1990 06-02-03 Program

University of California, Davis
The Department of Music presents the
YMPHO
ORCHESTRA
D. Kern Holoman, conductor
UCD Choruses
Kathleen McCoy, soprano
The Choral Union
Douglas Lawrence, baritone
Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers
These performances honor
ALBERT J. McNEIL
on the occasion of his retirement from
the faculty ofthe University of California, Davis
Ein deutsches Requiem, opus 45
Johannes Brahms
(1833-97)
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen
Ziemlich langsam und mit Ausdruck
Den alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
Langsam, marschmaf1ig - Allegro non troppo
Herr, lehre doch mich, daB ein Ende mit mir haben muB
Andante moderato
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth!
Maf1ig bewegt
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit
Langsam
Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
Andante - Vivace - Allegro
Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herren sterben
Feierlich
We invite your briefsilence, at t~ conclusion of the German Requiem, in memory of
loved ones now at rest from th;ir labors. The musicians refiect in particular on
colleagues, friends, and family lost in recent months; those who have suffered the
ravages ofdread disease; and brothers and sisters across the earth lost in the tragedy
of Tiananmen Square a year ago this weekend.
Following the presentation of Professor McNeil and a short interval
for resetting the stage, the Jubilee Singers will offer selections from their repertoire.
See page 4.
SATURDAY, 2 JUNE 1990
SUNDAY, 3 JUNE 1990
8:00 P.M.
FREEBORN HALL
SPECIAL PRESENTATION:
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers
Albert J . McNeil, director
Paul Smith, assistant director
Byron Smith, accompanist
Charlotte Neveu, choreography
Walk Together, Children
arr. William Henry Smith
Lisa Gray-Ashley, Victoria Burnett, and Muriel Bennett, sopranos
In His Care-O
arr. William Dawson
You Must Have That True Religion
Ezekiel Saw de Wheel
arr. William Dawson
Reach Out and Touch Somebody
from Porgy and Bess
Diane and Michael Wright
George Gershwin
Summertime
A Woman is a Sometime Thing
Bess, You Is My Woman Now
It Ain't Necessarily So
I'm On My Way
arr. Roland Carter
Muriel Bennet, soprano
Richard Wyatt, tenor
Lisa Gray-AshleyNictoria Burnett, soprano
Carver Cossey, baritone
Harry J ohnsonlMichael Wright, baritone
Victor Graham, bass
The Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers appear by arrangement with Century Artists Bureau, Inc.; Walter
Gould, representative; New York.
Envoi: It's taken me the better part of two decades at UCD to figure out
all(?) the byways of Al McNeil's persona. To comprehend him fully you have
to understand LA, know about the Jubilees, hear his church choir, listen to
him babble in Spanish, and know his lovely wife Helen and their talented
son Rick. It helps to hear him improvise at the piano and to watch him
shepherding minority students through the UCD curriculum. Never have
I witnessed an individual move among the many cultures of California-and
the world-with such seeming ease. He taught me well and repeatedly, as
chorusmasters do, that music belongs to us all and is anything but
exclusionary or snooty. Then there is the impressive character ofhis eternal
youth; suffice it to say on this delicate point that the issue of his retirement
takes nearly everybody by surprise. Next year he will lecture at USC, one
of his alma maters; afterward there is vague talk of tropical
luxury-something to do with property he and Helen own in the Caribbean.
His colleagues are envious.
Together we've done lots of Berlioz (notably the Requiem and Romeo et
Juliette), Bach's B-Minor Mass, Handel's Messiah and Israel in Egypt,
Mozart and Haydn masses, Beethoven's Ninth,. Mendelssohn's Elijah,
Verdi's Requiem, and a number of theatricals including operas by Weber and Bellini-not to mention Australia
and the South Pacific. In full knowledge that it was not an especially appropriate work for the retirement of a
friend, vvechose the Brahms Requiem for this festivity because it was perhaps the greatest single composition for
orchestra and chorus we had never had the opportunity to do together. It seemed imperative, too, to bring the
Jubilee Singers to Davis once more; that decided, we resurrected an old plot: to do at least some of Porgy and
Bess, their most celebrated offering. That's the end, possibly, and I regret it immensely. Farewell, Al and Helen,
and Godspeed.
-DKH
Note
For soloists (S., Bar.), chorus (SATB);
piccolo, flutes I-II, oboes I-II, clarinets I-II,
bassoons I-II; horns I-IV, trumpets I-II,
trombones I-III, tuba; timpani; harps I-II;
organ and contrabassoon ad libitum; strings.
