Texts, translations & notes
Lay a garland
Lay a garland on her hearse of [the] dismal yew. Maidens, willow branches wear, say she died true. Her love was false, but she was firm [from her hour of birth.] Upon her buried body lie lightly, thou gentle earth.
Francis Beaumont (ca. 1584-1616) John Fletcher (1579-1625) note: The words inside the brackets belong to the original poem by Beaumont and Fletcher, but have been left out in the composition. The word "thou" in the last line has been added in the composition.
British composer Robert Pearsall (1795-1856) was trained in and briefly practiced law but, after a mild stroke and following medical advice, moved to Germany where he pursued his interests in history, painting, genealogy, heraldry and, above all, musical composition. There he became absorbed in the Cecilian movement, an effort to return music to a more subservient role in the Catholic church and which held the Renaissance masters of the 15th and 16th century (Palestrina, above all) as ultimate models. He received training in traditional counterpoint and transcribed Renaissance works into modern notation. Soon, the revival of secular styles occurring in England took his interest, as well, and Pearsall began writing madrigals in the style of Morley and other 16th century British composers. Lay a garland, one of his best-known works, is a remarkable synthesis of sure and clear neo-Renaissance counterpoint and an almost constant use of expressive dissonance and a romantically enriched harmonic palette.
The Blue Bird
The lake lay blue below the hill, O'er it, as I looked, there flew Across the waters, cold and still, A bird whose wings were palest blue.
The sky above was blue at last, The sky beneath me blue in blue, A moment, ere the bird had passed, It caught his image as he flew.
Mary E. Coleridge Reared in upper-crust Dublin and given an impressive immersion in matters musical and intellectual, Stanford was composing by the age of four. In 1870 he entered Queen’s College, Cambridge as a choral scholar and by 1873 had already achieved the post of organist at Trinity College and conductor of two choral societies. Stanford possessed boundless energy and promoted the highest ideals in music, which drew to him offers for top musical posts in England. He was elected professor of music at Cambridge in 1887, when he was only 35. As Frederick Hudson wrote in The New Grove, Stanford “exercised more influence in the teaching of composition than any other musician in Britain throughout his tenure.” Stanford’s students included Holst, Charles Wood, Vaughan Williams, Ireland, Bridge, Howells, and others. Hudson also notes that Stanford’s partsongs “reached near perfection both in melodic invention and in capturing the mood of the poem.” The blue bird is such a partsong, on a poem by Mary Coleridge. The high soprano solos convey a sense of mind detached somehow from the everyday—a dreamlike state where, as is said in King Lear, “ripeness is all,” much like the effusive headiness of a newly-bloomed peony. Jonathan M. Miller www.chicagoacappella.org
Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder
Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder Lord, what a vision she is, La gracieuse bonne et belle; So gracious, good, and beautiful; Pour les grans biens que sont en elle For her many virtues Chascun est prest de la loüer. All are ready to praise her. Qui se pourroit d’elle lasser? Who could bring himself to tire of her? Tousjours sa beauté renouvelle. Her beauty is ever fresh. Par de ça, ne de là, la mer Whether near or far over the sea, Ne scay dame ne damoiselle There is neither wife nor maiden Qui soit en tous bien par fais telle. Who is so perfect in every respect, C’est ung songe que d’i penser. It is a dream even to think of it. Dieu! Qu’il la fait bon regarder. Lord, what a vision she is.
Charles D’Orléans
Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain Winter, you're nothing but a villain. Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain; Summer is pleasantness and kindness, Esté est plaisant et gentil as we see from May and April, En témoing de may et d'avril which accompany it evening and Qui l'accompaignent soir et main. morning. Esté revet champs, bois et fleurs Summer, by nature's order, clothes De sa livrée de verdure fields, woods and flowers Et de maintes autres couleurs with its livery of green Par l'ordonnance de Nature. and many other hues. Mais vous, Yver, trop estes plein But you, Winter, are too full De nège, vent, pluye et grézil. of snow, wind, rain and sleet. On vous deust banir en éxil. We must send you into exile. Sans point flater je parle plein, I'm no flatterer and I speak my mind. Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain. Winter, you're nothing but a villain.
