A WILDERNESS OF SEA 7:30PM | FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 - Vancouver Chamber Choir
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A WILDERNESS OF SEA WITH THE ELMER ISELER SINGERS LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR 7:30PM | FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2020 PACIFIC SPIRIT UNITED CHURCH, 2205 W 45TH AVE AT YEW ST
VA N C O U V E R C H A M B E R C H O I R
Artistic Director Kari Turunen began leading
the Vancouver Chamber Choir - one of Canada’s
premier professional choral ensembles - in
September 2019, its 49th concert season.
Board of Directors
George Laverock Jon Washburn founded the choir in 1971 and it has
President become an amazing success story, ranking with
Dr. Jeanette Gallant (Oxford) the handful of North America’s best professional
Vice President choruses and noted for its diverse repertoire and
Adam J. Garvin, CPA, CMA performing excellence. The choir has presented
Treasurer concerts at home in Vancouver and on tour across
Brent Hunter Canada. International excursions have taken them
Secretary to the USA, Mexico, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Finland, France, Germany,
Matthew Baird the Czech Republic, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine.
Anne Bonnycastle
Dr. Donna Hogge Honoured with the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence by Chorus America, the choir
Wendy Kish has performed countless concerts and broadcasts, released 36 recordings and received numerous
Colin Miles awards. Foremost supporters of Canadian music, they are responsible for commissions and
Alexandra Nicolas premieres of 334 choral works by 145 composers and arrangers, most of whom are Canadian. Over
Dr. Robert Rothwell the years the choir has sung over 4,000 performances of works by Canadian composers, in addition
Dolores Scott
to their extensive international repertoire.
Cara Ventura
Marianne Werner The choir’s award-winning educational programs include the Conductors’ Symposium for advanced
Jennifer Wilnechenko choral conductors, Interplay interactive workshops for choral composers, Focus professional
development program for student singers, OnSite visitations for school choirs, the biennial Young
Honorary Patrons Composers Competition, and many on-tour workshops and residencies.
John Bishop
Stephen Chatman, C.M.
Tama Copithorne
David Cousins KARI TURUNEN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dr. Stephen Drance, O.C.
Sam Feldman
Charles Flavelle Kari Turunen is the new Artistic Director of the Vancouver Chamber
Violet Goosen Choir and the former artistic director of the male chorus Akademiska
Janis Hamilton Sångföreningen, Kampin Laulu chamber choir, the choir of the cantors
Ben Heppner, O.C. of the Finnish Lutheran Church, Chorus Cantorum Finlandiae, the all-
Don Hudson male Ensemble Petraloysio and the Spira Ensemble. He has won numerous
Doris Luking prizes at national and international festivals with his groups. He was
Dr. John MacDonald, O.C.
Viviane Nitting
named choral conductor of the year in Finland in 2008.
Imant Raminsh, C.M. Dr. Turunen was educated at the University of Helsinki and the Sibelius
Elizabeth Rathbun Academy. He has a Master’s degree in choral conducting and a Doctorate in
R. Murray Schafer, C.C. early music performance practice from the University of the Arts, Helsinki.
He tries to balance scholarly activities with his artistic work and firmly
Administrative Staff
believes that scholarship and performance can greatly benefit each other.
Dr. Kari Turunen
Artistic Director He is a sought-after guest conductor, adjudicator, clinician and teacher of choral conducting, both in
Steven Bélanger Finland and abroad. He has also acted as the chairman of the Finnish Choral Directors’ Association
Executive Director from the mid-90s until 2017 and is the artistic director of Aurore, an annual Renaissance music
Jon Washburn, C.M. festival in Helsinki.
Founder & Conductor Emeritus
Nat Marshik Before becoming a full-time conductor, Dr. Turunen taught choral conducting and was the head
Bookkeeper/Office Coordinator of choral activities at the School of Music of the Polytechnic University of Tampere from 2001 to
Karen Seaboyer 2011. He is also a founding member of Lumen Valo, a professional vocal ensemble of eight voices.
Manager, Communications & Production Lumen Valo has been a driving force on the early music scene in Finland since its conception in
1993 and has made a name for itself in almost 250 concerts around Finland and Europe. The group
has recorded nine CDs, all of them critically acclaimed for their fresh programming and quality of
Vancouver Chamber Choir singing.
