AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER CHOIR directed by

DOUGLAS LAWRENCE with organist

Myfanwy McIndoe

Basilica of St Mary of the Angels, Geelong Friday June 17 at 8 pm

Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Middle Park Sunday April 3 at 3 pm

1. Ave Maris Stella Wallis JONATHAN WALLIS : Born Melbourne 1974 Currently living in Hobart.

  Classics lecturer and composer Jonathan Wallis, by his own account given to Melbourne’s Move Records, ‘enjoys reading poetry in Latin and spending evenings poring over musty texts and student essays.’ There is nothing at all musty or student-like about Wallis’s short but powerful 1996 setting of the renowned Marian text Ave Maris Stella. This text – often attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux, who died in 1153 – is inextricably associated with a no less renowned plainchant melody, on which numerous composers over the last five hundred years have written variations. Wallis incorporates both text and chant melody into his piece, which sounds rather like an inspired communal improvisation, with the Middle Ages flavour kept intact. At first there are only two concurrent vocal lines, often with gentle passing dissonances. Then the texture becomes richer, with three, four, and eventually five separate parts, before unison voices proclaim the plainchant itself. The metrical (rather than literal) English translation given below dates from the nineteenth century.  

Ave maris stella, Dei Mater alma, Atque semper Virgo, Felix caeli porta. Sumens illud Ave Gabrielis ore, Funda nos in pace, Mutans Hevae nomen. Solve vincla reis, Profer lumen caecis: Mala nostra pelle, Bona cuncta posce. Monstra te esse matrem: Sumat per te preces, Qui pro nobis natus, Tulit esse tuus. Virgo singularis, Inter omnes mitis, Nos culpis solutos, Mites fac et castos. Vitam praesta puram, Iter para tutum: Ut videntes Iesum, Semper collaetemur.

Hail, bright star of ocean, God's own Mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Taking that sweet Ave Which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name. Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour, All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; May the Word Divine, Born for us thy Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild, Freed from guilt, preserve us, Pure and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy forevermore.

Sit laus Deo Patri, Summo Christo decus, Spiritui Sancto, Tribus honor unus. Amen. .

Through the highest heaven To the Almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit, One same glory be. Amen.

2. Magnificat Gabrieli GIOVANNI GABRIELI : Born probably in Venice c.1557; died there, 12 August, 1612

  The principal figure in Venice’s music during the last decade of the sixteenth century and the first decade of the seventeenth was Giovanni Gabrieli, nephew of another eminent musician (Andrea Gabrieli), and teacher of still others (including Germany’s Heinrich Schütz). He codified the distinctively Venetian idiom which would be known as cori spezzati – literally ‘separate choirs’ – and which was dominated by groups of vocalists and instrumentalists, competing against each other inside Venice’s best-known landmark, the Basilica of San Marco. This Magnificat is not one of Gabrieli’s most frequently sung works; but it is among his most impressive, with a sheer coursing energy, and a delight in the coloristic possibilities of massed voices, remarkable even for him.

Magnificat anima mea Dominum, Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae; Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent Omnes generationes. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est Et sanctum nomen eius. Et misericordia a progenie in progenies Timentibus eum. Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo. Dispersit superbos Mente cordis sui. Deposuit potentes de sede Et exaltavit humiles. Esurientes implevit bonis Et divites dimisit inanes. Suscepit Israel puerum suum Recordatus misericordiae suae, Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros Abraham et semini eius in saecula. Gloria Patri, et Filio, Et Spiritui Sancto: Sicut erat in principio Et nunc et semper Et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoiceth 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 [helped] His servant Israel. As He promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed forever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost: as it was in the beginning, and is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

3. Fugue on the Magnificat Bach JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH : Born, Eisenach, Germany, 31 March, 1685; Leipzig, 28 July, 1750

The origins of this organ work remain unclear, and there is even a school of thought which ascribes it, not to Bach, but to his star pupil Johann Krebs (whom he once hailed as ‘the best Krebs [crab] in the whole Bach [brook]’). Be the authorship question what it may, there can be no doubt of the music’s contrapuntal brilliance. It

derives from a chant which well before Bach’s time had acquired the not particularly enlightening name of ‘wandering tone’ – tonus peregrinus – and which from at least the early seventeenth century had become associated in Lutheran parishes with the words Meine Seele erhebt den Herren (the opening line of the standard German Magnificat). This same tune duly turns up in Bach’s BWV10 (a cantata) and in the fourth (BWV648) of six Schübler Chorales that Bach published near the end of his life.

