Global Harmony – March 2023
Program notes by Sanford Dole
Welcome to a program of exciting and varied contemporary works for unaccompanied choir! For this kind of concert, I often present a comprehensive selection of shorter works from across all eras. But this time I decided to give an overview of trends in compositional style around the world in just the last several decades. As you take a look at my choices, you may be surprised to see that the United States is not represented in this international compilation. That is because, in a sense, this program is the first of a two-part series. Our June concerts will feature living composers from the West Coast, completing our mini-survey of the “state of the choral art.”
Choral music is a mainstay of Christian liturgy. Since my own life has been shaped by singing in church choirs, I find it interesting to see how composers of today are setting the same texts, often in Latin, that are familiar from choral works of past centuries. Much of our concert will explore this genre of composition, before we look at non-Western styles.
The first set features anthems venerating the Virgin Mary. Composers from the UK, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Iceland each have their own approach to this eternal subject.
English composer Margaret Rizza is new to me. She did not begin composing in earnest until later in life, even though for 40 years her husband, George Rizza, managed two well-known music publishing companies, Chester Music and Novello. She taught singing at the Guildhall School of Music from 1977 to 1994. Since then she has been involved with training and directing choirs. Although she had written earlier works for these groups, it was a commission from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, in 2008, that led her to developing the style heard in her 2010 composition Ave Maria. She writes:
Choral music is a mainstay of Christian liturgy. Since my own life has been shaped by singing in church choirs, I find it interesting to see how composers of today are setting the same texts, often in Latin, that are familiar from choral works of past centuries. Much of our concert will explore this genre of composition, before we look at non-Western styles.
The first set features anthems venerating the Virgin Mary. Composers from the UK, Western Europe, Scandinavia, and Iceland each have their own approach to this eternal subject.
English composer Margaret Rizza is new to me. She did not begin composing in earnest until later in life, even though for 40 years her husband, George Rizza, managed two well-known music publishing companies, Chester Music and Novello. She taught singing at the Guildhall School of Music from 1977 to 1994. Since then she has been involved with training and directing choirs. Although she had written earlier works for these groups, it was a commission from Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, in 2008, that led her to developing the style heard in her 2010 composition Ave Maria. She writes:
In eastern Christianity Mary is honored with the title theotokos, meaning ‘God-bearer.’ This was very much in my mind as I began to set the beautiful words of the Ave Maria to music. For me it is a very mystical prayer and one which touches upon so many aspects of the incarnation. Many people throughout the world pray this prayer and I wanted to be part of this universal stream of prayer, in some small way, by praying it through music.
Ave maris stella opens with the words “Hail, star of the sea, loving Mother of God.” Swedish organist, choral conductor, and composer Bror Samuelson sets this text in a simple chordal style with lush harmonies. The seven-verse hymn employs the same harmonies in the odd-numbered verses (with a variation to the soprano part in 3 and 7) in alternation with a solo baritone singing the text in the even-numbered verses.
Originally trained as a medical doctor, Javier Busto taught himself music and went on to study choral conducting. In 1978 he founded a community choir in his hometown of Hondarribia, in the Basque region of Spain. In 1995 he founded the award-winning women’s choir Kanta Cantemus Korua. His compositions have received numerous prizes, and he has served on juries for composition and choir competitions. His setting of Ave Maria is direct and heartfelt.
Michael McGlynn, from Dublin, Ireland, has developed a huge following in the choral world since founding the vocal ensemble ANÚNA in 1987. He has produced and recorded 19 albums with this group, along with his seven-man vocal ensemble M’ANAM, exploring their Irish and Icelandic heritage. Both of these groups are featured in long-form films, as well as shorter videos, that include exquisite shots of choir members singing in the Irish countryside. I first became aware of his music when Chanticleer scored a huge hit in the 2000s with Dúlamán, his rhythmically propulsive work in the Irish language. Since then he has been commissioned by Voces8, Apollo5, Conspirare, and the Phoenix Chorale, among others. O Maria juxtaposes some of the final words of Christ on the cross with a variation of the familiar first line of “Ave Maria” in a serene musical landscape that carries the prayer to heaven, and eventually out of earshot.
Regarded as one of the best traditional singers in Iceland, Bára Grímsdóttir grew up surrounded by folk songs, sung by her parents and grandparents at the family farm. Today she performs as part of a folk duo playing traditional instruments. She studied composition at Reykjavík College of Music and has composed a large number of choral, chamber, and orchestral works. The influence of folk music is evident in her song of praise to Mary, Ég vil lofa eina þá.
The first half of our program concludes with three more sacred works from disparate parts of the globe.
