RenaissanceVoicesDerek Morphy, conductor

Faith Stories & Legends

December 10 & 11, 2010 Young United Church, Winnipegrenaissancevoices.com

an evening of choral celebration

Allon, gay bergeres (Guillaume Costeley, ca.1531 - 1606)

Allon gay, gay, gay, Bergeres Let us go gaily, Shepherds,Allon, gay, soyez legeres Let us go gaily, be gentle,

Suyvez moy. Follow me.

Allon, allon voir le Roy Let us go see the King,Qui du ciel en terre est nay, Who from heave is born on earth.

Un beau present luy feray, De quoy? I’ll make him a fine present, What?De ce flagollet que j’ay tant gay. This tin whistle I have, so gay.

Ho, ho! pai-la! je le voy; Ah, hush! I see himIl tette bien sans le doigt, He’s sucking well, not on his thumb,

le petit Roy! the little King!Allon gay, gay, gay, Bergeres Let us go gaily, Shepherds,

Allon, gay, soyez legeres Let us go gaily, be gentle,Le Roy boit! The King is drinking!

Quem pastores laudevere(German, 14th century)

Quem pastores laudavere Unto him whom the shepherds Quibus angeli dixere: praised, told by the angels:

Absit vobis iam timere, “Be not afraid:Natus est rex gloriae. the King of Glory is born.”

Ad quem magi ambulabant, Unto him to whom the magi journeyedAurum, thus, myrrham portabant, to whom they brought gold,

frankincense and myrrh,Immolabant haec sincere to whom they offered these sincere

Nato regi gloriae. gifts to him born the King of Glory.

Christo Regi, Deo nato, Christ the King, born of God,Per Mariam nobis dato, Given to us through Mary,

Merito resonet vere Let truly resound:“Laus, honor et gloria.” “Praise, honour and glory”

Allons gay bergères* Guillaume CosteleyQuem pastores laudavere* arr. John Rutter

Cherubic Hymn Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky(from: The liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)

Tota pulchra es Ola GjeiloGlory to the Christ Child Alan BullardA stable-lamp is lighted René Clausen

Noël nouvelet arr. Donald PatriquinThe Three Kings* Jonathan Dove

Soloists: Célina Ross, Karen Tole-Henderson

intermissionJing-a-lye-ya* Bruce Sled

Śćedryk arr. Philip BrunelleSoloists: Kim Neufeld, Mary-Lynn Berti

Sans Day Carol arr. Andrew CarterSoloist: Wanda Nicol

Down in yon forest* arr. Andrew CarterTorches, torches* James Schell

Soloist: Maureen Ferley; Percussion: Karen Tole-Henderson, Mary-Lynn Berti

Noel: Christmas Eve, 1913 Kenneth JenningsKristjanna Oleson, viola

A Carol of Peace Samuel GordonSoloist: Jodie Borle

Faith Stories & Legends

program

texts and translationsRenaissanceVoicesDerek Morphy, conductor

* Featured on the Renaissance Voices Christmas CD “Joy shall be Yours”

A stable lamp is lighted (Richard Wilbur, b.1921)

A stable lamp is lighted whose glow shall wake the sky;The stars shall bend their voices, and every stone shall cry.And every stone shall cry, and straw like gold will shine;

A barn shall harbour heaven, a stall become a shrine.

Yet He shall be forsaken and yielded up to dieThe sky shall groan and darken and every stone shall cry

And every stone shall cry for stony hearts of menGod’s blood upon the spearhead, God’s love refused again.

But now as at the ending, the low is lifted highThe stars will bend their voices and every stone shall cry

And every stone shall cry n praises of the childBy whose descent among us the worlds are reconciled.

Noël nouvelet(traditional French)

Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. Christmas anew, Christmas we sing hereDévotes gens, crions à Dieu merci! Devout people, let us shout our thanks to God!

Chantons Noël pour le roi nouvelet. Let us sing a Christmas song for the new kingNoël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.

L’ange disait “Pasteurs, partez d’ici, The angel said! Shepherds leave from here!L’âme en repos et le coeur réjoui; with soul at peace and joyful heart; En Bethléem trouverez l’agnelet” in Bethlehem you will find the little lamb.’ Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.

