Dreamweaver -the music of Ola Gjeilo

DREAMWEAVER Featuring Norwegian composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo, soloist Hila Plitmann, and members of The Playground Ensemble

EL JO M SE IN .R M TIC IS RT ,A A D R TO EC IR

FEATURING NORWEGIAN COMPOSER & PIANIST OLA GJEILO The Rose Wintertide Sacred Heart

featuring members of The Playground Ensemble

Ave Generosa

Hila Plitmann, soprano

Ecce Novum

featuring members of The Playground Ensemble

Second Eve Unicornis Captivatur - Intermission Ubi Caritas Veni Sancte Spiritus Hila Plitmann, soprano

Dreamweaver

Hila Plitmann, soprano featuring members of The Playground Ensemble

Prologue Dreamsong The Bridge Intermezzo Paradise Dominion Epilogue

Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)

PROGRAM NOTES THE ROSE

The Rose, set to texts by Christina Rossetti, was commissioned by Chorus Angelicus & Gaudeamus of Connecticut, and their Artistic Director, Gabriel Löfvall, in celebration of their 25th Anniversary

WINTERTIDE

Wintertide is an arrangement of one of my favorite Norwegian folk melodies, with new English lyrics written by Tony Silvestri.

SACRED HEART

Sacred Heart (Ubi Caritas III) is a setting of the 2nd stanza from the three-stanza Ubi Caritas text. I’d already set the first in 1999 (Ubi Caritas) and the third one in 2012 (Ubi Caritas II: Through Infinite Ages).

While Ubi Caritas II partly played around with some of the material from my first Ubi Caritas, Sacred Heart (Ubi Caritas III) is completely independent from the other two, content-wise, and also deploys a string quartet. Ubi Caritas and Ubi Caritas II were written for a cappella choir.

AVE GENEROSA

This setting of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ave Generosa text was commissioned for Kantorei

by Keith and Sue Ferguson in honor of Kantorei’s 20th Anniversary Season, and had its world premiere performance in the Spring of 2017.

ECCE NOVUM

Ecce Novum was commissioned by and dedicated to Dunwoody United Methodist Church Chancel Choir in Dunwoody, GA in 2014.

SECOND EVE

In some of my pieces, the text is somewhat more the servant of the music than the other way around, and Second Eve is one of those works.

The music is mainly inspired by a breathtaking photography taken by one of my favorite

photographers, Jake Rajs, featured in the book These United States (Rizzoli). It is a picture of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, the highest mountain peak in the US, and I was looking at this photo throughout the writing process, making sure that the energy and atmosphere of the music corresponded with the feeling I got from looking at the picture.

The Sancta Maria text seemed to kind of fit into what I was looking for in this piece, expressing something mystical, and kind of regal, which Mt. McKinley is in every way.

UNICORNIS CAPTIVATUR

Unicornis Captivatur is a sprightly early musicinspired piece with a lyrical middle section, written in 2001 and premiered by the Norwegian Academy of Music Chamber Choir and conductor Grete Pedersen in March that year.

The text is part of a compilation of medieval chants called the Engelberg Codex, belonging to the Engelberg monastery in Switzerland. The collection was completed around 1400. I was greatly inspired by the colorful and powerful symbolism and just the sheer drama, joy and sense of triumph that the text exudes.

UBI CARITAS

The first time I sang in a choir was in high school; I went to a music high school in Norway and choir was obligatory. I loved it from the very first rehearsal, and the first piece we read through was Maurice Duruflé’s Ubi Caritas. It will always be one of my favorite choral works of all time; to me, it’s the perfect a cappella piece.

So when I set the same text myself a few years later, it was inevitable that the Duruflé would influence it, and it did. While Duruflé used an existing, traditional chant in his piece, I used chant more as a general inspiration, while also

echoing the form and dynamic range of his incomparable setting of the text. I later started improvising on the piano around choirs singing the piece in performance and recording, one of which Walton published a transcription of – a YouTube video collaboration with the Central Washington University Chamber Choir.

VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS

Veni Sancte Spiritus was commissioned by and dedicated to Capella SF and conductor, Ragnar Bohlin who also conducts the San Francisco Symphony Chorus in 2017. This is the second performance.

