HAEC DIES
William Byrd (1543-1623)
(Renaissance, late 16th century)
In the wake of King Henry VIII’s decision to assume complete power over the Church of England, an extended, bitter fight raged between the loyalists to the Roman Pope, and those who chose to follow the King. William Byrd, a popular and influential composer with positions at the English court, chose to remain with the Catholic Church. He continued, not without consequences, to compose sacred music with a Roman bias. In 1591 he published a collection of motets, including Haec Dies, which marked a new direction in his musical interest, turning more toward secular, madrigal-influenced vocal works.
Haec dies quam fecit Dominus: exultemus et laetemur in ea, Alleluia.
This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein, Alleluia.
O SACRUM CONVIVIUM
Kevin Allen (b. 1964)
(20th century)
The American composer, singer and conductor Kevin Allen has become especially noted for his liturgical compositions, particularly within the Roman Catholic Church. His works, both sacred and secular, have been performed in churches and concert halls throughout the United States and abroad.
The prose text of O Sacrum Convivium, probably by Saint Thomas Aquinas, expresses the close spiritual connection between the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the Passion of Christ.
O sacred banquet! In which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory to us is given. Alleluia.
SELIG SIND DIE TOTEN
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672)
(Early Baroque, 17th century)
The German composer and organist Heinrich Schütz was a highly respected and influential predecessor of Johann Sebastian Bach. His compositions form a bridge between the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Even though many of his scores were lost, his current published catalogue contains ca. 500 works, many of them composed for the court at Dresden. Schütz took the text for his sacred anthem Selig sind die Toten from the Book of Revelation. The anthem was first published in 1648 as one of a collection of spiritual choral works, Geistliche Chormusik.
Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from now on. Hear, the Spirit speaks: they rest from their labors and their works follow them.
KYRIE from MASS IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 109
Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
(Romantic era, 19th century)
Born in Lichtenstein, Josef Rheinberger spent most of his life and career in Munich. A professor of composition, organist and court composer of the royal chapel of Munich, Rheinberger dedicated his Mass in E-Flat Major to Pope Leo XIII. In return, Pope Leo named Rheinberger a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory, the highest award that the papal office granted a musician or composer. Rheinberger’s Mass in E-Flat Major is a beautiful and complex work for a cappella voices. The well-known text of the opening section of the Mass, the Kyrie, is a simple prayer:
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
DROP, DROP, SLOW TEARS
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
(Renaissance, 16th century)
One of England’s most important composers and keyboardists (organ and virginal), Orlando Gibbons was employed by the Chapel Royal from 1603 until his unexpected death from apoplexy in 1625. The penitential text of Drop, Drop, Slow Tears is by his colleague, the poet Phineas Fletcher. The music supports the penitent teardrops and longing for solace of Fletcher’s words.
Drop, drop, slow tears and bathe those beauteous feet,
which brought from heaven the news and Prince of Peace.
Cease not, wet eyes, his mercies to entreat;
To cry for vengeance sin doth never cease.
In your deep floods drown all my faults and fears;
Nor let his eye see sin, but through my tears.
O CLAP YOUR HANDS
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625)
(16th century)
With a text from Psalm 47, Gibbons composed this exuberant hymn as a complex, eight-part contrapuntal song of praise. Its opening line sets the joyful tone for the entire work:
O clap your hands together all ye people; O sing unto God with the voice of melody…
And it closes with the confident affirmation:
...as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. AMEN.
AVE VERUM
WIlliam Byrd (1543-1623)
(Renaissance, 16th century)
The text of Ave Verum drives from a 14th-century hymn that is thought to have been written by Pope Innocent VI, who died in 1362. Byrd composed the Ave Verum music for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Although such associations with the Roman Catholic service were forbidden by English law, Byrd continued to defy secular authority and the Church of England to express his own allegiance to Rome.
Hail the true body, born of the Virgin Mary: You who suffered and were sacrificed on the cross for the sake of man, from whose pierced side flowed water and blood. Be for us a model in the trial of death. O sweet, O gentle, O Jesu, Son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen.
NUNC DIMITTIS
Paul Smith
(21st century)
Paul Smith, a co-founder of VOCES8, is not only a composer but also a performer, conductor and devoted educator. About the Nunc Dimittis, he has written:
Since my childhood, I’ve been singing this beautiful text in evensong services. For me it is often the most magical moment of the service. It is a text that connects deeply with me, and speaks of a quiet sense of hope and peace. [I created] the piece with those ideas in mind. The music should be sung with smooth, soft lines and gentle, peaceful phrases. It need never be rushed and can always have a sense of space and tranquility.
The text for Nunc Dimittis derives from the Book of Luke, Chapter 2:
Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; to be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of Thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
MAGNIFICAT PRIMI TONI
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
(Late Renaissance, 16th century)
The Italian composer Palestrina was renowned and admired throughout the 16th century and beyond. His skills as a composer of contrapuntal music had a major influence on composers in northern Europe, including Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote the joyful Magnificat Primi Toni for eight voices in the 1580s, taking the text,”My soul doth magnify the Lord” from the Gospel of Luke. Many composers have set Mary’s great proclamation of faith and exultation, of which Palestrina’s is one of the finest. It was published in 1591 in a collection of Palestrina’s sacred works.