1254 West 7th Avenue
Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6H 1B6
Tel: 604.738.6822 • Fax: 604.738.7832
The Vancouver Chamber Choir acknowledges that it operates and performs on the unceded Indigenous land
info@vancouverchamberchoir.com
belonging to the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh
(Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are grateful for this privilege.
www.vancouverchamberchoir.com
2VANCOUVER VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR
CHAMBER CHOIR KARI TURUNEN, CONDUCTOR
sopranos AND
Christina Cichos
Beth Currie ELMER ISELER SINGERS
Krista Pederson LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR
Lorraine Reinhardt
Madeline Lucy Smith
altos A WILDERNESS OF SEA
Jenny Andersen
Dinah Ayre
Maria Golas
Martina Govednik –I–
Fabiana Kat
LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR
tenors
Ian Bannerman
Eric Biskupski ELMER ISELER SINGERS
Tom Ellis
Eric Schwarzhoff
Taka Shimojima
Sing Joyfully William Byrd
basses (c. 1539/40-1623)
Steven Bélanger
Jacob Gramit Ave verum Peter Togni
Paul Nash (b. 1959)
George Roberts
Wim Vermeulen
Nur: Reflections on Light Hussein Janmohamed
(b. 1969)
Light Revealed
Light Suspended
Lake Skin Carmen Braden
(b. 1985)
Conducted by Victor Chen,
Elmer Iseler Singers’ James T. Chestnutt 2019-20 Scholar
Claire Renouf, soprano
grandmother moon Eleanor Daley
(b. 1955)
At Night, the Valley Dreams of Snow Jason Jestadt
(b. 1979)
Claire Renouf, soprano
Please turn off all phones.
Recording devices of any kind
are strictly prohibited.
THE COMBINED CHOIRS
James Ong
Stage Management An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts Healey Willan
Corporate Graphics (1880-1968)
Graphic Design
Violet Goosen
Development
José Verstappen
INTERMISSION
Program Typography
3– II –
KARI TURUNEN, CONDUCTOR
VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR
Présence Charles van Hemelryck
(b. 1981)
Ian Bannerman, tenor
Due East Stephen Chatman
(b. 1950)
Nor’easter
Minke Whale
Farewell Nancy
Fishing
Madeline Lucy Smith, soprano
Cathedral of Spring Alex Freeman
Pre-Concert Talks (b. 1972)
i. Invocation: A SILVER SUDDEN PARODY OF SNOW
You are invited to attend pre- ii. Homily: [In Just-spring]
concert talks at 6:45pm. You iii. Offertory: BLUE-BUTTERFLY DAY
can meet Kari Turunen and iv. Benediction: SPRING HYMNAL
learn about the evening’s
repertoire and composers. Christina Cichos, soprano
Seating is general admission
at the front of the auditorium.
You are welcome to reserve
your favourite seats elsewhere THE COMBINED CHOIRS
so that they are waiting for you
after the talk.
Meren virsi (The Hymn of the Sea), Op. 11 No.2 Toivo Kuula
(1883-1918)
Thank you to
tonight’s Concert Patron,
Fei Wong
The Vancouver Chamber Choir
appreciates your continued support
of our performances.
4ELMER ISELER ELMER ISELER SINGERS
SINGERS
sopranos This is the 41st anniversary season
Anne Bornath of the Elmer Iseler Singers (EIS).
Gisele Kulak Conducted by artistic director Lydia
Amy Moodie Adams, the 21-voice professional choir
Claire Renouf was founded by the late Dr. Elmer
Cathy Robinson Iseler in 1979. The choral ensemble
Emily Taub has built an enviable reputation
throughout Canada, the US and
altos
internationally through concerts, and
Karen Freedman recordings.
Claudia Lemcke
Alison Roy Repertoire performed spans 500 years Photo credit: Mark Rash
Laura Schatz with a focus on Canadian composers.
EIS present a five-concert series in Toronto each season, and are featured at concerts, workshops,
tenors
and festivals throughout Canada. Touring is also a major component of activities with bi-annual
Ben Keast
national tours - east and west - annual provincial tours and runouts. These events often engage
Eric MacKeracher
community singers through workshops and in concert performances.
Mitchell Pady
Will Reid Annually, EIS sponsor choral workshops through their GET MUSIC! Educational Outreach Initiative
Michael Sawarna for secondary school conductors and choirs, concluding with a joint public performance. They also
work with university students to mentor young conductors.
basses
Gordon Burnett EIS have recorded 15 CDs featuring Canadian music. With the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, they
Victor Cheng were 2019 Grammy-nominated and 2019 JUNO-awarded for the brilliant Ralph Vaughan Williams’
Nelson Lohnes Chandos recording, with Peter Oundjian, conducting. They are 2014 National Choral Award
Doug MacNaughton recipients and JUNO nominees for Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance
Graham Robinson for Dark Star Requiem with Tapestry Opera and Gryphon Trio in 2017, and for David Braid’s Corona
Michael Thomas Divinae Misericordiae with Patricia O’Callaghan in 2019.
LY D IA A DA M S , C O N D U C T O R & A RT I S T I C D I R E C T O R
As an ambassador of the Canadian Music Centre (CMC) and hailed as “the new leading exponent of the Canadian
choral composer”, Lydia Adams has dedicated her career to the growth of Canadian choral music. She is Artistic
Director the Elmer Iseler Singers, national leaders in commissioning, premiering, performing and recording
Canadian choral works. In the fall of 2016, she was appointed director of the Western University Singers.
