12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Join us as we celebrate the holiday season with music and storytelling! In the 12 days leading up to December 25, we will be releasing archival recordings of holiday music.
Click on an ornament or scroll down!
December 14, 2020
Sure On This Shining Night
American composer Morten Lauridsen’s music is instantly recognizable – multiple voices, chords with many notes close together to create dissonances, step by step movement of voices from one note to the next often followed by large leaps. Sure on This Shining Night is one of three Nocturnes that Lauridsen wrote, but here the music is simpler than we have come to expect. Set to a text by James Agee, the music evokes the beauty and wonder of the evening filled with stars. The poet calls on us to show kindness to one another as we strive to understand the beauty that we see. Throughout there is simplicity and tenderness in the music. Musicologist Nick Strimple wrote of Lauridsen that he is “the only American composer in history who can be called a mystic, (whose) probing, serene work contains an elusive and indefinable ingredient which leaves the impression that all the questions have been answered.”
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Text and translations
December 15, 2020
Ave Maria
Ave Maria is a selection that can be sung at any time of the year, but is often heard at Christmas concerts. Canadian composer Allan Bevan has written a truly beautiful arrangement for two soprano soloists (Louella Friesen and Barb Milner), women’s voices and piano. This piece won first prize in the equal voice category at the 1999-2000 Choral Canada Choral Composition Competition. The beautiful melody and harmonies unite to create a piece that soars majestically to its conclusion.
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Texts and translations
Nativity
Brendan Lord, who is the current Executive Director of the Alberta Choral Federation, wrote both the words and the music to Nativity. It opens in a chant-like fashion but remains homophonic throughout with beautiful harmonies that create a sense of wonder and awe. The text asks us to “imagine holding the child of God within, like Mary.” Eventually, as the music takes shapes, “we learn that God is within and we can celebrate that gift and the gift of the child as well.”
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Texts and translations
December 16, 2020
The Three Kings
Healey Willan is often considered the doyen of Canadian choral music. His many compositions for the choirs of St. Mary Magdalene in Toronto have become staples in the repertoires of many choirs. Last concert the choir sang How They So Softly Rest. His The Three Kings is, in many ways, musically reminiscent of that. It begins with a dialogue between tenors and basses asking who is knocking at the door. The sopranos and altos reply that it is the three kings. They are told that there is no suitable place for them to spend the night. Instead they go to the stable where the infant Jesus has been born. From a very quiet beginning the piece increases in intensity and ends very dramatically with all voices asking the kings to enter. There is short pause after which the choir resumes quietly and reverently with the words “to kiss the feet of God.”
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Texts and translations
I Wonder As I Wander
The song I Wonder As I Wander has been arranged many times. Leonard Enns wrote of his piece: “I wanted to respect the beauty of this lovely melody, so it is presented directly in the first and the last verses, while it is developed slightly in the second. As with a floral arrangement, this beautiful melody is surrounded by choral greenery, created through repeated statements of the word ‘wonder’. And, almost as in the process of meditation, the meaning of ‘wonder’ matures from the initial pondering wonder to amazing wonder at the climax of the arrangement. The music finally returns to the quiet wonder, which is both question and admiration by the end of the journey.”
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Texts and translations
December 17, 2020
The Music of Stillness
The Music of Stillness is by the young American composer Elaine Hagenberg. In an interview she talks about being under a cold dome of stars on a glorious winter evening that radiated stillness and quiet. In this atmosphere she was able to find rest and peace. She continues by saying that one needs to live that moment of serenity and peace. Indeed, the music is just that—calm, tranquil, serene and intoxicating. Part of the text says that “I’ll make this world out of a dream in my lonely mind/I shall find the crystal of peace.” The poet is Sara Teasdale (1884-1933) who seems to have become the poet of choice of many choral composers of late.
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Texts and translations
December 18, 2020
Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noël
Francis Poulenc’s Quatre Motets pour le Temps de Noël (Four Motets for Christmas) were composed in 1951-52. The music expresses the warmth and joy of the nativity season. Each of the motets is dedicated to a different friend or colleague. O Magnum Mysterium is the most popular of the four and utilizes Poulenc’s gift of lyric melody and his penchant for poignant harmonic turns to shine light on the hushed awe of humble observers at the birth of Christ. The text is a responsory for the second Nocturn of Matins on Christmas day. Quem vidistis, pastores is a responsory for the first Nocturn of Matins for Christmas day. It is an imagined conversation between the shepherds hurrying to the manger and the peasants of the village. The music is at first almost playful but increases in determination as the shepherds repeatedly demand “Tell us then! Sat what you saw there!’ Videntes stellam brings the Three Kings into the picture. The words are the antiphon of the Magnificat for Vespers on the second day of the Christmas season. The music is reserved and simple and homophonic throughout. Hodie Christus natus est is the antiphon for Christmas day. It joyfully proclaims the birth of Christ and the music is chordal in nature with many repetitions of “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and “Alleluia.” The music is declamatory and bursts with enthusiasm as the birth of Christ is celebrated loudly as “just men cry out.” Singing Poulenc is always a rewarding experience although at first sight the music often appears threatening and overly difficult, but once the sound is in the head the end result is always so musically rewarding.
