Night and Day

including works by

Brahms, Mahler,
Schumann, Lauridsen and
Whitacre
Conductor: William Petter
Accompanist: Paul Ayres

St John the Divine

Saturday 5th July 2014
at 7.30pm

Registered Charity No 1112448

 Programme

Blessed City, Heavenly Salem Bairstow

Abendlied Rheinberger

O Thou the Central Orb Wood

Sleep Whitacre

Musical Interlude

Hail Gladdening Light Wood

Evening Hymn H. Balfour Gardiner

Interval

Sure on this Shining Night Lauridsen

Mondnacht Schumann arr. Petter

Urlicht Mahler arr.Gottwald

4 Songs Op 92 Brahms

Musical Interlude

All Alone Berlin arr. Petter

The Very Thought of You Noble arr. Ayres

Blessed City, Heavenly Salem Edward Bairstow (1874-1946)

Sir Edward Cuthbert Bairstow was an English organist and composer in the
Anglican Church music tradition. Born in Huddersfield, he studied the organ and
went on to receive his Music Doctorate at Durham University in 1901. Bairstow
held posts in London, Wigan and Leeds before being appointed organist at York
Minster in 1913 where he served until his death. A composer of both
instrumental and choral pieces, miniature and large-scale, Bairstows output
includes twelve published organ works and chamber music. He is however best
known for his sacred choral works.
Bairstow was an admirer of Brahms and also of the polyphony of earlier English
composers and these influences may be heard in the five, musically contrasting
verses of Blessed City, Heavenly Salem. The melodic material of this anthem is
based on plainsong, but is sung to an elaborate organ accompaniment. There is
a remarkable instrumental interlude between the fourth and fifth verses in
which the organ extends the triumphant feel of the fourth verse, and then
gradually subsides into the mood of peace in the final phrases.

Blessed city, heavenly Salem,
Vision dear of peace and love,
Who of living stones art builded
In the height of heaven above,
And by Angel hands apparelled,
As a bride doth earthward move.
Out of heaven from God descending,
New and ready to be wed
To thy Lord, whose love espoused
thee,
Fair adorned shalt thou be led;
All thy gates and all thy bulwarks
Of pure gold are fashioned.
Bright thy gates of pearl are shining;
They are open evermore;
And their well-earned rest attaining
Thither faithful souls do soar,
Who for Christ's dear Name in this
world
Pain and tribulation bore.
Many a blow and biting sculpture
Polished well those stones elect,
In their places now compacted,
By the heavenly Architect.
Nevermore to leave the Temple
Which with them the Lord hath
decked.
To this Temple, where we call Thee,
Come, O Lord of hosts, today;
With Thy wonted loving kindness,
Hear Thy servants as they pray;
And Thy fullest benediction
Shed within its walls alway.
Amen.
Abendlied Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)

Rheinberger, born in Liechtenstein, was an organist and composer who spent

most of his life in Germany. He showed musical talent at an early age, studied at
the Munich Conservatorium and eventually became a professor of piano and
composition. In his music can be heard influences of his contemporary Brahms,
as well as the earlier musical giants, Schubert and Bach. Rheinberger wrote a
wealth of music for the organ, as well as choral religious works including twelve
masses, a Requiem and a Stabat Mater.
Abendlied is the third of a collection of three sacred songs published in 1873.
The text, from Luke, Ch. 24, is scored for two soprano parts, two tenors, plus
alto and bass. An a cappella piece for six-part choir and written when the
composer was only sixteen, Abenlied has been called a miniature gem of the
choral repertoire.

Bleib bei uns, Bide with us,

denn es will Abend werden, for evening shadows darken,
und der Tag hat sich geneiget. and the day will soon be over.

