LUX

PRESENTS

Forces of Nature

St. Jerome’s Church

Hyattsville, Maryland

July 5, 2019
7:00 PM

 LUX

Soprano Eby Buscher, Austin Nikirk, Emily Shallbetter, Abigail Winston

Alto Abigail Hines, Anya Trudeau, Beth Ann Zinkievich
Tenor Robby Napoli, Zach Taylor, John-Paul Teti
Bass Dale Auen, Ben Busch, Ciaran Cain, Tim Crane, John Mullan, Thomas Rust

Lux is a chamber choir that specializes in contemporary choral music. Founded in 2014 by a
small group of high school friends, the ensemble performs with a dedication to excellence,
innovation, and accessibility in choral performance.

Lux has met with acclaim from professors at local conservatories, the world’s most popular
composers, fellow musicians, and audience members alike. The group has earned praise
from famed composers such as Eric Whitacre, Paul Mealor, and Ola Gjeilo. Benjamin
Olinsky, Artistic Director of The 18th Street Singers, has called Lux “incredibly
impressive”, while composers, music educators, performers, and listeners all over the east
coast have called the group “beautiful”, “lovely”, and “wonderful”.

Lux’s singers hail from some of the finest conservatories and schools of music across the
United States, and have performed everywhere from local churches to high-profile national
venues such as Carnegie Hall and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2019, Lux was named “Best Local Choral Group”, along with first-place 18th Street
Singers and runner-up Capitol Hill Chorale, in the Best of DC competition held by
Washington City Paper. Lux’s 2018 album Now Ye Heavenly Powers was met with acclaim
from composers, critics, and others, becoming the Featured Choral Album on Classical
MPR’s choral radio station, joining past selectees such as Voces8, Tenebrae, and The
Sixteen.
Upcoming Lux Events

Can’t get enough Lux? Hear more from us at the following events, and be sure to join our
email list at ChoirLux.com to be the first to find out about other upcoming concerts.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019 • 8 PM

From Darkness To Light
Lux is featured in an hour-long program featuring songs of remembrance by Pärt, Paulus,
Elder, Runestad, Napoli, Spencer, MacMillan, Forrest, Whitacre, and Duruflé.

Maryland State Boychoir Center for The Arts

3400 Norman Avenue
Baltimore, MD
Free admission

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2019 • 4 PM

In Remembrance: Prayer and Concert — Fauré: Requiem
Choral music performed by Lux, featuring the music of Pärt, Runestad, MacMillan, among
others, combining with Schola of St. Joseph to perform Requiem by Gabriel Fauré,
accompanied by organ, harp, and strings. Dr. Lynn Trapp, director.

St. Joseph’s Church

100 Church Lane
Cockeysville, MD
Free admission
All are invited to bring framed pictures of deceased loved ones to place in the sanctuary
during the program.
Welcome to St. Jerome’s Church. We’re glad you could join us for tonight’s concert. We’ve
put a lot of work into it and we hope you will enjoy it. Please silence your cell phones and
any other noise-making devices you may have in the moments before the concert begins.
Restrooms are accessible through the Gold Room stairs (clearly indicated in the church
foyer); the women’s restroom is at the bottom of the stairs, while the men’s restroom is
through a hallway at the far left edge of the Gold Room. There is also a single-
user/“family” restroom within the small room in the church foyer.

We’ve called this program “Forces of Nature”, but “Images of Nature” would have been
just as appropriate. Every song we’ve chosen depicts the natural world in text and music.
Nature has been used throughout time to describe and derive meaning from the most
difficult and most joyful elements of human existence. We associate nature with love, faith,
life, death, and purity, as well as the notion of “creation” itself. This program aims to survey
these ideas with the most beautiful music we could find.

While admission to tonight’s concert is free of charge, the scores and licenses we need in
order to perform are not. If you are able to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. Should
you choose to, you can place cash or checks in the donation box on the table at the entrance
to the church, or donate by credit/debit card. Checks should be made out to “Lux
Choir, Inc.” Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law under
IRC sections 501(c)(3) and 170. You can also donate securely online at ChoirLux.com/
support. Your support means a great deal to us.

Thank you for coming.