Text (in German) from the Lutheran
Bible.
Composed 1862-67 in Zurich and Vienna; revised 1868by the addition ofmovt. V.
First performed 18 February 1869 by
the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, Karl
Reinecke conducting. The first three movements had been given 1 December 1867 by the
Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in the
GroBe Redoutensaal, Johann Herbeck conducting; a version of the work lacking movt. V had
been given on Good Friday, 10 April 1868, at
the Bremen Cathedral, Brahms conducting.
Published by J. Rieter-Biedermann
(Leipzig, 1868). Inexpensive score: Johannes
Brahms: German Requiem in Full Score, Dover
0-486-25486-0 (New York, 1987).
Duration: about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Brahms's notion of death is in the Protestant Christian mold: an occasion for comfort to the bereaved and
for rejoicing in the certainty of Paradise. There is no
place for a Catholic Dies irae: rather the texts come
from the Lutheran Bible, both Old and New Testaments and Apocrypha (Wisdom ofSolomon, Ecclesiasticus). The German Requiem, which he composed and
revised over a five-year period, may be a tribute to
his beloved mentor Schumann. Certainly it is meant
as a bow to his German heritage, so rich is it in
severe fugal device and hints of continuo practice.
Equally certain from the evidence of the title and
text, is Brahms's consciousness of the precedent
German Requiem, the Musikalische Exequien of the
great mid-Baroque composer Heinrich Schutz.
In its mastery of instrumental and choral textures, clarity of declamation, pacing, and dense
harmonic language, the German Requiem achieves a
richness of sound and a tautness of organization
without parallel in the literature for chorus and
orchestra. It is nevertheless a work of bold contrasts,
prone to erupt from its generally assuring tranquility
in solemn, sometimes even stern pronouncements.
You are comforted in the harmonic language and
splendid orchestration of late century, but the bitter
truths of the human experience are established too,
and with almost Gothic severity.
The matchless opening, with violas and cellos
divided into four parts over throbbing Fs in bass and
French horns, introduces one of the Beatitudes of
Christ (''Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall
be comforted") sung at first unaccompanied in the
chorus. The harps enter just before the end, and note
well the very last words, getrOstet werden, reiterated
pianissimo by the chorus, as though nodding an
affirmation of universal truth. This is a device
Brahms will use several more times during the work.
The dead march which follows, at one point considered by :he c~mposer for use in his First Symphony,
ranks WIth his most outstanding accomplishments:
haunting of key (B b minor, five flats), with violins
and violas subdivided into three parts each, and over
a relentless distant tattoo in the timpani. The chorus
has the theme in unison, "Behold all flesh is as the
grass": softly at first, then as the culmination of a
magnificent, thunderous crescendo. The·terror of the
funeral march is offset at the center (in G b major six
flats); then it recapitulates before Brahms turns to a
stentorian reminder that the Lord's voice·· endures
forever-a jubilant concluding fugue.
The baritone solo, too, is taken with the brevity of
our time on earth and is also a march in the minor
key, this time in duple meter. All is vanity; one's hope
is in the Lord, and, the great choral fugue at the end
proclaims, the souls of the righteous are in the hand
of the Lord. Eighteen pages, at the end, are played
over the single pitch D in the bass instruments a
musical symbol of steadfastness in the protection' of
God.
For most music lovers the fourth movement "How
Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place," is among th~ most
perfect (and most familiar) Brahms in the repertoire.
Despite the harp-like figurations, the harps remain
silent; indeed the composer seems to go out ofhis way
to assure that his evocation of the heavenly apartments is innocent, joyous, and above all dignified. He
is said to have composed the fifth movement on the
occasion of the death of his mother in 1865, and this
was added to the work, for reasons of overall shape
and pacing, between the Bremen performance of 1867
and the definitive first performance in Leipzig the
following year. It is certainly maternal of both vocal
line and text, with the soprano lingering again and
again over the word Traurigkeit.
The huge movement that follows almost outweighs
the second movement, with which it is paired in the
overall structure. It is yet another cortege of minor
key. Here the baritone soloist recalls the mystery of
resurrection ("all changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye") and the trumpet of judgment and a
diabolical dance ensues. The concluding fugu'e is in
slow note values, reminiscent ofthe white-note fugues
of Bach and Handel.