DREAMWEAVER

Dreamweaver’s text is based on a well-known Norwegian medieval folk poem, Draumkvedet;

and epic ballad that has a lot in common with Dante’s much longer The Divine Comedy.

The protagonist, Olav Åsteson, falls asleep on Christmas Eve and sleeps until the twelfth day of Christmas. He wakes up, and rides to church to describe his dreams to the congregation, about his brave, beautiful, terrifying and ultimately redeeming journey through the afterlife. Draumkvedet has for this piece been adapted into a playful version penned by my regular collaborator, poet Charles Anthony Silvestri.

Dreamweaver was commissioned by Halgrim Thon, and premiered by the Manhattan Chorale at Carnegie Hall in 2014. Kantorei’s performance marks the world premiere of Ola’s re-working of the piece for String Quartet.

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JOEL M. RINSEMA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema joined Kantorei in 2014 from the Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale. Throughout his 23-year tenure with the Phoenix Chorale, he served in nearly every capacity with the organization including the last 15 years as President & CEO and Assistant Conductor. As Assistant Conductor, Joel assisted in all aspects of artistic planning and leadership. The Phoenix Chorale experienced tremendous artistic and organizational successes during this time.

He negotiated an ongoing recording contract with the prestigious U.K.-based Chandos Records, and Phoenix Chorale recordings earned a total of eight Grammy nominations and two Grammy wins. Joel appears on all of the Phoenix Chorale recordings and was a soloist on the Grammy Award-winning Spotless Rose: Hymn to the Virgin Mary. Joel is a passionate advocate for the professional choral art form, and he frequently consults with other choral arts organizations locally and around the U.S. Because of his leadership in his field, he received the Louis Botto Award for “Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal” from Chorus America, the industry’s advocacy, research, and leadership development organization for choruses, choral leaders, and singers.

A frequent collaborator and champion of new works for chorus, Joel has commissioned and premiered work of many of today’s leading composers including Kim André Arnesen, Mason Bates, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Mark Hayes, Cecilia McDowall, David Montoya, Timothy Tharaldson & Eric Whitacre.

In addition to his work with the Phoenix Chorale, Joel served as the Director of Music at Church of the Beatitudes United Church of Christ in Phoenix for 15 years, and was the founding chorus master of the Arizona Musicfest Chorus.

As a tenor soloist, Joel performed across the United States and in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Joel is an accomplished conductor of major works for choir and orchestra. He was one of eighteen conductors chosen nationally through audition to participate in master classes and workshops presented by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association and Chorus America. He holds music degrees from Arizona State University and Whitworth University, and considers Dr. Randi Von Ellefson, Dr. Donald Bailey, Jon Washburn, and Charles Bruffy his most influential mentors.

In March 2017, Joel began his tenure as the North American Choral Promotion Manager for Oxford University Press based in Oxford, England.

OLA GJEILO SPOTLIGHT COMPOSER

Ola Gjeilo is one of the most frequently performed

composers in the choral world. An accomplished pianist, improvisations over his own published choral pieces have become a trademark of his collaborations across the world. Although Norwegian by birth, it is perhaps Ola’s adopted country of America that has influenced the composer’s distinctive soundworld the most, evolving a style that is both contemporary and familiar; thick harmonies and rich textures recall film score – music that forms a major part of the composer’s inspiration.

Ola grew up in a musically eclectic home listening to classical, jazz, pop and folk, a broad background he later incorporated into his classical composition studies at The Juilliard School, and the Royal College of Music, London, and currently as a New York Citybased full-time composer. He is especially inspired by the improvisational art of film composer Thomas Newman, jazz legends Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny, glass artist Dale Chihuly and architect Frank Gehry.

Ola’s music is often described as cinematic and evocative, with a lush, harmonious sound. Ola’s albums include his 2016 Decca Classics label debut, Ola Gjeilo, featuring Tenebrae and Voces8, as well as his two piano records (Stone Rose, Piano

Improvisations) and Phoenix Chorale’s Northern Lights. His choral music has also been recorded by several notable ensembles such as the Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, The Choir of Royal Holloway, the Flemish Radio Choir, and Voces8. In 2015, the Choir of King’s College Cambridge performed Ola’s Serenity (O Magnum Mysterium) at the annual BBCtelevised Christmas Eve service. Ola has a special collaboration with the vocal ensemble Voces8, and he is currently their composer-in-residence.

