PSEAVMES , Mis en rime Françoiſe, par Clement Marot, & eodore de Beſze.
A GENEVE , M . D . LXII CON V IV IUM
Choir for Renaissance Music
Scott Metcalfe, Music Director with guest organist Abbey Hallberg Siegfried
LES PSEAVMES DE DAVID PSALMS G P Claude Goudimel (c.-) · Claude Le Jeune (c.-) & Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (-)
I Ps. : Chantez à Dieu chanson nouvelle . Les pseaumes mis en rime francoise, par Clément Marot, & éodore de Bèze (Geneva, ) . Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Livre quatriesme et conclusionnal des pseaumes de David (Haarlem, ) Ps. : Chantez à Dieu chanson nouvelle . Les pseaumes mis en rime francoise (Geneva, ) . Sweelinck, Livre quatriesme des pseaumes de David (Haarlem, )
II Ps. : Qui au conseil des malins n’a esté . Les pseaumes mis en rime francoise (Geneva, ); tune by Loys Bourgeois . Sweelinck, Livre troisieme des pseaumes de David (Amsterdam, )
III Sweelinck: Mein junges Leben hat ein Endt IV Ps. : Estans assis aux rives aquatiques . Les pseaumes mis en rime francoise (Geneva, ); tune by Loys Bourgeois . Claude Goudimel, Les pseaumes de David (Paris, ) . Goudimel, Les cent cinquante pseaumes de David (Paris, ) . Sweelinck, pseaumes de David, mis en musique (Amsterdam, )
V Sweelinck: Fantasia chromatica
VI Ps. : Propos exquis faut que de mon coeur sorte . Les pseaumes mis en rime francoise (Geneva, ) . Claude Goudimel, Les pseaumes de David (Paris, ) . Claude Le Jeune, Dodecacorde, contentant douze pseaumes de David (La Rochelle, )
Saturday, May , · p.m. · St. Peter’s Episcopal Church · Cambridge, MA Saturday, May , · p.m. · Trinity Lutheran Church · Worcester, MA Sunday, June , · p.m. · St. Paul’s Episcopal Church · Brookline, MA
Soprano: Cynthia Linkas, Mara McMillan, Ruthie Miller, Debbie Winkler, Laura Yim Alto: Sarah Gore, Kate Gyllensvärd, Anne Kazlauskas, Anne Matthews, Janice Obuchowski Tenor: Evan Boudreau, Evan Ingersoll, Ron Lacro, Michael McDonald, David Traugot Bass: Chris Chase, Michael Dettelbach, David Halstead, Matthew Peattie, Joel van Lennep
Board of Directors 2002-2003 Laura Yim, President · Ruthie Miller, Treasurer · Cynthia Linkas, Clerk Anne Matthews, Business Manager · Philip “Doc” Davis, Michael McDonald, Virginia Sohn, Ruth Westheimer for more information: web: www.convivium.org · email: [email protected] · phone: -- post: Convivium Musicum, Belmont St., Somerville, MA NOTES Our previous program, in January of this year, Loys Bourgeois, and others, all encouraged and featured sixteenth-century Spanish settings of supervised by Calvin. e first complete psalter texts from the Song of Songs, translated from was published in and went through over Hebrew into Latin and transformed from love editions within two years, hugely popular poetry into Catholic liturgy. Today we turn to among Protestants and Catholics alike. another favorite book of the Hebrew scriptures, e Protestant reformers shared a desire to the Book of Psalms. A colleion of devotional make the liturgy direly accessible to all and poems whose sentiments range from anguish to to rid it of excessive ornament and pomp, but exaltation, from the most peaceful expressions they varied in their opinion of the role of music of joy to the bitterest hatred of one’s enemies, in a reformed church. Martin Luther embraced the Book of Psalms provided Jews and Christians music as a powerful gift of God, thus founding alike with a rich source of texts for ritual and for a tradition of sacred music in Germany which private spiritual refreshment, and for generation led eventually to Schütz and Bach. At the other upon generation lay at the core of religious life end of the sperum, Zwingli forbade all music in Europe: chanting the complete psalter over whatsoever. Calvin’s views lay somewhere in the course of a weekly cycle, for example, was a the middle: he opposed instrumental music in basic obligation of monastic life. e psalms’ al- church and frowned on artifice or frivolity of ready immense popularity received an additional any kind, but promoted congregational singing boost from the Protestant Reformation and its of psalms, in unison or in straightforward note- emphasis on dire personal engagement with against-note harmonizations. But the French biblical texts. Vernacular verse translations of psalms and their melodies also inspired elaborate the psalms began to appear