In Remembrance

- Canadian Remembrance in music and words

 
 
 
 
 

Program Notes

Saskatoon Chamber Singers has been opening its season with a concert on November 11 for over twenty-five years. War, violence, racism, abuse and disaster all have their victims who either die, or suffer, or suffer and die. Remembrance Day has traditionally been the time when we remember the casualties of war – military and civilian. Yes, many died and sacrificed their lives so that we could live in a better world, and we must never forget them for that. Today’s soldiers continue to do the same things – to combat those forces that seek to take away people’s liberties and right to life without having to live in constant fear. We are so lucky because many of us, in fact, most of us, have never had to fear for our lives or our privileged way of life.

Besides remembering and honouring those who gave their lives in times of war, we also need to remember the millions of people throughout the world whose homes have been destroyed, whose ways of life has been obliterated, whose families have been uprooted and forced out, and whose outlook for what lies ahead remains bleak and unknown. We need to remember all these people and optimistically hope that we can eventually exist in a word without war, without prejudice, without violence, and without the need to hold power over other people. Only then can the world truly find peace and harmony.

This November 11, our concert consists of music all written by Canadian composers and readings all written by Canadian authors.

Of course, there will be the traditional Act of Remembrance with The Last Post, the Silence, and Reveille. Our musical guests for this concert are Kayla Solomon (trumpet) and Kevin Junk (oboe). Readings will be interspersed among the musical selections.

James Hawn, Artistic Director

  • Christina Rossetti’s poem Remember is the text used by composer Stephen Chatman in this setting from Two Rossetti Songs. The sentiments of this poem reflect much of what we are asked to do when we remember. We should never let the pain of memory take away the joy of living. Chatman’s piece is reminiscent of chant in that the character and movement of the piece are reliant on the ebb and flow of the words of the text.

  • Eleanor Daley has long been one of Canada’s foremost composers. Drop, Drop, Slow Tears is set to a text by Phineas Fletcher. Daley is a master at musically interpreting a text. This piece begins and ends with descending phrases that symbolize the falling of tears. As always Daley imbues this piece with her characteristic lush harmonies.

  • Re-Member Us is a challenging piece by composer Leslie Uyeda. It asks us, the living, to remember us, the dead and “to weave the web of peace.”  It is homophonic for the most part, but not without its share of dissonance and discord. After a feeling of turmoil, despair, and urgency, the piece ends with several very dramatic chords on the word “peace.” The flow of the music, which is set with multiple time signatures, is dictated by the cadence of the text.

  • Avinu Malkeinu (Our Father, Our King) is the second piece in Srul Irving Glick’s Triumph of the Spirit. “The origin of this work comes from a faith found deep within my soul, the beauty, the richness, and the indwelling love in our world,” says Glick in his preface to the set. Avinu Malkeinu begins with a short piano introduction followed by the entry of the choir who must sing intensely, but lovingly. Midway through, the piano wistfully plays what could almost be called a dance (albeit one tinged with sadness). When the choir once again joins in it is more a vocalization hovering over the piano’s shimmering arpeggios. The main theme then returns, as does the piano’s dance (although shortened) and the piece ends quietly on the word “Amein” (Amen).

  • Eleanor Daley’s Requiem was awarded the 1994 National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors (now Choral Canada). This a cappella work is in seven movements and uses as its texts excerpts from the Bible (The Book of Psalms, Revelations), The Burial Service from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, a Russian Benediction, excerpts from Missa pro defunctis, and excerpts from Carolyn Smart’s The Sound of the Birds. Each of the seven movements is very distinctive but it is the middle movement which is most often performed. Called In Remembrance (Do Not Stand by My Grave and Weep) is set to a text by Elizabeth Frye and is both touching and uplifting. The seven movements are:

    1. Requiem Aeternam I (featuring a soprano solo)

    2. Out of the Deep (featuring a baritone solo)

    3. And God Shall Wipe Away All Tears (featuring a SSAA quartet)

    4. In Remembrance

    5. I Heard a Voice from Heaven

    6. Thou Knowest, Lord

    7. Requiem Aeternam II (featuring a soprano solo)

  • Canticle to the Spirit is yet another Eleanor Daley piece, this time for soprano and alto voices.  Set to a text by Hildegard of Bingen, Daley has written a piece of exceptional beauty that begins with the voices in unison and then divides them into a perfect contrapuntal sectional before once again ending the piece in unison.