His Ubi Caritas and Second Eve are featured on Voces8’s Decca Classics albums Eventide and Lux. Ola is also composer-in-residence with DCINY, starting with a Lincoln Center concert in June, 2017 featuring his works for choir, piano and string quartet. Gjeilo’s (pronounced Yay-lo) choral works are published by Walton Music, wind band works

by Boosey & Hawkes, and piano pieces by Walton Music and Edition Peters.

For more information, find Ola on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, his YouTube channel, and at olagjeilo.com.

THE PLAYGROUND ENSEMBLE SPOTLIGHT PERFORMERS

Sarah Whitnah, violin Robyn Julyan, violin

Donald Schumacher, viola Richard vonFoerster, cello

Now in its 12th season, The Playground Ensemble, in Residence at Metro State University of Denver, is the Rocky Mountain Region’s premier new music group. We are professional musicians, composers, educators, and fans dedicated to presenting chamber music as a living art form. In addition to an annual concert season that features the work of recognized composers, the Playground Ensemble works to cultivate a thriving local composition community.

With exciting outreach programs like our innovative Young Composers Playground, they are showing young people that classical music is vibrant, adventurous and relevant to the world they live in. The Playground Ensemble hopes to inspire our audiences to not only listen, but to create! The Playground has performed at many

notable venues and festivals including the Biennial of the Americas, the National Performing Arts Convention, the International Society of Improvised Music Annual Conference, Mile High Voltage Festival, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Boettcher Hall, and the Denver Art Museum.

They have performed with, or worked directly with a diverse cast of new music luminaries including Eyvind Kang, Morten Laridsen, So Percuhssion, Evan Ziporyn, Roomful of Teeth, Caroline Shaw, Jace Clayton ( DJ /rupture) and Tatsuya Nakatani.

The Playground Ensemble has been recognized with awards and funding from the American Music Center, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and Meet the Composer, as well as numerous regional foundations and individuals.

PLEASE CONSIDER TURNING IN YOUR PROGRAM AT THE END OF THE CONCERT TO BE RE-USED AND RECYCLED.

CHARLES ANTHONY SILVESTRI SPOTLIGHT POET/AUTHOR

Poet for a number of works performed by Kantorei for this concert.

Acclaimed lyricist and composer Charles Anthony Silvestri specializes in providing bespoke poetry for choral composers, especially texts in Latin, both sacred and secular. He enjoys the creative challenges and rewards of the collaborative process, and has provided lyrics for many composers in different stages of their careers and for a wide variety of commissions and occasions. “Collaboration between composer and poet is magic,” Silvestri argues. “ It opens for the composer opportunities for organic and dynamic creation not possible with previously published poetry, and gives the poet the thrill and responsibility that his words will be sung--not read--and will be heard attached to an emotional soundtrack.

There’s magic and power in the marriage of words and music.” He is the author of more than twenty published works in collaboration with celebrated composers such as Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest, Ola Gjeilo, and Andrea Ramsey, and for groups such as the King’s Singers, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, the Tallis Scholars, Westminster Choir College, and the Houston Grand Opera. As a clinician Silvestri speaks to choirs about his works, the creative process, and about his collaborative relationships with composers. He has given live and webcast

presentations at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, and at universities and schools around the country. His poem for Eric Whitacre’s “Sleep” was also published in 2013 as a children’s book, illustrated

by Dutch artist Anne Horjus; and Silvestri wrote the foreword for the book From Words to Music (GIA, 2014). Silvestri’s words have been sung by thousands of choirs around the world, and have been heard on television and radio, and in magnificent spaces such as the Sydney Opera House, Disney Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral, Royal Albert Hall, Westminster Abbey, King’s College, and St. Peter’s Basilica. In addition to writing choral lyrics, Silvestri is also an accomplished artist/painter, specializing in replicating Medieval manuscript illumination and recreating the techniques and materials of Gothic and Renaissance painters and iconographers. He is a veteran teacher with two decades of experience teaching kindergarten through college. He has earned Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees in Ancient and Medieval History from Loyola Marymount University and the University of Southern California. Born in 1965 in Las Vegas, Silvestri has lived in Los Angeles and Rome. He currently lives with his children in Lawrence, Kansas, and teaches History at Washburn University. For more, visit his website at www.charlesanthonysilvestri.com.

