WORTH A REPEATRetrospection and Re� ection - November 11, 20171. Abide With Me arr. Greg Jasperse 3:132. Avinu Malkeinu Srul Irving Glick 5:58 3. Elegy for the Fallen David K. MacIntyre 5:06 4. Non Nobis Domine Patrick Doyle 3:375. Prayer Before Sleep Sid Robinovitch 3:13

Rejoice in the Lamb - December 17, 20176. O magnum mysterium Francis Poulenc 2:497. Sure On This Shining Night Morten Lauridsen 4:368. Bless the Lord O My Soul Jonathan Dove 6:239. Evening Prayer Ola Gjeilo 6:16

All Around the Circle - March 11, 201810. Where You Begin Like Rivers David L. McIntyre 5:12 11. Choose Something Like a Star Randall Thompson 5:2412. Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I Matthew Harris 2:2913. Smile, O Voluptuous, Cool-Breath’d Earth! Imant Raminsh 6:13 14. You Are the New Day arr. Peter Knight 2:33

In Paradisum - May 6, 201815. O� ertory from Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48 Gabriel Fauré 7:3016. Introit (Requiem aeternam) from Requiem, Op. 9 Maurice Duru¢ é 3:2617. Kyrie eleison from Requiem, Op. 9 Maurice Duru¢ é 3:44

Total playing time: 78:16 track 10

tracks 2, 3, 5, 13

tracks 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17

SASKATOON CHAMBER SINGERS LIVE CELEBRATING 40 YEARS

SASKATOON CHAMBER SINGERS | 2017/18James Hawn, Director of Music Rod Epp, Accompanist

Soprano: Jacquie Ackerman, Lindy Antonini, Emily Coupal, Andrea Enns-Gooding, Louella Friesen, Jennifer Lang, Michelle McKinnell, Barb Milner, Jan Newby-Hempel, Julie WattAlto: Wanda Burbridge, Stephanie Campbell, Jillian Cyca, Rachelle Friesen, Rebecca Gay, Pat Gerber-Pauls, Catherine Klopoushak, Angela Martens, Lynne Mondue, Elaine Thaller, Heather Wood, Carol WylieTenor: Chris Anquist, Jamie Bell, Peter England, Victor Johnson, Derrick Lee, Ben Pauls, Jeremiah Scott, Dave Woloschuk, Jonathan Wong, Tim YoderBass: Gabe Benesh, Jared Bitschy, John Dodman, Rod Epp, Steve Fish, Tim Hutchinson, Jordan Kornelsen, Grant Martens, Jim McDonald, Tim Nickel, Dan Richert, Jordan Wiens

During the last concert of the 2017-18 season, we were pleased to have all the former directors of the Saskatoon Chamber Singers in the audience. We invited them to join us for a commemorative photograph. From left to right at the front of the choir: Robert Solem (1977-1984), Patricia Jamison (1986-1994), James Hawn (1985-1986 and 2003-present), and Du� Warkentin (1994-2003).

Director of Music and AccompanistJames Hawn, Director of Music since 2003, has been active with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for most of its history, and has been involved with singing and choirs for as long he can remember. Prior to his current appointment as Director, he was a long-time member of the bass section, and served as the choir’s president for ten years. James has also been actively involved in national and provincial choral organizations for over thirty years. He is a member of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation (SCF) and Choral Canada and has served for a number of years on both organizations’ boards. In 2006 he was presented with the SCF’s Pro Musica Award, which recognizes “exemplary service to choral music in Saskatchewan.”

James was an English language arts teacher for thirty-two years with the Saskatoon Public Board of Education. During that time he also taught music, was involved in choral and church music, musicals, and drama both in the school system and in the community. Actively engaged with the broader cultural sector, he has served on the boards of TCU Place, the Broadway Theatre, SaskCulture, and Persephone Theatre. He also taught for six years in the Adult Basic Education department at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.