By now you should be aware of the careful balance
and symmetry the composer has given his work. The
added soprano aria balances the first baritone solo
and puts ''How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" at the
center of a structural arch; the two biggest movements come just after the first and just before the
last. Now, to balance the first movement, Brahms
leaves another reassuring beatitude: "Blessed are the
dead: they rest from their labors, and their work
follows after them." It brings the Requiem to close in
F major, where more than an hour before it had
begun.
Our performance uses two harps, following the
composer's indication for doubling, as well as organ
and a contrabassoon to reinforce the bass line.
-DKH
University Chorus
1989-90
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Jane Adams
Elaine Baker
Kim Barclay
Elizabeth Burke
Darilyn Campbell
J enniferDance
Stephanie Davis
Sandy Deasy
Maureen Donovan
Susan Ellenberger
Kristie Hill
Rosemary Hoskinson
Naomi Hughes
Pamela J errit
Anjali Kapoor
Kirsten Kennelly
Jessica Kim
Louise Lampara
Nancy Larson
Emily Morton
Heather Mueller
Ann Nicolay
Helena Park
Patricia Peacock
Anamaria Perez
Britta Peterson
Audrey Pottts
Cara Rose
Kristina Seyer
Lisa Smith
Lori Santas
Colleen Terry
Chris,tine Thein
Dawn Wiley
Susan Wu
Anna Marie Baker
Lisa Campos
Kimiko Cautero
Carolyn Chi
Stephanie Chute
Jenny. Coldren
Kali Fanning
Jennifer Firestone
Carol Gabrielson
Jennifer Goldman
Thuy-Hoa Han
Margret Hatch
Veronica Hawke
Lisa Hays
Leslie Itakura
Lorraine Jordan
Catherine Kawachi
Sarah Kiff
Elizabeth Kim
Sabrina Lau
Dollie Luckman
Linda Mahnke
Dorothy Mak
Tracia McNurlin
Katie Mize
Marjan Mokorram
Melanie Nevin
Lisa Paganini
Mary Quinn
Sarah Lynn Reyes
Genevieve Rodgers
Kimberly Scales
Noel Spellman
Amy Turek
Laura Yamada
Eric Anderson
J ames Burmester
Jack Chen
Jean-Luc Chiramberro
Richard Chu Ho Yi
Frank Djeng
Neal Edwards
Olaf Faaland
Greg Gmuca
Chris Hoolihan
Alberto Marin
Matthew McGibney
Jesse Means
Roberto Miclean
Jeff Mihaly
JeffOuye
Tim An.ckorn
Robert Benefiel
Leo Cheng
Allan Cordova
James Davis
James' Deihl
Dominic Del Rosario
Kenneth Denmead
Thomas Do
Cliff Eveland
Gregory Funk
Joseph Gabany
Michael Geronimo
Robert Grillmeyer
Mark Harbison
Shin Kang
Greg Knipstein
John Knoedler
Ben Kreusser
David Krull
Tony Lee
Obie Leff
Luong Ly
Kenneth MacKenzie
Darrel Mariz
Michael McGauley
Mitchell Moriwaki
J. Nimtz
Joseph Oh
Joseph Ona
Chris Peterson
Michael Reeves
Giovanni Rome
J ames Schaal
Michael Spector
Francis Tam
David Taubler
Jeffrey Tuttle
Ed Wang
Robert Wegge
Kevin.Wong
Matt Yaki
Stephanie Holm and Anjali Kapoor, student assistants
Joan L. Chambers, accompanist
The Chamber Singers
1989-90
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Haleh Abghari
Anjali Kapoor
Daniella Kim
Sue Kim
So Yun Ham
Jennifer Ness
Lynne Osborne
Andrea Simpson
Heather Axelson
Janet Armstead
Edna Chan
Young J acki Do
Kali Fanning
Michelle Fox
Carol Gabrielson
Kim Maxwell
Katie Mize
Adrienne Tsang
J. R. Campbell
Todd Deppe
Russell Flett
Tim Irons
Humphrey Lu
Stephen Messano
David Tipton
Richard ChuHoYi
Xavier Avitia
Hunter Brown
Scott Carlson
David Cheng
Thomas Do
Eric Jordan
Eric Kaljumagj
John Knoedler
Steve Lyle
Anthony Pollock
Edna Chan, accompanist
Members ofUCD Choral Union
and The Sacramento Chorale
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Catherine Dreyer
Glenda Gonzales
Eleanor Keys
Hazel Kagan
Barbara Ruhmann
Donna Tomiyama
Jacqueline Victorino
Hannah Wolf
Jacki Amos
Georgeann Guy
Jean Lewis
Donna Matthies
Annette Operhall
Joan Pearson-Sweet
Barbara Ruhmann
Paul Lillebo
Arthur McGuinness
Betsy Shanafelt
Ernest Brown
Edward Gibson
Terrence Lott
Professor McNeil was long-time director of the Sacramento Chorale.
