Grace Church in New York The Reverend J. Donald Waring, rector The Reverend Chase Danford, associate rector The Reverend Julia Macy Offinger, assistant rector Patrick Allen, organist and master of choristers The Choral Society and Orchestra of Grace Church in New York John Maclay, music director Tony Bellomy , associate conductor Friday, December 6, 2019, at 8:00 pm Saturday, December 7, 2019, at 3:00 pm Program CANITE TUBA (1590) Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 152 5–1594) THE THREE KINGS (1928) Healey Willan (188 0– 1968) HARK! THE HERALD-ANGELS SING* O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM Daniel Pinkham (192 3– 2006) from Christmas Cantata (1957) TE DEUM IN C, HOB. XXIIIC:2 (1799) Joseph Haydn (173 2–1809) THE SHEPHERD’S CAROL (2001) Bob Chilcott (b. 1955) KYRIE and GLORIA Felix Mendelssohn (180 9– 1847) ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH* from Die Deutsche Liturgie (1846) GOD REST YOU MERRY, GENTLEMEN* RICHTE MICH, GOTT, OP.78, NO. 2 (1844) Mendelssohn SANCTUS Mendelssohn PILGRIMS’ HYMN (1997) Stephen Paulus (194 9– 2014) from Die Deutsche Liturgie (1846) DONA NOBIS PACEM J.S. Bach from Mass in B Minor , BWV 232 (completed 1749) SANCTUS Johann Sebastian Bach (168 5– 1750) from Mass in B Minor , BWV 232 (completed 1749) HODIE CHRISTUS NATUS ES Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (156 2– 1621) from Cantiones sacrae (1619) In consideration of the performers and fellow audience members, please turn off all ES IST EIN ROS ENTSPRUNGEN (1609) Michael Praetorius (157 1– 1621) cellular phones, pagers and electronic devices upon entering the church. Parents and caregivers, please take restless children to the Chantry chapel IN DULCI JUBILO À 8 (1620) Samuel Scheidt (158 7– 1654) (entrance in the south transept) if they need to vocalize during the performance. * The audience is expected to stand and join in singing the carols as indicated. Notes, Texts and Translations HARK! THE HERALD-ANGELS SING* Tune by Felix Mendelssohn (180 9– 1847) Words by Charles Wesley (170 7– 1788) Adapted 1855 by W.H. Cummings (183 1– 1915) Arranged by David Willcocks (191 9– 2015) This famous carol tune was adapted from a chorale in Mendelssohn’s 1840 Festgesang , an open air work for men’s chorus and brass written to celebrate Gutenberg’s 400th CANITE TUBA (1590) Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 152 5– 1594) birthday. The was described by the composer in a letter to his publisher as too “sol - dierlike and buxom” to be suitable for sacred music. 1. Hark! the herald-angels sing, 2. Christ, by highest heav’n adored, Glory to the newborn King; Christ the everlasting Lord, Palestrina’s eight-part setting of this beloved Advent text blazes with hope and antici - Peace on earth and mercy mild, Late in time behold him come, pation. The arrival of the Savior is heralded by high- and low-voiced choirs, sounding God and sinners reconciled: Offspring of a Virgin’s womb: the good news for all the world to hear. The motet is typical of Palestrina’s work for Joyful all ye nations rise, Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, the papal court: a straightforward declamation of the sacred text that does not sacrifice Join the triumph of the skies, Hail th’incarnate Deity! sophistication. One can imagine him looking east from Rome, across to his birthplace With th’angelic host proclaim, Pleased as man with man to dwell, in the mountains, as he conceived of this uplifting fanfare. Christ is born in Bethelehem. Jesus, our Emmanuel. Hark! the herald-angels sing, Hark! the herald-angels sing, Canite tuba in Sion, quia prope Sound the trumpet in Sion, for the day Glory to the newborn King. Glory to the newborn King. est dies Domini: ecce venit ad of the Lord is nigh: behold, he cometh salvandum nos. for our salvation. 3. Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace, Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Erunt prava in directa, et aspera in vias The crooked shall be made straight, and the Light and life to all he brings, planas: veni, Domine, et noli tardare. rough places plain: come, O Lord, and do not Ris’n with healing in his wings; Alleluja. delay. Alleluia. Mild he lays his glory by, — Joel 2:1, Isaiah 40:4 Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Hark! the herald-angels sing, Glory to the newborn King. Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, TE DEUM IN C, HOB. XXIIIC:2 (1799) Joseph Haydn (173 2–1809) credentibus regna caelorum. thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the Glory Patris. Judex crederis esse venturus. of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to This brisk and extroverted work is Haydn’s second known setting of the Te Deum, or be our Judge. Ambrosian Hymn, one of the most ancient prayers in Christendom. By the 17th and 18th centuries, the Te Deum was routinely programmed for celebratory occasions, Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis We therefore pray thee, help thy servants whom coronations, and in particular to mark great military victories. Haydn’s Te Deum was subveni quos pretioso sanguine thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. commissioned by the Austrian empress, and had its first performance at Eisenstadt in redemisti. 1800 during a visit from the English naval hero Lord Nelson (no stranger to militaris - Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria Make them to be numbered with thy Saints in tic Te Deum settings), alongside Haydn’s “Lord Nelson” Mass. Unlike Handel, Lully numerari. glory everlasting. and other composers, Haydn took a single movement, all-choral approac h— two festive sections, surrounding a short contemplative episode, culminating in a no-nonsense Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine fugue. The opening phrase quotes from the Gregorian chant typically associated with et benedic hereditati tuae. inheritance. the Te Deum prayer; this attention-grabbing device is repeated throughout, as choral Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in Govern them and lift them up unisons underline key moments in the sacred text. The piece is a model of concise aeternum. for ever. expression, showing Haydn at the height of his skill. Per singulos dies benedicimus te; Day by day we magnify thee; Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum We praise thee, O God:we acknowledge thee to confitemur.Te aeternum Patrem be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee: the Et laudamus Nomen tuum in And we worship thy name, ever world omnis terra veneratur. Father everlasting. saeculum , et in saeculum saeculi. without end. Tibi omnes Angeli: tibi caeli et uni - To thee all Angels cry aloud: the Heavens, and Dignare, Domine, die isto sine pecca - Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day versae Potestates: all the Powers therein. to nos custodire. without sin. Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually Miserere nostri Domine, miserere O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy voce proclamant: do cry, nostri. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten super nos, quemadmodum speravimus upon us, as our trust is in thee. Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; in te. Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of majestatis gloriae tuae. thy glory. In te, Domine, speravi: non confun - O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be dar in aeternum. confounded. Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee. Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus, The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee. Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. The noble army of Martyrs praise thee. Te per orbem terrarium sancta con - The holy Church throughout all the world fitetur Ecclesia, Patrem immensae doth acknowledge thee; The Father of an maiestatis: Venerandum tuum verum infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost, Paraclitum Spiritum. the Comforter. Tu Rex gloriae, Christe. Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. Tu, ad liberandum suscepturus When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man, hominem,non horruisti Virginis thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb. uterum. Der du die Sü nde der Welt trägst, Who takest away the sins of the world, have FOUR SACRED WORKS FOR THE BERLIN CATHEDRAL erbarme dich unser. Der du die Sü nde mercy upon us. Who takest away the sins Felix Mendelssohn (180 9– 1847) der Welt trägst, nimm an unser Gebet. of the world, hear our prayer. Der du sitzest zur Rechten des Vaters, Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, erbarme dich unser. have mercy upon us. The next four pieces on the program come from a portfolio composed by Denn du allein bist heilig, For thou alone art holy, Mendelssohn during his stint as head of music for the Berlin Cathedral. Frederick denn du allein bist der Herr, thou alone art God, William IV, who succeeded to the Prussian throne in 1840, embarked on a program to du allein bist der Allerhö chste: thou alone art most high: attract great artists to his capital city, and in the world of German music, Mendelssohn was the biggest prize. The composer ultimately found Berlin an unsatisfying platform, Jesus Christus, mit dem heiligen Jesus Christ, with the Holy Ghost, but did produce several choral gems during his time there, including the Deutsche Geiste in der Herrlichkeit Gottes des in the glory of God the Father.