PROGRAMME
The Truro Evening
Canticles – Russell Pascoe (b 1960)
The Beatitudes –
Arvo Pärt (b 1935)
Mother of God, here
I stand – John Tavener (1944-2014)
Elegy – George
Thalben-Ball (1896-1987)
Soloist: Luke Bond
(organ)
Funeral Ikos – John
Tavener
Herzliebster Jesu –
Gabriel Jackson (b 1962)
Soloist: Luke Bond
(organ)
Nunc Dimittis –
Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
Soloists: James
Lansdowne (treble) and Peter Thomson (tenor)
INTERVAL
Requiem – Maurice
Duruflé (1902-1986)
Soloists: Jacob
Dennison and Nicholas Hawker
1 Introitus
2 Kyrie
3 Domine Jesu
Christe
4 Sanctus
5 Pie Jesu
6 Agnus Dei
7 Lux æterna
8 Libera me
9 In Paradisum
WORDS AND PROGRAMME
NOTES
The Truro Evening
Canticles – Russell Pascoe
Cornish composer
Russell Pascoe was commissioned to write this set of evening canticles for the
Cathedral Choir, which were broadcast live as part of Choral Evensong on BBC
Radio 3 on the 17th of April, 2013.
Pascoe chooses to
set the Magnificat as a great song of praise, rather than in the more
introspective style particularly characteristic of Herbert Howells, full of
exciting syncopation and the use of quick changes of time signature to shift
the pattern of strong and weak beats in both the music and words, often over a
short phrase. He confidently mixes tonal
and modal harmonies alongside sometimes unexpected rhythms and free repetition
of the words, always maintaining a sense of surging momentum, with the fully
independent organ part adding sudden flourishes that leap out from the texture.
The Gloria takes us briefly to another world entirely, one where there is a majestic
timelessness. This world is one inhabited by Arvo Pärt and John Tavener whose
music is greatly influenced by the Orthodox Church. For the opening of the
Gloria, with its drone bass underpinning a strong melody with embellishments,
Pascoe had in mind the eyes of an icon (like the Virgin of Tenderness of
Vladimir in the Cathedral) staring out and requiring a response.
The Nunc Dimittis
is much darker in tone, starting with the basses of the choir over a low organ
drone, again evoking an atmosphere of the Orthodox Church. The texture
gradually builds over the course of the words, which are not repeated. The
canticle ends triumphantly, with a grand climax leading straight into a
reworking of the majestic Gloria from the end of the Magnificat, the organ
accompaniment far more embellished than before.
My soul doth
magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath
regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from
henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is
mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on
them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed
strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their
hearts.
He hath put down
the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the
hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his
mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers,
Abraham and his seed for ever.
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Luke 1.46-55,
lesser doxology
Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have
seen : thy salvation,
Which thou hast
prepared : before the face of all people;
To be a light to
lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Luke 2.29-32,
lesser doxology
The Beatitudes –
Arvo Pärt
One of only three works
composed by Arvo Pärt in English, this setting of Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount”
from Matthew's Gospel is an excellent example of the Estonian composer's
“tintinnabuli” style, the name of which comes from the Latin for “bell”, that
he established for himself in the 1970s. This style is characterised by the use
of two voices, the first being the “tintinnabular” which jumps around the notes
of a tonic triad, and the second a voice that moves by step. This often
produces a curious texture of parts constantly crossing over each other; the
trebles and tenors have the tintinnabular voice, with wide leaps, contrasting
with the altos and basses, who move in contrary motion with each other (where
one part goes up the other goes down, in relation to the tonal centre). Pärt’s
genius lies in making what could so easily be dry compositional techniques into
music of immense emotional power.
