Hart Voices - Stainer: The Crucifixion - 28 March 2015

Hart Voices - Stainer: The Crucifixion - 28 March 2015

Stainer: The Crucifixion Music for Passiontide

Roy Rashbrook, Tenor & Conductor

James Quitmann, Baritone Michael Whytock, Organ & Associate Conductor

Stainer - The Crucifixion

- Interval -

Bach - A Sequence of Music from the St Matthew Passion

Ann Bradford - Oboe

Allegri - Miserere

Eve Borsey - Soprano 1, Catherine Schlieben - Soprano 2, Sophie Richards - Alto

Puccini - Four Movements from the Messa di Gloria

Tchaikovsky - The Crown of Roses Wood - This Joyful Eastertide


Stainer was one of the most distinguished musicians of his generation. In 1872 he was appointed organist of St Paul’s Cathedral, where he raised performance standards and greatly expanded the repertoire. He was renowned for his considerable scholarship as a researcher into and editor of early music. He was regarded as one of the foremost composers of cathedral music, and was closely involved with the compilation of Hymns Ancient & Modern, as well as being music editor of several other important publications. He was an Oxford Professor, a general inspector of music education and held presidencies of several professional bodies. As organist, conductor, composer, teacher and author, the immense contribution that Stainer made to the music of his time can scarcely be over-estimated. As is so often the case, however, all this worthy enterprise has long been forgotten, and today Stainer is remembered simply for The Crucifixion and a few rather fine anthems and hymn-tunes

John Stainer - The Crucifixion

The Crucifixion is scored for tenor and baritone soloists, mixed choir and organ. It was dedicated to Stainer’s pupil and friend William Hodge, assistant sub-organist at St Paul’s Cathedral and organist and choirmaster at Marylebone Parish Church, where the cantata was first performed in February 1887. Stainer’s intention was to provide a Passiontide cantata written in a musical language and on a scale that would put it within the scope of most parish choirs. Basing its structure on the scheme of choruses, chorales, recitatives and arias of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, the libretto was compiled by The Rev William Sparrow-Simpson, Succentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, drawing on the Gospel accounts for the narrative elements of the story and writing the texts of the choruses, arias and hymns himself. The first performance of The Crucifixion was well received, but it soon attracted fierce criticism, both for its libretto and its music. The combination of Sparrow-Simpson’s shortcomings as a poet and his excessively sentimental language was scarcely a recipe for literary success. Nevertheless, there are also passages of great beauty - the unaccompanied setting of ‘God so loved the world’, for example, which continues to be performed as an anthem in its own right.

John Bawden


1. Recit. And they came to a place named Gethsemane

2. The Agony

3. Processional to Calvary

4. Recit. And when they were come

5. The Mystery of the Divine Humiliation

[Hymn] Cross of Jesus

6. Recit. He made Himself of no reputation

7. The Majesty of the Divine Humiliation

8. Recit. And as Moses lifted up the serpent

9. Chorus God so loved the world

10. Litany of the Passion

[Hymn] Holy Jesu, by Thy Passion

11. Recit. Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them'

12. Duet So Thou liftest Thy divine petition

13. The Mystery of the Intercession

[Hymn] Jesus, the Crucified, pleads for me

14. Recit. And one of the malefactors

15. The Adoration of the Crucified

[Hymn] I adore Thee

16. Recit. When Jesus therefore saw his mother

17. Recit. Is it nothing to you?

18. [Chorus] The appeal of the Crucified

19. Recit. and Chorus

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished

20. For the Love Of Jesus

[Hymn] All for Jesu

Stainer’s setting of the seven last words from the cross, for four-part men’s chorus, is highly effective, especially since it is followed by the stark, unaccompanied final statement from the tenor soloist, ‘And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost’. How should we view The Crucifixion today? Opinions are still divided as to its worth. On the one hand there is the school of thought exemplified by this excoriating critic, writing back in 1971: ‘Sparrow-Simpson’s appalling doggerel set to Stainer’s squalid music is a monument to the inane’. On the other hand there are many who would agree with the eminent musician and former director of music at St Paul’s, Barry Rose, who writes of ‘some of the most memorable hymn-tunes we shall ever hear’ . . . ‘painting the text with music that is both thoughtful and dramatic, whilst also giving us the sublime and unsurpassed unaccompanied setting of God So Loved The World.’ Let us also not forget that Stainer’s aim was a modest one: to provide an extended Passiontide meditation which ordinary choirs could perform and to which congregations could immediately relate. At the time there was no such piece. In this respect he was undoubtedly successful, as the enduring popularity of The Crucifixion continues to testify.

John Bawden


Bach - A Sequence of Music from the St Matthew Passion

When the bureaucrats of Leipzig City Council decided in 1723 to offer the job of Director of Music at the four main city churches to one Johann Sebastian Bach, they cannot have imagined that their decision would lead directly to the composition of (amongst other great works) two of the undisputed masterpieces of all time - The Passion according to St John, and to St Matthew.