  • Stephen Hatfield’s arrangement of Amazing Grace is adapted from the coda of Over the Hills, a Scottish Suite for treble voices and bagpipes. Hatfield writes, “Although Amazing Grace is closely associated with the bagpipes, it has been arranged so many times that I thought it best to avoid it, until it came to me that the choir should never sing the melody”. Instead, the voices have a counter-melody that is both serene and triumphant. As a substitute for bagpipes, we have opted to use an oboe. The choir sings long, slow moving lines, that must be filled with energy while the oboe intones the tune that we all associate with the words.

  • In 2017 the Saskatoon Chamber Singers commissioned David K. MacIntrye to write a piece for them. The result was Elegy for the Fallen. The music is set to two verses of Robert Laurence Binyon’s 1914 poem For the Fallen. As MacIntyre says, “The sorrow of this story cannot be felt unless there is joy before it. That’s what the opening is – the joy the soldiers felt when they enlisted and the songs they sang as they headed off to war. They thought it was going to be a walk in the park, but it wasn’t.” The music starts off jauntily and with spirit, but as the realization of the truth of war appears, the music slows to half speed with the words “They shall grow not old” and basically stays at that tempo until the end as we “reflect on their sacrifice, realizing what it is.” The words “we will remember them” are repeated in the soprano and alto voices as the tenors and basses, under them, have a very rhythmic line that works in counterpoint against the soprano and alto voices. The piece builds to a climax and then the sopranos, suddenly pianissimo, begin the last section that serves as an epilogue to the piece with all the voices repeating and intoning “we remember them.”

  • Many composers have set In Flanders Fields to music and over the years Saskatoon Chamber Singers has sung many of them. David K. MacIntyre’s version is one to which we always return. It is haunting in its beauty and carries great emotional impact. The sopranos sing the opening melody to the staccato drum-like beat of the lower voices. The second section “We Are the Dead” changes character and mood and has the choir sing homophonically. Both the meter and the mood change for “Take up our quarrel with the foe” which sounds much like a fanfare before slowly returning to the opening melody, once again sung by the sopranos although in a different key but with the same underlying pulse.

  • Eleanor Daley also makes use of Binyon’s text in her For the Fallen. She makes evocative use of the trumpet which is often associated with military ceremonies. She repeats the text “There is music in the midst of desolation, and glory that shines upon our tears” three times and juxtaposes them with the more familiar words “They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old.”

  • Peter Togni, once host of Choral Concert on CBC, is also a gifted composer and organist. His Requiem et Lux is a wonderful setting of part of the Roman Catholic requiem mass. Written in memory of his friend John Brocke, this piece runs the gamut of emotions that one experiences with the death of a friend – from sorrow to reverence to supplication and praise and finally surrender to “the centre of the holy and eternal light.” At times this piece is reminiscent of chant, often with the soprano voices intoning the chant while the lower voices provide chordal accompaniment. There are many examples of rich harmonies as the piece builds to a great climax and then subsides with a final “Amen.”

  • Canada’s senior composer, Healey Willan, has written a sublime piece to a text by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. How They So Softly Rest is one of Willan’s early works and has hints of Russian church music with its rich chords for both soprano/alto and tenor/bass voices and its soaring melodic lines.

Text and Translations

Stephen Chatman (b. 1950): Remember

Words: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

     Remember me when I am gone away,
          Gone far away into the silent land;
          When you can no more hold me by the hand.
     Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
     Remember me when no more day by day
          You tell me of our future that you planned:
          Only remember me; you understand
     It will be late to counsel then or pray.
     Yet if you should forget me for a while
          And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
          For if the darkness and corruption leave
          A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
     Better by far you should forget and smile
          Then that you should remember and be sad.

