Garyth Nair, Music Director and Conductor
Jason Asbury, Assistant Conductor and Accompanist
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Summit Chorale is Chorus in Residence at Drew University
Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, South Orange, NJ
Saturday, December 4, 1999, 8:00PM
Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church, Plainfield, NJ
Sunday, December 5, 1999, 4:00PM
Seasonal Favorites
Mike Baruffi, tenor
Candus Hedberg, mezzo-soprano
Susan Blum, soprano
Mary W. Helms, soprano
Andi Campbell, soprano
M. Beth Lohner, alto
Alan GaNun, tenor
Josephine Mescallado, soprano
Elaine F. Gennaro, soprano
Bruce Meyer, baritone
Rosemary Greenaway, alto
Marc Poirier, baritone
Edward B. Harris, baritone
Margaret Sherman, alto
Ian Smith, tenor
Lakeland Youth Symphony–Senior Ensemble
Debra Seftel, Music Director
Garyth Nair, Conductor
Merynda Adams, harp
Jason Asbury, organ
Garyth Nair, conductor
SUMMIT CHORALE
PROGRAM
I
Oratorio de Noël, Op. 12
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)
1. Prélude
2. Récit et Chœr
soli: Mr. Smith, Ms. Lohner, Ms. Campbell, Mr. Meyer
3. Air
solo: Ms. Lohner
4. Air et Chœr
solo: Mr. Baruffi
5. Duo: Benedictus
soli: Ms. Campbell, Mr. Meyer
6. Chœr
7. Trio
soli: Mr. GaNun, Ms. Blum, Mr. Poirier
8. Quatuor
soli: Ms. Lohner, Mr. Meyer, Ms. Campbell, Ms. Hedberg
9. Quintette et Chœr
soli: Mr. GaNun, Ms. Gennaro, Ms. Hedberg, Ms. Greenaway, Mr. Meyer
— INTERMISSION —
II
Joy to the World!
In the Bleak Midwinter
arr. Garyth Nair
Gustav Holst, arr. Garyth Nair
soli: Ms. Mescallado, Mr. Harris
Interlude from A Ceremony of Carols
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
harp solo: Ms. Adams
Angels We have Heard on High
Masters in This Hall
arr. Garyth Nair
arr. David Willcocks
III
Audience carol sing
IV
From St. Paul’s Suite
Gustav Holst (1874–1934)
4. Finale (The Dargason)
Lakeland Youth Symphony–Senior Ensemble
Stille Nacht
Franz Gruber, arr. John Rutter
trio: Ms. Gennaro, Ms. Helms, Ms. Sherman
The Little Drummer Boy
Ding Dong! Merrily on High
Echo Carol Fantasy
arr. Roger Wagner (transcription G. Nair)
arr. David Willcocks
Garyth Nair (1943–)
SUMMIT CHORALE appeals to parents to assist their children
in developing courteous audience behavior.
•••
Please do not use cameras requiring flash during the performance.
•••
Please turn off all electronic noisemakers, including pagers, cell phones, wristwatch alarms and
the like which may disturb other audience members during the performance.
•••
The use of recording equipment, including audio and video recorders, is strictly prohibited
during the performance.
•••
Please refrain from smoking anywhere in this building.
Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts
through a grant administered by the Union County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.
Additional funding has been provided through a grant from The Frank & Lydia Bergen Foundation.
Questions? Want more information about SUMMIT CHORALE?
Call (973) 762–8486
write us
P.O. Box 265; Summit, NJ 07902-0265
or visit us online
http://www.summitchorale.org
TRANSLATIONS
Oratorio de Noël [Christmas Oratorio]
No.2: Récit et Chœr
Et pastores erant in regione eadem vigilantes,
Et custodientes vigilias noctis super gregem suum.
Et ecce angelus Domini stetit juxta illos,
Et claritas Dei circumfulsit illos,
Et timuerunt timore magno.
Et dixit illis angelus:
“Nolite timere:
Ecce enim evangeliso vobis gaudium magnum
quod erit omni populo:
Quia natus est vobis hodie Christus Dominus,
in civitate David.