All songs conducted by Robby Napoli, except Water Night, conducted by Tommy Rust. Program notes by
Robby Napoli, Austin Nikirk, John-Paul Teti, and Beth Ann Zinkievich. Latin translations by John-Paul Teti.
Spaseniye sodelal translated by N. Lindsay Norten, revised by John Mullan and John-Paul Teti. O Sproß aus Isais
Wurzel translated by John Mullan. Special thanks to our families and friends, and to St. Jerome’s Church and
Rev. Hahn for letting us perform and record here. Thank you to Frank Napoli for photography and thank you
especially to John Vengrouskie, our recording engineer. Thank you to St. Jerome Academy for providing
rehearsal space.

JAMES MACMILLAN (b. 1959)
O Radiant Dawn (from The Strathclyde Motets)
Magnificat antiphon for Vespers on December 21

The “O antiphons” are among the most well-known Christian liturgical texts. They are
traditionally said during the 7 days before Christmas as a component of Vespers (evening
prayer), and serve as the basis for the well-known advent hymn O come, O come Emmanuel.
This piece by the Scottish composer James MacMillan sets the fifth of these antiphons,
using a bold proclamatory motive to plead for the arrival of the unborn Christ, depicted
here as the rising morning sun that gives light to a world darkened by sin and death.

TEXT
O radiant dawn,
Splendor of eternal light, sun of justice
Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
Isaiah had prophesied:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shown.”
Amen.

5 of 32
PAVEL CHESNOKOV (1877-1944)
Spaseniye sodelal
Orthodox Eucharistic Antiphon based on Psalm 74:12

Spaseniye sodelal, commonly translated as “Salvation is Created”, is based on a Kievan

chant melody dating back to the 17th century. It was included in Chesnokov’s Ten
Communion Hymns, which were written in 1912, just before the Soviet government
outlawed religious music, and was thus one of the last such pieces Chesnokov would ever
write. Chesnokov’s output was prolific. One of the most respected choral composers,
conductors, and educators in Russian history, he wrote over 500 pieces. Although
Chesnokov never had the opportunity to hear it performed himself, Spaseniye sodelal is
today his most loved, most commonly-performed piece.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Cпасение coдeлaл еси Salvation is created
посреде земли, Боже. In the midst of Earth, O God.
Аллилуия. Alleluia.

TRANSLITERATION
Spaséñiye, sodélal yesi.
Posredé ziemlí, Bózhe.
Allilúiya.

6 of 32
JAKE RUNESTAD (b. 1986)
I Will Lift Mine Eyes
Psalm 121

Runestad’s thoughtful setting of this famous biblical text portrays the splendor and
serenity of nature. The piece mimics the beauty of the natural world through the extensive
use of text-painting. The contour of the melodies imitates a mountainous landscape, even
from the opening line, in which the melody rises while the speaker “lifts [their] eyes unto
the hills”. The piece is dedicated to Runestad’s grandparents.

TEXT
I will lift mine eyes unto the hills.
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord,
The maker of the heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is thy keeper,
The Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your soul.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
From this day forth, for evermore.

7 of 32
ROBBY NAPOLI (b. 1997)
Flying At Night
Ted Kooser (b. 1939). World premiere performance.

Composer (and Lux co-founder) Robby Napoli writes: “Flying At Night was conceived
during a time of intense writer’s block. After discovering the poem which the piece sets,
written by Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser, I knew exactly
how to set the beginning text. There are many connections between the melodic ideas used
in this piece, pieces by other composers, and other compositions of my own. Quotes from
two choral nocturnes sandwich the piece, and I borrowed the theme used here for the text
“snaps on his yard light” for the aleatoric section of my Lux aeterna, which Lux has also
performed.”

TEXT
Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water. Below us,
some farmer, feeling the chill of that distant death,
snaps on his yard light, drawing his sheds and barn
back into the little system of his care.
All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,
tug with bright streets at lonely nights like
his.

8 of 32
KIM ANDRÉ ARNESEN (b. 1980)
Even When He Is Silent
Anonymous

Norwegian composer Kim André Arnesen is well-known for his works for treble voices. His
Magnificat, as well as this song, gained international acclaim after being performed by the
Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir. This motet, written in 2011, was commissioned by the Saint
Olaf Festival in Trondheim, Norway. Its sentiment of hope and faith even in times of deep
despair stems from the text, which is associated with the Holocaust—one story holds that it
was etched into the walls of a concentration camp, while another claims it was found in a
cellar used to hide refugees. Regardless, the text is beautifully expressed in the soaring
melodies and rich harmonic texture. The different themes take the listener on a journey
guided by the repetition of the phrase “I believe” in the poetry.