Rod Epp has been accompanist of the Saskatoon Chamber Singers since 2002. Prior to this role, he sang baritone with the choir, which he continues to do when the choir performs a capella pieces. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Rod received his B.Mus. degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and obtained Licentiate and Fellowship diplomas in piano performance from the Trinity College of London, England. Although his full-time job is with the Saskatoon Health Region, he also maintains a small private piano studio and directs a local church choir.

Highlights from 40 Years of Singing1977 Saskatoon Chamber Singers founded by a group of former Greystone Singers; Robert Solem appointed as director

1977 First concert appearance, as Saskatoon Chamber Orchestra and Choir

1978 O� cial launch as Saskatoon Chamber Singers, at Knox United Church

1979 Learned Societies concert broadcast nationally on CBC Radio

1982 Bonnie Koshlay (Nicholson) makes � rst appearance as accompanist

1985 James Hawn appointed as music director, serving for one season

1986 Patricia Jamison appointed as music director

1988 Finalists in CBC choral competition for amateur choirs

1988 Finalists at International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River, British Columbia; returned as � nalists in 1990

1989 First of seven performances over four years of Britten’s Ceremony of Carols

1994 Du� Warkentin appointed as music director; Deborah Buck appointed as accompanist

1996 First Remembrance Day concert (became annual event in 1998)

1999 Participants at Festival 500 in St. John’s, NL, with Greystone Singers

2000 Performance at installation of Lieutenant- Governor Lynda Haverstock, a former member

2002 Rod Epp appointed as accompanist

2003 James Hawn appointed as music director

2004 Saskatchewan premiere of Holocaust Cantata: Songs from the Camps by American composer Donald McCullough

2010 Core choir for Mary Lou Fallis’ comic exploration of choral singing, Primadonna Choralis, at Podium 2010 in Saskatoon

2012 First CD, Remember, released at November concert; three tracks broadcast nationally on CBC Radio’s Choral Concert

DISC CREDITSAudio editing and mastering Wayne Giesbrecht, University of Saskatchewan

Duplication and printing SaskMedia Duplication Services

Editorial support Wanda Burbridge and Elaine Thaller

Graphic design Jerrod Dietrich

Photography Amy Violet Photography

Program notes James Hawn

Project coordinator Tim Hutchinson

Live recordings produced by Peter England and Tim Hutchinson with a Roland R-05 WAVE/MP3 recorder, during the Saskatoon Chamber Singers’ 2017/18 concerts at Knox United Church.

Thank you to the many donors who helped make this CD project a reality with donations throughout the year, including those directed to the project. Donors of $400 or more are recognized as CD Sponsors:

Anonymous (2)

Jean and Grant Currie

Tim Hutchinson and Lorraine Salt

Jim McDonald

Joanne and Keith Meszaros, in memory of Katja Meszaros

Retrospection and Re� ection

In Remembrance (from Requiem) Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

Abide With Me William Henry Monk (1823-1889)arr. Greg Jasperse (b. 1968)

Contrition Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

Remember Stephen Chatman (b. 1950)

Non Nobis Domine Patrick Doyle (b. 1953)

How They So Softly Rest Healey Willan (1880-1968)

God Is Our Refuge and Strength Allen Pote (b. 1945)

Even When God Is Silent Michael Horvit (b. 1932)

For the Fallen Mike Sammes (1928-2001)

O Canada arr. Diane Loomer (1940-2012)

Elegy for the Fallen David K. MacIntyre (b. 1952)

In Flanders Fields Eleanor Daley (b. 1955)

Avinu Malkeinu (from Triumph of the Spirit) Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002)

The Kontakion Rupert Lang (b. 1948)

Prayer Before Sleep (from Talmud Suite) Sid Robinovitch (b. 1942)

Requiem, Op. 9

Music: Maurice Duru� é (1902-1986)Text: Mass for the DeadPublisher: Editions Durand

Janet Wilson, organ

Performed in 1982, 1989, 2001, 2003

16. Introit (Requiem aeternam)

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,                 

et lux perpetua luceat eis.                                 Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,                         et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.                        Exaudi orationem meam;                                  ad te omnis caro veniet.                                

