Original Art by Greg McMillan
“December Nights: More Than Enough Light”
Huron Carol – Traditional, arr. Edward Henderson
In Time of Softest Snow – Mary Kay Beall, John Carter
Ask the Watchman – Earl Baker, Baritone, arr. Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory
O little Town of Bethlehem – Phillips Brrools, Paul Ayres
Stars I Shall Find – Sara Teasdale, David Dickau
O Holy Night – Adolphe Adam, arr. Todd J. Barber
The Rose – W.R. Rodgers, Will Todd
More Than Enough (The Chanukah Song) – Margarett hardwick, Soprano,
Doug Thiele, Micahel Issacson
Sky Full of Snow – Amy F. Bernon
Amid the Falling Snow – Roma Ryan, Enya, Nicky Ryan, arr. Audrey Snyder
Night of Silence – Daniel Kantor, arr. John Ferguson
Winter Wonderland – Richard B. Smith, Felix Bernard, arr. Greg Jasperse
Jingle Bells – J. Pierpont, arr. Bob Chilcott
I’ll Be Home for Christmas – Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, arr. Mark Hayes
Now All the Woods Are Sleeping – Paul Gerhardt, David Cherwien
A Merry Christmans – Traditonal, arr. Arthur Warrell
Michael Dell – Artistic Director
Ashley Wiilkinson – Accompanist
Shannon Palmer – Sign Language Interpreter
Ana L. Lugo – Elcetric Bass, Djembe Drum, Ankle Bells
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Program Notes
By Michael Dell
It is certainly no accident that there is a convergence of our light
themed-laden Christmas tradition(s), the Jewish celebration of Chanukah The Festival of Lights, and the Winter Solstice, with its emphasis on days
growing progressively shorter until our shortest day on December
21st. Within spiritual traditions, as well as within secular approaches to life,
the themes of both light and darkness figure ever so prominently
throughout literature, art and music. For those of us within the Christian
sacred tradition, we encounter the theme of light in both natural and
supernatural ways, the natural often being an expression and reflection of
that which we believe on a more cosmic and spiritual plane.
December light images include (but are not limited to): candlelight,
streetlight, tree lights, starlight (including Bethlehem’s Star), moonlight,
Parades of Light, haloes depicted in classic paintings (denoting Divinity),
luminaries, and finally fireworks and sparklers bringing in the New
Year! Today’s concert touches upon many of these images and themes,
though not exhaustively. Our music is also, to some degree, reflective of
the cultural diversity of both our membership and our audiences, though
not to the extent which we would ultimately like. We continue to endeavor
to reach out to an ever-diverse humanity, and delve yet more deeply into
music that both unites and celebrates the uniquenesses within our
unity! To that end, and in that spirit, we offer you:
December Nights: More Than Enough Light
The Huron Carol (‘Twas In the Moon of Wintertime) is a Canadian
Christmas hymn (Canada’s oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642
by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons
in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the
Huron/Wendat people, and used a melody based on a traditional French
song, Une Jeune Pucelle. This English text was composed in 1926 by Jesse
Edgar Middleton, based upon Brébeuf’s original hymn and Huron religious
concepts. In this English version, Jesus is born in a “lodge of broken bark”,
and wrapped in a “ragged robe of rabbit skin”. He is surrounded by
hunters, and the Magi are portrayed as “chiefs from afar” that bring him
“fox and beaver pelts” (in a verse not included in this setting). The hymn
also uses a traditional Algonquian name, “Gitchi Manitou”, for God, who
sent angel choirs to replace the birds who had fled from the winter’s chill Angels, before whose light “the stars grew dim”. Edward Henderson’s
clever and energetic setting evokes the cold winds in this North American
wilderness.
Mary Kay Beall’s poem, In Time of
Softest Snow, also explores the birth
of Jesus, this time within the
traditional story of three Kings. She
returns repeatedly to the refrain,
“beneath the star”, in clear reference
to the gift of God’s celestial
illumination to guide them to the
Christ Child.
Ask the Watchman: Composers Paul
Ivory and Sean Caldwell offer the
To read more about the composers and following: “It consists of two
spirituals from the Sea Islands of
pieces, please click this QR code.