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Texts and translations
December 19, 2020
A Cappella Christmas Cantata
A Cappella Christmas Cantata retells or repeats the familiar story of the birth of Christ but in a new and quite refreshing way. Larry Nickel (composer and owner of Cypress Choral Music in Vancouver) was commissioned by the Faith Builders Chorale of Pennsylvania to write a work for Christmas without any instrumentation, as their particular Amish sect does not make use of instruments in their church service. In fifteen movements, this cantata gives “a unique and compelling rendition of the Christmas story, from ancient prophecy to the immaculate conception up until Christ was two years old.” For the most part the text is taken from scripture, but also includes the poetry of George Herbert and William Blake.
The fifteen sections are entitled:
1. First Fruits
2. Behold, A Great Light
3. Break Forth, O Beautiful Light
4. Mary Treasured All These Things
5. Joseph’s Dream (Part One)
6. Caesar Augustus
7. No Room
8. The Grief of Pleasures Brought Me To Him
9. Tidings of Great Joy
10. Herod the Ruler
11. Joseph’s Dream (Part Two)
12. There’s a Cry Over Bethlehem
13. Joseph Made a Treasure Box
14. Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?
15. Behold a Great Light (Reprise)
Many of the pieces have a traditional carol sound to them but others are more contemporary sounding. The Grief of Pleasures Brought Me To Him has the sopranos and altos tell the story over a repetitive rhythmic pattern from the tenors and basses. Tidings of Great Joy abounds with energy and enthusiasm as it tells the story of the shepherds and the angels. The first of Joseph’s Dreams tells him to take Mary as his wife even though the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit; whereas the second alerts Joseph to the anger and reprisals of Herod. Nickel instructs the singers in There’s a Cry Over Bethlehem to “not sound pleasant—as wailing is not a nice sound.” He also adds that “one might struggle with the concept of music about the slaughter of the innocents, yet this story portrays the brutality of the times and is an integral part of the Christmas story.” Little Lamb, Who Made Thee? is very much a combination of a hymn and a lullaby, but always gentle throughout. “The first stanza is rural and descriptive, while the second focuses on abstract spiritual matters and contains explanation and analogy.” The entire work is very singable and lasts about thirty-five minutes.
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Texts and translations
December 20, 2020
Hodie, Christus Natus Est
Hodie Christus Natus Est (Healey Willan) is an exuberant affirmation of the birth of Christ that ends up with great celebration to the words “Gloria in excelsis Deo. Alleluia.” The piece is bright and rhythmic throughout and progressively gains in intensity. Willan was the consummate church musician and wrote many beautiful and accessible pieces for the Church of St. Mary Magdelene in Toronto where he remained until his death in 1968.
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Texts and translations
The Stars Are with the Voyager
Eleanor Daley selected a text by Thomas Hood for her piece The Stars Are With the Voyager. Just as the stars, the moon and the sun are constant, so, too, is love with the lover’s heart. Even though the sun may set, constant love will shine so that night is never night and day becomes even brighter. In typical Eleanor Daley fashion, she molds the music to the words, here in a homophonic nature throughout that is given even more intensity by the undulating piano that accompanies the piece.
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Texts and translations
December 21, 2020
The Hills Are Bare at Bethlehem
American composer Craig Carnahan arranged a tune by W. Walker taken from Southern Harmony (1835) called The Hills Are Bare At Bethlehem, set to text by Royce Sherf (1929-2017). The piece, which is hymn-like throughout but with something of a folk-like quality, begins with female voices but then remains in four parts except for a couple of bars for the tenors and basses. The piece is accompanied by cello (Scott McKnight).
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Texts and translations
Love Came Down at Christmas
Love Came Down at Christmas is by Canadian composer Derek Healey. He was born in England and studied there with Herbert Howells and Harold Darke (both composers whose music we have sung) before moving to Canada. Healy has added music to the canon of Canadian choral music. This piece is an interpretation of Christina Rossetti’s poem and alternates between 3/4 and 6/8 rhythm. There is a rocking, almost lullaby feeling to the entire piece. Each of the three stanzas, all set for SATB voices, is separated by a short piano interlude. Healey also intended that the accompaniment be played on harp and you can certainly hear that in the piano adaptation.