Give them eternal rest, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine on them.There will be songs of praise to you in Zion,and prayers in Jerusalem.O hear my prayers;all   esh returns to you.

17. Kyrie eleison

Kyrie eleisonChriste eleison.Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy.Christ, have mercy.Lord, have mercy.

From the Archives: The Saskatoon Chamber Singers at St. John’s

Anglican Cathedral, December 1978. This photograph was taken at the

time of the choir’s second concert.

Rejoice in the Lamb

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need Traditional American, arr. Rod Epp (b. 1966)

Ave Maria Allan Bevan (b. 1951)

In the Bleak Midwinter Harold Darke (1888-1976)

Bless the Lord, O My Soul Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)

Rejoice in the Lamb Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)(Four motets for the season of Christmas)O magnum mysteriumQuem vidistis pastores diciteVidentes stellamHodie Christus natus estSure on This Shining Night Morten Lauridsen (b.1943)

The Three Kings Healey Willan (1880-1968)

Evening Prayer Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

14. You Are the New Day

Music: John David (b. 1946), arr. Peter Knight (1917-1985)Text: John David (b. 1946); reproduced with permissionPublisher: Hal Leonard Corporation

Performed in 2000, 2010

I will love you more than meand more than yesterdayIf you can but prove to meyou are the new day

Send the sun in time for dawnLet the birds all hail the morningLove of life will urge me sayyou are the new day

When I lay me down at nightknowing we must payThoughts occur that this night mightstay yesterday

Thoughts that we as humans smallcould slow worlds and end it alllie around me where they fallbefore the new day

One more day when time is running outfor everyone

Like a breath I knew would come I reach fora new day

Hope is my philosophyJust needs days in which to beLove of life means hope for meborne on a new day

15. O� ertory from Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48

Music: Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)Text: Mass for the DeadPublisher: G. Schirmer, Inc.

Janet Wilson, organMatthew Pauls, baritone

Performed in 1987, 1996

O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex GloriaeLibera animas defunctorum de poenis inferni et de profundo lacu

O Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex GloriaeLibera animas defunctorum de ore leonis,Ne absorbeat tartarus,Ne cadant in obscurum.

Hostias et preces tibi,Domine, laudis o� erimus.Tu suscipe pro animabus illis,quarum hodie memoriam facimus.

Fac eas, Domine,De morte transire ad vitam,quam olim Abrahae promisisti,Et semini ejus.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,deliver the souls of the deadfrom punishments of helland from the deep lake.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,Deliver the souls of the dead from the mouth of the lion,may the abyss not swallow them up,may they not fall into darkness.

Sacri� ces and prayers to Thee,O Lord, we o� er with praise.O receive them for the souls of thosewhom today we commemorate.

Make them, O Lord,to pass from death to life,which of old Thou didst promise Abrahamand his seed.

far on into a tranquillity of waters;and faint through the ensuing silence I hear again the small rock voices,the sweet singing, where you begin like rivers.

11. Choose Something Like a Star (from Frostiana)

Music: Randall Thompson (1899-1984)Text: Robert Frost (1874-1963)Publisher: E.C. Schirmer Publishing

Rod Epp, piano

Performed in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2005

O Star (the fairest one in sight),We grant your loftiness the rightTo some obscurity of cloud -It will not do to say of night,Since dark is what brings out your light.

Some mystery becomes the proud.But to be wholly taciturnIn your reserve is not allowed.

Say something to us we can learnBy heart and when alone repeat.Say something! And it says ‘I burn.’But say with what degree of heat.Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.Use language we can comprehend.

Tell us what elements you blend.It gives us strangely little aid,But does tell something in the end.

And steadfast as Keats’ Eremite,Not even stooping from its sphere,It asks a little of us here.It asks of us a certain height,So when at times the mob is swayedTo carry praise or blame too far,We may choose something like a starTo stay our minds on and be staid.

12. Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I

Music: Matthew Harris (b. 1956)Text: William Shakespeare (1564-1616); from The TempestPublisher: G. Schirmer, Inc.