En Bethléem étant tous réunis, In Bethlehem, being all gathered,Trouverent l’enfant, Joseph, Marie aussi Were found the child, Joseph, and Mary too.

La crèche était au lieu d’un bercelet. The manger was in place of a cradle.Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.

Bientôt les rois par l’étoile éclaircis Soon, the kings, by the bright starDe l’Orient dont ils étaient sortis, In the east, from where they had comeA Bethléem vinrent un matinet. Came one morning to Bethlehem.

Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.

L’un portait l’or; l’autre l’encens béni; One brought gold, the other blessed incense;Un autre encore à Jésus myrre offrit; Still one other offered myrrh to Jesus;

L’étable alors au Paradis semblait. The stable then seemed like Paradise.Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.

Dévotes gens, crions à Dieu merci !

Cherubic Hymn(from: The Liturgy of St John Chrysostom)

We, who mystically represent the Cherubim, And chant the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-giving Trinity,

Let us set aside the cares of life. Amen

That we may receive the King of all, Who comes invisibly escorted by the Divine Hosts.

Alleluia.

Tota pulchra es (Antiphons for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception)

Tota pulchra es, Maria, Wholly beautiful are you, MaryEt macula originalis non est in te and the stain of original sin is not in you.

Vestimentum tuum candidum quasi nix Your vestments are as white as snowEt facies tua sicut sol And your face is like the sun.

Tu gloria Jerusalem, tu laetitia Israel Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, You are the joy of Israel.

Tu honorificenti populi nostril, Maria You are the honour of our people, Mary

Glory to the Christ Child (Verses taken from BM Add. MS 29401 - c.1610)

Refrain: Glory, glory, alleluia to the Christ child! Alleluia!Out of the orient crystal skies, a blazing star did shine,

Showing the place where sleeping lies a blessed babe divine.

This very star the kings did guide, e’en from the furthest East,To Bethlehem where it betide this blessed babe did rest.

And for the joy of his great birth a thousand angels sing:Glory and peace upon the earth where born is this new king.

Down in yon forest (English Traditional Carol)

Down in yon forest there stands a hall: The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:It’s covered all over with purple and pallAnd I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

In that hall there stands a bed: The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:It’s covered all over with scarlet so red:

And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

At the bed-side there lies a stone: The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:

Which the sweet Virgin Mary knelt upon:And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

At the bed’s foot there grows a thorn: The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:

Which ever blows blossom since he was born:And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

Over that bed the moon shines bright: The bells of Paradise I heard them ring:

Denoting our Saviour was born this night:And I love my Lord Jesus above anything.

Torches (Spanish Carol)

Torches, torches, run with torchesRun all the way to Bethlehem!

Christ is born and now lies sleeping:Come and sing your song to him!

Ah, lullay, lullay, my baby,Ah, lullay, my love, lullay;

Sleep you well, my heart’s own darling,While we sing you our lullay.

Sing, my friends, and make you merry,Joy and mirth and joy again;

Lo! he lives, the King of Heaven,Now and evermore. Amen

The Three Kings (Dorothy Sayers, 1893-1957)

The first king was very young, O balow, balow la lay,

With doleful ballads on his tongue, O balow, balow la lay,

He came bearing a branch of myrrh Than which no gall is bitterer,

O balow, balow la lay,Gifts for a baby King, O.

The second king was a man in prime, O balow, balow la lay,

The solemn priest of a solemn time, O balow, balow la lay,

With eyes downcast and reverent feetHe brought his incense sad and sweet,

O balow, balow la lay,Gifts for a baby King, O.

The third king was very old, O balow, balow la lay,

Both his hands were full of gold, O balow, balow la lay,

Many a gaud and glittering toy,Baubles brave for a baby boy,

O balow, balow la lay, Gifts for a baby King, O.

Jing-ga-lye-ya(Bruce Sled, b.1975)

A carolling, oh here we go carolling, high up we go carolling, carol carol carolling!Off through the snow, here we go throughthe snow, here we go through the snow!

