Hope in Times of Disquiet - Digital Booklet

1. Ubi Caritas

Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

Text from early Christian hymn

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.

Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur.

Timeamus et amemus Deum vivum.

Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Amen.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

The love of Christ has gathered us together.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let us revere and love the living God.

And from a sincere heart let us love one another. Amen.

“Ubi Caritas” happens to be one of my first choral pieces. As in Duruflé’s beautiful “Ubi Caritas,” my piece is also influenced by Gregorian chants; the difference being that Duruflé made use of an existing “Ubi Caritas” chant, while my version is my own composition. Program note by the composer

2-4. Go Ahead (2012)

Nathan Hall (b. 1982)

Alfred Starr Hamilton, 1914–2005

I. Virginia Beach

I think of the tug of the tides

I think of the tug of the tides on the shoreline

I think of the tug of the tides on Virginia Beach

I think it tugs at the pearly gates

I think it tugs on the seaweed

I think it explains a little boy’s hair

I think it explains a little boy’s tears

I think it explains a little boy’s whereabouts

I think it explains the soul

II. Go Ahead

Go ahead

even if it’s raining on a January morning

go ahead and put the daffodils on the pavement

Go ahead and sing us a song

go ahead and ring us on the phone

Go ahead and live this rainstorm down

if you only could live this down to the shining pavements

go ahead and gather daffodils off of the night

V. Free

I dared to go further

I dared to go fuller

I dared to go everywhere

I dared the four winds

I dared to do what the girls do

I dared to wear my long hair all over the place

I dared joy

I dared happiness

I dared to be free

I dared my own soul

Go Ahead is a song cycle with poems by Alfred Starr Hamilton. Somewhat reclusive during his life, he lived simply in a small apartment with minimal belongings, periodically mailing in stacks of poems to publishers for consideration. I found his book in a shop one day and was hooked; so many of his poems have beautiful repetition, surrealistic images, and an ability to evoke nostalgia or melancholy with just a few simple words. “Virginia Beach” and “Free” bookend this cycle to set a dreamy, mysterious tone and send the listener off with hope and curiosity.

Thanks to Virginia Cruickshank for permission to use A.S. Hamilton’s words. The poems appear in the book A Dark Dreambox of Another Kind.

Program note by the composer

5. Benedictio (1991)

Urmas Sisask (b. 1960)

Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus,

Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus.

Amen.

May almighty God bless you,

the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

(trans. in public domain)

In 1991, Estonia gained independence from the Soviet Union after four years of active defiance. The “Singing Revolution” liberated the country by drawing on folk music to rally the people around a national identity and appeal to solidarity with its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania. It was in this revolutionary spirit and with a newfound pride in the region’s ethnic music that Urmas Sisask composed his “Benedictio” for eight voices in 1991. Sisask utilizes musical cells to layer sound through fragmentation, repetition, and augmentation. As the textures and timbres shift with exuberant declamations from all voices, Sisask creates a musical language using hallmarks of Estonian folk music, that is modal, incantatory, and ritualistic. The Latin words, “Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus” (May almighty God bless you), a blessing intoned by the priest at the end of the Roman Catholic Mass, gain an ancient, almost pre-Christian context in Sisask’s treatment. Through his compositional devices of repetition, relentless rhythmic drive, and mode changes, Sisask creates an experience that feels spontaneous yet very structured. “Benedictio” sounds both primal and modern, a compositional trademark of Urmas Sisask as he bridges the divide between ancient Estonian folk song and the present. 

Program note by Fausto Daos

6. Without Words (2002)

Text: Li Hou-Zhu (937–978)

Huang Ruo (b. 1976)

Wu Yan Du Shang Xi Lou,

Yue Ru Gou.

Ji Muo Wu Tong Shen Yuan Suo Qin Qiu.

Jian Bu Duan, Li Hai Luan,

Shi Li Chou.

Bie Shi Yi Fan Zi Wei Zai Xin Tou.

Walking up to the Western pavilion.

The moon is as a fading hook…

The Lonesome Wutong tree,

In the deep courtyard,

Enclosed with dismal Autumn.

 Unbreakable; yet, impossible to sort,

Is this sorrow of leaving…

Deepening in my heart,

An unspeakable feeling…

Commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers, “Without Words” is based on a poem written by Li Hou-Zhu. As the last emperor of the Tang dynasty, Li Hou-Zhu experienced the loss of his country and people. Though his life was full of tragedy, Li Hou-Zhu became one of the finest poets in ancient China.

