presents the

DALE WARLAND SINGERS·Dale Warland, founder and director

Saturday, March 1, 2003 7:30 p.m.The Cathedral of St. Mary, St. Cloud

Dale Warland SingersDale Warland, founder and music director

I. Invocation

A Prayer of the Middle Ages Howard Hanson

II. Leave- Taking

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekomrnen (I am Lost to the World) Gustav Mahler

III. Supplication

Miserere Rudi TasLaura Sewell, cello

IV. Chichester Mass

Chichester Mass William AlbrightKyrieGloriaSanctusBenedictusAgnusDei

INTERMISSION

V. Visions of Heaven

Visions of Heaven (world premiere) J. Aaron McDermidClouds of GloryBring Us, 0 Lord GodRegions Infinite

VI. Grace at the Cross

Fac me tecum, from Stabat Mater Karol Szymanowski

Lord, Let At Last Thine Angels Come (world premiere) Frank FerkoLaura Sewell, cello

o Crux Knut Nystedt

VII. To Thy Rest

Song for Athene John Tavener

Program Notesby Brian Newhouse

I. Invocation

A Prayer of the Middle Ages Howard Hanson (1896-1981)

Howard Hanson headed the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music for severaldecades, where he composed prolifically, won a Pulitzer Prize (1944), and finished his careershowered in honorary degrees. Despite all the acclaim (or because of it), Hanson attractedscholarly scorn for being devoted to tonal music, making him astoundingly out-of-fashion. Hismotet A Prayer of the Middle Ages dates from the US bicentennial and starts in the mostAmerican way: with a fanfare, this one for voices. Instead of driving to a big "tah-dah" ending,though, the brilliance softens as the singers repeat the phrase "the greatest marvel." A section ofdenser, searching music follows until the words, "Thou who madest Heaven and Earth" where .Hanson revels in the glory of the tried-and-true G major scale. His critics ground their teeth atsuch music, but Hanson could do nothing but stay loyal to his muse.

We declare unto all the ages as the greatest marvel,Ere there were hills and trees or the mighty ocean,Ere the sunlight shone forth or the moon cast its beams,When naught was, from end to end,There wert Thou, 0 God, Thou almighty God,From time unknown to time unknown, Eternal God,Thou who madest heaven and earth,Give to us wisdom, prudence and strength,Give through Thy holy blessing faith unendingThat Thy will we may do.Amen.

Poem from the 8th CenturyEnglish Version by James Francis Cooke

II. Leave- Taking

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)

Gustav Mahler was the restless genius of late-19th- and early-20th-century music. His sprawling

symphonies dove into realms of harmony, melody, even sheer length that the world would need agood 40 or 50 years to grasp. For all his affinity with the big gesture, though, he also loved thesimplicity of song. His serene "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" is lifted from his earlycollection, Songs of a Wayfarer (1883). This is the outpouring of a poet weary of life's clangorand defeat. Those who knew Mahler say the poem's final lines summed him up well: "I live alonein my love and in my song." Conceived for solo voice and orchestra, it's adapted here for 16-partchoir by Clytus Gottwald.

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!

I am lost to the worldwith which I used to waste so much time,It has heard nothing from me for so longThat it may very well believe that I am dead!

Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,Ob sie mich fur gestorben halt,Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.

It is of no consequence to meWhether it thinks me dead;I cannot deny it,For I really am dead to the world.

Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetummel,Und ruh' in einem stillen Gebiet!Ich leb' allein in meinem Himmel,In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied!

I am dead to the world's tumult,And I rest in a quiet realm!I live alone in my heaven,In my love and in my song!

-- by Friedrich Ruckert, translated to English byEmily Ezust

III. Supplication

Miserere Rudi Tas (b. 1957)

Rudi Tas is a Belgian who gave up an active career as an organist and conductor to become acomposer. He started winning international composition prizes early and has maintained thisstreak with scores like his 1999 Miserere. Here, the singers begin humming so quietly you'llbarely know the music's started. Listen carefully, though, as that first beautiful clustered chordintroduces a new voice, the solo cello. The pace quickens and the mood gets more emphatic asthe singers plead over and over for mercy ("miserere nobis"). Near the end, though, the cello cutsthem off in mid-phrase and plays an anguished solo-but suddenly silence. When everyone re-enters, a state of grace has descended and their final chord will shimmer like a halo: the womensing ppppppp (!) crowned by the cello's radiant high E.