Performed in 2014

Where the bee sucks, there suck I:In a cowslip’s bell I lie;There I couch when owls do cry.On the bat’s back I do � yAfter summer merrily.Merrily, merrily shall I live nowUnder the blossom thathangs on the bough.

13. Smile, O Voluptuous, Cool-Breath’d Earth!

Music: Imant Raminsh (b. 1943)Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)Manuscript (distributed by Canadian Music Centre)

Rod Epp, piano

Performed in 2006, 2009, 2010

Smile O voluptuous cool-breath’d earth! Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees! Earth of departed sunset--earth of the mountains misty-topt! Earth of the vitreous pour of the full moon just tinged with blue! Earth of shine and dark mottling the tide of the river! Earth of the limpid gray of clouds brighter and clearer for my sake! Far-swooping elbow'd earth--rich apple-blossom’d earth! Smile, for your lover comes.

All Around the Circle

Frostiana Randall Thompson (1899-1984) The Road Not Taken Choose Something Like a StarAmor de mi Alma (You Are the Love of My Soul) Z. Randall Stroope (b. 1953)Where You Begin Like Rivers David L. McIntyre (b. 1950) I Turn to You Imant Raminsh (b. 1943) Smile, O Voluptuous, Cool-Breath’d Earth! Imant Raminsh (b. 1943) Figures de danse (Dance Steps) Lionel Daunais (1901-1982) Four Ballads of Shakespeare Juhani Komulainen (b. 1953) To Be, Or Not To Be Three Words Tomorrow and TomorrowTri etúdy (Three Etudes) Ivan Hrušovský (1927-2001) RytmusJenny Nick Myers (b. 1988)Shakespeare Songs Book VI Matthew Harris (b. 1956) Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I

Songs and Sonnets of Shakespeare George Shearing (1919-2011) Who is Sylvia?You Are the New Day John David (b. 1946)

arr. Peter Knight (1917-1985)All Around the Circle Arr. John Greer (b. 1954)

7. Sure on This Shining Night

Music: Morten Laurisden (b. 1943)Text: James Agee (1909-1955)Publisher: Peermusic Classical

Rod Epp, piano

Performed in 2006 and 2007

Sure on this shining nightOf starmade shadows round,Kindness must watch for meThis side the ground.

The late year lies down the north.All is healed, all is health.High summer holds the earth.Hearts all whole.

Sure on this shining nightI weep for wonderWandering far aloneOf shadows on the stars.

8. Bless the Lord, O My Soul

Music: Jonathan Dove (b. 1959)Text: Psalm 104 Publisher: Edition Peters

Janet Wilson, organ

Performed in 2011

Ah! Bless the Lord, O my soul,Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: Who stretchest out the heavens: Who layest the beams of his chambers in the waters: Who maketh the clouds his chariot: Who walketh upon the wings of the wind: Who maketh his angels spirits: His ministers a � aming � re!

9. Evening Prayer

Music: Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)Text: St. Augustine of Hippo (345-430)Publisher: Walton Music

Gerard Weber, alto saxophoneRod Epp, piano

Performed in 2015

Watch, O Lord,with those who wake,or watch or weep tonight,and give your angels chargeover those who sleep. Tend your sick ones,O Lord Jesus Christ;rest your weary ones;bless your dying ones;

soothe your su� ering ones;pity your a� icted ones;shield your joyous ones;and all for your love’s sake.Amen.

10. Where You Begin Like Rivers

Music: David L. McIntyre (b. 1950)Text: John V. Hicks (1907-1999); reproduced with permission (Now is a Far Country, Thistledown Press)Publisher: Roy Street Music / Thistledown Press

Commissioned by the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for its 30th anniversary, through funding from the Saskatchewan Arts Board

Rod Epp, pianoBarb Milner, soprano

Performed in 2007, 2008, 2010

Where you begin like rivers,I hear a sweet singing;the little stones have voices.I and the � ood tide are one;We gather and rush on together under the steepled mountain; we are � ying horses that leap and thunder and are thrown over a brink and far out,

