programme - Godwine Choir

Entente Cordiale
20th Century Choral Masterpieces
from England and France
Saturday 6th September 2014
Founded by graduates from Cambridge chapel choirs, the Godwine Choir was set up
to capture the atmosphere of chamber music at university and bring it to London as
part of professional life.
The group is comprised of twenty talented young singers who rehearse together weekly
at St George the Martyr in Borough. We encourage every member to develop
vocally by selecting a wide range of challenging repertoire, both well-known and littleheard.
This evening, The Godwine Choir performs an eclectic programme of 20th century
repertoire. Entente Cordiale features evocative a capella works from both sides of the
Channel. We hope this voyage will soothe, amuse and exhilarate in equal measure.
We're incredibly excited to perform these pieces in St George the Martyr, a church of
great majesty with a reverberant acoustic.
Find out more about us at godwinechoir.org
PROGRAMME
Bring us, O Lord God | William Harris
Les Fleurs et les Arbres | Camille Saint-Saëns
Heraclitus | Charles Villiers Stanford
O Magnum Mysterium | Francis Poulenc
Ubi Caritas | Maurice Duruflé
My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land | Edward Elgar
Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orléans | Claude Debussy
INTERVAL
Nicolette | Maurice Ravel
There is an Old Belief | Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
Hymne à la Vierge | Pierre Villette
Justorum Animae | Gabriel Jackson
Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis | Maurice Ravel
Valiant-for-Truth | Ralph Vaughan Williams
La Blanche Neige | Francis Poulenc
And So It Goes | Billy Joel arr. Bob Chilcott
Our concert begins with William Harris' (1883-1973) rich but ethereal motet for double
choir, Bring Us, O Lord God. After a quietly intense opening, Harris unfolds the text of
John Donne's prayer with interwoven antiphonal writing to present a truly
transcendental vision of heaven; the two choirs, separated through most of the piece,
are brought together in a thrilling climax.
Les Fleurs et les Arbres is the second of a pair of choruses by Camille Saint-Saëns
(1835-1921), who also wrote the text for both pieces. The works are ostensibly charming
descriptions of Nature and its relationship with Art, but Les Fleurs et les Arbres also
focusses on the consolation offered by the natural world.
In contrast, the poem set by Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) in Heraclitus has an
unusual provenance: it was written around 260BC by Callimachus of Cyrene as an
epitaph for a friend, then translated and adapted by the Victorian schoolmaster William
Johnson Cory. Yet Stanford's music beautifully matches the words, giving a subtle
painting of grief, nostalgia and acceptance.
Haunting and atmospheric, O Magnum Mysterium was written by Francis Poulenc
(1899-1963) in 1952, shortly before he began composing Dialogues des Carmélites, the
opera which would dominate his life until 1956. In this first of four Christmas motets,
Poulenc gives us a delicate, intimate picture of the Nativity.
Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) was known as an outstanding organist throughout his life,
working at Notre-Dame and St-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris. As a composer, he was deeply
self-critical and so only a handful of pieces were produced in his long career. A set of
motets is one of only four published choral works; all are based on Gregorian chants,
and the first is the peaceful Ubi Caritas.
Today, the part-songs of Edward Elgar (1857-1934) are often sadly neglected, but the
most famous is perhaps My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land. Elgar's lyrical writing
wonderfully dramatises Andrew Lang's vivid narrative, leading us from its opening
sadness to a moment of warmth, before an utterly desolate conclusion.
Claude Debussy's (1862-1918) Trois Chansons are settings of three Medieval poems by
Charles, Duke of Orléans. All are strikingly different: the first is a languid, adoring lovesong, the second a percussive call to a dance, and the third a furious outburst at the
cruelty of winter. But in each of them, Debussy cleverly uses modal harmonies to
reference the Middle Ages. The final song, Yver, vous n'estes qu'un villain, accelerates
into a chaotic finale to finish our first half.
We commence the second half with a coquettish miniature detailing the misadventures
of young Nicolette. This cautionary tale wittily rephrases a well-known fairy story. The
music follows the text with comic aplomb, exploiting unusual vocal techniques to great
effect. Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) penned both the words and the score in late 1914,
dedicating them to his poet friend Tristan Klingsor.