4. The Motet: Jesu meine Freude Bach Bach wrote at least six motets – the authenticity of a seventh is disputed – between 1723 and 1727; all were intended for the Thomaskirche (St Thomas’s Church), Leipzig, where he had been Cantor since 1723. Jesu, Meine Freude, for five-part choir – first sopranos, second sopranos, altos, tenors, basses – is the third work in the set, and the one most often performed as a free-standing piece without the others. Bach intended it for the funeral of a prominent Leipzig lady, Johanna Maria Käsin, whose husband was the city postmaster. The motet’s main chorale melody, which dominates the thematic argument, did not originate with Bach. It comes from a 1653 collection called Praxis pietatis melica, by an earlier Lutheran composer, Johann Crüger. Some of the words originate with mid-seventeenth-century German hymn-writer Johann Franck, for whose lyrics Bach had a special esteem, since he used them several times in his cantatas. The remaining words are adaptations of the eighth chapter from St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, and would have been recognised as such by Bach’s original hearers, given this epistle’s particular importance in Lutheran theology. Two versions exist of Bach’s score: one entirely unaccompanied, the other with instrumental ensemble. Francis Browne supplied the English version given below.

Jesu, meine Freude, Meines Herzens Weide, Jesu, meine Zier, Ach wie lang, ach lange Ist dem Herzen bange Und verlangt nach dir! Gottes Lamm, mein Bräutigam, Ausser dir soll mir auf Erden Nichts sonst Liebers werden.

Unter deinem Schirmen Bin ich vor den Stürmen Aller Feinde frei. Lass den Satan wittern, Lass den Feind erbittern, Mir steht Jesus bei. Ob es itzt gleich kracht und blitzt, Ob gleich Sünd und Hölle schrecken: Jesus will mich decken.

Trotz dem alten Drachen, Trotz des Todes Rachen, Trotz der Furcht darzu! Tobe, Welt, und springe, Ich steh hier und singe In gar sichrer Ruh. Gottes Macht hält mich in acht; Erd und Abgrund muss verstummen, Ob sie noch so brummen.

Jesus, my joy, pasture of my heart, Jesus, my adornment ah how long, how long is my heart filled with anxiety and longing for you! Lamb of God, my bridegroom, apart from you on the earth there is nothing dearer to me.

Beneath your protection I am free from the attacks of all my enemies. Let Satan track me down, let my enemy be exasperated – Jesus stands by me. Even if there is thunder and lightning, even if sin and hell spread terror: Jesus will protect me.

I defy the old dragon, I defy the jaws of death, I defy fear as well! [If you] rage, world, and spring to attack, I stand here and sing in secure peace. God’s might takes care of me; earth and abyss must fall silent, however much they rumble on.

Weg mit allen Schätzen! Du bist mein Ergötzen, Jesu, meine Lust ! Weg ihr eitlen Ehren, Ich mag euch nicht hören, Bleibt mir unbewusst! Elend, Not, Kreuz, Schmach und Tod Soll mich, ob ich viel muss leiden, Nicht von Jesu scheiden.

Gute Nacht, o Wesen, Das die Welt erlesen, Mir gefällst du nicht. Gute Nacht, ihr Sünden, Bleibet weit dahinten, Kommt nicht mehr ans Licht! Gute Nacht, du Stolz und Pracht! Dir sei ganz, du Lasterleben, Gute Nacht gegeben.

