Repertoire

Here you will find the songs that we are planning to perform. This page contains a mixture of lyrics, the name of the composer, the arranger, and the history of the song.

In Dulci Jubilo -- 14th-century German Carol, Arr. Robert L. Pearsall

In dulci jubilo [In sweet rejoicing] let us our homage shew!
Our heart's joy reclineth in præsepio [in a manger]
And like a bright star shineth Matris in gremio [on his mother's lap].
Alpha es et O! [Thou art Alpha and Omega!]
O Jesu parvule! [O tiny Jesus!] I yearn for thee alway!
Hear me, I beseech thee, O Puer optime! [O Best of boys!]
My prayer, let it reach thee, O Princeps gloriae! [O Prince of Glory!]
Trahe me post te! [Draw me to you!]
O Patris caritas [O loving Father], O Nati lenitas! [O merciful Son!]
Deeply were we stained per nostra crimina [through our sins];
But thou hast for us gained caelorum gaudia [the joys of heaven]. O that we were there!
Ubi sunt gaudia? [Where are joys?] If that they be not there?
There are angels singing nova cantica [new songs],
There the bells are ringing in Regis curia [in the courts of the King]: O that we were there!

--ed. H. Clough-Leighter

The tune for In Dulci Jubilo existed as early as 1320. First published as a hymn in 1582, it is an example of macaronic text, or text that alternates between languages. (It was once performed by Moravian missionaries in Bethlehem, PA, in over thirteen different languages, including Native American languages.) Originally done in German and Latin, this music is based on the same tune as our modern Christmas carol, Good Christian Men Rejoice. This arrangement was written by English composer Robert Pearsall in 1838 (he was living in Germany at the time) for the Karlsruhe Choral Society.

The Gift to Be Simple -- Traditional Shaker Tune, arr. Bob Chilcott

The Shakers (so named by their critics for their zealous worship practice of shaking and trembling to rid themselves of evil) are the most enduring and successful of the many communitarian societies established in America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Converts gathered into communities, bound by their shared faith and a commitment to common property, celibacy, confession of sins, equality of men and women, pacificism and separation from the world.

Singing was an essential element of Shaker life, although whirling, trembling, shaking and other ecstatic worship gave way to more orderly dancing and singing in religious services. This tune was introduced by Elder Joseph Brackett (1797-1882), and according to tradition he would sing and dance this song "with his coattails flying." Bob Chilcott is a former member of the King’s Singers whose reputationis fast growing as one of Britain’s most popular composers of accessible choral music.

Have Ye Not Known? / Ye Shall Have a Song -- Randall Thompson

from The Peaceable Kingdom

Randall Thompson (1899-1984), who once described himself as “a passionate devotee of choral music”, is recognized as one of the leading American composers of choral music in the 20th century. “Ye Shall Have a Song” (from Isaiah 30:29) is the last movement of The Peaceable Kingdom, a large-scale work for acapella choir that is based on texts from the book of Isaiah. It was inspired by a painting of the same name depicting Isaiah 6:6-9. The painting was by Edward Hicks, the “preaching Quaker of Pennsylvania”, an itinerant preacher in the early 19th century who supported himself by painting, among other things, pictures of biblical scenes. Hicks’ favorite subject was the description in Isaiah 6 of the lion and the lamb lying down together, and he painted over 100 versions.

In 1935, Thompson was commissioned to write a piece for the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society. (Interestingly, Thompson went to Harvard as an undergraduate, but was rejected for membership in the Glee Club.) Upon viewing the above-mentioned painting at the Worcester Art Museum, Thompson decided to cull texts from Isaiah for a sequence of verses set for acapella chorus. It was premiered in Cambridge, MA, on March 3, 1936.

Funeral Ikos -- John Tavener

I (Lamar) recently read Tavener’s (b. 1944) autobiography, an endlessly fascinating discussion on the philosphy of music and its role in worship. Disillusioned by what he saw as intellectualism and egotism in Western musical tradition, Tavener began what he calls a lifelong quest to discover music in its purest, most timeless form – music that is not “composed”, but that rather flows through the composer’s connection to God and eternal tradition; music that is rooted not in the physical world and the intellect, but in the world beyond and the reality of the eternal. Tavener, an English composer now living in Greece, turned to ancient Eastern music, particularly Greek Orthodox chant, as the basis for much of his music. A prolific composer in many genres, he has written more acapella choral music than any other composer since the 15th century. Check out the music itself for more notes on the text of the piece.