Sir Charles Parry’s (1848-1918) unique and profound sound world emerges from the
remarkable fusion of German romanticism and Renaissance polyphony. The beautiful
result is showcased in his 1908 motet There is an Old Belief, scored for 6 voices. Here
he meditates on spirituality, life and death via exquisite melody and chromatic harmony.
The work was performed at Parry’s funeral in St. Paul’s Cathedral, adding further
poignancy to the sanguine closing chords.
Pierre Villette (1926-1998) is perhaps the least famous of our composers this evening.
A gifted musician, he wrote some eighty-one pieces for choir, orchestra and chamber
ensemble. Undoubtedly his most celebrated opus is the Hymne à la Vierge, which he
completed in 1955. This strophic setting is deceptively complex, incorporating cross
rhythms and jazz harmony.
First performed at Wells Cathedral in 2009, Justorum Animae is a minimalist vision of
heaven. Cluster chords and intertwining rhythms combine to create a nebulous mood,
angelic yet veiled. The central section introduces a dynamic urgency which mirrors the
uncompromising pace of modern life. Such precisely crafted choral writing is
quintessentially Gabriel Jackson (b 1962). Musically trained at Canterbury Cathedral and
the Royal Academy, Jackson is currently Associate Composer with the BBC Singers.
Maurice Ravel only ever published three choral works. Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis
was his second. Composed in early 1915, this piece is an impressionist reflection on the
deep sadness of World War I. Haunting solo melodies create a spine-tingling
melancholy, intensified by the delicate choral legato. Gradually the initial warmth of
sound and text melts away, leading us to the inevitable chilling climax.
Another wartime composition, Valiant-for-Truth has a decidedly more optimistic air.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) set John Bunyan’s text during the darkest days of
World War II. Frequent recitative passages carry the voice of the narrator, while the full
choir speaks as Mr. Valiant-for-Truth. The motet culminates in an onomatopoeic
evocation of entry into paradise, replete with vocal trumpet fanfares.
We next rediscover the unique surrealism of Francis Poulenc. This animated setting of
Guillaume Apollinaire’s La Blanche Neige was Poulenc’s first foray into the
unaccompanied choral medium. His musical deftness and attention to detail belies this
inexperience. Crisp quaver passages and sparkling short phrases conjure crystal clear
images of the perfect winter’s day.
We finish with a well-loved arrangement of Billy Joel’s 1983 ballad And So It Goes. The
text and music are deeply affecting in their simplicity, distilling the very essence of
heartbreak. The British composer Bob Chilcott (b 1955) completed this version for the
King’s Singers’ 25th anniversary. The hushed tones of twenty unaccompanied voices are
devastatingly bittersweet, finally fading into silence.
Bring us, O Lord God
William Harris
Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening into the house and gate of heaven, to enter
into that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling,
but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears nor hopes, but
one equal possession; no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity, in the habitation
of thy glory and dominion, world without end. Amen.
Les Fleurs et les Arbres
Camille Saint-Saëns
Les fleurs et les arbres,
Les bronzes, les marbres,
Les ors, les émaux,
La mer, les fontaines,
Les monts et les plaines
Consolent nos maux.
The flowers and the trees,
The bronzes, the marbles,
The golds, the enamels,
The sea, the waterfalls,
The mountains and the plains
Console our pain.
Nature éternelle
Tu sembles plus belle
Au sein des douleurs,
Et l'art nous domine,
Sa flamme illumine
Le rire et les pleurs.
Eternal nature,
You seem more beautiful
To a heart in sorrow,
And art reigns over us,
Its flame illuminates
The laughter and tears.
Heraclitus
Charles Villiers Stanford
They told me, Heraclitus, they told me you were dead;
They brought me bitter news to hear and bitter tears to shed;
I wept, as I remembered, how often you and I
Had tired the sun with talking, and sent him down the sky.
And now that thou art lying, my dear old Carian guest,
A handful of grey ashes, long, long ago at rest,
Still are thy pleasant voices, thy nightingales, awake;
For Death, he taketh all away, but them he cannot take.
