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THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
J. REILLY LEWIS, MUSIC DIRECTOR
TODD FICKLEY, ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
ANDREW FOUTS, CONCERTMASTER
2014–2015 SEASON
NATIONAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH | WASHINGTON, DC
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2014 AT 3:00 PM
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
J. Reilly Lewis, Conductor
Todd Fickley, Organ
Veni, veni, Emmanuel ............................................................................................. Gregorian Chant
O come, O come, Emmanuel (1986) ......................................... Andrew Carter, b. 1939 (British)
Ave mundi gloria (Cinq Motets No. 2, 1933) .......................... Jean Langlais, 1907–1991 (French)
Annunciation Carol (1997) ............................................. Robert W. Lehman, b. 1960 (American)
I saw three ships (2007) .......................................................... Richard Elliott , b. 1957 (American)
Todd Fickley, organ
What child is this (2001) ................................................................ Paul Halley, b. 1952 (Canadian)
Alleluya, a new work is come on hand (1952) ..................... Peter Wishart, 1921–1984 (British)
The Huron Carol (1983)................................................. Robert B. Anderson b. 1954 (Canadian)
I saw three ships (1965) ................................................................Simon Preston, b. 1938 (British)
Rebecca Kellerman Petretta, soprano ~ John R. Wiggins, tenor
Intermission
Angyalok és pásztorok (1935) ........................................ Zoltán Kodály, 1882–1967 (Hungarian)
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day (1966) .......................... John Gardner, 1917–2011 (British)
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child (1955).......................... Kenneth Leighton, 1929–1988 (British)
Laura Choi Stuart, soprano
The Lord at first did Adam make (1994) ...................................... Philip Moore, b. 1943 (British)
Katelyn G. Aungst, soprano ~ William Edwards, tenor
Toccata on Vom Himmel hoch (1937) ........................ Garth Edmundson, 1892–1971 (American)
Todd Fickley, organ
Gabriel’s Message (1987)......................................................Jonathan Rathbone, b. 1957 (British)
Heaven Song (1994) ................................................................. Harry Grindle, 1935–2013 (British)
Kate Vetter Cain, soprano
The Shepherd’s Carol (2000) ........................................................... Bob Chilcott, b. 1955 (British)
Hodie (1982) .....................................................................James Stuart Grant, b. 1954 (American)
Soprano
Katelyn G. Aungst
Amy Nicole Broadbent
Kate Vetter Cain
Rebecca Kellerman Petretta
Laura Choi Stuart
Molly Grace Young
Alto
Sarah Davis
Kristen Dubenion-Smith
Natalia Kojanova
Sonya Alexandra Knussen
Tenor
William Edwards
Gary Glick
Patrick Kilbride
John R. Wiggins
Bass
Scott Auby
Joshua Brown
Steven Combs
Mark Duer
THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
Washington Bach Consort 2014–2015 Season
The Series at National Presbyterian Church
National Presbyterian Church
4101 Nebraska Avenue NW, Washington DC
THE MOZART REQUIEM
Sunday, September 28, 2014, 3:00 p.m.
All-Mozart program with guest soprano Sherezade Panthaki
THE LITTLE ORGAN BOOK I
Sunday, November 2, 2014, 3:00 p.m.
Choral and keyboard selections from the Little Organ Book
The Chamber Series
First Congregational United Church of Christ
945 G Street NW, Washington DC
THE INTIMATE BACH
Friday, October 24, 2014, 7:00 p.m.
All-Bach program of vocal and solo instrumental works
PINNACLE ACHIEVEMENTS
Saturday, April 11, 2015, 5:00 p.m.
The Goldberg Variations and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
Sunday, December 7, 2014, 3:00 p.m.
An exploration of 20th Century choral repertoire
Special Frederick Performance
ALL IN THE FAMILY
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
Motets and organ music by the Bach dynasty and family friends
Saturday, March 21, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick MD
Motets and organ music by the Bach dynasty and friends
MASS IN B MINOR
Sunday, April 26, 2015, 3:00 p.m.
The great final expression of Bach’s artistry and faith
The Noontime Cantata Series
Free admission, no tickets required
Church of the Epiphany 1317 G Street NW, Washington DC
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OCTOBER 7, 2014 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Warum betrübst du dich, mein Herz, BWV 138
Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541
J. Reilly Lewis, organ
MARCH 3, 2015 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Herr Jesu Christ, wahr’ Mensch, BWV 127
Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532
Julie Huang, organ
NOVEMBER 4, 2014 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Ihr Tore zu Zion, BWV 193
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564
Julie Vidrick Evans, organ
APRIL 7, 2015 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Siehe zu, daß deine Gottesfurcht, BWV 179
Fantasia in G Major, BWV 572
William Neil, organ
DECEMBER 2, 2014 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Sehet, welch eine Liebe, BWV 64
Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548
Gi Young Kim, organ
MAY 5, 2015 AT 12:10 P.M.
Cantata: Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! BWV 70
Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543
Todd Fickley, organ
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
The Washington Bach Consort ignites a passion for the music of J.S. Bach and his
contemporaries, enriching every life touched by this music through its value and relevance.
Washington Bach Consort
Board of Directors
Dear Friends,
I am delighted to welcome you to this
season’s holiday concert. Most of the pieces you
will hear, while interpreted by modern-day
masters, have their roots in centuries-old texts and
melodies. It is much the same process that led
Bach to rework and illuminate texts that were
familiar to his audience, creating something new
and transcendent from past traditions.
