Chorus Kansas City
Program Notes
Laudate Jehovam, omnes gentes by Georg Philipp Telemann
“Laudate Jehovam, omnes gentes” is a sacred motet by the German Baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), and a musical setting of the text for Psalm 117. Telemann was a prolific composer and a contemporary of J.S. Bach and Handel. He was highly regarded in his time, particularly for his church compositions. Laudate Jehovam, omnes gentes is one of over 1,000 church pieces he composed during his career. The piece is known for its blend of German counterpoint with French and Italian styles, a hallmark of Telemann's "German mixed style".
Praise the LORD, all ye nations!
Praise him, all ye people!
For his merciful kindness is great toward us;
and the truth of the LORD endureth forever.
Alleluia!
Gloria, RV 589 by Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741)
Vivaldi's “Gloria”, is a 12-movement sacred choral work in D major, likely composed around 1715 for the all-female orchestra and choir at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. This popular Baroque piece sets the text of the Latin Mass's Gloria, featuring a mix of full choir sections and solos for sopranos and contralto.
I. Gloria in Excelsis
Glory to God in the highest
II. Et in Terra Pax
And on earth peace to men of good will
III. Laudamus Te
We praise thee, we bless thee, we adore thee, we glorify thee
IV. Gratias Agimus Tibi
We give thanks to thee
V. Propter Magnam Gloriam
For thy great glory
VI. Domine Deus
King, God the Father almighty
VII. Domine Fili Unigenite
O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ
VIII. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father
IX. Qui Tollis
Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us
X. Qui Sedes ad Dexteram
Who takes away the sins of the world, receive our prayer
X1. Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus
For thou only art holy, thou only art Lord, thou only art most high, Jesus Christ
XII. Cum Sancto Spiritu
With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen
Kansas City Chamber Singers
Exultate Justi In Domino by Lodovico Grossi da Viadana
Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (c. 1560–1627) was a Franciscan friar and choirmaster in Italy, known for his role in transitioning music from the Renaissance to the Baroque era. This piece was published in his “Concerti ecclesiastici, Op. 12” in 1602 and was based on Psalm 33:1-5. The motet is notable for its exuberant and triumphant nature, a key feature of the Italian Baroque style.
Exult in the Lord, ye just, it is fitting
for the righteous to praise him together.
Give praise to the Lord on the harp,
Play to him on the ten-stringed psaltery.
Sing to him a new song, Sing well to him with a strong voice.
For the word of the Lord is right and all his works are faithful.
He esteems mercy and justice.
The earth is full of the Lord's mercy.
(Psalm 33, 1-5; trans. Allen H Simon)
Coronation Anthem No. 2 by George Frederic Handel (1685-1759)
“Coronation Anthem No. 2” was composed for English King George II's coronation in 1727. The anthem is a prayer for the king's strength and justice, featuring a three-movement structure that moves from a declaration of glory to a plea for mercy, concluding with a joyous "Allelujah".
Let thy hand be strengthened
And thy right hand be exalted
Let justice and judgement be the preparation of thy seat
Let mercy and truth go before thy face
Let justice, judgment, mercy, truth, go before thy face!
Allelujah
The Music of Stillness, by Elaine Hagenberg
"The Music of Stillness" is set to Sara Teasdale's poem "There Will Be Rest". The composition is inspired by a starry, cold winter's night and aims to capture a sense of peace and serenity. The poem's meaning is often interpreted as finding solace in the beauty of the natural world and the stillness of the mind.
There will be rest
And sure stars shining, rooftops crowned with snow
A reign of rest serene forgetting
The music of stillness, holy and low
I will make this world of my devising
I’ll make this world out of a dream, lonely,
A dream in my lonely mind
I shall find the crystal of peace above me
Stars I shall find above me
The music of stillness, holy and low
Elaine Hagenberg’s music “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Renowned for her ability to seamlessly weave lush harmonic landscapes, captivating melodies, and evocative piano and orchestral accompaniments, she offers a unique blend of artistic sophistication and universal appeal.
Elaine’s award-winning compositional style is profoundly influenced by her connection to nature, beauty, and spiritual reflection. Drawing inspiration from the vivid imagery and themes found in poetry, she crafts intricate musical textures that enrich her narratives and “pull at one’s heartstrings” (NY Concert Review), creating immersive experiences that connect listeners to both the complexity and awe of the natural world and the profound depths of shared human emotion. This is evident in her celebrated composition I Am the Wind, which earned first place in the American Choral Directors Association Brock Prize for Professional Composers.
In addition to composing full-time, Elaine is a guest artist and clinician, seeking to foster meaningful connections through music and texts. (excerpted from elainehagenberg.com)
I’ll Be On My Way by Shawn Kirchner
“I’ll Be On My Way” is an inspirational memorial song that moves from a sense of sorrow into great joy. The opening stanza has these words: “What pain there might have been will now be past, and my spirit will be whole.” The sense beneath the songs’ words conveys the possibility That we can lay down a burden that no longer needs to be carried.
When I am gone, don’t you cry for me, don’t you pity my sorry soul.
What pain there might have been will now be past
and my spirit will be whole.
I’ll be on my way
I’ll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound, I’ll be on my way.
When I am gone, please forgive the wrongs that I might have done to you
They’ll be no room for regrets up there,
High above way beyond the blue.
I’ll be on my way
I’ll have laid my frown and all my burdens down,
I’ll be puttin’ on my crown, I’ll be on my way.
When I am gone, don’t you look for me in the places I have been;
I’ll be alive, but somewhere else,
I’ll be on my way again.
