European Tour: BGSU Volaré & University Men’s Chorus

Program (selected from the following)

COMBINED CHOIRS
O Filii et Filiae | Volckmar Leisring (1588-1637)

Latin:
O filii et filiae,
Rex caelestis, gloriae,
Alleluia!

O filii et filiae,
Christus surrexit hodie,
Alleluia!

English Translation:
O sons and daughters,
The heavenly King of glory,
Alleluia!

O sons and daughters,
Christ has risen today,
Alleluia!

~~~~~

VOLARÉ
Evening Rise | Native American Traditional, arr. Emily Pence Brown (b.1985)

Evening rise, spirit come, sun goes down when the day is done.
Mother Earth awakens me with a heartbeat of the sea.

Sleeping Heart | Troy Robertson (b. 1978)

Sleeping heart, the kingdom of a thousand years is yet a dream.
How long will some vain illusion hold you in its thrall?
Some would say this and no other, this world must be your all.
Still, there is a place, a place of refuge: Sleeping heart, sleeping heart.
If the child will not see reason, must we reason forsake?
If reason fails one thousand times, still love will take its place!
Sleeping heart.

Hexenlied | Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

German:
Die Schwalbe fliegt, der Frühling siegt,
und spendet uns Blumen zum Kranze!
Bald huschen wir leis' aus der Thür,
und fliegen zum prächtigen Tanze!
Ein schwarzer Bock,
Ein Hexenstock,
Der Ofenstab, die Rocken,
Sie schnappen uns flink
Wie Blitz und Wind Durch Brausewind zum Brocken! 

Um Beelzebub
Tanzt unsre Trupp',
Und küsset ihm die Klauen!
Ein Schwarm voll Geister
Ergreift unsre Arme,
Schwingt in dem Tanz Fackeln!

Und Beelzebub
Verspricht der Trupp'
Der Tänzerin Geschenk nach Geschenke:
Sie werden schön
In Seide geh'n,
Und scharren Töpfe voller Gold!

Ein feurig Drachen
Fliegt um die Dächer
Und bringt uns Butter und Eier;
Die Nachbarn sehen
Die Funken wehen
Und kreuzen sich fürchtend vom Feuer.

Die Schwalbe fliegt, der Frühling siegt,
[Die Blumen wetteifern an Blüh'n.]
Bald huschen wir leis' aus der Thür,
[Und lassen die Männer im Bette.]
Tally-ho zur prächtigen Tanz!

English Translation:
Swallows are flying, Spring's triumphant,
Dispensing flowers for wreaths!
Soon we'll flit
Quietly outside,
And fly to the splendid dance!
A black goat,
A broomstick,
The furnace rake, the distaff,
Whisk us on our way,
Like lightning and wind, Through whistling gales to the Brocken! 

Our coven dances
Round Beelzebub
And kisses his claw-like hands!
A ghostly throng
Seizes our arms,
Waving firebrands as they dance!

O Salutaris Hostia | Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)
        Karla Kunk & Mackenzie Jones, soloists

Latin:
O salutaris Hostia
Quae coeli pandis ostium.
Bella premunt hostilia;
Da robur, fer auxilium.

Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria;
Qui vitam sine termino,
Nobis donet in patria.
Amen.

English Translation:
O saving Victim, opening wide
The gate of heaven to man below.
Our foes press on from every side;
Thine aide supply, thy strength bestow.

To Thy great name be endless praise,
Immortal Godhead, One in Three;
O grant us endless length of days,
In our true native land with Thee.
Amen.

No Time | Susan Brumfield (n.d.)
        Grayson Abend, conductor

Deep in the tarn the mountain A mighty phantom gleamed,
She leaned out into the midnight, And the summer wind went by,
The scent of the rose on its silken wing And a song its sigh.
And, in depths below, the waters Answered some mystic height,
As a star stooped out of the depths above
With its lance of light.
And she thought, in the dark and the fragrance,
How vast was the wonder wrought If the sweet world
were but the beauty born In its Maker’s thought.
                                           - Harriet Prescott Spofford

Neither Angels, Nor Demons, Nor Powers | Timothy C. Takach (b. 1978)

By Night | Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
        Aaron Roos, conductor

Music Down in My Soul | Moses Hogan (1957-2003)
        Abigail Blank, Evelyn Flick, Mackenzie Jones, Karla Kunk and Rue Stammen, soloists

~~~~~

COLLEGIATE CHORALE
O Radiant Dawn | James MacMillan (b. 1959)
        Brock Burkett, conductor

O Radiant Dawn,
Splendour of eternal Light,
Sun of Justice: come,
Shine on those who dwell in darkness,
And the shadow of death.