South Carolina and Georgia. The
culture and music of these islands is unique in American history. Because
they were relatively isolated from the mainland until well into the
20th century, their language (a Creole dialect known as Gullah) and
traditions remained intact for several generations longer than those of
parallel mainland cultures. The two spirituals used in this arrangement, Ask
the Watchman How Long and Yonduh Come Day are contextually
related. Both songs were sung on the eves of Christmas and the New Year
during Watch Night Meetings, which would begin at midnight and end after
dawn.”
The text of O Little Town of Bethlehem was written by Phillips Brooks
(1835-1893), an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity,
Philadelphia. The tune most often associated with this carol, St. Louis, was
composed by Brooks’ organist, Lewis Redner. Today’s setting, by Paul
Ayres, brings new vitality and freshness by the use of an entirely new,
original tune, and includes a verse often omitted from hymnals:
Where children pure and happy pray to the blessed child,
Where misery cries out to thee, Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching and faith holds wide the door,
The dark night awakes, the glory breaks,
and Christmas comes once more.
Again, what a celebration of the everlasting light that shown on the “dark
streets” of Bethlehem, and whose glorious birth we celebrate this season!
Stars I Shall Find is an inspiring yet bittersweet poem, by Sara Teasdale
(1874-1933), expressing our universal search for meaning and
significance. Composer David C. Dickau offers this insight: “Stars I Shall
Find is about the hope one has in that which is desired, yet not immediately
attainable. The author of this beautiful text suffered from depression and
tragically ended her life far before her time. She saw the stars as beacons
of hope and inspiration. The spirit of this piece celebrates those hopes and
dreams, which inspire and motivate.”
There will be rest, and sure stars shining
Over the rooftops crowned with snow.
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low.
I will make this world of my devising,
Out of a dream in my lonely mind,
I shall find the crystal of peace, above me
Stars I shall find.
O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel) was composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847
to the French poem, Minuit, Chrétiens (Midnight, Christians), by Placide
Cappeau (1808-1877). Arranger/composer Todd J. Barber brings fresh
choral harmonies and an exquisitely Debussy-esque piano accompaniment
to this greatly beloved Christmas carol: O Holy Night! The stars are brightly
shining, It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth.”
The Rose: British composer, Will Todd, has beautifully set this poem, by W.
R. Rodgers, in a quasi-jazz idiom.
Deep in the fading leaves of night
there lay the flow’r that darkness knows,
Till winter stripped and brought to light
the most incom’prable Rose that blows.
The flashing mirrors of the snow keep turning and returning still:
To see the lovely child below and hold him is their only will;
And to let go his very cry the clinging echoes are so slow
That still his wail they multiply, though he lie singing now below.
Even the doves forget to grieve, and gravely to His greeting fly,
And the lonely places that they leave all follow standing by on high.
More Than Enough (The Chanukah Song): Powerhouse, prolific Jewish
composer/arranger/conductor Michael Isaacson has peppered America’s
television music landscape with original scores and arrangements for John
Williams and the Boston Pops with Joan Baez, Rich Man, Poor Man, II, Little
Women, Bionic Woman, Hawaii Five-O, The Nanny, and the theme song
for Days of Our Lives. His conducting and academic credentials are equally
impressive. Dr. Isaacson holds a Ph.D. in composition from The Eastman
School of Music. Here are his comments about More Than Enough:
Chanukah, the Feast of Dedication and Festival of Lights recalls the
victory of Judas Maccabee over the Syrian Greek army of Antiochus
165 B. C. E. According to legend, when the Hebrew people returned
after the battle to rededicate the Temple, they found enough oil to
kindle the Temple’s perpetual light for one day. However, a miracle
occurred and the oil lasted for eight full days. Jews celebrate
Chanukah by lighting a candle on each of the eight nights of
Chanukah. More Than Enough (The Chanukah Song) is composed in a
gospel-rock style…based on the traditional “Maoz Tzur” melody. . . .
Here is the chorus:
‘Cause there’s more than enough love,
More than enough light,
More than enough room at the table tonight.
And surely after the blessing and after the song,
There’ll be more than enough faith to last all year long.
May this be true for each and every one of us tonight, and throughout
these nights in December!
