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Collegium Musicum
2012–13 Season
498th Concert
Thursday 28 March 2013
Dalton Center Recital Hall
7:30 p.m.
MATTHEW STEEL, Director
Kimberly Dunn Adams, Associate Director
Brendan Closz, Graduate Assistant Conductor
“Music for Church, Chamber, and Theatre”
Giuseppe Torelli
1658–1709
Concerto in D Major for Trumpet, Strings and Continuo
Thomas Tallis
1505–1585
If Ye love Me
Hans Leo Hassler
1564–1612
Dixit Maria
Christopher Simpson
1605–1669
Prelude in D Major from The Division Viol
Johann Sebastian Bach
1685–1750
Sonata Number 1 in G Major for Viola da Gamba BWV 1027
I. Adagio
II. Allegro ma non tanto
Laura Tribby and Collegium Players
Collegium Singers
Collegium Singers
Kristin Benes
Kristin Benes and Emily Solomon
William Billings
1746–1800
Creation
William Billings
Cobham
Collegium Singers
Collegium Singers
Anonymous
(late 16th century)
The Dark Is My Delight
Anonymous
(late 16th century)
In Paradise
Giovanni Coperario
c. 1575–1626
Fantasia for Violin, Bass Viol and Organ
John Ward
1571–1638
Ayre for Two Bass Viols and Organ
Sir Edward Elgar
1857–1934
As Torrents in Summer
Lane Johnson
b. 1958
Sweet Love Remembered
William Hawley
b. 1950
Vita de la vita mia
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ema Katrovas, Holly Quist, Brandon Pacheco, Heather Petcovic,
and Mary Ross
Laura Tribby and Viols
Brandon Pacheco, Mary Ross, and Emily Solomon
Brett Armstrong, Kristin Benes, and Emily Solomon
Collegium Singers
Collegium Singers
Collegium Singers
French Suite Number 4 in E-Flat Major BWV 815
I. Allemand
II. Courante
III. Sarabande
IV. Gavotte
V. Air
VI. Gigue
Holly Quist
Antonio Vivaldi
1678–1741
In exitu Israel
The Collegium
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COLLEGIUM MUSICUM
Singers
Î+ Brendan Closz, coach and conductor
Bethany Barroso
+ Rory Closz
Eleni Gaves
Matthew Gehrls
Ema Katrovas
Renee Macdonald
Korbin Mulder
Nan Munn
Aimee Murdoch
Holly Quist
David Sedlecky
Richa Shah
Giles Simmer
Tyler Sone
Laura Tribby
Michael Voyt
+
Personnel and Business Manager
Ï
+
Players
Brett Armstrong, Viol and Double Bass
Kristin Benes, Viol and Viola
Brandon Pacheco, Viol and Violin
Heather Petcovic, Viol and Cello
Holly Quist, Harpsichord and Recorder
Mayra Quitzia, Violin
Mary Ross, Viol
Emily Solomon, Organ and Harpsichord
Matthew Steel, Viol
Laura Tribby, Trumpet
Assisted by
Whitney Miller, Dulcian
Î
Ï
Audrey Davidson Scholar
KSO/WMU Artist Scholar
+
Member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity
for men
PROGRAM NOTES
Thomas Tallis was born in Kent, England where he
received his early music training. His first music
appointment was in 1530 when he worked as the organ
master for a Benedictine priory in Dover. In 1543 he
was elevated to the English Chapel Royal as a
Gentleman and his duties included providing music for
the English court. Over Tallis’ long life, he worked in the
courts of four different monarchs: Henry VIII, Edward VI,
Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I. During this time the
religion of the Monarch dictated the country’s religion.
Accordingly, Tallis would master the music of both the
Anglican and Catholic churches depending on the
current monarch. Following a series of decrees from
Edward VI, Tallis became the first person to compose
sacred church music in English. During the reign of
Elizabeth I, Tallis was awarded the first-ever license to
publish music in England.
If Ye Love Me was composed during the reign of
Edward VI and demonstrates the reforms put into place
by the monarch. The king made a decree that music for
the Church of England be written in a succinct style
without the melismatic passages heard in the Catholic
Mass. To this end, Tallis wrote the music largely in a
homophonic style with short passages of imitative
counterpoint returning once again to homophony. This is
one of Tallis’ best-loved works, as it demonstrates the
composer’s mastery of text setting in a straightforward
musical language.