Charles D’Orléans
Charles D’Orléans (1394-1465) was a French Duke who was captured by the English in the Battle of Agincourt. During his 25 years in prison, he was a particularly prolific poet, both in French and in English. Debussy set two of his texts in 1898 and one in 1908. While Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder! (1898) praises a fair and virtuous woman, Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin (1908) – not performed this evening – describes the narrator’s desire to stay in bed rather than joining the May Day celebrations. Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain (1898) is about the unpleasantness of winter.
It is unclear who Debussy might have had in mind when he set this love poem. In 1899, he married Lilly Texier, but he was most likely much less devoted to her than to the love interests preceding and following this marriage. In 1904, he divorced Lilly to be with Emma Bardac, the mother of his illegitimate daughter. -- Sarah Riskind ‘09
Im Herbst In Autumn Ernst is der Herbst, Somber is autumn, Und wenn die Blätter fallen, And when the leaves fall, Sinkt auch das Herz zu trübem Weh The heart also sinks into melancholy herab. woe. Still ist die Flur, Quiet is the field, Und nach dem Süden wallen And southward travel Die Sänger stumm, The silent songsters, wie nach dem Grab. as if going to the grave.
Pale is the day, Bleich ist der Tag, And pallid mists veil Und blaße Nebel schleiern The sun as well as hearts. Die Sonne wie die Herzen ein. The night comes early; Früh kommt die Nacht: Then all vigor lies fallow Denn alle Kräfte feiern, And our being, enfolded deeply inward, Und tief verschlossen ruht das Sein. rests. Sanft wird der Mensch. People become meek; Er sieht die Sonne sinken, They see the sun setting, and Er ahnt des Lebens wie des Jahres They foresee the end of life, as well as of Schuß. the year. Feucht wird das Aug, Their eyes become moist, Doch in der Träne Blinken, But in the glistening of their tears Entströmt des Herzens seligster Erguß. Streams the heart’s most blissful outpouring. Klaus Groth
Im Herbst (In the Autumn), composed originally in 1886 and revised in 1888, is widely considered the culmination of Brahms’s secular choral writing. The Op. 104 choral cycle was his last statement in the medium and was written very near the end of his compositional career. Many streams collect here: the composer’s mastery of the a cappella texture based on, among other things, his early years conducting choirs in Hamburg and Detmold; his years of study of the Renaissance masters; his increasing sense of nostalgia and emotional isolation; a growing chromaticism and compactness; and his long-standing and increasingly strong friendship with the poet, Klaus Groth, with whom he had years earlier shared a flame for a young woman. Brahms reworked the third verse in 1888, a remarkably bold statement (in harmonic terms unlike any other a cappella work he composed) of deep sorrow, sadness and ultimately blissful catharsis – all contained in 23 bars.
Der bucklichte Fiedler Es wohnet ein Fiedler zu Frankfurt am Main, Der kehret von lustiger Zeche heim, Und er trat auf den Markt, was shaut’ er dort? Der schönen Frauen schmausten gar viel an dem Ort! Du bucklichter Fiedler, nun fiedle uns auf, Wir wollen dir zahlen des Lohnes voll auf! Einen feinen Tanz behende gegeigt! Walpugisnach wir heuer gefei’rt. Der Geiger strich einen fröhlichen Tanz, Die Frauen tanzten den Rosenkranz; Und die Erste sprach: Mein lieber Sohn, Du geigtest so Frisch, hab nun deinen Lohn! Sie griff ihm behind unter’s Wamms sofort, Und nahm ihm den Höcker vom Rücken fort: So gehe nun hin, mein schlanker Gesell, Dich nimmt nun jedwede Jungfrau zur Stell! Rheinisches Volkslied The hunchbacked fiddler
There once lived a fiddler in Frankfurt-am-Main, who was on his way home from a merry celebration; he arrived at the market, and what did he see? Fair women feasting - there were so many in that place.
"You! Hunchbacked fiddler, if you fiddle for us now we will pay you a handsome reward! Fiddle nimbly a fine dance, for we celebrate Walpurgis Night tonight!"
The fiddler scratched out a vivacious dance, and the ladies danced with wreaths of roses, and then the first one spoke: "My dear son, you play so merrily - have now your reward!"
At once she grasped him agilely under his jerkin and removed the hump from his back: "Go forth now, my tall young man, now any maiden would take you on the spot!"