Sky Full of Snow (A Seasonal Madrigal): Without digressing to a full
dissertation on the history of the madrigal as an art form, suffice it to say
that a madrigal is typically a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Today’s example is clearly
a modern-day prototype, intended to reflect the same exuberant
expression of its forbears. It certainly conjures up a childhood image of
walking through the snow on a cold, wintry night: “There’s a sky full of snow
above us all aglow, as we sing merrily . . .”
What cause the snow to be “all aglow”? Clearly, more than enough light!
Amid the Falling Snow: Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist, and
songwriter. Her gift of Celtic musical expression is certainly maintained in
this beautiful choral arrangement of the beloved tribute to her childhood
memories of nights in December: “a million stars that touch the
ground”, “Remembering a blue moonlight upon the falling snow”, “I leave
the sky her tears of white”, “and all is lit by candlelight amid the falling
snow.”
Tweet your favorite song
Night of Silence presents an artful poem,
so far: @JaxHeritageSing
by Daniel Kantor, in which we all find
ourselves trembling in shadows on a cold
winter‘s night. A fire of hope is our only
warmth, whose embers will be dying
soon. But if only we will listen carefully
enough, we hear the whispered rumors of
a dawn so embracing, “Breathless love awaits darkened souls…” Then that
same Spirit who shown like a star to guide kings and shepherds two
thousand years ago, leads us all to join our voices in singing (upon cue):
Silent night, holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
‘Round yon Virgin Mother and Child.
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Greg Jasperse’s refreshingly “cool jazz” setting of the holiday classic Winter
Wonderland offers the listener the opportunity to luxuriate and revel in
often distant childhood memories of a bygone era of occasions to play and
build snowmen in snow–covered parks. From the song, at least two things
are certain – “Snow is glistening”, and “We’re happy tonight walkin’ in a
winter wonderland.”
Themes of “sparkling”, “glistening”, “glowing” have been in abundant
supply in our choral journey this evening! Spirits are certainly made
“bright” in Bob Chilcott’s masterful setting of this perhaps best known of all
Christmas songs, Jingle, Bells. His artful accompaniment and vocal accents
throughout evoke both the sound of the bells and the reflection of
moonlight, starlight and Christmas upon the snow-covered ground. “Oh,
what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!”
First recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, I’ll Be Home for Christmas has
become one of America’s most beloved carols. It is sung from the point of
view of an overseas soldier during WWII, writing a letter to his family. From
the darkness of wartime, he longs for a place on Christmas Eve “where the
lovelight gleams”. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the soldier
saying, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” It is a fine
moment for reflecting in gratitude for the freedoms that we
experience. Mark Hayes’ inimitable arranging style well expresses this
longing and reaching toward a place of warmth, home and light on the part
of those who regularly sacrifice on our behalf.
Never was there a finer benediction to a choral tribute to December Nights,
than David Cherwien’s serene setting of the Paul Gearhardt chorale, Now
All the Woods Are Sleeping. The tune is O Welt, Ich Muss Dich Lassen
(Innsbruck, Ich Muss Dich Lassen), Heinrich Isaacson, ca. 1450-1517
(PD). Cherwien places the unaltered chorale melody with the sopranos,
with the remaining voices forming an organ-like chordal accompaniment ,
much in the style of a Brahms organ chorale prelude. In the sure hope and
confidence that we have more than enough light, even throughout these
shortest of all days, Gearhardt’s text welcomes the creeping shadows of
nightfall, with gratitude to God our maker, “who loves us best”.
Having been sufficiently illuminated by authors, composers, and arrangers,
as to the gracious abundance of light throughout these December nights,
we turn our attention to one remaining question. Who will bring us some
figgy pudding? Arthur Warrell’s fine setting of We Wish You a Merry
Christmas delights us, while leaving this question unanswered!
Recently, we asked our singers why they commit to long rehearsals, every
week, and will sing for any audience. Here are some of their replies: Bound together by a force mysteriously so powerful as to “mute” all of those
factors that might separate us, singing together beckons us to become “one” for
a few hours a week, and, in turn, seeks to wrap our respective audiences into a
sense of oneness and unity… writes, Artistic Director, Michael Dell, as he offers ~
“Human beings sing because we have to. When we’re happy or sad or angry, energy builds
up inside. Then, before the pressure can do damage, a valve opens and we cry or laugh or
sing. And once those tears or notes are outside of us, the universe shifts a little. Tears dry
cool on the cheek. Laughter infects those around us. And as for notes, well, ‘the blues is
celebration,’ Odetta said, ‘because when you take sorrow and turn it into music, you
transform it.”