Isaiah had prophesied,
“The people who walked in darkness,
Have seen a great light,
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom,
A light has shone.”

Amen.

He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands | arr. Cedric Dent (b. 1962)
        Dominic Carlozzi, soloist

He’s got the whole world in His hands.
He’s got the you and me, brother, in His hands.
He’s got you and me, sister, in His hands.
He’s got the itty bitty babies in His hands.
Uphethe bonk’a bantu Ezandle’ Uphe thum hlab’ Ezandleni.
(Translation: “He’s got the whole world in His Hands”)
He’s got the whole world in His hands.

~~~~~

UNIVERSITY MEN'S CHORUS
Gaudeamus Igitur | arr. Marshall Bartholomew (1885-1978)

Latin:
Gaudeamus igitur
Juvenes dum sumus.
Post jucundam juventutem
Post molestam senectutem
Nos habebit humus.

Vivat academia!
Vivant professores!
Vivat membrum quodlibet
Vivant membra quaelibet
Semper sint in flore.

English Translation:
Therefore let us rejoice
While we are young!
After pleasant youth
After troublesome old age
The earth will have us!

Long live the university!
Long live the professors!
Long live any student!
Long live any students whatsoever!
May they always be the best!

Sing Dem Herrn | Michael Praetorius (1571-1621), arr. Wallace Depue (b.1932)

German:
Sing dem Herrn,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Alle Leben ihm (or Alle lieben ihn),
Lobe seinen Namen
Singe mit Tabourine und Harfe

English Translation:
Sing to the Lord,
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Every living creature (or All who love him)
Praise his name
Sing with tambourine and harp.

I Come Singing | Eric Barnum (b. 1979)
        Charles Ligus, percussion

I come singing the keen sweet smell of grass
Cut after rain,
And the cool ripple of drops that pass
Over the grain,
And the drenched light drifting across the plain.

I come chanting the mad bloom of the fall.
And the swallows
Rallying in clans to the rapid call
From the hollows,
And the wet west wind swooping down on the swallows.

I come shrilling the sharp white of December,
The night like quick steel
Swung by a gust in its plunge through the pallid ember
Of dusk, and the heel
Of the fierce green dark grinding the stars like steel.

The Last Words of David | Randall Thompson (1899-1984)
        Aaron Roos, conductor

He that ruleth over men
Must be just, ruling in the fear of God.
And he shall be as the light of the morning.
When the sun riseth,
Even a morning without clouds;
As the tender grass springing out of the earth
By clear shining after rain.
Hallelujah.
Amen.

Bell Tower | Katerina Gimon (b. 1993)

Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing
makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell.

As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?

If the drink is bitter, turn yourself into wine.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.

Meestelaulud | Veljo Tomis (1930-2017)                                          

    7. Teomehe-laul (Serf’s Song)

Estonian:
Muudel on sängid ja muudel mängid,
mul ei sängi, mul ei mängi,
mure minul on ja teomehe hool,
ei neist pääse kuskile poole.

Kui mina vaeneke väsind olen,
kus ma selle koorma panen?
Mure panen musta parre pääl,
hoole heidan õrre pääle.

Hommilkul, tilluke, jälle teole,
väeti, härra välja pääle, --
mure tuleb parrelt põue taas,
hool see jookseb õue kaasa.

Oi jumal, oi jumal, jumaluke,
viska alla vinnaköied,
et ma üles taeva teomeheks saaks
Maarja loole, Looja maale.

English Translation:
Others have beds and others have games
I have neither a bed nor a game,
Trouble I have and a bondman’s care,
No escape from them.

When I, poor me, get tired,
