If Music be the Food of Love – June 2025
Program notes by Sanford Dole
Welcome to Bay Choral Guild’s final concert of the 2024–2025 season!
What a year it’s been! Our December show—a program of sacred Christmas music that included a rarely heard Magnificat by Renaissance composer Antonio Nola, movements from Handel’s Messiah and many wonderful arrangements of familiar carols, accompanied by brass quintet, organ, flute, and percussion—truly lived up to its title, “Christmas Spectacular!”
Even more exciting was our March program, “Beethoven, Brahms, and Beauty.” Jubilate Baroque Orchestra and a stellar quartet of soloists joined us as we presented Beethoven’s Mass in C and Brahms’s Schicksalslied. While those both went very well, the most exciting part for me was the premiere of my latest extended work, All is Beauty, based on texts by John Muir. The cheers and ovations that we received at the conclusion made it an experience that I will cherish forever.
Today we conclude the season with another collection of gems from the choral repertoire. When we perform an eclectic mix of pieces such as these, from a variety of eras and musical styles, I often organize them chronologically, with Renaissance and Baroque works coming early in the program and contemporary compositions at the end. However, having selected today’s pieces to fit the three themes suggested by the program’s title—Music, Food, and Love—I decided to organize the program thematically instead. Within each theme, we’ll jump back and forth in time in a manner that should highlight the beauty and diversity of choral music from every era. The first half of our program opens with the “Music” theme, and the second with the “Love” theme. In order to balance the two halves, I’ve chosen to break up the “Food” theme by placing its two sacred pieces—relating to the bread and wine of communion—at the end of the first half, and its two secular pieces at the end of the whole program.
What a year it’s been! Our December show—a program of sacred Christmas music that included a rarely heard Magnificat by Renaissance composer Antonio Nola, movements from Handel’s Messiah and many wonderful arrangements of familiar carols, accompanied by brass quintet, organ, flute, and percussion—truly lived up to its title, “Christmas Spectacular!”
Even more exciting was our March program, “Beethoven, Brahms, and Beauty.” Jubilate Baroque Orchestra and a stellar quartet of soloists joined us as we presented Beethoven’s Mass in C and Brahms’s Schicksalslied. While those both went very well, the most exciting part for me was the premiere of my latest extended work, All is Beauty, based on texts by John Muir. The cheers and ovations that we received at the conclusion made it an experience that I will cherish forever.
Today we conclude the season with another collection of gems from the choral repertoire. When we perform an eclectic mix of pieces such as these, from a variety of eras and musical styles, I often organize them chronologically, with Renaissance and Baroque works coming early in the program and contemporary compositions at the end. However, having selected today’s pieces to fit the three themes suggested by the program’s title—Music, Food, and Love—I decided to organize the program thematically instead. Within each theme, we’ll jump back and forth in time in a manner that should highlight the beauty and diversity of choral music from every era. The first half of our program opens with the “Music” theme, and the second with the “Love” theme. In order to balance the two halves, I’ve chosen to break up the “Food” theme by placing its two sacred pieces—relating to the bread and wine of communion—at the end of the first half, and its two secular pieces at the end of the whole program.
For a rousing opener to the Music theme, I’ve programmed Canticum Novum (Sing to the Lord a New Song) by Ivo Antognini, a Swiss/Italian jazz pianist turned choral composer. He has been a favorite of mine since I first discovered his music and programmed this very piece six years ago, and we’ve enjoyed singing other pieces of his in the intervening years.
“If music be the food of love, play on!” is the opening line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Just as those immortal words were an inspiration for the theme of this concert, so too were they the inspiration for 17th-century poet Colonel Henry Heveningham, who was also briefly a Member of Parliament. Little is known about the genesis of the poem other than it starts with the first seven words of Shakespeare’s play. The great English composer Henry Purcell composed three different settings for it, one of which was made famous in the mid-20th century in a recording by countertenor Alfred Diller. You may recognize the tune, here arranged for four-part choir.
Next is another one of my go-to contemporary composers, Los Angeles–based Dale Trumbore. In fact, we are performing two of her works on this program. She writes of this piece:
“If music be the food of love, play on!” is the opening line from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Just as those immortal words were an inspiration for the theme of this concert, so too were they the inspiration for 17th-century poet Colonel Henry Heveningham, who was also briefly a Member of Parliament. Little is known about the genesis of the poem other than it starts with the first seven words of Shakespeare’s play. The great English composer Henry Purcell composed three different settings for it, one of which was made famous in the mid-20th century in a recording by countertenor Alfred Diller. You may recognize the tune, here arranged for four-part choir.