O Thou the Central Orb Charles Wood (1866-1926)

Born in Armagh, Ireland, Wood was exposed to music from an early age as his
father sang tenor in the Cathedral choir. He attended the cathedral choir school
and then studied organ, firstly at the cathedral, but later as one of fifty inaugural
class members of the Royal College of Music where his professors included
Stanford and Parry. Wood continued his education at Cambridge, eventually
becoming a professor.
Wood is known mainly for his Anglican Church music and O Thou, the Central
Orb, an anthem with organ accompaniment, is one of his most frequently
performed and recorded pieces. A setting of a text by H. Ramsden Bramley, the
music is at times reverential, at times weighty and culminates in an Amen
section of great splendour.
O Thou, the central orb of righteous love,
Pure beam of the most High, eternal Light
Of this our wintry world, Thy radiance bright
Awakes new joy in faith, hope soars above.

Come, quickly come, and let thy glory shine,

Gilding our darksome heaven with rays Divine.

Thy saints with holy lustre round Thee move,

As stars about thy throne, set in the height
Of God's ordaining counsel, as Thy sight
Gives measured grace to each, Thy power to prove.

Let Thy bright beams disperse the gloom of sin,

Our nature all shall feel eternal day
In fellowship with thee, transforming day
To souls erewhile unclean, now pure within. Amen.

Sleep Eric Whitacre (1970)

Whitacre grew up in Nevada and in his early years, his eclectic musical tastes
included playing in a marching band and in a techno-pop group on synthesizer.
He discovered classical choral music described as like seeing colour for the
first time - at University and began composing, eventually gaining a Masters
degree at the Juilliard School of Music. Whitacre is now widely known as a
conductor and composer of choral and instrumental music and has introduced
the concept of the virtual choir to the internet.
Sleep began its life as a setting of Robert Frosts poem Stopping by the Woods
on a Snowy Evening. Unknown to Whitacre however, the Frost estate had
banned any musical settings of the writers work and publication was prevented.
After some years, the composer asked his friend and poet Charles Anthony
Silvestri to write a new text for the song - a challenging task that required the
exact structure of the original and the sentiment to match the music. In
interviews, Whitacre has spoken about the chorale-like nature of the piece
and his love of the dissonance caused by close clusters of notes, particularly
when produced by the timbre of human voices.
The evening hangs beneath the moon,
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing eyes and resting head
I know that sleep is coming soon.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed,

A thousand pictures fill my head,
I cannot sleep my minds a flight;
And yet my limbs seem made of lead.

If there are noises in the night,

A frightening shadow, flickering light;
Then I surrender unto sleep,
Where clouds of dream give second sight.

What dreams may come both dark and deep,

Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep.

Musical Interlude

Hail Gladdening Light Charles Wood (1866-1926)

The second piece tonight by Wood is seen as his most popular anthem. The
music is a strident work for double choir. The bright, outer sections contrast
with a more mellow middle section.

Hail! gladdening Light, of His pure glory poured,

Who is th'immortal Father, heavenly, blest,
Holiest of Holies - Jesu Christ our Lord!

Now we are come to the sun's hour of rest;

The lights of evening round us shine;
We hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divine!

Worthiest art thou at all times to be sung

With undefiled tongue,
Son of our God, giver of life, alone:
Therefore in all the world thy glories, Lord, they own. Amen.
Evening Hymn H. Balfour Gardiner (1877-1950)

Balfour Gardiner studied piano at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt and gained
a degree at Oxford. He taught music briefly at Winchester College and then went
on to earn his living as a composer, taking up the mantle of Stanford and Elgar.
Balfour Gardiner was also a conductor, notably of contemporary British
composers including Bax, Holst and Grainger and was a patron of younger
musicians. A generous inheritance allowed him to fund a private benefit concert
of Holsts The Planets in 1918, as well as the means to purchase a house in
France for the ailing Delius.
Evening Hymn is perhaps his best-known work and is a setting of the Compline
hymn Te lucis ante terminum. The piece, scored for eight-part choir and organ, is
a lush and romantic work full of rich harmonies. Although the music begins as a
morning hymn, the mood soon changes to one of mystery with a tremulous
supplication to God for His protection from the terrors of the night. The danger
past, the anthem returns to reflection on hope and thanksgiving, concluding
with a stunning and uplifting Amen section, finally subsiding into silence.