O Radiant Dawn, by Scottish composer James MacMillan, sets one of the seven “O Antiphons,” which are heard before and after the Magnificat in Roman Catholic liturgy each day of the week leading up to Christmas. After studying composition at University of Edinburgh and Durham University, MacMillan came to international prominence in 1990 with a commission from the BBC Scottish Symphony, which led to his most famous work, the percussion concerto written for his compatriot Evelyn Glennie. O Radiant Dawn is one of over a dozen anthems from the collection Strathclyde Motets, which earned MacMillan the British Music Award for Liturgical Music in 2008.
Trond H. F. Kverno’s compositions are among the finest and most frequently performed in Norway. With degrees in music theory and choir direction from the Norwegian Academy of Music, Kverno has had a big influence on church music as professor of liturgiology and hymnody at Oslo Conservatory of Music. An ordained deacon, he was part of the liturgical commission responsible for creating a new Norwegian hymnal in 1983. His setting of Jesu dulcis memoria is an example of his desire for music to be aesthetically pleasing while expressing the congregation’s prayer.
O lux beata Trinitas is a high energy tour-de-force by Japanese composer and conductor Ko Matsushita. Born and raised in Tokyo, he is currently the artistic director of 13 choirs in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In addition, he is an active workshop clinician and lecturer around the world. A prolific composer and arranger, his output includes traditional Japanese music, Christian liturgical pieces, including masses and motets, and etudes for choirs. Once you hear this piece, you’ll understand why we are taking an intermission at this point—we need to catch our breath and recover!
After the break we have one more set of sacred pieces in highly contrasting styles.
I have been a fan of Polish composer Paweł Łukaszewski ever since we performed three of his O Antiphon settings in 2012. Since 1996, he has been a professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Warsaw. Łukaszewski’s music is widely performed and has received numerous awards. In recent years he has particularly gained recognition in Great Britain, with performances (and some premieres) by such renowned choral ensembles as The Holst Singers, BBC Singers, Trinity College Choir, Tenebrae, Britten Sinfonia, and Polyphony. Cantate Domino is a fine example of his easily recognizable style, which he calls “renewed tonality.” The individual chords in his often-homophonic works may be familiar, but their juxtaposition and combination can be strange and startling.
There is special pathos in presenting any music by Ukrainian composers right now, but none more so than Bozhe miy, nashcho mene ti pokinuv by Hanna Havrylets. Her compositional bona fides were established after she was awarded the Ukrainian Shevchenko National Prize in 1999 and named a Merited Artist of Ukraine in 2005. Havrylets died at the age of 63 in Kyiv on February 27, 2022, the third day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She suffered an aneurysm and was unable to get medical help in time due to the ongoing conflict. Knowing this background lends additional angst to the text from Psalm 22, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Ivo Antognini, a composer with Swiss and Italian dual citizenship, teaches at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. I have found him to be a reliable source of accessible and beautiful music on our programs in recent years. Alleluia is another example of his exquisite craftsmanship. He writes:
Originally trained as a medical doctor, Javier Busto taught himself music and went on to study choral conducting. In 1978 he founded a community choir in his hometown of Hondarribia, in the Basque region of Spain. In 1995 he founded the award-winning women’s choir Kanta Cantemus Korua. His compositions have received numerous prizes, and he has served on juries for composition and choir competitions. His setting of Ave Maria is direct and heartfelt.
Michael McGlynn, from Dublin, Ireland, has developed a huge following in the choral world since founding the vocal ensemble ANÚNA in 1987. He has produced and recorded 19 albums with this group, along with his seven-man vocal ensemble M’ANAM, exploring their Irish and Icelandic heritage. Both of these groups are featured in long-form films, as well as shorter videos, that include exquisite shots of choir members singing in the Irish countryside. I first became aware of his music when Chanticleer scored a huge hit in the 2000s with Dúlamán, his rhythmically propulsive work in the Irish language. Since then he has been commissioned by Voces8, Apollo5, Conspirare, and the Phoenix Chorale, among others. O Maria juxtaposes some of the final words of Christ on the cross with a variation of the familiar first line of “Ave Maria” in a serene musical landscape that carries the prayer to heaven, and eventually out of earshot.
Regarded as one of the best traditional singers in Iceland, Bára Grímsdóttir grew up surrounded by folk songs, sung by her parents and grandparents at the family farm. Today she performs as part of a folk duo playing traditional instruments. She studied composition at Reykjavík College of Music and has composed a large number of choral, chamber, and orchestral works. The influence of folk music is evident in her song of praise to Mary, Ég vil lofa eina þá.
The first half of our program concludes with three more sacred works from disparate parts of the globe.
