Collegiate Chorale, A Cappella Choir & University Choral Society

Program

A Cappella Choir
Dr. Adam Luebke, conductor
Kevin McGill, pianist
Grayson Abend, graduate assistant

Be Like the Bird | Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)

Abbie Betinis and Dr. Luebke sat next to one another in Theory II class in college.  Based in Minnesota, Betinis has become a widely respected in the choral sphere for blending lyrical warmth and inventive, intricate structures. The composer writes: This canon was composed in 2009, just after I completed cancer treatment for the second time. My parents and I sent it out as our Christmas card that year which continued a tradition started in 1922 by my great grandfather, Rev. Bates G. Burt, who then passed it to his son, my great-uncle Alfred Burt, now famous for carols like "Caroling, Caroling" and "Some Children See Him." 

Text: 
Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, 
feels them give way beneath her, and sings knowing she hath wings.

The Road Not Taken | Randall Thompson (1899-1984)

The Road Not Taken is the first work of a Thompson’s seven-song suite, Frostiana, setting the poetry of Robert Frost. Commissioned for the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Amherst Massachusetts, the premiere performance in 1959 featured Thompson conducting and Frost in attendance. Thompson’s signature compositional voice is evident through a lyrical melody, clear tonal harmony, and sensitive attention to text. He captures the speaker’s introspection and uncertainty with a persistent undulating accompaniment underneath the elegant, yet restrained melody of the singers.

Text:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 
And sorry I could not travel both 
And be one traveler, long I stood 
And looked down one as far as I could 
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Ch’io ami la mia vita | Claudio Monterverdi (1567-1643)

Claudio Monteverdi’s Ch’io ami la mia vita, from his Madrigali a cinque voci, Libro Primo (1587), reflects the late Renaissance madrigal style while hinting at his later innovations. The text explores the paradox of love and concealed at the onset is a tribute to a lady: ‘Ch’ami la vita mia (That I love my life) can also be heard as ‘Camilla vita mia’ (Camilla, my life). Monteverdi’s mature and dramatic use of musical episodes is striking: by extracting and inserting the vocal lines, repeating the lyric in different pitches and timbres, and making intelligent use of color contrast (light and shade for the antitheses of love—suffering and life—death), he succeeds in building up the tension until the final catharsis. 

Text:
Ch'ami la vita mia nel tuo bel nome 
par che si legg'ognora, 
ma tu voi pur ch'io mora. 
Se'l ver porti in te scritto, 
acqueta coi begl'occhi il cor afflitto, 
acciò letto non sia 
ch'ami la morte e non la vita mia.

Translation:
That I love my life in your fair name
It seems it may always be read,
Yet you would have me die.
If within you the truth be written,
Calm with your fair eyes the stricken heart,
So that it be not read
That I love death and not my life.

Chères fleurs | Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

Remembered today primarily for his grand operas, Massenet vocal music also includes 200 mélodie for solos, duets, trios, and quartets. His first cycle for vocal quartet Chansons des Bois d’Amaranth (Songs from the Amaranth Woods) was published in 1901. The third song in the set, Chères fleurs is written in the spirit of a Renaissance madrigal. Graceful melodic lines echo the opening of a flower and the rushing wind, as the speaker warns the tender bud of false love.

Text:
Chères fleurs, ne vous fiez point 
Au vent qui vous frôle de l'aile! 
Il parle trop d'amour fidèle: 
L'amour fidèle parle moins.

Translation:
Dear flowers, do not trust anymore 
The wind that brushes past you with its wing! 
It speaks too much of faithful love: 
Faithful love speaks less.

Lebenslust | Franz Schubert (1979-1828)

One of over 600 lieder he composed, Franz Schubert’s Lebenslust is a vibrant and energetic part-song that celebrating the pleasures of life and companionship.  Lively and buoyant in a lilting 6/8 meter, the song is a quintessential example of straightforward, simple music designed for an intimate gathering of friends.

Text:
Wer Lebenslust fühlet, der bleibt nicht allein,  
Allein sein ist öde, wer kann sich da freu’n?  
Im traulichen Kreise, beim herzlichen Kuss,  
Beisammen zu leben, ist Seelengenuss!

Translation:
If you are full of the love lust for life
You will not be alone
It is bleak to be alone, who can be happy that way?
In a cozy circle, with a warm kiss,
To live together is happiness for the soul.

Fólk fær andlit | Hildur Guðnadóttir (b. 1982), arr. Peter Stanley Martin

Academy Award winning Hildur Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic composer and cellist known for her atmospheric, textural approach to film and television scoring. She gained international acclaim for her work on Joker and Chernobyl, becoming one of the most prominent contemporary composers in screen music. About this work she notes: “In December 2015 we followed a series of events that touched most of us there: Albanian children with terminal illnesses were deported from Iceland along with their families who had been denied residence permits. It was deeply distressing to watch the series of events unfold; how people divided into two separate oppositions, for or against - people.”