Translation by Emily Ezus
Brahms had composed earlier settings of the Lower Rhenish folksong Der Bucklichte Fiedler (The Hunchbacked Fiddler) whose source was his favorite collection Kretzschmer and Zuccalmaglio’s Deutche Volklieder. On the third take, however, he composed a completely new melody and invented a brilliant contrasting middle section in 3/8 time. Here he not only demonstrates a classic instance of what Schoenberg called in Brahms “developing melody” (by extending the original tune in musically coherent ways) but indulges in a very rare instance of literal text painting in a series of stacked fifths depicting the fiddler tuning his instrument to prepare for the dance. This is Brahms both sophisticated and silly. Os Justi
Os justi meditabitur sapientiam, et lingua ejus loquetur judicium. Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsius: et non supplantabuntur gressus ejus. Alleluia.
Psalm 37: 30-31
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; and his feet do not falter. Alleluia.
Austrian composer Anton Bruckner is well known as a composer of large-scale symphonies, a devout Catholic and as an acolyte of Richard Wagner. Less well known is his mastery of small-scale sacred choral music most of which was written for the monastery choirs of St. Florian (where he studied as a boy and later taught) and the cathedral of Linz (where he played organ and directed the choir). Os Justi, a sublime motet written in the archaic Lydian mode (F to F on the white keys of the piano) masterfully spans eight-voice chains of suspension, to finely etched imitative counterpoint (“et lingua…”), to the roots of his sacred choral music, unison plainchant.
An die Sterne To the Stars
Sterne in des Himmels Ferne! Stars in the distant heavens, die mit Strahlen bessrer Welt Brightening the earthly twilight ihr die Erdendämmrung hellt; With the rays of a better world; schau'n nicht Geisteraugen Are not spirit eyes von euch erdenwärts, Looking earthwards from you, daß sie Frieden hauchen Breathing peace ins umwölkte Herz? Into the clouded heart?
Sterne in des Himmels Ferne! Stars in the distant heavens, träumt sich auch in jenem Raum Is the fleeting dream of a life eines Lebens flücht'ger Traum ? Being dreamed in that space as well? Hebt Entzücken, Wonne, Are delight, bliss, Trauer, Wehmut, Schmerz, Sorrow, sadness and pain jenseit unsrer Sonne Also felt by a feeling heart auch ein fühlend Herz? On the other side of the sun? Sterne in des Himmels Ferne! Stars in the distant heavens, Winkt ihr nicht schon Himmelsruh' Are you not signaling celestial calm mir aus euren Fernen zu? To me from your distant world? Wird nicht einst dem Müden Shall the weary creature not, one day auf den goldnen Au'n On the golden pastures, ungetrübter Frieden See unalloyed peace in die Seele tau'n? Flowing into its soul?
Sterne [in des Himmels Ferne], Stars [in the distant heavens], bis mein Geist den Fittich hebt Until my spirit spreads its wings und zu eurem Frieden schwebt, And soars to your peace, hang' an euch mein Sehnen I cling to you my yearning, hoffend, glaubevoll! In the hope and in faith! O, ihr holden, schönen, O you noble, lovely ones, könnt ihr täuschen wohl? Could you be deceiving?
Friedrich Rückert
Ungewisses Licht Uncertain Light
Bahnlos und pfadlos, Felsen hinan Without a path or trail, up the cliffs Stürmet der Mensch, ein Wandersmann: Storms the mortal, the wanderer; Stürzende Bäche, wogender Fluß, Plunging brooks, a surging river, Brausender Wald, nichts hemmet den Stormy woods – nothing breaks the Fuß! stride!
Dunkel im Kampfe über ihn hin, Dark clouds billow in battle above, Jagend im Heere die Wolken zieh’n; Pursuing the wanderer like an army; Rollender Donner, strömender Guß; Rolling thunder, a streaming downpour, Sternlose Nacht – nichts hemmet den A starless night – nothing breaks the Fuß! stride!
Endlich, ha! Endlich schimmert’s von At last, ha, at last it glitters from afar! fern! Is it a will-o’-the-wisp, is it a star? Ist es ein Irrlicht, ist es ein Stern? Ha, how friendly is its twinkle, Ha, wie der Schimmer so freundlich How it entices me, how it beckons! blinkt, Wie er mich locket, wie er mir winkt!