A native of Glace Bay, NS, Ms. Adams received her musical education at Mount Allison University, NB; the Royal
College of Music and the National Opera Studio, London, England. She has conducted choral works of Canadian
composers including Somers, Freedman, Applebaum, Watson Henderson, Hatzis, Daley and Togni. She has toured
extensively and guest conducted throughout Canada and the US, and recently conducted a tour of the world’s first
Cree opera Pimooteewin: The Journey by Tomson Highway and Melissa Hui. An innovative programmer, she has
included over 50 new commissions in the past 13 years. Her own compositions are performed worldwide.
Ms. Adams has been honoured by the City of Scarborough, the Women’s International Network, and the Ontario
Photo credit: Pierre Maravel
Choral Federation. In 2003, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Mount Allison University for her service to
music in Canada. She is one of 74 featured stage artists in V. Tony Hauser’s national Stage Presence 2009 portrait exhibition and publication.
In June 2012, Ms. Adams was announced as the winner of the Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition, part of The 2012 Toronto Arts
Foundation Arts Awards.
In June 2013 she won the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in the Artist category, with the citation, “As the conductor
of the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto for 30 years and of Canada’s Elmer Iseler Singers for 15 years, Lydia Adams has consistently
promoted and programmed music by both time-honoured and contemporary Canadian composers, while at the same time promoting
young Canadian artists, many of whom have gone on to establish a career in singing.”
Ms. Adams was a co-recipient of the Parks Canada CEO Award for Excellence (2016) for her collaboration on the music drama presentation The
Bells of Baddeck (Lorna MacDonald, Dean Burry) and was honoured to have been appointed as Visiting Associate Professor in choral studies
at the Don Wright Faculty of Music, Western University in 2016.
In spring 2018, she received the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters, honoris causa, from Cape Breton University for her dedication “to the
preservation and evolution of musical culture.”
5Sun Life Community Outreach Program
Sun Life is pleased to provide a Community Outreach Program through which the regular season
concerts of the Vancouver Chamber Choir are made available to hundreds of people with health
related disabilities.
Non-profit organizations involved with community health join with the Vancouver Chamber Choir
to help distribute tickets. For more information on this program or to register your organization,
please call the Vancouver Chamber Choir office at 604-738-6822 and speak with Steven Bélanger.
WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO Raffle Ticket Price:
CHICAGO
$20 each or 3 for $50
Grand Prize: Round-trip Economy Class airfare for two to Chicago,
a three-night hotel stay, and two tickets to a Chicago Symphony
Orchestra concert in the 2020/21 season. Subject to availability.
Additional hotel nights are available at the winner’s expense.
Second Prize: Two tickets to the Vancouver International Wine Festival’s
International Festival Tasting on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Must be 19+ to attend.)
Third Prize: Chef’s choice dinner for two guests at Nightingale restaurant
and two tickets to a Vancouver Chamber Choir performance in the
2020/21 season.
Prizes generously furnished by:
(No prize substitutions. Winners consent to the release of their names by licensee.)
Total value of all prizes: $3,810
Draw will take place June 30, 2020, 7:00pm, at Hodson Manor,
1254 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6H 1B6
in support of Full details available at www.vancouverchamberchoir.com/raffle • (604) 738-6822
Chances are 1 in 650 (total tickets for sale) to win the grand prize. BC Gaming Event Licence # 124565.
Problem Gambling Help Line 1-888-795-6111
Know your limit, play within it.
www.bcresponsiblegambling.ca
6N E W H O N O R A RY PAT R O N
Viviane Nitting
Of the 40 administrators who have worked for the Vancouver Chamber Choir over the last 49 years, only
three served 20 years or more. Viviane Nitting was with us for 20 seasons - 1989-2009 - making her one of
the Choir’s superstars, coming in third behind only the legendary Violet Goosen (39 years) and founding
conductor Jon Washburn (48).
For those years, Viviane was our comptroller - responsible for keeping track of every penny of a million-
dollar organization as it came in from ticket sales, fees, donations, grants, gifts and a hundred other sources
and as it was disbursed to the equally daunting number of singers, players, office employees, service,
equipment and material providers who keep the organization busy and afloat on a daily basis. She tackled
this task with a tenacity and sometimes ferocity that is storied. Bach help the poor accounts receivable
clerk who had billed us twice or - even worse - forgotten a promised discount! Viviane was there to make
sure no one might take unfair advantage of our (or even more passionately “her”) Choir!
Every year at audit time, we would get the word from our auditors, “We have never seen such an
immaculately kept set of books, with all of our questions anticipated and fully answered, making our job so easy... even a pleasure. Are
you sure you are really an arts organization?”
Multilingual and multicultural, Viviane would preside over the office with a European fervour, completely convinced as to the importance
of our artistic goals and achievements to the community and world at large. Already music lovers when they joined us, she and her
husband Björn became avid choral aficionados, attending all of the Choir’s concerts and events and soon becoming donors and sponsors.