O Magnum Mysterium
Francis Poulenc
O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum.
Alleluia.
O great mystery,
and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
Christ the Lord.
Alleluia.
Ubi Caritas
Maurice Duruflé
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.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ's love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere
heart.
My Love Dwelt in a Northern Land
Edward Elgar
My love dwelt in a Northern land,
A dim tower in a forest green
Was his, and far away the sand
And gray wash of the waves were seen
The woven forest boughs between:
And through the Northern summer night
The sunset slowly died away,
And herds of strange deer, silver white,
Came gleaming through the forest gray,
And fled like ghosts before the day.
And oft that month, we watch’d the moon
Wax great and white o'er wood and lawn,
And wane, with waning of the June,
Till, like a brand for battle drawn,
She fell, and flamed in a wild dawn.
I know not if the forest green
Still girdles round that castle gray,
I know not if, the boughs between,
The white deer vanish ere the day:
The grass above my love is green,
His heart is colder than the clay.
Trois Chansons de Charles d'Orléans
Claude Debussy
I. Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder
Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder
La gracieuse bonne et belle;
Pour les gran biens que sont en elle
Chascun est prest de la loüer.
Qui se pourroit d’elle lasser?
Tousjours sa beauté renouvelle.
Par de ça, ne de là, la mer
Nescay dame ne damoiselle
Qui soit en tous bien parfais telle.
C’est ung songe que d’i penser:
Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder.
God! what a vision she is
One imbued with grace, true and beautiful;
For all the virtues that are hers
everyone is quick to praise her.
Who could tire of her?
Her beauty constantly renews itself.
On neither side of the ocean
Do I know any girl or woman
Who is in all virtues so perfect.
It’s a dream even to think of her:
God! what a vision she is.
II. Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin
Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin
Sonner pour s’en aller au may,
En mon lit n’en ay fait affray
Ne levé mon chief du coissin
En disant: il est trop matin
Ung peu je me rendormiray:
When I hear the tambourine
Sound, calling us to May,
In my bed I remain calm,
Not lifting my head from the pillow
Saying: it is too early,
I’ll fall asleep again:
Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin
Sonner pour s’en aller au may,
Jeunes gens partent leur butin;
De non chaloir m’accointeray
A lui je m’abutineray.
Trouvé l’ay plus prouchain voisin;
When I hear the tambourine
Sound, calling us to May,
The young jump from partner to partner
Not even bothering to remember you.
From him, I’ll move on,
Finding a lover that’s conveniently close by;
Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin
Sonner pour s’en aller au may,
En mon lit n’en ay fait affray
ne levé mon chief du coissin.
When I hear the tambourine
Sound, calling us to May,
In my bed I remain calm,
Not lifting my head from the pillow.
III. Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain
Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain!
Esté est plaisant et gentil
En témoing de may et d’avril
Qui l’accompaignent soir et main.
Esté revet champs bois et fleurs
De salivrée de verdure
Et de maintes autres couleurs,
Par l’ordonnance de nature.
Mais vous, Yver, trop estes plein
De nége, vent, pluye et grézil.
On vous deust banir en éxil.
Sans point flater je parle plein:
Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain!
Winter, you’re nothing but a villain!
Summer is pleasant and nice,
Joined to May and April,
Who go hand in hand.
Summer dreams of fields, woods, and flowers,
Covered with green
And many other colours,
By nature’s command.
But you, Winter, are too full
Of snow, wind, rain, and hail.
You should be banished!
Without exaggerating, I speak plainly:
Winter, you’re nothing but a villain!
INTERVAL
Nicolette
Maurice Ravel
Nicolette, à la vesprée,
S'allait promener au pré,
Cueillir la pâquerette,
la jonquille et la muguet.
Toute sautillante, toute guillerette,
Lorgnant ci, là de tous les côtés.
Nicolette, one evening,
Went to walk in the field,
To gather daisies,
Jonquils and lilies of the valley,
Skipping, lively,
Looking here, there and on all sides.
Rencontra vieux loup grognant,
Tout hérissé, l'œil brillant:
"Hé là! ma Nicolette,
viens tu pas chez Mère Grand?"