Et hoc vobis signum:
Invenietis infantem pannis involutum,
et positum in præsepio.”
No.2: Recitative and Chorus
And in that same region there were shepherds out in the
fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and
the glory of the Lord shown ’round about them, and they
were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them:
“Fear not:
for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which will be to all people.
For to you is born today Christ the Lord,
in the city of David.
And this will be a sign for you:
you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes
and lying in a manger.”
Et subito facta est eum angelo
multitudo militiæ cælestis
Laudantium Deum, et dicentium:
And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God and saying:
“Gloria in altissimis Deo.
Et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.”
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth, peace to men of good will.”
No. 3: Air
Expectans, expectavi Dominum:
Et intendit mihi.
No. 3: Air
I have waited patiently for the Lord,
and he has hearkened to me.
No. 4: Air et Chœr
Domine, ego credidi quia tu es Christus
Filius Dei vivi.
Qui in hunc mundum venisti.
No. 4: Air and Chorus
Lord, I believe that you are the Christ,
the Son of the Living God,
who has come into the world.
No. 5: Duo: Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Deus Dominus, et illuxit nobis.
Deus meus es tu, et confitebor tibi.
Deus meus es tu, et exaltabo te.
No. 5: Duet: Bendiction
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and He has shown His light upon us.
You are my God, and I will trust in you.
You are my God, and I will exalt you.
No.6: Chœr
Quare fremuerunt gentes?
Et populi meditati sunt inania?
No. 6: Chorus
Why do the nations rage,
and why do the peoples imagine vain things?
Gloria Patri,
gloria Filio,
gloria Spiritui Sancto;
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper,
Et in sæcula sæculorum.
Amen.
Glory to the Father,
glory to the Son,
glory to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever and ever.
Amen.
… continued …
No.7: Trio
Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ
In splendoribus Sanctorum.
No. 7: Trio
With you is dominion on the day of your strength, amidst
the splendor of your saints.
No.8: Quatuor
Alleluia.
Laudate, cœli, et exulta, terra,
Quia consolatus est Dominus populum suum;
Et pauperum suorum miserebitur.
No. 8: Quartet
Alleluia!
Let the heavens sing for joy, and the earth rejoice,
for the Lord has comforted his people.
And he will have compassion on his afflicted.
No.9: Quintette et Chœr
Consurge, Filia Sion. Alleluia.
Lauda in nocte, in principio vigiliarum.
No. 9: Quintet and Chorus
Arise, daughter of Zion! Alleluia!
Sing praises in the night, in the first watch of the night.
Egrediatur ut splendor justus Sion,
Et Salvator ejus ut lampas accendatur. Alleluia.
Until Zion’s righteousness goes forth as brightness, and
her salvation as a burning lamp. Alleluia!
Tollite hostias, et adora te Dominum
in atrio sancto ejus.
Lætentur cœli, et exultet terra,
A facie Domini, quoniam venit.
Alleluia.
Bring offerings and worship the Lord
in His holy house.
Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad
in the presence of the Lord, for he comes.
Alleluia!
Translation by William D. Stroker
Stille Nacht [Silent Night]
Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!
Alles schläft, einsam wacht
Nur das traute, hochheilige Paar,
Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar.
Schlaf’ in himmlischer Ruh!
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!
Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!
Hirten erst kund gemacht,
Durch der Engel Halleluja
Tönt es laut von fern und nah:
Christ, der Retter, ist da!
Silent night! holy night!
Shepherds first saw the sight:
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heav’nly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born!
Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!
Gottes Sohn, O wie lacht
Lieb’ aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund,
Christ, in deiner Geburt!
Silent night! holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light;
Radiance beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth!
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
by Mary W. Helms
In this concert SUMMIT CHORALE offers a
single major work and a varied selection of
shorter holiday fare to begin celebrating
Garyth Nair’s thirtieth year as its Music
Director and Conductor.