A glittering jewel on the international music scene, Grammy award-winning soprano Hila Plitmann is known worldwide for her astonishing musicianship, light and beautiful voice, and the ability to perform challenging new works. She regularly premieres works by today’s leading composers while maintaining a vibrant and extraordinarily diverse professional life in film music, musical theatre, and song writing.

Described as a performer with “tremendous vocal and physical grace,” and “a vocal instrument that is simply unreal in its beauty” Hila has been involved in numerous world premieres and is in constant demand as a singer of new and contemporary music. She has worked with many of today’s leading conductors and has appeared as a headliner with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and numerous other orchestras and ensembles in the United States and abroad. “...the agile soprano Hila Plitmann brought radiant sound, even during passages of sky-high vocal writing…”

-- New York Times

HILA PLITMANN SPOTLIGHT SOLOIST

When originating the role of Exstasis in Eric Whitacre’s groundbreaking electro-musical Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, Hila sang, acted, danced and fought in long martial arts battles nightly for a seven week soldout run, a tour-de force performance that prompted Backstage West to call her, “brilliant, eliciting strong empathy and singing gorgeously,” and Theatre Mania to declare she “fights like a warrior and sings like the angel she portrays.” For her work in the show she received nominations for Best Actress in a Musical from the Los Angeles Ovation Awards and The L.A. Ticketholder Awards. Hila has worked with many of today’s leading conductors, including Leonard Slatkin, Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Esa Pekka Salonen, Andrew Litton, Giancarlo Guerrero, Steven Sloane and Carl St. Clair. In constant demand as a singer of new and contemporary music, Hila

has been involved in a great many world premieres, including: Paul Revere’s Ride with the Atlanta Symphony, written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Wing on Wing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of the composer; Mr. Tambourine Man written by Oscar and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer John Corigliano with the Minnesota Orchestra; the world premiere of Gerard Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Two Awakenings and a Double Lullaby, a song cycle written for her by Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis; Richard Danielpour’s Towards a Season of Peace with Pacific Symphony; and Frank Zappa’s orchestral staged version of the 200 Motels with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Additional previous performances to note are and Philip Glass’ The Civil Wars with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Grant Gershon conducting); Thomas Adès’ The Tempest Suite with the Boston Symphony Orchestra & with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Adès conducting); David Del Tredici’s Final Alice with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra (all conducted by Leonard Slatkin). Other collaborations include performances of Salonen’s Sappho Songs with the Stockholm Symphony Orchestra (Salonen conducting); Selection of Bernstein and Golijov with the Seattle Symphony (Joana Carneiro conducting); Paola Prestini’s Oceanic Verses with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Singers at the Barbican Centre; A selection of Barbara Streisand songs with the Hamburg Symphony (Stuart Barr conducting), the New York premiere of Eric Whitacre’s Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Carnegie Hall; a recording of Xiaoyang Ye’s Symphony No. 3, with the Royal Philhamonic Orchestra (José Serebrier conducting); George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill as part of the Mostly Mozart music festival at Lincoln Center (Benjamin conducting); the world premiere of Mark Adamo’s opera Becoming Santa Claus, with the Dallas Opera; Michael Daugherty’s Labyrinth of Love with the University of Michigan symphonic band, and the world premiere of Paola Prestini’s opera Gilgamesh in Boston, as part of the Ouroboros Trilogy Opera Project. Hila has accumulated an impressive catalogue of professional recordings, appearing on

