YALE ALUMNI CHORUS PRESS KIT

Transcripción

1 YALE ALUMNI CHORUS Voces Unidas Tour 2009 Guatemala México PRESS KIT Yale Alumni Chorus Description (English and Spanish) 2 Jeffrey Douma, Musical Director (English and Spanish) 5 Soloists 8 Chorus Members 11 Program 14

2 YALE ALUMNI CHORUS Voces Unidas Tour 2009 Guatemala México The Yale Alumni Chorus was founded in 1997 and consists of an exclusive group of singers who are graduates of Yale University. Members are men and women who travel the world with the aim of enriching the communities they visit through their art. The chorus members are leaders in numerous fields, such as business, law, medicine, education, the fine arts, philanthropy, and theology. They come together as "Ambassadors of Song" to foster connections and to change lives through the power of song. Yale University has a long tradition of song and of music education. Beginning with the founding of the Music Society at Yale in 1812, Yale song has had an extraordinary impact upon its students by exposing them to many choral programs. Maestro Robert Shaw cited the tradition of singing at Yale as one of the most important influences in the interpretation of twentieth century choral music. The Yale Glee Club, founded in 1861, and the Whiffenpoofs, founded in 1909, are among the most recognized a capella groups in the world. The tradition of graduate singing began in 1937 with the founding of the Graduate Association of the Yale Glee Club, by Senator Prescott Bush, father of President George H. W. Bush and grandfather of president George W. Bush. Yale Glee Club members have gone on to become U.S. Senators and Congressmen, Fortune-500 executives, Hollywood actors, and singers and stars of Hollywood and Broadway. In 1998 the Yale Alumni Chorus made its first international trip, visiting China. The Chorus won First Prize at the International Choir Festival of China. They traveled to Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai, performing in concerts with The Beijing Symphony Orchestra, The Xi'an Symphony Orchestra, and The National Radio Orchestra of Shanghai. In 2001, the Stars of the White Nights international arts festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia invited the Chorus to sing in concerts with Maestro Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra at the Mariinsky Theater. The Chorus also performed with maestro Constantine Orbelian and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, at the Moscow Conservatory. The Chorus celebrated Yale s tercentennial with a gala concert at St. Paul s Cathedral, London, performing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. At the 55th Annual Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, a world-renowned festival in Llangollen, Wales, the Yale Alumni Chorus was selected as the official chorus of the opening ceremony. In the autumn of 2001, the Chorus appeared at New York's prestigious Lincoln Center, performing with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in America Salutes the Tercentennial of St. Petersburg. At Carnegie Hall in October, 2003, the Chorus performed with the Philharmonia of Russia in the 100th Anniversary Salute to Aram Khachaturian. The Yale Alumni Chorus was the first choir invited to give a concert at the State Kremlin Palace. There, accompanied by the 2