TEXT
I believe in the sun, even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love, even when I feel it not.
I believe in God, even when he is silent.

9 of 32
TERRY SCHLENKER (b. 1957)
In monte Oliveti
Tenebrae responsory for Holy Thursday

Composer Terry Schlenker writes: “In monte Oliveti was written after a telephone
conversation with my sister, in which she revealed that she had a brain tumor. Over the
course of the conversation, I sensed that my sister seemed to be at peace with this news.
When questioned, she expressed that this was beyond her control, and that she was
handing the situation to her higher power. This composition honors my sister’s ability to
draw strength from beyond, as Jesus did at the Mount of Olives, when he asked that the cup
be taken from him. The work is to be performed in strict rhythm, as it was conceived while
waiting—pacing and walking—through my sister’s brain surgery and recovery. The tumor
was benign, the surgery was successful, and my sister now leads the normal life she lived
prior to this health challenge.”

TEXT TRANSLATION
In monte Oliveti oravit ad Patrem: On the Mount of Olives, he prayed to the
Father:
Pater si fieri potest, “Father, if it is possible,
transeat a me calix iste. let this cup pass from me.
Spiritus quidem promptus est, The spirit indeed is prepared;
caro autem infirma: the flesh, though, is weak:
fiat voluntas tua. may thy will be done.”

10 of 32
STEPHEN PAULUS (1949-2014)
Hymn To The Eternal Flame (from To Be Certain of The Dawn)
Michael Dennis Browne (b. 1940) Eby Buscher, soloist

Hymn To The Eternal Flame is taken from composer Stephen Paulus’s 2005 oratorio To Be
Certain of The Dawn. The oratorio was commissioned by the Basilica of Saint Mary in
Minneapolis as a gift for the Temple Israel Synagogue in commemoration of the 60th
anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps and the 40th anniversary of the
Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra aetate, widely regarded as reshaping and
softening the Catholic Church’s attitude towards Judaism. The second part of the oratorio
focuses primarily on the experiences of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Hymn To The
Eternal Flame, which is based on the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem,
poignantly ends this section.

TEXT
Every face is in you, every voice, every sorrow in you,
Every pity, every love, every memory, woven into fire.
Every breath is in you, every cry, every longing in you,
Every singing, every hope, every healing, woven into fire.
Every heart is in you, every tongue, every trembling in you,
Every blessing, every soul, every shining, woven into fire.

11 of 32
ARVO PÄRT (b. 1935)
O Sproß aus Isais Wurzel (from Sieben Magnificat-Antiphonen)
Magnificat antiphon for Vespers on December 19

The text of O Sproß aus Isais Wurzel, like the text of the first piece from our program, O
Radiant Dawn, is taken from the seven Christian “O antiphons”. This setting, taken from a
set of all seven by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, follows Pärt’s trademark tintinnabuli style.
The second alto part is used as the key voice, moving up the scale and resetting at each new
word. The second soprano mirrors this movement, while the first altos and first sopranos
stay one tone above the melodic voice at all times. A leading tone sung by the melodic voice
creates a particularly haunting mode that lends itself to dissonance, suggesting the
anguished cry of the nations in the text.

TEXT
O Sproß aus Isais Wurzel,
gesetzt zum Zeichen für die Völker,
vor dir verstummen die Herrscher der Erde,
dich flehen an die Völker:
O komm und errette uns, erhebe dich, säume nicht länger.

TRANSLATION
O Sprout of Jesse’s Root,
Set as a sign for the nations,
Before thee the kings of the earth fall silent,
The nations implore thee:
O come and deliver us; arise; delay no longer.

Please do not applaud after O Sproß aus Isais Wurzel, as With A Lily In Your Hand
will follow immediately.

12 of 32
ERIC WHITACRE (b. 1970)
With A Lily In Your Hand (from Three Flower Songs)
Original Spanish by Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936). Translation by Jerome Rothenberg.

Though With A Lily In Your Hand comes from a set entitled Three Flower Songs, Whitacre
says he wrote this piece with two very different natural images in his mind: water and fire.
Much of the piece feels fiery, with its quick movements and aggressive style and tempo, but
the calm before the sopranos sing “Tamer of dark butterflies” mimics waves of water,
which, in the words of the composer, “should slowly transform back to fire.”