Weicht, ihr Trauergeister, Denn mein Freudenmeister, Jesus, tritt herein. Denen, die Gott lieben, Muss auch ihr Betrüben Lauter Zucker sein. Duld ich schon hier Spott und Hohn, Dennoch bleibst du auch im Leide, Jesu, meine Freude.

Away with all treasures! You are my delight, Jesus, my joy! Away with empty honours, I’m not going to listen to you, remain unknown to me! Misery, distress, affliction, disgrace and death, even if I must endure much suffering, will not separate me from Jesus.

Good night, existence chosen by the world, you do not please me. Good night, you sins, stay far behind me. Come no more to the light! Good night, pride and splendour, once and for all, sinful existence, I bid you good night.

Go away, mournful spirits, for my joyful master, Jesus, now enters in. For those who love God even their afflictions become pure sweetness. Even if here I endure shame and disgrace, even in suffering you remain, Jesus, my joy.

INTERVAL

A new CD entitled The Australian Chamber Choir, including items from the ACC’s 2010 subscription series in Our Lady of Mount Carmel is for sale at the ticket desk for $25.

5. Ikon of the Nativity Tavener SIR JOHN TAVENER : Born Wembley, England, 28 January, 1944. Currently lives in England.

  An Orthodox Church communicant since 1977, Sir John Tavener (knighted in 2000) is, in addition, a descendant from, as well as a near-namesake of, the sixteenth-century composer John Taverner [sic]. He is best known for the religious themes that dominate his works. These works include an opera, Thérèse (based on the Lisieux saint’s life); The Protecting Veil, for cello and string orchestra; the a cappella motet Song for Athene [Hariades], famously performed at Princess Diana’s obsequies; and the present Ikon of the Nativity, also a cappella, which dates from 1991. The lyrics are taken from a long poem by St Ephrem the Syrian (306?-373), though Tavener has set a surprisingly prosaic and literal English rendering of St Ephrem’s words, carried out by Sebastian Brock, former Syriac scholar at Oxford. As with much of Tavener’s vocal output, great use is made of sustained drone-like notes in some parts, concurrent with rapturous vocal flourishes in the others. One characteristic performance indication which Tavener gives (at the end of the first section) is ‘With Byzantine splendour, alternating with tenderness.’

No one quite knows, Lord, what to call Your Mother. Should we call her ‘Virgin’? - but her giving birth is an established fact; ‘unmarried woman’? -but no man has known her. If Your Mother’s case is beyond comprehension, who can hope to understand Yours?

The Mighty one entered, and put on insecurity from her womb; the Provisioner of all entered - and experienced hunger; He who gives drink to all entered - and experienced thirst: naked and stripped there came forth from her He who clothes all!

Praise to You to whom all things are easy, You are almighty.  

6. Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from the Short Service Gibbons ORLANDO GIBBONS : Born Cambridge, England, December 1583. Died Canterbury, 5 June 1625 .

  The short-lived Gibbons, who died of a stroke while helping to prepare the music-making for the coronation of the still more luckless Charles I, belonged to the post-Byrd generation of English composers. That is, in religious terms Gibbons worked entirely within a Protestant establishment, being too young to have personal recollections of any other liturgy. He wrote four dozen keyboard pieces, a slightly smaller number of polyphonic works for viol consort, and various madrigals (much the most popular of which is The Silver Swan); but probably his best achievements are his works for the Anglican church, such as the Short Service, from which today’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis come. Intended for Evensong, this music meets the prevailing Anglican authorities’ requirements that the words be easily understood by all hearers – for much of the time Gibbons sticks to a straightforward chordal texture – but clever use of imitation makes the music sound more consistently contrapuntal than it actually is.

For the Magnificat text, see item 2. Nunc Dimittis 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.

