The Open University Choir

BeethovenMass in C, Op. 86

The Open University Choir is affiliated to the Open University Club and gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the University for this concert.

Jamesena Tait soprano

Rebecca Mitchell-Farmer mezzo-soprano

Ben Kerslake tenor

David Kirby-Ashmore baritone

Bill Strang conductor

Thursday 22 November 2012 at 1pmHub Theatre, Walton Hall

Admission free. All welcome

PROGRAMME

Mass in C major, Op. 86 (1807)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Kyrie

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy

Whereas Haydn had expanded the Kyrie in his late settings of the mass into big movements resembling the fast opening movements of symphonies, Beethoven’s response to the text in this case is altogether more restrained: in his own words, ‘The general character of the Kyrie is devout submission, truly profound religious feeling, without mournfulness. The basis of the whole is gentle: despite ‘eleison, have mercy upon us’ there is overall serenity…’

The text itself implies a tripartite musical structure (Kyrie – Christe – Kyrie) and Beethoven follows this long-standing convention. His innovatory gesture is a modern harmonic scheme: the middle section is not in the expected key of G major, the most closely related key in the tonal hierarchy, but in E major, the first of several moves to keys an interval of a third away from the main key of the work.

Chri ste- e lei- son.- -

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te, benedicimus te, adoramus te, glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.

Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, We adore Thee, we glorify Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory.

Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.

Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.

Quoniam tu solus sanctus, tu solus Dominus Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris, Amen.

O Lord God, heavenly king, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.

Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Thou who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.

For Thou only art holy, Thou only art the Lord, Thou only art most high, Jesus Christ. With the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the Father, Amen.

The Gloria is on a big scale, in three contrasting sections – fast, slow, fast. The first section starts brilliantly with chordal acclamations in the expected C major but heads towards F major – the flat side – for a gentler ‘Gratias’ led by the tenor soloist. The solo quartet is saved for the middle section, which moves further in the same tonal direction, to F minor. But still no G major.

According to one of his early biographers, the text of this middle section meant a lot to Beethoven, sorely tried as he was by ill health and other difficulties. Anton Schindler recounts that, many years later, the composer was shown a new German adaptation of the text of this Mass by Benedikt Scholz and

when he reached the ‘Qui tollis’ tears streamed from his eyes and he had to stop reading; most deeply moved by the indescribably fine words he said: ‘Yes, that was what I felt when I wrote this!’

The adaptation by Scholz provoked criticism at the time as being over-rationalistic and lacking the sanctity and splendour appropriate to the Catholic Mass, but it evidently struck a chord with Beethoven. The ‘Qui tollis’ is rendered thus:

He bears even the sinner with gentle love, with true fatherly care, full of pity, he looks graciously down from above. He is the support of the weak, he is the help of those in affliction, the hope of those weary of life, he is the Lord; no cry to him is unheard, no tear is shed in vain. His help, his salvation are near us, and great is his compassion…

Then the final fast section comprises a fugue, as is traditional.

Cum san cto- spi ri- tu- in glo ri- a- De i- pa tris- A (men)-

However, the section actually begins with a powerful setting of the ‘Quoniam’, one of several themes presented by the choir in octaves, which is then used as secondary, episodic material throughout the fugue. This mix-and-match approach to the text is, strictly speaking, liturgically improper, but in Beethoven’s case it was clearly pursued for musical structural reasons.

Quo ni- am- tu so lus,- tu so lus- san ctus-

Credo

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex patre natum ante omnia saecula, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum non factum, consubstantialem Patri; per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto, ex Maria virgine; et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est.

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages: God of God, light of light, true God of true God; Begotten, not made; being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven.

And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified also for us, under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried.

Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos, cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum Sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit, qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur, et conglorificatur, qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum, et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum, et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven. And sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Credo follows broadly the same pattern as the Gloria, but is on an even more expansive scale. The first section is unified thematically by the persistent use of a quaver figure in the accompaniment, which leaves the chorus free to respond to varying aspects of the text. Again the middle section, the ‘Et incarnatus’, seems to have had particular significance for the composer, who is said to have responded with rather dramatic emotions to the adaptation by Scholz:

In nights of pain, in days of trial, when cares weigh us down, when all solace deserts the soul, when anxieties surround the human heart and all hope is gone, Eternal! then you approach the dust, Eternal, then you come to us poor wretches…

Beethoven sets this central section in the key of E flat, another tertiary relationship to C. Unusually, he assigns the ‘Et resurrexit’ to a single voice: many composers use the juxtaposition of ‘buried’ and ‘rose’ as an opportunity for a huge choral outburst, but Beethoven, though using suitably rising figures, builds towards a slightly later emphasis on ‘dexteram Patris’ (the right hand of the Father).