Miserere nobisDeus noster, Miserere nobisExaudi nos,Misereatur nostriDeus noster exaudi!

Have mercy on usOur God, Have mercy on usHear us,Have mercy on us.Our God, hear us!

IV. Chichester Mass

Chichester Mass William Albright (1944-1998)

William Albright was a gifted University of Michigan composition professor who was also anaccomplished keyboardist, admired for championing new organ music and fueling the revival ofScott Joplin's piano rags. He believed in music as an intuitive art, stressing the importance ofimagination and the beauty of sound. "My music is generous and eclectic," Albright said. "Iprefer messy diversity to boring unity." There's neither mess nor boredom in his elegantly craftedfive-movement Chichester Mass. Albright used the traditional Anglican text and composed themusic in 1974 for the 900th anniversary of Chichester Cathedral in Sussex, England.

KyrieKyrie eleison.Christe eleison.

Lord have mercy.Christ have mercy.

GloriaGlory be to God on high,And in earth peace, good will towards men.We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee,We glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,o Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.o Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesu Christ:o Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,That takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.For thou only art Holy; thou only art the Lord;Thou only, 0 Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art the most High,In the glory of God the Father. Amen.

SanctusHoly, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts,Heav'n and earth are full of thy glory.Glory be to thee, 0 Lord most high.

BenedictusBlessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Deio Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world,Have mercy upon us, grant us thy peace.

INTERMISSION

V. Visions of Heaven

Visions of Heaven J. Aaron McDermid (b. 1974)

The composer writes:

"For millennia, theologians and children alike have pondered an afterlife andentertained various visions of heaven-yet one thing has remained constant: theurge for heaven is universal; we need it the way we need love.

"In this piece I wanted to combine writings from both sacred and secular sources.The first movement sets a portion of William Wordsworth's Intimations ofImmortality. He states that this passage is a recounting of how he viewed heavenas a young child. The second movement combines two versions of the popularmetaphor of heaven as a city or house-one drawn from a sermon of JohnDonne, the other from a Lutheran chorale-both written in the early 17thcentury. The final movement (drawn from Walt Whitman's Passage to India)offers a vision of heaven that is something like a spiritual journey-one that, asthe piece comes to a close, is not yet complete."

I. Clouds of GloryOur birth is not a sleep and a forgetting;The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,Hath had elsewhere its setting,And cometh from afar;Not in entire forgetfulness,And not in utter nakedness,But trailing clouds of glory do we comeFom God, who is our home.

-William Wordsworth from Intimations of Immortality

II. Bring us, 0 Lord GodBring us, 0 Lord God, at the last awakening

into the house and gate of heaven,to enter into that gate and dwell in that house.

Where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light;no sound nor silence, but one equal music;no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity,

in the habitation of thy majesty and thy glory,world without end. Amen.

-John Donne from Sermon /46

CHORALE:Jerusalem, du hochgebaute StadtJerusalem, whose towers touch the skies,I yearn to come to you!Your shining streets have drawn my longing eyesMy life-long journey through.

And though I roam the woodland,The city, and the plain,My heart still seeks the good land,My Father's house to gain.

-Johann M. Mayfart, (1590-1642)translated by Gilbert E. Doan

III. Regions Infiniteo soul, thou pleasest me, I thee,Sailing these seas or on the hills, or waking in the night,Thoughts, silent thoughts, of Time and Space andDeath, like waters flowing,Bear me indeed as through the regions infinite,Whose air I breathe, whose ripples hear,

Bathe me o God in thee,I and my soul to range in range of thee.