She was never so happy as when the Choir was rehearsing upstairs in Hodson Manor and she could hear the singing wafting down. Jon
Washburn remembers after-rehearsal chats and Viviane’s probing questions: Why did you choose this piece? What do you think of that
composer? Why do these pieces make me laugh and that one makes me cry? How do you make the whole concert feel so organic from
one end to the other? Why did you choose so-and-so to be the soloist?
That was the quintessential Viviane - seeking the essence of things and passionate in her love for the Choir and its music-making.
Thank you,
On being appointed as a new Honorary Patron for the choir, Viviane remarked, “Lucky is the person who loves his/her job. That was 20
years of my life, working for the VCC. As they say: ‘Happy wife, happy life’. Björn joined me in loving the Vancouver Chamber Choir - as
much as I did and possibly more. At his funeral in Sweden, he requested to have the Choir to sing for him (via CD). What more can I add,
John and Leonora Pauls
but my heartiest thank yous to the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and to Jon and Violet for giving us such a joy!”
The Vancouver Chamber Choir
“Kari Turunen and the Vancouver Chamber Choir are a national treasure. For only
appreciates
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~ Colin program
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7THIS DELICATE
UNIVERSE
VANCOUVER YOUTH CHOIR CARRIE TENNANT, CONDUCTOR
7:30PM | FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2020
CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
WITH THE VANCOUVER YOUTH CHOIR
We're pleased to present the Canadian premiere of Seattle-based Eric Banks’ This
Delicate Universe. The work is akin to a choral symphony in scope. Its five movements
for double choir, set to the poems of Constantine Cavafy, feature Arabic and Western
scales, full sonorities, intriguing melodies and texts both in Greek and English to create a
rich tapestry reflecting Cavafy’s world. In the first half of this concert we’re joined by our
Associate Choir, the brilliant Vancouver Youth Choir.
TICKETS: CHANCENTRE.COM | 604.822.2697
vancouverchamberchoir.com
8P R O G R A M N O T E S , T E X T S & T R A N S L AT I O N S
–I–
LYDIA ADAMS, CONDUCTOR
ELMER ISELER SINGERS
William Byrd
Sing Joyfully
Sing joyfully to God our strength; sing loud unto the God of Jacob!
Take the song, bring forth the timbrel, the pleasant harp, and the viol.
Blow the trumpet in the new moon, even in the time appointed, and at our feast day.
For this is a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
(from Psalm 81)
Peter Togni
Ave verum
Ave verum corpus, natum
Hail, true Body, born
de Maria Virgine,
of the Virgin Mary,
vere passum, immolatum
having truly suffered, sacrificed
in cruce pro homine
on the cross for mankind,
cuius latus perforatum
from whose pierced side
fluxit aqua et sanguine:
water and blood flowed:
esto nobis praegustatum
Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet]
in mortis examine.
in the trial of death!
O Jesu dulcis, O Jesu pie,
O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus,
O Jesu, fili Mariae.
O Jesus, son of Mary,
Miserere mei. Amen.
have mercy on me. Amen.
(Eucharistic chant)
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9RECORDINGS Hussein Janmohamed
FOR SALE IN Nur: Reflections on Light
THE LOBBY Nur: Reflections on Light is a collection of miniatures and
soundscapes exploring the nature of light. This collection of new
* pieces and others reworked from an earlier 2010 composition
were written and compiled as a site-specific work for the
opening of the Ismaili Centre Toronto. The piece interweaves
The Healing Series melodies from Ismaili Muslim devotional literature, quranic
h Finding the Still Point music for healing * A healing ambience of calm, recitation and classical Indian ragas into textures influenced by
warmth and consolation projected through 15 beloved choral favourites with early and contemporary choral music techniques.
interconnecting Gregorian chants.
h A Quiet Place music for healing III * An outstanding collection of choral Nurun ‘ala Nur Light upon Light
treasures chosen to help find peace, quiet and healing in today’s hectic world. (Qur’an 24:35)
The Masters Series
h BaroqueFest Festive music of Bach, Purcell, Handel and Monteverdi from a
gala Expo 86 concert, with Jon Washburn and Michael Corboz conducting their Carmen Braden
professional choirs from Canada and Switzerland. Lake Skin
h Missa Brevis Four contrasting short masses by Haydn Missa Brevis Sancti
Joannis de Deo, Fauré Messe basse, von Weber Jubelmesse and Christoph Bernhard Lake skin
Missa Durch Adams Fall. Scarred and healed
Sings a cold song (Carmen Braden)
The Canadian Composer Series
h A Garden of Bells * R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 1: Early choral works including
Miniwanka, Epitaph for Moonlight, Snowforms, Gamelan, Sun, Fire, Felix’s Girls
and A Garden of Bells. Eleanor Daley
h Imagining Incense* R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 3: Recent choral works grandmother moon
including Magic Songs, Three Hymns, Rain Chant, Alleluia, Beautiful Spanish Song,
Imagining Incense and other works. she looks into and beyond my soul
the lacy cedar boughs creating her shadows
h The Love that Moves the Universe * R. Murray Schafer, Vol. 4: Three cedar ones weave design of midnight canvas
outstanding major works recorded in 2018 for the composer’s 85th birthday: she looks into and beyond my soul
the title piece for choir and orchestra, plus The Star Princess and the Waterlilies she a powerful sacred hoop of full light
and Narcissus and Echo. simplicity against the ebony blues and blacks
h Earth Chants Imant Raminsh, Vol. 2 Missa Brevis in C Minor, Earth Chants of night sky land and crystal star people
& smaller works. she looks into and beyond my soul
h Due West Stephen Chatman, Vol. 2 With oboist Roger Cole and pianist Linda her round face of translucent beauty and light
Lee Thomas. quiet powers speak out in her name…..