Each of these works presents the story of Christ’s betrayal, arrest, trial and crucifixion by means of chorus, orchestra, soloists and an evangelist, who presents the biblical narration in the recitative style. Here we present a short sequence of music, utilising all of these styles, taken from the second, far longer work, the St Matthew Passion. We start with O Schmerz! / Ich will bei meinem Jesu bleiben, a sublime tenor recitative and aria with oboe obbligato and choral accompaniment. This occurs immediately after the point in the story where Jesus returns from praying in the garden of Gethsemane, only to find his disciples asleep. The tenor soloist takes the role of the contemporary Christian soul, bewailing his own inability to offer Jesus support in his hour of need. In the aria, the soloist’s vows to stay awake and alert for his Lord are answered by the chorus, declaring that his sins will thereby fall asleep. This is followed by the Chorale (that is - Lutheran Hymn tune) Wenn ich ein einmal soll scheiden - in a beautifully poignant harmonisation by Bach, this coming immediately after the point of Jesus’ death on the cross. The chorus here implores Jesus to be there for them at their own departing. This is followed immediately by the Roman Centurion’s acknowledgement of Jesus as the son of God - Wahrlich, dieser ist Gottes Sohn gewesen. In the next recitative, at evening, Joseph of Arimathea pleads to Pilate for the body of Jesus, so that it can be buried. This is followed by one of the most moving moments in the whole passion, where the bass soloist reflects on the evening of Jesus’ death and the setting at eventide of other important events in the bible such as the fall of Adam and the sighting of land by Noah’s dove - Am Abend, da es kühle war. In the following aria - Mache dich, mein Herze, rein - he offers his own purified heart as a suitable resting place for Jesus. We complete this sequence with the Chorale O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden - in which the chorus reflects on how the usually beautiful head of Christ has been brought low.


Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum,

dele iniquiatatem meam. Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea:

et peccato meo munda me. Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco:

et peccatum meum contra me est semper.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; And according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Allegri - Miserere

A one-hit wonder (and, like so many other one-hit wonders, more varied in his total output than most people ever imagine), the priest-composer Allegri made his way into the history books on the strength of this Miserere. (The words come from Psalm 50/51; the English translation below first appeared in the 1662 Anglican Book of Common Prayer.) Allegri had been appointed to the Sistine Chapel choir by Pope Urban VIII in 1629, and he stayed there till his death. Over the years, a tradition emerged of adding rich ornamentation to the original score, though never in writing. These ornaments were passed from singer to singer in an oral tradition that lasted over a hundred and fifty years, making the Sistine chapel choir famous and, since they never performed outside the rather small chapel itself, exclusive. Demand grew for an authoritative printed version containing all the decorations, and both Mozart and, less famously, Mendelssohn contributed by notating performances they heard in the 18th century from memory. However, the version which we know today springs from the inept editorial cobbling together of these various sources in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, overlooking the fact that by the time Mendelssohn notated his performance in 1831, the performance practice in the Sistine chapel was to perform the entire work up a fourth - leading to that infamous top C. How curious that Allegri should mainly be remembered for notes he almost certainly did not write.


Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis,

et vincas cum judicaris. Ecce enim in iniquitatibus

conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.

Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae

manifestasti mihi. Asperges me, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me,

et super nivem dealbabor.

Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele. Cor mundum crea in me, Deus:

et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis. Ne projicias me a facie tua: et

spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.

Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me.

Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur. Libera me de sanguinibus,

Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam. Domine, labia

mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.

Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium,

dedisem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.

Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum,

Deus, non despicies. Benigne fac, Domine,

in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Jerusalem.

Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae,

oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

Against you, alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me. You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar. Psalm 51


Giacomo Puccini Four Movements from Messa di Gloria

Puccini is justly celebrated as one of the greatest opera composers, renowned particularly for La Bohème, Tosca and Madame Butterfly. He was the fourth generation of a family of church musicians from Lucca in northern Italy, and held the position of town organist and maestro di capella at the cathedral of San Paolino. He studied at the nearby Institute Musicale and in 1876 walked twenty miles to Pisa and back to hear a performance of Verdi's Aida. It was this experience that finally decided him to pursue a career in the theatre rather than the church.

