A Musical Mosaic

Dr. Jeffry A. Jahn
Music Director
A Musical
Mosaic
“More than casual acquaintances”
“Air” Orchestral Suite #3 in D Major, BWV 1068 “Fürwahr er trug unsre krankheit” Ein Lämmlein geht J. S. Bach (1685-1750)
arr. Jeffry A. Jahn
Karl Graun (1704-1759)
“A historical Psalmfest”
“Cantate Domino” Psalmfest (1996)
Laetatus Sum Laetatus Sum Warum toben die Heiden Lamentations of Jeremiah John Rutter (b. 1945)
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725)
Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
(1809-1847)
Z. Randall Stroope (b. 1953)
Intermission
A Jubilant Song (1993) Rene Clausen (b. 1953)
“Rejuvenation and purpose through love and nature”
Five Hebrew Love Songs (2002) Afternoon on a Hill (2008) Eric Whitacre (b. 1970)
Eric William Barnum (b. 1979)
“The French Connection”
Autumn Leaves (1947) Begin the Beguine (1935) Joseph Kosma (1905-1969)
arr. Andrew Carter
Cole Porter (1891-1964)
arr. Andrew Carter
“The power of nostalgia”
“With One Look” Sunset Boulevard “Music of the Night” Phantom of the Opera Andrew Lloyd Webber(b. 1948)
arr. Ed Lojeski
Andrew Lloyd Webber
arr. Ed Lojeski
A special ‘thank you’ to our accompanist, Gregg Reynolds
Program Notes Spring 2012 by Cathy Wolfson
“Air” Orchestral Suite #3 in D Major, BWV 1068
Our own Dr. Jeffry Jahn has penned an arrangement of Air, based on J. S. Bach’s original
orchestral composition by the same title. Arguably one of the most beautiful works ever
composed, Bach juxtaposed a simple, unadorned and elongated melody against ever-descending
octaves in the bass. Bach originally wrote his Air in D major, but Dr. Jahn’s setting is arranged
in B flat major to accommodate the vocal ranges of choral singers. This piece is also known
as Air on a G String, which is thought to have come from August Wilhelmj’s late 19th century
arrangement of the piece for violin and piano. By transposing the key of the piece from its
original D major to C major and transposing the melody down an octave, Wilhelmj was able to
play the piece on only one string of his violin, the G string. Dr. Jahn takes his inspiration from
the Swingle Singers by having the choir sing their parts in a series of “doo-doo’s”.
“Fürwahr er trug unsre krankheit” Ein Lämmlein geht
(Surely He Has Born Our Griefs)
Carl Heinrich Graun (1704-1759) was a tenor as well as a composer of operas in the Italian style.
He was also Kapellmeister (choral director) to Frederick II (aka Frederick the Great) of Prussia,
from 1740 to his death in 1759. “Surely he has borne our griefs” is taken from Isaiah 53:4, and some
consider this to be a prophecy relating to the crucifixion of Jesus. Graun’s driving rhythms and
use of augmented 4ths (an interval also known as “El Diablo”) throughout the piece underline
the wailing sorrow expressed in the text.
Cantate Domino
John Rutter was born in London in 1945. In 1981 he founded the Cambridge Singers, which
he continues to conduct. He has written many choral compositions that are widely sung and
very popular, particularly in the United States and Great Britain. Rutter has been influenced by
Holst, Britten, Howells, and other British composers, as well as Duruflé and Fauré. His own style
is simple, melodic, and very accessible. Cantate Domino is a triumphant paean to the Lord. Rutter
uses a technique called “macaronic” which dates back to at least the Middle Ages and features
the juxtaposing of two or more languages in one choral work.
Cantate Domino canticum novum, Sing unto the Lord a new song,
Veni Creator Spiritus, Come Creator Holy Spirit,
Mentes tuorum visita: Fill our minds with your visit:
Imple superna gratia Fill with unsurmountable gratitude
Quae tu creasti pectora. Those you created as conscious beings.
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Laetatus Sum
Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) spent his life primarily in Naples and Rome. He fathered
two other composers, Dominico, and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti. Although considered a Baroque
composer, he actually bridged the gap between the Baroque and Classical periods. He is most
famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. Scarlatti’s setting of the text of Laetatus Sum
is very different from Haydn’s; it is contemplative, with long, sustained, lovely polyphonic
melodies and harmonies, and he uses only the first two phrases of text in this composition (see
full text below), stopping after the word “ibimus”.