Next is another one of my go-to contemporary composers, Los Angeles–based Dale Trumbore. In fact, we are performing two of her works on this program. She writes of this piece:
I am Music sets an anonymous text (circa 1919) full of vivid imagery and mystery, describing the many moods and emotions that music can evoke. This piece was commissioned by Choral Arts Initiative (Brandon Elliott, director) and premiered on July 19, 2014.
Jumping back to the English Renaissance, we continue with the six-part Music Divine by Thomas Tomkins. Published in 1622 as part of a volume of madrigals and motets, it is a prime example of the English madrigal, a genre that flourished in the years after the death of Elizabeth I.
Kate Crellin is a new voice on the choral scene from Southern California. In 2020, Kate graduated top of her class with a Masters in Choral Music from the University of Cambridge (Queens’ College). She teaches both middle school and high school choirs in Manhattan Beach and is assistant conductor for Academy Choir Los Angeles. Published just last year, Song is Not Dead sets a poem from the Victorian era by Robert Fuller Murray in a style that reflects a youthful, pop sensibility.
Our Music set ends with a full-on gospel piece. Both the words and music for I Will Sing are by Rosephanye Powell. Regular BCG audience members will recognize her name from past concerts. Up until now, I’ve only programmed her concert works—a year ago we presented her setting of Langston Hughes’ poem I Dream a World—so it’s fun to “go to church” and see this other side of her musical personality.
We conclude the first half of our show by dipping into the Food theme with two communion anthems. Ego sum panis vivus (I am the Living bread which came down from heaven) is by the great Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. I almost programmed another setting of this text, equally beautiful, by William Byrd, but I was reminded by one of our singers that 2025 marks the 500th birthday of Palestrina! I wanted to be sure to include his music this season to mark the occasion.
A different occasion that we are marking this year is the quarter century I’ve had the pleasure of leading this group. I promised that each of the programs in the 2024–2025 season would include one of my own compositions. This time it is O Sacrum Convivium (O Sacred Banquet), which sets the classic communion text by the medieval theologian and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas. This year marks his 800th birthday! I originally composed this piece for the choir of St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in 2014, but you will hear my 2020 revision of it.
After intermission our thoughts turn to the subject of Love in its many forms. The Christian folk hymn Wondrous Love, first published in 1811, comes from the American South. Its melody is derived from a popular English ballad, and it is now a standard hymn sung in many Christian denominations. This arrangement, by Matthew Priest, is one of my favorites. Matthew is a friend of mine and former member of St. Gregory’s Choir; he now lives in San Antonio, Texas. I love how the simple opening, sung by a trio of soloists, opens into the full choir for the second stanza. The next verse is sung in canon. Finally the soloists return, now in unison, presenting the melody against delicious jazz harmonies, before the piece subsides to a gentle close.
I was first introduced to American composer William Hawley when he composed a set of Italian madrigals for Chanticleer in the 1980s. I use that description quite deliberately, because he composed them in the style of the Renaissance masters. If you did not know that these are contemporary works you could easily think they were written in Venice in the 1500s. Vita de la Mia Vita is one of six in the set. All are based on poems by 16th-century Italian poet Torquato Tasso, and each is lovely.
David Hurd is a leading light among Episcopal Church musicians. After a long tenure as Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Chapel Music at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, he is presently the Director of Music at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square. As one source describes him, “Hurd is one of the world’s most visible and successful classical organists who is African-American.” As a composer with over 100 choral and organ works in print, he is regularly sought out for commissions. Love Bade Me Welcome sets a Renaissance text by the English metaphysical poet and devotional lyricist George Herbert. The simple homophonic texture used throughout allows the listener to ponder God’s invitation for all to partake in His grace and forgiveness, despite any perceived unworthiness or sinfulness.
A 17th-century text is also the basis for Dale Trumbore’s delightful song, Love is a Sickness. This is the piece that put Trumbore on the map when it won the 2006 Chanticleer Student Composer Contest. The poem appears at the end of Act I of the 1614 play Hymen’s Triumph by English playwright Samuel Daniel, written for the wedding of Lord Roxborough. The sentiment is endearing: “Love is a sickness full of woes, All remedies refusing… More we enjoy it, more it dies; If not enjoyed, it sighing cries — Heigh Ho!”