I
Born in Paris in 1835 and raised by his
mother and her aunt, Camille Saint-Saëns
was a child prodigy on the order of Mozart or
Mendelssohn. He played Beethoven piano
sonatas at private gatherings by age four,
began to compose music before he was five,
and presented Mozart and Beethoven
concertos in a public debut concert when
he was ten. Unlike Mozart, however,
Saint-Saëns never had financial worries, and
rather than pursuing the early fame sought by
his piano teacher, he continued his education,
both musical and general. As a result, he
became a man of varied interests who
published poetry, plays, and treatises
on music, theatre, religion and philosophy
as well as communicating with learned
societies on such subjects as astronomy and
acoustics. Saint-Saëns also delighted in
learning about other countries and enjoyed
giving concerts in Spain, Portugal, Italy,
Greece, Scandinavia, Russia, England,
Argentina, Uruguay, Ceylon, Vietnam,
Egypt, the Canary Islands and the United
States. He died in 1921, in one of his
favorite cities, Algiers.
Saint-Saëns began earning his living as a
musician in 1852 when he was appointed
organist at the Parisian church of SaintMerry. In 1857 he obtained the post of
principal organist at the ultra-fashionable
La Madeleine, with a magnificent new
Cavaillé-Coll organ, a fine salary, and “the
highest wedding fees in Paris.” He retained
this position until 1877. It was here that, after
hearing him improvise, Liszt hailed SaintSaëns as the greatest organist in the world.
In 1861, Saint-Saëns ventured into teaching
for several years at the École Niedermeyer,
a school founded to improve French church
music. His students included Gigout and
Messager as well as Fauré, who became a
lifelong close friend.
In addition to his abilities as a composer and
virtuoso organist, Saint-Saëns excelled as a
conductor and as a pianist, notably in the
works of Mozart. He once remarked, “I live
in music like a fish in water.” He maintained
an active career as composer and performer
almost to the very end of his long and
productive life.
Saint-Saëns composed in every 19th century
musical genre, and his output was prodigious.
Composing came easily to him; he observed
that he did it as naturally “as an apple tree
produces apples.” Although he was once
considered the greatest French composer,
only a few of his works are familiar to
audiences in this country today—the “Organ
Symphony,” Samson et Dalila, Danse
Macabre, Le Carnaval des Animaux and a
handful of concertos.
In his youth Saint-Saëns was considered
something of a revolutionary; he championed
the work of Schumann and Wagner when it
was still controversial, and at a time when
German and Austrian composers dominated
French concert programs, he was one of the
founders of the Société Nationale de Musique
whose purpose was to encourage and perform
new music by French composers. Of course
it provided an opportunity to present his own
work, and later it became especially
important in introducing the next generation
of French composers—who, in turn,
considered Saint-Saëns a reactionary. His
musical language remained conservative,
embodying such characteristically French
qualities as elegance, clarity and order. As
the Viennese critic Hanslick wrote,
“…everywhere in his works are found
spirit, humour, many qualities of scholarship,
and piquant vivacity of treatment. His
compositions show excellent workmanship
and extreme facility in dealing with all kinds
of musical expression.”
The Oratorio de Noël (Opus 12) comes from
the early part of Saint-Saëns’ career, at a time
when sacred music had been in decline—
“a sad, decadent period of which only a
wretched output remains,” as composer and
organist Louis Vierne put it. Vierne went on
to point out that in his sacred music, SaintSaëns “reacted strongly against the bad
taste of the times by writing music strictly
appropriate to the character of the liturgical
words of the given text. He banished…all
useless decoration and theatrical effects…to
return to formal purity, true prosody and
sound, solid writing.…His love for the voice
is felt and he works hard to place it under the
best possible conditions to make it clear and
expressive.”
At La Madeleine, Saint-Saëns was frequently
required to compose for particular occasions
and barely a year after his appointment he
was commissioned to write an oratorio for
Christmas. He began on December 4, 1858
and completed the work just eleven days
later, in time for rehearsal before the first
performance on Christmas Eve. It was
officially titled “Oratorium pro nocte
Nativitatis Christi” and dedicated to the
Vicomtesse de Grandval, one of his pupils
who also composed sacred music. The
nine-movement work is scored for a vocal
quintet of soloists (soprano, mezzo-soprano,
contralto, tenor, baritone) and chorus
accompanied by a quintet of strings plus
harp and organ. Its text is taken from the
Ordinary for Christmas and the Psalms.