The German organist Hans Leo Hassler is considered
with Orlando di Lasso to be one of the greatest of the
German Renaissance composers. Following the death of
his teacher, Andrea Gabrieli in 1585, Hassler moved to
Nuremburg to take up the post of chamber organist for
a wealthy merchant. He also worked as the town piper
and the city’s music director. In 1608 Hassler took a
post as Chapel Master for a court in Saxony, which he
held until his death from tuberculosis just four years
later. Hassler’s compositions included 120 Latin motets,
nine masses, 95 German motets, and 60 German lieder
making him a prolific composer. His music alternates
between homophony and polyphony that develop in an
intelligent and harmonically logical way.
Dixit Maria is one of Hassler’s best know works. The
motet was so well loved it was used as the musical
subject for a parody mass. The musical style is
influenced by the Italian Renaissance in the use of
flowing, independent voices. Hassler alternates between
contrapuntal and homophonic part writing. This piece
demonstrates the composer’s mastery of voice
composition as he seamlessly weaves individual lines
together, gathering the lines in order to emphasize the
importance of the text being set.
A violinist by training, Antonio Vivaldi studied under his
father and sometimes substituted for him as the principal
violinist for St. Mark’s Cathedral in Venice. While
trained on violin, Vivaldi did not pursue music as his
profession initially, choosing to take on the priesthood
instead. In seminary, his red hair soon earned him the
nickname of “The Red Priest.” In 1703, after having
attained the priesthood, Vivaldi was awarded the post
of Master of Violin at a girl’s orphanage, Ospedale
della Pieta’ in Venice. He would remain at the
orphanage for the remainder of his career eventually
moving to the rank of maestro di cappella in 1735.
Vivaldi was often away from Venice, traveling the
continent as both pupil and teacher. He is primarily
known for his Baroque orchestra works; however, he
also wrote as many as 94 operas, though only 50
remain to us today.
In exitu Israel is a setting of Psalm 114 written for SATB
choir, strings and continuo. This fast paced work shows
off Vivaldi’s mastery of both string and chorus writing.
This single movement work weaves voice and strings
seamlessly together, sometimes doubling one another, at
other times complimenting each other with independent
lines. The most significant textual passages are often
brought out by uniting voices and instruments in total
unison, having the effect of making the text leap off the
page.
One of the first prominent American composers,
William Billings was a self-taught musician, in a truly
independent American style. He worked as a tanner
throughout his life, but music was his true vocation. He
wrote several treatises on musical philosophy,
performance practice, and music fundamentals. During
his life he published six collections of works the last of
which, Continental Harmony, today’s selections are
drawn from. Billings was associated with the Revolution
and as well as with important members thereof including
John Adams and Paul Revere. A somewhat brash man,
he was once described by a contemporary as having
“an uncommon negligence of person.” He was blind in
one eye, one leg was noticeably shorter than the other,
and was known for using snuff. Billings personified a
fledgling America in both his raw personality and his
somewhat unrefined compositional style.
Creation is typical of Billings musical style in that it
opens with a homophonic texture where all voices sing
together in a compound meter. The piece alternates
between compound and simple meter closing with a
climactic fugal ending with melismatic sections
reminiscent of renaissance music. Billings shows off his
understanding of meter by continually altering the time
signature throughout the composition. The conclusion of
the piece unifies the voices out of a contrapuntal setting
for a stark conclusion on the words “strange that a harp
of thousand strings should keep in tune so long.” In
Cobham we hear Billings writing in a much simpler
homophonic style, using harmonic structure to
emphasize the somewhat dour and fatalistic text. The
title may refer to the town of the same name in England,
as is typical for many of Billings’ hymns.
Sir Edward Elgar began his career as concertmaster for
two orchestras in Worcester, England in his early
twenties. In 1890, seeking a more musically rich
environment, he moved to London where he spent his
time composing. Elgar began composing for voice later
in his career, premiering his first major vocal works, the
cantata The black Knight and the oratorio The Light of
Life, in 1896. After a slow start to his compositional
career, by the early 20th century Elgar had achieved
some measure of fame. He was knighted in 1904 and
he continued to gain fame for the remainder of his
career. His works include four oratorios, eight cantatas,
fifteen Latin motets, five anthems, and thirty-five part
songs. He was one of the earliest adopters of recording
technology, spending the final years of his life recording
his works until his death from cancer at the age of 76.