Te lucis ante terminum, To thee before the close of day,

Rerum Creator, poscimus, Creator of the world, we pray
Ut pro tua clementia, That, with thy wonted favor, thou
Sis praesul et custodia. Wouldst be our guard and keeper now.

Procul recedant somnia, From all ill dreams defend our sight,
Et noctium phantasmata: From fears and terrors of the night;
Hostemque nostrum comprime, Withhold from us our ghostly foe,
Ne polluantur corpora. That spot of sin we may not know.

Praesta, Pater piissime, O Father, that we ask be done,

Patrique compar unice, Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito, Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee,
Regnans per omne saeculum. Doth live and reign eternally.
Amen. Amen.

INTERVAL
Sure on this Shining Night Morten Lauridsen (1943)

Morten Lauridsen lives and works in America, dividing his time between Los
Angeles where he teaches composition at the University of Southern California,
and a tiny island off the coast of Washington where he enjoys the serenity and
silence which he treasures. Much of Lauridsens output is characterised by a
sense of spirituality, although this belies the composers early musical
experiences as a trumpeter in dance bands and his enjoyment of music by such
pop icons as Joni Mitchell, James Brown and Cole Porter!
Sure on This Shining Night, written in 2005, is a setting of a poem by the
American poet and writer, James Agee (1909-55). The words and music aptly
reflect the awe of the lone traveller observing the wonders of the universe.
Lauridsenss trademark harmonies the addition of intervals of the 2nd and 9th
to chords - are in evidence, as is his love of the American Broadway songwriters
whose long, elegant lines he admired. In his introduction to the song, the
composer writes I set James Agees marvellous verse very much like a song
from the American Musical Theatre and it should be sung in that manner.

Sure on this shining night High summer holds the earth.

Of star-made shadows round, Hearts all whole.
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground, Sure on this shining night,
On this shining night. I weep for wonder
Wandring far alone
The late year lies down the north, Of shadows on the stars.
All is healed, all is health. Sure on this shining night.

Mondnacht Robert Schumann (1810-1856) arr. Petter

Although a brilliant pianist, Schumann initially began training as a lawyer but

abandoned his studies hoping to become an instrumental soloist. Sadly, a hand
injury prevented this ambition; nevertheless, Schumann focused his musical
skills and energies on composition. Until 1840 his works were exclusively for the
piano, but later his output included lieder, symphonies, an opera, choral and
chamber music. He married Clara, the musical daughter of his piano teacher,
against her fathers wishes.
Mondnacht has been described as one of the greatest of all Schumann songs
and comes from a collection known as Liederkreis, settings of texts by the poet
Eichendorf (1788-1857). Written in the first year of his marriage to Clara,
Schumann wrote to his new wife that the song is my most romantic music
ever. The music centres on a simple, repeated eight-bar phrase in a dream-like
and tender nocturne in which the voice or voices in this arrangement - soars
above the delicate piano accompaniment.

Es war, als htt der Himmel, It was as if the sky

Die Erde still gekt, Had quietly kissed the earth,
Da sie im Blthenschimmer So that in a shower of blossoms
Von ihm nur trumen mt. She must only dream of him.

Die Luft ging durch die Felder, The breeze wafted through the fields,
Die hren wogten sacht, The ears of corn waved gently,
Es rauschten leis' die Wlder, The forests rustled faintly,
So sternklar war die Nacht. So sparkling clear was the night.

Und meine Seele spannte And my soul stretched

Weit ihre Flgel aus, Its wings out far,
Flog durch die stillen Lande, Flew through the still lands,
Als flge sie nach Haus. As if it were flying home.