UNDERNEATH THE STARS
Kate Rusby (b. 1973), arr. Jim Clements
(20th-21st centuries)
Since the age of 26, when she first attained widespread popularity, the British folk singer Kate Rusby has steadily toured and recorded for devoted audiences everywhere. She is known for her warmth, humor and sincerity, which she has expressed in her song Underneath the Stars:
Underneath the stars I’ll meet you
Underneath the stars I’ll greet you
There beneath the stars I’ll leave you
Before you go of your own free will.
Go gently.
Underneath the stars you met me
Underneath the stars you left me
I wonder if the stars regret me
At least you’ll go of your own free will.
Go gently.
Here beneath the stars I’m landing
I’m here beneath the stars not ending
Why on earth am I pretending?
I’m here again, the stars befriending
They come and go of their own free will.
Go gently.
HEYR, HIMNA SMIÐUR
Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson (1938-2013)
(13th/20th century)
The prolific Icelandic composer Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, also a pianist, conductor and educator, achieved prominence not only in his home in Reykjavík, but also in the United States, where he resided at various times in St. Paul, Buffalo and La Jolla. His setting of a medieval Icelandic poem composed by the 13th-century Icelandic poet and chieftain Kolbeinn Tumason has become a popular hymn in Iceland. Composed in medieval Icelandic, the hymn is a song of praise, a prayer for protection and healing and a confession of faith.
“Hear, smith of the heavens, what the poet asks,” he begins. In its three stanzas, the hymn is expressed largely in the first person and in that speaker’s voice. He concludes, however, with a supplication on behalf of humanity: “Most we need thee, truly every moment in the world of men.” And finally, “...all aid is from thee in my heart.”
PRAYER
Peter Eldridge (b. 1962)
(20th century)
A singer-songwriter and influential educator, Peter Eldridge is a founding member of the internationally renowned jazz quartet New York Voices. For 18 years he was head of the jazz voice department at the Manhattan School of Music, and is currently a professor of voice at the Berklee College of Music. He composed the choral work Prayer with the subtitle “An interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer” for the New York vocal ensemble, Marble Collegiate Sanctuary Choir. In October 2023 he announced on his Instagram feed, “Hey NYC friends...the gorgeous singing of VOCES8 is coming your way...rumor has it they’re performing a piece of mine called ‘Prayer’...They are just one of the most transcendent choral groups out there...I’m beyond thrilled they’re singing something of mine...” He might have updated the greeting: “Hey, Rockport Music friends...”
UBI CARITAS
Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
(21st century)
Ola Gjeilo, a Manhattan-based composer originally from Norway, has concentrated largely on writing for vocal ensembles. The text, Ubi Caritas [Where Charity Is], originated in Gregorian chant, probably in the era of the so-called Dark Ages, between 300 and 1100. Typically it is sung on Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) to commemorate Jesus’s washing of his disciples’ feet prior to the Last Supper.
Many composers have set Ubi Caritas to music. Ola Gjeilo composed his version in 1999 for VOCES8. It is a prayer of humility and supplication:
Where charity and love are, God is there...From a sincere heart let us love the living God. Lest we be divided in mind, let us beware...let controversy cease...With the saints we see also the joy that is immense and good. Unto the World without end. Amen.
TIMSHEL
Mumford & Sons (Marcus Mumford, b. 1987), arr. Jim Clements
(21st century)
Marcus Mumford, born in California of English parents, grew up in south London. A multi-talented musician, he formed his band, Mumford & Sons, in 2007. Mumford, with his band mates the guitarist Ted Dwayne, electric guitarist Winston Marshall and pianist Ben Lovett wrote the song “Timshel” for an album that was released in October 2009. Like Kate Rusby’s Underneath the Stars, their “Timshel” addresses the mystery of free will.
The song “Timshel” originated in Mumford’s devotion to John Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden, with its theme derived from the Cain and Abel story in Genesis. In the book, Steinbeck introduces the Hebrew word “timshel,” his own spelling of the Hebrew timshol or timsh’l. Of the several possible interpretations of the term “timshel,” Steinbeck chose to weave his story around the idea of free will, that we may choose good or choose evil, that we may accept or reject sin at will. He translated the word as “Thou mayest,” and the character Lee explains, “It might be the most important word in the world. It says the way is open. It throws it right back on a man.” Through Lee, Steinbeck concludes that greatness and glory lie in man’s free will and ability to choose.
COME FLY WITH ME
Bart Howard (1915-2004), Jimmy Van Heusen (1913-1990) and Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), arr. Alexander L’Estrange
(20th century)
I WON’T DANCE
Jerome Kern (1885-1945), arr. Jim Clements
(20th century)
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT
Nat “King” Cole (1919-1965), arr. Jim Clements
(20th century)
These three songs from the Great American Songbook reveal the universality of the human spirit’s longing for a regeneration of our spirits through an appeal to the heavens. Created of stardust as we are, we humans have always looked toward the skies, envied the birds, fantasized about the planets and pondered the Pythagorean notion of “the music of the spheres.” While longing for absolution and solace from an outside force, we have rejoiced in our imaginations and our freedom as humans to make choices, to fly, to dance, to sing at will.
A word about the arrangers Jim Clements and Alexander L’Estrange, both of whom have earned highest praise in international music circles for their brilliant adaptations of music for a variety of mediums, and their imaginative approach to suiting music and texts to the instruments—including voices—for which they compose. Or, better said, re-compose. VOCES8 has frequently voiced their admiration for, and dependence upon, these colleagues.
— Program notes by Sandra Hyslop