In Paradisum

Requiem in D Minor, Op. 48 Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)Introit and KyrieO� ertorySanctusPie JesuAgnus DeiLibera meIn Paradisum

Requiem, Op. 9 Maurice Duru� é (1902-1986)Introit (Requiem aeternam)Kyrie eleisonO� ertory (Domine Jesu Christe)Sanctus and BenedictusPie JesuAgnus DeiCommunion (Lux aeterna)Libera meIn Paradisum

PROGRAM NOTESSelections from Retrospection and Re� ectionGreg Jasperse’s arrangement of Abide With Me keeps the beauty and simplicity of William Henry Monk’s original “Eventide” tune, but the harmonies he uses give a feeling of uncertainty that gradually turns to assurance and con� dence.The great Canadian choral conductor Elmer Iseler commissioned Srul Irving Glick to write a dramatic song-cycle for choir and orchestra for the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. The result was Triumph of the Spirit. Avinu Malkeinu, one of the great Jewish hymns, was incorporated into this work. The soaring choral lines of the hymn are interspersed with interludes for the piano that are dancelike but that also express melancholy and longing.To celebrate forty years of singing, the Saskatoon Chamber Singers commissioned Yorkton, Saskatchewan native David K. MacIntyre to compose a piece for the choir. He chose for his text two verses of Robert Laurence Binyon’s 1914 poem For the Fallen and entitled it Elegy for the Fallen. As MacIntyre says, “The sorrow of this story cannot be felt unless there is joy before it. That’s what the opening is—the joy the soldiers felt when

they enlisted and the songs they sang as they headed o� to war. They thought it was going to be a walk in the park, but it wasn’t.” The music starts o� jauntily and with spirit, but as the realization of the truth of war appears, the music slows to half speed with the words “They shall grow not old.” The piece stays at this slower tempo until the end, as we “re� ect on their sacri� ce, realizing what it is.” The words “we will remember them” are repeated in the soprano and alto voices, while the tenors and basses have a very rhythmic line that works in counterpoint against the women’s voices. The piece builds to a climax and then the sopranos, suddenly pianissimo, begin the last section that serves as an epilogue to the piece with all the voices repeating and intoning “remember them.”In 1989 Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in the movie Henry V. The music for that movie was composed by Patrick Doyle. After one of the many battles, we see the soldiers collecting the dead and wounded from the � elds of Agincourt. As this is being done a choir sings Non Nobis Domine (Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory). It begins with a solo tenor voice followed by the entire section. As the piece progresses, it builds and builds in intensity with more and more complex harmonies until it ends in a burst of glory.

Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Not to us, O Lord, but to your name be the glory!

5. Prayer Before Sleep

Music: Sid Robinovitch (b. 1942)Text: Babylonian Talmud. English translation by Sid Robinovitch; reproduced with permissionPublisher: Jubilate Music

Performed 1990, 1993, 2005

Baruch atah AdonaiEloheinu melech ha-olamHamapil chavlei sheinaAl einaiUt’numah al afapai

Vihi ratson milfanechaAdonai Elohai Velohei AvotaiShetashkiveini l’shalomV’ta-amideini l’shalom

V’al y’vahaluni rayonaiVachalomot ra-imV’harhorim ra-imU-t’hi mitati schleima l’fanecha

V’ha-er einaiPen ishan hamavetKi atah hame-irL’ishon bat-ayinBaruch atah AdonaiHame-ir la-olam kuloBichvodo

Exalted art Thou, O my LordWho art God and King of the World,Who weighs down my eyesWith gentle bonds of sleep,And refreshes my tired spirit with slumber.

May ever it be Thy will,Lord my God, and God of all my fathers,To lay me down in untroubled peaceAnd raise me up in peace once more.

Do not let dark imaginings disturb meWith thoughts of sin and despair.O heal my fear and my su� ering –May my bed be enclosed in Thy care.

Give light unto my eyesLest the sleep of death o’ertake me.For ’tis Thou who breathes lifeInto man’s slumb’ring soul.Exalted art Thou, O Lord,Who illuminates all the worldWith His Glory.