across Europe in the polyphonic treatment by some of the century’s early sixteenth century as a psalm-singing move- greatest composers, most prominent among ment spread across the continent, propelled by them Claude Le Jeune and Jan Pieterszoon van the energies of religious reform although not Sweelinck, who devoted a large part of their limited to Protestants. creative energies to musical settings of the Ge- e first landmark in the history of the psal- nevan Psalter which were intended not for use ter in French is , when Clément Marot, a in church, but rather for private enjoyment at valet de chambre at the French Catholic court, home or in social gatherings. made metrical, rhymed versions of psalms. Two reasons for the success of the Genevan John Calvin used some of Marot’s psalm Psalter are immediately obvious from this translations in his first partial psalter, Aulcuns program’s small sample of texts and tunes: the pseaulmes et cantiques mys en chant, published in poetry is wonderful, and the melodies are supple, Strasbourg in . Marot, a Huguenot, fled in sturdy, and memorable. Furthermore, the best to Geneva, where he continued to work on melodies are also astonishingly well matched the psalter. Various incomplete psalters appeared to the rhythms and intonation of the French over the next several years, the work of Marot language. Consider the melody of Psalm , and a second poet, éodore de Bèze, with Estans assis aux rives aquatiques, which, besides melodies by a Genevan municipal musician, expressing the intense melancholy of the psalm,
beautifully captures the tendency of French to during services, he played hour-long recitals rise towards the end of words and phrases, while twice a day, before or after services. He was falling on weak endings. a noted teacher and is celebrated as the father You will hear Psalm in four versions: of the North German organ school, having first, the plain tune by Bourgeois from the trained Samuel Scheidt, Jacob Praetorius, Psalter; second, a simple four-part harmoniza- Heinrich Scheidemann, and a host of others. tion by Claude Goudimel, with the tune in the We are delighted to welcome Abbey Siegfried tenor; third, a short polyphonic psalm-motet by to play two of Sweelinck’s organ works in this Goudimel, in which the Genevan tune is sung concert. Both are variations on a theme, just like as a cantus firmus by the superius; and finally, every other piece on the program. Mein junges a more elaborate five-part setting by Sweelinck, Leben consists of six variations on a tune that in which each phrase of the tune is treated Sweelinck may have learned from one of his imitatively in all the voices, producing a tex- German students, while the Fantasia chromatica ture saturated with the contours and the mood sets a chromatically descending theme which is of the original. ese strategies occur again in present at virtually every moment, in note values the other music on the program. In Psalm ranging from whole notes to eighth notes. and Psalm , for example, Sweelinck uses each All three of the composers whose music phrase of the Genevan melody as a theme for is heard on this program made the creation imitative counterpoint, while in Psalm he sets of a substantial repertoire of Genevan Psal- all four verses of the psalm with the tune as a ter settings a major goal of their life’s work. cantus firmus in long note values assigned to a Goudimel published three complete versions different voice in each verse, starting with the of the entire psalter in simple harmonizations soprano and descending through alto and tenor suitable for congregational use, as well as eight to settle in the bass in the last verse. colleions of psalm-motets. Sweelinck set the Sweelinck was the organist of the Oude entire psalter in polyphony, published in four Kerk in Amsterdam from or before until volumes between and . Nearly half of his death in . Aually an employee of the the works by Le Jeune which survive set city, since the Calvinists forbade organ music texts or melodies from the Genevan Psalter: they