3 Philharmonia of Russia and the international opera star Dmitri Hvorostovsky, the Chorus performed Patriotic Songs of the Great Russian War, in a program viewed on Russian television by some 98 million people. In 2006, the choir traveled to Holland for a concert with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of maestro Valery Gergiev. In 2007, the Chorus completed an extraordinary journey to South Africa, singing with the acclaimed bass-baritone, Simon Estes. As "Ambassadors of Song," the Yale Alumni Chorus is dedicated to promoting international harmony and goodwill through music, providing valuable artistic collaborations with the best musicians and musical groups of the world. * * * El Yale Alumni Chorus se fundó en 1997 y está compuesto de un grupo exclusivo de cantantes graduados de la Universidad de Yale. Los miembros son hombres y mujeres que viajan por el mundo con el propósito de enriquecer las comunidades que visitan a través de su arte. Los miembros del coro son líderes en áreas distintas: los negocios, la ley, la medicina, la educación, las bellas artes, la filantropía, y la teología. Se reúnen como Embajadores de la Canción para fometar enlaces y cambiar vidas por medio del poder del canto. La Universidad de Yale tiene una tradición larga de canto y educación musical. Desde sus inicios en 1800 con la fundación de la Sociedad de Música de Yale en 1812, Yale ha tenido una influencia extraordinaria en sus estudiantes integrándolos a los programas de canto universitario. El maestro Robert Shaw citó la tradición de canto de Yale como una de las influencias más importantes dentro de la interpretación coral del siglo veinte. Coros como el Yale Glee Club fundado en 1861 y los Whiffenpoof en 1909 forman parte de los primeros y más reconocidos grupos corales que interpretan música a capella en el mundo. La tradición de canto de los graduados empezó en 1937 con la fundación de la Asociación de Graduados del Yale Glee Club, una asociación de graduados fundada por el Senador Prescott Bush, el padre del ex presidente George H. W. Bush y el abuelo del ex presidente George W. Bush. La lista de los miembros graduados del Yale Glee Club ha incluido senadores y miembros de la Cámara del Congreso de los EE.UU, oficiales ejecutivos de las empresas de la lista de Fortune 500, actores de Hollywood, y numerosos cantantes y estrellas de ópera y Broadway. En 1998, el Yale Alumni Chorus hizo su primer viaje internacional a la China. Allí ganaron el primer premio en el Festival Internacional de Coros de China. Viajaron a las ciudades de Beijing, Xi an y Shanghai y tuvieron conciertos con la Orquesta Sinfónica de Beijing, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Xi an, y la Orquesta Nacional de Radiodifusión de Shanghai. En 2001, el Stars of the White Nights International Arts Festival en San Petersburgo, Rusia invitó al coro a cantar en conciertos con el maestro Valery Gergiev y la Orquesta Kirov en el Teatro Mariinsky, y con el maestro Constantine Orbelian y la Orquesta de Cámara de Moscú en el Conservatio de Moscú. El coro celebró el tercentenario de Yale con un concierto de gala en la Catedral de San Pablo, Londres con la Orquesta Filarmónica Real, y fue seleccionado como el coro 3

4 oficial de la ceremonia de apertura del 55º Festival Anual Internacional de Música Eisteddfod en Llangollen, Gales. En el otoño de 2001, el coro cantó en New York en el prestigioso Lincoln Center con la Orquesta de Cámara de Moscú en America Salutes the Tercentennial of St. Petersburg y en el Carnegie Hall en octubre de 2003, con la Filarmónica de Rusia en el 100th Anniversary Salute to Aram Khachaturian. El Yale Alumni Chorus fue el primer coro invitado a dar un concierto en el Palacio de Estado del Kremlin el 8 de abril del 2003, acompañando por la Filarmónica de Rusia y la estrella internacional de ópera Dmitri Hvorostovsky. En este concierto el coro interpretó Canciones Patrióticas de la Gran Guerra Rusa, conmemorando las fiestas rusas patrióticas, transmitido por RTR, red de televisión rusa y visto por 98 millones de personas. En 2006, el coro viajó a Holanda para efectuar un concierto con la Orquesta Filarmónica de Rotterdam bajo la dirección del maestro Valery Gergiev. En 2007, el coro completó un viaje extraordinario por Sudáfrica, cantando con el bajo-barítono aclamado Simon Estes. Como Embajadores de la Canción, el Yale Alumni Chorus está dedicado a fomentar la armonía y buena voluntad internacional por medio de la música, estableciendo colaboraciones artísticas valiosas con los mejores músicos y grupos musicales del mundo. 4

5 Jeffrey Douma, Musical Director Jeffrey Douma became Director of the Yale Glee Club, Yale s premier undergraduate mixed chorus, in 2003, and also serves as Associate Professor at the Yale School of Music, where he teaches conducting and Choral literature. Douma has appeared as guest conductor with ensembles on six continents, including the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic Orchestra, Bahian Symphony Orchestra, Daejeon Philharmonic Choir, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and Symphony Choir of Johannesburg. He also currently serves as Musical Director of the Yale Alumni Chorus, which he has lead on four tours, most recently to South Africa in the summer of Choirs under his direction have performed in Leipzig s Neue Gewandhaus, Dvorak Hall in Prague, Argentina s Teatro Colon, Sydney Town Hall, Avery Fischer Hall and Carnegie Hall, and he has prepared choruses for performances under such eminent conductors as Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir David Willcocks, Shinik Hahm, Constantine Orbellian, Toshiyuki Shimada, Krzysztof Penderecki and Helmuth Rilling. Active with musicians of all ages, Douma served for four years on the conducting faculty at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, America s premier training ground for high school age musicians, conducting the Concert Choir, Women s Choir, and Festival Choir, and frequently serves as clinician for festivals and honor choirs. An advocate of new music, Douma recently established the Yale Glee Club Emerging Composers Competition and Fenno Heath Award, and has premiered new works with the Glee Club by such composers as Dominick Argento, Lee Hoiby, Jan Sandström, and James Macmillan. He also serves as editor of the Yale Glee Club New Classics Choral Series, published by Boosey & Hawkes. A tenor, Douma has appeared as an ensemble member and frequent soloist with the nation s leading professional choirs, including the Dale Warland Singers, Bella Voce of Chicago, the Arcadia Players, the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling, and the Robert Shaw Festival Singers. 5