6. O magnum mysterium (from Quatre motets pour le temps de Noël)

Music: Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)Text: Responsorial chant from the Matins of ChristmasPublisher: public domain

Selections from these motets performed in 2006

O magnum mysterium,et admirabile sacramentum,ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,jacentem in praesepio!Beata Virgo, cujus viscerameruerunt portareDominum Jesum Christum.Alleluia!

O great mystery,and wonderful sacrament,that animals should see the new-born Lord,lying in a manger!Blessed is the Virgin whose wombwas worthy to bearChrist the Lord.Alleluia!

TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

1. Abide With Me

Music: William Henry Monk (1823-1889), arr. Greg Jasperse (b. 1968)Text: Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)Publisher: Augsburg Fortress

Performed in 2013

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide. When other helpers fail and comforts � ee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away; change and decay in all around I see; O thou who changest not, abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows � ee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

2. Avinu Malkeinu

Music: Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002)Text: Traditional Jewish prayerPublisher: Gordon V. Thompson Music

Rod Epp, piano

Performed in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008

Avinu, Malkeinu, choneinu vaaneinu, ki ein banu maasim; asei imanu tz’daka vaschesed v’hoshieinu. Amein. Our Father, our King, be gracious unto us and answer us,for we are wanting in good deeds;treat us with charity and loving kindness,that we may be saved.Amen.

3. Elegy for the Fallen

Music: David K. MacIntyre (b. 1952)Text: Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)Manuscript

Commissioned by the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for its 40th anniversary, with support from the Saskatchewan Choral Federation

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.At the going down of the sun and in the morningWe will remember them.

4. Non Nobis Domine

Music: Patrick Doyle (b. 1953)Text: Psalm 115:1Publisher: Fred Bock Music

Janet Wilson, organDerrick Lee, tenor

Performed in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009

Prayer Before Sleep is the sixth movement of Sid Robinovitch’s Talmud Suite. The whole work is based on text from the Babylonian Talmud. The music is often quite challenging and dissonant, but Robinovitch chose to end his work with a prayer that begins with words “Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam” (Exalted art Thou, O my Lord, who are God and king of the world). This prayer opens with the bass voices who are then joined by the tenors. Finally the sopranos and altos join in and the prayer become more and more fervent before ending slowly and reverently on the words “Baruch atah Adonai/Hame-ir la-olam kulo/Bichvoldo” (Exalted art Thou, O Lord, who illuminates all the world with His glory).Selections from Rejoice in the LambFrancis Poulenc’s Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noël (Four Motets for Christmas) were composed in 1951-52. The music expresses the warmth and joy of the nativity season. Each of the motets is dedicated to a di� erent friend or colleague. O Magnum Mysterium is the most popular of the four. Poulenc’s gift of lyric melody and his penchant for poignant harmonic turns shine light on the hushed awe of humble observers at the birth of Christ. The text is a responsory for the second Nocturn of Matins on Christmas Day.

American composer Morten Lauridsen’s music is instantly recognizable—multiple voices, many chord clusters with notes close together to create dissonances, step by step movement of voices from one note to the next, often followed by large leaps. Sure on This Shining Night is one of three Nocturnes by Lauridsen. The music here is simpler than we have come to expect from him. Set to a text by James Agee, the music evokes the beauty and wonder of the evening � lled with stars. The poet calls on us to show kindness to one another as we strive to understand the beauty that we see. Throughout, there is simplicity and tenderness in the music. Musicologist Nick Strimple wrote that Lauridsen is “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and inde� nable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered.”Bless the Lord, O My Soul is by English composer Jonathan Dove. He chose as his text words from Psalm 104. Dove wanted his piece to be a celebration of song and he felt that this text provided a wonderful sequence of expansive imagery. The organ part is extremely virtuosic and begins with a � ourishing fanfare which provokes the choir into “a wordless cry of wonder.” In contrast, the � rst actual sung words are hushed, almost

