Thursday, February 9, 2023  ⬥ 3:30 PM

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Dr. Jerome M Bierschenk, Artistic Director

Mary-Margaret Soknich, Associate Director

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Program

 

Ne Irascaris Domine

William Byrd (1543-1623)

William Byrd (1540-1643) was a Catholic living in Elizabethan England, and an examination of his Cantiones Sacrae (1589) demonstrates his identification with and empathy for recusant Catholics in this time period.  By writing in the style of a Latin motet, Byrd signals his alignment with Catholics not only by including texts linked to contemporary pamphlets and books in circulation among Catholic households, but also in his choice of a musical form closely tied to Roman Catholicism. The double motet Ne Irascaris Domine – Civitas Sancti Tui is one of three “Jerusalem motets” that liken the plight of English Catholics to the captivity of the Jewish people in Babylon.

Be not angry, O Lord, and remember our iniquity no more.

Behold, we are all your people.

Your holy city has become a wilderness.

Zion has become a wilderness.

Jerusalem has been made desolate.

 

Ov’e, Lass’, Il Bel Viso?

from Six “Fire Songs” on Italian Renaissance Poems

Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) 

Morten Lauridsen writes:  “The choral masterpieces of the High Renaissance, especially the sacred works of Josquin and Palestrina and the secular madrigals of Monteverdi and Gesualdo, provided the inspiration for my own Madrigali.  Italian love poems of that era have constituted a rich lyric source for many composers, and while reading them I became increasingly intrigued by the symbolic imagery of flames, burning, and fire that recurred. “

Alas, where is the beautiful face? Behold, it hides.

Woe’s me, where is my sun? Alas, what veil drapes itself and renders the heavens dark?

Woe’s me, that I call and see it; it doesn’t respond.

Oh, if your sails have suspicious winds, my dearest sweet, and if you change your hair and features late, if the Lord of Delos hides grace and valor in your beautiful bosom,

Hear my sighs and give them place to turn unjust disdain into love, and may your pity conquer hardships.

See how I burn and how I am consumed by fire;

What better reason, what greater sigh than I, a temple of faithful life and love!

 

Exultate justi in Domino

Hyun Kook (b.2005)

The composer sets this ancient Latin chant text of Psalm 32 and mixes contemporary syncopation, creative harmonic changes, and even incorporates hand claps and spoken rap, for a mixture of ancient and modern musical ideas.

Exult in the Lord, ye just, it is fitting
for the righteous to praise him together.
Give praise to the Lord on the harp,
Play to him on the ten-stringed psaltery.
Sing to him a new song,
Sing well to him with a strong voice.
For the word of the Lord is right
and all his works are faithful.
He esteems mercy and justice.
The earth is full of the Lord's mercy.

 

Famine Song

arr. Matthew Culloton (b. 1976)

Inspired by stories of Sudanese basket weavers, this song expresses the pain and hope experienced by those in the famine of the 1980s. In the midst of hardship, a wonderful new sense of creativity emerged when women began weaving baskets as a means of survival.

Mary-Margaret Soknich, conductor

Emily Davis, Kayla Noriega, Mike Needham, soloists

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I Should Be Glad

Susan LaBarr (b. 1981)

Susan LaBarr writes: “Commissioned in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Texas Choral Directors Association, I Should Be Glad is a work that attempts to capture the gratitude that many of us feel as we live and work as artists.  The poem expresses the sentiment that our hard work is worth the long hours if it means that we are able to put art into the world and make a difference in the lives of others.

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Alleluia

Jake Runestad (b. 1986)

Considered “highly imaginative…with big ideas” (Baltimore Sun) and “stirring and uplifting” (Miami Herald), award winning composer Jake Runestad has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations and has been dubbed a “choral rockstar” by American Public Media. His creative skills are exemplified by this work, as he creates an exciting and moving composition using only the word Alleluia.