range from straightforward harmonizations to mesurée, the psalms of Dodecacorde clearly refle the large and complex works of the Dodecacorde. this approach to setting French poetry. e latter were published in , although they Le Jeune lived in a world convulsed by re- were written by , for according to a later ligious strife. In France civil war raged off and account Le Jeune was carrying the manuscript on from until , when the accession when he fled the siege of Paris in that year, and of Henri de Navarre brought an end to open only through the intervention of a sympathetic hostilities between Catholics and Protestants. Catholic colleague of the composer’s was a guard e Dodecacorde was published in the Protes- at the St Denis gate prevented from destroying tant stronghold of La Rochelle, on the Atlantic what appeared to be a seditious document. coast, in , the same year that Henri signed e twelve works contained in Dodecacorde the Edi of Nantes granting civil rights to Prot- represent the apex of Le Jeune’s art. Each sets estants; it was one of few works by Le Jeune to an entire psalm: in the case of Psalm , Propos be printed during his lifetime, quite likely due exquis, the psalm is a long song for a royal wed- to his religious affiliation and the consequent ding. It opens with the poet announcing his course of a career led somewhat on the fringes intent to sing of the king, and in the succeeding of official French culture. Goudimel suffered lines he addresses the king, extolling his virtues even more drastically from religious confli, as graceful prince, warrior, lover of justice, and for he was murdered in the St Bartholomew’s benevolent sovereign. Next he turns to the royal Day Massacre in August of , when Catholic bride, of unequalled beauty, exhorting her to joy mobs slaughtered Protestants in Paris and other at leaving her parents’ home for a fruitful mar- French cities. e Book of Psalms itself contains riage, and finally he returns to the theme of his innumerable passages of bellicose intolerance, own work as a poet, crafting verses of everlasting in Psalm and elsewhere. May we, singing this renown. Le Jeune distributes the eight verses of music written five hundred years ago on texts Marot’s poem over seven seions for three to set down more than two millennia in the past, six voices. e tune is always present as a cantus recognize the seeds of hatred within ourselves firmus in long notes, in one voice or another. and aspire to a path of compassion and ac- Around this struure Le Jeune creates music ceptance. of extraordinary rhythmic variety and vitality, rich in dissonance and expressive harmony. e —Scott Metcalfe rhythm of Le Jeune’s music may be its most striking charaeristic. Le Jeune was a member A note on pronunciation: We are employing a six- of the humanist Académie de poésie et de musique teenth-century pronunciation of French, which founded in by Jean-Antoine de Baïf. Fol- varies from modern use chiefly in the sound of lowing the academy’s ideals he became the lead- “oi,” as in the word “Roi.” ing exponent of musique mesurée, in which long syllables of poetry were set to notes exaly twice as long as those for short syllables, producing a rhythm which is an irregular, jazzy mixture of duples and triples. While not strily musique
ABOUT ARTISTS Formed in and incorporated in , He played viola in e King’s Noyse from its C M has been praised by founding in until retiring from the group the Boston Globe for “the almost dancing lift this spring, and has played in the orchestra given to the rhythms, both musical and ver- of every opera produced by the Boston Early bal.” Convivium’s adventurous programming Music Festival since . Perhaps the only has ranged over the past several seasons from musician working in early music today to have Josquin’s rarely-heard Missa Fortuna desperata published an article in the Annals of Botany, he to early sixteenth-century Franco-Flemish set- has forgotten much of what he knew about tings of Dido’s lament from the Aeneid to biology when he received a degree in it from music from the Spanish New World, and has Brown University in . In September he will also included masterworks by Byrd, Vioria, enter a master’s program in historical perfor- Guerrero, Le Jeune, and many other lesser- mance praice at Harvard University. known composers. Convivium is proud to be a corporation run by its singers, who serve on A H S holds degrees the Board of Direors, manage the business in Organ and German from the University of affairs of the group, design programs and pub- Iowa, where she was a student of Delbert Dis- licity, and seek out opportunities to perform selhorst and Delores