awe-struck. Throughout the piece, the organ provides a wonderful backdrop for the text from that of a starry night to a calm sea. Dove said, “The hushed ‘bless the Lord’ returns, but now fast and loud, ushering in the most dramatic imagery, the clouds, the wings of the wind, and � nally the depiction of God’s ministers as a ‘� aming � re.’”Evening Prayer was written in 2010 by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. This piece begins simply but grows in intensity and emotional impact throughout. The work calls for a saxophone player who is capable of extensive solo improvisatory sections. The text is by St. Augustine (354-430).Selections from All Around the CircleIn 2007, Regina, Saskatchewan composer David L. McIntyre was commissioned to write a piece for the Saskatoon Chamber Singers’ 30th anniversary. He chose a poem by Saskatchewan poet John V. Hicks and set Where You Begin Like Rivers to music. The piece has a challenging piano part and various sections that each paint a vivid picture—from the singing sound of the river, to the voices of the little stones, to the expansiveness of the � ood, to the image of � ying horses that leap and thunder, and � nally to the calm serenity and tranquility of the water. The � nal line repeats the

opening melody, but this time for solo soprano.Amherst, Massachusetts was celebrating its 200th anniversary in 1959. To commemorate the occasion, Randall Thompson was commissioned to write Frostiana, a set of seven country songs for choir with piano accompaniment. These songs were all set to texts by the American poet Robert Frost, who was living in Amherst at that time. The closing song in the set is Choose Something Like a Star. For the opening, Thompson has the sopranos hold a high D while the rest of the voices continue with the text. As one musicologist put it, “This D held for several measures … creates the musical image of a distant star that reassures mankind.” Characteristic of Thompson’s music are the homophonic settings with great attention to how the notes are to be sung, and endings that are very soft and scored so that all voices are in their lowest range. Frost was so impressed with Thompson’s musical interpretations of his poetry, that for years he forbade any other composers from setting any of his texts to music.Matthew Harris, an American composer, has written six sets of compositions, all entitled Shakespeare Songs. From Book VI comes Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I, which is a rhythmic and joyous expression of life,

much as what Ariel experiences when he is set free in The Tempest.In 1986, to celebrate the Da Camera Singers’ 25th anniversary, Canadian composer Imant Raminsh chose part of a text from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Smile, O Voluptuous, Cool-Breath’d Earth! is primarily chordal throughout. It is a lush expression of the many wonders the earth has to o� er. It is not until the end of the piece that there is resolution as to why the earth should smile. The � nal lines are “For your lover comes!” There is evocative use of the piano throughout the piece.One of the most beautiful arrangements done for the King’s Singers is Peter Knight’s arrangement of You Are the New Day by John David. This piece brims over with optimism and lyricism, as illustrated with the words “hope is my philosophy,” and “love of life means hope to me.” At a time when the world seems closer and closer to being destroyed by man’s indi� erence, hatred, and fear, this piece tries to reassure us that love of someone and the world is always the chance of a new day.Selections from In ParadisumThe Requiems of Gabriel Fauré and Maurice Duru� é have become inextricably linked, even though one was composed � fty years after the � rst. Both these Requiems

stress the quietness, calmness, and serenity of death. Fauré saw death as “a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness in the hereafter, rather than as a painful transition.” The O� ertory from the Fauré Requiem is written as a canon, � rst for two voices, then three, and � nally four (but only after the baritone solo “Hostias et preces tibi, Domine” has been sung).While Duru� é was working on his Requiem, he was also working on a suite for solo organ that was based on Gregorian chants of the Mass for the Dead. Taking this, he expanded these themes into his Requiem. Therefore, it is natural that many of his Requiem’s melodies are directly based on these ancient plainsongs and their associated modal scales. The � rst two movements of Duru� é’s Requiem, Introit (Requiem aeternam) and Kyrie are to be sung without a break. Each begins with the tenor and bass voices but also features sections for soprano and alto. The � rst movement is gentle and meditative, and only for a few measures does it exceed piano in volume. The second movement begins quietly, but with the addition of more voices becomes more fervent and dramatic as the voices enter one after the other on the word “Kyrie.” Typical of all the movements in this work, it ends quietly and prayerfully.