Sans Day Carol (Old Cornish carol)

Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,And Mary bore Jesus,

who was wrapped up in silk:

Chorus: And Mary bore Jesus Christ

our Saviour for to be,And the first tree in the greenwood,

it was the holly. Holly! Holly!And the first tree in the greenwood,

it was the holly!

Now the holly bears a berry as green as the grass,

And Mary bore Jesus, who died on the cross:

Chorus

Now the holly bears a berry as black as the coal,

And Mary bore Jesus, who died for us all:

Chorus

Now the holly bears a berry, as blood is it red,

Then trust we our Saviour, who rose from the dead:

Chorus

Śćedryk(Ukrainian New Year Carol)

A little swallow flew (into the household) and started to twitter, to summon the master:“Come out, come out, O master; look at the sheep pen

There the ewes are nestling and the lambkin have been born.Your goods (livestock) are great, you will have a lot of money (by selling them)

If not money, then chaff (from the harvested grain)You have a dark-eyed (beautiful) wife.”

Noël, Christmas Eve, 1913 (Robert Bridges, 1844-1930)

A frosty Christmas Eve when the stars were shining Fared I forth alone where westward falls the hill,And from many a village in the water’d valley

Distant music reach’d me peals of bells aringing:The constellated sounds ran sprinkling on earth’s floorAs the dark vault above with stars was spangled o’er.

Then sped my thoughts to keep that first Christmas of allWhen the shepherds watching by their folds ere the dawn

Heard music in the fields and marveling could not tellWhether it were angels or the bright stars singing.

Now blessed be the towers that crown England so fairThat stand up strong in prayer unto God for our soulsBlessed be their founders (said I) an’ our country folk

Who are ringing for Christ in the belfries tonightWith arms lifted to clutch the rattling ropes that race

Into the dark above and the mad romping din.

But to me heard afar it was starry musicAngels’ song, comforting as the comfort of ChristWhen he spake tenderly to his sorrowful flock:The old words came to me by the riches of timeMellow’d and transfigured as I stood on the hillHeark’ning in the aspect of th’ eternal silence.

This Spring!Renaissance Voices willpresent a concert ofMadrigals, Glees andPart-Songs from overthe centuries.

April 10, 2011, 3 PMSt. Andrew’s RiverHeights United Church, Oak at Wilton

www.renaissancevoices.com

pulchra es was published in 2008,and uses ancient texts in praise ofMary. Although the piece waswritten very recently, the com-plex, rich harmonies are reminis-cent of an earlier age, and beauti-fully display the sense of venera-tion for the “Holy Mother”. Themotet is in four sections, eachwith its own distinctive character.

At last, a piece in English! AlanBullard (born 1948) wrote his Gloryto the Christ Child for the 2007King’s College, Cambridge, serviceof Nine Lessons and Carols. Hisinstruction to the choir is “power-fully rhythmic and exuberant”, thestyle in which each section begins.The charm of the piece is the com-plete change of mood with whichhe finishes each section.

René Clausen conducts theConcordia Choir of ConcordiaCollege in Moorhead, Minnesota.He is also very much respected asa composer, and his compositionsare frequently performed bychoirs across North America. In Astable lamp is lighted, written in2009, Clausen has taken the pop-ular Richard Wilbur text andwoven an evocative choral piecewhich imaginatively mirrors themood of the poem.

Quebec composer, DonaldPatriquin has provided a brightcheerful setting of the traditionalFrench carol Noël nouvelet.

Our final piece in the first half,The Three Kings, was commis-sioned by King’s College,Cambridge, for the Festival of NineLessons and Carols in December

2000. British composer, JonathanDove, is one of the most versatilecomposers of this generation, hav-ing written music for orchestra,chamber and choral ensembles,opera, theatre and film. This pow-erful and complex carol, set to atext by Dorothy Sayers, delineatesthe personalities of the three kings,and then, with a dramatic outburst,their brilliant gifts are displayed,before Mary restores calm andreflection through the finalpoignant measures.