Bruch. After receiving a Renaissance polyphony for new audiences. e Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, Siegfried at- musical growth of the ensemble over the last tended the Conservatory of Music in Freiburg, few years has been matched by the growth of Germany and studied with Zsigmond Szath- an enthusiastic family of supporters and music mary. Siegfried is a dooral candidate at e lovers in a community that stretches across University of Washington Seattle, where she New England. We are especially pleased with taught organ performance and studied with our recent conneions to Trinity Church in Carole Terry. An aive concert artist, teacher, Worcester, where we hope to establish a regular and church musician, Siegfried has performed musical presence. in Europe, Eastern Europe, and the United States and has given concert/leures on con- A conduor with a repertoire extending from temporary organ music. Siegfried is currently the fifteenth century to the eighteenth, S the Direor of Music at Trinity Lutheran M is in his seventh season as music Church (ELCA) in Worcester, Massachusetts. direor of Convivium Musicum. Besides Con- Her recording, “Daniel Pinkham: Music for vivium, he also dires the Renaissance vocal Organ and Brass” appears on E.C. Shirmer’s ensemble Blue Heron, and as a guest conduc- Arsis Audio label. tor he recently direed Bach’s St. John Passion with the Dryden Ensemble in Princeton, New Jersey. is summer he will condu Handel’s opera Amadigi at Monadnock Music in New Hampshire. Also a violinist, Metcalfe is a member of La Luna and frequent concertmas- ter of the Trinity Consort in Portland, Oregon.
TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS C D Psalm ; éodore de Bèze
Chantez à Dieu chanson nouvelle, Sing unto God a new song, Et sa louange solemnelle And let his solemn praise Des bons parmy la compagnie Now be heard Maintenant soit ouye. Among the company of the good. Israel s’esgaye en son coeur Let Israel rejoice in her heart De l’Eternel son createur, Before her eternal Creator, Et d’un tel Roy soyent triomphans And may the children of Zion De Sion les enfans. Exult in their King.
C D Psalm ; éodore de Bèze
Chantez à Dieu chanson nouvelle, Sing unto God a new song, Chantez, ô terre universelle, Sing, all the earth: Chantez et son nom benissez Sing and bless his name, Et de jour en jour annoncez And day after day proclaim Sa delivrance solemnelle. His solemn salvation.
Q ’ Psalm ; Clément Marot
Qui au conseil des malins n’a esté, He who is not in the counsel of the wicked, Qui n’est au trac des pecheurs arresté, Nor stands in the way of sinners, Qui des moqueurs au banc place n’a prise: Nor sits in the seat of the scornful, Mais nui et jour la loy contemple et prise But night and day contemplates and esteems De L’Eternel, et en est desireux, e law of the Eternal One, and is desirous of it: Certainement cestuy-là est heureux. Surely this man is happy.
Et semblera un arbre grand et beau, And he shall be like a tall and lovely tree Planté au long d’un clair courant ruisseau, Planted by a clear running stream, Et qui son frui en sa saison apporte, at brings forth his fruit in his season, Duquel aussi la feuille ne chet morte: And whose leaf does not wither and die: Si qu’un tel homme, et tout ce qu’il fera, Such a man, and whatever he shall do, Tousiours heureux et prospere sera. Shall ever be happy and prosperous.
Mais les pervers n’auront telles vertus: But the wicked shall not have these virtues: Ainçois seront semblables aux festus, erefore they shall be like straw Et à la poudre au gré du vent chassee: And the chaff driven before the wind: Parquoy sera leur cause renversee us their cause shall be overturned En jugement, et tous ces reprouvés In judgement, and none of these reprobates Au rang des bons ne seront point trouvés. Shall ever be found among the ranks of the good.
Car l’Eternel les justes cognoist bien, For the Eternal One knows well the righteous, Et est soigneux et d’eux et de leur bien: And takes care of them and their wellbeing: Pourtant auront felicité qui dure: erefore they will have lasting happiness: Et pourautant qu’il n’a ny soing ny cure And forasmuch as he neither cares for nor watches over Des malvivans, le chemin qu’ils tiendront, e wicked, the way they keep to, Eux et leur fais en ruine viendront. they themselves, and their deeds shall come to ruin.