However, before he could achieve this, there remained the small matter of graduating from the Pacini Musical Instutute in his home town of Lucca for which he had to submit a composition. The work he accomplished this with was the “Messa a Quatro Voci” or, as it later became known, “Messa di Gloria”. The first performance in 1880 was a great success, praised by critics and public alike, but Puccini filed it away and it was not heard again in his lifetime. In 1951 Father Dante del Fiorentino, an émigré Italian priest living in New York who had known Puccini when he was a young curate, was visiting Lucca to collect material for a biography of the composer. He came upon a copy of the mass and on his return home organised the first American performance of it in Chicago in 1952, seventy-two years after its premiere. It was sold to the American audience as the ‘rediscovery’ of a great ‘lost’ manuscript, whereas in fact it was no such thing. The work had never been lost; Puccini scholars had always known of its existence and Father Dante was by no means the first to have seen the manuscript. The real reason why it was not performed after its premiere was because Puccini quite clearly intended it to be a farewell to his association with liturgical music. Tonight, we present those sections of the mass more commonly performed during Passiontide: the Kyrie, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei.


Roy Rashbrook was educated at Dauntsey’s School, going on to study Music at Goldsmith’s College and Singing under Alexander Oliver, William McAlpine and Rudolf Piernay at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. After a brief flirtation with a career in teaching, Roy became a professional singer in 1998, joining the world famous choir of Saint Paul’s Cathedral the following year; a position which offers some precious stability in the life of a freelance musician! In addition to the broadcasts, concerts, special events and daily services there, Roy also sings regularly with such groups as The King’s Consort and The Clerks, combining their various performing, touring and recording schedules with his work as a soloist, singing teacher and conductor. He has conducted several choirs and ensembles, including the Goldsmiths’ Chorus, The University of London Union Chorus, The Hanover Singers and Candlelight Opera. He is currently musical director of two choirs: Hart Voices (Fleet, Hampshire) and The Chantry Singers (Guildford, Surrey). Roy has performed as a soloist with many of Britain’s leading orchestras including the City of London Sinfonia, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Mozart Players. In addition to performances in all London’s best-known concert venues, his work has taken him all over the country and throughout Europe as well as to Israel and the States. He has appeared on many CD recordings, film soundtracks and radio and television broadcasts, both at home and abroad. Recent conducting work includes performances of Rachamaninov’s Vespers, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Dominican Vespers, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Solomon as well as of his own close harmony arrangements of a number of songs taken from the world of film. Recent singing engagements include a recital of English and German songs in Guildford as well as various concerts as part of The Clerks’ new project, based on the theme of musical hallucinations. He was the Evangelist in last week’s performance in St Paul’s Cathedral of Bach’s St Matthew Passion. He lives in Woking with his wife and daughter, where he spends such spare time as he can get with his hobbies of record collecting, photography, cycling, hiking and learning Hungarian.

ROY RASHBROOK Tenor & Conductor

Image courtesy of Polla Rashbrook


James is a second year geography student at Grey College, Durham University. He sings with the Durham University Chamber Choir and Durham Opera Ensemble, as well as holding a choral scholarship in St John's College Chapel Choir. Operatic roles include 'Sarastro' in the Durham Opera Ensemble's production of 'The Magic Flute' in February 2014.

JAMES QUITMANN Baritone

Michael Whytock is a talented organist, pianist and composer with a degree in music and many years’ experience working as a musician.

He began studying the piano from age 7. This was followed by the organ and harpsichord, studying under Dr Christopher Kent while, alongside this, working as organist for his local church in Wiltshire. After gaining Grade 8 organ with distinction, Michael studied for, and gained a degree in music at the University of Chichester where he was accompanist to various local choirs and director and organist of the university chapel choir. It was during this time, he also gained his LTCL piano diploma. Since completing his degree Michael has been active as an accompanist, church organist, choir director, and recitalist. Alongside organ lessons with Julian Cooper, he currently works as a pianist/visiting tutor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, a post which he combines with freelance work as organist to many local churches. Michael is also active as a recitalist and has taken part in both performances with other instrumentalists and solo concerts; something he enjoys a lot. Recent venues have included St Sulpice, Paris, The Cathedral of Valvasone, Italy, and St Michael's Church Southampton.

MICHAEL WHYTOCK Organ & Associate Conductor

Outside of university, James sings with the National Youth Chamber Choir of Great Britain, with whom he toured to Salt Lake City, Utah, in February 2015, to take part in the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Conference alongside other British groups such as the King's Singers and Voces8. He has also performed extensively as a soloist throughout England. He sings regularly with Samling Academy, where he has worked with internationally renowned artists such as Caroline Dowdle, and has taken part in masterclasses with Sir Thomas Allen and Roderick Williams. In Durham, James studies under Miranda Wright, while at home in Guildford he is taught by Roy Rashbrook. James is also an accomplished flautist and rows for his college. He plans to study singing at a conservatoire after university before embarking on a career as a professional singer.