The choir enter on
a discord, and the sentences of the scripture are punctuated by silence, before
being joined discreetly by an underpinning organ pedal. The piece gradually
moves higher through the choir's range, building a kind of devotional intensity
while the pedal holds beneath the voices until the colossal “Amen”, when the
organ suddenly bursts into life concluding the piece with a fantasia,
indicative of the blessings of heaven that await the faithful. The organ
fantasia gradually falls in pitch, returning to the original key of the
opening; not only do the choir parts mirror themselves in their pairs, but the
piece itself is a harmonic mirror, reflected through the “Amen”, that great
declaration of affirmation.
Blessed are the
poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they
that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the
meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the
pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they
which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Blessed are ye,
when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
Amen.
Matthew 5.3-12
Mother of God, Here
I stand – John Tavener
This simple,
hymn-like setting is the opening anthem of John Tavener's The Veil of the
Temple, a work that lasts over seven hours in its entirety and is performed
overnight, much like Rachmaninov's All-night Vigil, commonly known as his
Vespers. The text is a setting of the first two verses of Mikhail Lermontov's A
Prayer Poem, translated by Mother Thekla, with whom Tavener shared an
exceptionally close relationship, acting at times as librettist, spiritual
advisor and even counsellor to the composer.
The text is imbued with
a simple honesty, the poet offering his prayers to the Mother of God not for
himself in any way, but for “her alone”, reflected in the sustained phrases
which repeat the same musical material for every two lines of text, focussing
the devotional nature of the prayer. The end of each phrase features
exceptionally low bass notes, common in the music of the Eastern Orthodox
Church, laying a harmonic foundation like the pedal stops of an organ.
Mother of God, here
I stand now praying,
Before this ikon of
your radiant brightness,
Not praying to be
saved from a battlefield;
Not giving thanks,
nor seeking forgiveness for the sins of my soul, nor for all the souls
Numb, joyless and
desolate on earth; but for her alone, whom I wholly give you...
Mikhail Lermontov,
trans. Mother Thekla
Elegy – George
Thalben-Ball
This Elegy,
arguably Thalben-Ball's most recognisable piece, started life as an
improvisation after a BBC broadcast during the Second World War when the
service itself unexpectedly ended a few minutes early. So many listeners phoned
the BBC to find out what piece he was in fact playing, Thalben-Ball decided to
transcribe it as best he could remember. It is dedicated to Thalben-Ball's
predecessor at the Temple, Sir Henry Walford Davies, and is reminiscent of the
older organist's Solemn Melody, following a similar structure of a quiet
opening statement that builds to a climax before returning to a subdued ending.
The score notes that the first statement of this tune must have a “cello
quality”, but no other registration instructions are given throughout, fitting
its improvisational origins. This simple, dignified and never overly
sentimental piece may well have been an affectionate tribute to Walford Davies,
who died in 1941.
Funeral Ikos – John
Tavener
Written in 1981,
this sets words from the Order for the Burial of Dead Priests from the Greek
Orthodox liturgy. Unfamiliar to most of
us, it shows the frank and honest approach towards physical death, but that it
does not diminish the souls of the righteous.
The long chanted
lines, moving from unison to three parts and back again, coupled with the “Alleluia”
refrain give the piece a meditative atmosphere, and help this delicate and
deeply religious Ikos to move past being just music and words, and become more
of an idea in and of itself – although performed out of context here, it echoes
the message in The Beatitudes that heaven awaits the righteous but is beyond a
veil of suffering and physical death, and that if we truly believe and keep
faith we will find heaven. The text also touches on many aspects outside the
funeral itself: the grief of feeling abandonment, loss, doubt, and fear of the
unknown. Ultimately, the text points to closure; not just for the souls of the
dying, but also the living who survive them, allowing them to move on and look
to their faith: “Let us all, also, enter into Christ, that all we may cry aloud
thus unto God: Alleluia”.
Why these bitter
words of the dying, O brethren, which they do utter as they go hence? I am parted from my brethren. All my friends do I abandon, and go
hence. But whither I go, that understand
I not, neither what shall become of me yonder; only God, who hath summoned me
knoweth. But make commemoration of me
with the song: Alleluia.