6 In the spring of 2003, Douma was one of only two North American conductors invited to compete for the first Eric Ericson Award, a new international competition for choral conductors, advancing to the semifinal round in October, 2003, and appearing in Uppsala and Stockholm. Prior to his appointment at Yale he taught at Carroll College, where he was Director of Choral Activities, and also served on the conducting faculties of Smith College and St. Cloud State University. Jeffrey Douma earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from Concordia College, nationally renowned for its choral music program. He holds both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of Michigan. * * * Jeffrey Douma se convirtió en Director del Glee Club de Yale, el principal coro mixto de estudiantes de grado de la universidad, en 2003, y asimismo ejerce como profesor adjunto en la Facultad de Música de Yale enseñando dirección y literatura coral. Douma ha actuado como director invitado con conjuntos de los seis continentes, incluyendo la Orquesta Filarmónica de Melbourne, la Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Bahía, el Coro Filarmónico de Daejeon, la Orquesta de Cámara de Moscú, la Orquesta Sinfónica de Windsor, y la Orquesta del Festival de Johannesburgo y el Coro Sinfónico de Johannesburgo. En la actualidad sirve también como director del Coro de Graduados de Yale, al frente del cual ha participado en cuatro giras, la más reciente por Sudáfrica en el verano de Los coros que Douma ha tenido bajo su dirección han actuado en el Neue Gewandhaus de Leipzig, el Auditorio Dvorak en Praga, el Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, el Sydney Town Hall, el Avery Fisher Hall y el Carnegie Hall, y ha preparado coros para actuaciones dirigidas por célebres directores como Valery Gergiev, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir David Wilcocks, Shink Hahm, Constantine Orbellian, Toshiyuki Shimada, Krzysztof Penderecki y Helmuth Rilling. Activo con músicos de todas las edades, Douma ejerció durante cuatro años como profesor de dirección en el Interlochen Center for the Arts (Michigan), el principal espacio de formación de músicos de escuela secundaria, dirigiendo allí el Coro de Concierto, el Coro de Mujeres y el Coro del Festival. Asimismo, ejerce con frecuencia como médico para festivales y coros de honor. Como defensor de música de nueva creación, Douma estableció recientemente la Competición de Compositores Emergentes del Yale Glee Club, así como el Premio Fenno Heath, y ha estrenado con el Glee Club nuevas piezas de autores tales como Dominick Argento, Lee Hoiby, Jan Sandström y James Macmillan. De igual modo, desempeña labores como editor de la serie «Yale Glee Club New Classics Choral», publicada por Boosey & Hawkes. Como tenor, Douma ha aparecido como miembro de conjunto y frecuentemente también como solista junto a los coros profesionales líderes del país, incluyendo el Dale Warland Singers, el Bella Voce de Chicago, el Arcadia Players, el Oregon Bach Festival Chorus bajo la dirección de Helmuth Rilling, y el Robert Shaw Festival Singers. 6

7 En la primavera de 2003, Douma fue uno de los dos únicos directores norteamericanos invitados a competir por el Premio Eric Ericson, una nueva competición internacional para directores corales. Douma llegó hasta la ronda de semifinales en octubre de 200, llegando a actuar en Uppsala y Estocolmo. Antes de su nombramiento como profesor en la universidad de Yale, Douma desarrolló labores docentes en Carroll College, donde ostentó el cargo de Director de Actividades Corales, y también ejerció como miembro del profesorado de dirección musical de Smith College y de la Universidad Estatal de St. Cloud. Jeffrey. Douma obtuvo su grado en Música en Concordia College, institución de renombre en los Estados Unidos por su programa de música coral. Douma posee tanto el título de Maestría en Música como el de Doctor en Artes Musicales en Dirección Coral por la Universidad de Michigan. * * * 7