A quote from Tavener: “If music can’t be sung, then it ceases to be music. It certainly ceases to be sacred music. Sacred music must be able to be in some way sung, because from a Christian point of view the Word must be heard. Music is an extension of the Word, not a frilly decoration of the Word. It is at the service of the Word. . . If music does not assume something more than just a human response, if it does not change our life, it will leave our life outside in the terrible darkness of ignorance.

Sicut Cervus -- Palestrina

Sicut cervus desiderat [As the hart desires]
ad fontes aquarum [springs of water],
ita desiderat anima mea [so longs my soul]
ad te, Deus [for thee, God]. (Psalm 42:1)

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594) was born in the small town in Italy from which he took his name. From choirboy to choirmaster at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome, he lived his entire life in that city, refusing offers that would have taken him elsewhere. Later in life, Palestrina was charged with revising liturgical books to enact changes made by the Council of Trent, changes intended to purge Roman Catholic church music of "barbarisms, obscurities, contrarieties, and superfluities," "a result of the clumsiness or negligence or even wickedness of the composers, scribes, and printers." Palestrina is, in fact, credited with “saving” Western music as we know it, as the Council of Trent nearly banned polyphony in worship because they feared it obscured the text. As a Counter Reformation conservative, Palestrina "blushed and grieved" to have earlier in his life written madrigals that were settings of profane love poems. Palestrina's church music exemplifies the stile antico, a conservative style for its time, embracing the clarity of individual melodic lines and allowing dissonance (clashing of notes) only when associated with smaller note values, on certain portions of the beat (usually unaccented), and with strict rules regarding its placement within the melody. The result is the smoothly flowing, sublimely polyphonic—indeed, almost homophonic - texture heard in the motet "Sicut Cervus," a setting of Psalm 42:1. Also to be heard in the opening of "Sicut Cervus" is the Palestrina curve, a gradual rise in the melody followed by a downward movement that balances the line with almost mathematical precision.

The text for this piece was traditionally sung during the procession to the baptismal font on the night before Easter, when converts were baptized.

Hosanna to the Son of David -- Orlando Gibbons

Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) began his musical career at the age of 13 as a singer at King's College, Cambridge, where his brother Edward was choirmaster. He received the MusB degree at Cambridge in 1606, and the DMus at Oxford in 1622. He was senior organist at the Chapel Royal at the time of his death, as well as organist at Westminster Abbey. Although by profession he was a keyboard player, his outstanding achievement as a composer is in vocal music, especially music for Anglican services. After the Reformation, Latin motets (compositions set to a Latin text that was not an essential part of the church service) were replaced by the anthem, a sacred song with English words. The six-part, English language Hosanna to the Son of David is one of Gibbons’ most famous anthems, its sparkly imitative structure a high point in demonstration of the older, polyphonic style of church music.

Set Me as a Seal -- René Clausen

Head of the choral program at Concordia University (MN), René Clausen is regarded as one of the leading sacred choral composers of our time. "Seal" is part of a larger work called A New Creation, commissioned in 1989 by Union Congregational Church (CT) for their 100th anniversary celebration. The composer writes this about Creation: "The various movements are attempts to characterize, through music, various aspects of the human/God, God/human relationship." He has also written personally about "Seal": Some time ago my wife suffered 5 consecutive miscarriages. I wrote Set Me As A Seal the next evening. I am struck by the phrase "for love is strong as death", because when I wrote it my actual feeling was "for love is stronger than death"; abiding, all-encompassing love absorbs even the pain of death. If the piece is about anything, it is about the simple but powerful conviction of permanent love that seeks to overflow the boundary between life and death. I can't imagine a choir singing it without open hearts."

Warum Ist Das Licht Gegeben (Wherefore Hath the Light Been Granted) -- Johannes Brahms

II. Lasset uns unser Herz [Let us lift up our heart], sammt den Handen aufheben zu Gott im Himmel [let our hands be uplifted to God in heaven]. (Lamentations 3:41)

III. Siehe, wir preisen selig [So now we count them happy], die erduldet haben [who, enduring, fail not]. Die Geduld Hiob habt ihr gehoret [Now of Job's patience ye have been hearing], und das Ende des Herrn habt ihr gesehen [and the outcome of God ye have been seeing]; denn der Herr ist barmherzig und ein Erbarmer [that the Lord hath great pity and tender mercy]. (James 5:11)

IV. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin in Gottes Willen [In peace and joy I near my goal, if God is willing], getrost ist mir mein Herz und Sinn, sanft und stille [and faith fills all my heart and soul, calm and stilling]. Wie Gott mir ver heissen hat, der Tod ist mir Schlaf worden [The Lord God hath promised me that death is but a slumber].

Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) is known as a Romantic composer, expressive and rich in harmonic color and texture, but he disliked flamboyance and programmatic gestures in music. Instead, his compositions strove towards ideals of form and inventive construction. Brahms is known, not as an innovator, but as a consummate composer, one whose music is always superbly crafted, beautiful both in sound and in form.

This motet from 1877 (like many of his works) represents the composer’s philosophical confrontation with death. He begins with a dismal text from Job: for what purpose is life to those for whom it is but misery? Brahms addresses, but does not answer this question, in movement 2, implying the question cannot be answered by mortals but only by the Almighty. Thus, our only response can be to put our trust and praise in Him. The third movement address the question from a different angle: we do not know why God does what he does, but he is compassionate and merciful and those who endure are blessed. The message is summarized with a chorale verse by Martin Luther - man does not need more of an answer to the question posed in Job; it suffices that it is God’s will.

Our Father -- Alexander Gretchaninoff

Worship in the Russian Orthodox Church is very different from the Western experience. The “mystery” of faith and salvation plays prominently in Orthodox theology, with the accompanying use of liturgical art and music. One website quotes: “Liturgical art in Orthodoxy is an expression of prayer, which in turn is a means of living eschatologically, ever conscious of the Revelation: the transfiguration of our everyday lives in order to prepare the coming of the heavenly Kingdom.” As such, the music of the Russian church is characterized by a haunting, otherworldly sound, rooted in wonder and mysticism. (By contrast, Western church music is historically rooted in logic, its purpose the representation and _expression of truth.) In keeping with Orthodox tradition (still true in Russian Orthodox churches today), the music is acapella and written with the famous Russian bass sound in mind.

Alexandre Gretchaninoff (1864–1956) was born in Moscow and studied with Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He divided his career between the two cities until he emigrated to Paris shortly after the Russian Revolution. Otche nash (Our Father) is traditionally set as recitative chant on a few chordal patterns, but in the second of his four liturgies, Gretchaninoff took a highly innovative approach, employing a melodic style and giving the Lord’s Prayer a larger scope than in any previous setting.

Singabahambayo -- Traditional South-African Folk Song

No comment.

I Want to Fly -- Larry Nickel

Larry Nickel, the child of missionary parents, has been a high school performing arts teacher for 25 years, and is active as a music festival adjudicator and clinician. In 1989, Larry almost died of viral encephalitis. After what some would consider a miraculous recovery, Larry committed himself to writing music more earnestly for God. Since then, his career as a composer has taken a dramatic turn. Larry is co-founder and composer in residence for the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir, which has recorded over 100 of his compositions on twelve CD's.

Flee As a Bird -- Spanish Air

Mary Stanley Bunce Dana Shindler was born in South Carolina in 1810. In 1840, when this song was written, she lost both her husband and and young son. She is the author of a number of hymns, many of which reflect themes of comfort in the struggles of life and death. She later remarried and died in Texas in 1883.

My Soul’s Been Anchored -- Traditional Spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan

Moses Hogan (1957-2003) was trained as a classical pianist. Quite by accident, he stumbled upon choral conducting and quickly established a reputation as one of the leading contemporary authorities on African-American spirituals. In many African-American circles today, spirituals and their heritage are lost on the younger generation. (This is certainly true of my school students in Harlem - many of them do not even recognize spirituals that most of us could hum by memory!) Hogan’s passion and goal was to revive and perpetuate this rich heritage. He died tragically of a brain tumor in 2003.

An interesting note: I got to work with Hogan personally a few years ago when he came to Westminster. He was one of the most gracious and modest musicians I have ever met. He died during the 2003 American Choral Director’s Association biannual convention in New York (his group was supposed to perform there), and I’ll never forget the poignant moment of silence that was observed by choral directors from all over the country in honor of his life and work.

Oh, Rocka My Soul -- Spiritual, arr. Jester Hairston

Jester Hairston (1902-2000), the grandson of a slave, had a career spanning acting, composing, and conducting. He dedicated himself to preserving the music of the slaves and memorializing the conditions that gave birth to it. As he once told his students, “You can’t sing legato when the master’s beatin’ you across your back!” He was a sought-after choral director, and composed more than 300 spirituals. Even in his 90s, Hairston continued to conduct choirs, crisscrossing the world as an ambassador for the U.S. State Department.

I Know I've Been Changed -- African-American Spritiual Arr. Damon H. Dandridge

No comment.

Calling My Children Home -- Lawson, Waller, & Yates, arr. Joseph Jennings

No comment.

Hold Out Your Light -- Spiritual, arr. Lloyd Kauffman

This arrangement was created for The Hope Singers on their 2004 choir tour to Poland.