This afternoon we celebrate the artistry of
solo organist Todd Fickley, and of the Consort Chorus, who truly do sing
like the angels referenced in so many of these texts.
I wish you all a most joyous holiday season, and thank you so very
much for including the Washington Bach Consort as part of your
celebrations.
J. Reilly Lewis, Music Director
Our Mission
The Washington Bach Consort is a professional choral and orchestral ensemble based
in Washington, DC that is committed to ensuring that current and future audiences
experience the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries, by:
 performing the music of Bach and his contemporaries to the highest artistic
standards,
 sharing the joy of Bach’s music by broadening audiences in the nation’s capital,
 nurturing the appreciation of Bach’s music through education and community
outreach activities, and
 interpreting the music of Bach for audiences of today, thereby ensuring his legacy.
Tamera Luzzatto, President
Stephen Wright, Vice President
Charles Reifel, Treasurer
David Condit, Secretary
John D. Rockefeller IV, Honorary Board Member
Richard Ayres
Herschel Abbott, Jr.
Sandra Baer
L. Brent Bozell III
Shannon Davis
Melvin Dubee
Jill Kent
Charles Kinney
Mary Elizabeth Lewis
Justin Lilley
Doreen Moreira, MD
Christopher Putala
Joy Spragens
Catherine Ann Stevens
Nicole Stout
Isabel Wallop
Reinhard Wieck
John Wohlstetter
Staff
Marc Eisenberg, Executive Director
Carolyn Davies, Operations Manager
Janey Moskowitz, External Affairs Manager
Janet Mullany, Patron Services Manager
Adam Jackson, Assistant to Dr. Lewis
WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT | 1010 VERMONT AVENUE NW, SUITE 202 | WASHINGTON, DC 20005 | 202.429.2121
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THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
Veni, veni Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
This chant melody is one of the seven “Great O
Antiphons” said each day before and after the
Magnificat at Vespers during the Octave
(December 17 to 23) before Christmas. Each
Antiphon starts with an exclamatory “O,” addresses
the coming Messiah under one of his many titles
ascribed in Holy Scripture, and concludes with a
Scriptural imperative to “Come.” The singing of the
“Great O Antiphons” during Advent was a very
solemn affair in cathedrals and monasteries where
it was customary for each of the principal officers
of a monastery—abbot, prior, gardener, provost,
librarian, cellarer, treasurer—to “keep his O” in
turn, by singing his “Great O” and then providing a
feast for the monks. A native of Leicester, England,
Andrew Carter read music at Leeds University and
sang as a lay clerk at York Minster under Francis
Jackson. In 1965, Carter founded the mixed-voice
Chapter House Choir at York Minster, which rose to
national prominence during his seventeen years as
conductor. Since 1984, he has been the in-house
composer for Oxford University Press. His
expansive arrangement is based on the melody of a
fifteenth-century French Franciscan Processional
sung as the choir enters.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell thy people save
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high
That we no more have cause to sigh.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Latin Advent Antiphons
Trans., John Mason Neale (1818–1866)
Hymni Ecclesiae, 1851
Ave mundi gloria
Ave mundi gloria,
Virgo mater Maria,
Ave benignissima,
Ave plena gratia,
Angelorum domina
Ave preclarissima,
Ave decus Virginum,
Ave Salus hominum,
Ave potentissima
Ave mitis, ave dulcis,
Hail world of glory,
Virgin Mary, mother,
Hail most kind,
Hail full of grace,
Mistress of Angels
Hail most glorious,
Hail glory of virgins,
Hail salvation of humanity,
Hail most powerful
Hail mild, hail, sweet,
Ave pia, ave læta,
Ave lucidissima,
Ave mater domini,
Genitrix Altissimi,
Ave prudentissima,
Ave mater gloriæ,
Mater indulgentiæ
Ave beatissima.
Hail pious, hail joyful,
Hail brightest,
Hail Mother of the Lord
Mother of the Highest,
Hail most prudent,
Hail Mother of glory
Mother of forgiveness
Hail most blessed.
Cluny Missal of 1523
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Jean Langlais stands in the long tradition of blind
French organists. In 1945, he succeeded César
Franck and Charles Tournemire as organist titulaire
at the Basilica of Sainte Clotilde in Paris, a post he
held for forty-two years. While organist at NotreDame de la Croix de Ménilmontant, Langlais
composed five motets in honor of the Holy Virgin
between 1932 and 1942. Opening and closing with
soprano and alto voices moving together in thirds,
the middle section is written as a call-and-response
in which the two equal women’s voices reply at the
interval of a perfect fourth, in quasi-organum, with
minimal organ accompaniment. The first
performance of Ave mundi gloria took place on May
29, 1933, with the composer at the Cavaillé-Coll
organ of Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts.
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
Annunciation Carol
Nova, nova, ave fit ex Eva.
[News! News! Ave is made from Eva.]
Gabriel of high degree,
He was sent from Trinity,
to Nazareth of Galilee;
He met a maiden in that place,
there he knelt before her face,
and said “Hail Mary, full of grace.”