8 Soloists Astrid Marshall, soprano Astrid Marshall, a soprano from the Chicago area, recently received her Master s degree from the renowned Maryland Opera Studio. In 2007, Astrid sang as a young artist with the Natchez Festival of Music in Mississippi. In the realm of new music, Astrid recently premiered the role of Bobachina in An Inspector from Rome by John Musto and Mark Campbell in a workshop with the Wolf Trap Opera Company in Virginia. Operatic roles recently performed include Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with the Bronx Opera in New York, Romilda (Xerxes) and Tytania (A Midsummer Night s Dream) with Maryland Opera Studio, Queen of the Night (Amadeus, the Tony award winning play turned musical), Adina (L elisir d amore), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), among others. Astrid also holds a B.A. magna cum laude from Columbia University. Sharon Agar, alto Sharon Agar has spent most of her singing life in the non-classical arena, including musical theater, cabaret and small-group a cappella. She has also conducted and arranged for a cappella groups, including Yale's all-senior women's group Whim 'N Rhythm, and The New Blue. She is delighted to return to classical music with the glorious Mozart. Sharon is also President of the Yale Alumni Chorus. 8

9 John Rouse, tenor John Rouse is an active performer in opera, operetta, and concerts throughout Northern California, having performed with Berkeley Opera (Tamino in Magic Flute, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus), West Bay Opera (Des Grieux in Manon, Ramiro in La Cenerentola), Monterey Opera (Don José in Carmen), and San Francisco s Pocket Opera (Belmonte in Yanked from the Harem). He frequently appears in concert with American Bach Soloists and was tenor soloist in two productions of Bach s St. John Passion with the Sacramento Area Bach Festival. He is probably best known to San Francisco Bay Area audiences through the Lamplighters, for whom he has sung Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Rossilon in The Merry Widow, and most of the Gilbert & Sullivan tenor roles. He first visited Mexico and Central America as a soloist on the 1975 Yale Glee Club Tour. More recently, he has toured internationally as soloist with the Yale Alumni Chorus, performing Beethoven s Ninth Symphony in China, the Beethoven Choral Fantasy and a Cole Porter medley in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Wales, and London (with the Royal Philharmonic at St. Paul s Cathedral) and the Vaughan-Williams Serenade to Music (under David Willcocks in Ely Cathedral). On the Yale Alumni Chorus Gift of Song Tour he performed the South American première of Leonard Bernstein s Chichester Psalms as well as the Rossini Stabat Mater in Valparaiso and in Buenos Aires Teatro Colon. Mr. Rouse was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, and has studied with Benjamin DeLoache, Jess Thomas, and Orva Hoskinson. 9

10 Andrew Broadaway, bass Andrew Broadaway, a Washington, DC native, completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University in Houston, Texas under the esteemed tutelage of Dr. Joyce Farwell. Recently, Andrew has been featured in productions of Tosca and Menotti s Amahl and the Night Visitors with the South Texas Lyric Opera and was a featured soloist with Procantus Lyric Opera in their 2007 Opera Gala. Other recent performances include Ford (cover cast) in Falstaff with the Natchez Opera Festival, Don Giovanni with the New York Opera Forum, Belcore from The Elixir of Love with the Bel Cantanti Opera Company Bel Canto Gala in Washington, DC and Mr. Gobineau in The Medium with the Artery Performing Arts Center in Houston. Mr. Broadaway has also been seen in productions of Cosi fan tutte, La Boheme, La Clemenza di Tito, The Rake s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, Wozzeck and The Marriage of Figaro. Andrew has performed these and several other operas with the Janiec Opera Company in Brevard, NC, the Rice University Opera Theater, the Annapolis Opera Company, Wolftrap Opera, Washington Summer Opera Theater and the Indiana University Opera Theater. While completing his Bachelor s Degree at Indiana University, Mr. Broadaway performed in the Milken Foundation Jewish Opera Music festival and concert, where he sang and recorded various roles in rarely performed operas by Jewish composers. Timothy DeWerff, piano accompanist Pianist Timothy DeWerff, Yale Class of 1992 has been the primary accompanist of the Yale Alumni Chorus since 2003, performing on all YAC concert tours, Yale alumni reunions, and annual events at the Yale Clubs of Boston and New York City. Other engagements include a recital at the historic Rokeby estate in the Hudson River Valley, the New York City premiere of selections of Ned Rorem s opera Our Town, and the student production of Cole Porter s Anything Goes at the Brearley School. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, he is an editor of scholarly books by profession. * * * 10

