich for the study of the choral art since 1960, when Harold Decker established the nation’s fi rst DMA Amanda Shen program in the discipline at the University of Illinois. Graduates of the program (including Joseph Flummerfelt, Kenneth Jennings, Anton Armstrong, Andre Thomas, Chester Alwes, and Alto Craig Hella Johnson) stand among the most infl uential leaders in the fi eld, both as scholar- educators and as performers, and have held professional conducting positions throughout the Alison LeBeda United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. Thereza Lituma Our program off ers advanced conductors a comprehensive curriculum covering Clare McQuinn all aspects of choral music designed to encourage their growth as both scholars and artists. Linzi Meng Our graduate students receive signifi cant instruction in Choral Literature, Musicology, and Rebecca Panitch Performance Practice, supported by a Music Library that has a comprehensive collection of scores, manuscripts, and technologies to support research. Conducting is taught in both private Tenor lessons and master classes, and our students have signifi cant time in front of an ensemble to hone their craft. Wilson Chaney The University’s choral ensembles perform frequently, including regular appearances Deleon Rocquemore at regional and national conventions, and demonstrate the highest level of artistry and Troy Webster professionalism. Performances include music from all style periods and genres, and include regular collaborations with the University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia da Bass Camera, as well as with the opera and musicals regularly presented by the Voice and Opera Division. Joseph Chapman Myles Foreman James Ickes Osiris Ramos Chris Sullivan Our fi nal piece is more contemporary. Pablo Milanés is a Cuban singer-songwriter, and along Texts and Translations with Silvio Rodriguez, one of the founders of the nueva trova style, which emerged after the Cuban revolution. This song is from an album that is all se ings of verses by the poet Nicolás Pescar camaron Fishing for shrimp Guillén, known as the national poet of Cuba. The lyrics are wistful and at points even a bit melancholy, but the fl owing, swaying rhythms of the music highlight the poetic ideas of smiling Pescar camaron. Fishing for shrimp. and spring. “Cubiche, que este Cubiche,” me dice un “Hey, li le Cuban,” an American said to me. Americano. What is this song you sing? And what does it by Allegra Martin ¿Qué es esta canción que cantas? ¿Y qué sentido mean? Tell me, tell me, what does it mean? tiene ella? Dime, dime, ¿qué signifi ca? Let’s go to the river to fi sh for shrimp, Que vamo al rio a pescar camaron, The river above to fi sh for shrimp. Que rio arriba a pescar camaron. Let’s go to the river to fi sh for shrimp, Que vamo al rio a pescar camaron, The river down below to catch shrimp. Que rio abajo a pescar camaron. Let’s go to the river to fi sh for shrimp. Vamo al rio a pescar camaron. Oh, it is just a song to sing, nothing more, Pues, es una canción pa’ cantar, no más, A song for fi shing. Una canción pa’ pescar. And when I sing it, Y cuando la canto, It makes me happy. Me da alegría. Cuba Dentro de un Piano Cuba Within a Piano Program Notes for University Mixed Chorus