-Walt Whitman from Passage to India

VI. Grace at the Cross

Fac me tecum (from Stabat Mater) Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937)

Karol Szymanowski was Poland's most significant composer of his day. Born to ardentlynationalistic and musically talented parents, he took up the piano early and entered the WarsawConservatory in his teens-a school he'd later come to direct. Best-known for his symphonies,concertos, and operas, Szymanowski's 1926 Stabat Mater became his choral calling card. Thetext portrays Mary's grief at the cross, and at the heart of Szymanowski's turbulent hour-longsetting lies "Fac me tecum," a quietly sung prayer built of the simplest chords.

Fac me tecum pie flere,Crucifixo condolere,Donee ego vixero.Juxta crucem tecum stare.In planctu desidero.

Make me, with you, lovingly weep,With the Crucified to suffer,As long as I live.Beside the cross, to stand with you,In sorrow, I desire.

Lord, Let At Last Thine Angels Come Frank Ferko (b. 1950)

The text of this work is the final stanza of the hymn "Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart,"written by the Reformation-era pastor Martin Schalling and based on Psalms 18 and 73. Withthese old words, DWS Composer-in-Residence Frank Ferko created a tranquil new setting. Thevoices begin with spare, open chords-a texture that will eventually thicken dramatically-whilethe cello waits, then begins singing its own high, lyric response back to the choir. A haunting,ethereal new score. .

Lord, let at last Thine angels come,To Abram's bosom bear me home,That I may die unfearing;And in its narrow chamber keepMy body safe in peaceful sleepUntil Thy reappearing.

And then from death awaken meThat these mine eyes with joy may see,o Son of God, Thy glorious face,My Savior and my Fount of grace.Lord Jesus Christ,My prayer attend, my prayer attend,And I will praise Thee without end.Amen.

-Martin Schalling, ca. 1567translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1863

o Crux Knut Nystedt (b. 1915)

Born in Oslo long enough ago that it was still known as Kristiania, Knut Nystedt is currentlyNorway's musical elder statesman. A longtime church organist, professor of choral conducting atthe University of Oslo, and conductor of the Norwegian Soloists' Choir, his real legacy is as acomposer. He has written dozens of scores, most of them for choirs, and running through nearlyall of them is the braid of a deeply held religious faith. 0 Crux begins with the sopranos singingthose words (0 cross) on the note A. This is the foundational pitch in music-the tuningnote-and starting the piece here reveals Nystedt's own conviction of the cross's centrality withinChristianity. Other voices enter and move by half-steps away from A. Throughout the piece themood will tug back and forth between anguish and splendor, eventually coming to rest inwonderment.

o crux, splendidior cunctis astris,Mundo celebris,Hominibus multum amabilisSanctior universes.Quae sola fuistiDigna portare talentum mundi.Dulce lignum,Dulce clavos,Dulcia ferens pondera:Salva praesentem catervam,In tuis hodie laudibus congregatam.

o cross, more radiant than the stars,Celebrated throughout the earth,Beloved of the people,Holier than all things,Which alone was found worthyTo bear the light of the world;Blessed tree,Blessed nails,Blest the weight you bore:Save the flock which todayIs gathered to praise you.

VII. To Thy Rest

Songfor Athene John Tavener (1944)

Nearly half a billion people were riveted to their televisions in September 1997 as a flag-drapedcasket was borne on the shoulders of Welsh Guardsmen out of London's Westminster Cathedral.The funeral service for Diana, Princess of Wales was stamped with immense gravity as Song forAthene by England's John Tavener accompanied that achingly slow walk. Song actually had itsorigin in that very space. It was written for a young friend of Tavener's, a talented actress namedAthene who was killed in a 1993 cycling accident. Tavener had heard her reading Shakespeareone day in Westminster, and after her death composed this eulogy with lines from the Orthodoxliturgy and Hamlet.

Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.Alleluia. Remember me, 0 Lord, when You come into Your kingdom.Alleluia. Give rest, 0 Lord, to Your handmaid, who has fallen asleep.Alleluia. The choir of Saints have found the wellspring of life and door of Paradise.Alleluia. Life: a shadow and a dream.Alleluia. Weeping at the grave creates the song: Alleluia.Alleluia, Come, enjoy rewards and crowns I have prepared for you.Alleluia.