We will take a brief intermis-sion, during which you are invit-ed to replenish your glasses.Immediately prior to the secondhalf of the program, we will drawfor a number of prizes, so be sureto fill out your ballots.

Over the centuries, legendshave sprung up, many of whichcontain imagery and metaphorswhich heighten the wonder andmystery of the nativity. Favouritetexts have been created to orna-ment these legends, and our sec-ond half will reflect some of these.

Śćedryk (also known as “Carolof the Bells”) was composed byUkrainian composer, MykolaLeontovich, and first performed inKiev in 1916. An English version byPeter Wilhousky changed themeaning of the text to make itmore of a Christmas piece,although the original Ukrainiantext is quite different. The reasonfor its inclusion here is twofold: itis closely associated with the

From the wealth of choral reper-toire written for choirs at this timeof year, as in past years, we havechosen a theme to weave togeth-er our annual Advent concert.

Many Christmas carols focuson aspects of the Christmas storyfrom the gospels — the journey ofMary and Joseph to the humblestable in Bethlehem, the shep-herds seeing and hearing theangels as they tended their sheep,the Magi travelling guided by astar. The first half of our concertwill feature carols which reflectthese biblical sources.

Our opening piece Allon, gaybergeres is typical of a genre ofsixteenth century French reper-toire. The poet and composer,Guillaume Costeley, an organistand teacher at the court ofCharles IX, retells a portion of abiblical story in a simple, refresh-ing, even childlike, mode.

Quem pastores laudavere isoriginally a 14th century Latinhymn from Germany, which hasbeen performed over many cen-turies in both the Catholic andLutheran traditions. English com-poser and conductor, John Rutter,has taken three of the verses andshaped this centuries-old hymninto a lovely twentieth centurycarol.

The “Liturgy of St. JohnChrysostom” is one of the twomost important services of the

Russian Orthodox Church. In 1878,Tchaikovsky, who was known upto that time exclusively as a com-poser of secular music, submittedhis version of the liturgy to the

“Office of Sacred Censorship”, forapproval for it to be used in wor-ship. So utterly conservative werethe censors that at one point allversions of the score wereordered to be seized by the police.Fortunately, the work survived,and received its first performancein 1880 to great acclaim. It wasnever accepted by the RussianChurch during Tchaikovsky’s life-time, although after his death, itwas performed frequently, andhas been considered a model formany of his successors, includingSergei Rachmaninoff. The text ofThe Cherubic Hymn is in twoparts; the first is a serene hymn ofpraise by the angels to the “Lordof Hosts, and the laying aside ofearthly cares”, followed by an

“Amen”. The second part is an exu-berant welcome of a victoriousking, ending with a series of

“Hallelujahs”.Having begun with three

pieces from, or with roots in, pre-vious centuries, we feature fiveselections all written in the lastten years.

Born in 1978, Norwegian borncomposer, Ola Gjeilo now lives inNew York. A cursory visit to theworld of blogs, MP3s andFacebook will demonstrate thathe has become increasingly well-known across the choral worldover the last five years. His Tota

Notes

Renaissance Voices, conducted by Derek Morphy, was formed in 1995 toperform music of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Whilethis period is still a primary focus, the ensemble has extended its reper-toire range into many other choral genres.

Each Advent, it has been the custom to present a program whichexplores a particular aspect of the season; hence, “Frost and Fire” lastyear, “Reflections in a Stable” in 2008, “Wolcum Yole”, featuring Britten’s

“Ceremony of Carols” in 2007, “The Wonder of Mary” in 2006, “Out ofDarkness… into Light” in 2005, “Bells and Flowers of Christmas” in 2003and “Shepherds and Kings” in 2002. As for this year’s presentation, wehave presented our concert in an informal setting, serving mulled wineand cider prior to, and during, the concert.

Spring concerts have recently focused on Renaissance composers,Tomas Luis de Victoria in 2008 and William Byrd in 2007. Our 2010 con-cert “Parody and Whimsy” featured choral works with a decidedlyhumorous twist.