When the maiden heard his song,
she was fill’d with troubles strong,
and feared that she had done a wrong,
The macaronic (dual language) words of this
anonymous fifteenth-century Annunciation text are a
dialogue between the Virgin Mary and the Angel
Gabriel. The Latin trope, “Nova, nova, Ave fit ex Eva”
is based on a wordplay: “Ave” [Hail], Gabriel’s
salutation to Mary, is an acronym of “Eva” [Eve], and
symbolizes Mary’s role as the new Eve, the mother of
the Savior of mankind. American composer, organist,
and conductor Robert W. Lehman is organist and
choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis. He
has served at Washington National Cathedral,
Princeton University Chapel, and Saint Bartholomew’s
in New York, and Christ Church, New Haven. He was
founding music director of The Woodley Ensemble.
Then said the angel, “Fear not thou,
for thou shalt conceive in great virtue
the Saviour thou shalt call Jesu.
“There are yet but six months gone
since Elizabeth conceivèd John
to be the Herald of God’s Son.”
Then said the maid, “Verily,
I am thy servant right truly:
Ecce ancilla, Domini.”
[Behold the handmaid of the Lord.]
―Fifteenth-century Hunterian MS 83, Glasgow
Organ: I saw three ships
Richard Elliott’s exuberant arrangement for organ is reminiscent of an old English ring-dance. Its melody
evokes the sound of “all the bells on earth” ringing on Christmas Day. A native of Baltimore and former
student at the Peabody Conservatory and The Catholic University of America, Richard Elliott earned a
Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and master’s and doctoral degrees from the
Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. A former assistant organist for Philadelphia’s famed
Wanamaker organ, he was appointed Mormon Tabernacle Organist in 1991.
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THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
What child is this
Ave Maria. What Child is this, who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping,
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds, watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear: for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him. Maria.
The first mention of the folk song
“Greensleeves”—the lament of a sixteenthcentury Lothario (possibly Henry VIII) whose now
-bored mistress has spurned him—dates from
1580. The adaptation of a secular song to a
sacred text is not without precedent: today, the
tune is most often associated with What child is
this?, first published in Christmas Carols New and
Old, 1871, with words penned by English hymn
writer William Chatterton Dix. With its unusual
jazz-infused harmonies, this is a highly
individualistic setting of a familiar tune by Paul
Halley, a former director of music at St. John the
Divine in New York City and for eighteen years,
principal composer and keyboardist of the Paul
Winter Consort. Currently, he is director of
chapel music at the University of King’s College in
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
William Chatterton Dix (1837–1898), c. 1865
Alleluya, a new work is come on hand
Alleluya, a new work is come on hand
Through might and grace of Gode’s son
To save the lost of every land.
Alleluya.
For now is free that erst was bound;
We may well sing Alleluya!
Now is fulfilled the prophecy
Of David and of Jeremy
And also of Isaiah Alleluya!
Sing we therefore both loud and high: Alleluya!
Alleluya! this sweeté song,
Out of a green branch it sprung;
God send us the life that lasteth long. Alleluya,
Now joy and bliss be him among
That thus can sing Alleluya. Alleluya.
Selden Carol Book, Fifteenth-century Bodleian MS.
Arch. Selden B. 26
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This, the third of Three Carols composed for the
Birmingham Singer’s Club in 1953, is the bestknown work of twentieth-century English
composer and teacher Peter Wishart. Although
born in rural East Sussex, his music reflects a broad
range of influences, not least his study in 1947–
1948 with Nadia Boulanger, the legendary French
pedagogue. He received his bachelor of music from
Birmingham University, where he first taught. After
teaching at King’s College London and the Guildhall
School of Music, he was appointed Professor of
Music at the University of Reading in 1977. In his
seven-part setting of an anonymous fifteenthcentury carol text, “alleluyas” sung by four-part
women’s voices cascade down joyfully like a peal
of bells between each of its three verses. Gentle
harmonic dissonances pay tribute to Stravinsky’s
neoclassical style.
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
The Huron Carol
Gloria. ’Twas in the moon of winter-time when all the birds had fled.
That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead.
Before their light the stars grew dim,
And wond’ring hunters heard the Hymn:
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis Gloria.
Within a lodge of broken bark the tender Babe was found.
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped Him round;
But as the hunter braves drew nigh,
The angel song rang loud and high:
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis Gloria.
O children of the forest free, O Sons of Manitou,
The Holy child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come, kneel before the radiant boy
Who brings you beauty, peace, and joy.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, In excelsis Gloria.
Like most Christmas carols and hymns, the Huron
Carol has a complex history. The words were
originally written in 1643 by Jean de Brébeuf (1593–
1649), a Jesuit priest from Normandy who
accompanied French explorer Samuel de Champlain
to the New World where he worked primarily
among the Huron Indians in Québec, Canada.
Brébeuf wrote this Christmas hymn in the native
language of the Huron—its original Huron title is
Jesous Ahatonhia—and fit it to the sixteenthcentury French folk song, Une jeune pucelle.
Toronto journalist Jesse Edgar Middleton created
this English version of the text in 1926 based on a
French translation of the Huron original, of which
Canadian composer Robert Anderson has made this
arrangement.
—Native American (Huron)
Text, Jean de Brébeuf (1593–1649
English text, Jesse Edgar Middleton, 1926
I saw three ships
I saw three ships come sailing in,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
I saw three ships come sailing in,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the bells on earth shall ring.
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And what was in those ships all three?
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day,
And what was in those ships all three?