Laetatus Sum
Johann Michael Haydn (1737-1896), younger brother to Joseph (Papa) Haydn, attended choir
school with his brother at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Michael was reputedly a better
student than his older brother, and Joseph considered Michael’s compositions (more than 360
orchestral and choral works) superior to his own. Michael also knew and admired Mozart. His
setting of Laetatus Sum is sprightly and light with spare harmonies, reflecting the happiness of
the text.
Laetatus sum, in his quae dicta sunt mihi;
I was glad in this, when it was told to me;
In domum Domini ibimus.
Let us go into the house of the Lord.
Fiat pax in virtute tua;
May there be peace in your strength;
Et abundantia in turribus tuis.
And abundance in your towers.
“Warum toben die Heiden” Der 2. Psalm (The Second Psalm)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) was a prolific composer despite his short life.
His family was Jewish but he was raised a Christian by his converted father. He associated
with many famous people of his time, including the poet von Goethe, the composer Robert
Schumann, and Jenny Lind, a well-known Swedish soprano with whom he had a romantic
relationship. He is also credited with “resurrecting” J.S. Bach, whose works fell into obscurity
after his death in 1750. The Second Psalm is somewhat martial in nature, exalting violence to
non-Hebrew peoples. Mendelssohn’s insistent rhythms enhance the text very well. He uses two
choirs, singing the text back and forth to each other which is similar to the way psalms are read
as a call and response in church - one verse by the leader, the next by the congregation, and so
forth.
Warum toben die Heiden,
Why do the nations conspire,
Und die Leute reden so vergeblich?
And the peoples plot in vain?
Die Könige im Lande lehnen sich auf,
The kings of the earth set themselves,
Und die Herrn ratschlagen miteinander
And the rulers take counsel together
Wider den Herrn und seinen Gesalbten:
Against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
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“Lasst uns zerreissen ihre Bande,
Und von uns werfen ihre Seile!”
Aber der im Himmel wohnet,
Lachet ihrer, und der Herr spottet ihrer.
“Let us burst their bonds asunder,
And cast their cords from us!”
But he who dwells in Heaven
Laughs at them, and the Lord derides them.
Er wird einst mit ihnen reden in seinem Zorn,
Und mit seiner Grimm wird er sie schrecken.
Aber ich habe meinen König eingesetzt
Auf meinem heligen Berge Zion.
Ich will von einer solchen Weise predigen, Dass der Herr zu mir gesagt hat:
“Du bist mein Sohn, heute hab’ ich dich gezeuget;
Heische von mir, so will ich dir Die Heiden sum Erbe geben,
Und der Welt Ende zum Eigentum.
Du sollst sie mit eisernem Scepter zerschlagen,
Wie Töpfe sollst du sie zerbrechen.
So lasset euch nun weisen, ihr Könige,
Und lasset euch züchtigen, ihr Richter auf Erden.
Dienet dem Herrn mit Furcht,
Und freuet euch mit Zittern!
Küsset den Sohn, dass er nich zürne,
Denn sein Zorn wird bald anbrennen, Und ihr umkommt auf dem Wege.
Aber wohl allen, die auf ihn trauen.”
Ehre sei dem Vater und dem Sohne,
Und dem heilegen Geiste.
Wie es war von Anfang, Jetzt und immerdar
Und von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkiet. Amen.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
And in his fury will he shriek,
I have set my king
On Zion, my holy hill.
I will tell of the decree of the Lord,
That the Lord told to me,
“You are my Son, today have I begotten you.
Ask of me, and so will I
Make the nations your heritage,
And the ends of the earth your possession.
You shall break them with a scepter,
And like pottery you will break them in pieces.
So therefore be wise, you kings,
And be warned, you rulers of the earth,
Serve the Lord with fear,
And delight in your trembling!
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry with you,
For his wrath is quickly kindled,
And you will perish in the way.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.”
Glory be to the Father and the Son,
And the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
Now and always
Forever and ever. Amen.
Lamentations of Jeremiah
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Z. Randall Stroope, born in 1953, is a conductor, lecturer and composer, and is the Director of
Vocal and Choral Studies at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater. He is a good friend of the
well-known composer, Morten Lauridsen. Lamentations of Jeremiah is one of his best-known works
and demonstrates influences from Orff’s Carmina Burana, both rhythmically and harmonically.