Renaissance Voices have taken part in several collaborative choralenterprises over the years. Our association with the RWB has includedforming a back-stage chorus for the production of Dracula, and in earlieryears for Carmina Burana. In December 2008, we joined The WinnipegSingers and the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in a highly acclaimed per-formance of John Rutter’s “Magnificat”.

Antero LindbladBernie Plett, MGI SecuritiesBrian Hydesmith, graphic designerCamerata Nova Dan DonahueGord Higham H.P. Tergesen & Sons, Gimli McNally Robinson Booksellers

Christmas season, and in itsancient form is actually a NewYear Carol. Following the conver-sion to Christianity in Ukraine, thecelebration of the New Year wasswitched from April to January,hence the allusion to new bornlambs, and the prospect of abountiful (the meaning of theword “Śćedryk”) year.

The next two carols arearrangements of old traditionalEnglish carols by Andrew Carter.The Sans Day Carol was tran-scribed from the singing of a vil-lager in St. Day (also Sans Day, orSt. They - named after a Bretonsaint venerated in Cornwall) inthe parish of Gwennap, Cornwall.The carol is in praise of the hollybush, which has very ancient con-nections with the season. Theearly Romans decorated theirhallways with holly garlands dur-ing the mid-winter feast ofSaturnalia, and the holly tree wasknown to medieval monks as the

“Holy Tree” because it wasbelieved to keep evil spirits away.Holly later became the emblem ofeternal life; the pointed leaves ofthe holly represented the crownof thorns worn by Jesus; the redberries symbolized the drops ofblood shed. The carol Down inyon forest is also known as theCorpus Christi carol, and its mod-ern revival owes much to its col-lection in Derbyshire by Englishcomposer, Ralph VaughanWilliams. The text of the verses issombre and austere, and this set-ting features repeated bell cluster

chords underlying the melody,which reinforces this mood. TheDerbyshire version has a directreference to Christmas in the lastverse only, which seems to havebeen tacked on to end on a morecheerful note. The reference tothe “blossoming thorn” in theDerbyshire version, and to the

“shrub tree” in the North Carolinaversion collected by John JacobNiles, seems to suggest that thecarol derives from the legend ofthe Holy Thorn of Glastonbury.

The lively Galician carol,Torches, Torches, is the composi-tion of James Schell, for manyyears on the Faculty of Music atUBC. The varying meters illustratethe flickering light of the torchescarried by the shepherds runningto Bethlehem to see the Christchild.

The text of Noel: ChristmasEve, 1913 comes from an evoca-tive poem by Robert Bridges, whowrites of standing on a hill look-ing across the valley below, andimagining that the sights andsounds are those seen and heardby shepherds on the firstChristmas Eve. There have beenseveral musical arrangements ofthe poem over the years, but thisone by Kenneth Jennings, featur-ing a viola soloist, seems to bestcapture the scenes and imagesevoked by the poem.

Our final song, A Carol ofPeace, by Samuel Gordon, wehope will send you off into thewinter night with warm heartsand fond memories.

RenaissanceVoicesDerek Morphy, conductor

Many ThanksRudy DahlSt. Andrews River Heights

United ChurchScissor Paper Stone Hair StudioSheldon Chartier,

stage management Wes Elias, rehearsal pianistYoung United Church

And to each of our volunteers for their cheerful assistance at our concerts.

RenaissanceVoicesDerek Morphy, conductor

SopranosMary-Lynn BertiSarah Chopee

Maureen FerleyLouise Friesen

Andrea Ilchena CarlsonKim NeufeldWanda NicolCélina Ross

Tristin Tergeson

AltosKathryn Balacko

Jodie BorleEdna Dahl

Martha GrahamJohanna Hildebrand

Jane MoodyHeather Quinn

Karen Tole-Henderson

TenorsNeil Block

Peter DueckTed DueckChad Falk

Craig SchapanskyChristopher Thomson

BassesJohn Brubacher

John DobsonRon Hooker

Arnold JohnsonBill QuinnCarl Shura

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Joy shall beYours

Renaissance Voices is delighted to present its new Christmas CD, Joy shall be yours, which will be on sale before the concert, duringthe intermission and following the concert. This concert features a number of carols on the CD,marked with an asterisk in the program order.