Masterworks Concert

1. Alleluia (Manuel, Ralph)
2. Jesu, der du Meine Seele - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
3. Wir eilen mit schwachen - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
4. Ach! ich bin ein Kind der Sunden - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
5. Dein Blut, so meine Schuld durch streicht - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
6. Die Wunden, Nagel, Kron’ und Grab - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
7. Nun, du wirst mein Gewissen stillen - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
8. Herr, ich glaube, hilf mir Schwachen - Cantata No. 78 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)
9. In Flanders Fields (Aitken, Paul A.)
10. Kyrie - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
11. Gloria - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
12. Credo - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
13. Sanctus - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
14. Benedictus - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
15. Agnus Dei - Missa in Tempore Belli (Haydn, Franz Joseph)
16. Even When God is Silent (Horvit, Michael)

“Dona nobis pacem” (“Give us peace”) is a major theme of tonight’s Masterworks concert. Griffin Choral Arts adds its voice to the “Song of Peace” Project: an international effort to inspire choruses around the world to sing versions of the plea “dona nobis pacem.” Despite its choice of the month of March 2008 as the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq, “Song of Peace” is not an anti-war effort focused exclusively on that war; rather, the project “seeks simply to redirect public attention from the concept of war to the concept of peace,” using the medium of music. (More about “Song of Peace” may be found at http://www.songofpeace.org.)

 

Although the selections on tonight’s program exhibit surprising variety of style and mood (sometimes even genial humor), collectively they seem to conclude that if hope can come from the plea “dona nobis pacem” one powerful source of that hope is the music itself—or, as put by contemporary hymn lyricist Richard Leach, “When our song says peace and the world says war, we will sing despite the world.”

 

 

“Alleluia”             by Ralph Manuel, b. 1951

Ralph Manuel’s moving “Alleluia” (1987) is not the exuberant “God be praised” of religious exultation. Rather, its generally quiet meditation upon the single word “Alleluia” recalls the Old Testament Psalms of lamentation and the Book of Job. So heartfelt is this “Alleluia” that it has often been included in concerts commemorating the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.

 

Born in Oklahoma City, Ralph Manuel earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from Oklahoma City University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Following twenty-four years as a missionary to Brazil, he has been Minister of Music at Heritage Baptist Church in Annapolis, Maryland, since 2004.

 

 

Cantata BWV 78, “Jesu, der du meine Seele” by Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750

Johann Sebastian Bach’s nearly weekly challenge as Cantor (music director) of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, was to compose a cantata (a multiple-movement “choir anthem” with instrumental accompaniment) that would expand upon the Bible readings appointed for the coming Sunday worship service, but not merely duplicate those readings or the pastor’s sermon.

 

Bach met that challenge for September 10, 1724, in Cantata 78, a masterwork by any measure. But how does this cantata fit a “dona nobis pacem” theme? The answer lies in the Epistle reading appointed for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, for which Bach composed the work. Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:16-24) addresses the “warfare” between the Flesh and the Spirit. It is this spiritual warfare—in Bach’s eyes, not just the general temptations of the flesh but the more specific tendency toward unbelief and even despair—that pervades Cantata 78 and informs its musical and psychological complexity.

 

The opening choral movement begins with a downward motion so laborious that its main theme seems capable of moving only in half-steps. The bass singers eventually pick up the pattern (known as a passacaglia) begun by the lower instruments of the orchestra. Above the basses, the tenors and altos sing variations on the chromatic theme, usually in counter-motion to each other, these “inner voices” seeming to vacillate in their human frailty. All the while, above the turbulence of the three lower voices, the sopranos sing the melody line of the familiar Lutheran (Evangelisch) hymn: “Jesu, der du meine Seele.”

 

Bach, the master of musical counterpoint, uses all the tools at his disposal to make his listeners hear—and even feel and see—the “warfare” between the fragility of human belief and the stability of faith expressed in the overarching hymn tune. We realize that we are the “my” of the cantata’s opening words: “Jesus, you . . . through your bitter death have mightily ripped my soul out from the devil’s dark pit.”