7. As kingfishers catch fire (2016)

Text: Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)

Nicholas Weininger (b. 1978)

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,

Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;

Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is—

Christ—for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men's faces.

“As kingfishers catch fire” is a fast-paced, urgent, declamatory setting of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s intricate sonnet reflecting on the ways in which all living things joyfully express their nature and emulate the divine. Nicholas Weininger, the 2015–2016 IOCSF Composer-in-Residence, is a software engineer by profession and a choral musician by avocation and passion. His choral works have been performed by choirs across the US, including Choral Chameleon, the West Genesee High School Chorale, and the Germantown Friends School Concert Choir. IOCSF has premiered ten of Nick's works in the past decade. Nick has studied composition with Joseph Stillwell and Vince Peterson. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.

8. Glong-ngo Ko (2007)

2017 arr. by Eudenice Palaruan

Excelsis Betil-Viña (b. 1978)

Alto Solo: Hilary Jenson

Tenor Solo: Ryan S. Peterson

Soprano/Alto Duet: Elizabeth Kimble, Valerie Moy

Kubing (Filipino Jaw Harps): Fausto Daos, Robin Estrada, Mandy Lai, Bryan Lin

Alleluya!

Eng naw wo mu pongnguo ko indi mo tippong

inalayu ngolammi indi mopali.

Mamalit Kalimuda ko tammoroollot mu Matulus

ko malinis po Glong-ngo keng dait mu.

Daygon ko Ikao; Daygon ko ang Ginoo; Glongngo ko;

Glongngo keng dait Mu.

Walay sukod ang gugma Mo. Dili matungkad.

Kanunay nga bago. Dili mausab. Pagkatahum

sa presensya Mo, kanako naglig’on Balaan Ka

Diyos sa tanan, Daygon ang ngalan Mo.

Purihin si Yaweh!

Alleluya!

Your love is immeasurable,

I cannot fathom

Your love is always new,

yet it never changes

Your presence is awesome;

it strengthens me

You are Holy, God of all

We praise Your name

Praise be Yahweh!

Languages: Cebuano, Diangan, Tagalog

Betil-Viña has painted the energy and excitement of the divine, immeasurable, unfathomable love that is at the center of all, building in percussive texture and spanning over three octaves of the human voice. The text itself starts with a chant from the Diangan tribe of Mindanao. The choir echoes the chant, which is then followed by a duet in Cebuano and Diangan, and ends in Tagalog suggesting that the message is true in all languages and sounds with or without words.

At the start, the men’s voices seemingly come out of the very center of creation. These tones support the alto solo proclaiming the extraordinary love of God. She is joined by the tenor singing above her in range, who literally walks through the audience with alleluyas. Gradually the other choral voices pick up the words of the soloist both singing and speaking, and a treble duet floats above.

Unable to contain itself, the entire choir bursts into joyful “Praise be Yahweh!” Soon the spoken chant and sung text is accompanied by kubing (jaw harps). The alto recapitulates her earlier phrase, the alleluyas continue and the voices gradually settle back to the deep tones that began the piece. Indeed, a message that is always new, yet unchanging.

Program note by Jane Spencer Mills

9-11. Faith Disquiet (1987, rev. 1996 and 2008)

Text: Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)

Jake Heggie (b. 1961)

I. "Why do I love" You, Sir?

Because—The Wind does not require the Grass

To answer—Wherefore when He pass

She cannot keep Her place.

Because He knows—and Do not You—

And We know not—Enough for Us

The Wisdom it be so—

The Lightning—never asked an Eye

Wherefore it shut—when He was by—

Because He knows it cannot speak—

And reasons not contained—Of Talk—

There be—preferred by Daintier Folk—

The Sunrise—Sir—compelleth Me—

Because He’s Sunrise—and I see—

Therefore—Then—I love Thee—

II. What if I say I shall not wait!

What if I burst the fleshly Gate—

And pass escaped to thee!

What if I file this Mortal—off—

See where it hurt me—That’s enough—

And wade in Liberty!

They cannot take me—any more!

Dungeons can call—and Guns implore

Unmeaning—now—to me—

As laughter—was—an hour ago—

Or Laces—or a Traveling Show—

Or who died—yesterday!

III. If you were coming in the Fall,

I’d brush the Summer by

With half a smile, and half a spurn,

As Housewives do, a Fly.

