WESTMINSTER FINE ARTS 2010 Fine arts at their finest Westminster Chorale SUNDAY APRIL 25 2010 3 PM
Program Notes on the program Gabriel Fauré. Requiem, Op. 48 man tradition, including Bach and Requiem, Opus 48 Gabriel Fauré Born May 12, 1845, in Pamiers, Beethoven, and a more-than-nodding Ariège; died Nov 4, 1924, in Paris. acquaintance with such dan- 1. Introït et Kyrie gerous moderns as Schumann, Liszt, Gabriel Fauré stands apart from almost and Wagner. Fauré himself went on 2. Offertoire all the significant composers to become one of the most distin- Christopher Carr, baritone of his age, the period from Berlioz guished teachers of his era. to Berg. The late Romantic era and Fauré s Requiem is typical of his 3. the rise of modernism was a time of work in its avoidance of melodrama noisy excess; Fauré s music, though, or overblown effect. His earliest conception 4. Pie Jesu is quiet, subdued, even tentative was intimate, far from the Erin Davison & Lori Fenton, sopranos in effect. When other theatrics of Berlioz s composers were writing Requiem, which he 5. Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna gigantic sympho- detested. In selecting nies and tone poems passages from the liturgical 6. Libera me or lengthy operas, he text, he omit- Christopher Carr, baritone was turning out songs ted all of the melodramatic and chamber music. images of the 7. In Paradisum A composer of such Last Judgment that artistic reserve is not had been the dramatic likely to attract hordes high points for both Missa choralis Franz Liszt of enthusiasts, but the Berlioz and Verdi and support that Fauré did conceived a score of 1. Kyrie attract was at the most exalted level gentle consolation to be performed on the part of his fellow composers in memory of his parents. 2. Gloria and his pupils, including Maurice Originally his Requiem consisted of Ravel, Georges Enesco, and Nadia five movements scored for a small 3. Credo Boulanger, who regarded him as orchestra of low-pitched instruments. one of the greatest masters of his Later he expanded it, adding 4. time, and passed on her enthusiasm the Offertoire and, in the Libera to her pupils. me, the one brief passage that recalls 5. Benedictus Born in the south of France, Fauré the dramatic Dies irae of the studied in Paris at the École Niedermeyer, full Requiem text. where he received an unusu- Even in its largest version, Fauré s 6. Agnus dei o ally broad musical education in three Requiem is a singularly tranquil and respects that set him apart from the subdued piece, a work almost of products of the official school: a Classical elegance not in terms of thorough understanding of older musical style, but in its extraordinary music from the Renaissance and Baroque serenity and restraint. eras; familiarity with the Ger- 2 3
Texts Franz Liszt. Missa choralis Born October 22, 1811, in Raiding, Hungary; died July 31, 1886, in Bayreuth. Liszt s Missa Choralis was written in 1865 in Rome during which time he took minor holy orders. He spent much of this time following an almost monastic existence as guest of Cardinal Gustav Hohenlohe; he devoted himself to studying and composing church music including the oratorios St. Elizabeth and Christus. This austere lifestyle restore mystical depths to church music and rescue it from the operetta style into which it had degenerated, hence his exhaustive study of Palestrina. Set in this context, we can understand the pivotal importance of the Missa choralis in Liszt s musical and psychological development. Whatever his admiration for Palestrina, and his occasional incorporation of plainchant themes, along with the use of Medieval modal tonality, Liszt s music is neither derivative nor contains complex polyphony. It is essentially the simple Introït et Kyrie Requiem æternum dona eis, Domine, Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalum. Exaudi, exaudi orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet, omnis caro veniet. Christe eleison. Offertoire Introit et Kyrie A hymn befits you, God in Zion, and a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Hear my prayer, for unto you all flesh shall come. Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Offertory contrasted starkly to expression of profound O Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, the 1830s when he constantly toured Eastern and Western Europe enjoying a flamboyant, raffish, womanizing lifestyle while revelling in the adulation of his besotted admirers. His apparently abrupt transition from the profane to the sacred puzzled his contemporaries as well as later scholars. However, after great public exposure as a child prodigy, Liszt spent his adolescent years, following the death of his father in 1826, in religious reflection and reading. It was only in the 1830s that he embarked on the bombastic compositions and performances for which he is best remembered. Liszt s period as Kapellmeister at Weimar (1848 58) saw a reawakening of his youthful religious preoccupations. Certainly his move to Rome occurred with a sense of mission: to emotion expressed in terms of wide ranging changes of tonality.it is sometimes abrupt and often so skillfully subtle that the listener is unaware of the bizarre journey of modulation. The structure of the movements follows 18th-century convention, in reflecting the mood and sense of the text, and in the alternation of soloist ensembles and full chorus. The setting could thus be said to stand in line of descent from the tradition of Haydn and Mozart; but, importantly, with the operatic frills removed: there are neither ornate melodies nor long instrumental interludes. The organ accompaniment is complementary and almost never heard on its own. Missa choralis is thus just what Liszt intended from its inception: a prayer to God given voice through sublime music. libera animas defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu: Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum. Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus: fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam, Quam olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus., Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Pie Jesu Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem, requiem sempiternam. free the souls of the dead from infernal punishment, and from the deep abyss. Free them from the mouth of the lion, do not let Hell swallow them up, do not let them fall into the darkness. Sacrifices and prayers of praise we offer to you, O Lord. Receive them for the souls of those whom we commemorate today. Lord, make them pass from death to life, as you once promised to Abraham, and to his seed. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Pie Jesu Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest, eternal rest. 4 5
Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna dona eis requiem. dona eis requiem sempiternam. Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: Libera me Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda: Quando caeli movendi sunt et terra: Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira. Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: In Paradisum In Paradisum deducant te Angeli; in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem, Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem. Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna of the world, grant them rest. of the world, grant them eternal rest. May eternal light shine on them, Lord, with your saints, for eternity, for you are merciful. Libera me Free me, Lord, from eternal death, on that day of dread, when the heavens and earth shall move, when you come to judge the world by fire. I am made to tremble, and to fear, when destruction shall come, and also your coming wrath. O that day of wrath, of calamity and misery, the great and exceedingly bitter day. In Paradisum May angels lead you into Paradise. At your coming may martyrs receive you, and may they lead you into the Holy City, Jerusalem. May the chorus of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was a pauper, may you have eternal rest. Kyrie Christe eleison. Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam, Domine Deus, Rex cælestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili Unigenite, Iesu Christe, Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Quoniam tu solus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu: in gloria Dei Patris. Credo Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem cæli et terræ, visibilium omnium et invisibilium; Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula: Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero, genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt; qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de cælis; et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine et homo factus est; crucifixus Kyrie Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. Gloria Glory be to God on high. And in earth peace towards men of good will. We praise you. We bless you. We worship you. We glorify you. We give thanks to you for your great glory. O Lord God, heavenly King God the Father almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son Jesus Christ. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. You that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. You that takes away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. You that sits at the right of the Father, have mercy upon us. For you only are Holy. You only are the Lord. You only are the Most High. You only, O Jesu Christ, with the Holy Spirit, are Most High in the glory of God the Father. Credo I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the onlybegotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father, by Whom all things were made: Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also for us, 6 7
etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est; et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas; et ascendit in cælum, sedet ad dexteram Patris; et iterum venturus est cum gloria iudicare vivos et mortuos; cuius regni non erit finis; Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per Prophetas; Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum; et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum et vitam venturi sæculi.,, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried: And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Father: and He shall come again with glory, to judge the living and the dead: and His kingdom shall have no end: And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son, Who, together with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Westminster Chorale & Orchestra Sue Arentson David Ballou Stephen Brandt Shannon Brostad Patrick Carroll Erin Davison Polk Davison Laura De Long Arlene De Vries Beth Ann Edwards Dorothy Eggers Jodi Evans Lori Fenton Marcia Fisher Betty Gibson Linda Grimes Carrie Hall Gene Harding Beth Hirst Chris Jensen Dan Johnson Ruth Kenney-Randolph Frank Loeffel Carol Long Lance Longnecker Rebecca Maughan Ramona McKee Maggy Miller Julie Murphy Bob Railey Donna Reed Bob Rosene John Schley Caleb Schmotter Michael Sinklier Nancy Shanks Joshua Strief Sally Sutton Steve Wise Alexandra Zulauf Soloist Benedictus Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Agnus dei Benedictus Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Agnus dei of the world, have mercy upon us. of the world, have mercy upon us. dona nobis pacem. of the world, grant us peace. o Viola 1 Sherida Josephson Charles Miranda Betty Miller Daniel Park Viola 2 Lauren Freeman Jonanne Baysden Caroline Weekes Elizabeth O Brien Cello 1 Julie Sturm Sandra Tatge Cello 2 Michele Senger Kat Tarko Bass Jeff Jensen Horn Brett Seebeck Jason Oelmann Harp Mary Watts Foss 8 9