Although the second movement, the soprano-alto duet “Wir eilen mit schwachen,” is one of sprightliest pieces in all of music, it is still part of the overall context representing gratitude for the salvation that comes only at the cost of Christ’s sacrifice in rescuing humanity from the death of sin. The remaining middle sections of the cantata may be said to engage in a kind of “battle” between light and dark moods, often setting the singers in opposition to the orchestral instruments, in imitation of the spiritual battle Bach sees as the focus of the Galatians text. The reassuring final chorale ends on a major-key chord, Bach’s typical statement of his firm faith in the believer’s victory in Christ over the spiritual death of unbelief and despair.

“In Flanders Fields” by Paul A. Aitken, b. 1970

Currently Director of Music Ministry at The Cathedral of the Rockies (United Methodist Church), in Boise, Idaho, Dr. Paul Aitken holds music degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and the University of Oklahoma. “In Flanders Fields” (composed in 1998) was the first winner of the Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition sponsored by the American Choral Directors Association.

 

The text of this piece is the famous short poem by John McRae, who scribbled the lines during a brief respite from the exhaustion of his work as a military surgeon in France in World War I. The resulting poem (discarded by McRae but retrieved by a fellow officer and published in London in 1915) juxtaposes the horrors of war with the serenity of the poppy fields McCrae noticed around him.

 

Further insight into both the poem and the musical setting comes from composer Paul Aitken:

The decision to use McCrae’s poetry comes directly out of my Canadian ancestry. I was born in a Canadian town not 40 minutes away from Guelph, Ontario: John McCrae’s hometown.

The whole composition began with the tenor ostinato. I then added a bass and baritone line to complement the tenors, with the hope that the imagery of the wind blowing through the poppies would come to the fore. The soprano and alto lines are the actual voices of the victims of war, the spiritual essence of those who gave their lives in that first Great War. I recall thinking deeply about how I wanted to set the text — especially when it came to the phrase “We are the Dead.” I wanted to ensure that the message remained positive and hopeful rather than dark and overly dramatic.

 

Mass in Time of War (Missa in Tempore Belli) by Franz Joseph Haydn, 1732-1809

The specific impetus for the composition of the Mass in Time of War was the commission by Haydn’s patron—Prince Nicholas II of the Esterhazy family—to compose music to celebrate the name day of his wife, Princess Josepha Maria. The War Mass, generally acknowledged as the inaugural work in a series of six yearly masses honoring the Princess, was probably first performed in the Piaristenkirche in Vienna on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26), 1796.

 

Whereas we have to probe the depths of Bach’s Cantata 78 to discover the ways in which the work reflects a “war and peace” theme, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War makes the theme abundantly clear even in its title. The work is also known in German as the Paukenmesse, or “Kettledrum Mass” (smaller kettledrums having originally been carried into battle to embolden the troops) for the strategic uses of the timpani in sections of the mass to represent the ominous threats of approaching armies—in this particular case, Napoleon’s forces then advancing toward Vienna. The opening of Haydn’s mass also seems predictable as a meditation upon war (as well as traditionally worshipful), in its slow, somber, minor key cries of “Kyrie eleison” (“Lord, have mercy”).

 

Yet when in only the eleventh measure of the piece the slow Kyrie turns abruptly to the cheerful allegro C major soprano solo—almost shockingly while continuing to sing the penitential Kyrie!—critics may wonder whether Haydn is too eager to put fear of war behind him and adopt instead a “don’t worry: be happy” superficiality. Our knowledge of Haydn’s religious faith, however, argues against such oversimplification of the relationships between musical style and verbal content in Haydn’s choral music, and especially in this mass.

 

Tonight’s “Song of Peace” theme raises an especially interesting question of Haydn’s musical attitude toward his subject matter. The final “Agnus Dei” section begins in expectedly slow, minor key reflection (including the famous possible rumblings of war in the kettledrums). Yet, again, surprisingly soon, the entrance of the “dona nobis pacem” is bright and lively. Brief turns into the minor key occur, but the overall mood is exuberant. Some listeners hear Haydn assertively demanding peace in the many repetitions of the “dona nobis pacem” phrase. Or the playful energy of the extended “dona nobis” may be taken simply as a thrilling ending. The genial personality of “Papa Haydn” (as his famous younger protégé Mozart called him) may also explain the tone of this surprisingly cheerful musical plea for peace.