SUMMER CONCERT

Music for a Summer's Evening from Hart Voices Saturday 18 July 2015 - Victoria Hall, Hartley Wintney

Vivaldi Gloria Handel Coronation Anthems

Saturday 21 November 2015

All Saints Church, Fleet

More information at www.hartvoices.org.uk

http://www.hartvoices.org.uk/

Hart Voices is a mixed voice choir based in Fleet, Hampshire which achieves a high-standard of singing from a non-auditioned choir. We perform four concerts each year across three terms running from September to July. Our programme varies from stunning major choral works to satisfying chamber music programmes and the occasional light programme of popular numbers!

Singers are drawn not only from Fleet and the surrounding area, but also outlying towns including Guildford and Basingstoke. Choir membership is currently around 50 voices, many of whom have sung with the choir for several years. The combined experience and enthusiasm enables us to explore new musical horizons - both in repertoire and venue.

We aim to broaden our experience, strive for quality and musicality in our performances and involve young singers wherever possible. Soloists are drawn from the choir, although for more complex works we often invite professional singers to participate.

Find out more about us at: www.hartvoices.org.uk

Rehearsals - Wednesday Evenings - 8pm to 10pm All Saints Parish Centre, Church Road, Fleet

Musical Director: Roy Rashbrook

Associate Conductor: Michael Whytock

Hart Voices (Charity No. 264333) is affiliated to Making Music (the National Federation of Music Societies)

Sopranos Nessie Black Eve Borsey Ann Bradford Kath Cleeve Alison De Winter Clare Downer Angela Edwards Eszter Faulkner Anne-Mary Hine Penny Joyce Joan Kilby Katy Lethbridge Catherine Schlieben Di Tilston Kate Wickenden

Altos Katie Berry Sue Huddie Judith Layzell Liz Oliver Polla Rashbrook Angela Richards Sophie Richards Louise Shapley Carolyn Smith Fiona Smith Helen Smith Jenny Spencer Chris Townsend Pat Vidler

Tenors Deryck Martin John McCormick Hugh Walker Bill Wickenden

Basses Phil Day Richard Dexter Graham Gillies Malcolm Hitchcock Mike Huddie Richard Joyce Michael Soul

Follow us on Twitter: @hartvoices Like us on FB: facebook.com/hartvoices

Fancy joining? We don’t have a formal audition process but if you can sing in tune and read music and fancy making Wednesday night your choir night, then contact us at [email protected] or simply come along to our next rehearsal!

HART VOICES ONLINE


http://www.twitter.com/hartvoices

http://www.facebook.com/hartvoices

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http://www.facebook.com/HartVoices

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mailto:[email protected]


We joined Hart Voices about 10 years ago (2005) having been encouraged to do so for some time by fellow Hartley Wintney residents, HV Altos Llinos and Fiona. At the time, Richard was looking to be stretched in his singing life and Hart Voices seemed to fit the bill.

As luck would have it, we joined the choir just in time to go to Hungary to sing along with Polla's choir in her home town of Szombatherly. This was followed by the even better treat of returning to Hungary for Roy and Polla's wedding, at which Hart Voices gave them a regal send off!

Our time with Hart Voices has included recent trips to Vilnius in Lithuania (to sing with the wonderful Quattro Canti), as well as Barnstaple for our performance of Handel’s Solomon (with Artavian Baroque and John Marston). Both of these choirs have joined Hart Voices back in Fleet too, which is always a delight. We have also enjoyed teaming up with several local choirs for massed events in Guildford Cathedral in Brahms and Verdi's requiems; we have thoroughly enjoyed both the musical and social companionship of these choirs.

However, it has been the greatest pleasure to be part of and to work with all the lovely people who make up the wonderful Hart Voices. It is fantastic to be part of the concerts which Roy produces for HV and we particularly enjoy singing along with the first-class musicians and soloists that he books for us.

We both hope that you, the audience, enjoy it all as much as we do. We like to see you here!

Penny & Richard Joyce, March 2015

Find out more about us at: www.hartvoices.org.uk

Rehearsals - Wednesday Evenings - 8pm to 10pm All Saints Parish Centre, Church Road, Fleet

Musical Director: Roy Rashbrook

Associate Conductor: Michael Whytock

What Hart Voices Means to Me Choir Members tell us about how important being a part of the choir is to them.

This month, we hear from Penny & Richard Joyce

Richard and Penny met in Birmingham when Richard joined the choir of Penny’s parish church, adjacent to his University Hall of residence. When Richard finished his PhD, he joined the Royal Air Force as a trainee pilot and when he got his wings, they were married. Richard had sung in the University Special choir and played the organ in various places whilst Penny had been a church chorister since a youngster.

Richard's RAF career took the couple far and wide, so whenever and wherever they could, Penny & Richard joined choirs, or started them up (even as far afield as Saudi Arabia!). Since retiring to Hartley Wintney, the Joyce’s have had musical involvement in several local groups and churches, while Richard also restores and tunes pianos.


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Documents

Hart Voices - Stainer: The Crucifixion - 28 March 2015