But whither now go
the souls? How dwell they now together
here? This mystery have I desired to
learn, but none can impart aright. Do
they call to mind their own people, as we do them? Or have they forgotten all those who mourn
them and make the song: Alleluia.
We go forth on the
path eternal, and as condemned, with downcast faces, present ourselves before
the only God eternal. Where then is
comeliness? Where then is wealth? Where then is the glory of this world? There shall none of these things aid us, but
only to say oft the psalm: Alleluia.
If thou hast shown
mercy unto man, O man, that same mercy shall be shown thee there;and if on an
orphan thou hast shown compassion, the same shall there deliver thee from
want. If in this life the naked thou
hast clothed, the same shall give thee shelter there, and sing the psalm:
Alleluia.
Youth and the
beauty of the body fade at the hour of death, and the tongue then burneth
fiercely, and the parched throat is inflamed.
The beauty of the eyes is quenched then, the comeliness to the face all
altered, the shapeliness of the neck destroyed; and the other parts have become
numb, nor often say: Alleluia.
With ecstasy are we
inflamed if we but hear that there is light eternal yonder; that there is
Paradise, wherein every soul of Righteous Ones rejoiceth. Let us all, also, enter into Christ, that we
all we may cry aloud thus unto God: Alleluia.
From The Order for
the Burial of Dead Priests, trans. Isabel Hapgood
Herzliebster Jesu –
Gabriel Jackson
Commissioned as
part of The Orgelbüchlein Project, this chorale prelude was first performed by
William Whitehead at The Passiontide Festival held at Merton College, Oxford, on
31st of March 2012. This project seeks to 'complete' Johann Sebastian Bach's
Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book), which out of a total of 164 chorales for
liturgical use throughout the church year saw only 46 completed by Bach at the
time of his death, leaving 118 chorales either unfinished or entirely
unwritten. Modern composers have been invited to contribute by either picking
up where Bach left off or by creating an original composition, which will be
collected and published alongside Bach's original preludes and published in one
volume in 2017.
Gabriel Jackson
finds inspiration from Bach in setting the chorale melody (a German hymn tune) in
a solo voice in the right hand of the organ, while accompanied by left hand
cluster chords and deep pedal notes underneath. While Jackson's melodic and
rhythmic figures are beyond what Bach may have imagined or intended, the modern
idiom is not so far removed from other decorated chorale melodies (such as O
Mensch, bewein BWV 622), and the outline of the melody is well-preserved. The
irregular rhythm in the accompanying parts promotes a sense of unease matching
the dark undertones of the text, the first verse of which is printed here.
Herzliebster Jesu,
was hast du verbrochen,
Daß man ein solch scharf Urteil hat gesprochen?
Was ist die Schuld? In was für Missetaten
Bist du geraten?
O dearest Jesus,
what law hast Thou broken
That such sharp
sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime
hast Thou to make confession,
What dark
transgression?
Johann Heerman,
trans Catherine Winkworth
Nunc Dimittis –
Gustav Holst
Composed one hundred
years ago, this unaccompanied Nunc Dimittis was commissioned by Richard Terry,
then Organist of Westminster Cathedral. It received its liturgical première on
Easter Sunday of 1915 as part of compline (which explains why there is no
accompanying Magnificat), and almost completely disappeared thereafter. It was
rediscovered in the 1970s by the composer's daughter Imogen, who revised it
slightly ahead of its first 'modern' performance, given by the BBC Northern
Singers as part of the 27th Aldeburgh Festival in 1974.
One of the most
recognisable openings of any evening canticle setting, the eight parts enter
one by one, holding “Nunc” until the full choir is singing. From this, Holst
uses a great deal of techniques to vary the eight part texture constantly –
renaissance inspired counterpoint gives way to full sections, antiphony not
only between the first and second parts but also between the upper and lower
voices, and two short but effective solos, sung by a treble and tenor. The
piece culminates with a thrilling Gloria full of exciting counterpoint, ending
with a sustained top A in the trebles that peals out, the final major chord
instilling a sense of joy.