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the angels in heav’n shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the angels in heav’n shall sing,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Our Saviour Christ and his lady,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Our Saviour Christ and his lady,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Pray, whither sailed those ships all three?
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Pray, whither sailed those ships all three?
On Christmas Day in the morning.
Then let us all rejoice amain!
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
Then let us all rejoice amain!
On Christmas Day in the morning.
O, they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day.
O they sailed into Bethlehem,
On Christmas Day in the morning.
The anonymous fifteenth-century text of this
traditional English story-telling carol is based
on the legend that the bodies of the Three
Magi were carried on three ships to
Constantinople. The first known publication
of this song dates from John Forbes’s Cantus
in 1666. (The tune was heard in Richard
Elliott’s organ arrangement.) The words were
published in William Sandys’ Christmas
Carols, Ancient and Modern in 1833.
Renowned organist Simon Preston made this
lively arrangement in 1965 while he was suborganist at Westminster Abbey, to which he
returned in 1981 as organist and master of
the choristers. In the seventh verse, the
melody migrates cleverly throughout the
chorus.
—John Forbes’ Cantus, 1666
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THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
Angyalok és pásztorok
Angels and Shepherds
Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, educator, linguist, and philosopher Zoltán Kodály was one of the earliest composers to make a serious
study of folk music. After visiting rural villages to collect melodies and texts, he wrote his dissertation on Hungarian folk song. This
unaccompanied folk song for three-part women’s voices is a dialogue between the angels and the shepherds prefaced by the Latin “Gloria in
excelsis Deo.” On January 12, 1936, the BBC devoted an entire program to the choral music of Kodaly in which the composer conducted the BBC
Chorus (now The BBC Singers) in the world premiere of his Angels and Shepherds. When President John F. Kennedy welcomed the Vienna Boys
Choir in the White House Rose Garden on January 9, 1962, the famed choristers chose to sing this song.
Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax
hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Keljetëk fël, pásztorok, Ma születëtt Uratok,
Bëtlehëmnek városában, rongyos istállóban találjátok.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to men of good will on earth.
“Wake up, shepherds, the Lord is born today,
Go find him in a humble manger in Bethlehem.”
Glory to God in the highest!
Szaporán keljetëk fël, bojtárok!
Az angyal azt mondja: hallottátok?
Üdvözítot ti ma láttok, Vélem ëggyütt imádjátok!
Azt së tudjuk, gazda, merre mënjünk?
Mégis ëgyre sürget, hogy siessünk!
“Get up quickly!”
The angel asks, “Have you heard the news?
You will see the Saviour today,
and rejoice in worshiping Him!”
“Where should we go? We cannot wait!”
Angyalszóból úgy értëttem,
Születése hogy Bëtlehëm.
Në is késsünk sëmmit, csak induljunk,
A nyergës szamárra fëlrakodjunk!
De mit vigyünk a gyermëknek,
Kit az égbol kijelëntnek?
The angel tells them,
“He is born in Bethlehem.”
“Let’s not wait, let’s go,
let’s seek out the manger.
But what shall we bring Him,
whom Heaven heralds?
Majd én viszëk néki kis tejecskét,
Én is viszëk sajtot, kënyerecskét,
Majd én viszëk néki báránykát!
Në is késsünk sëmmit, csak induljunk,
Bëtlehëmbe még ma eljuthassunk.
I will bring him milk, and cheese,
and bread, and a lamb!
Let’s not wait, let’s go,
we may reach Bethlehem today.”
Gloria! Amott látok ëgy nagy fényësségët!
Bizonyos isteni jelënségët!
Nézd mëg, Bandi! Ott vagyon-é?
Bizvást odamëhetünk-é?
Ott vagyon bizonnyal, már mëgnéztem,
Bétekintëttem, hogy oda értem.
Jaj, ott fekszik a jászolban, Bétakarva
posztócskában; Gloria!
Glory! Heaven shines brightly!
Some divine occurrence!
See! Have we arrived?
Are you coming?
“How worth it the trip was, to see Him,
Lying in a manger,
wrapped in a blanket;
Glory!”
Üdvöz légy, ó Jézus, kis királyunk!
Kit nagy szëgénységben itt találunk.
Légy mindënkor mi oltalmunk!
Halálunkkor diadalmunk!
Hail, oh Jesus, little King,
who is found in such humble surroundings!
Be our refuge in all things!
We will triumph in death!
—Galambok folksong, Volly Istvan Collection
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CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day
Tomorrow shall be my dancing day:
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance:
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love;
This have I done for my true love.
Then was I born of a virgin pure,
Of her I took fleshly substance
Thus was I knit to man’s nature
To call my true love to my dance:
In a manger laid, and wrapped I was
So very poor, this was my chance
Between an ox and a silly poor ass
To call my true love to my dance:
Believed to be a sixteenth-century Cornish folk
text, this carol was first published in 1833 in
William Sandy’s Christmas Carols, Ancient and
Modern. “It is,” observed English composer
Elizabeth Poston, “unique in [its] conception of
love, sacred and profane, as a dance, spoken in
the person of Christ, mystical leader of the
cosmic order ... a theme with imagery akin to
that of William Butler Yeats, expressed in the
simplest terms of traditional dance measure.”
