From birth, they were of the same womb, but were not identical, nor fraternal. They lived in close proximity, yet separate. Until one fateful night

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1 March 2018 Dear Rose Ensemble fans and friends, I ve been looking forward to writing to you about The Rose Ensemble s upcoming program, Welcome the Stranger: The Promise of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica. The music is beautiful, the historical information is rich with intrigue, and the exploration of Benedictine spirituality reveals a profound message of acceptance and hospitality. I m also excited to send this preview because of the question I am asked again and again: Where did you find that music? But before I get to the research and manuscripts, I d like to share with you some background info and introduce our programmatic cast of characters. THE INSPIRATION St. Benedict and his Regula In 529, in Monte Cassino (about 80 miles SE of Rome), St. Benedict of Nursia (Norcia) established his first monastery and wrote his famous Regula (Rule). Western monasticism, characterized by community-oriented and pious living, is laid out in great detail in this sacred text, which stood as a potent force in the building up of civilization in Europe. The creation of the Regula, along with the accumulation of devoted followers and the eventual establishment of the Benedictine monastic order, ensured that St. Benedict's ideas and words would not only spread geographically but survive centuries of political, religious, and even liturgical evolution in western Catholicism. Today, the Regula is commonly called the Rule of St. Benedict, which instructs followers (among many things) to welcome the stranger as Christ himself. Needless to say, that s pretty profound. The rule still guides the fundamentals of the Benedictine way of life and worship, and its influence can be identified in innumerable Christian practices and beliefs. What s more, in my opinion, it is a set of guidelines which can steer beneficially the life of most any human being by instructing us to be kind to each other, to love our enemies, and to acknowledge the divine within each person we meet. From birth, they were of the same womb, but were not identical, nor fraternal. They lived in close proximity, yet separate. Until one fateful night They became:

2 STARRING SIBLINGS of the STORM St. Benedict (c ). Called the Father of Western Monasticism and named Patron of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964, St. Benedict's symbol is a raven with a bun on its beak. He is often portrayed holding his Regula or the city of Norcia. St. Scholastica (c ) Enveloped in a cloud of mystery, unable to be definitively identified as Benedict s twin, sister, or merely a friend, she is often represented in a black habit and holding a dove. She is the patron saint of convulsive children and is invoked against storms and rain. We repeat, storms and rain. (Did we mention that storms and rain are really important here?) Hi. It s Jordan again. Now that you know something about Benedict s Rule, his life, and that of St. Scholastica, I m hoping you ll want to learn even more. Back in the 7 th century, Pope Gregory I (a.k.a. Saint Gregory the Great; and yes, the guy after whom Gregorian chant is named) wrote Dialogues, an important collection of four books highlighting the works and miracles of holy Italian men. One of the books was dedicated completely to Saint Benedict and has served for centuries as the basis for virtually all accounts of the saint s life. This is important for two reasons. One, this hagiography (again, writing on the saint s life) has influenced myriad religious, liturgical, and para-liturgical texts and poetry in the Benedictine vein. The second reason is because the portion in the book about Benedict s interaction with his sister, Saint Scholastica, is almost all we have about her life. In our upcoming program, we feature narrated excerpts from Gregory s Dialogues, and also from St. Benedict s rule. Regarding the latter, I have to tell you that when instructions to medieval monks are read aloud, well, it s kind of funny. In a cute way. Of course, the texts and translations in the program will also give you, the audience, an opportunity to hear how medieval writers took elements from Gregory s writings, paired them with Biblical texts (especially the Song of Songs), and created lush poetry. In the words of my college voice teacher, William Bastian, The medieval mind was a wonderful thing because it had not yet experienced Victorianism. How true that is, Bill, how true. Behold: Midday gleams forth and happy is the repose for the Virgin Scholastica. She entered the bedchambers, she seeks the kisses of the bridegroom, whom alone she loved. Desires burn, and the bridegroom arouses, O Virgin, sighs of the heart. Draw us in with fragrances, and nourish us with your breasts of immortal grace.