 

Much has been written about Haydn’s use of humor. But why look so genially even upon the subject of war? We may surmise that his strong faith reassures him that even the possibility of his own death at the hands of advancing armies does not threaten his faith in his redemption. Thus, Haydn’s vision of the joy—and joy-bringing—of his art, though different in important ways from Bach’s, is no less complex and profound. History itself bears witness to the victory of Haydn’s music over the wars his mass could not prevent: to Haydn’s funeral in 1809 Napoleon Bonaparte assigned his highest officers as an honor guard.

 

 

“Even When God Is Silent” by Michael Horvit, b. 1932

Michael Horvit is Professor of Composition and Music Theory in the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. With music degrees from Yale and Boston University and further studies at Harvard and the Tanglewood Music Festival, he has studied with Aaron Copeland, Lukas Foss, Walter Piston, Quincy Porter, and Gardner Read.

 

On the evening of November 9- 10, 1938, one of the first notorious Nazi spasms of violence against Jews occurred in cities throughout Germany in which storm troopers and civilians vandalized property and performed other outrages of intimidation. The shattered glass from these destroyed homes and shops became the historic metaphor for the memory of that night as Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass.” In 1988, to observe the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht, Michael Horvit composed “Even When God Is Silent.” In his preface to the anthem, Dr. Horvit describes the specific inspiration for the work: “Allied troops found [a] poem written on the walls of a basement in Cologne, Germany. It had been written there by someone hiding from the Gestapo. It is one of the most poignant poems I know: an extraordinary testimony of faith under horrible circumstances.” The text of that poem reads “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when feeling it not. I believe in God even when God is silent.”

 

Cantata No. 78; Jesu, der du meine Seele

 

Chorale

Jesu, der du meine Seele                                Jesus, thou who this my spirit

Hast durch deinen bittern Tod  Hast through thy most bitter death

Aus des Teufels finstern Höhle  From the devil’s murky cavern

Und der schweren Seelennot                       And that grief which plagues the soul

Kräftiglich herausgerissen                             Forcefully brought forth to freedom

Und mich solches lassen wissen               And of this hast well assured me

Durch dein angenehmes Wort,                   Through thy most endearing word,

Sei doch itzt, o Gott, mein Hort!                 Be e’en now, O God, my shield!

 

Soprano & Alto Duet

Wir eilen mit schwachen,                               We hasten with failing

doch emsigen Schritten,                                  but diligent paces,

O Jesu, o Meister, zu helfen zu dir.            O Jesus, O master, to thee for thy help.

Du suchest die Kranken                                   Thou seekest the ailing

und Irrenden treulich.                     and erring most faithful,

Ach höre, wie wir                                                  Ah, hearken, as we

Die Stimmen erheben,                                      Our voices are raising

um Hülfe zu bitten!                                              to beg thee for succor!

Es sei uns dein gnädiges                                  Let on us thy countenance

Antlitz erfreulich!                                                 smile ever gracious!

 

Tenor Recitative

Ach! ich bin ein Kind der Sünden,              Ah! I am a child of error,

Ach! ich irre weit und breit.                           Ah! I wander far and wide.

Der Sünden Aussatz,                         The rash of error

so an mir zu enden,                                             which o’er me is coursing,

Verlässt mich nicht                                             Leaves me no peace

in dieser Sterblichkeit.                   in these my mortal days.

Mein Wille trachtet                          My will attends

nur nach Bösen.                                                     alone to evil.

Der Geist zwar spricht:                                     My soul, though, says:

ach! wer wird mich erlösen?                        ah, who will yet redeem me?

Aber Fleisch und Blut zu zwingen               But both flesh and blood to conquer,

Und das Gute zu vollbringen,                        And bring goodness to fulfillment,

Ist über alle meine Kraft.                                Surpasses all my power and strength.

Will ich den Schaden                        Though I my error

nicht verhehlen,                                                    would not bury,

So kann ich nicht,                                                  Yet I cannot

wie oft ich fehle, zählen.                                  my many failures number.