Freiherr von Zedlitz Rascher durcheilet der Wandrer die Even faster the wanderer hurries Nacht, through the night, Hin nach dem Lichte zieht’s ihn mit Drawn forcefully toward the light! Macht? Tell me: is it fire, is it the sunrise? Sprecht wie, sind’s Flammen, ist’s Is it love – is it death? Morgenrot? Ist es die Liebe – ist es der Tod?
Zuversicht Assurance
Nach oben mußt Du blicken, You must look upward, Gedrücktes, wundes Herz, Oppressed, wounded heart; Dann wandelt in Entzücken Then your deepest pain Sich bald dein tiefster Schmerz. Will soon change to delight. “Froh darfst Du Hoffnung fassen, Wie hoch die Flut auch treibt; You may gladly cling to hope Wie wärst Du denn verlassen, no matter how high the flood rises. Wenn dir die Liebe bleibt?” How can you be forsaken If love still remains?” Freiherr von Zedlitz Talismane Talismans
Gottes ist der Orient! The East is God’s! Gottes ist der Okzident! The West is God’s! Nord- und südliches Gelände Northern and southern lands Ruht im Frieden seiner Hände. Rest in the peace of his hands.
Er, der einzige Gerechte, He, who alone is just, Will für jedermann das Rechte. Wants what is right for everyone. Sei, von seinen hundert Namen, Of his hundred names, Dieser hochgelobet! Amen Let this one be highly praised! Amen.
Mich verwirren will des Irren; Error tries to confuse me, Doch du weißt mich zu entwirren. But you know how to extricate me. Wen ich handle, wenn ich dichte, When I act, when I write, Gib du meinem Weg die Richte. Give my path direction.
Gottes ist der Orient! The East is God’s! Gottes ist der Okzident! The West is God’s! Amen. Amen.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"The best way to cultivate one's feeling for melody,” wrote Robert Schumann, “is still to compose frequently for voice and a cappella chorus. Basically, one must invent and create inwardly as much as possible." For a composer associated primarily with solo songs and instrumental music, this affinity for the choral medium is surprising. But the little known cycle of Four Songs for Double Choir, op. 141 demonstrates not just affinity but the same expressive melodic genius, harmonic daring and structural confidence of Schumann’s most familiar songs and instrumental works.
This autumn marks the 160th anniversary of the op. 141 cycle, composed over several days in mid-October, 1849, for his own choir, the Verein für Gesang (Society for Choral Song), which he founded in Dresden two years earlier. Bogoroditsye Devo
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Bogoroditsye Devo, raduysia. Blagodatnaya Mariye, Ghospod s Toboyu. Blagoslovenna Ti v zhenah, i blagosloven plod chreva Tvoyego, yako Spasa rodila yesi dush nashih.
Virgin Mother Of God, rejoice, Holy Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, And blessed is the fruit of your womb, For you have borne the savior of our souls.
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1843) composed few works for a cappella choir; all were large-scale, multi-sectioned works and each employed Russian liturgical chant to a great extent as a melodic platform. As an advocate of the New Russian School of choral composition, he embraced Russian chant melodies to create a uniquely Russian sound (in opposition to the heavily German and Italian influenced sacred music of the preceding two centuries). For Bogoroditsye Devo, his most beloved anthem from The All-Night Vigil, op. 37, Rachmaninoff invented a “chant-like” melody which serves as the basis of the piece – a brief, luminous choral chant that weds late Romantic sweep to a fervently Russian sacred choral song
Ave Maria (Angelus Domini)
Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae, Et concepit de Spiritu sancto.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, Benedicta tu in mulieribus Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Maria dixit: Ecce ancilla Domini, Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, Benedicta tu in mulieribus Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Et verbum caro factum est Et habitavit in nobis.
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, Benedicta tu in mulieribus Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Based on Luke I: 26-38 and John I:14
Hail Mary (The Angel of the Lord)
The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy Spirit
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
As a finale to this evening’s program of Romantic choral music we offer what could be called a bit of neo-Romanticism. German composer and choral director Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria was written in 1964 for – of all things – a firemen’s choir to sing at a choral competition with other work-based choirs (factory workers’ choirs, police choirs, etc.). The piece remained unknown until, in 1970, the composer gave a copy to the all-male Cornell Glee Club on a tour to southern Germany. The Harvard Glee Club soon recorded the work as did, in the 1980s, Chanticleer. The composer eventually rearranged the work for mixed voices. Biebl’s Ave Maria is now one of the best loved and most sung a cappella choral works of the past half century.
– Brad Wells