Westminster Chapel Choir & Westminster Symphonic Choir in Concert
Tyrone Clinton, Jr., conductor
Donald Nally, conductor
Michael Diorio, organ
Akiko Hosaki, collaborative keyboardist
Seth Trumbore, collaborative keyboardist
Tyler Miller, James Moyer, Juliana Lynch, Ricky Sazon Salazar, graduate assistant conductors
Saturday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Gill Memorial Chapel
Rider University
2083 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville, N.J.
Please note the unauthorized use of any recording device, either audio or video is prohibited by law. Out of courtesy to the performers and everyone in the audience, please refrain from using cell phones and electronic devices.
A note from the conductors
Today we have the good fortune to sing works that span over 450 years of our choral heritage and our complicated histories, from the Italian Renaissance at its polyphonic pinnacle, to the celebration of a modern British monarch's 90th birthday, to a song of emancipated Choctaw slaves, to an overwhelming war-time expressions of faith. While we often focus on the stories of today at Westminster Choir College, those works stand on the many pillars of the composers and styles of the past; in music, as in life, by knowing our history, we understand our present just a bit better and we become more effective community members. Despite their diversity, stylistic differences, and even mediums, these artistic expressions share common goals across the centuries: connection. We recognize ourselves in our sung stories and, by doing so, perhaps, make some sense of our complex world, if only for a few moments.
Chapel Choir and Westminster Symphonic Choir come together today to offer the full range of our entire Choir College. We welcome the families of our amazing, determined, inspiring, and creative students and hope our messages reach you with gratitude.
Tyrone Clinton Jr. and Donald Nally
Program
WESTMINSTER CHAPEL CHOIR
Lieder und Romanzien, Op. 44 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
VIII. Die Berge sind spitz
IX. Am Wildbach die Weiden
X. Und gehst du über den Kirchhof
XI. Die Braut
XII. Mӓrznacht
Pueri Hebraeorum Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Even When He Is Silent Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980)
Steal Away to Jesus arr. Kevin Phillip Johnson
Caressa Meglino, soloist
WESTMINSTER SYMPHONIC CHOIR
Welcome, Sweet and Sacred Feast Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)
My Lovely One Finzi
Juliana Lynch, conductor
I Love All Beauteous Things
Judith Weir (b.1954)
God be in my Head Judith Bingham (b.1952)
Te Deum (Collegium Regale) Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Program Notes, Text & Translations
Lieder und Romanzien, Op. 44
In the late 1850s. Brahms established a Frauenchor in Hamburg for which he conducted and wrote music. His Lieder und Romanzien, Op. 44 is written during this period, and is a set of secular short pieces for 4-part women’s chorus. Each piece is no more than 2 minutes and depicts the experience of being in love while navigating vivid landscapes that range from the high snowcapped mountains to the depths of the earth where willow trees trees and gravestones are planted.
VIII. Die Berge sind spitz
Die Berge sind spitz
Und die Berge sind kalt, Mein Schatz steigt zu Berge Und ich in den Wald.
Da tröpfelt das Laub Von Regen und Thau, Ob die Augen da tröpfeln, Wer sieht es genau?
IX. Am Wildbach die Weiden
Am Wildbach die Weiden, Die schwanken Tag und Nacht. Die Liebe von uns beiden Hat Gott so fest gemacht.
Am Wildbach die Weiden, Die haben nicht Wort und Ton. Wenn sich die Augen besprechen, So wissen die Herzen davon.
X. Und gehst du über den Kirchhof
Und gehest du über den Kirchhof, Da find'st du ein frisches Grab; Da senkten sie mit Thränen
Ein schönes Herz hinab.
Und fragst du, woran's gestorben?
Kein Grabstein Antwort giebt; Doch leise flüstern die Lüftchen, Es hatte zu heiß geliebt.
The mountain peaks are high And the mountains are cold.
My sweetheart climbs the mountains And I go into the woods.
The leaves are dripping With rain and dew.