If I could see you in a year,

I’d wind the months in balls—

And put them each in separate Drawers,

For fear the numbers fuse—

If only Centuries, delayed,

I’d count them on my Hand,

Subtracting, til my fingers dropped

Into Van Dieman’s land,

If certain, when this life was out—

That yours and mine, should be

I’d toss it yonder, like a Rind,

And take Eternity—

But, now, uncertain of the length

Of this, that is between,

It goads me, like the Goblin Bee—

That will not state—its sting.

Faith Disquiet is a choral setting of three Emily Dickinson poems that explore and weave threads of faith and uncertainty. The pieces were composed in 1987 for the UCLA Concert Choir, led by William Hatcher, when I was a grad student at UCLA. I had by then already composed a good number of art songs, many on Dickinson poems; but this was, in fact, one of my first attempts at choral writing. The Concert Choir performed the pieces extensively that season, but then they lay dormant for 22 years until IOCSF took them up in 2009 thanks to inquiries from Jeremy Faust and Zane Fiala. I revisited and revised them ever so slightly at that time, but they remain essentially as they were when I wrote them 30 years ago.

Program note by the composer

12. Kung Liljekonvalje (pub. 2003)

Text: Gustaf Fröding (1860–1911)

David Wikander (1884–1955)

Kung Liljekonvalje av dungen,

Kung Liljekonvalje är vit som snö,

nu sörjer unga kungen

prinsessan Liljekonvaljemö.

Kung Liljekonvalje han sänker

sitt sorgsna huvud så tungt och vekt,

och silverhjälmen blänker

i sommarskymningen blekt.

Kring bårens spindelvävar

från rökelsekaren med blomsterstoft

en virak sakta svävar,

all skogen är full av doft.

Från björkens gungande krona,

från vindens vaggande gröna hus

små sorgevisor tona,

all skogen är uppfylld av sus.

Det susar ett bud genom dälden

om kungssorg bland viskande blad,

i skogens vida välden

från liljekonvaljernas huvudstad.

King Lily-of-the-Valley from the grove,

King Lily-of-the-Valley is as white as snow,

now the young king mourns

over Princess Lily-of-the-Valley-Maiden.

King Lily-of-the-Valley, he lowers

his sad head so heavy and weak;

and the silver helmet shines

in the pale summer twilight.

Around the bier, a spider weaves

from the incense plates with floral scent

an incense [that] slowly flows;

the whole forest is full of fragrance.

From the birch’s rocking crown,

from the wind’s waving green house

small songs of sorrow sound;

the whole forest is filled with whisper.

A message is whispered through the valley

about a king’s sorrow among whispering leaves,

in the wide kingdoms of the forest,

from the capital of the Lilies-of-the-Valley.

Beautiful harmonies bring Gustaf Fröding’s poetry to life in this piece, published posthumously. The scene we are introduced to is one of lament by a king at the loss of the princess. The king’s sorrow echoes in the surrounding forest through metaphorical “whispers,” showing that her memory will not be forgotten. This strong symbolism with nature, medieval imagery, and high fantasy of Fröding’s imagination is cut from the same cloth as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. From this tale and the lyrical ebbs and flows, it’s no wonder that “Kung Liljekonvalje” is a celebrated piece of music adored by Swedish hearts and the world at large.

Program note by Hannah Strack

13. Rise up, my love, my fair one (2012, rev. 2018)

Song of Solomon 2:10–13

Nicholas Weininger (b. 1978)

Ana dodi ve amar li:

Kumi lach rayati yafati ulechi lach

Ki hineh, hastav ’avar, hageshem chalaf halach lo

Hanitzanim niru ba-’aretz, ’et hazamir higiya,

Ve kol hator nishma be-’artzenu.

Hate’enah chanetah fageha ve

hagefanim semadar natnu reiach.

Kumi lach rayati yafati ulechi lach.

My beloved spoke and said to me:

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away

For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing is come,

And the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

The fig tree ripens its figs and the

blossoming vines give forth fragrance.

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Translation by the composer

For this setting I have used call-and-response to evoke the dialogue between lover and beloved in the Song of Solomon. Both the graceful, folk dance call of the upper voices and the lower voices’ buoyant riposte are charged with the energy and liveliness of spring. The text’s imagery is exuberant and sensuous—flowers, ripening plants, singing birds—and the musical excitement builds as we move from a rainy winter to “the time of singing,” then gives way to the languid enjoyment of the vine and fig tree, which are motivic symbols of contentment and security throughout the Hebrew Bible. In these verses the lover presents all this as a banquet of beckoning delights and urges his beloved, gently yet passionately, to come and join him in its enjoyment.

