A CELEBRATION of PSALMS SUNDAY, MAY 5TH, 2013 at 4 Pm
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CONDUCTORS: Peter Stoltzfus Berton Natasha Ulyanovsky Saint John’s Episcopal Church and present A CELEBRATION OF PSALMS SUNDAY, MAY 5TH, 2013 at 4 pm WITH THE COMBINED CHOIRS OF ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND CONGREGATION BETH ISRAEL And guest singers from BETH EL TEMPLE choir with FESTIVAL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA directed by Pamela Siskin Peter Stoltzfus Berton Natasha Ulyanovsky A Celebration of PSALMS is made possible by the generous support of Arnold and Sandy Chase at Congregation Beth Israel Sacred Music at the Red Door, the Music Series of St. John’s Episcopal Church and a grant from The Richard P. Garmany Fund at the page 1 page 2 WELCOME Hinei ma tov u’ma-nayim Shevet ach-im gam ya-chad – Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133 What a blessing to bring the ancient words of the Psalmist to life. As St. John’s Parish and Congregation Beth Israel join together in song our collective spirits will be lifted. The 150 Psalms are the record of an ancient people’s thoughts, feelings, and hopes that reveal our timeless and universal human condition. As our two communties perform (with guests from Temple Beth El as well), may we be inspired by the words, lifted by the music, and carried by the bonds that link us together. In most of the Bible, God reaches out to humanity. The initiative is God’s. In the Book of Psalms, it is the other way around. Human beings reach out to connect with God. The initiative is human. The language is human. Overwhelmed, confused, distraught, despairing – and/or profoundly grateful, reflective, renewed, attuned – whatever our state, we are often left speechless, feeling that words fall flat, or do not convey what we want, need, or intend. In the face of these challenges, those who are in pain, as well as those who care for them, may need new ways of communicating, new tools for talking, and new modes of relating. For generations communities and individuals have turned to the Psalmists’ words to express their inner- most feelings. As we join together to hear these ancient words, may we as the Psalmist wrote, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133) And may we rejoice: This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118) Rabbi Michael Pincus, Senior Rabbi, Congregation Beth Israel The psalms are the first and oldest hymnals and prayer books of church worship, a rich inheritance from our Jewish ancestors. They have been an integral part of Christian worship since the days of the apostles themselves and continue to shape our liturgy and be the inspiration for many of our hymns and prayers. The enduring value of the psalms – and a reason why they are integral to Christian and Jewish worship – is their ability to address every possible human emotion, always directing us to the providence of our Creator. Because the psalms speak to every human emotion – from praise and trust to anger and despair – they have long been a fundamental part of the community’s liturgical worship, both in Judaism and Christianity. Even though a majority of psalms are classified as laments (complaints or anguished prayers), they invariably direct the believer through whatever the trouble at hand may be (illness, despair, particularly vicious enemies) to a renewed trust in God, the creator and redeemer. This quality makes the psalms suitable for both private worship and devotion as well as Shabbat and the Sunday Eucharist. The psalms have a timeless ability to speak to any situation, any occasion. It is a challenge to match the exuberant invitation to worship of Psalm 150, which in two different settings opens this afternoon’s program. Is there a more eloquent hymn in praise of creation than Psalm 19, which inspired one of Haydn’s great oratorios? And Psalm 130 is masterfully succinct in the way it pulls together the complex emotions of grief. The richness of the psalms also has power to bring together people of different faiths and traditions and is the occasion for this afternoon’s offering of the choirs of Congregation Beth Israel, Temple Beth El and St. John’s Episcopal Church. Hearing selections from the psalms this afternoon, I pray that no matter what our tradition we may hear clearly the words of God’s mercy, justice and love speaking to us. The Rev’d Joseph L. Pace, Rector, St. John’s Episcopal Church page 3 Please silence all electronic devices. Thank you. If you require shuttle transportation to Part II (and back again after the Reception), please speak to an usher before Part I begins. PROGRAM, Part I at St. John’s Episcopal Church 4:00 p.m. Organ prelude Fantasy: Torah Song (Yisrael V’oraita) Craig