Drum nehm ich nun der Sünden                 Therefore, I take my sinful

Schmerz und Pein                                                 grief and pain

Und meiner Sorgen Bürde,                             And all my sorrow’s burden,

So mir sonst unerträglich würde,              Which would be past my pow’r to carry:

Ich liefre sie dir, Jesu, seufzend ein.        I yield them to thee, Jesus, with a sigh.

Rechne nicht die Missetat,                            Reckon not the sinful deed,

Die dich, Herr, erzürnet hat!                         Which, O Lord, hath angered thee!

 

Tenor Aria

Das Blut, so meine                                               That blood which through my

Schuld durchstreicht,                      guilt doth stream,

Macht mir das Herze wieder leicht          Doth make my heart feel light again

Und spricht mich frei.                      And sets me free.

Ruft mich der Höllen Heer zum Streite,Should hell’s own host call me to battle,

So stehet Jesus mir zur Seite,                       Yet Jesus will stand firm beside me,

Dass ich beherzt und sieghaft sei.            That I take heart and victory gain.

 

Bass Recitative

Die Wunden, Nägel, Kron und Grab,        The wounding, nailing, crown and grave,

Die Schläge, so man dort                                 The beating, which were there

dem Heiland gab,                                                 the Savior given

Sind ihm nunmehro Siegeszeichen           For him are now the signs of triumph

Und können mir verneute                               And can endow me with

Kräfte reichen.                                     new strength and power.

Wenn ein erschreckliches Gericht           Whene’er an awful judgment seat

Den Fluch vor die Verdammten spricht,                 A curse upon the damned doth speak,

So kehrst du ihn in Segen.                               Thou changest it to blessing.

Mich kann kein Schmerz                                   There is no grief

und keine Pein bewegen,                                nor any pain to stir me,

Weil sie mein Heiland kennt;                       For them my Savior knows;

Und da dein Herz vor mich                              And as thy heart for me

in Liebe brennt,                                                     with love doth burn,

So lege ich hinwieder                       So I in turn would offer

Das meine vor dich nieder.                            Whatever I own before thee

Dies mein Herz, mit Leid vermenget,      This my heart, with grief acquainted,

So dein teures Blut besprenget,                 Which thy precious blood hath quickened,

So am Kreuz vergossen ist,                             Shed upon the cross by thee,

Geb ich dir, Herr Jesu Christ.                        I give thee, Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Bass Aria

Nun du wirst mein Gewissen stillen,      Now thou wilt this my conscience quiet

So wider mich um Rache schreit,               Which gainst my will for vengeance cries;

Ja, deine Treue wird’s erfüllen,                   Yea, thine own faithfulness will fill it,

Weil mir dein Wort die Hoffnung beut.  Because thy word bids me have hope.

Wenn Christen an dich glauben,                When Christian folk shall trust thee,

Wird sie kein Feind in Ewigkeit  No foe in all eternity

Aus deinen Händen rauben.                         From thine embrace shall steal them.

 

Chorale

Herr, ich glaube, hilf mir Schwachen,     Lord, I trust thee, help my weakness,

Laß mich ja verzagen nicht;                           Let me, yea, not know despair;

Du, du kannst mich stärker machen,      Thou, thou canst my strength make firmer

Wenn mich Sünd und Tod anficht.             When by sin and death I’m vexed.

Deiner Güte will ich trauen,                          Thy great goodness I’ll be trusting

Bis ich fröhlich werde schauen’Til that day I see with gladness

Dich, Herr Jesu, nach dem Streit                Thee, Lord Jesus, battle done,

In der süßen Ewigkeit.                     In that sweet eternity.

 

Aitken: In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)

Canadian Army

 

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

 

Mass in Time of War

 

Kyrie

Kyrie eleison.                                        Lord, have mercy on us.

Christe eleison.                                                     Christ, have mercy on us.

Kyrie eleison                                          Lord, have mercy on us

 

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo.                    Glory to God in the highest.

Et in terra paxhominibus                                 And on earth peace to men

bonae voluntatis.                                                 of good will.

Laudamus te. Benedicimus te.We praise thee, we bless thee,

Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.  we adore thee, we glorify thee.

Gratias agimus tibi                                              We give thee thanks

propter magnam gloriam tuam.                 for thy great glory.

Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,                        O Lord God, heavenly King,

Deus Pater omnipotens.                                 God the Father almighty.