“As Torrents in Summer” is taken from the secular
cantata Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf. It features
beautiful harmonic writing using the chromaticism Elgar
gleaned from influences such as Wagner and
Saint-Saëns. This setting evokes a strong sense of
spirituality through nature, despite the piece’s secular
text, a standard trait in many of Elgar’s works.
The American composer Lane Johnson studied
composition and theory at Brigham Young University.
He teaches junior and senior high school in Utah. His
music has been performed across the country and by
choirs of all skill levels and training. He primarily writes
for voice and tends to write on spiritual topics.
Sweet Love Remembered is a beautiful setting of
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. Johnson uses chromaticism
and dynamic contrast bringing to life the passionate
lyrics that Shakespeare wrote. Johnson’s use of the
major second throughout the piece keeps the listener on
edge, constantly waiting for resolutions that sometimes
do not come. The piece builds dissonance upon
dissonance, echoing Shakespeare’s prose until the true
meaning of the sonnet comes to light at which point
Johnson dowses the listener in a shower of consonant
harmonies, which again reflect the text perfectly through
his use of text painting.
William Hawley was born in Bronxville, New York into
the family of an English poet and professor. He received
his Bachelor and Master degrees respectively from
Ithaca College and the California Institute of the Arts.
His music is composed in an individual style with strong
harmonic influences from the late Romantics.
In Vita de la mia vita Hawley sets a Renaissance text by
the poet Torquato Tasso (1544–1595). The opening
motive builds on the major seconds with the text, “life of
my life” until the soprano entrance in the fourth bar
where he demonstrates the fluttering giddiness of the
new love with a downward sixteenth-note motive that he
passes around the top three voices. This motive is
specific only to these three bars, although Hawley uses
the dissonances of the major second several times
throughout the piece. The composer reflects the texts
using a compositional device known as text painting.
Nowhere is this idea more clear than in the final four
measures of the piece where the line, “softly you
consume and melt me” is echoed in the part writing as
Hawley moves all the voices to their low registers and
writes a decrescendo giving the listener the impression
of fading or melting away.
—Brendan Closz
John Ward was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral.
Most of his compositions are madrigals or viol pieces,
the latter with settings for two to six viols. The many 17th
century sources for these pieces attest to their popularity.
With time, some of Ward’s renown has faded.
Giuseppe Torelli was a violinist from Verona, Italy. As
an instrumental composer, he helped develop the
sonata, concerto grosso and classical concerto forms.
Torelli’s interest in the trumpet may have been inspired
by Giovanni Pelligrino Brandi, an exceptional trumpeter
he met in Bologna.
Giovanni Coperario was born John Cooper, but
Italianized his name after studying there. At the time the
English found all things Italian to be fashionable.
Although he worked for many nobles, his chief patron
was Cecil, Earl of Salisbury. Besides composing he also
penned a treatise entitled Rules How to Compose, which
continued to be influential nearly a century later.
Coperario helped develop the fantasia-suite genre,
featuring one or two violins, a bass viol, and the organ
to which he gave an essential role.
—Emily Solomon
Christopher Simpson is an essential staple in English
viol music. He published an instructional book first in
1659 and then later published a second edition in 1665
focusing on the art of playing viol and how to make a
division on a ground bass. A ground bass being a
structural musical line that is repeated continuously
serving as a foundation for a musical piece, a division is
simply improvisatory ornamentation played upon a
ground bass line, similar to a jazz solo played over a
modern day 12-bar blues form. Simpson mused that “a
viol in the hands of an excellent violist may (no doubt)
be reckon’d amongst the best of musical instruments. To
play extempore to a ground is the highest perfection of
it.”
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote three viola da gamba
sonatas (as well as several chamber pieces
incorporating gamba) that embody a high level of
musicality and playing technique. Thought to be
originally composed for Bach’s dear friend and long
time employer Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen around
1720, there is some speculation that the sonatas may
have been written later in the mid-1730s for Bach’s
student Carl Friedrich Abel, who was a virtuosic violist
and would eventually go on to write some of the most
challenging contrapuntal and technical solo viol music
ever.