TEXT
With a lily in your hand
I leave you.
O my night love!
Little widow of my single star
I find you.
Tamer of dark
butterflies!
I keep along my way.
After a thousand years have gone
you’ll see me,
o my night love!
By the blue footpath,
tamer of dark
stars,
I’ll make my way.
Until the universe
can fit inside my heart.

13 of 32
JONATHAN LANE (b. 1958)
There Is No Rose of Such Virtue
Anonymous English text Austin Nikirk, Abby Hines, John Mullan, & Tommy Rust, soloists

The text of There is No Rose of Such Virtue is taken from the 15th century Trinity carol roll (a
manuscript of 13 English carols), where it appears along with a melody and harmonization.
The 13 carols on the roll are the oldest surviving polyphonic music (music with multiple
independent voices) in English. Although Lane takes only the words from the Trinity carol
version, this composition is similarly light and simple.

TEXT
There is no rose of such virtue as is the rose that bare Jesu.
Alleluia.

For in this rose containéd was heaven and earth in little space.
Res miranda. [Marvelous thing.]

By that rose we may well see that he is God in persons three.

Pares forma. [Equal in form.]

The angels sungen the shepherds to: “Gloria in excelsis Deo.” [Glory to God in the highest.]
Gaudeamus. [Let us rejoice.]

Leave we all this worldly mirth and follow we this joyful birth.
Transeamus. [Let us turn.]

14 of 32
DAN FORREST (b. 1978)
Good Night, Dear Heart
Robert Richardson (1850-1901), modified by Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Composer Dan Forrest writes: “A few years ago, my brother and his wife found out that the
four month old girl that they were soon to adopt from Ethiopia had fallen ill and passed
away… The night they received this news,… I found myself longing to pour out a musical
elegy. My search for a suitable text led me to a picture from a cemetery in my hometown
(Elmira, NY), where the great American author Mark Twain and his family are buried. My
brother and I, from our youth, have known the poem that Twain placed on the tombstone
of his beloved daughter Susy, when she died unexpectedly at age 24 and left him
heartbroken. I was stunned by the bittersweet irony of this text being from our hometown,
and in honor of a beloved daughter who died unexpectedly. I wrote this setting that night; it
was quickly added to an upcoming concert and premiered only one week later, as an elegy
for Etsegenet and a reminder of the orphans of Ethiopia.”

TEXT
Warm summer sun, shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind, blow softly here.
Green sod above, lie light, lie light;
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.

A 10-minute intermission will follow Good Night, Dear Heart.


15 of 32
Dear music teachers,
We couldn’t do any of this without you. Your dedication and hard work are an inspiration to
us every day, and you quite directly made Lux possible.

We would like to thank in particular our own music teachers:

Jay Althouse, Southern York County PA School District
Carmen Balthrop, University of Maryland-College Park
Dave Bowman, New Oxford High School, New Oxford, PA
Meg Bragle, University of Pennsylvania
Margaret Bunuan
Brendan Cain
Stephen Caracciolo, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Sahron Carr
Ken Cooper, Washington High School, Charles Town, WV
Caroline Desmond, Children’s Chorus of Maryland
Avner Dorman, Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College
Jon Eising, James Hubert Blake High School, Silver Spring, MD
Kate Fernandez, St. John’s College High School, Washington, DC
Hugh Floyd, Furman University
Michelle Fowlin, Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, MD
Sarah Goldsmith
Caitlin Hale, East Meadow High School, East Meadow, NY
Linda Head
Paul Heinemann, Rocky Hill Meadow School, Clarksburg, MD
Emily Hines
Susan Hochmiller, Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College
Stephen Holmes, Towson University, Maryland State Boychoir
Robert Joubert, Shawnee High School, Medford, NJ
Phyllis Kaplan
Gina Kehl, Shawnee High School, Medford, NJ
Edward Maclary, University of Maryland-College Park
Mandi Meros
Robert Natter, Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College
Ed Norris, Glen Cove High School, Glen Cove, NY
Kristen Norwark
Mark Oldenburg, Christ Church Gettysburg, United Lutheran
Seminary, Gettysburg, PA
Philip Olsen
Michelle Orhan, St. Jerome Academy, Hyattsville, MD
Matthew Osifchin, Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College
Mairee Pantzer, Children’s Chorus of Maryland
William Parberry, University of Pennsylvania
Janice Puckett
Joe Regan, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Elizabeth Roberts, St. Jerome Academy, Hyattsville, MD
Rima Sayegh
Alyson Shirk, American Kodály Children’s Chorus, Baltimore, MD
Brandon Straub, Choral Arts Society of Washington (DC)
Brent Talbot, Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College
James “Coach” Turk, DeMatha Catholic High School,
Hyattsville, MD
Amy Vanek, Clarksburg High School, Clarksburg, MD
Virginia Wallace
Mollie Weikert
Justin Wilson
Kris Zankievich, James Hubert Blake High School, Silver
Spring, MD
Sandra Zankievich, James Hubert Blake High School, Silver
Spring, MD

Thank you for everything.