He expresses the agitation of the text with the oft-repeated and heavily-accented words “O vos
omnes!”
O vos omnes,
Qui transitis per viam,
Attendite et videte
Si est dolor,
O you people,
Who pass this way,
Look and see
If there is any sorrow (agony),
Sicut dolor meus.
Recordare Domine
Intuere et respice
Opprobrium nostrum.
Like my sorrow.
Remember, Lord
Consider and notice
Our humiliation.
A Jubilant Song
René Clausen, born in 1953, was raised in California. After holding various positions in the
field of music, he became conductor of the Concordia Choir of Concordia College in Moorhead,
Minnesota, where he also founded the René Clausen Choral School. He is a prolific composer
who writes in many styles of choral music, and is widely performed by high school, college, and
professional choirs. Jubilant Song is a joyful, triumphant homage to God, with intermittently
dense harmonies, and as Clausen has done in other pieces, he presents a soprano solo over words
sung aleatorically (at random, each singer in a different rhythmic pattern) in the lower parts.
Five Hebrew Love Songs
Eric Whitacre, born in 1970, is currently one of the most popular composers in the classical
choral genre, and is probably the most widely-performed composer of his generation. His oeuvre
includes choral, band, orchestral and electronic works. Whitacre presently resides at Cambridge
University in England, where he is composer-in-residence. He also is noted for bringing together
voices from all over the world in unified performances on ‘You Tube’. He originally composed
Five Hebrew Love Songs when visiting Friedemann Eichhorn (a well-known German violinist) in
Speyer, Germany. The words are a series of poems written by his wife Hila Plitmann, a native
Israeli.
I.
Temuná
Temuná belibí charutá; Nodédet beyn ór uveyn ófel;
Min dmamá shekazó et guféch kach otá, Usaréch al pa-ná’ich kach nófel.
II. Kalá kallá
Kalá kallá, Kulá shelí,
U’vekalút Tishák hílí!
A picture
A picture is engraved in my heart;
Moving between light and darkness;
A sort of silence envelopes your body,
And your hair falls upon your face just so.
Light bride
Light bride, she is all mine,
And lightly she will kiss me!
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III.Laróv
“Laróv,” amár gag la’shamá’im,
“Hamerchák shebeynéynu hu ad;
Ach lifnéy zman alu lechán shna’im,
Uveynéynu nishár sentiméter echad.”
IV. Éyze shéleg!
Éyze shéleg!
Kmo chalomót ktanim
Noflím mehashamá’im.
V.
Rakút
Hu hayá malé rakút;
Vechól káma
Shenistá lehishaér kach.
Pashút, uvlí sibá tová,
Lakách otá el toch atzmó,
Veheníach veheníach
Bamakóm hachí rach.
Mostly
“Mostly,” said the roof to the sky,
“The distance between you and I is endlessness;
But a while ago two came up here,
And only one centimeter was left between us.”
What snow!
What snow!
Like little dreams
Falling from the sky.
Tenderness
He was full of tenderness;
She was very hard.
And as much as she tried to stay thus,
Simply, and with no good reason
He took her into himself,
And set her down
In the softest, softest place.
Afternoon on a Hill
Eric William Barnum, born in 1970, is a professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato,
Music Director of the Maverick Men’s Ensemble and is currently pursuing a doctorate in
choral conducting at the University of Washington. He has won a number of awards and has
also received commissions for many of his compositions. Barnum’s works are influenced by
accomplished composers such as John Tavener, Arvo Pärt, and Gerald Finzi. Edna St. Vincent
Millay (1892-1950), born in Maine, was both a playwright and a musician. She was the first
woman to be awarded the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. Afternoon on a Hill is part of her first poetry
collection published in 1917, reflecting her belief that people can be rejuvenated by observing
nature. Barnum’s setting highlights a dreamy feel in Millay’s poem, and contains two of his
signature devices: slides from one note to another and vocalists who imitate sounds in nature.
In this piece, the 1st Sopranos make blowing noises to capture the sound of the wind.