Nunc dimittis
servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace:
Quia viderunt oculi
mei salutare tuum
Quod parasti ante
faciem omnium populorum:
Lumen ad
revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.
Gloria Patri, et
Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,
Sicut erat in
principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Lord, now lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have
seen : thy salvation,
Which thou hast
prepared : before the face of all people;
To be a light to
lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Luke 2.29-32,
lesser doxology
INTERVAL
Requiem – Maurice
Duruflé
Born in 1902,
Maurice Duruflé began his musical training at the age of ten, when his father
enrolled him as a chorister at Rouen Cathedral, the choir of which was famous
for singing entirely from memory until the time of the French Revolution. It is
also the home of Jean Titelouze, recognized as the founder of the great French
Organ School of composers. It was in this environment that the young Duruflé
found his love of Gregorian Chant, on which much of his limited compositional
output is based – only 14 opus numbers were published in total. The Requiem is a
fusion of many disparate elements that Duruflé juxtaposes with incredible
skill, making the melodies and modal flavour of Gregorian chant seem a natural
match to the lush, almost impressionistic harmonies surrounding it.
The Requiem itself
was possibly started as early 1941, but was not completed until 1947, when it
was dedicated to the memory of his father, who had died that year. Initially
conceived as a suite of solo organ pieces based on the chants for the Missa pro
Defunctis (Mass for the Dead), it gradually expanded to this setting in nine
movements for choir and orchestra, which Duruflé later reduced to choir and
organ accompaniment, as it is performed tonight. (There is also a third
version, accompanied by organ and chamber orchestra.)
The structure takes
inspiration from Fauré's Requiem, and follows in its mood of dignified
acceptance of death and confidence in God’s mercy. Amongst the dramatic moments
are the massive 'Hosanna' in the Sanctus which gives listeners a vision of the
gates of heaven, and the 'Dies irae, dies illa' that reminds us that God will
come and judge the world by fire in the end of days. The solos in the third and
eighth movements use the uppermost part of the range, providing a magisterial
effect, particularly in the phrase “tu suscipe” in the third movement. Finally,
in the sublime ending, the last moments of the In Paradisum itself, having seen
heaven from afar, we are led by flights of angels as the choir and organ melt
away into eternity.
I. Introit
Requiem
aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te
decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi redetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi
orationem meam; ad te omnis caro veniet.
Rest
eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.
Thou,
O God, art praised in Sion, and unto thee shall the vow be performed in
Jerusalem:
Hear
my prayer; all flesh shall come to thee.
II.
Kyrie
Kyrie
eleison.
Christe
eleison.
Kyrie
eleison.
Lord,
have mercy upon us.
Christ,
have mercy upon us.
Lord,
have mercy upon us.
III.
Domine Jesu Christe
Domine
Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera
animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni, et de profundo lacu:
Libera
eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus: ne cadant in obscurum.
Sed
signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam,
Quam
olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.
Hostias
et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus:
tu
suscipe pro animabus illis quarum, hodie memoriam facimus.
Fac
eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.
Quam
olim Abrahae promisisti, et semini ejus.
O
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver
the souls of the departed from the pains of hell and the bottomless pit:
Deliver
them from the lion’s mouth, lest hell devour them: may they not fall into
darkness, but let Saint Michael, the standard bearer, lead them into the holy
light,
which
thou once promised to Abraham and his seed.
Sacrifices
and prayers do we offer to thee, O Lord:
do
thou accept them for those souls in whose memory we make this oblation.
Make
them, O Lord, to pass from death to life,
which
thou once promised to Abraham and his seed.
IV.
Sanctus
Sanctus,
sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni
sunt cœli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna
in excelsis.
Benedictus
qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna
in excelsis.
Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven
and earth are full of Thy glory.
Blessed
is he who cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna
in the highest.
V.
Pie Jesu
Pie
Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.
Dona
eis sempiternam requiem.
