CARMINA BURANA
November 2015
Program Notes by Sanford Dole
Program Notes by Sanford Dole
Welcome to the opening of Bay Choral Guild’s 37th season. Today, for the first time in our history, BCG will be presenting Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, one of the blockbusters of the twentieth-century choral repertoire. Programming this work has been decades in planning. I first attended a performance of the “chamber version” for two pianos and percussion in the 1970s. My reaction was that the piece works quite well in this way, especially if the choir is smaller in number than a full-sized symphony chorus and the venues are smaller. Ever since that experience I’ve thought to myself, “one day I’ll conduct this work in the two-piano version!” But it’s taken 16 years as director of BCG to finally program it. Partly to save space, we will be using brand new Roland electronic pianos, which will afford us a few additional sounds
Carmina Burana runs about one hour in length. Most organizations precede it with a short first half, and we are no different. Since we have the Peninsula’s renowned Ragazzi Boys Chorus joining us for the Orff, I’ve invited them to sing a brief set on their own. And, as we already have the pianos and percussionists on hand, I looked for another piece scored for those forces that we could present
All of the works on the first half set sacred texts, in stark contrast to the decidedly secular nature of Carmina Burana. We will begin the program with Gloria in excelsis Deo by Peter Hallock, who died last year at the age of 89. Hallock will forever be associated with Seattle’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he was organist/choirmaster from 1951 to 1991. He brought much innovation to the idea of church music, influencing not only the Seattle area but the American church in general. In the 1950s he was one of the first to introduce brass, percussion, and harp into the church setting. He presented Handel’s Messiah with period instruments long before that became common. A countertenor himself, he was among the first proponents of singing Renaissance church music with all-male choirs. He founded the Compline Choir at St. Mark’s, which sings Sunday evening Compline services in the acoustically rich cathedral. At first, the choir sang only for itself, but by the 1960s young people started showing up to listen to the ethereal choral music, often lying on the floor. After the services started being broadcast on radio in 1962, the cathedral became packed every week.
A spiritual man who lived alone, Hallock found a creative outlet in the contemplative realms of gardening, weaving, cabinet-making, and, of course, composing, which was a lifelong pursuit. He rarely accepted commissions, because he felt that composers who took money produced a lesser quality product. But he enjoyed composing works for the organ and the various choirs at St. Marks, and he produced a complete book of psalm settings for congregational use.
In addition to introducing orchestral instruments into the Sunday morning worship, Hallock began a concert series that featured the church choir in a non-liturgical setting. At the first of these concerts, in July, 1969, he presented his newly-composed Gloria, which we’ll hear today. This piece was later recorded by Choral Arts of Seattle, and it is the revised orchestration from that performance, overseen by the composer, that we present. Cast in three movements, the score calls for two pianos, chimes, orchestral bells, tom-toms, bass drum, sistrum, and suspended cymbal. The middle movement also features alto and soprano solos
Ragazzi Boys Chorus has been a thriving institution since 1987, providing quality musical education to boys throughout the Bay Area. It currently enrolls 200 boys in four levels of treble singers, as well as two for changed voices and one mixed ensemble. Today’s concert features Avanti, boys in “final preparation for the rigors of Ragazzi’s top treble level.” Led by Kent Jue, they will perform from their eclectic repertoire.
L’dor vador is a traditional verse from the Hebrew prayer book. The text begins, “from generation to generation we will tell of Your greatness,” and is set by one of the most popular composers of contemporary Jewish liturgical music working today, Meir Finkelstein. He was born in Israel, but his father, a cantor, moved the family to London when Meir was four years old. After graduation from the Royal School of Music, Meir became the cantor at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, where he has composed over 200 works for Jewish liturgy and has scored films and television shows.
American hammer dulcimer virtuoso Malcolm Dalglish is also a prolific composer of choral music, often accompanied by hammer dulcimer. Here he has set Kalanta of the New Year (St. Basil’s Day) with a lilting folk melody.
Panis Angelicus (Latin for “Bread of Angels”) is the penultimate strophe of the hymn “Sacris solemniis” written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. César Franck’s setting, composed in 1872, is an enduring favorite, often appearing on recitals presented by the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Renée Fleming, as well as at the funerals of John and Robert Kennedy.
German composer Carl Orff has been justly lauded for developing an approach to music education called Orff Schulwerk, but he may be best known for his 1936 composition, Carmina Burana. Called a “scenic cantata,” it is the first part of a trilogy called Trionfi (“Triumphs”) that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. Carmina Burana reflects Orff’s interest in medieval German poetry. The composer described it as the celebration of the triumph of the human spirit through sexual and holistic balance
The work is based on thirteenth-century poetry found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis found in the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern, in Bavaria, in 1803. Carmina Burana (Latin for “Songs from Beuern”) is the name given to the manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts, mostly from the eleventh or twelfth century, although some are from the thirteenth century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. They were written principally in Medieval Latin, with a few in Middle High German, at a time when Latin was the lingua franca across Italy and western Europe for theologians, traveling scholars, and universities. Most of the poems and songs appear to be the work of Goliards, clergy (mostly students) who set up and satirized the Catholic Church. The manuscripts reflect an international European movement, with songs originating from Occitania, France, England, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, and the Holy Roman Empire.
Orff sets 24 of these poems, divided into four large sections. After two movements of introduction, Primo vere discusses the joys of Spring. Then the men, led by a rowdy baritone soloist, sing drinking songs In Taberna. Finally,a boys choir and soprano soloist are added to extol the joys of love with Cour d’amours.
Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937. Given Orff’s previous lack of commercial success, the monetary factor of Carmina Burana’s acclaim was significant to him. The composition quickly gained popularity internationally and became a staple of the choral-orchestral repertoire. The opening and closing movement, “O Fortuna,” has often been used in films and television commercials.
Carmina Burana runs about one hour in length. Most organizations precede it with a short first half, and we are no different. Since we have the Peninsula’s renowned Ragazzi Boys Chorus joining us for the Orff, I’ve invited them to sing a brief set on their own. And, as we already have the pianos and percussionists on hand, I looked for another piece scored for those forces that we could present
All of the works on the first half set sacred texts, in stark contrast to the decidedly secular nature of Carmina Burana. We will begin the program with Gloria in excelsis Deo by Peter Hallock, who died last year at the age of 89. Hallock will forever be associated with Seattle’s St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, where he was organist/choirmaster from 1951 to 1991. He brought much innovation to the idea of church music, influencing not only the Seattle area but the American church in general. In the 1950s he was one of the first to introduce brass, percussion, and harp into the church setting. He presented Handel’s Messiah with period instruments long before that became common. A countertenor himself, he was among the first proponents of singing Renaissance church music with all-male choirs. He founded the Compline Choir at St. Mark’s, which sings Sunday evening Compline services in the acoustically rich cathedral. At first, the choir sang only for itself, but by the 1960s young people started showing up to listen to the ethereal choral music, often lying on the floor. After the services started being broadcast on radio in 1962, the cathedral became packed every week.
A spiritual man who lived alone, Hallock found a creative outlet in the contemplative realms of gardening, weaving, cabinet-making, and, of course, composing, which was a lifelong pursuit. He rarely accepted commissions, because he felt that composers who took money produced a lesser quality product. But he enjoyed composing works for the organ and the various choirs at St. Marks, and he produced a complete book of psalm settings for congregational use.
In addition to introducing orchestral instruments into the Sunday morning worship, Hallock began a concert series that featured the church choir in a non-liturgical setting. At the first of these concerts, in July, 1969, he presented his newly-composed Gloria, which we’ll hear today. This piece was later recorded by Choral Arts of Seattle, and it is the revised orchestration from that performance, overseen by the composer, that we present. Cast in three movements, the score calls for two pianos, chimes, orchestral bells, tom-toms, bass drum, sistrum, and suspended cymbal. The middle movement also features alto and soprano solos
Ragazzi Boys Chorus has been a thriving institution since 1987, providing quality musical education to boys throughout the Bay Area. It currently enrolls 200 boys in four levels of treble singers, as well as two for changed voices and one mixed ensemble. Today’s concert features Avanti, boys in “final preparation for the rigors of Ragazzi’s top treble level.” Led by Kent Jue, they will perform from their eclectic repertoire.
L’dor vador is a traditional verse from the Hebrew prayer book. The text begins, “from generation to generation we will tell of Your greatness,” and is set by one of the most popular composers of contemporary Jewish liturgical music working today, Meir Finkelstein. He was born in Israel, but his father, a cantor, moved the family to London when Meir was four years old. After graduation from the Royal School of Music, Meir became the cantor at Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, where he has composed over 200 works for Jewish liturgy and has scored films and television shows.
American hammer dulcimer virtuoso Malcolm Dalglish is also a prolific composer of choral music, often accompanied by hammer dulcimer. Here he has set Kalanta of the New Year (St. Basil’s Day) with a lilting folk melody.
Panis Angelicus (Latin for “Bread of Angels”) is the penultimate strophe of the hymn “Sacris solemniis” written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the feast, including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. César Franck’s setting, composed in 1872, is an enduring favorite, often appearing on recitals presented by the likes of Luciano Pavarotti and Renée Fleming, as well as at the funerals of John and Robert Kennedy.
German composer Carl Orff has been justly lauded for developing an approach to music education called Orff Schulwerk, but he may be best known for his 1936 composition, Carmina Burana. Called a “scenic cantata,” it is the first part of a trilogy called Trionfi (“Triumphs”) that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. Carmina Burana reflects Orff’s interest in medieval German poetry. The composer described it as the celebration of the triumph of the human spirit through sexual and holistic balance
The work is based on thirteenth-century poetry found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis found in the Benedictine monastery of Benediktbeuern, in Bavaria, in 1803. Carmina Burana (Latin for “Songs from Beuern”) is the name given to the manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts, mostly from the eleventh or twelfth century, although some are from the thirteenth century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreverent, and satirical. They were written principally in Medieval Latin, with a few in Middle High German, at a time when Latin was the lingua franca across Italy and western Europe for theologians, traveling scholars, and universities. Most of the poems and songs appear to be the work of Goliards, clergy (mostly students) who set up and satirized the Catholic Church. The manuscripts reflect an international European movement, with songs originating from Occitania, France, England, Scotland, Aragon, Castile, and the Holy Roman Empire.
Orff sets 24 of these poems, divided into four large sections. After two movements of introduction, Primo vere discusses the joys of Spring. Then the men, led by a rowdy baritone soloist, sing drinking songs In Taberna. Finally,a boys choir and soprano soloist are added to extol the joys of love with Cour d’amours.
Carmina Burana was hugely popular in Nazi Germany after its premiere in Frankfurt in 1937. Given Orff’s previous lack of commercial success, the monetary factor of Carmina Burana’s acclaim was significant to him. The composition quickly gained popularity internationally and became a staple of the choral-orchestral repertoire. The opening and closing movement, “O Fortuna,” has often been used in films and television commercials.