John Gardner’s setting uses the first four of
eleven stanzas. Gardner was organ scholar at
Oxford (1935–1939). After World War II, he
joined the musical staff of the Royal Opera
House at Covent Garden and taught at Morley
College, a post he held concurrently with that of
St. Paul’s Girls School.
Then afterwards baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard I from above,
To call my true love to my dance:
—Traditional English, sixteenth century
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child
Burden:
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
O sisters too,
How may we do,
For to preserve this day?
This poor youngling
For whom we do sing
By, by, lully, lullay.
Herod, the king,
In his raging,
Charg’d he hath this day
His men of might,
In his own sight,
All children young to slay.
As early as the fifteenth century, the guilds of
Coventry, England, performed an annual
Christmas pageant, or mystery play. The
Shearmen and Tailors’ Guild, founded in honor
of the Nativity, took for their subject the birth
of Christ and offerings of the Magi, with the
Flight into Egypt and Murder of the Innocents.
The Coventry carol is sung by the women of
Bethlehem (mothers of Jewish children) just
before Herod’s soldiers enter to slay their
innocent children. Kenneth Leighton’s career
as a professor and prolific composer of opera,
orchestra suites, chamber, and choral music
was cut short by death while in his mid-fifties.
This haunting, wistful unaccompanied lullaby
remains one of his best-known carols.
That woe is me,
Poor child for Thee!
And ever mourn and may,
For thy parting
Nor say nor sing,
By, by, by, by, lully, lullay.
—Text attributed to Robert Croo, 1534
From the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors
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THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
The Lord at first did Adam make
The Lord at first did Adam make
Out of the dust and clay,
And in his nostrils breathèd life,
E’en as the Scriptures say.
And then in Eden’s Paradise
He placèd him to dwell,
That he within it should remain
To dress and keep it well:
Now let good Christians wake from sleep,
Let darkness turn to day,
And sinners find in mutual love
The straight and glorious way.
Now mark the goodness of the Lord
Which he to mankind bore;
His mercy soon he did extend,
Lost man for to restore:
And then, for to redeem our souls
From death and hellish thrall,
He said his own dear son should be
The Saviour of us all:
Philip Moore’s career as a church musician
began at Eton College, then continued at
Canterbury Cathedral and Guildford
Cathedral. He succeeded Francis Jackson as
organist and master of the music at York
Minster from 1983 to 2008. Moore’s
masterful arrangement of this traditional,
minor-key carol builds from a discreetly
accompanied solo voice to a full-throated
choral and organ fortississimo. A tenor
declaims the first verse; sopranos sing the
second verse over spare sustained
harmonies for organ manuals with a mostly
unison refrain. A rich, yet introspective,
unaccompanied hymn setting of the third
verse gives way to the culminating verse,
“And now the tide is nigh at hand.” Sung in
unison with descant over a robust and
independent organ part, the melody’s minor
tonality is then burnished by hope in the
ultimate resolution of a Picardy third.
Now for the blessings we enjoy,
Which are from heav’n above,
Let us renounce all wickedness
And live in perfect love:
Then shall we do Christ’s own command,
E’en his own written word”
And when we die, in heaven shall
Enjoy our living Lord:
And now the tide is nigh at hand,
In which our Saviour came;
Let us rejoice and merry be,
In keeping of the same:
Let’s feed the poor and hungry souls,
And such as do it crave;
Then when we die, in Heaven sure,
Our sure reward we shall have.
—Davies Gilbert, West-country collection,
Some Ancient Christmas Carols, 1822
Organ: Toccata on Vom Himmel hoch
Garth Edmunston studied music in Pittsburgh, New York, London, Paris, and at the Leipzig Conservatory, and served lengthy tenures as organist/
choirmaster at two Pennsylvania churches. This is the best known of his choral preludes based on plainsong and German choral themes. Vom
Himmel hoch, a Christmas song attributed to Martin Luther, first appeared in print in 1535 in his Wittenberg Geistliche Lieder. He included the
carol in a 1539 Leipzig collection with the sturdy melody that has inspired composers for more than four centuries, including Bach’s Canonic
Variations on Vom Himmel hoch. Edmundson employs a continuous figuration for three verses, with the cantus in the pedal and concludes with a
flamboyant statement of the chorale in massive rapid scales up and down the keyboard between phrases. “It owes inspiration,” says Todd
Fickley, “to those crazy chorale settings by Bach that so annoyed the congregation at Arnstadt!”
10
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
Gabriel’s Message
The angel Gabriel from Heaven came,
His wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame,
“All hail,” said he, “thou lowly maiden Mary,
Most highly favoured lady,” Gloria, Gloria!
After training as a chorister at Coventry Cathedral and
choral scholar at Christ’s College Cambridge, Jonathan
Rathbone studied at the Royal Academy of Music. From
1984 to 1996, he was musical director and arranger for the
Swingle Singers, for whom he made this arrangement of
the fourteenth-century Latin Annunciation text, Angelus ad
Virginem. His is a lively, even euphoric, eight-part
contemporary unaccompanied setting of the melody with
its origins in the Basque Country.
“For known, a blessed mother thou shalt be,
All generations laud and honour thee,
Thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold.
Most highly favoured lady,” Gloria, Gloria!
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head,
“To me be as it pleaseth God,” she said,
:My soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name,”
Most highly favoured lady, Gloria, Gloria!
Of her Emmanuel the child was born
In Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn,
And Christian folk throughout the world will ever say,
“Most highly favoured lady.” Gloria!