Soprano

Beth AlthofMarie Spar Dymit*Jodi HermansonLynette JohnsonLori LewisPamela MarentetteMelissa MoreyDawn SchuffenhauerNaomi StaruchMonica Stratton

*section leader

The Dale Warland SingersAlto

Carrie BensonAbbie BetinisGalina EricksonJoanne Halvorsen*Melissa Holm-

JohansenNatalia KojanovaMary C. Maiden-

MuellerAnna George MeekKrista Palmquist

Artistic StaffDale Warland, founder & music director

Debra Harrer, general managerMatthew Culloton, assistant conductor

Frank Ferko, composer in residenceCameron Rowe, operations manager

Matthew CuIIoton, librarianJoanne Halvorsen, wardrobe coordinator

Brian Newhouse, program annotatorDan Ober, stage crew

Cheryl Friedrichs, house manager

Tenor

Jared L. AndersonJoel C. Fischer*Eric N. HopkinsAdam JuddJustin KarchDavid NordliHal SnyderAnthony SofieGregory Tambornino

Bass

Duane AndersenJeffrey BipesMatthew Culloton*Dave JacobsonBrian KremerPatrick McDonoughMichael MeyerJack NelsonKevin Michael

NorbergTim O'BrienTerry SheetzBrian L. Steele

Administrative StaffGayle Ober, executive directorTina Meckel, director of developmentGretchen Westergard, marketing &

communications specialistElary Allen, administrative assistantBeth Pickering, business managerHelen Franczyk, marketing &

pr consultantRuth Anderson, office volunteerDick Geyerman, office volunteerJackie Steele, concert volunteer coordinator

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact the staff at the Dale Warland Singers office:

Dale Warland Singers2300 Myrtle Avenue, Suite 120St. Paul, MN 55114Tel: 651-632-5870Fax: 651-632-5873w'!:Y..W_,dalewarlandsingers.org

Recordings are available for purchase in the lobby, or call 651-632-5870 for further information aboutrecordings, or visit our website at wwY.V.dalewarlllIldsinzers.Qrg

The Dale Warland Singers is a member of Chorus America.

Activities of the Dale Warland Singers are made possible in part by a grant provided by the MinnesotaState Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature.

THE DALE WARLAND SINGERS

Now celebrating its 30th anniversary season of concerts, tours, radio broadcasts, and criticallyacclaimed recordings, the Dale Warland Singers is recognized as one of the world's foremost acappella choral ensembles. The 40-voice professional choir is based in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

The Dale Warland Singers has earned a reputation for its commitment to commissioning andperforming new choral music. The ensemble has kept the choral genre fresh and alive bycommissioning works from Dominick Argento, Stephen Paulus, Libby Larsen, Carol Barnett,George Shearing, Peter Schickele, Bernard Rands, Emma Lou Diemer, Alice Parker, JanikaVandervelde, Augusta Read Thomas, Aaron J. Kernis, and Frank Ferko among others. The DaleWarland Singers' Choral Ventures" Program solicits works from emerging composers, andthrough this program, over $150,000 in commissions has been awarded to forty-eight talentedmusicians.

In 1992, the Dale Warland Singers became the first-ever recipient of the Margaret HillisAchievement Award for Choral Excellence. The organization shares this honor only withChanticleer and the Vancouver Chamber Choir among professional choirs. The group'sextraordinary efforts on behalf of composers and new music resulted in ASCAP Awards forAdventurous Programming in 1992, 1993, 1996, and 1999.