—Kristin Benes
Bach wrote six suites for harpsichord that are today
identified as his “French” contribution to the genre. Five,
including today’s work, appear in his Clavierbüchlein
and would have been completed by 1724. Bach never
labeled them as “French,” which is a title given them by
later biographers. In fact, they are more in the Italian
style than the French, based on their approach to
ornamentation, harmony and form.
The Anonymous works on today’s program come from a
vast repertoire of late Renaissance English consort
songs, i.e. solo voice accompanied by violas da gamba.
This was bourgeois entertainment in which everyone
participated. Some songs are downright silly, often
suggesting ribaldry (our first selection), while others
express loftier literary tendencies such as the flower
imagery of In Paradise.
–Matthew Steel
TEXTS
If Ye Love Me
If ye love me,
keep my commandments,
and I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another comforter,
that he may 'bide with you forever,
e'en the spirit of truth
I give my mortal interest up,
And make my God my all.
Dixit Maria
Mary said to the Angel:
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord,
let it be done to me, according to your word.
My body is but little, but little,
So is the nightingale’s.
I love to sleep against the prickle,
So does the nightingale.
Creation
When I with pleasing wonder stand
And all my frame survey
Lord, 'tis thy work, I own thy hand
Thus built my humble clay
Our life contains a thousand springs,
And dies if one be gone.
Strange that a harp of thousand strings
Should keep in tune so long.
In Paradise
In paradise of late a dame begun
To peep out of her bed with such a grace
As matched the rising of the morning sun
With drops of honey falling from her face
Brighter than Cynthia’s fiery painted beams
Or icy crust of crystal’s glist’ning gleams.
Cobham
Teach me the measure of my days,
Thou Maker of my frame;
I would survey life’s narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.
The Dark Is My Delight
The dark is my delight,
So is the nightingale’s.
My music’s in the night,
So is the nightingale’s.
Her Locks fair amber twisted up in gold,
Passing the pride and riches of the East,
With curious knots were into trammels roll’d,
A snarling netting for a wand’ring guest:
These things did her with a quaint disdain,
Like Juno bright in pomp of spotted train.
A span is all that we can boast,
An inch or two of time;
Man is but vanity and dust
In all his flower and prime.
As Torrents in Summer
As torrents in summer, Half dried in their channels,
Suddenly rise, tho' the sky is still cloudlesss.
For rain has been falling.
Far off at their fountains;
See the vain race of mortals move
Like shadows o’er the plain;
They rage and strive, desire and love,
But all the noise is vain.
So hearts that are fainting Grow full to o'erflowing,
And they that behold it, Marvel, and know not
That God at their fountains
Far off has been raining!
Some walk in honor’s gaudy show,
Some dig for golden ore;
They toil for heirs, they know not who,
And straight are seen no more.
Vita de la mia vita
You are to me like a pallid olive
Or faded rose;
Nor are you deprived of beauty,
But in every way you please me,
Whether you flatter or shun,
And whether you follow me or flee,
Softly you consume and melt me.
What should I wish or wait for, then,
From creatures earth and dust?
They make our expectations vain,
And disappoint our trust.
Now I forbid my carnal hope,
My fond desires recall;
Sweet Love Remembered
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
In exitu Israel (Psalm 113)
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from
a barbarous people:
Judea made his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
The sea saw and fled: Jordan was turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the
lambs of the flock.
At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the
presence of the God of Jacob:
Who turned the rock into pools of water, and the stony
hill into fountains of waters.
Not to us, O Lord, not to us; but to thy name give glory.
For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake: lest the gentiles
should say: Where is their God?
But our God is in heaven: he hath done all things
whatsoever he would.
The idols of the gentiles are silver and gold, the works of
the hands of men.
They have mouths and speak not: they have eyes and
see not.
They have ears and hear not: they have noses and smell
not.
They have hands and feel not: they have feet and walk
not: neither shall they cry out through their throat.
Let them that make them become like unto them: and all
such as trust in them.
The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord: he is their
helper and their protector.
The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord: he is their
helper and their protector.
They that fear the Lord hath hoped in the Lord: he is
their helper and their protector.
The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us.
He hath blessed the house of Israel: he hath blessed the
house of Aaron.
He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and
great.
May the Lord add blessings upon you: upon you, and
upon your children.
Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and
earth.
The heaven of heaven is the Lord's: but the earth he has
given to the children of men.
The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord: nor any of them
that go down to hell.
But we that live bless the Lord: from this time now and
for ever.