O Radiant Dawn, by Scottish composer James MacMillan, sets one of the seven “O Antiphons,” which are heard before and after the Magnificat in Roman Catholic liturgy each day of the week leading up to Christmas. After studying composition at University of Edinburgh and Durham University, MacMillan came to international prominence in 1990 with a commission from the BBC Scottish Symphony, which led to his most famous work, the percussion concerto written for his compatriot Evelyn Glennie. O Radiant Dawn is one of over a dozen anthems from the collection Strathclyde Motets, which earned MacMillan the British Music Award for Liturgical Music in 2008.
Trond H. F. Kverno’s compositions are among the finest and most frequently performed in Norway. With degrees in music theory and choir direction from the Norwegian Academy of Music, Kverno has had a big influence on church music as professor of liturgiology and hymnody at Oslo Conservatory of Music. An ordained deacon, he was part of the liturgical commission responsible for creating a new Norwegian hymnal in 1983. His setting of Jesu dulcis memoria is an example of his desire for music to be aesthetically pleasing while expressing the congregation’s prayer.
O lux beata Trinitas is a high energy tour-de-force by Japanese composer and conductor Ko Matsushita. Born and raised in Tokyo, he is currently the artistic director of 13 choirs in Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In addition, he is an active workshop clinician and lecturer around the world. A prolific composer and arranger, his output includes traditional Japanese music, Christian liturgical pieces, including masses and motets, and etudes for choirs. Once you hear this piece, you’ll understand why we are taking an intermission at this point—we need to catch our breath and recover!
After the break we have one more set of sacred pieces in highly contrasting styles.
I have been a fan of Polish composer Paweł Łukaszewski ever since we performed three of his O Antiphon settings in 2012. Since 1996, he has been a professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Warsaw. Łukaszewski’s music is widely performed and has received numerous awards. In recent years he has particularly gained recognition in Great Britain, with performances (and some premieres) by such renowned choral ensembles as The Holst Singers, BBC Singers, Trinity College Choir, Tenebrae, Britten Sinfonia, and Polyphony. Cantate Domino is a fine example of his easily recognizable style, which he calls “renewed tonality.” The individual chords in his often-homophonic works may be familiar, but their juxtaposition and combination can be strange and startling.
There is special pathos in presenting any music by Ukrainian composers right now, but none more so than Bozhe miy, nashcho mene ti pokinuv by Hanna Havrylets. Her compositional bona fides were established after she was awarded the Ukrainian Shevchenko National Prize in 1999 and named a Merited Artist of Ukraine in 2005. Havrylets died at the age of 63 in Kyiv on February 27, 2022, the third day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She suffered an aneurysm and was unable to get medical help in time due to the ongoing conflict. Knowing this background lends additional angst to the text from Psalm 22, “My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Ivo Antognini, a composer with Swiss and Italian dual citizenship, teaches at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. I have found him to be a reliable source of accessible and beautiful music on our programs in recent years. Alleluia is another example of his exquisite craftsmanship. He writes:
On a beautiful fall day I was walking along the streets of my town. My mind was overcome with a brief melody that would not leave me alone. I kept whistling it and once I arrived at the church I went inside and sang the 13-note motive. The effect was truly beautiful, since the church in Aranno, where I live in southern Switzerland, has an exceptional acoustic. When I returned home I decided to develop the motive and create from it an Alleluia which I dedicated to my friend, the wonderful conductor Andrew Crane and his Brigham Young University Singers. Alleluia is joyful and sunny, full of positive energy, with rhythmic moments and contrapuntal passages, where every voice finds its own expressive space.
R. Murray Schafer was a Canadian composer, educator, and environmentalist who died in 2021 at age 88. In the late 1960s he became one of the first people to use the term “soundscape,” and he initiated the modern study of acoustic ecology. Over the years he produced a large catalog of works for traditional orchestral, chamber, and choral ensembles, and produced events that included large numbers of musicians creating sonic environments in outdoor spaces. Clearly, he was in tune with the ambient noises that fill our soundscapes—his 1973 composition North/White is scored for Full Orchestra and Snowmobile!
Although the composer is Canadian, I consider his piece to be representing Indonesia on the program. Schafer composed Gamelan for the Vancouver Chamber Choir in 1980. It mimics the sounds of the metallophone instruments that make up a gamelan orchestra, and is designed to be sung by any four-part choir—mixed, all women, all men, etc. He writes:
Although the composer is Canadian, I consider his piece to be representing Indonesia on the program. Schafer composed Gamelan for the Vancouver Chamber Choir in 1980. It mimics the sounds of the metallophone instruments that make up a gamelan orchestra, and is designed to be sung by any four-part choir—mixed, all women, all men, etc. He writes:
The gamelan music of Bali and Java uses an unusual pentatonic scale (C D F G B♭) which is different from that employed in the pentatonic music of the Chinese (C D E G A). The Balinese call these five tones dong, deng, dung, dang, ding. The words have an onomatopoeic suggestiveness, for the initial “d” reminds us of something struck while the “ng” recalls the ringing of a gong or idiophone. The changing colors of the vowels from dark to light suggest the rising notes of the scale.
