NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
VIVALDI
Gloria in D Major, RV 589
The Gloria received its twentieth-century premiere in 1930 and has remained the most popular of all Vivaldi's vocal works ever since.
The orchestration, which may have been inspired by the roster of students at the school, calls for relatively limited forces -- only a single oboe and a single trumpet (with no timpani) are added to the strings -- and there are only three vocal soloists. The work opens with the kind of strong motoric rhythm that is reminiscent of Vivaldi's concertos but then shifts into the beautiful harmonic world of the Et in terra pax, a movement that wanders meditatively through unexpected keys.
The closing fugue (Cum sancto spiritu) is in a more conservative style than the rest of the work and is in fact not originally by Vivaldi. He "borrowed" it from a work by a contemporary, Giovanni Maria Ruggieri. Here Vivaldi has considerably improved the original, altering the orchestration, giving a greater role to the trumpet, and condensing Ruggieri's double chorus to a single four-voice chorus. The Ruggieri fugue may be an unexpected choice for the ending of this work, but Vivaldi seems to have been so impressed with it that this was the second time that he used it. The first was a rather different adaptation in one of his earlier works, which was also a setting of the Gloria.
-Program Notes by Boston Baroque
HANDEL
Zadok the Priest, HWV 258
The first anthem was performed immediately after the Anointing of George II. The text describes the anointing of Solomon as King David’s successor and has been included in every English coronation ceremony since that designed by St. Dunstan for King Edgar (Ēadgār) the Peaceful at Bath in about 973. Handel’s setting of this text has likewise been included for every coronation since that for King George II in 1727. Soccer fans will recognize this as the source for the UEFA Champions League anthem.
HANDEL
Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened, HWV 259
On October 11, 1727, George II was crowned king of England in Westminster Abbey, and Handel was commissioned to compose four anthems for the occasion. The anthem Let thy hand be strengthened was the first of the four to be performed at the ceremony and the only one to have no vocal soloists and no trumpets or drums. It is in three movements, of which the first is a glorification of the monarch, the second a plea for justice and mercy, and the the third a joyous Alleluja.
In this music, we see how Handel adapts the traditional English anthem of Purcell and others. It is simple, public music designed to be heard in a large cathedral, as opposed to the finely detailed music that might be desirable in a more intimate setting. Its massive architecture is perfect for the ceremonial occasion, for which reason one or more of these anthems has been heard at every English coronation since 1727.
-Program Notes by Boston Baroque
HANDEL
The King Shall Rejoice, HWV 260
This anthem was performed at the Crowning of George II, though traditionally it would have been at the Recognition. Hearing the choir’s occasional loud bursts of brief phrases followed by rests, Charles Burney wrote of the anthem as being in the composer’s “big bow-wow” ceremonial style.
-Program notes by Early Music Vancouver
A Choral Infusion
ARR. CHRISTOPHER CROSS
“Lift Every Voice and Sing”
This traditional anthem of hope and power has been a staple in Black American tradition for over a century now. It was penned by well renowned Harlem Renaissance poet James Weldon Johnson and his brother J. Rosamond Johnson. It calls upon the power of individual voices to unite together and charge a path forward in hope, unity and freedom for all. This arrangement tags on a traditional Black-American gospel music vamp at the end of the anthem. This is intended to be performed completely in the communal gospel style and resonate throughout the venue encouraging audience members to join into the repeated refrains and unite in song.
CHRISTOPHER CROSS
“Sinner Man”
This text presents traditional Black-Amerian spiritual colloquialisms in the form of storytelling a “religious(salvation) experience” while also referencing the duality of the African-American slave “coded message songs.” Slaves were often only allowed to sing about Christianity and often used biblical themes as metaphors for escaping slavery and/or yearning for freedom while they worked in oppressive conditions. They often used songs about Moses and the enslaved Children of Israel, from the Judeo-Christians account in the book of Exodus, to this end. This teaches that many African-American spirituals may not always had been intended to be sacred or sacred only in nature. At any given time the song could be “religious” in nature, simply a code, both simultaneously or a coded message that evolved into a sacred song. This was especially true during the American Civil Rights Movement. This interpretation then is left to the discretion of the director, ensemble and/or the individual performers in a given ensemble. The desire and intention of this composition is to engage the audience and performer and educate them into more deeply understanding the culture and the evolution of the Black-American experience by allowing them to recount the story in either or both interpretations. This was especially true during the American Civil Rights Movement.