Urlicht Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) arr.Gottwald

Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer whose music bridged the 19th
Century German tradition with the modernism of the early 20th Century. He was
also one of the leading conductors of his generation. Mahler showed early
musical talent, graduated from the Vienna Conservatory in 1878 and held a
succession of conducting posts in the opera houses of Europe. Later in his life, he
was to direct the New York Metropolitan Opera as well as the citys
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Most of Mahlers compositional output is for large orchestral forces and some
of his symphonies include choruses and operatic soloists, although this
innovation resulted in controversy and critical public reaction.
The song Urlicht, translated as Primal Light, is a setting of a text from a collection
of early 19th Century German folk poetry called Des Knaben Wunderhorn. One
of Mahlers loveliest songs, it appears in the fourth movement of Symphony
number 2, sung by an alto soloist. This evenings performance is an arrangement
(2008) for eight voice parts by the German composer and arranger, Clytus
Gottwald.
O Rschen rot!
Selig sind, die Trauer leiden,
Und ihr Brot mit Trnen trnken!
Der Mensch liegt in grter Not,
Der Mensch liegt in grter Pein,
Je lieber mcht ich im Himmel sein.
Da kam ich auf einem breiten Weg,
Da kam ein Engelein und wollt mich abweisen.
Ach nein, ich lie mich nicht abweisen!
Ich bin von Gott und will wieder zu Gott,
Der liebe Gott wird mir ein Lichtlein geben,
Wird leuchten mir bis an das ewig selig Leben!

O little red rose!

Blessed are those who mourn,
And bathe their bread in tears!
Man lies in greatest need,
Man lies in greatest pain.
Ever would I prefer to be in heaven.
Once I came upon a wide road,
There stood an Angel who wanted to turn me away.
But no, I will not be turned away!
I came from God, and will return to God,
The loving God who will give me a little light,
To lighten my way up to eternal, blessed life!

Four Songs Op 92 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, the son of a bass player in the city
orchestra. He toured Europe extensively as a conductor and enjoyed popularity
and influence throughout his life. Brahms was a virtuoso pianist as well as a
composer of symphonies, concertos, chamber works and instrumental solo
pieces. His output of vocal music - solo lieder, duets, quartets and a wealth of
choral music - is greater than that of his instrumental works.
The Quartets for 4 voices and piano, composed over a number of years, had not
originally been conceived as a set but were published together in 1884. The
settings are of four poems which, although by the different German Romantic
poets Daumer, Allmers, Hebbel and Goethe, all share a common nocturnal
theme and images inspired by the sky. The varying musical moods of the first
three songs are mainly introspective and nostalgic but the final song, Goethes
Warum, is introduced by rising dramatic chords and dotted rhythms followed by
a choral melody of wide-leaping intervals. This restless mood is short-lived as
the music soon subsides into a peacefully lilting 6/8 finale.

1. O schne Nacht

O schne Nacht
am Himmel mrchenhaft erglnzt der Mond in seiner ganzen Pracht;
Um ihn der kleinen Sterne liebliche Genossenschaft.
O schne Nacht!
Es schimmert hell der Tau am grnen Halm;
Mit Macht im Fliederbusche schlgt die Nachtigall.
Der Knabe schleicht zu seiner Liebsten sacht.
O schne Nacht!

Oh beautiful night!
The moon is fabulously shining in its complete splendour in the sky;
Around it, sweet company of little stars.
Oh beautiful night!
The dew is shimmering brightly on the green blades of grass;
The nightingale sings ardently in the lilac bush, and
The boy steals softly to his lover.
Oh beautiful night!

2. Sptherbst

Der graue Nebel tropft so still herab The grey mist drops down so silently
auf Feld und Wald und Heide, upon the field, wood and heath
als ob der Himmel weinen will that it is as if Heaven wanted to weep
in bergroem Leide. in overwhelming sorrow.