In addition to a subscription season in the Twin Cities, the Dale Warland Singers tours throughoutthe United States and abroad. In 1990, the ensemble traveled to Stockholm and Helsinki torepresent North America at the Second World Symposium on Choral Music. During the 1999-2000 concert season, the group toured the Southeastern United States. It has appeared onGarrison Keillor's original A Prairie Home Companion and has been featured on Public RadioInternational's Saint Paul Sunday. The annual Echoes of Christmas and Cathedral Classicsbroadcasts reach listeners nationwide. This season the Dale Warland Singers made their debut atthe Ravinia Festival (July 2002) in Chicago and performed at the Sixth World Symposium onChoral Music held in the Twin Cities (August 2002).

The Dale Warland Singers also performs in collaboration with other Twin Cities artsorganizations such as the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the GreaterTwin Cities Youth Symphonies and the James Sewell Ballet.

The Dale Warland Singers record on the American Choral Catalog label, and the choir released anew recording on this label during the 1999-2000 season. Featuring Leonard Bernstein'sChichester Psalms and Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, it joins some 20 other DaleWarland Singers recordings including Blue Wheat, a collection of American folk music. TheSeattle Times called Blue Wheat, "the loveliest choral disc to emerge in a long time ... sung bywhat is probably America's best chorus." Also among the Singers' lauded releases is DecemberStillness, which BBC Music Magazine gave its highest rating for performance and sound, callingit, " ... splendid, melting stuff." The South Jersey's Courier-Post called the 1994 release ofCathedral Classics, "an unmatched musical experience," and The Oregonian stated simply,"peerless." Earlier recordings by the Singers include, Fancie, A Rose in Winter, ChristmasEchoes, Vols. 1 and 1I, Carols for Christmas, Choral Currents, as well as 12 others. The newChristmas recording, Christmas with the Dale Warland Singers, was released October of lastyear.

DALE WARLAND

Dale Warland, celebrated American musician, has made an indelible impression on the landscapeof contemporary choral music both nationally and internationally. During his time with the DaleWarland Singers, he has shaped a vocal ensemble known for its exquisite sound, technicalfinesse, and stylistic range. From this platform, Warland not only masters the traditionalrepertoire, but has commissioned over 230 new choral works.

The choral world has responded by bestowing its highest honors on Warland, including a specialaward in 2002 from Chorus America and the American Society of Composers, Authors andPublishers (AS CAP) for Warland's "pioneering vision, leadership and commitment tocommissioning and performing new choral works at the highest level of artistry." Other awardsand recognition include the 2001 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and EntrepreneurialZeal; the 2001 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award in recognition of his lifetime achievementsas a choral conductor and his continued contribution to the arts in Minnesota; and the 1995Michael Korn Founder's Award, the highest honor for a choral conductor in the United States,previously awarded to Robert Shaw, Margaret Hillis, and Roger Wagner, among others.

Warland's appearances as a guest conductor have taken him to the podiums of the Swedish RadioChoir, Danish Radio Choir, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir,Opus 7 Vocal Ensemble, the Utah Chamber Artists, the Grant Park Music Festival and Israel'sCameran Singers. Warland has also rehearsed and prepared choirs for performances of majorworks in collaboration with notable conductors and composers including Robert Shaw, Edo deWaart, Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and Kryzstof Penderecki.

Warland is committed to sharing his knowledge about the choral arts and has served on thefaculty of the All-Japan Chorus League National Competition in Fukuoka, Japan; has lectured onAmerican music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki; served on the artistic staff of the TolosaChoral Festival in Spain; acted as co-chair of both the choral and recording panels of the NationalEndowment for the Arts; and completed a 19 year tenure as Director of Choral Music atMacalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In addition to this evening's performance, Dale Warland and members of the Dale WarlandSingers gave several school performances, and coached vocal groups at the elementary, juniorhigh, high school and college levels. The Chamber Music Society of St. Cloud would like tothank several organizations and individuals who helped make this concert and the precedingoutreach activities possible:

This activity is made possible in part by a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, throughan appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, which is supplemented by funding fromprivate foundations and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

This project is also supported by the Central Minnesota Community Foundation.

We are also grateful to our corporate sponsor, Karin KUeker.

Thanks also to Fr. Steve Binsfeld and the staff and members of St. Mary's Cathedral for allowingus to use this wonderful space.

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