Widely versed in Indian as well as Western classical music, Victor Paranjoti was the founder of the acclaimed Paranjoti Academy Chorus. He was also a music critic for The Times of India, a painter, and Deputy General Director of All India Radio. The score includes this publisher’s note:
Dravidian Dithyramb embodies traces of ragas from the Carnatic music of South India, but it also bears an astonishing resemblance to the tarana, a form of Hindustani classical music which uses Persian and Arabic phonemes as nonsense syllables. Dravidian usually refers to the languages and races of South India, as distinct from Aryan which usually defines the linguistic and racial group to the north. Dithyramb is a Greek term for a wild, passionate hymn.
Rounding out the show we present two tangos from Argentina, in contrasting styles.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1916, Héctor Stamponi was well known as a brilliant orchestrator, exquisite pianist, and inspired composer. He studied harmony with Alberto Ginastera and led various tango orchestras over the years to great acclaim. In addition to his film scores that live on today, his most-performed work is El último café, with lyrics by Cátulo Castillo, which was awarded first prize in a tango contest in 1964. Our arrangement, by Emilio Dublanc, beautifully captures the melancholy of the story of lost love.
And finally, the greatest of all tango artists, Astor Piazzolla brings our concert to a close. A virtuoso on the bandoneón, the square-built button accordion, Piazzolla expanded the art form by including counterpoint, new rhythms, and harmonies in his over 750 compositions. He described his new style as “Nuevo tango = tango + tragedy + comedy + whorehouse.” Scorned by traditionalists at first, his music influenced a new generation of composers, and was featured during the 1970s and 1980s in film scores, television programs, and commercials. La muerte del ángel (The death of the angel) is the climactic piece Piazzolla provided for his incidental music to the 1962 play Tango del ángel by Alberto Rodriguez Muñoz. The play tells the story of an angel who tries to heal the broken human spirits of the residents of a Buenos Aires tenement but ends up dying in a knife fight. Originally conceived for his own quintet, the piece has been arranged countless times for all types of ensembles, large and small, including here, for chorus, by Liliana Cangiano.
Thank you for attending this concert! We hope that you come away reminded that music unites all nations and cultures. The universal language, especially as expressed in choral music, makes a difference as we strive for Global Harmony among all peoples. We pray for the end of armed conflict around the world, especially in Ukraine, for the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey/Syria, and for comfort for all those suffering from effects of climate change, such as drought and famine. We hope you’ll make plans to attend our next program, Pacific Passions II, the first weekend of June. The program features living composers from up and down the West Coast.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1916, Héctor Stamponi was well known as a brilliant orchestrator, exquisite pianist, and inspired composer. He studied harmony with Alberto Ginastera and led various tango orchestras over the years to great acclaim. In addition to his film scores that live on today, his most-performed work is El último café, with lyrics by Cátulo Castillo, which was awarded first prize in a tango contest in 1964. Our arrangement, by Emilio Dublanc, beautifully captures the melancholy of the story of lost love.
And finally, the greatest of all tango artists, Astor Piazzolla brings our concert to a close. A virtuoso on the bandoneón, the square-built button accordion, Piazzolla expanded the art form by including counterpoint, new rhythms, and harmonies in his over 750 compositions. He described his new style as “Nuevo tango = tango + tragedy + comedy + whorehouse.” Scorned by traditionalists at first, his music influenced a new generation of composers, and was featured during the 1970s and 1980s in film scores, television programs, and commercials. La muerte del ángel (The death of the angel) is the climactic piece Piazzolla provided for his incidental music to the 1962 play Tango del ángel by Alberto Rodriguez Muñoz. The play tells the story of an angel who tries to heal the broken human spirits of the residents of a Buenos Aires tenement but ends up dying in a knife fight. Originally conceived for his own quintet, the piece has been arranged countless times for all types of ensembles, large and small, including here, for chorus, by Liliana Cangiano.
Thank you for attending this concert! We hope that you come away reminded that music unites all nations and cultures. The universal language, especially as expressed in choral music, makes a difference as we strive for Global Harmony among all peoples. We pray for the end of armed conflict around the world, especially in Ukraine, for the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey/Syria, and for comfort for all those suffering from effects of climate change, such as drought and famine. We hope you’ll make plans to attend our next program, Pacific Passions II, the first weekend of June. The program features living composers from up and down the West Coast.