Text:
Fólk fær andlit
Miskun
Fyrirgefið okkur fyrir

Translation:
People get faces
Mercy
Forgive us for

Fix You | Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion, Chris Martin, arr. George Chung

Chris Martin wrote “Fix You” for his then-wife Gwyneth Paltrow after the death of her father. The lyrics acknowledge both the loss of a loved one, and the challenges we all face in our daily lives. From “when you try your best, but you don’t succeed” to “when you love someone, but it goes to waste,” I have found that every singer feels a strong connection to something in the text. Sharing the burden of grief is a theme repeated throughout, this is a song of steadfast support and encouragement for a loved one in a time of struggle. -Carrie Tennant, Vancouver Youth Choir (commissioner)

Text: 
When you try your best, but you don't succeed 
When you get what you want, but not what you need 
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep 
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face 
When you lose something you can't replace 
When you love someone, but it goes to waste 
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home 
And ignite your bones 
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below 
When you're too in love to let it go 
But if you never try, you'll never know 
Just what you're worth

Tears stream down your face 
When you lose something you cannot replace 
Tears stream down your face, and I

Tears stream down your face 
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes 
Tears stream down your face, and I

When the Trumpet Sounds | André J. Thomas (b. 1952)

A prolific composer in the African American spiritual genre, André Thomas draws on elements of the African American musical and church traditions.  Written in a preacher/congregation call and response format, “When the Trumpet Sounds” incorporates syncopated rhythms, blues chords, and swung eighth notes in a jazz style.  The work is imbued with urgency and joy in anticipation the judgement day. Originally representing freedom from enslavement, the message of deliverance continues to resonate. Thomas is Emeritus Professor of Music at Florida State University where Dr. Luebke was one of his students(!).  He later served on the faculty at Yale University and is now an Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Text:
Where shall I be when the trumpet sounds?
When it sounds so loud till it wake up the dead,
Tell me where shall I be when the trumpet sounds?
Sinner please don’t let this harvest pass,
The sinner will run on that judgment day.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Collegiate Chorale
Dr. Richard Schnipke, conductor
Heather Goldman, pianist
Aaron Roos, graduate assistant

From Darkness to Light

Tonight Eternity Alone | Rene Clausen

O Schone Nacht | Johannes Brahms, CPDL

Stars I Shall Find | David Dickau
     Joseph Stribrny, conductor

Stars from Three Songs of Nature | Lloyd Pfautsch

O Radiant Dawn | James MacMillan

Hor che la vaga Aurora | Vittoria Aleotti

Laudate Dominum | Gyongyosi Levente

Unclouded Day | arr. Shawn Kirchner

~~~intermission~~~

University Choral Society
Dr. William Skoog, conductor
Kevin McGill, pianist
Grayson Abend, graduate assistant

I Will Be a Child of Peace | Elaine Hagenberg

Text:
O Holy Father I will be
a child of peace and purity.
For well I know Thy hand will bless
the seeker after righteousness.

My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord | arr. Moses Hogan
     Corban Hutchins and Grayson Abend, tenor soloists

Combined University Choral Society
and Collegiate Chorale

Lux Aeterna | Morten Lauridsen
Dr. William Skoog, conductor
Kevin McGill, pianist
Emily Fluty, flute
Michael Berchert, oboe
Willis McClure, clarinet
Jordan Weir, bassoon
Mitchell Hemme and Patrick Scully, horns
Bill Mathis, trombone

Text and translation:

I. Introitus
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum
in Jerusalem:
Exaudi orationem meam,
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Rest eternal grant them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
You are praised, God, in Zion,
And homage will be paid to you
in Jerusalem:
Hear my prayer,
To you all flesh will come.
Rest eternal grant them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.

II. In Te, Domine, Speravi
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu devicto mortis aculeo,
aperuisti credentibus regna coelorum.
Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis.
Miserere nostri, Domine,
miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos
quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te Domine, speravi:
non confundar in aeternum.

Thou, having delivered mankind,
did not disdain the Virgin’s womb.
Thou overcame the sting of death
and opened to believers the kingdom of heaven.
A light has risen in the darkness for the upright.
Have mercy on us, O Lord,
have mercy on us.
Let thy mercy be upon us, O Lord,
for we have hoped in thee.
In thee, O Lord, I have trusted:
let me never be confounded.

III. O Nata Lux
O nata lux de lumine,
Jesu redemptor saeculi,
dignare clemens supplicum
laudes preces que sumere.
Qui carne quondam contegi
dignatus es pro perditis.
Nos membra confer effici,
tui beati corporis.

O born light of light,
Jesus redeemer of the world,
mercifully deem worthy and accept
praises and prayers from your supplicants.
Who once was clothed in the flesh
for those who are lost.
Allow us to become members of
your holy body.

IV. Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
et emitte coelitus
lucis tuae radium.
Veni, pater pauperum,
veni, dator munerum,
veni, lumen cordium.
Consolator optime,
dulcis hospes animae,
dulce refrigerium.
In labore requies,
in aestu temperies,
in fletu solatium.
O lux beatissima,
reple cordis intima
Tuorum fidelium.
Sine tuo numine,
nihil est in homine,
nihil est innoxium.
Lava quod est sordidum,
riga quod est aridum,
sana quod est saucium.
Flecte quod est rigidum,
fove quod est frigidum,
rege quod est devium.
Da tuis fidelibus,
in te confidentibus,
sacrum septenarium.
Da virtutis meritum,
da salutis exitum,
da perenne gaudium.

Come, Holy Spirit,
And send from heaven
Your ray of light.
Come, Father of the poor,
Come, giver of gifts,
Come, light of hearts.
The best of Consolers,
Sweet guest of the soul,
Sweet refreshment.
In labor, thou art rest,
In heat, thou art the tempering,
In grief, thou art the consolation.
O light most blessed,
Fill the inmost heart
Of all thy faithful.
Without your grace,
There is nothing in us,
Nothing that is not harmful.
Cleanse what is dirty,
Moisten what is dry,
Heal what is hurt.
Flex what is rigid,
Heat what is frigid,
Correct what goes astray.
Grant to thy faithful,
Those that trust in thee,
Thy sacred seven-fold gifts.
Grant the reward of virtue,
Grant the deliverance of salvation,
Grant joy everlasting.

V. Agnus Dei – Lux Aeterna
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternum dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Alleluia. Amen.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest forever.
May eternal light shine on them, Lord,
as with your saints in eternity,
because you are merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them,
Alleluia. Amen.