—Paraphrase, Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924)
Heaven Song
Sleep, my darling, I will watch you
In the gentle candle glow.
Who are you? But while I wonder,
Angels, shepherds, wise men know.
Saviour, prophet, prince, messiah?
What will be, I do not know.
As I watch you, nurse you, love you,
In the golden candle glow.
Song of angels, gifts from wise men,
Who is this, my Mary dear?
You have given us a son, who
Draws the whole wide world so near.
On the hillside shepherds trembled
When they heard the angel throng
“Glory be to God, the highest, Peace on earth,”
the heaven song.
Harry Grindle was an eminent choral musician and
choirmaster, who led the Choir of St. Anne’s Cathedral in
Belfast to a place among the top ten British cathedral
choirs. He founded the acclaimed Priory Singers, whose
recordings featured Grindle’s own compositions such as
Heaven Song. The three verses represent the voices of
Mary (soprano solo), Joseph (four-part men), and the
World (mixed chorus with descant). The text, by Jonathan
Barry, rector of St. Mary’s Church of Ireland in County
Down, is set to a melody by Annie Fortescue Harrison
(1851–1944), who became Lady Arthur Hill by virtue of her
marriage to the younger son of the 4th Marquis of
Downshire after he heard her song, In the gloaming, in
London.
Oh Messiah, Jesu, Saviour
Born for us in manger stall.
Bind us close that we may worship
You as King and Lord of all.
When your star pierced through the darkness,
Wise men saw what lay below.
Pray that soon the world may glory
In the golden Gospel glow.
—Jonathan Barry
11
THE WASHINGTON BACH CONSORT
The Shepherd's Carol
We stood on the hills, Lady,
Our day’s work done,
Watching the frosted meadows
That winter had won.
The evening was calm, Lady,
The air so still,
Silence more lovely than music
Folded the hill.
There was a star, Lady,
Shone in the night,
Larger than Venus it was
And bright, so bright.
Oh, a voice from the sky, Lady,
It seemed to us then,
Telling of God being born
In the world of men.
And so we have come, Lady,
Our day’s work done,
Our love, our hopes, ourselves,
We give to your son.
—Clive Sansom (1910–1981)
Bob Chilcott, a longtime member of
The King’s Singers, is one of the most
active composers and choral
conductors in Britain today. He began
his musical career as a chorister in the
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge.
Since 2002, he has been principal
guest conductor of The BBC Singers.
The Choir of King’s College
commissioned The Shepherd’s Carol
for its 2000 Festival Service of Nine
Lessons and Carols broadcast around
the world on Christmas Eve. The text
comes from British-born Tasmanian
poet and playwright Clive Sansom. In
Chilcott’s serene setting,
impressionistic wisps of words (calm,
silence) waft through the choral
voices, embracing the gentle,
narrative melody as shepherds
express their awe at seeing the Star of
Bethlehem that led them to Mary—
and her son.
Hodie!
Hodie Christus natus est
Hodie Salvator apparuit:
Hodie in terra canunt Angeli,
Laetantur archangeli:
Hodie exsultant iusti, dicentes:
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Alleluia!
Today, Christ is born
Today, hath a Savior appeared:
Today, on earth Angels are singing;
Archangels celebrate:
Today, the righteous exult, and say:
Glory to God in the highest. Alleluia.
—Magnificat Antiphon, Second Vespers of Christmas Day
Trans., Charles Winfred Douglas (1867–1944)
This exuberant setting of the Magnificat
Antiphon for Christmas Day won the
Cathedral Choral Society’s 40th anniversary
choral composition competition. Hodie! was
sung for the first time on December 11, 1982.
The composer combines a newly-written tune
with two ancient plainsong melodies—
Divinum mysterium and Adoro te. James
Stuart Grant began composing at an early
age; he also spent eight years in the St. Paul’s
Choir of Men and Boys in Baltimore. He took
first-prize honors in three international
competitions, and his orchestral overture
CHART won first prize in the 1998 Indiana
State University/Louisville Symphony
competition for new orchestral music. His
Songs of Mystical Love, based on poems by
St. John of the Cross, were premiered at the
Kennedy Center. He was one of five American
composers to win the Aaron Copland Award
in 2002.
Program notes © Margaret Shannon, 2014
12
CHRISTMAS FOR OUR TIME
The Washington Bach Consort wishes to
thank its generous donors. This list
represents gifts made between November
14, 2013 and November 14, 2014.
If you notice an error in your listing, please accept our apologies and
contact us at 202.429.2121 during business hours so we may correct it.