Set Me as a Seal, taken from the biblical book Song of Solomon, is a classic text often recited or sung at weddings. There are many choral settings of it; this one, by Margaret Burk, was, in fact, composed for the wedding of her identical twin sister, Katie. Burk is the Director of Choral Activities at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, having studied at Yale University and St. Olaf College. In demand nationally as a clinician, she has led All-State and District honor choruses, and is herself a professional chorister.
Gerald Finzi is sadly not as well known as his countrymen Ralph Vaughan Williams (his mentor) and Benjamin Britten. However, My spirit sang all day is one of my favorite choral works from 20th-century England. This lively love song comes from a seven-part setting of poetry by Robert Bridges, Britain’s poet laureate from 1913 to 1930. The music was composed between 1934 and 1937, when Finzi was living in the Wiltshire countryside. Finzi matches the flexible rhythmic scheme of the poem with alternating time signatures and lends warm harmonies to the ecstatic text.
We conclude the program with the secular part of our Food theme. Scarborough Fair was made famous in the 1960s in the gentle rendition by Simon and Garfunkel. The traditional English folk ballad is noteworthy for its refrain, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.” The herbs are mentioned for their spiritual meaning in medieval lore. Parsley was thought to remove bitter emotions. Sage was a symbol of wisdom and healing. Rosemary evoked remembrance, and was used to bless weddings with love and fidelity. Thyme was a symbol of courage and chivalry. The arranger, Paul Langford, is a Chicago-based singer, keyboardist, producer, and conductor. His voice is heard on radio and television commercials for national brands, and his arrangements are heard around the country, including at multiple Disney parks.
Founded in 1984, The Real Group is a Swedish vocal quintet that has made a name for itself touring for over 40 years singing a mix of jazz, pop, and Northern European choral music. Anders Edenroth is one of their founding members and now manages the group. He wrote both the words and the music for Chili con carne, which has clever lyrics, delightful syncopations, and vocal percussion effects that suggest the sound of a salsa band.
Kate Crellin is a new voice on the choral scene from Southern California. In 2020, Kate graduated top of her class with a Masters in Choral Music from the University of Cambridge (Queens’ College). She teaches both middle school and high school choirs in Manhattan Beach and is assistant conductor for Academy Choir Los Angeles. Published just last year, Song is Not Dead sets a poem from the Victorian era by Robert Fuller Murray in a style that reflects a youthful, pop sensibility.
Our Music set ends with a full-on gospel piece. Both the words and music for I Will Sing are by Rosephanye Powell. Regular BCG audience members will recognize her name from past concerts. Up until now, I’ve only programmed her concert works—a year ago we presented her setting of Langston Hughes’ poem I Dream a World—so it’s fun to “go to church” and see this other side of her musical personality.
We conclude the first half of our show by dipping into the Food theme with two communion anthems. Ego sum panis vivus (I am the Living bread which came down from heaven) is by the great Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. I almost programmed another setting of this text, equally beautiful, by William Byrd, but I was reminded by one of our singers that 2025 marks the 500th birthday of Palestrina! I wanted to be sure to include his music this season to mark the occasion.
A different occasion that we are marking this year is the quarter century I’ve had the pleasure of leading this group. I promised that each of the programs in the 2024–2025 season would include one of my own compositions. This time it is O Sacrum Convivium (O Sacred Banquet), which sets the classic communion text by the medieval theologian and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas. This year marks his 800th birthday! I originally composed this piece for the choir of St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in 2014, but you will hear my 2020 revision of it.
After intermission our thoughts turn to the subject of Love in its many forms. The Christian folk hymn Wondrous Love, first published in 1811, comes from the American South. Its melody is derived from a popular English ballad, and it is now a standard hymn sung in many Christian denominations. This arrangement, by Matthew Priest, is one of my favorites. Matthew is a friend of mine and former member of St. Gregory’s Choir; he now lives in San Antonio, Texas. I love how the simple opening, sung by a trio of soloists, opens into the full choir for the second stanza. The next verse is sung in canon. Finally the soloists return, now in unison, presenting the melody against delicious jazz harmonies, before the piece subsides to a gentle close.