Love,
Abby, Abigail, Anya, Austin, Ben, Beth Ann, Ciaran,
Dale, Eby, Emily, John, J-P, Robby, Tim, Tommy, and Zach


16 of 32
AARON COPLAND (1900-1990)
Lark
Genevieve Taggard (1894-1948) John Mullan, soloist

Aaron Copland’s best-known works are orchestral, and his most famous works for mixed
choir come from his opera The Tender Land. This piece, from earlier in his career, was
composed around the same time as several of his other lesser-known choral works, and
sets a poem written by Genevieve Taggard. Like much of Taggard’s work, the poem focuses
on the beauty of nature and social and personal change. Copland’s use of irregular rhythms
and unfamiliar chord patterns are complemented by very regular repetitive sections, which
give the piece a feeling of drive and anticipation.

TEXT
O lark, from great dark, arise!
O lark of light,
O lightness like a spark,
Shock ears and stun our eyes
Singing the day-rise, the day-rise, the great day-rise.

O believer, rejoicer, say before evidence of day:

The sun is risen.
Where no sun is, come loudly in the air;
Let ear and eye prepare
To see and hear, truly to see and hear,
To hear thy three-fold welcome in the air,
To see all dazzle after long despair,
To see what none may see now, singer, singer fair, so fair.

O lark, alert, O lark, alive,

O lovely, lovely chanting arrow-lark,
Sprung like an arrow from the bow of dark,
O lark, arise,
Sing the day-rise, the great day-rise.

17 of 32
GIOVANNI PIERLUIGI DA PALESTRINA (1525-1594)
Sicut cervus
Psalm 42

This motet, composed by Palestrina in 1604, is widely seen as a paradigm for Renaissance
polyphony, and has been widely studied. The short text is repeated several times in each of
the four lines, which act both independently and, sometimes, together. During the first
section, long lines and melodic phrasing evoke flowing water. In the second section, the
introduction of man leads the music to respond with more dissonance and more frequent
imitation. The “water” that appears in the text can be interpreted as the water of baptism
or the living water of the eucharist.

TEXT
Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te, Deus.

TRANSLATION
As the deer longs for springs of water, so longs my soul for you, God.

18 of 32
ROBBY NAPOLI (b. 1997)
To Kathleen
Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). World premiere performance.

Composer Robby Napoli writes: “This piece, written for my significant other while she was
studying abroad, sets Edna St. Vincent Millay’s simple love poem, beginning with a simple
unison theme which peels off from its starting note, slowly blossoming twice towards the
centerpiece of the text: “you.” Despite the title, this song is not to Kathleen, since that is
not in fact my S.O.’s name—To Kathleen is just the title of the poem I used, which I picked
because of its beauty, and because, much like my S.O., Edna St. Vincent Millay was
passionate about empowering women. Besides the exceptional quality of her writing,
Millay was known for her riveting recitations of her own work, in which she often
addressed her views on political topics, sexuality, the power and strength of women, and
other topics on which she was passionate.”

TEXT
Still must the poet, as of old,
in barren attic, bleak and cold,
Starve, freeze, and fashion verses to
Such things as flowers, and song, and you.
Still, as of old, his being give
in beauty’s name, while she may live:
Beauty that may not die as long
As there are flowers, and you, and song.

19 of 32
ERIC WHITACRE (b. 1970)
Water Night
Original Spanish by Octavio Paz (1914-1998). Translation by Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980).

One of Whitacre’s earliest compositions, Water Night encompasses much of what would
become Whitacre’s compositional style: clusters of notes, structured stanzas, and powerful
use of text painting. Often using textures of eight or even twelve voices at a time, Water
Night makes heavy use of musical density to depict the deepness of the water discussed in
the poetry. The piece was composed during a period of personal conflict for the composer,
reflected in the uncertainty and tension of dissonant, intense chords and passages, which
resolve triumphantly in resonant sonorities, sometimes encompassing several octaves.