Autumn Leaves
Joseph Kosma (1905-1969) was born in Budapest. He was related to the well-known conductor
Georg Solti, and studied with Béla Bartók. He emigrated to France, but was imprisoned by the
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French during World War II and banned from composing. However, Jacques Prévert, a French
poet and screenwriter, arranged for Kosma to compose movie music under the names of other
composers. Autumn Leaves, a perennial favorite, was originally written in French in 1945 with
the title Les Feuilles Mortes (Dead Leaves), and was featured prominently in the 1956 movie of the
same name starring Joan Crawford. The title song of the same name was sung by Nat King Cole.
Listen for the musical passages (sung with the syllable “oo”) which sound like autumn leaves
drifting and falling to the ground.
Begin the Beguine
Cole Porter (1891-1964) was an important composer of Broadway musicals, and unlike most
other composers, wrote his own lyrics as well as the music. His most successful musical was Kiss
Me Kate. He is known for complex, interesting harmonies and rhythms, which is certainly true
of Begin the Beguine. Cole actually composed this piece while sitting at the piano in the Ritz Hotel
in Paris! The Beguine, a slow dance for couples, which was especially popular in the Caribbean
islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe, means “White Lady” in the local Creole language.
“With One Look” Sunset Boulevard
With One Look is from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1993 musical, Sunset Boulevard, which is based
on a 1950 film with the same title. The story revolves around Norma Desmond, an actress in
silent movies who was unable to transition to talkies. Norma still believes that she can make a
comeback, and in an act of desperation, is convinced by an out-of-work screenwriter that he can
write a script for the ‘big screen’ about her life as a movie star. In With One Look she talks about
her skill on the silent screen and her belief that her career can be resurrected.
“Music of the Night” Phantom of the Opera
Baron Andrew Lloyd Webber, born in 1948, is a well-known English composer of musical
theater. He was born into a musical family - his father is a composer and his mother a violinist
and pianist. He studied at the Royal School of Music in Kensington (London), and was
influenced by Richard Rogers and Frederick Loewe, among others. Some of Andrew Lloyd
Webber’s songs, such as Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina from Evita, have been popular in their
own right as well as being part of well-loved musicals. Music of the Night is from Phantom of
the Opera, the longest running musical on Broadway. This highly sensuous song, with lush
harmonies in the accompaniment, is sung as the Phantom is attempting to seduce Christine
Daaé, the main female protagonist.
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2011 – 12 Concert Season Contributors
ARS is grateful for these gifts recorded between November 1, 2011 and April 1, 2012
Philanthropist ($5,000 and above)
Gregg and Kim Sciabica
In honor of God’s gift of music to humankind
Sustainer ($1,000 - $4, 999)
Dr. Thomas A. Fleming
Benefactor ($500 - $999)
Tracy and Linda Nuckolls
Clyde M. Robinson, DDS., MScD
In appreciation of Suellen Roediger
Jesse and Jane Thrall
Patron ($250 - $499)
Fay A. and Almeda B. Roepcke
In honor of Yvonna Roepcke
Mark M. and Kyle W. Vietti
David J. Wolfson
Duane and Robin Gibson
Kathleen Grier
Dr. and Mrs. Loren Keldahl
Vernon L. and Diane R. Kliewer
Karen Lambie
David and Donna Manship
Barbara and Russell Miller
In honor of Jane Heaton
Joyanne B. Mills
Chuck and Susan Ott
Drs. Ray and Mary Helen Pelton
Mrs. Day Ravenscroft
Richard and Joan Reaser
Norm and Becky Rebenstorf
Judith E. Riley, M.D.
Beverly Rutter
In appreciation of Bob and Charlotte Jones
In honor of our friend, Jan Sturges
Mari J. Stoddard
Stewart W. and Doris R. Towle
Nancy B. Wall
R. Wayne and Danna Wood
Karen A. Brown and Thaddeus R.
Fedoruk
Ralph J. and Deborah C. Colwell
Raul F. and Isabel Delgado
John W. and Jan M. Erskine
Gifts recorded between April 1, 2012 and
November 1, 2012 will be listed in the
2012-2013 Concert Season Program. If you
notice errors or omissions, please contact
us at www.arsingers.org or 520.792.8141
Friend ($0 - $249)
Valerie J. McBeth and Kevin Allen
Come back and hear us sing in December 2012 on:
Sun., Dec. 9, 3:00p & 7:30p / Fri., Dec. 14, 7:30p / Benedictine Monastery / 800 N. Country Club
Sun., Dec. 16th, 3:00p / Fountain of Life Lutheran Church / 710 S. Kolb Road