Die Blumen wollen nicht mehr blhn, The flowers will bloom no more,
die Vglein schweigen in den Hainen, the birds are mute in the groves,
es starb sogar das letzte Grn, and the last bit of green has died;
da mag er auch wohl weinen. Heaven should indeed be weeping.
3. Abendlied
Friedlich bekmpfen
Nacht sich und Tag.
Wie das zu dmpfen,
Wie das zu lsen vermag!
Der mich bedrckte,
Schlfst du schon, Schmerz?
Was mich beglckte
Sage, was wars doch, mein Herz?
Freude wie Kummer,
Fhl' ich, zerrann,
Aber den Schlummer
Fhrten sie leise heran.
Und im Entschweben,
Immer empor,
Kommt mir das Leben
Ganz, wie ein Schlummerlied vor.
4. Warum
Warum doch erschallen
himmelwrts die Lieder?
Zgen gerne nieder Sterne,
die droben blinken und wallen,
zgen sich Lunas lieblich Umarmen,
zgen die warmen, wonnigen Tage
seliger Gtter gern uns herab!
Musical Interlude
Peacefully does night
struggle with the day:
how to muffle it,
how to dissolve it.
That which depressed me,
are you already asleep, o Pain?
That which made me happy,
say, what was it, my heart?
Joy, like anguish,
I feel has melted away,
but they have gently
invoked slumber instead.
And as I float away,
ever skyward,
it occurs to me that life
is just like a lullaby.
Why then do songs resonate
Ever up towards heaven?
They would draw down the stars
That twinkle and sparkle above;
Or Lunas lovely embrace;
Or the warm, blissful days
Of the blessed gods towards us!
All Alone Irving Berlin (1888-1989) arr. Petter

Irving Berlin was born Israel Isidore Beilin in what is now Belarus. His father was
a cantor in the synagogue who, in 1893, took the decision to move his family to
New York to escape religious persecution. By the time of the 1900 census, the
name Beilin had been changed allegedly as the result of a miss-spelling on a
vocal score - to Berlin.
A self-taught pianist with no formal musical training, Berlin started out as a
street singer and singing waiter, but he went on to become one of the most
prolific and popular songwriters of the 20th Century. He penned over 1,500 songs
including Puttin on the Ritz, White Christmas, God Bless America and the scores
of dozens of musicals and films.
All Alone was published in 1924 and has since been performed and recorded by
numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra in 1962 and Miss Piggy in the Muppet
Show!

The Very Thought of You Ray Noble (1903-1978) arr. Ayres

Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger, radio comedian and

actor. He was born in Brighton, studied at the Royal Academy of Music, but after
winning a competition in 1927 for the best British dance band orchestrator, he
firmly established his career in the lighter side of music. Noble was appointed
staff arranger for the BBC at the age of 21, going on to become a music advisor
for HMV a post which involved conducting the house band known as The New
Mayfair Orchestra. His growing fame prompted a move to New York in 1934
where he had several No 1 hits including Love is the Sweetest Thing and The Very
Thought of You, the latter remaining at the top of the music charts for five
weeks.
William Petter

William Petter is a freelance choral director, tenor and singing teacher based in
London. He began his musical life as a chorister at New College, Oxford, under
the direction of Edward Higginbottom. Whilst studying for a degree in
Neuroscience at University College, London, he started singing as a tenor, and
went on to study as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, for which he
gained the highest award, distinction with DipRAM.

He has been musical director of Concordia Voices since 2011, and also directs
the professional choir of St Magnus the Martyr, and chamber choir Sine Nomine
Singers. He previously directed the Orpington and District Free Church Choir,
performing many great works with them including Bach Easter Oratorio, Handel
Messiah, Stainer Crucifixion, Mendelssohn Elijah, as well as Mozart Requiem,
Solemn Vespers K339, Piano Concerto no 23 in collaboration with Forest
Philharmonic. He teaches singing at Orchard House School and St Michael and
All Angels, Bedford Park, as well as having a flourishing private practice.