Cuando mi madre llevaba un sorbete de When my mother wore The fi rst piece on our program is, to current knowledge, the oldest piece of polyphony printed fresa por sombrero a strawberry ice for a hat in the Americas, meaning it is the oldest piece of music printed with more than one independent y el humo de los barcos aún era humo de and the smoke from the boats was still vocal part. Hanacpachap cussicuinin is in Quechua, the primary language of the Incan empire, habanero. Havana smoke. which is still spoken today by 8-10 million people; it is one of the offi cial languages of Bolivia, Mulata vuelta abajeram... Mulata from Vuelta Abajo... Ecuador, and Peru. (You can, in fact, study Quechua right here at the University of Illinois!) It Cádiz se adormecía entre fandangos y Cadiz was falling asleep to fandango and was published in 1631 by Juan de Peréz Bocanegra, a Franciscan priest who lived and worked habaneras habanera in and around Cusco, Peru. Bocanegra published Hanacpachap cussicuinin at the end of a manual y un lorito al piano quería hacer de and a li le parrot at the piano tried to sing for priests that he wrote in both Spanish and Quechua. We know nothing about whether the tenor. tenor. composer was a native Quechua speaker, a Spanish priest, or possibly Bocanegra himself. It is ...dime dónde está la fl or ...tell me, where is the fl ower a Christian hymn in adoration of the Virgin Mary, but incorporates Indian imagery, such as a que el hombre tanto venera. that a man can really respect. reference to a jaguar in one of the later verses. We will follow the lead of most choral groups Mi tío Antonio volvía con su aire de My uncle Anthony would come home when performing this piece, and sing only the fi rst two verses of the twenty that are published. insurrecto. in his rebellious way. La Cabaña y el Príncipe sonaban por los The Cabaña and El Príncipe resounded in the Our second piece is by contemporary composer Alberto Grau, a choral conductor and composer patios de El Puerto. patios of the port. from Venezuela. His fi rst major professional accomplishment was winning the International (Ya no brilla la Perla azul del mar de las (But the blue pearl of the Caribbean Guido d’Arezzo Prize in polyphonic singing in 1974 with the group he founded, the Schola Antillas. shines no more. Cantorum of Caracas. Since then, he has been a leader in the choral movement in Venezuela. Ya se apagó, se nos ha muerto.) Extinguished. For us more.) Kasar Mie La Gaji sets a text from a dialect of the Sahel region, a biogeographic zone of Africa that Me encontré con la bella Trinidad... I met beautiful Trinidad... is a band stretching across the entire continent from east to west, south of the Sahara but north Cuba se había perdido y ahora era de Cuba was lost, this time it was of Sudanian Savanna. The text means “the earth is tired” and Grau uses a number of sounds, not verdad. true. only singing, to evoke the sense of a powerful, non-human presence expressing weariness, pain, Era verdad, True and anger. no era mentira. and not a lie. Un cañonera huído llegó cantándolo en A gunner on the run arrived, sang Cuban The third piece on our program, Tristis Est Anima Mea, is similar to Hanacpachap cussicuinin in guajira. songs about it all. that it refl ects the spread of Christianity in South and Central America as a result of Spanish La Haban ya se perdió. Havana was lost colonization. Mexico City during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries emerged as a center Tuvo la culpa el dinero... and money was to blame… of Baroque music, and we have many existing choral works from composers employed by the Calló, The gunner went silent, cathedrals during that time, a vast repertoire that has only begun to be explored in the past cayó el cañonero. fell. twenty years. Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla was born in Spain, but moved to Mexico in 1622. From Pero después, pero ¡ah! después But later, ah, later 1629-1664 he served as the maestro di cappella at the Puebla Cathedral, about fi fty miles outside fué cuando al SÍ they changed SÍ Mexico City, where he had a large choir to work with – 14 boys and 28 men. The motet we will lo hicieron YES. to YES. sing tonight is smaller in scale than much of his work, but quite intense and sad. It is a se ing of a text from the Book of Ma hew in the Bible describing the feelings of Jesus on the evening before he was captured and crucifi ed. The style of this piece is more Renaissance than Baroque, with its smooth, unmetered feel and the imitative way the diff erent voices interact. Even into the Baroque, composers continued to compose in what they called stile antico, or the “old style.” Program Notes for University Women’s Chorus Canción de Cuna para Dormir a un Negrito Cradle Song to put a Li le Negro to Sleep

Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory were American composers who based A Pescar Camaron off of Afro- Ninghe, ninghe, ninghe, Ninghe, ninghe, ninghe, Cuban folk songs. This song is based off of a specifi c style of Afro-Cuban dance music - the Son Tan chiquitito, Tiny li le child, Montuno. Son Montuno originated in the 1940’s from the older Son style of music that was a fusion El negrito Li le black boy of the songs from the Spanish farmers and African slaves. In general, Son Montuno involves a Que no quiere dormir. Who won’t go to sleep. larger instrument ensemble, more elaborate arrangements, and open sections for improvisation. Cabeza de coco, Head like a coconut, Grano de café, Grain of a coff ee bean, The next three songs are by Spanish composer and music critic, Xavier Montsalvatge (1912 – Con lindas motitas, With pre y freckles 2002), one of the trend-leading music fi gures in Catalan music during the la er half of the 20th Con ojos grandotes And wide eyes century. Finding inspiration in the colonial Spanish world of the Caribbean which had its own Como dos ventanas Like two windows lively music, he proceeded to import this style back to the land of its very distant genesis. This Que miran al mar. Looking out to sea. West Indian manner found, in the composer’s words, “a place at the periphery of our traditions Cierra los ojitos, Close your tiny eyes, as a new, vague and evocative manifestation of musical lyricism.” Cuba Dentro de un Piano was Negrito asustado; Frightened li le boy, wri en originally by Rafael Alberti in 1936. The text consists of the author reminiscing about El mandinga blanco Or the white devil how Cuba had been before the imperialistic presence of the United States in Cuba. Canción Te puede comer. Will eat you up. de cuna para dormir a un negrito (Cradle Song to Put a Li le Negro to Sleep) is a poem wri en ¡Ya no eres esclavo! You’re no longer are slave! by Idefonso Pereda Valdés. The song is a lullaby that a mother sings to her son; however, Y si duermes mucho, And if you sleep soundly, within its soothing melody are references to slavery, both subtle and obvious, cleverly woven El señor de casa The master of the house in. Canto negro, which translates to Negro Song, has a lively and fast-paced rhythm. The song Promete comprar Promises to buy itself is about black people singing and dancing, and many of the untranslated words have Traje con botones A suit with bu ons origins from African languages. The vocal and piano versions of this song were wri en in 1945; Para ser un “groom”. To make you a “groom.” Montsalvatge’s orchestration appeared four years later. Ninghe, ninghe, ninghe, Ninghe, ninghe, ninghe, Duérmete, negrito, Sleep, li le black boy, Silvio Rodriguez was a Cuban composer, considered one of the best folk singers of the time and Cabeza de coco, Head like a coconut, a huge infl uence on Cuban music. He was the leader of the Nueva Trova movement in music, Grano de café. Grain of a coff ee bean. which started in 1967 and involved combining traditional folk music with progressive and political lyrics. Rabo de Nube was a reaction to all of the political turmoil that was taking place in Cuba during the 1960’s and 1970’s, right after the Cuban Revolution and the rise of Fidel Castro. Freedom of speech was greatly restricted during this time; political thoughts and values that opposed the new regime could not be expressed freely.