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Texts and translations
December 22, 2020
Creator of the Stars of Night
Jeff Enns chose the text of a 9th century Latin hymn for Creator of the Stars of Night. Portions of the piece draw from the text of O Come, O Come Emmanuel although the tune is not the traditional one. Hymn-like throughout, there are short sections for a cappella choir, sections for organ (Janet Wilson) alone and then sections for organ and choir together. Enns wrote this piece in 2010 for the Conrad Grebel University College, a Mennonite liberal arts college on the campus of the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
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Texts and translations
Stars
Eriks Esenvalds, a Latvian, is an active composer who writes choral works performed by many choirs worldwide. In Stars, the choice of accompaniment (glasses tuned to six different pitches), combined with the poetry of Sara Teasdale creates an ethereal atmosphere designed to transport the audience into a starry realm. “All the dome of heaven like a great hill and myriads with beating hearts of fire, heaven full of stars.”
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Texts and translations
December 23, 2020
Evening Prayer
Evening Prayer was written in 2010 by Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. This piece begins simply but grows in intensity and emotional impact throughout. The work calls for tenor or alto saxophone and a musician (Gerard Weber) who is capable of extensive solo improvisatory sections. The text is by St. Augustine (354-430). Gjeilo begins his piece with tenors and basses accompanied by piano and saxophone but soon all the voices are utilized. For some sections of the piece the singers vocalize on “ah” which provides a lush background for the two instrumentalists and creates an almost rhapsodic feeling. As the piece began, it ends quietly and prayerfully.
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Texts and translations
December 24, 2020
In the Bleak Midwinter
Christina Rossetti’s poem In the Bleak Midwinter has inspired numerous composers to set it to music. One of the most performed versions is that of Harold Darke. He sets the first and third verses for solo voice or section accompanied by the organ and then alternates those verses with ones for a cappella choir.
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Texts and translations
Away In A Manger
Away In A Manger was written in 1882 by William J. Kirkpatrick and since that time has been arranged over and over. This arrangement, by Norwegian born Ola Gjeilo, is extremely simply written which makes the words and the sentiment expressed all the more endearing. It is set for solo voice (Elaine Thaller) over a chorus that vocalizes chord progressions on an “oo” to create a smooth, deep texture which sets this arrangement apart from others. For the final verse the entire soprano section sings the melody while the remaining parts continue harmonizing on an “oo.”
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Texts and translations
December 25
A Dylan Thomas Christmas
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and Death Shall Have No Dominion; the play for voices Under Milk Wood; and stories and radio broadcasts such as A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog. He became widely popular in his lifetime but died prematurely at age 39 in New York City where he had gained the reputation of a “roistering, drunken and doomed poet.”
As the musical score explains, “A Child’s Christmas In Wales is perhaps [Thomas’] most popular work. He put it together in 1952 from several previous articles and radio talks on the Christmas theme, intending it for a recording session for which he was contracted with the new spoken-word recording company Caedmon Audio. It consists of a series of vignettes recalling imaginary scenes from Christmases past. The narrator presents these partly as small individual memories and partly as charming dialogues with a small child of that time. The result is both nostalgic and comedic--perhaps, foremost, a reminiscence of the Christmases of the poet’s youth—related in his uniquely powerful, image-laden language and accompanied in performance by some Christmas songs and carols evoked by the text.”
A Dylan Thomas Christmas is the result of these sketches described above interspersed with eleven carols that have been arranged by Jon Washburn (founder and conductor emeritus of the Vancouver Chamber Choir) who is a noted champion of new choral repertoire, having commissioned and premiered over 300 new compositions by Canadian, American and European composers. Reading the words of Dylan Thomas for this concert is University of Saskatchewan Drama Department’s Dwayne Brenna. The eleven carols included, all sung a cappella, are Still, Still, Still; Fum, Fum, Fum; The Huron Carol*; See Amid the Winter’s Snow; Ding Dong Merrily on High; O Christmas Tree; God Rest Ye, Merry, Gentlemen; O Little Town of Bethlehem; Here We Come A-Caroling; Patapan; and Silent Night. All of the arrangements show originality and sensitivity and appreciation for the text. There is also a chance for individual members of the choir to have “little solo bits.” The whole thing suggests a cozy family setting in which people sit around the fireplace listening to a story being told by someone (sitting in an armchair) while the group intermittently sings carols as they sip hot chocolate or mulled wine.
*The version that we sing today of The Huron (Wendat) Carol is really a new version written in the 1920s rather than a “translation” of the original carol. The lyrics we sing reflect attitudes prevalent at the time which was “an early 20th European romantic version of the Nativity story transported into an imagined Indigenous landscape” as described by a United Church minister in Toronto. In this time of Reconciliation, D. L. Seaborn, has, along with Beverly Lewis and others, written new words to the carol. Seaborn also notes that “the English lyrics were written during a time when Indigenous people were viewed with what would be called condescending, paternalistic racism.”