The Oratorio de Noël begins with an
instrumental pastorale “in the style of J.S.
Bach.” Joël-Marie Fauquet suggests,
however, that the style more resembles
Gounod than Bach—certainly Saint-Saëns
was influenced by both. This prelude, with
its oboe organ stop and dotted note theme,
sets a contemplative mood. Next, three
soloists depict the angel’s amazing
announcement to the shepherds and the
chorus becomes the angelic choir of the
familiar story. The mezzo-soprano sings
in brief, almost hesitant phrases to illustrate
expectant waiting, then responds with warm
lyricism when waiting is rewarded. In a
heartfelt aria the tenor confesses personal
faith as the chorus emphasizes faith’s
universality in shorter, chant-like phrases;
soloist and chorus unite on the word
“Christus” as the focus of faith. A joyful
and more florid duet contrasts with the
fairly quiet character of the work so far.
Next, using a motif borrowed from a
Beethoven string quartet, orchestra and
chorus vividly portray the startling impact of
the holy birth, yet close this movement not
triumphantly, but with a calm and peaceful
“Gloria Patri.” The following trio, with harp
accompaniment, and the subsequent quartet,
based on a carol tune in which the contralto
dialogues with the other soloists, remind us
that Saint-Saëns’ skill in writing for solo
voices would later be applied successfully to
opera. The pastoral theme of the opening
returns as the final movement begins, now
introduced by the strings in a higher octave,
establishing a brighter mood. The full
complement of vocal soloists offer praise
punctuated by choral “alleluias” and the work
ends joyously with a resounding homophonic
chorus. All in all, the Oratorio de Noël is a
work of great charm which appeals
particularly because of its beautiful partwriting and its melodic grace and simplicity.
II
SUMMIT CHORALE turns next to more familiar
music of the Christmas season.
The verses of Joy to the World! were written
by Isaac Watts (1674–1748), the influential
English Nonconformist pastor and author of
books and hymns-texts. Published in 1719 in
Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of
the New Testament, they are Watts’ version of
Psalm 98, “Make a joyful noise unto the
Lord, all the earth.…” Over a century later,
an 1839 collection, The Modern Psalmist,
printed them with a rousing tune designated
“from Handel.” This attribution has been
generally refuted, however, and carol scholar
William Studwell suggests Lowell Mason
(1792–1872), a prominent American music
editor and hymn writer, as the likely
composer, especially since Mason frequently
left his work unsigned. In Studwell’s view,
Joy to the World! is “perhaps the most
positive and uplifting declaration of the
message of Christmas.”
The origin of In the Bleak Midwinter is
far more certain. Christina Rossetti (1830–
1894), considered by many to be “the most
accomplished female poet…in the history of
Great Britain,” penned its unusual text in
1872, and its setting by the English composer
Gustav Holst (1874–1934) was published in
1906.
One of England’s finest composers,
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) is best
known for his operas, song cycles and choral
works. In 1942, after three successful years
in the United States, Britten returned to
England on a Swedish cargo vessel. Except
for the ever-present threat of U-boats, it was
a tedious journey that took nearly a month,
during which he began composing
A Ceremony of Carols. Having been
commissioned to compose a harp concerto,
Britten was also involved in studying harp
manuals and now chose this instrument as
accompaniment for the treble voices of his
carol settings. The work contains, in addition
to the carols, a central “Interlude” for solo
harp based on Hodie Christus natus est, the
Christmas Eve plainchant which opens and
closes the work. Its harmonies suggest the
Balinese gamelan orchestra Britten had heard
for the first time shortly before leaving
America.