Stephen Hatfi eld is a Canadian composer who based this song off of traditional Cuban folk songs. Son de Camaguey is a lively song that involves repeating pa erns of phrases that are based off of Cuban folk songs. by Jing Cai, Annika Dugad, and Cammy Zou Canto Negro Negro Song De qué callada manera In what a quiet way

¡Yambambó, yambambé! Yambambó, yambambé! De qué callada manera In what a quiet, smiling way Repica el congo solongo, The congo solongo is ringing, se me adentra usted sonriendo you have grown on me repica el negro bien the black man, the real black man is como si fuera la primavera As if you were spring, negro; ringing; yo muriendo and I am languishing. congo solongo del Songo congo solongo from the Songo y de qué modo sutil In what a subtle way baila yambó sobre un pie. is dancing the yambó on one foot. me derramó en la camisa you spill all over my chest Mamatomba, Mamatomba, todas las fl ores de abril. all the fl owers of April. serembe cuserembá, Serembe cuserembá, El negro canta y se ajuma. The black man sings and gets drunk, ¿Quién le dijo que yo era risa siempre Who told you that I was always laughter El negro se ajuma y canta, the black man gets drunk and sings, nunca llanto? and never tears? el negro canta y se va. the black man sings and goes away. Como si fuera la primavera As if I were spring? Acuememe serembó, Acuememe serembó, ¡no soy tanto! I am not spring! aé; aé; En cambio que espiritual But how soulful it is yambambó, yambambó, que usted me brinde una rosa that you give me a rose aé. aé. de su rosal principal. from your most beautiful rose bush. Tamba, tamba, tamba, tamba, Bam, bam, bam, bam, tamba del negro que tumba; bam of the black man who tumbles; tamba del negro, caramba, drum of the black man, wow, caramba, que el negro tumba; wow, how the black man’s tumbling; ¡Yambá, yambó, yambambé! yambá, yambó, yambambé! Kasar Mie La Gaji The Earth is Tired Rabo de Nube A Whirlwind

Kasar mie la gaji. The earth is tired. Si me dijeran pide un deseo, If they asked me I’d request but one wish, Preferiria un rabo de nube, I’d prefer a whirlwind, Un torbellino en el suelo A cyclone on the ground Y una gran ira que sube. With a great anger that rises. Tristis Est Anima Mea Sorrowful is My Soul Un barredor de tristezas, A sweeping away of sadness, Un aguacero en venganza A downpour taking revenge Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem: Sorrowful is my soul even unto death. Que cuando escampe parezca And when it stopped raining there would sustinete hic et vigilate mecum. Stay here, and watch with me. Nuestra esperanza. appear Et cum processisset pusillum And going a li le further Our hope. procidit in faciem suam, he fell upon his face, orans, et dicens: praying, and saying: Pater mi, My father, si possibile est transeat a me calix iste. if it be possible, let pass from me this cup. Verum tamen non sicut ego volo. Nevertheless, do not as I will. Son de Camaguey Son of Camaguey Hanacpachap Cussicuinin Heaven’s Joy

Esta es cosa linda, That’s a beautiful thing, Hanacpachap cussicuinin, Heaven’s joy, Esta costa brava. That splendid coast. Huaran cacta muchas caiqui. a thousand times shall we praise you. Camagüey, ay linda… Camagüey, how beautiful… Yupairuru pucocmallqui, O tree bearing thrice-blessed fruit, Estas tradiciones, Those traditions, Runa cunap suyacuinin. O hope of humankind. Ay que lindas son, Oh, what marvelous sounds, Callpannacpa quemicuinin, Helper of the weak, Son de Camagüey. The sounds of Camagüey. Huaciascaita. hear our prayer!

Uyarihuai muchascaita A end to our pleas Diospa rampan Diospamaman. O column of ivory, Mother of God. Yurac tocto hamancaiman, Beautiful iris, yellow and white, Yupascalla, collpascaita receive this song we off er you Huahuarquiman suyuscaita come to our assistance Ricuchillai. show us the Fruit of your womb.