11 YALE ALUMNI CHORUS Soprano Rhonda Canby Laura Daniels Couchman Diana Russell Deacon Rachael Doud Susan Doud Frances C. Everett Carol Galbreath Alison L. Gerlach Stephanie Hagan Pamela Hanold Alice B. Hollingsworth Astrid Marshall Mandela Moore Mischler Hopi Moore-Sargent Valerie Norton Julianne Parolisi Amy L. Rice Karen Schoenberger Joyce G. Spencer Laurel Styner Catherine Widgery Alto Sharon V. Agar Mary Ann Beaumont Holly Bodman Lisa K. Catapano-Friedman Peggy Curchack Suellen Davidson Ainsley Donaldson Joanne B. Gerlach Rita F. Helfand Judith Holding Brenda Jaffe Christine Johnston Amy Kaiser Lucy Kirk Marlyn McGary Klee Judith S. Knutson Ellen R. Marshall Wynn Meyer Ann Moore Pamela P. Resor Abigail Tate Reynolds Margaret Rogow Morgan Stebbins 11

12 Tenor Michael Bales Matthew Doud Jesse M. Eshkol Miguel A. Garcia Brit L. Geiger John A. Gerlach Jerome Johnston Daniel I. Kim John Knutson Stanley T. Lamar Kenneth W. Liebman Roberto Martinez John L. Matilaine James Newby Robert O Brien John Rouse Ronald G. Sampson James A. E. Spencer John N. Williams Bass Matthew Agar-Johnson Nicholas Agar-Johnson Mark E. Alberta David Barnett Alan F. Blanchard Robert Bonds Andrew J. Broadaway William Bunn Roy J. Byrd David Coghlan Richard Collins Dennis Corcoran William R. Couchman Mark Curchack John F. Davenport Timothy J. DeWerff Charles Day Dilks Richard Everett III Edward J. Greenberg Alex Scott Gunn John T. Hanold Thomas R. Harter William Holding Vertrees Hollingsworth Richard P. Holloway David F. Jaffe Richard Johnson M. Andrew Johnston Eugene M. McKelvey 12

13 James DuBois McNeely Mike Moore Griffith L. Resor III Terry Rogers McKinney H. Russell David Schrieber Darrell Styner William J. Tate III Robert L. Teicher Linus Travers Bruce Tuckman Harold Weintraub Murray Wheeler, Jr. Raymond S. Williams Yale Alumni Chorus concert and travel arrangements by Classical Movements Inc. * * * 13

14 PROGRAM I. Sacred Music The Last Words of David Randall Thompson Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 July 9, 1984) is one of the most important contributors to American choral works and education in the twentieth century. Thompson wrote The Last Words of David in 1949 in response to a commission by the Boston Symphony to honor their music director s twenty-fifth anniversary and was originally performed by both a choir and the full Boston Symphony. The Last Words of David premiered on 12 August 1949 and was filmed as part of a documentary on Koussevitsky and the Tanglewood music festival in western Massachusetts. During his career, Thompson strove to create music of sensibility and good taste, which both musicians and audiences would appreciate. The Last Words of David begins with a firm declaration that the ruler of men must be just. This theme continues throughout the work as the music gradually softens, finishing with the peaceful and quiet Alleluia. Today, as a result, the music of Randall Thompson has become a staple in the choral repertoire, with The Last Words of David and the Alleluia among the most performed of his works. The Lamb Fenno Heath Fenno Follansbee Heath, Jr. (December 30, 1926 December 5, 2008) was an American conductor, composer, and arranger of choral music. Fenno conducted the Yale Glee Club from 1953 to 1992, during which time he composed numerous pieces for choral and a cappella ensembles. He also oversaw the transition of the choir from an all-male group to a mixed chorus in Most of Heath s works are based on Christian religious texts or subjects and The Lamb, a poem by William Blake, is no exception. The choir asks, Little Lamb who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? referring to God the creator. The piece was composed for the Yale Glee Club during his tenure as conductor. Convidando está la noche - Juan García de Zéspedes Mexican composer Juan García de Zéspedes (c ) was born in Puebla, Mexico. He was a singer, viol player, and teacher. He composed both sacred and secular compositions in every style from the Palestrina-like to the folkloric. During the seventeenth century, popular street music and dances became fashionable in high society. Composers in Spain and in the New World employed these vivacious rhythms and dance energies in their villancicos. Zéspedes lively composition Convidando está la noche is a guaracha, an early form of peasant street music with satirical lyrics. The music draws heavily on secular influences in text and style, with origins from both Spain and Africa. II. New Music Prayer René Clausen (world premiere) René Clausen (born 1953) is an American composer and current conductor of the Concordia Choir at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. He is the founder of the René Clausen Choral School and his works are widely performed by high school and church choirs, while his more demanding pieces have been performed and 14