The Washington Bach Consort
honors the members of the
1685 Society
L. Brent & Norma Bozell
Mr. & Mrs. David P. Condit
Shannon & Jim Davis
Jill E. Kent & Mark E. Solomons
Dr. & Mrs. J. Reilly Lewis
Mary Elizabeth Lewis
Tamera Luzzatto & David Leiter
Dr. Brian R. McNeill &
Kathryn McKenzie
Michael Ochs
Laura E. Phillips*
Charles Reifel & Janie Kinney
William T. & Sally Semple
Isabel T. Wallop
Sally Wells
Stephen C. Wright
*in memoriam
ANGELS $15,000 AND ABOVE
DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Chris & Susan DeMuth
The Millstream Fund in Honor of John D. Rockefeller
The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
The Honorable & Mrs. John D. Rockefeller IV
BACH SOCIETY $7500 TO $14,999
Betty J. Beard
Robert Beizer
Mr. & Mrs. David P. Condit
Tamera Luzzatto & David Leiter
Charles Reifel & Janie Kinney
Isabel T. Wallop
CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE $5,000 TO $7,499
L. Brent & Norma Bozell
Elizabeth Carl & Victoria Hill
Lynne & Joe Horning
Jill Kent & Mark Solomons
Mary and Daniel Loughran Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. William T. Semple
Joy Fowler Spragens
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE $2,500 TO $4,999
Richard & Beth Ayres
Shannon & Jim Davis
Mary Ann L. Gardner
Mr. & Mrs. Charles L. Kinney
Mary Elizabeth Lewis
Justin & Stephanie Lilley/Telemedia Policy Corp
Dr. Brian R. McNeill & Kathryn McKenzie
Dr. Doreen Moreira & Marc Schlosberg
Christopher & Allison Putala
Catherine Ann Stevens
Sally Wells
John C. Wohlstetter
ARTIST’S CIRCLE $1,250 TO $2,499
Anonymous
Sandra M. Baer
Howard M. Brown
Joan Challinor
Glen Fukushima
Captain & Mrs. Don P. Johnson
David A. Klaus
Thomas G. MacCracken
Susan E. Manola in loving memory of
Frances & Albert Manola
Hope P. McGowan
Music Performance Trust Fund
Lilian M. Penna
Mr. & Mrs. Hank Schlosberg
Ms. Nicole L. Stout
Mr. & Mrs. John D. Van Wagoner
Stephen C. Wright
PATRONS $750 TO $1,249
Angella Brock
C. John & Janet C. Buresh
Jim Casserly & Kathy Flynn
Reinhard Wieck
Mr. Alan J. Kriegel
David & Becky Legge
Rosemary Monagan
Robert & Beatrice Newkirk
David Post & Nancy Birdsall
William D. & Annette D. Reilly
Donald & Lydia Rice
Mr. & Mrs. McKim Symington
Arina Van Breda
Ronald V. Villafranco
Elizabeth K. Weisburger, Ph.D.
BENEFACTORS $350 TO $749
Admiral & Mrs. Charles Abbot
Eleanor Adams
Donald Baker & Nina McLemore
Judith Barnett
Ed Barron
Dr. Rafael J. Convit
Robert W. Crandall & Barbara Bankoff
Stanley & Ann Degler
Susan Dillon
Joyce & Barry Eisenstein
Nancy M. Folger
Joe Francis
Marilyn Wong Gleysteen
Charlotte Gollobin
Karen L. Handorf
Frederick Hird
Ted Hirt
Anna Karavangelos
T. Michael & Erna Kerst
Dr. William M. Leach
Dr. & Mrs. Wayne J. Lehrer
Jenny Luray
Nancy & Herb Milstein
Jeffrey G. Mora & Wendy Fuller-Mora
William B. Munier, MD
Carolyn Nagler
Ms. Julia O’Brien
Barbara Negri Opper in Memory
of Ren Stelloh
cont. over
13
Washington Bach Consort Donors cont.
Lee & Anthony Partridge
Ms. Suzanne Perry
Susannah Prindle
Mark & Jean Raabe
Mr. & Mrs. Peter D. Robinson
Liz Savage
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Schiffman
Kathryn Seddon
Margaret Shannon
Christine E. Stelloh-Garner
Ren Stelloh, III in Memory of Bee Stelloh and in
Honor of Ren Stelloh, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Viguen Ter-Minassian
Roy & Carol Thomas
Lynn Trundle
Dorothy B. Wexler
Anita L. Woehler
Gretchen Young
Ms. Beverly Zweiben
SUPPORTERS $200 TO $349
Anonymous
Jo Allen
Eric P. Andersen
Kathleen Bacskay
Ms. Barbara Bankoff
Catherine H. Beauchamp
Walter & Irene Berns
Inga C. Blust
N. Prentice Bowsher & Sally Steenland
Andrew & Erica Brown
Mary Martha Churchman
Clark Conkling
Marcia P. Crandall
E. Lynne & Paul D’Eustachio
Sharrill Dittmann
Gary & Linda Glick
Vera C. Glocklin
Rebecca G. Hayes
Michael Horowitz & Devra Marcus
Immanuel Lutheran School
Robert E. Jamroz & Jordan L. Morgenstern
Norris & Miriam Keeler
Robert Kessler & Swanee Busic
Edward Killham
Peter Koltay & Rosemary Hogan
Dr. Richard M. Krause
Dominique Lallement
Steve & Rosalie Learned
Kenneth Lowenberg
Mr. & Mrs. Chip Lubsen
Frances M. Lussier
Verna Joy Macdonald
Leilane G. Mehler
David Miller
Dan & Pat Moore
Bradley J. & Martha A. Olson
Dr. Gerald Perman
Frances H. Pratt
James E. Rich
Gregory Schoepfle
Carol M. Sikkelee
Thomas M. Sneeringer
Ms. Ilse M. Stauffer
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Stone in Memory of
Kathleen Warner
Mr. & Mrs. Hans N. Tuch
Jane Udelson
George Whitley & Candace Ballard
Penny Williams
Tim & Glenda Christenson
Douglas Cochrane
Jolly De Give
Vesta S. Downer
Sally Katzen Dyk
Emerson & Joyce Elliott
The Neil R. Ericsson Philanthropic Fund
Dr. & Mrs. Dennis Fitzgerald
Mr. & Mrs. Karl Flicker
J. William Gadzuk
Daniel Gattuso
Susan Grad
Wendy Graham
Tom & Margaret Greene
Judith M. Harper
Mrs. Frederick Hart
Mr. & Mrs. Louis Hering
Patricia Hevner
Eric Hirschhorn
Alison Drucker & Tom Holzman
David Hoover & Bill Roberts
Patricia H. Horan
Joshua Horwitz & Ericka Markman
Donald Howitz
Gabriel Paul Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Louis E. Kahn
Dennis Kaspar
Hans Keithley
Ms. Veronique Kessler
FRIENDS $100 TO $199
Cathy & Mark Knepper
Larry & Sue Anderson
In memory of Kathleen Warner—the Ascher Ms. Faye Laing
Camille Larson & George Ruttinger
Kalb family
Kendrick R. Lee
Mr. and Mrs. David Barbour
Martha Stecher Lewis & John Lambert
Bob & Peggy Barry
Sylvia Malamud
Panagiota Batsakis
Nancy & Alan Mandel
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Biernoff
M. Lynn Martin
Mary Ellen Bork
Jean Matthews
James Bromley
Patrick McDermott
Janet & Norman Brown
Mr. David R. McGown
Heidi Byrnes
Reuben Williams Moore, Jr.