h Due East Stephen Chatman, Vol. 3 The Canadian composer’s latest pieces since we’lalin [welcome]
(Mary Louise Martin)
2000.
h Rise! Shine! * Music of Jon Washburn Including The Star, A Stephen Foster
Medley, Chinese Melodies, Rossetti Songs, God’s Lamb, Noel Sing We!, Behold I
build an house and Rise! Shine! Jason Jestadt
At Night, the Valley Dreams of Snow
The Christmas Recordings Siku [Sea ice]
h A Dylan Thomas Christmas * The Vancouver Chamber Choir’s signature Sikusuit [Large expanses of ice in motion]
performance of A Child’s Christmas in Wales, read by Welsh actor Russell Mauja [Deep snow]
Roberts with special carol settings by Jon Washburn. Tiggunnirit [Piled up ice floes frozen together]
h A World Christmas Carols and seasonal songs of many lands from guitarist Nunataq [Mountain peak sticking up through inland ice]
Quanit [Snow falling in the air]
and arranger Ed Henderson, the Worldfest Ensemble and the Vancouver
Quanik [Snowflake]
Chamber Choir with Jon Washburn conducting.
h The Miracle of Christmas Christmas music with a colourful Central and
South American flavour played by the ensemble Ancient Cultures with several
tracks featuring the Vancouver Chamber Choir.
10THE COMBINED CHOIRS
Healey Willan
An Apostrophe to the Heavenly Hosts
Invoking the thrice threefold company of the Heavenly Hosts, sing we:
Fire unquenchable encircling the resplendent and life-giving Trinity,
Ye six-winged Seraphim, and ye, the many-eyed Cherubim
who soar aloft and are borne on pinions,
Hymning in answering ranks the Thrice Holy,
And ye, the Thrones, that unite with them in the first Hierarchy of Heaven,
Praise, O praise the King of Glory, and transform our praises into
the likeness of your heavenly song. Amen.
Ye who perform the one Eternal Will,
Ye orders of Dominions, Princedoms, Powers,
Conform our wills to His, the Strong, the Holy, the Unchanging Lord. Amen.
Ye ministers of mercy, messengers of grace,
Virtues, who govern men,
And myriad hosts of Archangels and Angels, succour and defend us.
Hail, Michael, Prince of Heaven, and Vanquisher of Hell,
Hail, Gabriel, Bringer of the Evangel, Sword of God,
And Raphael, Spirit of Healing,
Hail, Ariel, Strength of God, and Uriel, His Light,
And Hail, ye countless hosts.
Praise with us the One Holy, the One Holy Strong, the One Holy Immortal. Amen.
Ye watchers and ye holy ones,
Bright Seraphs, Cherubim and Thrones,
Raise the glad strain, Alleluia!
Cry out Dominions, Princedoms, Powers,
Virtues, Archangels, Angels’ choirs,
Alleluia!
(Words compiled from Eastern Liturgies
by Rev. H. G. Hiscocks and Dickson P. Wagner, and a verse from a hymn by Athelstan Riley.)
INTERMISSION
11– II –
KARI TURUNEN, CONDUCTOR
VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR
Charles van Hemelryck
Présence
French composer Charles van Hemelryck won third prize for his Présence in the 2018 VocalEspoo choral composition competition in
Finland. Présence is a setting of a poem by Georges-Emmanuel Clancier, in which the poet finds the very essence of life in the ebb and
flow of the ocean. The music reflects both the poet’s ideas as well as the sea itself with broad strokes.
Présence Presence
simple présence a simple presence
dénuée d’heure deprived of time and age,
d’âge de siècle même, even of era,
simple et somptueuse a simple and sumptuous
présence presence
face à la houle océane in front of the ocean’s swell,
au va-et-vient sans fin the never-ending back-and-forth
de la vague of the wave,
au souffle au rythme de sa rumeur the breath, the rhythm of its rumble
obsédante obsédée. obsessive, obsessed.
Somptueuse magnificence Sumptuous magnificence
simplement être simply to be
là there
respirer to breathe
être cette vie to be this life
qui respire that breathes
face à l’océan in front of the ocean
à son ample et tumultueux respir. with its wide and boisterous breathing.
(Georges-Emmanuel Clancier)
STUDENTS!