E Psalm ; Clément Marot
Estans assis aux rives aquatiques Seated by the watery banks De Babylon, plorions melancoliques, Of Babylon, we wept, filled with grief, Nous souvenans du pays de Sion: Remembering the land of Zion: Et au milieu de l’habitation And in the midst of that place Où de regrets tant de pleurs espandismes, Where we shed so many tears of regret, Aux saules verds nos harpes nous pendismes. On the green willows we hung our harps.
P Psalm ; Clément Marot
Propos exquis faut que de mon coeur sorte, My heart is overflowing with a lovely theme, Car du Roi veux dire chanson, de sorte For of the King I wish to sing: so Qu’à ceste fois ma langue mieux dira, at now my tongue will better say Qu’un scribe prompt de plume n’escrira. an a scribe swift of pen will write. Le mieux formé tu es d’humaine race, Fairest-formed are you of human race, En ton parler gist merveilleuse grace: In your speech is marvellous grace: Par quoi Dieu fait que toute nation Hence God makes every nation Sans fin te loue en benediion. Eternally praise you in benediion.
O le plus fort que rencontrer on puisse, O strongest that can be found, Accoustre et cein sur ta robuste cuisse Dress, and gird on your robust thigh Ton glaive aigu qui est la resplendeur, Your sharp sword, which is the splendor Et l’ornement de royale grandeur. And ornament of royal grandeur. Entre en ton char, triomphe à la bonne heure Mount your chariot, triumph in good time En grand honneur, puis qu’avec toi demeure In great honor, for with you abide Verité, foi, justice et coeur humain: Truth, faith, justice, and a human heart: Voir te fera de grand’s choses ta main. Your hand will make you see great things.
Tes dards luisans et tes sagettes belles Your sparkling darts and fine arrows Poignantes sont: les coeurs à toi rebelles Are stinging: hearts rebellious to you Seront au vif d’icelles transpercez, Shall be pierced to the quick by them, Et dessous toi les peuples renversez. And beneath you shall peoples be overthrown. O Dieu et Roi! ton throne venerable O God and King! your venerable throne Est un haut throne à jamais perdurable: Is a high throne, enduring forever: Le sceptre aussi de ton regne puissant And the scepter of your powerful reign Est d’equité le sceptre florissant. Is the flourishing scepter of justice.
Iniquité tu hais, aimant justice: Iniquity you hate, loving justice: Pour ces raisons Dieu ton Seigneur propice, For these reasons God, your propitious Lord, Sur tes consors t’ayant le plus à gré, Favoring you most over your fellows, D’huile de joye odorant t’a sacré. Has anointed you with fragrant oil of joy. De tes habits les plis ne sentent qu’ambre, e folds of your garments smell only of amber, Et musc, et myrrhe, en allant de ta chambre And musk, and myrrh, coming forth from your chamber Hors ton palais d’ivoire haut et fier, Before your palace of ivory, high and proud, Là où chacun te vient gratifier. ere where each comes to offer you tribute.
Avec toi sont filles de Rois bien nees, With you are well-born daughters of Kings, De tes presens tres-precieux ornees: Adorned with your most precious gifts, Et la nouvelle espouse à ton costé, And your new bride at your side, Qui d’or d’Ophir couronne sa beauté. Who crowns her beauty with gold of Ophir. Escoute fille en beauté nompareille, Listen, daughter of unequalled beauty, Entens à moi, et me preste l’oreille, Hearken to me, and lend me your ear: Il te convient ton peuple familier, It is right for you to forget your own people Et la maison de ton pere oublier. And the house of your father.