3 SUPPORTING ROLES PLAYED BY The Cassinese Monks of the Church of San Simpliciano, dedicated to singing the late Renaissance polyphony of their choirmaster, Serafino Cantone, yet knowing his true ambitions lay elsewhere. Two composer monks, one name. Who will become organist? Serafino Cantone, caught between loyalty to his brothers in song and a great gig at the Duomo in Milan, he is driven by a passionate, raging competition with one Serafino Patta. Serafino Patta, taking the Benedictine order in 1605, he searches northern Italy for the perfect church job, only to be entangled in a web of mistaken identity. DUEL SERAFINO (Get it? Because, they both have the same name. And Duo Seraphim, was a popular text with 17th-century Italian composers. And there were two composers, see, and we re trying to imply that there was some competition...) Ahem. If you think that s corny, I need to tell you that I came across a Benedictine monk composer named Gregorio Zucchini, and I tried in vain to program a piece he wrote (I was never able to locate it, after weeks in Italy). Poking fun at names aside, I ve uncovered some great pieces of music, and I m excited for Cantone s works, in particular, to be heard. Unlike, say, the medieval chant featured on this program, Cantone s music back in the day (ca. 1600) was available for purchase via printed part books. For example, if the composer wrote a motet for 8 voice parts, there would be eight individual part books for sale (soprano 1, soprano 2, alto 1, alto 2, etc.), unlike today, wherein one can see all the parts at the same time. For the person researching this music it becomes problematic, as you might imagine, when the library in, say, Bologna, insists that all the part books are there but they aren t, and you end up having to track down a facsimile of a bass part by ing someone in Chicago. I m not saying that happened, just giving an example if a person were conducting research in Bologna for a Benedictine-themed concert program. For an insider s look, this is how we take an early printed source and create a modern performance edition. We don t change/arrange the music; we keep everything intact. It s just easier for modern singers to read. BEFORE AFTER (1596 bass part facsimile, Cantone s motet, Hodie Sanctus Benedictus) (our new score w/ bass and other parts)

4 As I mentioned earlier, this is different than my work with medieval manuscripts that feature plainchant (Gregorian chant). Chant only features one voice part (monophonic music) and therefore no harmony (polyphony music). So there is only one line to transcribe. But with this material, I prefer not to create a modern score like we do with the Renaissance music shown earlier. This is because I want to retain as much information from the original source as I can, without modernizing it. For the singers, even the shape of musical notation can influence an interpretation (think how different circles and squares look). As an example, here is what I captured as a digital image from an 11 th -century manuscript in an archive (this one is MS C.5, fol 90v from Rome s Vallicelliana Library), and what I eventually delivered to my colleagues. BEFORE (Matins Resp. for St. Scholastica, Cumque Sanctus Benedictus) AFTER (Jordan s chicken-scratch that most singers will tolerate) They took away their violins. But these nuns could sing high. Really high. Better composers than their male counterparts, these cloistered canaries were overseen by monastic men and subject to the political caprice of the Catholic authorities. Left with only an organ and their voices, these celestial sirens took matters into their own habits. And when crowds came to listen to their steamy religious poetry and vocal acrobatics, even the monks couldn t prevent their fame. They were:

5 VEILED VIRTUOSI Chiara Margarita Cozzolani (born 1602), composer, singer and nun, she spent her adult life cloistered in a Milanese convent. She became abbess, then stopped composing. But why? Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana (born 1590), singer, organist, composer and nun. She entered a Bolognese convent at 8 and became known as the female Claudio Monteverdi. But in 1622, an anonymous letter to the Archbishop reported scandal in the convent. Some say it was stress that lead to her mental instability and retirement from music. Or was it? WITH A SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE BY: THE LOMBARDY NUNS March is Women s History Month, and I m looking forward to celebrating with music by some truly extraordinary women. What a treasure it is to have access to music by several 17 th -century nuns, which shines so brightly. The rich and evocative poetry, the dazzling ornamentation, and the soaring vocal lines are all so much a part of this body of repertoire. I ve assembled the program in such a way to allow the audience to experience a musical meeting of sorts. The Vespers (evening) liturgy is an excellent foundation onto which we can lay various pieces written by the Milanese monks we learned about earlier, as well as those by the Lombardy nuns. Two communities, united in a singular and common spiritual tradition through song. To celebrate the work of a living woman composer, we ve commissioned Minnesota s own Abbie Betinis to write a new piece. O Iam Migra explores the stormy, emotionally charged night when Benedict and Scholastica met for the last time and finds inspiration in this excerpt from an 11 th -century sequence for St. Scholastica: Let us continue to enjoy our feasting And when she asked this, he replied, No, sister, I do not grant what you request. With earnest prayer, she bursts into tears, and a torrential rain drops from the heavens. The honorable Scholastica exclaims: Now go out in this, Benedict. Take care, everyone, and I hope to see you at the concerts!