Blessed
Lord Jesus, grant them rest.
Grant
them eternal rest.
VI.
Agnus Dei
Agnus
Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Agnus
Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
O
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.
O
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest eternal.
VII.
Lux aeterna
Lux
aeterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in aeternum: quia pius es.
Requiem
aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Quia
pius es.
Let
light eternal shine upon them, O Lord: with thy saints for evermore: for thou
art gracious.
Rest
eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.
For
thou art gracious.
VIII.
Libera me
Libera
me, Domine, de morte aeterna, in die illa tremenda:
Quando
coeli movendi sunt et terra; Dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
Tremens
factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.
Dies
illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.
Requiem
aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Deliver
me, O Lord, from everlasting death in that fearful day:
When
the heavens and earth shall be shaken; When thou shalt come to judge the world
by fire.
I
am in fear and trembling, until the sifting be upon us and the wrath to come.
That
day, the day of wrath, calamity and misery, the great day of exceeding
bitterness.
Rest
eternal grant unto them, O Lord: and let light perpetual shine upon them.
IX.
In Paradisum
In
paradisum deducant Angeli, in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres,
et
perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus
Angelorum te suscipiat,
et
cum Lazaro quondam paupere aeternam habeas requiem.
May
the Angels lead thee into Paradise, and the Martyrs receive thee at thy coming
and
bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.
May
the choir of Angels receive thee, and mayest thou,
with
Lazarus once poor, have everlasting rest.
Programme notes by Paul-Ethan Bright
Truro Cathedral Choir
Truro Cathedral has had a choir of boys and men since it was consecrated in 1887. The current team of eighteen boy choristers and twelve gentlemen sings at six services each week during term time as well as at the major services around Christmas and Easter. They also undertake regular concerts, broadcasts, webcasts, foreign tours and CD recordings.
In recent years the choir has performed live on BBC1 as well as making recordings for BBC1’s Songs of Praise programme and a BBC2 documentary The Truth about Carols. There are regular live broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and, in 2011, it became the first British cathedral choir to webcast a service. On Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs programme, Howard Goodall chose the choir’s recording of music by French composer Maurice Duruflé as his favourite disc.
Recent CD recordings have attracted praise from critics in the international classical press: “Inspirational singing from one of the top cathedral choirs in the land” (Organists’ Review); “The singing of the choir, set in the wonderful acoustic of Truro Cathedral, is beyond praise” (MusicWeb International); “They have a fresh, unforced sound and encompass with ease the bigger eight-part writing and unexpected harmonic progressions. It’s noticeable that the solo voices include five different boy choristers of equal accomplishment – a tribute to Gray’s expert training.” (Gramophone).
In addition to its commitments in Truro, the Choir has performed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain and the USA.
A great deal of new music has been written specially for Truro Cathedral Choir by some of the UK’s top composers, among them David Bednall, David Briggs, Jonathan Carne, Paul Comeau, Paul Drayton, Graham Fitkin, Howard Goodall, Gabriel Jackson, James MacMillan, Russell Pascoe, Howard Skempton and Philip Stopford.
The eighteen boy choristers are all educated at Polwhele House School. They rehearse every day before school for at least 45 minutes. On most weekdays they come straight from school to the Cathedral where they do their homework before rehearsing for another 40 minutes and singing a service at 5.30 pm. They sing two further services on Sundays.
The boys are joined by twelve gentlemen who sing the alto, tenor and bass parts. Seven are Lay Vicars who are based permanently here in Cornwall. Five are Choral Scholars who come from various parts of the UK and further afield to spend their gap years singing with our renowned choir. There is also an Organ Scholar. All organise their lives, work and holidays around the choir’s busy schedule of commitments.
Truro Cathedral supports three other choirs which provide singing opportunities for boys and girls aged 7 to 18, as well as adults. A separate team of girl Choristers, in the age range 13 to 18, will join Truro Cathedral Choir next September. Full details can be found on the Cathedral’s website.