If my eyes are also dripping, Who can see it clearly?
The willows on the Wildbach
Sway constantly both night and day. The love between us two Was made just as firm by God. The willows on the Wildbach Do not have words or sounds. When our eyes speak to each other, Our hearts will also know of it.
If you go across the churchyard, You will find a freshly dug grave; They laid there, with tears, A lovely heart down to rest.
And if you ask what caused its death, No gravestone will give an answer; But the winds will whisper softly That it loved too ardently.
XI. Eine blaue Schurze
Eine blaue Schurze hast du mir gegeben, Mutter, schad' ums Färben, Mutter, schad' ums Weben! Morgen in der Frühe wird sie bleich erscheinen, will zu Nacht so lange Tränen auf sie weinen.
Und wenn meine Tränen es nicht schaffen können, wie sie immer strömen, wie sie immer brennen, wird mein Liebster kommen und mir Wasser bringen, wird sich Meereswasser aus den Locken ringen.
Denn er liegt da unten in des Meeres Grunde, und wenn ihm die Wogen rauschen diese Kunde, dass ich hier soll freien und ihm treulos werden, aus der Tiefe steigt er auf zur bösen Erden.
In die Kirche soll ich nun, ich will ja kommen, will mich fromm gesellen zu den andern Frommen. Lasst mich am Altare still vorüberziehen; denn dort ist mein Plätzchen, wo die Witwen knien.
Pueri Hebraeorum
A blue apron
You gave me, Mother, it's a pity about the dyeing of it, Mother, it's a pity about the weaving of it.
Early tomorrow morning
It will seem pale, Because so long all night I shall shed tears upon it.
And if my tears
Cannot manage to bleach it, No matter how they may stream, No matter how they may burn, My beloved shall come And bring me water, He shall wring sea-water
From his curls.
For he lies down there
At the bottom of the sea,
And when the waves
Murmur this news to him, That I am to marry here
And become untrue to him, From the depths he shall rise
Up to this evil earth.
To the church I am to go Well, I am willing to come, I shall piously join
The other pious people. Let me pass quietly
Before the altar;
For there is my place, Where the widows kneel.
This hymn is often sung for the procession of Palm Sunday which marks the beginning of Holy week and symbolizes the coming of Jesus Christ. Palestrina set this text to illustrate joy and excitement by the “Children of the Hebrews” in excitement.
Pueri Hebraeorum
Portantes ramos olivarum
Obviaverunt Domino
Clamantes et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis
Pueri Hebraeorum
Vestimenta prosternebant in via Et clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David: Benedictus qui venit In nomine Domini
Children of the Hebrews
Carrying branches of olive trees
They went to meet the Lord
Shouting and saying Hosanna in the highest
Children of the Hebrews
They spread their clothes on the road
And shouted saying Hosanna to the Son of David
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
Even When He Is Silent
The composer writes: Commissioned for the St. Olaf Festival in 2011, Even When He Is Silent is a poignant and introspective choral work. The music is inspired by a short but deeply moving text, written by a Jewish individual hiding during World War II, and found scratched on the wall of a cellar in Cologne, Germany.
The composition begins in stillness, reflecting the profound depth of the words. It gradually builds to a dramatic climax on the phrase "I believe in love," embodying the intense and conflicting emotions of holding onto it in difficult times. The piece then fades into a more contemplative ending, culminating in a serene acceptance of faith in God, even amidst silence.
The music, with its lush chords and challenging vocal lines, mirrors the text's emotional journey. It requires a depth of interpretation from the singers, offering a rewarding experience that captures the essence of finding hope in the darkest times. The composition reflects on what can be taken away from us, like the sun and love, but it reminds us that even in the bleakest of circumstances, we can hold onto our hope and faith.
I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining. I believe in love, even when I feel it not.
I believe in God, even when He is silent.
Steal Away to Jesus
Steal Away is a traditional spiritual describing the desire to escape, hear the call of God and to find solace in knowing that God will come, and all is well the end. Johnson depicts all of the signs of God’s second coming through a series of text painting and a beautiful soprano solo above a treble choir.
Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus.
Steal away, steal away home. I aint got long to stay here. My Lord he calls me, He calls me by the thunder. The trumpet sounds within a my soul.
I aint got long to say here.
Green trees a bendin’, poor sinner stands a tremblin. The trumpet sounds within a my soul. I aint got long to stay here.
Welcome, Sweet and Sacred Feast
Welcome sweet and sacred feast; welcome life!
Dead I was, and deep in trouble; But grace and blessings came with thee so rife
That they have quickened even dry stubble
Thus souls their bodies animate
And thus, at first, when things were rude
Dark, void and crude
They, by thy Word, their beauty had and date; All were by thee
And still must be;
Nothing that is, or lives
But hath his quick’nings and reprieves
As thy hand opes or shuts:
Healings and cuts
Darkness and daylight, life and death
Are but mere leaves turn’d by thy breath
But that great darkness at thy death
When the veil broke with thy last breath
Did make us see The way to thee
Was’t not enough that thou hadst paid the price And given us eyes
When we had none, but thou must also take Us by the hand And keep us still awake
When we would sleep
Or from thee creep
Who without thee cannot stand?
Was’t not enough to lose thy breath And blood by an accursed death
But thou must also leave
To us that did bereave
Thee of them both, these seals, the means That should both cleanse and keep us so Who wrought thy woe?
O rose of Sharon! O the lily Of the valley!
How art thou now, thy flock to keep Become both food, and Shepherd to thy sheep.
– Henry Vaughan (1621-1695)
My Lovely One
My Lovely One, I fain would love thee much
But all my Love is none at all I see Oh! let thy Beauty give a glorious tuch Upon my Heart, and melt to Love all mee Lord melt me all up into Love for thee Whose Loveliness excels what love can be
– Edward Taylor (c. 1642-1729)
I Love All Beauteous Things
I love all beauteous things, I seek and adore them; God hath no better praise, And man in his hasty days Is honoured for them.
I too will something make And joy in the making!
Altho' tomorrow it seem' Like the empty words of a dream Remembered, on waking.
– Robert Bridges (1844-1930)
God be in my Head
God be in my head, And in my understanding; God be in mine eyes, And in my looking; God be in my mouth, And in my speaking; God be in my heart, And in my thinking; God be at mine end, And at my departing.
– Sarum Primer, 1558
Te Deum (Collegium Regale)
We praise thee, O God; we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee; the Father everlasting.
To thee all angels cry aloud' the Heavens and all the powers therein.
To thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy; Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of thy glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge thee; The Father of an infinite Majesty; Thing honourable, true and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost: the Comforter.
Thou art the King of Glory: O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
When thou took'st upon thee to deliver man: thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hads't overcome the sharpness of death: thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God: in the Glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants: whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints: in glory everlasting.
O Lord, save thy people: and bless thine heritage. Govern them: and lift them up for e'er.
Day by day we magnify thee;
And we worship thy Name ever, world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord: to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us: have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us: as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.
– Ambrosian Hymn (c. 6th c.)
About the Artists
WESTMINSTER CHAPEL CHOIR
Founded in 1949, the Westminster Chapel Choir takes its name from Westminster’s rich history of leadership in the field of sacred music. The ensemble has evolved over the years, and today its repertoire includes both sacred and secular works. Composed of students in their first years of study at Westminster Choir College, this ensemble is a defining choral experience that remains with Westminster alumni throughout their lives.
In addition to on-campus performances throughout the year, the Westminster Chapel Choir has toured extensively along the eastern United States.
The Westminster Chapel Choir has also performed with many symphony orchestras, including the Trenton Symphony Orchestra (N.J.), the York Symphony (P.A.), the Princeton Youth Orchestra (N.J.), and the Queens Symphony (N.Y.). At the request of Leopold Stokowski, the ensemble premiered Universal Prayer by Polish composer Adrezej Panufnik. It was heard by millions when it sang for the annual televised Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The ensemble has been honored to give several world premiere performances of works by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan and Westminster faculty members Stefan Young, Ronald Hemmel and Philip Orr.