Joan Oliver Goldsmith
The Singers
Sopranos
Rosemarie Bacher, Real Estate Broker
Rebecca Black, Attorney
Barbara Davis, Telecommunications, Artist and Vocalist
Barbara Ebers, Music Education, Duval County Public Schools
Margarett Hardwick, Choir Director, Retired
Juliet Johnson, Digital Marketing and Website Design
Karen Koster-Burr, Intellectual Property Attorney
Karen Pabian, Teacher, Palmer Catholic Academy
Nancy Silki, Registered Nurse, Healthcare Mediator
Debbie Snead, Management Assistant of Business Services, Mayport
Laurie Sparks, Music Education, Duval County Public Schools
Susan Takis, PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament
Barbara Vanderhoff, Poet, Storyteller
Ann Wingate, Interior Designer
Altos
Linda S. Andrews, Music Teacher, Choir Director, Retired
Deborah Dell, Owner, Sage Advice Vitamins and Consignment
Sally Goodyear, State Farms Claims, Retired
Faye Harrington, Administrative Assistant
Marie Hope, Business Coach
Rosanna Kelly, Music Education, Duval County Public Schools, Retired
Ana L. Lugo, PC(USA) Minister of Word and Sacrament
Cathy Nye, Pianist
Sally Offen, Executive Assistant
Carmen West, Choir Director, School Teacher, Retired
Doris Whalen, Retired French Instructor
Jane Wytzka, Career Executive Coach
Tenors
David Dunkley, Sr., Retired Banker
Gregg Gerlach, Labor Attorney
John Kauffman, Database Adminsitrator
Greg McMillan, Interior Arranger
Ronald Pabian, Banker
Basses
Earl Barker, Lawyer, Slott, Barker & Nussbaum
Steve Benz, Presbytery Executive, Presbytery of St. Augustine
Claude Cassady, Naval Sea Systems Command, Retired
Tommie Davis, United States Navy
Charlie Eddins, President, Renco Corporation
George Gurgone, Business Consultant
Coleman Hawk, Statistical Web Designer
Fred Ouellette, Vice President, Sales
John Ruvane, Advertising Executive, Retired
Lawrence Scafuti, Spanish and Italian Teacher
Shannon Palmer lives in a 113 year old house in Springfield with her
husband and two daughters, whom she homeschools. She graduated from
the University of Texas, Austin, with a Deaf Education degree. She has
worked at the Texas School for the Deaf and the Tennessee School for the
Deaf. She has interpreted off and on over the past twenty years for private
occasions and special church functions. Shannon enjoys pairing the beauty
of sign language with the inspiring rhythms of music. She is honored to be
part of The Heritage Singers.
Ashley Wilkinson is an Information Systems Analyst for Gibraltar
Industries. He enjoys various types of music and is the pianist for Arlington
Congregational Church, where he is active not only as a musician but as the
chair of the Missions Team, being involved in various benevolence
projects. His current passion is composing dramatic musical works for
piano and choir. He is enjoying his role as accompanist for the Heritage
Singers and looks forward to all the possibilities this opportunity will bring.
“I love to sing. I am "IN LOVE" when I sing. The experience of breathing and
sound -releasing expression is often over looked or lost in daily live. Singing
presses me to breathe and I am lost in the wondrous gift of life through sound
and breath. Definitions of music come from the mind but when it is from the
heart, it leaps and changes me. Uplifted I sore for hours; cares and concerns
melt in the recognition that beauty is happening. I am in love when I sing.”
Barbara Vanderhoff
“Perhaps we sing because it is our way of serving God?”
Larry Scafuti
Supporters
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Board of Trustees
Thank you to outgoing President, Greg McMillan; Secretary, Linda
Andrews; Member At Large, Kimberly Hyatt; and Audience
Development Director, Ana L. Lugo. We couldn’t have done it
without you guys! 
Earl Barker, David Dunkley, Gregg Gerlach, Juliet Johnson, Chris
Russell, Lewis Hunter, Michael and Deborah Dell.