Program note by the composer

14. Oracle of Spring (2012)

Text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), Alfred Baskerville, translation

M.E. Valverde (b. 1987)

Cuckoo, thou prophetic bird, 

Blossom-songster! hear the word

Of a youthful loving pair,

In the sweetest time of year,

Do, thou charming warbler, thou, 

May they hope? sing to them now, 

Thy cuckoo, thy cuckoo,

And again cuckoo, cuckoo.

Hear! a loving pair demand

At the altar soon to stand;

They are in the bloom of youth, 

Full of love, and full of truth. 

Say, will it be soon or late?

How long will they have to wait? 

Hark! cuckoo! hark! cuckoo! 

Silent now? ’tis only two!

Mine is not the fault, nor hers, 

Patience but for two more years! 

But, when we are one become, 

Will pa pa papas e’er come? 

We’ll rejoice if thou but criest, 

And us many prophesiest,

One! cuckoo! two! cuckoo!

And again, cuckoo, cuckoo, coo.

If we counted rightly, near

Half a dozen ’twould appear. 

Wilt thou, if fair words we give, 

Say how long we have to live? 

True, we fain would, if we can, 

Live life’s very longest span.

Coo, cuckoo, coo, cuckoo,

Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo...

Life is a great jubilee

When it cannot reckoned be.

If we e’er old age attain,

Will our faithful love remain?

O, if that should e’er be o’er, 

Nought on earth were lovely more: 

Coo, cuckoo, coo, cuckoo,

Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, artist, and politician. His body of work includes epic and lyric poetry written in a variety of styles, prose and verse dramas, memoirs, an autobiography, literary and aesthetic criticism, treatises on botany, anatomy, and color, and four novels. In addition, there are numerous literary and scientific fragments, and over ten thousand letters written by him plus nearly three thousand drawings which he did in various artistic mediums. Goethe’s poems were set to music throughout the nineteenth century by a number of composers including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Gustav Mahler. And now, by M.E. Valverde! 

15. Cum Sancto Spiritu (2002)

Movement III from Gloria (2002)

Hyo-won Woo (b. 1974)

Elizabeth Kimble, conductor

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Et in terra pax hominibus

bonae voluntatis.

Laudamus te, benedicimus te,

adoramus te, glorificamus te,

gratias agimus tibi

propter magnam gloriam tuam,

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus,

tu solus Dominus,

tu solus Altissimus,

Jesu Christe, Amen.

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace

to people of good will.

We praise you, we bless you,

we adore you, we glorify you,

we give you thanks

for your great glory,

For you alone are the Holy One,

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High,

Jesus Christ, Amen.

South Korean composer Hyo-Won Woo is acclaimed for her artistry in fusing Western compositional techniques with Korean folk tonalities and ornamentations. She creates bold pieces that honor her own heritage, identity, and religious beliefs in ways that offer meaningful points of connection for multifaceted, international choruses and audience members. In this piece, the third movement of her larger Gloria, the overall musical structure and setting are predominantly Western. Yet Woo weaves Korean folk elements into the piece, including her use of the Korean pentatonic Gyeomyenjo scale of two minor thirds and two major seconds, as well as employing Yeoneum. Yeoneum is a form of imitation often found in dynastic Korean court music, where certain melodies sung or played by instruments are mirrored by a second group. Both this classic Korean pentatonic scale and this ancient musical technique can be heard in the section which begins, “Quoniam tu solus sanctus.” The piece builds in intensity, with its final spirited “Amen” section signaling joy in the glory of God and the coming of the Messiah.

Program note by Kim Kaz

16. God gazed down on you from Heaven (2016)

Text: Marina Tsvetaeva (1892–1941)

Translation: Christopher Whyte

Rhett Jaramillo (b. 1993)

She sat on everybody’s knee

Had everybody’s arms around her

Gave her love without reserve

And when her eyes looked at you

God gazed down on you from Heaven.

Rhett Jaramillo is a composer based out of New York City. He has studied with Elinor Armer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM), Darrell Brown at Brigham Young University–Idaho and Andrew Norman. One of his most recent pieces, "Crossing Sunset" for string orchestra, piano, marimba, and timpani, was premiered by the Cadenza Youth Orchestra of Temecula Valley in 2019 at the Musikverein Großer Saal in Vienna, Austria. "God gazed down on you from Heaven" was written for the SFCM Biennial Choral Composition Competition in 2016 and premiered by IOCSF. Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva was a Russian and Soviet poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russian literature. As a lyrical poet, her passion and daring linguistic experimentation mark her as a striking chronicler of her times and the depths of the human condition.