Michael Calingaert
Reverend & Mrs. Bernard F. Nass
Toni Carey
George Newman & Barbara Fairchild
David Ogilvie & Louisa Woodville
Mark W. Ohnmacht in Honor of
Ren Stelloh
Mr. & Mrs. David Osnos
Prof. & Mrs. Robert Park
Ellen & Ed Passman
Laurence Pearl
Dr. & Mrs. Stephen Peterson
David Pozorski & Anna Romanski
Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Randolph
Sally R. Rathvon
Larry & Eva Ravitz
Alfred S. Regnery
Raymond P. Rhinehart
Cy Richardson
Markley Roberts
Rainer Rudolph
Karen Yudelson Sandler
Ann Imlah Schneider
Ms. Eleanor Schreiber
David Seidman & Ruth Greenstein
John & Linda Sibert
Irene Solet
John Teasdale
Mr. & Mrs. Philip M. Teigen
Dan & Heike Terrell
John A. Terry
Frederik van Bolhuis
Pierre & Claire Wagner
Marilyn Wandrus
Drs. Richard & Elisabeth Waugaman
Carleen Dixon Webb
Anne & Ernest Weissenborn
Frauke & Heiner Westphal
The Winkler Family in Honor of
Ren & Bee Stelloh
Roy & Jane Woodall
Ms. Patricia Woods
S. Zilliacus
Dear Friend,
I’m Tamera Luzzatto. It is my privilege to introduce myself to you, and to invite you to join me in providing financial
support for the musical treasure that is the Washington Bach Consort. I was elected to serve as the President of the
Consort’s Board of Directors—a daunting responsibility, with many challenges involved in sustaining a performing arts
organization.
My passion for Bach stems from growing up with a Presbyterian minister dad and a pianist mom who played every
Sunday and very often on our home’s piano. I became a regular patron almost thirty years ago, thanks to serving on the staff
of Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, who remains a fellow “nut” about Bach and baroque music, and I have joined
him at the Consort’s performances ever since.
At this time of year when we reflect on what we are most thankful for and what we might do for others, I ask you to
help the Washington Bach Consort with whatever level of a contribution you can send our way so that we can continue to
enjoy this glorious music and share it with our community.
Did you know that the Washington Bach Consort reaches over two thousand DC schoolchildren each year with the
Bach To School program? For many of these students, it is their first exposure to classical music and to Bach. It is our hope
that this experience will not only foster a new and diverse audience for the future, but bring joy and beauty into the students’
lives. Bach To School is a free program for the participants and one of which we are very proud.
The price of your ticket today represents only a fraction of the costs of this concert, and does not even begin to address
any of the expenses of our acclaimed outreach programs—Bach To School, the Noontime Cantata Series, the free preconcert Talking Bach lectures. Your tax-deductible gift helps all of the Consort’s activities thrive.
I am asking you to make a tax-deductible gift today to support the music that inspires, refreshes, and sustains us year
round. Your gift will ensure that we can continue to offer the joy and beauty that Maestro Lewis, our devoted musicians, and
our dedicated Board of Directors are deeply committed to sustain.
I humbly and gratefully seek your generosity in this season when we give thanks and enjoy sharing joy and gifts with
those we love.
A copy of the current financial statement of the Washington Bach
Sincerely, and with all best wishes for the holiday season,
Consort is available by writing to: The Washington Bach Con-
Tamera Luzzatto
President, Washington Bach Consort Board of Directors
sort, 1010 Vermont Avenue NW Suite 202, Washington, DC
20005 or by calling (202) 429-2121. For Maryland residents,
documents and information submitted under the Maryland
Solicitations Act are available from the Maryland Secretary of
State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401, (410) 974-5534
for the cost of postage and copies. For Virginia residents, a
financial statement is available upon written request from the
Office of Charitable and Regulatory Programs, Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond,
VA 23218.

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12.7.2014
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