the Decca, Telarc, Naxos, Signum, CRI, Reference Recordings and Disney labels. Some of her latest discography encompasses Richard Danielpour’s Toward A Season of Peace (Pacific Symphony) and Corigliano – Conjurer/Vocalise (Albany Symphony), both released to critical acclaim on Naxos; The Ancient Question…A Journey Through Jewish Songs, was released to critical acclaim in December 2012 (Signum Classics); Both David Del Tredici’s Paul Revere’s Ride (Telarc), and Hans Zimmer’s The Da Vinci Code (Decca) received Grammy nominations, and in 2009 Hila won the Grammy for ‘Best Classical Vocal Performance‘ for her work on the Naxos recording of John Corigliano’s song cycle Mr. Tambourine Man with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hila can also be heard on the soundtrack of the film New York, I Love You, singing a song written by composer Paul Cantelon. Born and raised in Jerusalem, Hila received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Music degrees, with high honors, from the Juilliard School of Music, and has been awarded the coveted Sony ES Prize for her outstanding contribution to the vocal arts. She has a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do.

The King’s Singers November 19, 2017 at 2:00 pm

The Robert and Judi Newman Center for the Performing Arts

Tickets from $39•One performance only!

Newman Center box office•2344 E. Iliff Ave. newmantix.com/ncp•303.871.7720

Kantorei—based in Denver, Colorado—is a premiere premier choral ensemble comprised of volunteer singers under the direction of Artistic Director Joel M. Rinsema. Kantorei’s choral artists have studied at schools with strong music programs across the United States such as Augustana College, Brigham Young University, Concordia College, Luther, Oberlin College, St. Olaf College, and Wartburg College. Many of the singers serve as choral music educators, conductors, and teachers.

Kantorei frequently performs at major choral conventions across the U.S., has toured around the world, and works with composers and conductors of international renown. Kantorei has sung under the batons of René Clausen, Simon Carrington, Eric Whitacre, Karen Kennedy, and Anton Armstrong. Kantorei has commissioned and premiered new choral works from renowned composers including, Kim André Arnesen, Eric William Barnum, Abbie Betinis, René Clausen, Ola Gjeilo, Joshua Shank, and Eric Whitacre. Naxos will release Kantorei’s recording—its first to be professionally produced—of works by Kim André Arnesen in 2018. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Inc., publishes the Kantorei Choral series.

Formed in 1997 under the leadership of six friends who decided to form a choir capable of singing a broad range of a cappella choral music, Kantorei established itself as one of the nation’s premier choral ensembles after performing as an auditioned choir for the 2003 National American Choral Directors Association Conference at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In June 2007, Kantorei embarked on its first-ever international tour to France and Italy. The tour culminated with the distinct honor of singing for Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Kantorei performs a broad range of a cappella choral music with the mission “to elevate the human experience through choral excellence.”

MEET OUR GROUP SOPRANO

ALTO

TENOR

BASS

Mary Christ Juliane Dowell Kim Dunninger Beryl Fanslow Christina Graham Wendi Sue Grover Heather Gunnerson Stacie Hanson Shannon Lemmon-Elrod Sara Michael * Alicia Rigsby ∞ Brenda Rolling Pearl Rutherford Christianna Sullins

Emily Alexander Lindsey Aquilina Allison Barber Lizabeth Barnett Lyn Berry-Helmlinger Theresa Derr Sarah Harrison § * Jade Howard Melissa Menter Erin Meyerhoff Jennifer Moore Kali Paguirigan Tegan Palmer Andrea Ware

Kai Berry-Helmlinger * Landon Covington Keith Ferguson Mason France Matthew Gierke Kevin Gunnerson Keith Harrison Jason Hindman Steve Howie Alex Menter Jonathan Von Stroh Ryan Wright

John Bartley Michael Bizzaro Michael Boender Michael Bradford Garth Criswell Andrew Halladay * Stephen Hooper Scott Horowitz Brad Jackon Karl Johnson Brad Larson John Ludwig Larry Meerdink Marc Petersen John Schaak Kirk Schjodt

* Section Leader ∞ Collaborative Pianist § Assistant Conductor

Facebook.com/Kantorei | @KantoreiDenver | Instagram.com/Kantorei Youtube.com/Kantorei | Soundcloud.com/KantoreiCO

MEET THE STAFF

SARAH HARRISON

ALICIA RIGSBY

SABRINA GREEN

SARA MICHAEL

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Kevin Gunnerson

Mark Aquilina

Assistant Conductor

Marketing Director

President

Jason Hindman

Vice President & Development Committee Chair

Susan Lewkow Treasurer

Juliane Dowell Secretary

Accompanist and Collaborative Pianist

Administrative Assistant & Librarian

Michael Bizzaro Keith Ferguson Richard Larson

Artistic Director and Conductor Emeritus

TEXT & TRANSLATIONS THE ROSE Christina Rossetti

SACRED HEART (Ubi Caritas III) From the Liber Usualis

The lily has a smooth stalk, Will never hurt your hand; But the rose upon her brier Is lady of the land.

Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur: Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.

Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.

Et in medio nostril sit Christus Deus.

When with moss and honey She tips her bending brier And half unfolds her glowing heart.

There’s sweetness in an apple tree, And profit in the corn; But lady of all beauty Is a rose upon a thorn.

When with moss and honey She tips her bending brier And half unfolds her glowing heart, She sets the world on fire.

WINTERTIDE Charles Anthony Silvestri Stillness comes when snow is falling, Covering all in solemn white; Lines of grey from hearth-fires rising, Gathering all in restful night.

Spirit dwells in deep reflection, Autumn cares to lay aside, Finding signs of new direction In the still of Wintertide.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

As we are gathered into one body, Beware, lest we be divided in mind.

Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease, And may Christ our God be in our midst.

AVE GENEROSA Hildegard von Bingen Ave, generosa, gloriosa et intacta puella.

Tu pupilla castitatis, tu materia sanctitatis, que Deo placuit.

Hail, nobly born, Honored and inviolate, You, Maiden, are the piercing gaze of chastity, You the material of holiness, the one who pleased God. ECCE NOVUM Anonymous

After Winter’s meditation Gates of nature burst apart; Comes the Springtime’s inspiration, Flowing from the ready heart.

Ecce, novum gaudium, Ecce, novum mirum!

Virgo parit filium, Sed ut pirus pirum, Gleba fert papyrum Florens lilium.

Ecce, quod natura Mutat sua iura!

Virgo parit pura, Dei filium.

Amen.

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Behold, a new joy, Behold, a new wonder!

A virgin gives birth to a son, She who knew not man, But bore as the pear tree bears a pear,

While outside the cold wind blowing, Swirling, restless raw and rime, Here inside a wave is growing, Biding, silent, all in time.

A clod of earth a sapphire, The rose a lily.

Nece startis misera, Phos fencicis est exusta, Concremanturque vetusta Macrocosmi scelera.

Alleluia canite…

Behold, Nature Changes her laws: A pure virgin gives birth To the son of God. Amen.

Sancta Maria, Regina caeli, dulcis et pia, o mater Dei: ora pro nobis peccatoribus, ut cum electis videamus.

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum: Benedicta tu in mulieribus benedictus fructis ventris tui, Jesus Christus.

Amen.

Holy Mary, Queen of heaven, gentle and holy, mother of God: pray for us sinners, That with the chosen we may see you.

Hail mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you: Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Pellicano vulnerato Vita redit pro peccato

The Unicorn is captured, It’s presented to the royal court In the hunters’ snare; Creeping, it freed itself from the pole; Because it’s wounded, it heals itself With the viper’s venom.

Sing Alleluia To the dying lamb; Sing Alleluia, Cry Alleluia To the victorious lion.

Life returns to the wounded Pelican After miserable death In its nest for the sins of the world.

The Phoenix’ light is burnt out, The ancient sins of the world Are utterly consumed by flame.

Sing Alleluia…

Alleluia canite…

UNICORNIS CAPTIVATUR Anonymous, Engelberg Codex

Alleluia canite, Agno morienti, Alleluia pangite, Alleluia promite Leoni vincenti.

Idrus intrat crocodillum, Extis privat, necat illum, Vivus inde rediens; Tris diebus dormitavit Leo, quem resuscitavit Basileus rugiens.

SECOND EVE Marian litany; Luke 1:28, 42

Unicornis captivatur, Aule regum presentatur Venatorum laqueo, Palo serpens est levatus, Medicatur sauciatus Veneno vipereo.

The Hydra enters the crocodile, Deprives it of its entrails, kills it, And comes back alive.

Three days long The lion slept till the King Awakened it with a roar.