For only $15, you can enjoy some of Canada’s finest
choral concerts when you purchase rush tickets to
Vancouver Chamber Choir regular
season performances.
All students and youth (26 and under) are welcome.
Tickets are available at the door, one hour before the concert.
12Stephen Chatman
Due East
Due East was commissioned in 2006 by the Philharmonic Choir of the Newfoundland Symphony. It continued Chatman’s earlier cycles
Due North and Due West, the East in this case being the Canadian Maritimes. All the songs of the cycle (poems by Tara Wohlberg) are
closely connected to the sea. In Nor’easter, Chatman depicts the cold winds with the openness of the chords dominated by pure fourths,
while Minke Whale is a playful, lively depiction of a regular visitor to the bay. Farewell Nancy, an adaptation of a folk poem, is a restful
setting that resembles a folk song – a resemblance made all the more poignant by the closing solo verse. The cycle ends with a lilting and
spritely depiction of the commotion of a fishing trip.
Farewell Nancy
Nor’easter
O Nancy, lovely Nancy, I’m going for to leave you;
Wild wind,
Down to the East Indies we’re bound for to steer,
Strong, cold wind,
And it’s by my long absence, lovely Nancy, don’t grieve you,
Icy wind,
For I will be back in the spring of the year.
Howling sky,
Stormy sea, O Jimmie, lovely Jimmie, shall I go along with you?
High dark waves, In the midst of all danger with you I shan’t fail;
Icy, angry, blowing wind, When the clod stormy winds, love, and the hurricanes
Nor’easter, are blowing,
Gale force wind, Darling, I shall be ready to reef your topsail.
Freezing fingers,
Stinging eyes, It’s not your little fingers our cables can’t handle,
Nor’easter, And your neat little feet our topsail can’t go;
Slapping water, When the cold stormy winds, love, and the hurricanes
Spraying salt, are blowing;
Nor’easter. I’ll advise you, lovely Nancy, to the seas do not go.
Where Jimmie was sailin’ and Nancy kept wavin’,
Minke Whale Her cheeks bein’ more paler than ever was before;
With her gold gay locks, love, she tenderly kept tearing of,
Minke whale in the harbour, You are gone, lovely Jimmie, where I’ll see you no more.
Minke whale in the bay,
Cruising, diving, lunging, feeding,
Splashing water, spouting spray, Fishing
Diving for its prey, Fishing, running out the bay,
Diving near the surface, Sailing, got her under way,
Solitary little whale, graceful, On the bank and steering straight,
Swimming through the school, Whipping breeze and tub of bait.
Water streaming, raising its head,
So smooth and powerful, Traps and trawls and finger stalls,
Spy hopping, feeding, Rubber boots and killick claws,
Feed on herring, caplin, mackerel, Lines, twines, ropes and coils,
Hanging ‘round the fishermen’s gear, Get sore hands and full of boils.
Catching fish. What a brave young banker’s crew,
Foolish things cod-jiggers do,
Catching codfish, pick out dogfish,
Catching big fish, pick out small fish.
Haul up smelt and salmon, too,
Catching more than just a few,
Steady wind and thick’ning fog,
Bound for home to get more grog.
(Tara Wohlberg)
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13Alex Freeman
Cathedral of Spring
NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER: For the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Somnium Ensemble (Finland), I was commissioned to
write a piece with spring as a central theme. While contemplating that and perusing appropriate poetry, I was inspired by memories of
the night-time sky in early spring—the warm air, the teeming, buzzing energy of life all around, and an expansive dome of stars overhead.
I then imagined that moment in time as a kind of sacred space; this is the point where the “cathedral” notion came to mind.
This concept, in turn, reminded me of a set of songs one of my earliest composition teachers, Robert Ward, composed in 1951 called
Sacred Songs for Pantheists”. His settings of nature-themed poems by Gerard Manly Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, and James Stephens, offer
up that poetry as nonreligious but nevertheless “sacred” liturgy. Making that connection, and ruminating on some amorphous childhood
memories of spring, I got the idea that this music could somehow reflect something sacred in that common, earthly, but still quasi-
mystical and always miraculous change of season. So I structured it in the manner of a church service, but kind of a “pantheistic” one.
The frenetic and joyous poetry of e.e. cummings, from his Epithalamion, gives an exclamatory introduction to the set, followed by his
vision of spring from the point of view of giddy children in his iconic poem, [in Just-] (what could be more sacred than that?). We then
take a moment to contemplate the ephemerality of all this beauty (spring giveth and spring taketh away, i.e. an offertorium of sorts);
Robert Frost’s Blue-Butterfly Day places us in a moment where, by chance, we find ourselves enveloped by a delicately fluttering swarm
of butterflies. Peaceful and still, yet in constant flux, we spend some time taking that phenomenon in, while also experiencing a twinge of
the realisation that this is truly fleeting. The final movement, returning to a later stanza from Epithalamion, cummings’s sparkling paean
to May is set as a kind of final anthem.