Sanctus

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.

BlessedishethatcomethinthenameoftheLord.Hosannainthehighest.

The Sanctus is the shortest movement; however, Beethoven conceived it as being connected in a continuous gesture to the Benedictus, which is much longer, and gives the solo quartet their most extended innings, as was traditional in this period.

Again the key relationships here are interesting: the Sanctus itself is in A major, the key a third below C major; then the Benedictus is in F major, which is a tertiary relationship with A.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

The Agnus Dei starts in 12/8, a metre which is fairly unusual in sacred choral music. The thrice-repeated cry for mercy is treated conventionally enough, if dramatically, at a slowish speed and in the minor mode. It gives way to a relaxed Allegro in C major marked ‘ma non troppo’ – fast but not too fast – for the ‘Dona nobis pacem’ – ‘grant us peace’. Other composers in this period, including (perhaps particularly) Haydn, had wound this final section up into a brisk finale of symphonic vitality. Beethoven’s approach is more restrained. It does, however, include one dramatic gesture which provoked criticism at the time: he brings back the anguished text and mood of the ‘Agnus Dei… miserere nobis’ in the middle of the ‘Dona nobis’. His contemporaries regarded this as liturgically inappropriate, and it may have been this which provoked his patron’s displeasure. Also, in terms of belief, it suggests some doubt as to

whether peace can or will be found, or at least it hints at the cost that may be involved in achieving it. Given the political upheavals that Europe had already experienced during Beethoven’s lifetime, it is perhaps not surprising that he was not optimistic about the eventual outcome for humanity. Some fifteen years later, when he came to write his only other completed setting of the mass, now known as the Missa solemnis, this ambivalence, expressed by leaving the resolution to the very last minute – or perhaps of not resolving it at all – was even more pronounced.

Programme notes by Bill Strang

Programme produced by Gill Smith

Orchestra

First Violins Christine Hodgkinson (leader) Catherine Gough, Tony Lochmuller Rosalind Lucas-Smith Lesley Newing, Katherine Reedy Second Violins Heather Fleck, Ruth Gapp Mark Fernandes, Sally Jackson Anthony Lucas-Smith Violas Keith Hodgkinson Laurence Holden Valerie Kirby-Ashmore Cellos Jonathan Hunt, Denise Riley Margaret Woodward Double Bass Jenny Brown

Flutes Sara Hack, June Edwards Oboes Karen Mason, Miriam McComie Clarinets Steve Davies, Lisa Wrigley Bassoons Jane Rennie, Tessa Holden Horns Luke Woodhead, Anne Forbes Trumpets Terry Mayo, Martin Mills Timpani Allan Jones

Rehearsal Accompanists Kevin McConway, Elizabeth Camp Conductor Bill Strang

Forthcoming concerts

Tuesday 18 December 2012 at 11.30am in the Hub Theatre, Walton Hall

Open University Carol Concert. The Choir and the OU Orchestra will join with Christian Forum to present music and readings for this seasonal celebration.

Thursday 21 March 2012 at 1pm in the Hub Theatre, Walton Hall

Double-choir motets by Johann Sebastian Bach and his cousin Johann Ludwig will bookend a group of twentieth-century pieces by Stravinsky and Górecki.

Thursday 13 and Friday 14 June 2012 at 1pm in St Michael’s Church

A garland of madrigals, a Renaissance Mass setting (Vittoria’s Missa O quam gloriosum) and a set of partsongs by Benjamin Britten to mark the centenary of his birth (Five Flower Songs).

About the choirThe Open University Choir is a work-place choir with approximately 70 members, drawn largely from Open University staff and students, but also including singers from the local community. The choir rehearses and performs at lunchtimes at the Open University Campus, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, presenting three main concerts each year. The choir has a reputation for performing a varied repertoire, and includes drawing on research done by members of the Music Department and commissioning and encouraging new work as features of its activities.

New choir members

Singers wishing to take part in the Choir’s activities should contact the director, Bill Strang, on extn 52659 or email: Bill.Strang@open.ac.uk. Regular rehearsals are held on Thursday at lunchtime in the Church on the OU campus.

Open University Choir website Further information about the choir and its activities can be found on the choir’s website: http://www.open.ac.uk/wikis/ouchoir/OU_Choir

The Open University Choir is affiliated to the Open University Club and gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the University for this concert.

Cover image: Portrait of Beethoven by Richard Rees (b.1952) for Stuart Pearson, after the heroic statue by Caspar Clemens von Zumbusch (1830-1915) in Beethovenplatz, Vienna. This image was reproduced on the cover of the recording of Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto played by John Lill with the Scottish National Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Gibson and released in LP format under the Classics for Pleasure label in the 1970s.