A perte d'haleine, s'enfuit Nicolette,
Laissant là cornette et socques blancs.
She met an old growling wolf,
All hairy, shining eye:
“Hey there! my Nicolette,
won’t you come to Grandmother’s house?”
Until out of breath, Nicolette fled,
Leaving behind cornet and white clogs.
Rencontra page joli,
Chausses bleues et pourpoint gris,
"Hé là! ma Nicolette,
veux tu pas d'un doux ami?"
Sage, s'en retourna, pauvre Nicolette,
Très lentement, le cœur bien marri.
She met a handsome page,
Blue trousers and grey doublet:
“Hey there! my Nicolette,
don’t you want a sweetheart?”
Wise, she turned away, poor Nicolette,
Very slowly, her heart very heavy.
Rencontra seigneur chenu,
Tors, laid, puant et ventru:
"Hé là! ma Nicolette,
veux tu pas tous ces écus?"
Vite fut en ses bras, bonne Nicolette
Jamais au pré n'est plus revenue.
She met a grey-haired lord,
Twisted, ugly, stinking and fat:
“Hey there! my Nicolette,
don’t you want all these coins?”
Quickly she was in his arms, good Nicolette,
Never to return to the field again.
There is an Old Belief
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry
There is an old belief,
That on some solemn shore,
Beyond the sphere of grief
Dear friends shall meet once more.
Beyond the sphere of Time and Sin
And Fate's control,
Serene in changeless prime
Of body and of soul.
That creed I fain would keep
That hope I'll ne'er forgo,
Eternal be the sleep,
If not to waken so.
Hymne à la Vierge
Pierre Villette
Ô toute belle Vierge Marie,
Votre âme trouve en Dieu
le parfait amour
Il vous revêt du manteau de la Grâce
comme une fiancée parée de ses joyaux.
O beautiful Virgin Mary,
In God your soul discovers
perfect love.
It cloaks you with the mantle of Grace
like a betrothed adorned with her jewels.
Alléluia, alléluia. Je vais chanter
ta louange, Seigneur,
Car tu as pris soin de moi,
Car tu m’as enveloppée du voile
de l’innocence,
Car tu m’as faite avant le jour,
Car tu m’as fait précéder
le jaillissement des sources.
Alleluia, alleluia. I will sing
your praise, Lord,
For you have looked after me,
For you have covered me with the veil
of innocence,
For you have made me before the day,
For you have made me go before
the gushing of fountains.
Vous êtes née avant les collines
Ô sagesse de Dieu, porte du Salut
Heureux celui qui marche dans vos traces
Qui apprête son cœur
a la voix de vos conseils.
Avant les astres vous étiez présente
Mère du Créateur
au profond du ciel.
Quand Dieu fixait les limites du monde
Vous partagiez son cœur
étant à l’œuvre avec lui.
You were born before the hills,
O wisdom of God, the way to salvation.
Happy is he who walks in your footsteps,
Who prepares his heart
to listen to your advice.
You were present before the stars,
Mother of the Creator,
in the very depths of heaven.
When God was creating the world,
Working with Him
you shared His heart.
Justorum Animae
Gabriel Jackson
Justorum animae in manu Dei sunt,
et non tanget illos tormentum mortis.
Visi sunt oculis insipientium mori,
illi autem sunt in pace.
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
the torment of death shall not touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die;
but they are at peace.
Trois Beaux Oiseaux du Paradis
Maurice Ravel
Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis,
(Mon ami z’il est à la guerre)
Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis
Ont passé par ici.
Three lovely birds from Paradise
(My belov'd is to the fighting gone)
Three lovely birds from Paradise
Have flown along this way.
Le premier était plus bleu que ciel,
(Mon ami z'il est à la guerre)
Le second était couleur de neige,
Le troisième rouge vermeil.
The first was bluer than Heaven's blue
(My belov'd is to the fighting gone)
The second white as the fallen snow
The third was wrapt in bright red glow.
"Beaux oiselets du Paradis,
(Mon ami z'il est à la guerre)
Beaux oiselets du Paradis,
Qu'apportez par ici?"