I. Invocation: II. Homily:
A SILVER SUDDEN PARODY OF SNOW [In Just-spring]
Triplum In Just-
A silver sudden parody of snow spring when the world is mud-
tickles the air to golden tears, and hark! luscious the little
the flicker’s laughing yet, while on the hills lame balloonman
the pines deepen to whispers primeval and throw whistles far and wee
backward their foreheads to the barbarous bright
sky, and suddenly from the valley thrills and eddieandbill come
the unimaginable upward lark running from marbles and
and drowns the earth and passes into light piracies and it’s
spring
Duplum
when the world is puddle-wonderful
(slowly in life’s serene perpetual round
a pale world gathers comfort to her soul, the queer
hope richly scattered by the abundant sun old balloonman whistles
invades the new mosaic of the ground...) far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
Tenor from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
Spring, that omits no mention of desire...
(e.e. cummings) it’s
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee
(e.e. cummings)
14III. Offertory:
BLUE-BUTTERFLY DAY
It is blue-butterfly day here in spring,
And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry
There is more unmixed color on the wing
Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry.
But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
(Robert Frost)
IV. Benediction:
SPRING HYMNAL
O still miraculous May!O shining girl
of time unvarnished!O small intimate
gently primeval hands,frivolous feet
divine!O singular and breathless pearl!
O indefinable frail ultimate pose!
O visible beatitude sweet sweet
intolerable!silence immaculate
of god’s evasive audible great rose!
(e.e. cummings)
15THE COMBINED CHOIRS
Toivo Kuula
Meren virsi (The Hymn of the Sea), Op. 11 No.2
Toivo Kuula composed his Meren virsi (The Hymn of the Sea) in Paris in 1909. It was a commission by the foremost Finnish choir of the
time, Suomen Laulu. The work, set to a contemporary poem by the unofficial poet laureate Eino Leino, was considered too difficult to ever
be performed both by Kuula’s teacher Marcel Labey and the conductor behind the commission, Heikki Klemetti. The correspondence
between Kuula and Klemetti is intriguing and, at times, hilarious, as Klemetti describes the difficulties he is facing. In the end, Klemetti
writes: “we can print it like this, but no one will ever sing it after us”. The result was, not surprisingly, a catastrophic premiere, and a
version for choir with piano accompaniment followed in 1910.
Looking at the poem, it is easy to see why Kuula believed he would have to pull out all the stops. To describe the infinite waters and
eternal longing, using four full octaves from a low bass B to a high soprano B, double-choir textures, passages for female and male choirs,
respectively, and stretching the work to over 10 minutes in length, all seem completely logical. Oddly enough, Kuula cut a central passage
in the poem (Do you know your way / wave of the people? Tumultuous time / whence do you run? Freedom beckons us. / The Sea of the people
/ is humanity) and negated its nationalistic and humanistic ethos in favour of a more abstract or spiritual approach. Unlike the poet, he
returns at the end to the opening lines of the poem and gives the work a consoling ending as the soprano line fades into the stream of
the lower voices.
Minne riennät, vierivä virta? Whither do you flow, rolling stream?
Kunne kohiset, pauhaava koski? Whither do you roar, thundering river?
Mereen! Mereen! Meill’ on kiire! To the sea! To the sea! We are in a hurry!
Tehnet teljen, särjemme sen. You will make an obstacle, we will break it.
Mikä on määräsi, heleä henki? What is your goal, bright spirit?
Kunne kuolevan suunta suora? Whence does the dying directly aim?
Tahdon sulaa suurempaani, I wish to melt into something greater
ijäisyyteen ikävä on. for eternity I long.
Aalto aaltoa seuraa, Wave follows wave,
laulu meren on lakkaamaton, the song of the sea is never-ending,
kuin on kaikkeuden luomisvoima, like the creation of the universe,
kuin on kuolon ja elämän kulku. like the path of death and life.
Moni nähnyt on nuorta unta, Many dreamt while young,
silloin miehuus saapui, but then manhood arrived,
kovan lauloi luonnon laulun, sang the harsh song of nature,
sanoi korvaan ankarat sanat, whispered severe words in the ear,
lyhensi päivät, shortened the days,
pimensi illat, darkened the evenings,
heitti tielle pitkät varjot, threw long shadows across the path,
painoi päähän seppeleen placed a garland on the head
mennä maata aikaiseen. to fall asleep too early.