TEXT

Night with the eyes of a horse that trembles If you open your eyes,
in the night, night opens doors of musk,
night with eyes of water in the field asleep the secret kingdom of the water opens
is in your eyes, a horse that trembles flowing from the center of the night.
is in your eyes of secret water.
Eyes of shadow-water, And if you close your eyes,
eyes of well-water, a river (a silent and beautiful current)
eyes of dream-water. fills you from within,
flows forward, darkens you:
Silence and solitude, night brings its wetness to beaches in your
Two little animals moon-led, soul.
drink in your eyes,
drink in those waters.

20 of 32
PAUL MEALOR (b. 1975)
A Spotless Rose (from Now Sleeps The Crimson Petal: 4 Madrigals on Rose Texts)
Anonymous German carol. Translation by Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878).

A Spotless Rose, part of Welsh composer Paul Mealor’s song cycle on rose texts, Now
Sleeps The Crimson Petal, sets the traditional German Christmas text Es ist ein Ros
entsprungen, more widely known in English as “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming”.
Mealor’s original setting of this more literal translation by Catherine Winkworth
beautifully represents the ‘growing rose’ of Christ using growing cluster chords,
which expand into a soaring soprano part to represent the purity of Mary, the
mother of Jesus.

TEXT
A spotless rose is growing, sprung from a tender root,
Of ancient seers’ foreshowing, of Jesse promised fruit.
Its fairest bud unfolds to light
Amid the cold, cold winter and the dark midnight.
The rose which I am singing, whereof Isaiah said,
Is from its sweet root springing, in Mary purest maid.
Through God’s great love and might,
The blessed babe she bare us,
Amid the cold, cold winter and the dark midnight.
A spotless rose is growing in a cold, cold winter’s night.
Now sleeps the crimson petal.
Amen.

21 of 32
ERIC WILLIAM BARNUM (b. 1979)
The Sweetheart of The Sun
Thomas Hood (1798-1845)

Set to a poem by Thomas Hood, The Sweetheart of The Sun was composed by Eric William
Barnum in 2005. The story is a recounting of the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz, told from
his perspective. Upon seeing Ruth wandering in his corn fields, Boaz is struck by her beauty
and welcomes her to come and live with him, sharing “[his] harvest and [his] home.”
Barnum’s writing is sophisticated, while still easily accessible. His use of cluster chords and
text painting clearly demonstrates the intensity and drama of love at first sight as told in
this well-known love story.

TEXT
She stood so fair amid the corn,
Clasped by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun,
Who many a glowing kiss had won.
And her hat, with shady brim,
Made her tressy forehead dim;—
Thus she stood amid the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks:—

On her cheek an autumn flush, Sure, I said, heaven did not mean,
Deeply ripened;—such a blush Where I reap thou shouldst but glean,
In the midst of brown was born, Lay thy sheaf adown and come,
Like red poppies grown with corn. Share my harvest and my home.

Round her eyes her tresses fell,

Which were blackest none could tell,
But long lashes veiled a light,
That had else been all too bright.

22 of 32
WILLIAMETTA SPENCER (b. 1927)
At The Round Earth’s Imagined Corners
John Donne (1572-1631)

Williametta Spencer’s At The Round Earth’s Imagined Corners, which won the 1968
Southern California Vocal Association Competition for composition, masterfully sets the
text of Holy Sonnet VII, one of a collection of nineteen sonnets written by John Donne in the
early 17th century. In this particular sonnet, the speaker contemplates Judgment Day.

TEXT
At the round Earth’s imagin’d corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go;
All whom the flood did, and fire shall o’erthrow,
All whom war, dearth, age, agues, tyrannies,
Despair, law, chance, hath slain, and you, whose eyes
Shall behold God and never taste death’s woe.
But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space;
For, if above all these, my sins abound,
’Tis late to ask abundance of Thy grace
When we are there. Here on this lowly ground,
Teach me how to repent; for that’s as good
As if Thou hadst seal’d my pardon with Thy blood.

23 of 32
EDIE HILL (b. 1962)
We Bloomed In Spring
Original Spanish by St. Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582). Translation by Daniel Ladinsky (b. 1948).

