Repertoire as Performed Saturday, December 7, 2024
I
Ave maris stella Guillaume Du Fay (1397–1474),
John Dunstaple (c.1390–1453),
Alexander Agricola (c.1445–1506),
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611)
Ave Maria, mater Dei† William Cornysh (d.1523)
II
This endris night Sarah Quartel (b.1982)
Now make we joy† English, 15th c.
Make we joy now in this fest William Walton (1902–1983)
III
Ther is no rose of swych vertu† English, 15th c.
There is no rose from A Ceremony of Carols Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Balulalow from A Ceremony of Carols Britten
Suo Gân† Traditional Welsh, arr. Lance Wiliford
IV
Nowell sing we English, 15th c.
Noel Canon† Steven Sametz (b.1954)
V
O come, all ye faithful John Francis Wade (1711–1786), arr. Amanda Taylor
Ave Maria† Franz Biebl (1906–2001)
VI
Wassail Song Traditional English, arr. Gladys Pitcher
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day† Traditional English, arr. Dale Grotenhuis
Joy to the world Lowell Mason (1792–1872), arr. Adam Ward
And the Trees Do Moan Traditional Appalachian, arr. Tim Keeler
Silent night Franz Xaver Gruber (1787–1863), arr. Graveley
VII
(Everywhere I go) Somebody talkin’ ‘bout Jesus† Traditional Spiritual, arr. Joseph H. Jennings
Oh, Jerusalem in the mornin’† Traditional Spiritual, arr. Jennings
†These pieces have been recorded by Chanticleer.
Program Notes
By Tim Keeler
Tim Keeler, Princeton University Class of 2011, became the Music Director of Chanticleer in 2020.
“Ave maris stella” is an early Christian hymn of praise and supplication to the Virgin Mary in which she is asked to “make our journey safe” and is compared to the “star of the sea.” The chant first appears in a 9th-century Swiss manuscript from the Abbey of St. Gall and has been the inspiration for countless musical settings since that time. In our concert, we explore various arrangements of the melody by a few Renaissance masters. We begin with Guillaume Du Fay’s simple parallel triads (a technique known as fauxbourdon) and move to John Dunstaple’s version, which shows slightly more creativity with three independent vocal lines. Alexander Agricola’s arrangement demonstrates true polyphony and a clever inner voice canon, while Tomás Luis de Victoria gives us refined, late Renaissance harmony and structure.
“This endris night” begins our exploration of early English carols, this one set by the contemporary Canadian composer Sarah Quartel. A prolific and celebrated choral composer, Quartel has been commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association, the National Children’s Chorus of the United States of America, and New Dublin Voices, among others. She has been exclusively published by Oxford University Press since 2018.
We find “Now make we joy” in the Ritson Manuscript, which is a 15th-century collection of carols, masses, and motets held by the British Library. This piece demonstrates a few trademarks of early English carols. We hear a choral burden, or refrain, that sets up the story and mood. A duet verse follows. The text then oscillates between English and Latin, with the Latin text either progressing the story or acting as commentary. The 20th-century English composer, William Walton, demonstrates a modern take on this form with his “Make we joy now in this fest.”
The English carol pattern holds for “Ther is no rose of swych vertu,” which comes from the Trinity Carol Roll, another 15th-century manuscript held at the Wren Library in Trinity College, Cambridge. In a modern version of “There is no rose,” Benjamin Britten avoids the standard burden repetition and instead uses the repeated Latin texts to structure the piece. He seamlessly cycles through several keys during the English verses, while the Latin interpolations repeat the same unison pitch every time they return. “There is no rose” and “Balulalow” both come from Britten’s 1942 collection, A Ceremony of Carols, originally scored for harp and treble choir. In “Balulalow,” the soloist promises a personal form of praise by saying “The knees of my heart shall I bow.” We conclude this intimate set with an arrangement of the Welsh lullaby, “Suo Gân,” by Lance Wiliford. While not explicitly about Christmas, the piece is often associated with the season as we envision Mary rocking the baby Jesus to sleep.
The celebratory carol “Nowell sing we” comes from the Trinity Carol Roll, and Steven Sametz’s “Noel Canon” takes its text from our final carol source for the evening, the 15th-century Selden Manuscript, which is held at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Sametz has a long relationship with Chanticleer and has written many pieces for the group over the years. He recently retired from Lehigh University, where he had been the Director of Choral Activities since 1979. His setting of “Angelus ad virginem” in “A Christmas Fanfare” is a joyful retelling of the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus.
Amanda Taylor brings us to more familiar carols with her arrangement of “O come, all ye faithful,” which she wrote for Chanticleer in 2022. She takes an intimate approach to the familiar hymn and changes the meaning of the text from a command to a warm and personal invitation. Taylor is a two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated arranger and one fourth of the vocal jazz supergroup, säje. In addition to her arrangements for säje, Taylor has also written for groups like Manhattan Transfer and Kings Return.
Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” has become synonymous with Chanticleer. Every Christmas season we look forward to sharing this gem with our audiences around the country. Biebl’s setting is actually a version of the “Angelus,” a Catholic devotional prayer, which tells the story of the annunciation and incarnation. The TTBB arrangement we sing in these concerts, as well as two other editions for SATB chorus, are published by Hinshaw Music as part of the Chanticleer Choral Series.
The remainder of our Christmas program features a collection of contemporary Christmas songs, some well-known and some brand new. These include familiar arrangements of “Wassail Song” and “Tomorrow shall be my dancing day,” as well as new arrangements of “Good King Wenceslas” and Silent night” by bass-baritone Jared Graveley, and “Joy to the world” by countertenor Adam Ward.
Finally, A Chanticleer Christmas always concludes with a selection of Christmas spirituals arranged by our music director emeritus, Joseph H. Jennings. This year, we feature “(Everywhere I go) Somebody talkin’ ‘bout Jesus” and “Oh, Jerusalem in the mornin’.” In 2014, Jennings was the first recipient of Chorus America’s Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award acknowledging his contribution to the African American choral tradition. His 25-year tenure with Chanticleer as singer and music director transformed the group, and his gospel and spiritual arrangements became part of Chanticleer’s identity. We are honored to maintain and continue that legacy today.