Eleanor Daley (b. 1955): Drop, Drop, Slow Tears

Words: Phineas Fletcher (1562-1650): A Litany (Drop, Drop, Slow Tears)

Drop, drop, slow tears,
And bathe those beauteous feet
Which brought from Heaven
The news and Prince of Peace:
Cease not, wet eyes,
His mercy to entreat;
To cry for vengeance
Sin doth never cease.
In your deep floods
Drown all my faults and fears;
Nor let His eye
See sin, but through my tears.

Leslie Uyeda: Re-Member Us

Remember us, you who are living.
Restore us, renew us.
Speak for our silence,
Continue our work.
Bless the breath of life.
Sing of the hidden patterns.
Remember us,
Weave the web of peace.
Peace.

Srul Irving Glick (1934-2002): Avinu Malkeinu
   (from Triumph of the Spirit)

Hebrew Text:

     Avinu, Malkeinu,
     choneinu vaaneinu,
     ki ein banu maasim;
     asei imanu tz’daka vaschesed
     v’hoshieinu.
     Amien.

English Translation:

     Our Father, our King,
     be gracious unto us and answer us,
     for we are wanting in good deeds;
     treat us with charity and loving kindness,
     that we may be saved.
     Amen.

Eleanor Daley (b. 1955): Requiem

Text from Missa pro defunctis and by Carolyn Smart

1. Requiem Aeternam I

Latin Text:

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.

English Translation:

Grant them rest eternal, Lord our God, we pray to Thee.

Each night I listened for your call,
when your call stopped
I held my breath, suspended,

I’d grow accustomed to a dialogue with silence,
then wait for the sounds of night

you, dying,
and I but witness to the end

  • from The Sound of the Birds

2. Out of the Deep

Out of the deep have I called unto Thee,
O Lord:  Lord, hear my voice.
O let Thine ears consider well:  the voice of my complaint.
If Thou Lord wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss: O Lord, who may abide it?
For there is mercy with Thee:  therefore shalt Thou be feared.
I look for the Lord: my soul doth wait for Him: and in His word is my trust.
My soul fleeth unto the Lord;
Before the morning watch, I say, before the morning watch.
O Israel, trust in the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy:  and with Him is plenteous redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from their sins.

  • Psalm 130

3.  And God Shall Wipe Away All Tears

I heard a voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with all people and God shall dwell with them and they shall be God’s people.
God shall be with them and the voice of weeping shall no more be heard; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.”

  • Revelation 21:3,4

Latin Text:

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine.

English Translation:

Light eternal shine upon them, Lord.

I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

  • from the Burial Service 1662 Book of Common Prayer

4.  In Remembrance

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glint on snow,
I am the sunlight on ripened grain,
I am the gentle morning rain.
And when you wake in the morning’s hush,
I am the sweet uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

5.  I Heard A Voice From Heaven

I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me,

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours: even so saith the Lord.”

  • from the Burial Service 1662 Book of Common Prayer

6.  Thou Knowest, Lord

In the midst of life we are in death.
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer:
but spare us, Lord most holy, O god most mighty, O holy and merciful Saviour, Thou most worthy Judge Eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death to fall from Thee.

  • from the Burial Service 1662 Book of Common Prayer

7.  Requiem aeternam II

Latin Text:

Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Domine, dona eis sempiternam requiem.

English Translation:

Grant them eternal rest, Lord our God,
we pray to Thee, grant them everlasting rest.

The stillness is a room I’ve moved into,
and you are not here,
you are gone
the dark heart of a night without song

  • from The Sound of the Birds

8.  In paradisum

Go forth upon Thy journey from this world, O Christian soul, in the name of God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, in company with the blessed angels and archangels and all the heavenly host.  May Thy portion this day be in peace and Thy dwelling place in Jerusalem.

  • From a Russian Benediction

Latin Text:

In paradisum deducant angeli,
in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
 Chorus angelorum to suscipiat, et cum Lazaro
 quondam pauper, aeternam habeas requiem.

Requiem aeternam dona eis,
Domine, dona eis sempiternam requiem.

English Translation:

May the angels receive Thee in paradise.
At Thy coming may the martyrs receive Thee
 and bring Thee into the Holy city Jerusalem.
 May the choir of angels receive Thee and with Lazarus,
 once a beggar, may Thou have eternal rest.