7. Ave verum corpus Byrd WILLIAM BYRD : Born London, 1539 or 40; Died Stondon Massey, Essex, 4 July 1623

  Unlike Gibbons, Byrd was old enough – like his still older friend Tallis – to have incurred the hottest blasts of English religious controversy. Born amid the modified Catholicism of Henry VIII’s reign (which expunged papal supremacy alone, retaining intact all other Catholic teachings), he was later a subject of the openly Protestant Edward VI, the no less openly anti-Protestant Mary I, and the compromising Anglicans Elizabeth I and James I. Privately Byrd held fast to the Roman rite, with all the financial penalties and physical risks that this usually involved under Elizabeth and James, though he enriched Anglicanism’s repertoire also. Ave Verum Corpus comes to a climax with the startlingly modern-sounding chordal cross-relations near the end, which correspond to nothing in Palestrina or any other Continental master of the time. Like all of Byrd’s pieces meant for adherents of the old faith, this one would have been originally sung in secret by a small group of performers, and probably softly sung at that, since a forte rendition was simply asking for governmental informers to come and kick the door down.

Ave, verum corpus natum de Maria Virgine, Vere passum immolatum in Cruce pro homine, Cujus latus perforatum unda fluxit [et] sanguine, Esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine. O dulcis, O pie, O Jesu fili Mariae, miserere mei.

Hail, true body, born of the Virgin Mary, Who truly suffered, sacrificed on the Cross for man, Whose pierced side overflowed with water and blood, Be for us a foretaste In the test of death. O sweet, O merciful, O Jesus, Son of Mary, have mercy upon me.

8. Latin Magnificat for Double Choir, Op 164 Stanford SIR CHARLES VILLIERS STANFOD: Born Dublin, 30 September, 1852; Died London, 29 March, 1924

  Stanford was nothing if not versatile. In his teaching, he often showed considerable ruthlessness but earned invariable respect. He numbered among his students Gustav Holst, Vaughan Williams, Herbert Howells, Frank Bridge, Ivor Gurney, John Ireland, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and almost every other musician of note in England during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. (One unfortunate pupil’s efforts he dismissed, in the Hibernian brogue which he cultivated to the end, as ‘All Brahms and water, me bhoy! And more water than Brahms!’.) Meanwhile, in his composing, he contributed to every main genre. His huge work-list includes eleven operas (none of which achieved any commercial success), seven symphonies, concertos for various instruments, eight string quartets, and quantities of sacred music. In the last-named category Stanford, like Byrd more than three hundred years earlier, handled Latin and English texts with equal assurance. The Latin Magnificat in this concert comes from late in Stanford’s life. It calls for double choir (eight parts in total) and was intended as a funerary tribute to Sir Hubert Parry. Stanford, as a young man, had been prominent (as Parry had been) in reviving Bach’s choral output; and even if we did not know as much from his biographers, this Magnificat would confirm it. He must have had in mind Bach’s setting of the opening words – in a similar, moderately paced triple time – when he produced the initial bars of his own. The whole piece is ornate and profound, testifying to Stanford’s always formidable expertise at handling massed voices without conveying the slightest hint of creative strain. In 1985 Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Garret FitzGerald, who died in May 2011, gave permission for Stanford’s portrait to appear on a postage stamp. For the text and translation, see Item 2.

Programme notes © R. J. Stove, 2011

The singers today were: Sopranos: Taya Annable, Felicity Bolitho, Cailin Howarth, Bronwyn Jones, Kim Tan, Ailsa Webb Altos: Elizabeth Anderson, Zoe Gannon, Myfanwy McIndoe, Helen Seymour Tenors: Robin Czuchnowski, Thomas Dalton, Jacob Lawrence, Andrew Collyer Basses: Rhys Boak, Simon Gannon, Tom Healey, Andrew Moffat

The AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER CHOIR was founded by its director, Douglas Lawrence and gave its first concert at Höchstädt Castle, Bavaria on July 7, 2007. This was the first performance in a 20-concert tour of Europe during which the new choir received the highest praise: "There are days when something of heaven seems to touch the earth. Thank you for giving us just one of those such days" (Stefen Wegener, Presenter, Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnisskirche Series, Berlin, July 14, 2007) "The Australian Chamber Choir inspired the audience with the finest choral music" (Ostfriesischer Kurier, July 19, 2007). Shortly after its return to Melbourne, Clive O'Connell described the choir's inaugural Australian performance in The Age: ‘choral work of the top rank, as lucidly articulated as you could desire, the bustling interweaving of eight lines coming across in this revealing acoustic with impressive purpose and intonational fidelity’ (November 22, 2007). This meteoric rise to international success was largely due to the 24 years Douglas Lawrence worked as director of the Choir of Ormond College, University of Melbourne. In 1984, when Lawrence founded the Ormond College choir, it was the only university choir giving regular weekly performances. This choir provided a training ground for elite choral singers, and its talented young graduates went on to become the backbone of other well-known choirs. Lawrence undertook 11 international concert tours with the Ormond College choir and established a list of European engagements unmatched by any other Australian ensemble. The AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER CHOIR performs music from all periods, with special attention given to new Australian works. In its short life, with 35 European concerts to its credit, the choir has received accolades for its performances of Australian works from European critics: ‘The modern works; Lamentations (Hodgson) and O Magnum Mysterium (Kristof) … all portrayed a highly-effective sonic magic’ (General Anzeiger, Bonn, July 11, 2009) ‘Thanks to the expressiveness of the singing, Brenton Broadstock's I had a dream became a most beautiful experience’ (Berlingste Tidende, Copenhagen, July 23, 2007). In addition to the concerts mentioned above, the ACC has produced two CDs (available today) and made five recordings for ABC classic FM. In May 2010, the ACC gave its first regional tour, to Wangaratta, Shepparton and Castlemaine. The response from local choirs was powerfully positive: John Rivers, the Director of Music at Wangaratta Cathedral said ‘This fine concert not only gave an enthusiastic audience a wonderful musical experience, but also gave impetus to choral music in the area … We look forward with keen anticipation to a further visit from this formidable ensemble’. The choir plans return visits to all these regional centres and aims to expand this important work in regional Victoria in the near future. Later this year, the choir will tour to Albury, Wagga Wagga and Canberra. As part of its third European tour in July this year, the ACC will give a concert and sing for a service in St Thomaskirche, Leipzig, where Bach was director of music for 27 years. It will also perform in Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedächtnisskirche, Berlin; Hamburg Hafencity; Bonn Minster, Cologne Cathedral, Freiberg Cathedral, Ribe Cathedral, Denmark; Holy Trinity Cathedral, Paris and in several other venues. Following on from its concerts in Wangaratta, Shepparton, Castlemaine, Hamilton, Albury, Wagga Wagga and Canberra, the choir aims to establish an Australia-wide touring program as soon as the necessary funds are available. We welcome your support. Donations to the Australian Chamber Choir Support Fund are fully tax deductible. If you would like to assist the choir, fill in the form provided in the into the future brochure or contact us at info@AusChoir.org or telephone 9387 3004.

Thank you for attending today’s concert.

We would like to thank the following people for their financial support: Bob Henderson, Robin Batterham, Thorry Gunnersen, Rowan McIndoe, Merrilyn Murnane, Max Griffiths, Hector Maclean, Glen Witham, Mobiquity, Alana Mitchell, Elisabeth Murdoch, George and Ann Littlewood, Nola Rogers, David Beauchamp, Lyn Howden, Mel Waters, Peter and Sarah Martin, Heather Low, Warren and Iris Anderson, James Barber, Anne Gilby, Helen Bayston, John and Cheryl Iser, Rod and Deborah Edwards, Vicky and Peter Balabanki, Wallace and Jenny Young, Lenore Stephens, the late Alf Miller and Philippa Miller, Eric Stokes, Barbara Kristof, David Brand, MJ and RM Norton, Alma Ryrie-Jones, Carolyn Williams, Heather and Ian Gunn, Elizabeth Burns, Dianne and David Gome, Annette Robinson, Barry and Kate Michael

We would like to thank all our sponsors, listed below.

Chairman: Dr Robin Batterham, AO Patrons: Dr Barry Jones, AO Prof John Griffiths, Oficial de la Orden de Isabel la Católica

Australian Chamber Choir Inc. No.A0049983Y