Edie Hill’s We Bloomed in Spring was written as a thank you to Plymouth Congregational
Church for providing a venue for the Schubert Club’s Composer Mentorship Program,
which provides mentors to teenage composers. The piece itself grows from just one note,
gradually blooming into the main section of the work. As the piece continues, themes are
rapidly passed back and forth between voice parts, keeping a sense of continual motion
throughout. Adding to this sense of continual motion is the constant upwards movement
through the piece: nearly every melodic theme moves upwards, and when the main theme
is stagnant, the harmonies around it climb higher and higher.

TEXT
We bloomed in spring.
Our bodies are the leaves of God.
The apparent seasons of life and death our eyes can suffer;
but our souls, dear, I will just say this forthright:
they are God, himself.
We will never perish unless He does.

24 of 32
SAMUEL BARBER (1910-1981)
Heaven-Haven (A Nun Takes The Veil)
Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ (1844-1889)

As a teenager, Samuel Barber showed incredible potential, studying voice, piano, and
composition at the Curtis Institute of Music. His talent and education paid off: Barber
became one of the most prolific and most celebrated American composers. A Nun Takes The
Veil’s musical appeal lies primarily in the harmonizations. The piece is harmonized almost
as a recitative, but uses chord progressions that take listeners through many different keys,
indicating a lack of grounding, a sort of searching for a home, that can also be found in the
text. The drastic swing of emotions in the text is also reflected in the music through the
high entrance of the melody, with more calm melodies interspersed below, closer to a
typical speaking register. This piece was first published as a solo song for high voice, and
was published in 1940 as the first in a set of four art songs.

TEXT
I have desired to go
Where springs not fail,
To fields where flies no sharp and sided hail
And a few lilies blow.

And I have asked to be

Where no storms come,
Where the green swell is in the havens dumb,
And out of the swing of the sea.

25 of 32
STEVE BARNETT (b. 1948)
The Sun (from Three Songs From Hebrew Poetry)
Original Hebrew text by Yehuda Alharizi (~1165-1225). Translator anonymous.

Steve Barnett has made a career both as an award-winning music producer and a
composer. His skillset includes jazz composition and arrangement, the influence of which
shines through in the chord structures used throughout this fast-paced song. The Sun
originally comes from a set entitled Three Songs From Hebrew Poetry, commissioned in 1981
for the Minnesota American Choral Directors Association All-State Chorus. The beginning
of the piece presents the rising of the sun as bubbling energy bursting through sonic clouds.

TEXT
O see the sun,
who has spread her wings over the earth to sweep away the darkness,
like a blossoming tree whose roots are in heaven
reaching down to the earth with its branches.

Please do not applaud after The Sun, as Sunset will follow immediately.


26 of 32
STEPHEN CHATMAN (b. 1950)
Sunset (from Due West)
Tara Wohlberg

Canadian composer Stephen Chatman’s Sunset perfectly latches onto Barnett’s The Sun
both thematically and musically. Sunset is originally from Due West, Chatman’s set of pieces
inspired by the American west, commissioned by the Vancouver Chamber Choir in 1997.
Chatman paints the picture of the sun’s setting with calming descending lines, interrupted
by a repeated drone, which soon floats above the texture as it fades below the horizon.

TEXT
When the sun sets West,
Feathered shift of sky,
Satin clouds undress,
heaven’s kiss bids the flat light goodbye.
Endless calm, red mist,
glistening golden beams,
Gently are they kissed
by night’s dark melting blaze of dreams.

27 of 32
J. AARON MCDERMID (b. 1974)
Water
Susan Palo Cherwien (b. 1953)

J. Aaron McDermid’s Water is the third in a set of four pieces entitled From Light to Light,
which was commissioned by the National Lutheran Choir under the direction of David
Cherwien. The piece, published in 2010, uses a text which Susan Palo Cherwien (David’s
wife) wrote specifically for the commission. The piece repeats its beginning twice, finally
breaking through at the first climax, as water wearing through stone. It then builds up once
more, using a flurry of themes from the first half of the piece through the true climax of the
piece, and winding back down like the waves of the sea to the end of the piece.

TEXT
My veins the sea
Your tears the sea
If we but knew
Here together apart
To water the earth
To shape, to wear away stone,
To meet, to carry, to be changed
If we but knew
Here to seek the low place
Here to run to the sea

28 of 32
 Like what you heard?
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @ChoirLux.
Like us on Facebook—just search for “Lux Choir”.
Visit our website: ChoirLux.com

Thank you for coming.