Domine Fili unigenite,                     The only-begotten Son,

Jesu Christe.                                          O Lord Jesus Christ, .

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei,                                O Lord God, Lamb of God,

Filius Patris.                                           Son of the Father.

Qui tollis peccata mundi,                                Who takes away the sins of the world,

miserere nobis;                                                     have mercy upon us.

Qui tollis peccata mundi,                                Who takes away the sins of the world,

suscipe deprecationem nostram.            receive our prayer.

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,  Who sits at the right hand of the Father,

miserere nobis.                                                     have mercy upon us.

Quoniam tu solus sanctus.                            For thou only art holy.

Tu solus Dominus.                                                Thou only art Lord.

Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe.             Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art most high,

Cum Sancto Spiritu                                              together with the Holy Ghost,

in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.                              in the glory of God the Father. Amen

 

Credo

Credo in unum Deum,                      I believe in one God,

Patrem omnipotentem,                                   the Father almighty,

actorem coeli et terrae,                                  maker of heaven and earth,

visibilium omnium, et invisibilium.         and of all things, visible and invisible.

Et in unum Dominum                        I believe in one Lord

Jesum Christum,                                                   Jesus Christ,

Filium Dei unigenitum.                   the only-begotten Son of God.

Et ex Patre natum                                                 Born of the Father

ante omnia saecula.                        before all ages;

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,               God of God, light of light,

Deum verum de Deo vero.                              true God of true God.

Genitum, non factum,                     Begotten not made;

consubstantialem Patri:                                 of one substance with the Father;

per quem omnia facta sunt.                          y whom all things were made.

Qui propter nos homines,                               Who for us men,

et propter nostrum                                             and for our salvation,

salutem descendit de caelis.                       Came down from heaven.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto          And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost,

ex Maria Virgine.                                                   of the Virgin Mary;

Et homo factus est.                                              and was made man.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis                             He was crucified also for us,

sub Pontio Pilato passus,                               suffered under Pontius Pilatus,

et sepultus est.                                                      and was buried.

Et resurrexit tertia die,                                     And the third day he rose again

secundum Scripturas.                     according to the Scriptures.

Et ascendit in caelum:                     And ascended into heaven.

sedet ad dexteram Patris.                             He sits at the right hand of the Father.

Et iterum venturus est cum gloria,           And He shall come again with glory

iudicare vivos et mortuos:                             to judge the living and the dead,

cuius regni non erit hnis.                                 and his kingdom shall have no end.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum                    I believe in the Holy Ghost,

Dominum, et vivificantem:                            the Lord and giver of life,

qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.  who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

Qui cum Patre, et Filio                     who together with the Father and the Son

simul adoratur et conglorificatur:            is adored and glorifed;

qui locutus est per Prophetas.                    who spoke by the Prophets.

Et unam, sanctam, catholicamI believe in one holy catholic

et apostolicam Ecclesiam.                             and apostolic Church.

Confiteor unum baptisma                              I confess one baptism

in remissionem peccatorum.                       for the remission of sins.

Et expecto resurrectionem                            And I await the resurrection

mortuorum.                                            of the dead.

Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.                  And the life of the world to come. Amen.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,                            Holy, Holy, Holy,

Dominus Deus Sabaoth.                                  Lord God of hosts.

Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.          Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.

Hosanna in excelsis.                        Hosanna in the highest.

Benedictus qui venit                        Blessed is he that cometh

in nomine Domini.                                               in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in excelsis                                            Hosanna in the highest.

 

Benedictus

Benedictus qui venit                        Blessed is He who cometh

in nomine Domini.                                               in the name of the Lord.

Osanna in excelsis.                                             Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei,                                                Lamb of God,

qui tollis peccata mundi:                                who takes away the sins of the world,

miserere nobis.                                                     have mercy on us.

Agnus Dei,                                                Lamb of God,

qui tollis peccata mundi:                                who takes away the sins of the world,

miserere nobis.                                                     have mercy on us.

Agnus Dei,                                                Lamb of God,

qui tollis peccata mundi:                                who takes away the sins of the world,

done nobis pacem.                                              grant us peace.

 

Horvit: Even When God is Silent

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when feeling it not.

I believe in God even when God is silent.

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