Phillips (born 1961) O Praise God in his Sanctuary Psalm 150 Anglican Chant by The Rev’d G. S. Talbot St. John’s Choirs (1875-1916) Let All Things Praise the LORD Psalm 150 Yemenite Folk Song; arr. Richard Cohn Congregation Beth Israel Choir Hineih Ma Tov Psalm 133:1 Erik L. F. Contzius St. John’s and Congregation Beth Israel Choirs (b. 1968) Sheryl Simoni, soloist Sicut cervus (Like as the hart desireth the waterbrooks) Psalm 42 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina St. John’s Adult Choir (1525-1594) Psalm-Prelude “Out of the depths have I called to thee, O Lord” Psalm 130 Herbert Howells Peter Stoltzfus Berton, organ solo (1893-1982) I was glad Psalm 122 Henry Purcell St. John’s Choirs with organ, strings (1659-1695) Praise the Lord, his glories show based on Psalm 150 Peter Niedmann St. John’s Youth Choir (born 1962) Hine ma tov Psalm 133 Allan Naplan St. John’s Youth Choir (born 1962) Bennisez-Nous Dieu de lumiere Psalm 118 French Sephardic song, arr. Stephen Cohen Congregation Beth Israel Choir Laudate Jehovam, omnes gentes Psalm 117 Georg Philipp Telemann Combined Adult Choirs (1659-1695) Intermission (30 minutes) page 4 Please show your printed program for admission to Part II. Please silence electronic devices again, if used recently. Thank you. Archival recordings are being made. PROGRAM, Part II at Congregation Beth Israel 5:15 p.m. Organ prelude The Heavens declare the Glory of God (Psalm 19) Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739) How lovely is thy dwelling-place (1865) from A German Requiem, Op. 45 Johannes Brahms Psalm 84:1,2,4 (1833-1897) Combined Adult Choirs The Lord is my shepherd, D. 706 (ca. 1820) Franz Peter Schubert Psalm 23 (1797-1828) Margaret Beers, Jennifer Berton, Barbara Friedman, Corinne Harney, Adlyn Loewenthal, Michelle Meyer, Whitney Perrine, Sheryl Simoni Lord, you have searched me out (2001) Peter Stoltzfus Berton Psalm 139 (born 1968) St. John’s Adult Choir Oren Givoni, tenor Jennifer Berton, soprano Britt Emerick, treble On the willows (from Godspell, 1971) Stephen Schwartz Psalm 137:2-4 (born 1948) St. John’s Youth Choir Chichester Psalms (1965) Leonard Bernstein I. Psalm 108:2; Psalm 100 (1918-1990) II. Psalm 23; Psalm 2:1-4 III. Psalm 131; Psalm 133:1 Combined Choirs Teddy Babbitt, treble Sharon Dix, soprano Margaret Beers, mezzo-soprano Farren Bratten, tenor John Janeiro, baritone Reception in The Lobby page 5 THE PSALTER The word psalms is derived from the Greek Psalmoi, perhaps originally meaning “music of the lyre” or “songs sung to a harp” and then to any piece of music. From psallein, “play upon a stringed instrument,” and then to “make music in any fashion.” The Book of Psalms (Psalter), in its current, most commonly used form consists of 150 songs and prayers referred to individually as psalms and referenced by chapter and verse. The biblical poetry of the Psalms uses parallelism as its primary poetic device. Parallelism is a kind of rhyme, in which an idea is developed by the use of repetition, synonyms, or opposites. Synonymous parallelism involves two lines expressing essentially the same idea: The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 Lines expressing opposites are known as antithetic parallelism: The LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:6 In addition to the title of the collection, which translates as “song” or “hymns” from both Hebrew and Greek, superscriptions (or headings) in many of the Psalms provide musical references and some direction, in some cases even references to melodies that, anciently, would have been well-known; however, no musical notation has survived. Dating of individ- ual compositions is difficult, and in some cases impossible. Many appear to have been written early in the history of ancient Israel (first millennium BC or even earlier), while others may have been written after the exile to Babylon, which occurred in the sixth century BC. (Wikipedia) David Playing the Harp (1670) Jan de Bray (1627–1697) PROGRAM NOTES, TEXTS, AND TRANSLATIONS ORGAN PRELUDE Fantasy: Torah Song (Yisrael V’ oraita) Craig Phillips Craig Phillips is Music Director and Organist of All Saints Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills, California. This color- ful composition is the winner of the 1994 National Organ Composition Competition sponsored by the Ruth and Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund and the American Guild of Organists. The melody on which it is based is a song of praise sung at Shavuot (The giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai), of Hassidic origin (a sect of Jews using dance and song to pray), and published in Psalms for all seasons: a complete Psalter for worship (2012) by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.