"Ye lovely birds from Paradise
(My belov'd is to the fighting gone)
Ye lovely birds from Paradise
What bring ye then this way?"
"J'apporte un regard couleur d'azur.
(Ton ami z'il est à la guerre)"
"Et moi, sur beau front couleur de neige,
Un baiser dois mettre, encore plus pur"
"I bring to thee a glance of azure
(Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone)"
"And I on fairest snow white brow
A fond kiss must leave, yet purer still."
"Oiseau vermeil du Paradis,
(Mon ami z'il est à la guerre)
Oiseau vermeil du Paradis,
Que portez-vous ainsi?"
"Thou bright red bird from Paradise
(My belov'd is to the fighting gone)
Thou bright red bird from Paradise
What bringest thou to me?"
"Un joli cœur tout cramoisi ...
(Ton ami z'il est à la guerre)"
"Ah! je sens mon cœur qui froidit ...
Emportez-le aussi".
"A faithful heart all crimson red,
(Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone)"
"Ah! I feel my heart glowing cold...
Take it also with thee.“
Valiant-for-Truth
Ralph Vaughan Williams
After this it was noised abroad that Mister Valiant-for-truth was taken with a summons
and had this for a token that the summons was true, ‘That his pitcher was broken at the
fountain’. When he understood it, he called for his friends, and told them of it. Then said
he, “I am going to my Father’s, and though with great difficulty I am got hither, yet now
I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where I am. My sword I
give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him
that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have
fought his battles who now will be my rewarder.” When the day that he must go hence
was come, many accompanied him to the riverside, into which as he went he said,
“Death, where is thy Sting?” And as he went down deeper he said, “Grave, where is thy
Victory?” So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.
La Blanche Neige
Francis Poulenc
Les anges les anges dans le ciel
L’un est vêtu en officier
L’un est vêtu en cuisiner
Et les autres chantent
Bel officier couleur du ciel
Le doux printemps longtemps après Noël
Te médaillera d’un beau soleil
D’un beau soleil
Le cuisinier plume les oies
Ah ! tombe neige
Tombe et que n’ai-je
Ma bien aimée entre mes bras
Angels angels in the sky
One dresses as an officer
One dresses as a cook
And the others sing
Handsome officer, colour of the sky
For a long time after Christmas, sweet spring
Will award you of a beautiful sun
Of a beautiful sun
The cook plucks the geese
Ah! Fall, snow
Fall and I have only
My beloved in my arms
And So It Goes
Billy Joel arr. Bob Chilcott
In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretence
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defence
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break
And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
CHOIr
Soprano
Sara Anderson*
Alto
Emily Corran
Camilla Biggs*
Hannah Fiddy
Sophie Hopkins
Jo Hale
Helen Hugh-Jones*
Julia Nikolic*
Libby Phippard
Tenor
James Corbett
Bass
Hugh Collins
Alex Davan Wetton
Matthew Fright
Jamie Hodgson
Richard Pelmore*
Edward Hughes*
William Robertson
Tom Medley
David Young
Travis Winstanley*
Alex Ying
*Soloists
Conductors: Edward Hughes and Alex Davan Wetton
OUR THANKS
We would like to thank the staff at St George the Martyr for all
their kind assistance and for allowing us to rehearse and
perform in their church.
COMING NEXT
We Will Remember Them
Music and readings for Remembrance
7.30pm Saturday 1 November
Join us in Queens’ College Chapel, Cambridge, as we take time to reflect with a series of
music and readings for remembrance at the start of November.
Darkness into Light
An Advent carol concert
8.00pm Saturday 13 December
This December we anticipate the coming light of Christmas with a special performance
of well-loved Advent carols.
Book tickets for our upcoming events godwinechoir.org
Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/godwinechoir
7.30 pm
Saturday 1st November
Queens’ College Chapel, Cambridge
We Will
Remember Them
Reflective music and readings for
All Souls' Tide and Remembrance
Pearsall Lay a Garland
Ireland Greater Love
Brahms Geistliches Lied
Free entry
Reserve a seat at
godwinechoir.org