Grant them eternal rest, Lord our God,
 we pray to Thee, grant them everlasting rest.

Eleanor Daley (b. 1955): Canticle To The Spirit

Words: Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)

Holy Spirit,
giving life to all life,
root of all things, washing them clean,
wiping out their mistakes, healing all their wounds,
you are our true life,
luminous, wonderful,
awakening the heart from its ancient sleep.

Arr. Stephen Hatfield: Amazing Grace (from Ower the Hills)

Words: John Newton (1725-1807)

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.

’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

David K. MacIntyre and Eleanor Daley: For the Fallen (1914)

Words: Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

     With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
     England mourns for her dead across the sea.
     Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
     Fallen in the cause of the free.

     Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal 
     Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
     There is music in the midst of desolation
     And a glory that shines upon our tears.

     They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
     Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
     They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
     They fell with their faces to the foe.

     They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
     Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
     At the going down of the sun and in the morning
     We will remember them.

     They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; 
     They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
     They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
     They sleep beyond England's foam.

     But where our desires are and our hopes profound, 
     Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
     To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
     As the stars are known to the Night;

     As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, 
     Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
     As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, 
     To the end, to the end, they remain.

David K. MacIntyre (b. 1952): In Flanders Fields

Words: John McCrae (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved and were loved, and now we lie
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 
To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high. 
    If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

Peter-Anthony Togni (b. 1959): Requiem et Lux

Latin Text:

Requiem aeternam dona ets, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat ets.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem,
Exaudi orationem meam,
Ad te omnis caro veniet.
Requiem aeternam dona ets, Domine,
Et lux perpetua luceat ets.

English Translation:

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,
And may perpetual light shine on them.
Thou, O God, art praised in Sion,
And unto Thee shall the vow
be performed in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,
And may perpetual light shine on them.

Healey Willan (1880-1968): How They So Softly Rest

Words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) – The Dead (from the German of Stockmann)

How they so softly rest,
All they the holy ones,
Unto whose dwelling-place
Now doth my soul draw near!
How they so softly rest,
All in their silent graves,
Deep to corruption
Slowly down-sinking!

And they no longer weep,
Here, where complaint is still!
And they no longer feel,
Here, where all gladness flies!
And, by the cypresses
Softly o'ershadowed
Until the Angel
Calls them, they slumber!

Artist Information

James Hawn, Director

Photo Credit: Amy Violet Photography

  • James Hawn, Director of Music since 2003, has been active with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers for most of its history, and has been involved with singing and choirs for as long he can remember. Prior to his current appointment as Director, he was a long-time member of the bass section, and served as the choir’s president for ten years. James has also been actively involved in national and provincial choral organizations for over twenty-five years. He is a member of the Saskatchewan Choral Federation (SCF) and Choral Canada and has served for a number of years on both organizations’ boards. In 2006 he was presented with the SCF’s Pro Musica Award, which recognizes “exemplary service to choral music in Saskatchewan.” James was an English language arts teacher for thirty- two years with the Saskatoon Public Board of Education. During that time he also taught music, was involved in choral and church music, musicals, and drama both in the school system and in the community.

Connor Elias, Collaborative Pianist

Photo Credit: Rebecca Fisher

  • Connor Elias is a pianist from Martensville, Saskatchewan. He holds a Bachelor of Music Honours from the University of Saskatchewan, as well as an ARCT in Piano Performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Connor has many influences and include his teacher Bonnie Nicholson. Throughout his undergrad, Connor has received various accolades at provincial and national music festivals, including second in the 2023 Saskatchewan Concerto Competition and third in the 2022 Canada West for piano solo. Apart from piano, Connor is involved as a chorister in the Greystone Singers, conducted by Dr. Jennifer Lang. He enjoys teaching his wonderful piano students, laughing with friends, and spending time with his family.

Kayla Solomon, Trumpet

  • Dr. Kayla Solomon (she/her) is a trumpet performer and educator based in Los Angeles, California, who finds deep fulfillment in sharing her passion for music and her commitment to sports and performing arts medicine.