In this text, sinner man could be coded as a reference for a slave, a person who has transgressed God’s law, or both simultaneously. In either sense, both call upon the person being in a state of needing rescue or “salvation” from their oppressive condition. Can you, better see now how easy it is for the two to be so intertwined or symbiotic in nature? “Sinner man. I once was a sinner man.” The “good Lord” could reference a member of the underground railroad, an encounter with a “Savior” in a spiritualized form (traditionally Jesus Christ) or again, both simultaneously. In either case, the subject (the “Sinner Man”) has a salvation experience from his low estate, and is now free. “Now I'm no longer a sinner man” or no longer a slave. The subject has been freed by a “savior” and is now celebrating his unmerited rescue. The composition intentionally borrows from the hymn “Amazing Grace” as it is a hymn originally written by John Newton, a former slave trader turned Anglican minister and abolitionist in the late 18th century. The hymn became a deeply loved staple in most traditional Black-American Churches and remains so to this day.
ARR. CHRISTOPHER CROSS
“Walk With Me, LORD/Give Me Jesus”
While exact origins are hard to pin down, this hymn was a staple for enslaved Black-Americans and showcases a glimpse into the grim and desperate circumstances in which they lived. This arrangement keys in on the haunting gloom experienced by enslaved Black-Americans with the use of the “ooo” vowel and expressive jazz/folk harmonies. The intense pleading, begging and desperate prayer for help should be felt in the instrumentation, background vocals and the soloist. The arrangement begins with haunting overtones surrounding a soloist (The caller in the call and response style) as one of three prayers. The first prayer is a solo traveler that is either on the journey of escape to freedom or just a weary and lonely soul longing for companionship and relief. The second prayer is embedded into the treble parts and is a plea to be with me during the hard trials of life even to the point of almost utter heartbreak. Can you imagine the complete heart and soul breaking enslaved peoples faced everyday? The third prayer/verse is given to the basses and is now a plea for help through a cry of “hold my hand, Lord. Hold my hand.” This is the most intense of the verses as the sojourner now feels like they can no longer carry on. They are now bowed down in utter sorrow, weighed down by the oppressive life thrust upon them. It’s a cry for someone to give mercy and someone to yield justice! The tension and sorrows are broken as the plea changes from a relief from sorrow to just having Jesus. Or at this point, take me to heaven. You can have everything else, just take me home. Home or heaven were used as coded messages for the “freedom land” or the north where slavery was not a legal systemic regime. Maybe the sojourner was running away and hungry, injured, exhausted and to the point of being overcome. How does the journey end. The arrangement never says. It returns to an echo of the haunting folk/jazz harmonies from the beginning of the piece. This is to reflect on the journey of thousands of enslaved people who made their desperate dash for freedom and humanity only never to be heard from or seen again. This piece is intended to educate the story of runaway slaves, and also highlight the harsh experiences of those who were lost along the journey. Their voices live on in the haunting melodies echoed throughout the piece.
-Notes by the composer
DAN FORREST
Arise, Shine!
Commissioned as a companion piece to Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, for premiere in Carnegie Hall, this was the composer’s first piece ever performed in that historic venue.
Text from Isaiah 60: 1-4, 19-20
Arise, shine! For thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee!
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth; but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light; but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God shall be thy glory; and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Arise, thy light is come!
Lift up thine eyes and see: all nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
Arise, shine! For thy light is come!
—Program note by Dan Forrest
DAN FORREST
Selections from Jubilate Deo
Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo brings to life the global aspect of the traditional Psalm 100 text, “O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands,” by setting it in seven different languages and drawing from a wide spectrum of musical influences. Each movement combines some characteristics of its language group’s musical culture with the composer’s own musical language. The opening movement sets the ancient liturgical Latin translation of the Psalm in a rather American musical idiom, reflecting various influences from the composer’s native country and introducing key musical motives for the work. The fourth movement shifts to Africa, setting celebratory portions of the text in Zulu and drawing from African vocal and drumming traditions. Movement five represents Latin America, setting Span- ish text to a folk-song style melody and blending traditional folk instrumental sounds with polyphonic textures from the classical choral tradition. The sixth movement, Song of the Earth, portrays the Earth itself singing—first wordlessly, but eventually finding its own voice—and leads seamlessly into the final movement. The finale unites many of the key themes and cultures from previous movements with other material, both old and new, as all the earth sings as one, “Omnis terra, jubilate!”
—Program note by Dan Forrest