I’ll be on my way
Lift my wings, soar into the air,
glory ev’rywhere on my way
I’ll be on my way
I’ll have left my feet of clay upon the ground
I will be glory bound, I’ll be on my way!
Shawn Kirchner is a composer, arranger, and songwriter based in Los Angeles whose choral works are performed throughout the world. Kirchner’s music finds a middle ground between classical choral and instrumental traditions and the inheritance of folk, carol, and hymn traditions. His original songwriting ranges in style from jazz and gospel to folk and bluegrass, the latter featured on his CD “Meet Me on the Mountain”.
Kirchner is a church musician alongside his other musical pursuits, providing local and national music leadership for the Church of the Brethren (a historic peace church.) Kirchner’s principal creative mentor is the banjo-playing poet Steve Kinzie, with much owed as well to the trail blazed by American choral matriarch Alice Parker. Kirchner earned a BA in Peace Studies (Manchester University) and an MA in Choral Conducting (University of Iowa). (Excerpted from shawnkirchner.com)
Chorus Kansas City
I Am Loved by Christopher Harris
Text by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
I am wild, I will sing to the trees,
I will sing to the stars in the sky,
I love, I am loved, he is mine,
Now at last I can die!
I am sandaled with wind and with flame,
I have heart-fire and singing to give,
I can tread on the grass of the stars,
Now at last I can live!
Dr. Christopher H. Harris, native of Fort Worth, Texas, is a music educator, conductor, performer, and choral composer. In August 2017 he joined the faculty at Arkansas Tech University as Director of Choral Studies and Assistant Professor of Music.
Harris is the founder of the Houston Master Singers and has served as the Assistant Director for the Houston Ebony Opera Guild. He is active as an adjudicator and has presented numerous sessions on choral rehearsal techniques at state and regional conventions. (exerpted from https://graphitepublishing.com/composer/christopher-h-harris)
93 Million Miles by Jason Mraz, Michael Natter and Mike Daly; arranged by Susan LaBarr
"93 Million Miles" is about finding home wherever you are, referencing the distance from the Earth to the sun. Jason Mraz is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist and has received two Grammys. This song was released in 2012 as part of his album Love Is a Four Letter Word. The lyrics are about parental love and support, and the theme is that home is both a physical place and a feeling you can carry with you.
Ninety-three million miles from the sun
People get ready, get ready
'Cause here it comes it's a light, A beautiful light
Over the horizon into your eyes
Oh, how beautiful
Oh, my beautiful mother, She told me
Son, in life you're gonna go far
If you do it right, You'll love where you are
Just know that wherever you go
You can always come home.
Two hundred forty thousand miles from the moon
You've come a long way to belong here
To share this view of the night, A glorious night
Over the horizon is another bright sky
Oh, how beautiful
Oh, my irrefutable father, He told me
Son, sometimes it may seem dark
But the absence of the light is a necessary part
Just know, that you're never alone
You can always come home.
Every road is a slippery slope
There is always a hand that you can hold on to
Looking deeper through the telescope
You can see that your homes inside of you
Home sweet home
There’s no place like home
Just know, that wherever you go
You can always come back home
Ninety-three million miles from the sun
People get ready, get ready
'Cause here it comes it's a light, A beautiful light,
Over the horizon into our eyes
Measure Me, Sky! by Elaine Hagenberg
Text by Leonora Speyer (1872-1956)
Measure me, sky!
Tell me I reach by a song
Nearer the stars;
I have been little so long.
Horizon, reach out!
Catch at my hands, stretch me taut,
Rim of the world:
Widen my eyes by a thought.
Sky, be my depth,
Wind, be my width and my height,
World, my heart’s span;
Loveliness, wings for my flight.
Speyer’s poem was published in The Bookman Anthology of Verse, in 1922.
O Love, by Elaine Hagenberg
From the Hymn by George Matheson (1842-1906)
The text for this piece was excerpted from the hymn “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”. Matheson wrote this hymn in 1882 on the evening of his sister’s wedding. As a child he had bad eyesight and eventually lost his eyesight completely. The woman he had wanted to marry no longer had wanted to marry him due to his blindness. Now his sister, who had helped take care of him, was married and so he felt very much on his own. Despite his struggles with blindness he studied theology to become a minister and Bible teacher.
Oh love, that will not let me go
I rest my weary soul in thee
I give thee back the life I owe
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be
Oh joy, that seeks me through pain
I cannot close my heart to thee
I trace the rainbow through the rain
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be
By Night by Elaine Hagenberg
Text by Harriet Prescott Spofford (1835 – 1921)
Harriet Prescott Spofford, New England poet and novelist, penned the poem “By Night” in the late 1800’s. The young woman, in this poem, seems to be leaning out of a window and looking into the night who is discovering a bold new world of thrilling beauty when she ventures beyond her familiar walls. The “mighty phantom” that gleams in the tarn (a small mountain lake) may be the reflection of a star with its “shining lance.” The contrasting middle section reflects on the “beauty born in its Maker’s thought.”
Deep in the tarn the mountain
A mighty phantom gleamed!
She leaned out into the midnight
And the summer wind went by,
The scent of the rose on its silken wing
And a song its sigh.
And, in depths below, the waters
Answered some mystic height,
As a star stooped out of the depths above
With its lance of light.
And she thought, in the dark and the fragrance,
How vast was the wonder
If the sweet world were but the beauty born
In Maker’s thought.
A might phantom gleamed!