    In the summer of 2023, Dr. Solomon had the privilege of serving as the lead trumpet performer at Valleyfair, an experience that allowed her to connect with audiences through her love for music. Her journey in the world of music has included some notable highlights, such as her first-place win in the brass division of the 2017 Federation of Canadian Music Festivals competition and her successful participation in the 2019 UCLA All-Star Competition.

    One of Dr. Solomon's cherished memories was her contribution to the recording of Ian Krause's Symphony No. 5 in Seoul, South Korea, as a member of the Seocho Philharmonia. Additionally, she co-founded Power of Two, a Canadian-based trumpet and piano duo, dedicated to showcasing the works of Canadian and underrepresented composers. The duo's commissioned piece, "The Stars of November" by Kenley Kristofferson, received recognition when it won the Bronze Medal in the Emerging Artist category at the Global Music Awards in January 2022.

    Dr. Solomon's academic journey has been marked by dedicated study under esteemed mentors. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and has benefited from the guidance of renowned teachers such as Ronald Romm, Dr. Amy Gilreath, and Tito Carrillo. She also holds a Master of Music degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she studied with Jens Lindemann, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Brandon University, Canada, where she studied with Dr. Edward Bach. Her ongoing mentorship with Dr. Carole Dawn Reinhart, Professor Emeritus from the Vienna School of Performing Arts, has played a vital role in her artistic growth.

    Dr. Solomon's dedication to education is an extension of her love for music. She has had the privilege of teaching grade 6-12 students at Killarney School, including math instruction for grade 9 students. As an adjunct trumpet instructor at MusicFit Academy, she is committed to nurturing the talents of students of all ages through both online and in-person private trumpet lessons.

    Beyond her musical pursuits, Dr. Solomon's interest in sports medicine has led her to focus on overuse embouchure injury prevention for trumpet players. Her research reflects her dedication to the well-being of fellow musicians. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, she is a well-rounded athlete who has been part of various sports teams, including the Brandon University Women's Volleyball team, the UCLA Club Sports Volleyball team, and the University of Illinois Waterski team. Dr. Solomon's commitment to the performing arts has also led her to become certified in the Essentials of Performing Arts Medicine by the Performing Arts Medicine Association.

    Dr. Solomon uses Pickett Mouthpieces, Soulo Mutes, and is a Robinson's Remedies endorser.

Kevin Junk, Oboe

  • Kevin Junk is the owner of Musicraft Instrument Repair in Saskatoon. Since opening his business in 1987 he has serviced over 60,000 instruments from across Canada. Kevin has a B.Mus (Performance) from the University of Saskatchewan. He received his instrument repair training at Allied Music Corporation in Wisconsin, where he was an apprenticed. Kevin is a frequent presenter at the Saskatchewan Music Conference. He is Second Oboe with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and has been a guest artist with many Saskatoon Bands and orchestras. A visit to Kevin’s shop is an opportunity to see one of the foremost collections of 19th and 20th century band instruments in Canada.

Deborah Buck, Reader

  • Previously at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan: Macbeth (Actor & Musician) & The Tempest (Actor & Musician) 2020 Cancelled; Merry Wives (Fairy, Parson Evans) & Hamlet (Polonius, Traveller, Courtier, Corpse Bearer) 2018; As You Like It (Audrey) & Measure for Measure (Mistress Overdone & Lady) 2003.

    Deborah’s other credits include The Penelopiad (Ferre Play), The Twenty-fifth Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Souris Valley Theatre); The Haunted Man, Gold on Ice, A Christmas Carol(Dancing Sky Theatre); The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, The Walnut Tree, Buddy Holly Story (Persephone Theatre); Jake and the Kid, Jasper Station (Station Arts Centre), and productions for Rosebud Theatre in Rosebud, Alberta, where she was Artist-in-Residence.  She has directed music for many theatre productions, most recently Persephone’s Elf, the Musical.

    Deb is involved in Saskatoon’s musical community as a collaborative pianist, teacher and conductor of choirs, and enjoys her travels around Canada as an alto in the Juno-nominated Canadian Chamber Choir.