Tyrone Clinton, Jr., conductor
Tyler Miller and Ricky Sazon Salazar, graduate assistant conductors
Akiko Hosaki, accompanist
Abby J. Abello, Hackettstown, NJ
Sarah J. Adams, Cherry Hill, NJ
Allison Alexis-Goulbourne, Bloomfield, NJ
Kaitlyn P. Baird, Phoenix, AZ
Reese A. Bennett, Frederick, MD
Natalie Cook, Hackettstown, NJ
Natalie Cunningham, Fairfield, CT
Mikayla Filetto, Manorville, NY
Lucy S. Grath, Long Island, NY
Analyse S. Guerrero, Flemington, NJ
Susie Guida, Jackson, NJ
Peyton A. Karycinski, Matawan, NJ
Ana Klarmann, Waldorf, MD
Katherine Kovács, Rochester, NY
Amy Charlotte Majewski, Glen Ridge, NJ
Noel Avi Marootian, Essex Fells, NJ
Caressa R. Meglino, Marlton, NJ
Franziska C. Meyer, Wilmington, DE
Sophia Morrone, Haddon Township, NJ
Jordyn Navata, Hamilton, NJ
Mary S. Page-Hoffmann, Boca Raton, FL
Natalie Paitchel, Budd Lake, NJ
Cendny Pierre, East Orange, NJ
Octevia G. Pierre, Newark, NJ
Try Y. Quain, Jersey City, NJ
Nadia Rego, Westfield, NJ
Crystal Saar, Bayville, NJ
Lena Santore, Buena, NJ
Noley T. Schenck, Upper Township, NJ
Lilian L. Showers, Pemberton, NJ
WESTMINSTER SYMPHONIC CHOIR
Long recognized as one of the world’s leading symphonic choral ensembles, the Westminster Symphonic Choir has recorded and performed with major orchestras under virtually every internationally acclaimed conductor of the past 90 years.
The choir first performed in 1934 when it joined The Philadelphia Orchestra and Leopold Stokowski to perform Bach’s Mass in B Minor in the Princeton University Chapel to celebrate the move of Westminster Choir College to New Jersey.
Since then, the list of renowned conductors–Abbado, Bernstein, Giulini, Kubelik, Masur, Mehta, Muti, Tilson-Thomas, Nézet-Séguin, Shaw, and, of course, Flummerfelt–as well as orchestras –New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Gewandhaus, Vienna, Berlin, L.A., Atlanta, National–has grown to establish Westminster Symphonic Choir as the most uniquely sought-after collaborator on the East Coast of the United States.
The Choir’s extensive discography includes premiere recordings of works of Kaija Saariaho, Messiaen’s Le Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ (winner of Le Prix du President de le Republique), and ground-breaking recordings with Leonard Bernstein and the NY Philharmonic, including a Grammy-winning recording Haydn’s Lord Nelso Mass and Bernstein’s definitive Deutcshe Grammophon recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2
Under its current conductor, four-time Grammy winning expert in new music and opera, Donald Nally, Westminster Symphonic Choir continues to mine new directions in choral singing.