Car nostre Roi, nostre souverain Sire For our King, our sovereign Lord, Mout ardamment ta grand’ beauté desire: Most ardently desires your great beauty: D’orenavant ton Seigneur il sera, Henceforth he will be your Lord Et de toi humble obeissance aura. And will have your humble homage. Peuples de Tyre, peuples pleins de richesses, Peoples of Tyre, peoples of abundant riches, D’honneurs et dons te feront grand’s largesses: Will bring you great offerings of honors and gifts, Ce ne sera de la fille du Roi, Borne not just by the King’s daughter, Sous manteau d’or, sinon tout noble arroi. In cloak of gold, but by a whole noble retinue.
D’habits brodez richement attournee, Richly attired in embroidered garments, Elle sera devers le Roi menee, She will be led before the King, Avec le train des vierges la suyvans, With the train of virgins following her, Et de ses plus prochaines la servans. And her closest kinswomen serving her. Pleines de joye et d’ennui exemptees Full of joy and free from trouble Au Roi seront ensemble presentees: ey will be presented together to the King: Elles et toi en triomphe et bonheur ey and you, in triumph and happiness, L’irez trouver en son palais d’honneur. Will seek him in his palace of honor.
Ne plain donc point de laisser mere et pere, Do not weep, then, at leaving mother and father, Car en lieu d’eux mariage prospere For in their place a prosperous marriage Te produira beaux et nobles enfans, Will bring you fair and noble children Que tu feras par tout Rois triomphans. Whom you will make triumphant Kings in all lands. Quant est de moi, à ton nom et ta gloire As for me, to your name and your glory Ferai escrits d’eternelle memoire, I will write verses of everlasting fame, Et par lesquels les gens à l’advenir, And by these the peoples to come Sans fin voudront te chanter et benir. Will forever sing and bless you.
Translations by SM, drawing on the King James version and (for Psalm ) on Anne Harrington Heider’s translation in RRMR vol. .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to: the reor and parish of St. John’s P (continued) Episcopal Church in Charlestown, where we rehearse; Chester Pearlman our hosts at our concert venues: St. Peter’s, Cambridge, Richard L. Schmeidler Judge & Mrs. Patrick Yim St. Paul’s, Brookline, and Trinity Lutheran in Worces- ter; Richard Silverman for maintaining our Internet B presence; Evan Ingersoll for brochure and program Mark Bucciarelli design; and Doc Davis and Bill Wolk for recording Maureen Conroy services. Sarah Gore Clark & Susan Jarvis We are performing Le Jeune’s Psalm , Propos Trudie & Adolph Kazlauskas exquis, from an edition by Anne Harrington Heider Joel van Lennep published by A-R Editions in volume of the se- Ellen Powers & Klaus Bibl ries Recent Researches in the Music of the Renaissance. Annlinnea & Michael Terranova anks to A-R Editions for granting permission under Deborah Winkler their enlightened Copyright Sharing Policy. S Convivium Musicum is a non-profit corporation Anonymous largely supported by membership dues and tax-de- Jay & Elizabeth Benforado duible donations. We thank our contributors for Evan R. Boudreau their generous support this season, and we welcome Don Cantor Robert Cochran you to join us in our continuing effort to bring beauti- Bruce & Martha Davidson ful music to life. Michael Dettelbach & Holly Rothermel In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Hershey We gratefully acknowledge our contributors this season: Catherine W. Liddell June Matthews Mara McMillan G Eiji Miki & Jane Hever Donald R. & Virginia Sohn Dorothea Rees Michele Restino U Andrew Sigel Evan Ingersoll Doug & Patty Woodlock omas & Cynthia Linkas Anne H. Matthews F Ruth S. Westheimer In Loving Memory of Kathy Benforado Sally Benforado G P Aron Bernstein & Susan Goldhor Charles Ash Cecile E. Chadwick David P. Halstead Chris Chase William A. Joye & Betsy Shapiro Charles W. Dubs Michael McDonald Katherine A. Gyllensvärd Sarah Jackson P Howard & Susan Jackson Ann & Larry Bucciarelli Anne Kazlauskas William & Elizabeth Metcalfe Judith & Alan Kotok Ruth G. Miller Anne Moore Luther & Iris Miller Cynthia Pape