Mutta en tahtoisi itseäni antaa, But I do not want to give in,
tahtoisin kuoleman kauhutkin kantaa, I would be prepared to bear even the horrors of death,
mullaksi maatua, to become dust,
pahaksi paatua, to return to earth,
kesken kiireintä työtäni kaatua, to fall in the midst of my busiest years,
jos minä tietäisin, if only I knew
että mun sieluni säilyy, that my soul would live on,
vaikka kuljenkin kuoleman rantaa, even when I walk the shores of death.
silloin ma sietäisin Then I would bear
sinne soutaa, to row there
missä kaislikot himmeät häilyy, where the fair reeds sway;
16sanoisin sanan, I would say the word
tyttö Manan and the girl of the underworld
saisi sankarin noutaa would carry this hero
elontuskan tuolle puolen, to the other side of worldly pains,
taakse taakan, arkihuolen; beyond daily worries;
enkä mä menisi surren, And I would not go with grief,
katsoisin tuota, I would look back,
liukuisin vitkaan vierivää vuota, glide on the slow-moving stream,
näkisin jälkehen purren and see after my boat
jäävän kirkkahan, haihtuvan hopeavanan. a stream silver bright, slowly vanishing.
Turha aatos! Turha unelma! Vain thought, vain dream!
Katoan kuplana laineen, I will disappear like the bubble of a wave;
pysyy meri, the sea remains,
ääretön, saareton, sanomaton pyhyys. infinite, an unspeakable sanctity.
Lienee mulle liian suuri, It is too great for me,
lienen mereen liian pieni, I am too small for the sea,
koska pelkään because I fear,
kangastella kaikkeutta, to envision eternity,
myrskytä myrskyn kanssa, to storm with the storm,
kulkea tohussa tuulen, to fly with the wind
heittyä helmenä pilvihin saakka, to throw myself as a pearly stream to the skies,
syöksyä syöveriin. to plunge into the depths.
Minne riennät... Whither do you flow…
(Eino Leino)
17SPRING BREAK
AT ARTS U M B R ELLA
Get creative this spring with Visual
and Performing Arts camps for
young people ages 3-19. Thank you to all of our
wonderful front of house volunteers.
Granville Island / South Surrey
Week 1: Mar 16-20, 2020 You are greatly appreciated.
Week 2: Mar 23-27, 2020
Lisa Akizuki
artsumbrella.com/spring-break
Gloria Aldrich
Cecilia Bernabe
Alison Block
Ana Brkich
WORLD P REMI E RE Ron Costanzo
GaRdENS A SACRED ORATORIO
Marylin de Verteuil
Francesca Fung
by David Owen Squires David Harvey
1 Jacquie Hurst
APRIL 4, 2020 | 7:30 PM Yvonne Kato
Pre-concert talk 7 pm
Sharon Newman
Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church
9165 160 Street, Surrey
Adele Peters
Ron Schubank
Program includes Bach’s Cantata No. 150 Kristina Skoritskaya
and Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass
Tickets and details: twu.ca/samc
If you would like to be part of this committed
and enthusiastic team, please email us at
info@vancouverchamberchoir.com
or call 604-738-6822
18W I T H O U R T H A N K S
The Vancouver Chamber Choir is pleased to thank and acknowledge our Corporate and Individual Sponsors and Donors as well as the Foundations
and Government Agencies who, through their leadership and financial support over the past season, make it possible for the Vancouver Chamber
Choir to present outstanding high-quality performances of choral music and deliver award-winning education and community programs.
1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212
1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212 1212
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IN REMEMBRANCE IN HONOUR
Maurice D. Copithorne, QC, LLD | Fred & Eva Bild | | Joost Blom | Jane Ciacci Shirley Bens – in honour of Dr. Robert Rothwell’s retirement
| Sylvia Crooks | Monica & Earle Drake | Janis Hamilton | Stephen Heeney | David
Hilton | Izumo-Canada Friendship Society | Linda Johnston | Raymond Kam |
Wendy Klein | Cynthia Mak | Chris McGill | Donald McRae | Nozomi Nakamura | Join our list of valued partners, donors and supporters.
Christine Nicolas | R. Lindsay Perceval | Pat Rekert | Theresa Wright|
Visit our website www.vancouverchamberchoir.com, click on the “Support”
Laverne G’froerer | Maurice & Tama Copithorne | Brian G’froerer tab and then “Individual Giving”. This will take you to a secure link where you
can indicate not only the amount you wish to give, but also select what you
My wife, Marion Haney | Ron Haney
would like your donation to support.
Björn Nitting | Al & Violet Goosen | Viviane Nitting | John & Leonora Pauls
Thank you – we couldn’t do this without you!
In memory of Bob | Jean Pamplin
19JOIN
US F
OR
TALK A PRE
AT 6 -CONC
:45P ERT
M
ST. JOHN PASSION
ZACH FINKELSTEIN,
GUEST TENOR SOLOIST
7:30PM | GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2020
THE ORPHEUM, 601 SMITHE ST AT SEYMOUR ST
WITH ZACH FINKELSTEIN, GUEST TENOR SOLOIST
PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA
The longevity and success of Bach’s passions are based on their deep grasp of
humanity. The range of emotions and the psychological acuity of Bach make the story
arresting time after time. The St. John Passion is the more dramatic and concise of the
two Bach passions, which are an important part of the cultural inheritance of mankind.
While Bach’s works are easy to find in recordings, the intensity of this music needs to
be experienced in concert.
1.855.985.ARTS (2787)
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