Donald Nally, conductor
Seth Tumbore, collaborative keyboardist
Juliana Lynch and James. T. Moyer, graduate assistant conductor
Nidhi Advani, Columbus, NJ
Joshua Bacomo, West Babylon, NY
Emilie Beals, Carlisle, PA
Jessica Bella, Naperville, IL
Kenzie J. Bella, Wood River, NE
Elizabeth Berger, Herford, MD
Katie Blowitski, Southampton, PA
Connor Bowden, Washington Crossing, PA
Esther Brodsky, Baltimore, MD
Jacqueline Burkholder, Philadelphia, PA
Evan Courtney, Asbury Park, NJ
Chloe A. Davis, Lawrence, NJ
Casey E. Decker, Edison, NJ
Xavier Desrosiers, Southampton, PA
Jonah DeVinney, Boca Raton, FL
Daniel C. Erdozain, New Orleans, LA
Alexa Farah, Northvale, NJ
Sarah Febonio, Flemington, NJ
Ronan Flynn, West Babylon, NY
Brendan M. Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA
Claire Fritz, Elizabethtown, PA
Jiayun Gao, Shanghai, China
Julia N. Gerst, West Milford, NJ
Benjamin Glick, Lancaster, PA
Haley Goodfellow, Mineola, NY
Lauren Gregorovic, Hamilton, NJ
Sean D. Haugh, Point Pleasant, NJ
Lucas Heredia, East Brunswick, NJ
Oliver Hu, Doylestown, PA
Grisha P. Ivanov, Brooklyn, NY
Jess Koscak, Tamaqua, PA
Cameron Krauss, Langhorne, PA
Kole Lawrence, Lancaster, PA
Alyssa M. Lester, Monroe Twp., NJ
Duomi Liu, Beijing, China
Aaron Lynch, Rochester, NY
Anna Maher, Ipswitch, MA
Sela McMullen, Towson, MD
Tyler Miller, Frederick, MD
Kianna Mitchner, Groton, CT
James Moyer, Yardley, PA
Briseis Munoz, Phoenix, AZ
Samantha Murphy, Washington Township, NJ
Alivia G. Nawrocki, Marlton, NJ
Sarah Ounsworth, Pottstown, PA
Daniel J. Piver, East Hampton, NY
Ariel F. Roycroft, Cochecton, NY
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Juliana Lynch, Frederick, MD
Dari Russoniello, Somerset, NJ
Ricky Sazon Salazar, Queens, NY
Bailey Shay, Matamoras, PA
Lloyd P. Silikovitz, Randolph, NJ
Haley Soule, Middleboro, MA
Alastair Stewart, Quebec, Canada
Elena C Trapasso, West Milford, NJ
Jameson Van Horn, Ivyland, PA
Sarah Vawdrey, Teaneck, NJ
Shaye Walker, Old Bridge, NJ
Julia Wilder, Carmel, NY
Senior Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Jason Vodicka
Chair, Department of Performance Studies Margaret Cusack
Director of Choir Studies Donald Nally
Director of Performance Management Kristen Rodgers
Associate Director of Performance Management Leandra Acosta
Performing Arts Coordinator Zach Kent
About Rider University & Westminster Choir College
Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work.
The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College.
Culturally vibrant and historically rich, Westminster Choir College has a legacy of preparing students for thriving careers as well-rounded performers and musical leaders on concert stages, in schools, universities, and churches, and in professional and community organizations worldwide. Renowned for its tradition of choral excellence, the college is home to internationally recognized ensembles, including the Westminster Symphonic Choir, which has performed and recorded with virtually all of the major orchestras and conductors of our time. In addition to its choral legacy, Westminster is known as a center for excellence in musical pedagogy and performance.
Upcoming Performances
GRADUATE CONDUCTING RECITAL SERIES
Westminster Choir Graduate Conductors: Claire Fritz and Lucas Heredia
Sunday, October 26, 4 p.m.
Gill Chapel
Westminster Symphonic Choir Graduate Conductors:
Juliana Lynch and James Moyer
Sunday, November 2, 4 p.m.
Gill Chapel
WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS: SOLID ROCK
Saturday, November 8, 7:30 p.m.
Gill Chapel
WESTMINSTER FACULTY RECITAL SERIES: SONGS OF FEMALE COMPOSERS
Friday, November 14, 7 p.m.
Gill Chapel
FALL OPERA: EL GATO CON BOTAS
Friday, November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 15, 2 p.m.
Yvonne Theater
RIDER UNIVERSITY CHORALE: BEGINNING
Saturday, November 15, 7:30 p.m.
Gill Chapel
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.