15 recorded by collegiate and professional choirs. Clausen's compositional style is varied and eclectic, with compositions and arrangements that cover many artistic media, including choral, orchestral, wind ensemble, film, video, and solo voice. His style is sometimes classified as Neo-Romantic, as all of his works are unmistakably tonal, yet they push the boundaries of choral language. The traditional functions of choral progression are blurred by his use of tone clusters. Prayer was composed for the Yale Alumni Chorus and sets a prayer written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Roman Catholic nun who for decades served the most destitute residents of that Indian city. In this text, the supplicant begs God to help her be a conduit for God s will. Shine through me, she petitions, let them look up and see no longer me but only you. Tú Jorge Córdoba Valencia (world premiere) The contemporary Mexican composer and conductor Jorge Córdoba Valencia has gained prominence both as a composer and a conductor, performing throughout his homeland, as well as Spain, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Hungary, and the United States. He studied at the National Conservatory of Mexico and served as conductor for several well-known choirs, including the National Youth Choir, University National Choir, and Madrigalist Choir. He has received numerous prizes for his musical activities, including first prize in the Third National Contest of Choral Music, and has participated in many contemporary music festivals. He has been producer of the recording series "Contemporary Chamber Music" since He is the coordinator of the University Choirs of the National University of Mexico. The text of Tú is a religious poem written by Amado Nervo, one of the most important Mexican poets of the nineteenth century, whose Modernist poetry was known for its use of metaphor and reference to mysticism. Tú was commissioned by Classical Movements Inc. for the Yale Alumni Chorus for its 2009 summer tour. III. Folk Song, Popular Song and Spirituals This section of the program includes charming and imaginative choral settings of traditional folk music, gleaned from the oral tradition of an earlier and more predominantly rural society. Spirituals were created and first sung by African Americans during slavery. Their original composers are unknown. Although it is impossible to determine with certainty when the first spirituals were created, most scholars speculate that these songs proliferated near the end of the eighteenth century and during the last few decades leading up to the end of legalized slavery in the 1860s. The arrangers of these tunes often captured them for posterity by listening outside rural churches, jotting down in musical notation the tunes they overheard, and later adapting them in these interesting settings. Every Time I Feel the Spirit arr. Fenno Heath This song is an African-American spiritual that has become one of the staples in the American Spiritual tradition. Fenno Heath arranged many spirituals for the Yale Glee Club during his thirty-nine-year tenure as conductor. He was attracted to what he called the spirit of the spiritual as a wonderful source of inspiration, in melody, rhythm, and text. In Every Time I Feel the Spirit, the choir sings repeatedly of the spirit of the Lord, which moves them to prayer. The baritone soloist sings of his own experience with God on Jordan s river where he prayed for mercy. 15