Of completely anonymous authorship is one
of the “most beautiful and finely constructed
pieces of the holiday season,” Angels We have
Heard on High. Its Latin refrain indicates
probable creation in a church environment and
the relative sophistication of its tune implies
musical training. Thought to have originated
in France during the 18th century, it was first
published in 1855. It appeared in English
translation in 1862 and in 1916 an American
collection included the version commonly used
today.
The vigorous rhythmic tune and subversive
text of Masters in This Hall suggest a far
earlier origin than is actually the case. Its
French melody was given by the organist of
Chartres cathedral to Edmund Stedding
(1835–1868), an English carol compiler, who
showed it to his friend William Morris
(1834–1896), the multi-talented poet, painter
and inventor. The words Morris wrote reflect
his intense interest in folk and Middle English
literatures. Stedding published the carol in
1860, and it is presented here as arranged by
Sir David Willcocks (1919–).
IV
Following the traditional carol sing with the
audience, SUMMIT CHORALE returns for
a final group of arrangements of holiday
favorites.
Joseph Mohr (1792–1848), parish priest of
Oberndorf, in Austria, is said to have written
the words for Stille Nacht in 1818 when he
learned that the church organ could not be
repaired in time for the Christmas Eve
Midnight Mass. Hoping not to disappoint his
flock, he took the text to his friend Franz
Gruber (1787-1863), organist and
schoolmaster in nearby Arnsdorf, who
composed the melody in time for
performance to guitar accompaniment that
very evening. This arrangement of the best
known of all carols is by English composer
and conductor John Rutter (1945–).
Katherine K. Davis (1892–1980), an
American composer of operettas, choral
works, and hymn tunes first published The
Little Drummer Boy in 1941 as “Carol of the
Drum.” It moved from relative obscurity to
popularity after 1958 when the name was
changed and Henry V. Onorati (1912–) and
Harry Simeone (1911–) were listed as
collaborators. Roger Wagner (1914–1992)
recorded this arrangement and Garyth Nair
has transcribed it for SUMMIT CHORALE.
Ding Dong! Merrily on High is an
arrangement by Sir David Willcocks of
an anonymous 16th century French dance
tune. George R. Woodward (1848–1934)
wrote the English verses.
The Echo Carol was first published in a 17th
century German collection but was probably
composed for a medieval nativity play in
which a shepherd sang solo verses on-stage
and was answered by an angelic echo chorus
offstage. The text is a translation by
American music scholar Theodore Baker
(1851–1934). Garyth Nair (1943–)
composed his Echo Carol Fantasy on the
carol for SUMMIT CHORALE in 1994,
dedicating it to the memory of C.Y. Haas,
tenor, past-President and long-time Board
member of the Chorale. From its initial
hymn-like statement, the piece grows in
complexity, at times employing sonorities
used in Russian music, until it culminates in
multi-part descants of repeated “alleluias.”
Listen, too, for another famous carol melody!
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HYMN SING TEXTS
O Come, All Ye Faithful
1. O come, all ye faithful,
joyful and triumphant;
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him
born the King of angels:
[Refrain:]
O come, let us adore him;
O come, let us adore him;
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord!
2. God of God,
Light of Light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb;
Very God,
begotten, not created:
[repeat Refrain]
3. Sing, choirs of angels,
sing in exultation,
sing, all ye citizens of heav’n above;
Glory to God
In the highest:
[repeat Refrain]
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. Christ, by highest heav’n adored,
Christ the everlasting Lord,
late in time behold him come
offspring of a virgin’s womb:
Veiled in flesh the God-head see,
hail th’incarnate Deity!
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
1. Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King;
peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled:
Joyful all ye nations rise,
join the triumph of the skies,
with th’angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! The herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King.
The First Noel
1. The first Noel the angels did say
was to certain poor shepherds
in fields as they lay;
in fields where they lay, keeping their sheep,
on a cold winters night that was so deep:
[Refrain:]
Noel, noel, noel, noel,
born is the King of Israel!
2. They looked up and saw a star
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night:
[repeat Refrain]
3. Then enter’d in those wise men three,
full rev’rently upon their knee,
and offer’d there in his presence
their gold and myrrh and frankincense:
[repeat Refrain]