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Muriel Bennett
Celeste Bembry
Victoria Burnett
Lisa Gray-Ashley
Kay Nickerson
Marcia Perkins
Virginia L. White
Diane Wright
Byron Smith
Paul A Smith
Michael A Wright
Richard Wyatt
Carver Cossey
Victor W. Graham
Harry C. Johnson
Joseph Nalls, II
Ralph Pettiford
*Selected membership.
Text and Translation
I
Selig. sind, die da Leid tragen; denn sie sollen
getrostet werden.
Die mit TrAnen saen, werden mit Freuden
ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen und tragen edlen
Samenund kommen mit Freuden und bringen ihre
Garberi.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted.
(Matthew 5:4)
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth arid vveepeth,bearing
precious seed, •. ~b.all idoubtless..• coI11eagain.·· with
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
(Psalms 126:5-6)
II
Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras und aIle
Herrlichkeit des Menschen wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret und die Blume abgefallen.
So seid nun geduldig, lieben BIiider,bis auf die
Zukunft des Herrn. Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die kostliche Frucht der Erde und ist geduldig
darilber,. bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und
Abendregen.
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass. The grass wither-eth, and the
flower thereof falleth away.
(I Peter 1:24)
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming
of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the
precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience
for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
(James 5:7)
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
(I Peter 1:25)
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon
their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)
Die ErlOseten des Herrn werden wiederkommen,
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen; Freude, ewige
Freude wird iiber ihrem Haupte sein; Freude und
Wonne werden sieergreifen und Schmerz und
Seufzen wird weg miissen.
III
Herr, lehre doch mich, daB ein Ende mit mir
haben muE, und mein Leben ein Ziel hat und ich
davon muE.
Siehe, meine Tage sind einer Hand breit vor dir,
und mein Leben ist wie nichts vor dir. Ach, wie gar
nichts sind aIle Menschen, die doch so sicher leben.
Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen, und machen
ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe; sie sammeln und
wissen nicht wer es kriegen wird.
Nun, Herr, wes soIl ich mich trosten? Ich hoffe
auf dich.
Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand und
keine Qual riihret sie an.
Lord, make me to know mine end, and the
measure of my days, what it is; that I may know
how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreath; and mine agei~asnothingbeforethee: verily every man at his beststa~isaltogethervanity.
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely
they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches,
and knoweth not who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in
thee.
(Psalms 39:5-8)
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of
God, and there shall no torment touch them.
(Wisdom 3:1)
IV
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Herr
Zebaoth!
Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich nach den
Vorhofen des Herrn; mein· Leib und Seele freuen
sich in dem lebendigen Gott.
Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen, die
loben dich immerdar.
How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord of
Hosts!
My soullongeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts
of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the
living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they
will be still praising Thee.
(Psalms 84:2-3, 5)
v
And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no
man taketh from you.
(John 16:22)
Behold with your eyes, how that I laboured but
a little, and found for myself much rest.
(Ecclesiasticus 51:35)
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I
(Isaiah 66:13)
comfort you.
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit; aber ich will euch
wiedersehen, und euer Herz sol1 sich freuen, und
eure Freude sol1 niemand von euch nehmen.
Sehet mich an; ich habe eine kleine Zeit Miihe
und Arbeit gehabt, und habe groBen Trost gefunden.
Ich will euch· trOsten, wie einen seine Mutter
trostet.
VI
For here we have no continuing city, but we seek
one to come.
(Hebrews 13:14)
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt,
sondem die zukiinftige suchen wir.
Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis: Wir werden
nicht alle entschlafen, wir werden aber aIle
verwandelt werden;
und dasselbige plotzlich, in einem Augenblick, zu
der Zeit der letzten Posaune. Denn es wird die
Posaune schallen, und die Toten werden auferstehen
unverweslich, und wir werden verwandelt werden.
Dann wird erfiillet werden das Wort, das
geschrieben steht: Der Too is verschlungen in den
Sieg.
Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Holle, wo ist dein Sieg?