16 La golondrina - Narciso Serradel Serradel Sevilla Narciso Serradel Serradel Sevilla ( ), a native of Alvarado, Veracruz, Mexico, was both a physician and a composer. During the war against the Frenchsponsored Mexican Emperor Maximiliano, Serradel fought against the French Imperial troops alongside General Zaragoza. He was taken prisoner during the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, and deported to France. He is most famous for his popular song of farewell, La golondrina. This song reminds us of how Mexico draws us back, time and again, like the wandering swallow. I am Loved As I Love arr. Jeffrey Douma The Shakers are a Christian sect that originated in Manchester, England, in 1747, and later became established in colonial America. The Shakers considered music to be an essential component of the religious experience. They composed thousands of songs, and also created many dances. Both were an important part of the Shaker worship services. It has been surmised that many of them were imitated from the sounds of Native American languages, as well as from the songs of African slaves, especially in the southernmost of the Shaker communities, but in fact the melodic material is derived from European scales and modes. Jeffrey Douma, the musical director of Yale Alumni Chorus and of the Yale Glee Club, and Associate Professor of Choral Music at the Yale School of Music. has arranged the Shaker song I Am Loved As I Love for mixed chorus. The words of the song ask us to remember that we are treated by God in the same way that we treat other people. Humble arr. Marshall Bartholomew and David Connell Humble is an American Spiritual from the African-American tradition. Originally arranged by Marshall Bartholomew for male chorus, it was adapted by David Connell for mixed chorus. The verses of the song describe different stories from the Old Testament. Between the verses, the chorus admonishes the congregation to be humble before God. Ride the Chariot arr. William Henry Smith Ride the Chariot is a traditional American Spiritual; a rollicking work, full of excitement about the coming of Judgment Day, when God would release his people from the bonds of slavery. The song describes the soul's ascent to heaven as a chariot ride. The music is sung in the traditional call and response style. The soloist asks the choir if they are ready for the journey up to Heaven and the choir responds Oh Yes, I m waiting for the chariot cause I m ready to go. IV. Yale Songs Yale University s tradition of group singing is fabled. Throughout the decades, the campus has echoed with the voices of small a cappella groups, large traditional ensembles, and groups dedicated to particular musical genres. Yale has been blessed with conductors and singers who have treasured and preserved this tradition and passed it among generations, through published songbooks and intergenerational gatherings. 16

17 We Meet Again Tonight - arr. Fenno Heath The 1882 edition of the Yale Songs was the first to include this enduring standard, by license agreement with S. Brainard s Sons. Its composer and lyricist are anonymous. Fenno Heath s mixed chorus arrangement, with revised lyrics for greater inclusivity, was published in The singers recount the joys of friendships, the laughter, mirth and song. And though they must part they hope for the time to come soon when they will meet again. Neath the Elms Gustave J. Stoeckel, arr. Jonathan Clune The song dates from 1871 and was one of the enduring arrangements Gustave J. Stoeckel made for the then-fledgling Yale Glee Club. The melody was borrowed form a German children s marching song, Soldatenlied, by Friedrich Wilhelm Kücken, while the middle section is Stoeckel s own. The words are by Henry Baldwin, a student in the Yale class of Originally written for male voices, the mixed chorus arrangement was created by Jonathan Clune, Yale Class of Football Medley This medley of songs sung by fans at football games and other sporting events begins with songs of Yale s rival schools, sung somewhat mockingly. The chorus then moves on to a series of traditional Yale songs. They include snippets from songs by the famous songwriter Cole Porter, Yale Class of 1913, and salutes to the Yale mascot, the bulldog. Listen for the bulldog barking in the interlude from the beloved ditty, Bulldog, Bulldog, Bow Wow Wow. Bright College Years - Henry Durand This song is considered the alma mater of Yale University, albeit unofficial. It was composed in 1881, using an earlier German folk melody. The text describes one s college days as the shortest, gladdest years of life, imagining how the graduate will, years later, think back upon the college experience. At the end of the song, it is the tradition to wave our handkerchief while exclaiming, For God, for country, and for Yale! V. Works of Mozart Laudate Dominum (from Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ( ) composed over six hundred works, and is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers. Laudate Dominum was written in 1780 while Mozart was in Salzburg, and it is one of Mozart s last sacred works. The text, from Psalm 117, is the most familiar movement of the Vespers. In Mozart s time, aside from the Mass, the evening Vespers was the only service in the Catholic church that permitted music other than plainsong. Laudate Dominum features a soprano solo line accompanied by chorus. Although the title Vesperae solennes de confessore indicates that it was written for a confessor saint, we do not know the "Saint Confessor" in whose honor it was written. 17

18 Coronation Mass, K. 317 W. A. Mozart The Coronation Mass, written in 1779, is also among the last of Mozart s sacred works written during his time in Salzburg. At the age of twenty-three and having just lost his mother, Mozart returned home to Salzburg to work for the Prince Archbishop, who sought to control Mozart s style by forbidding the commonly used operatic conventions in church music to which Mozart had become accustomed while abroad. Given the deep discontentment in Mozart s life, it is remarkable that he was able to produce such joyful masterpieces as the Coronation Mass. 18