I was first introduced to American composer William Hawley when he composed a set of Italian madrigals for Chanticleer in the 1980s. I use that description quite deliberately, because he composed them in the style of the Renaissance masters. If you did not know that these are contemporary works you could easily think they were written in Venice in the 1500s. Vita de la Mia Vita is one of six in the set. All are based on poems by 16th-century Italian poet Torquato Tasso, and each is lovely.
David Hurd is a leading light among Episcopal Church musicians. After a long tenure as Professor of Sacred Music and Director of Chapel Music at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, he is presently the Director of Music at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square. As one source describes him, “Hurd is one of the world’s most visible and successful classical organists who is African-American.” As a composer with over 100 choral and organ works in print, he is regularly sought out for commissions. Love Bade Me Welcome sets a Renaissance text by the English metaphysical poet and devotional lyricist George Herbert. The simple homophonic texture used throughout allows the listener to ponder God’s invitation for all to partake in His grace and forgiveness, despite any perceived unworthiness or sinfulness.
A 17th-century text is also the basis for Dale Trumbore’s delightful song, Love is a Sickness. This is the piece that put Trumbore on the map when it won the 2006 Chanticleer Student Composer Contest. The poem appears at the end of Act I of the 1614 play Hymen’s Triumph by English playwright Samuel Daniel, written for the wedding of Lord Roxborough. The sentiment is endearing: “Love is a sickness full of woes, All remedies refusing… More we enjoy it, more it dies; If not enjoyed, it sighing cries — Heigh Ho!”
Set Me as a Seal, taken from the biblical book Song of Solomon, is a classic text often recited or sung at weddings. There are many choral settings of it; this one, by Margaret Burk, was, in fact, composed for the wedding of her identical twin sister, Katie. Burk is the Director of Choral Activities at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, having studied at Yale University and St. Olaf College. In demand nationally as a clinician, she has led All-State and District honor choruses, and is herself a professional chorister.
Gerald Finzi is sadly not as well known as his countrymen Ralph Vaughan Williams (his mentor) and Benjamin Britten. However, My spirit sang all day is one of my favorite choral works from 20th-century England. This lively love song comes from a seven-part setting of poetry by Robert Bridges, Britain’s poet laureate from 1913 to 1930. The music was composed between 1934 and 1937, when Finzi was living in the Wiltshire countryside. Finzi matches the flexible rhythmic scheme of the poem with alternating time signatures and lends warm harmonies to the ecstatic text.
We conclude the program with the secular part of our Food theme. Scarborough Fair was made famous in the 1960s in the gentle rendition by Simon and Garfunkel. The traditional English folk ballad is noteworthy for its refrain, “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.” The herbs are mentioned for their spiritual meaning in medieval lore. Parsley was thought to remove bitter emotions. Sage was a symbol of wisdom and healing. Rosemary evoked remembrance, and was used to bless weddings with love and fidelity. Thyme was a symbol of courage and chivalry. The arranger, Paul Langford, is a Chicago-based singer, keyboardist, producer, and conductor. His voice is heard on radio and television commercials for national brands, and his arrangements are heard around the country, including at multiple Disney parks.
Founded in 1984, The Real Group is a Swedish vocal quintet that has made a name for itself touring for over 40 years singing a mix of jazz, pop, and Northern European choral music. Anders Edenroth is one of their founding members and now manages the group. He wrote both the words and the music for Chili con carne, which has clever lyrics, delightful syncopations, and vocal percussion effects that suggest the sound of a salsa band.
We have been so pleased to have you join us all season long. Your presence and support make it all possible. Our goal is to present thoughtful and entertaining programs and we hope you’ve enjoyed your time with us. Please return next season for more great choral music! We “Celebrate St. Cecilia” in November, invite our instrumentalist friends to join us in March, and sing a cornucopia of works from “Outside the Bachs” in June. For more details on dates and locations see the inside cover of this program. We welcome any of your singer friends to audition as well.
Have a joyful summer! We hope you can get out into nature, play, and relax. Then we’ll welcome you back just before Thanksgiving at the start of our next season of delightful choral music.
Peace!
Have a joyful summer! We hope you can get out into nature, play, and relax. Then we’ll welcome you back just before Thanksgiving at the start of our next season of delightful choral music.
Peace!