Sing Alleluia…

UBI CARITAS From the Liber Usualis Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.

Exsultemus et in ipso jucundemur.

Timeamus et amemus Deum vivm.

TEXT & TRANSLATIONS Et ex cordi diligamus nos sincere.

Amen.

water that which is dry, heal that which is wounded.

Where charity and love are, God is there.

The love of Christ has gathered us together.

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Let us revere and love the living God. And from a sincere heart let us love one another.

Amen.

DREAMWEAVER Charles Anthony Silvestri

VENI SANCTE SPIRITUS Attributed to Pope Innocent III

On Christmas Eve he fell asleep,

Veni, Sancte Spiritus, et emitte caelitus lucis tuae radium.

1. Prologue Listen!

I sing the sacred vision Of the All-Wise Wanderer, The Weaver of Dreams.

Veni, pater pauperum, veni dator munerum, veni lumen cordium.

Consolator optime, dulcis hospes animae, dulce refrigerium.

O lux beatissima, reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium.

Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium.

Come, Holy Spirit, and send forth the heavenly radiance of your light.

Come, father of the poor, come, giver of gifts, come, light of the heart.

Greatest comforter, sweet guest of the soul, sweet consolation.

O most blessed light, fill the inmost heart of your faithful.

Cleanse that which is unclean,

So deep, so deep, And woke upon Epiphany With tales to tell.

He hurried to the holy Mass And stood upon the threshold; The warp and weft of wandering He wove into his tale.

2. Dreamsong And this was his dreamsong: My journey began In a rugged land, Hard and fast And unforgiving.

I made my way.

3. The Crossing Beasts there were, And wilder things, And shades of night Were in that land; I was afraid.

The monster’s claws Tore at my cloak; With piercing eyes They saw my soul.

I ran away.

For many leagues I traveled west Until at last— My journey’s end— I saw the Bridge!

Stretching out Across the sky, The way was barred To all but wise.

I went across.

This bridge was spanned across a sea of ice— A silver band, a way to Paradise.

A fair wide land did open up at last; I stopped to stand where Future reckons Past.

And in that place the Pilgrim Church did rise Where, full of grace, our Holy Mother wise Bade me embrace her heart of gold and red; And o’er her face a loving smile was spread.

Listen!

I sing the sacred vision Of the All-Wise Wanderer, The Weaver of Dreams.

And this was his dreamsong: I met a man, whose coat was stained in blood, All mired was he, up to his knees in mud; He held a frightened child under his arm, And bitterly he wept for causing harm.

5. Paradise She spoke in gentle tone and bade me go Where every sin is known, where cold winds blow, Unto the very throne of God to see Where sorrow is unknown, forgiveness, free.

6. Dominion And through darkness appeared the Christ, wreathed in light, flanked by saints and angels beyond number, and crowned as King and Judge over all the earth. The Deceiver turned in fear, and fled from before the Glory of the Lord and the Host of Heaven.

Among the souls

Who trembled there Burdened down With sin and fear, I took my place.

To Christ the Judge St. Michael spoke, Defending us Despite our shame.

I hung my head.

So one by one We stood alone Before our Maker And our Judge.

He called my name.

His burning heart Loved away my shame, And forged my soul Anew by Grace-I was redeemed!

7. Epilogue Cloaked all in lead another fell, Laden with burdens heavy; She lost her soul in fear of hell In hope that she might be free.

Others there were by pain ensnared By their grief and tribulation Hoping that they may yet be spared And praying for salvation He forged their souls Anew by Grace-And all were redeemed.

FEELING ELEVATED? We want to hear about it! Please share your thoughts about today's performance with us at KANTOREI.ORG/AUDIENCE-FEEDBACK

Be sure to mark your calendars for

A KANTOREI CHRISTMAS saturday DECEMBER 16 @ 7:30PM

First Plymouth Congregational Church

sunday DECEMBER 17 @ 3:00PM Christ Church Denver

tuesday DECEMBER 19 @ 7:30PM Lone Tree Arts Center

Kantorei’s long-awaited recording, published by Naxos Records, will be available for sale at our Holiday concerts!

Kim Andre Arnesen Infinity: Choral Works [ Performed by Kantorei ]