As a singer, he enjoys a busy oratorio career, working for groups including

Oxford Bach Choir, Oxford Harmonic Society, Hull Bach Choir, Queens Park
Singers, Chigwellian Singers and Benson Choral Society. He gives recitals and has
performed Die Schne Mllerin in Oxford, Petts Wood and Burgh House,
Hampstead, and an English song recital in Oxford, for which he was given an
award by the John Ireland trust. He also enjoys consort work, working with
groups including The Sixteen, the Choir of the Enlightenment, Philharmonia
Voices, Britten Sinfonia Voices, London Voices, Westminster Abbey Choir,
Westminster Cathedral Choir and other London church choirs. He has recently
recorded the St Magnus Choirs first CD and led a choral workshop on Faurs
Requiem for Arts Richmond. Future plans include singing the part of the
Evangelist in Bach St Matthew Passion for Carshalton Choral Society.

Paul Ayres

Paul Ayres was born in London, studied music at Oxford University, and now
works freelance as a composer & arranger, choral conductor & musical director,
and organist & accompanist. His compositions usually involve words solo
songs, choral pieces, music for theatre productions and he is particularly
interested in working with pre-existing music, from arrangements of folksongs,
hymns, jazz standards and nursery rhymes to re-compositions of classical
works, as in Purcells Funeral Sentence, 4A Wreck and Messyah. New pieces
have been commissioned by the BBC Singers, the London Festival of
Contemporary Church Music, Concordia Youth Choir, The Esoterics, Texas
Lutheran University, Wartburg College, Wheaton College and Alexandria Choral
Society. Paul is the regular conductor of City Chorus, the London College of
Music choirs and the Walbrook Singers, and he is the associate accompanist of
Crouch End Festival Chorus. He has led many education workshops for children,
played piano for improvised comedy shows and musical theatre, and has given
solo organ recitals in the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, North America and Australia.
Please visit www.paulayres.co.uk to find out more.

Concordia Voices

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass

Jackie Allen Lindsey Baldwin Stuart Coldwell Alan Baldwin
Anne Gooding Rebecca Bevan Clive Hall Chris Edwards
Anusha Hesketh Julie Hall David Taylor Jo Foley
Prill Hinckley Ramani Leathard Martin Hinckley
Julia Lavery Jane Newman Christopher Johnson
Rosie Oxborrow Anne Rowett Tim Rice
Ruth Parker Jane Purser Tim Rowett
Fiona Rowett Janet Taylor
Fiona Wimblett Shelagh Testar

Founded in 2000 as the Apocalypse Singers by Christopher Hodges, a founder

member of The Sixteen, the choir was renamed Concordia Voices under the
musical directorship of Neil Ferris and is currently directed by William Petter.
Our regular accompanist is the composer and arranger Paul Ayres.

The choir performs regularly in south-west London where it is based, and in St

Lukes Chelsea. We have also toured abroad and to other locations in the UK as
well as taking part in local musical events. Concordia Voices enjoy performing
music from a wide repertoire ranging over 4 centuries and the choir has a keen
interest in performing the work of contemporary composers, including Jonathan
Dove, James MacMillan, Morten Lauridsen, John Tavener and Naji Hakim. In the
last 4 years, we have performed specially commissioned works by Paul Spicer
and Paul Ayres.
Concordia Voices rehearse on Sunday evenings from 6:45 to 9pm in St. Jamess
Church, Hampton Hill. We are a small, friendly choir and new singers are
warmly welcome. If you are interested in joining us please contact our secretary
for more information at,

secretary@concordiavoices.org,

or visit

www.concordiavoices.org

Future Concerts:

Saturday November 22nd 2014, St Lukes, Chelsea.

Saturday March 14th 2015, St John the Divine, Richmond.