Where shall I lay this burden?
Trouble I set on the black beam,
Care I cast on the perch.

In the morning, bond again for me, the tiny,
The wee me, (again) onto my master’s field.
Trouble comes back into my bosom,
Care runs along into the yard.

Oh Lord, dear Lord,
Throw down some hoisting ropes
So I could enter the heavenly bond,
Make hay for Maria in the Creator’s realm.

    8. Tantsulaul (Dancing Song)    
        Micah Roth, Brock Burkett and Aidan Johnston, soloists

Estonian:
Las aga meie Mari tulla,
küll mina teen tal jalad alla.
Ait-tali-rali-raa, ali-ramp-tamp-taa.
Utireetu, utireetu, trallallaa.
Mul sukakannas suured augud
just nagu vana mära laugud.
Kõrv minul ajab jorupilli,
Alt-Tare Jüri torupilli.

English Translation:
Let our Mari come,
I shall get her on her feet.
Ait-tali-rali-raa, ali-ramp-tamp-taa.
Utireetu, utireetu, trallallaa.
My sock heels have holes
Like an old mare’s blaze.
My ears are singing
As if Jüri from next door was playing the pipes.

We Toast the Days | Linda Kachelmeier (b. 1965)         
        Grayson Abend and Aaron Roos, soloists

When the clock strikes twelve
And another year has gone,
I give a kiss to you
As remembrance of the past we have shared
And the future yet to come.
We toast the days, both good and bad,
The old friends and the new.
When the clock strikes twelve
And another year has gone,
I give a kiss to you.
While the night is long
And the bitter cold has come,
We lengthen our embrace
To sustain us as we mourn our regrets
And the fear of days unknown.
We toast the days…
As we stand on the edge
Of another bright new year,
I take your hand in mine
With assurance of
The courage we will find
And the hope that leads us on.
We toast the days…

Leron, Leron Sinta | Saunder Choi (b. 1988)

Tagalog:
Leron, Leron sinta, buko ng papaya
Dala-dala’y buslo, sisidlan ng bunga,
Pagdating sa dulo’y, nabali ang sanga.
Kapos kapalaran, humanap ng iba.
Gumising ka, neneng; Tayo’y manampalok.
Dalhin mo ang buslong, sisidlan ng hinog.
Pagdating sa dulo’y, lalamba-lambayog.
Kumapit ka, neneng; Baka ka mahulog.
Ang iibigin ko’y babaeng maganda.
Ang rosas niya’y pito; Ang saya niya’y siyam.
Ang lalakarin niya’y parte ng dinulang.
Isang pinggang pansit ang kanyang kalaban.

English Translation:
Leron, Leron my dear, blossoms of the papaya tree,
With a bamboo basket, he’d gather some fruits.
But when he reached the top (of the tree) the branch broke.
Oh, what a trick of fate, he had to search for another.
Wake up, *neneng; let’s pick some tamarind fruits.
Take the bamboo baskets, to put the ripe ones in.
Upon reaching the top (of the tree), the branches swayed heavily.
Hold on tight, neneng, as you might fall.
The one I will love is a beautiful girl.
She has seven roses and nine dresses.
The journey she will take is the distance of a table.
A plate of noodles is her foe!

*neneng is a colloquial term referring to a girl and does not have an adequate English translation.~~~~~

COMBINED CHOIRS
Homeland | Grace Coberly (b. 1999)

Dear love, dear friend, see how gentle the night
That warms us from the cold.
When we met, I could swear I had known you before
In a lifetime gentler still.

This is our homeland, our haven in the woods –
Familiar shadows, a sky we call our own.
And surely, we all will meet again.
In music, we’ll never be alone.

If the night falls too fast, I will seek out the sun
and paint it in the sky.
If the monsters return, I will drive them away
to keep you safe with me.

This is our homeland, our haven in the woods –
Familiar shadows, a sky we call our own.
And surely, we all will meet again.

When we’re centuries old and our voices are gone,
we will all come home.