Herr, du bist wilrdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre
und Kraft; denn du hast aIle Dinge erschaffen und
durch deinen Willen haben sie das Wesen und sind
geschaffen.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
o death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is
thy victory?
(I Corinthians 15:51-55)
Thou are worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and
honour and power: for thou has created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
(Revelation 4:11)
VII
Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben,
von nun an. Ja der Geist spricht, daB sie ruhen von
ihrer Arbeit; denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nacho
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
from their labours; and their works do follow them.
(Revelation 14:13)
Kathleen McCoy, '87, holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in music from DC-Davis, where she was a
student of Stephanie Friedman. She has appeared as soloist with all the UCD ensembles, as well as
with the Davis Comic Opera Company in The Pirates ofPenzance. Her last role before graduating from
UCD was as Yum-Yum in the 1987 MusiclDramatic Art production of The Mikado. Since then she has
been a graduate student in voice with Ann Alderson of Northwestern University; she receives her
Master of Music degree next week.
Douglas Lawrence is a native Californian and Bay-area resident noted especially for his oratorio
work. He has sung with most of the major orchestras in the United States as well as in Europe, Asia,
and South America, with conductors from the generations of Leinsdorf, Ormandy, Bernstein, and
Ozawa to Levine, Rattle, and de Burgos. He is particularly admired for the role of Christus in Bach's
St. Matthew Passion, Adam in Haydn's The Creation, and Elijah in Mendelssohn's Elijah. During the
1989-90 season he appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as Don Quixote in Falla's
Master Peter's Puppet Show.
The organ is made available through the courtesy of Ricketts Organ Sales and Service, Rogers Organ
Dealer, 14740 Wicks Boulevard, San Leandro.
The UCD Symphony Orchestra
1989-90
Violin
Viola
Flute
French Horn
Cynthia Bates,
concertmaster
Ken Murai,
associate concertmaster
Raphael Moore,
principal second violin
Allison Woodruff,
assisting principal
Clairelee. L~ Bulkley
Lenora Chin
Joan Cook
Sheila Crombie
Mark Deaton
Susan Fujimoto
Mike Gage
Eileen Gilson
Daniel Gray
Kathryn Howard
lwei Marcos Huang
Bill Kerr
Lisa Kobialka
Suo Yi Lee
Douglas MacPherson
Sophia Mai
Gabrielle O'Byrne
Anita Ramirez
Judy Riggs
Robin Sakanashi
Amoura Satre
Abby Silver
Alice Tackett
Manal Toppozada
Ipgrid A. Tracy
June Watanabe
AndyWu
Jennifer R. Allen,
principal
Kim Barclay
James Een
Ilia Howard
Norman Lamb
Eric Malme
Jocelyn ·Morris
Glenn Naydan
Nathan Rollins
Tiffany Yee
Karen Muchowski,
principal
Michelle Fox
Janelle Metz
April Oliver
CherylE.Fpng
Leigh A.~hi.nc~illo
Sherry Reynplds
Johann'rmjillo
Trumpet
Oboe
Cathy Hamann,
co-principal
Jeff Leibow,
co-principal
Cello
Chris .Grady,
co-principal
Mark Inouye,
co-principal
MichaelJ. McKay
Pat Traynor
English Horn
Judy Rummelsburg,
principal
Christopher Allen
Susan Bartley
Mimi Croce
Matthew Daines
Eduardo Fargas
Rebecca. Green
Susan Lamb
Lou McNary
Eldridge Moores
Herman Phaff
Stephanie Souers
Double Bass
Jeffrey Baust,
principal
Sean Crowe
Thomas Derthick
Brad Hartman
Greg McCall
Neil Tilley
Matt Vaughan
Trombone
Cathy Hamann
Clarinet
Brian Salter,
principal
Laurie San Martin
Thomas Takashima
Michael J. Johnson, Jr.
Clint L. Matsen
Jim Fessenden,
principal
Tuba
Matthew Mahler
Bassoon
Timpani
Eric Holm,
principal
Brynn Bums-Holm
Rob Evans
Rebecca Littman
Contrabassoon
Rebecca Littman
Aaron Chaiclin
Allison Wagman
Percussion
Allison Wagman,
principal
Aaroq Chaiclin
Darin Wilson
Harp
Marylee. D()zier~Hicks
Anna Maria Mendietta
Organ
Joan L.· Cha.mbers
Greg McCall, manager
Greg Cheng, teaching assistant