Christmas in Porto St Thomas’ Church

15th December 2013

Sunday 15th December 2013 at 3pmSt Thomas’ ChurchGoring

Christmas in Porto

Goring Chamber Choir

Michael Howell organFrances Brewitt-Taylor conductor

The retiring collection is in favour of NBFA Assisting the Elderly, whose purpose is to break the cycle of isolation for the forgotten elderly.

Please join us for wine and mince pies in the Canterbury Room after the concert.

ProgrammeIn the CathedralFour Christmas responsories (interspersed with readings)Flute: Christine RichardsonViolin: Elizabeth Parkinson

Dom Pedro de Esperança

1 Hodie nobis de coelosolo: Lesley Lambert

2 O magnum mysteriumsolo: Suzanne Smith

3 Beata Dei genitrixsolo: Audrey Rogers

4 Beata viscera Mariae Virginissolo: Jenny Boyd

In a British merchant’s house

All: Lo, he comes with clouds descending

In dulci jubilo 13th cent arr Michael PraetoriusVerbum caro factum est: Y la Virgen le dezia 16th cent villancico

In a port wine lodge

The Son of Mary Catalan trad arr D Brook-Davies

Cold December’s winds were stilled Catalan trad

All: Good King Wenceslas

In a Portuguese home

En Belén tocan a fuego villancico from Castile arr Abel di Marco

Fum fum fum Catalan arr Peter Gritton

In St James’ Anglican church

Quem pastores 14th cent arr Praetorius

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day English trad arr Carter

All: Joy to the world

In São Ildefonso

O magnum mysterium Estevão Lopes Morago

Organ solos: Ave maris stella Manoel Rodrigues Coelho

Salve regina Diogo Dias Melgas

Good King Wenceslas1 AllGood King Wenceslas looked outOn the feast of Stephen,When the snow lay round about,Deep and crisp and even;Brightly shone the moon that night, Though the frost was cruel,When a poor man came in sight,Gath’ring winter fuel.2 Gentlemen‘Hither, page, and stand by me:If thou know’st it, telling - Yonder peasant, who is he?Where and what his dwelling?

Ladies and children‘Sire, he lives a good league hence,Underneath the mountain,Right against the forest fence,By Saint Agnes’ fountain.’3 Gentlemen‘Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,Bring me pine logs hither!Thou and I will see him dineWhen we bear them thither.’

AllPage and monarch forth they went,Forth they went together,Through the rude wind’s wild lamentAnd the bitter weather.4 Ladies and children‘Sire, the night is darker now,And the wind blows stronger;Fails my heart, I know not how,I can go no longer.’

Gentlemen‘Mark my footsteps, good my page,Tread thou in them boldly;Thou shalt find the winter’s rageFreeze thy blood less coldly.’5 AllIn his master’s steps he trod,Where the snow lay dinted;Heat was in the very sodWhich the saint had printed.Therefore Christian men, be sure,Wealth or rank possessing,Ye who now will bless the poorShall yourselves find blessing.

Joy to the world1. Joy to the world! The Lord is come;Let earth receive her King!Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,And heaven and nature sing! (3 times)2. Joy to the earth! The Saviour reigns:Let men their songs employ,While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plainsRepeat the sounding joy.3. He rules the world with truth and grace,And makes the nations proveThe glories of his righteousnessAnd wonders of his love.

Audience CarolsLo, he comes1. Lo, he comes with clouds descending,Once for favoured sinners slain;Thousand, thousand saints attending,Swell the triumph of his train.Alleluia (3 times)God appears, on earth to reign.2. Every eye shall now behold himRobed in dreadful majesty;Those who set at naught and sold him,Pierced and nailed him to the tree,Deeply wailing,Shall the true Messiah see.3. The dear tokens of his PassionStill his dazzling body bears,Cause of endless exultationTo his ransomed worshippers:With what raptureGaze we on those glorious scars!4. Yea, amen! let all adore thee,High on thy eternal throne!Saviour, take the power and glory:Claim the kingdom for thine own!Alleluia!Thou shalt reign and thou alone.

Programme NotesThis programme has been devised in tribute to Goring Chamber Choir’s visit to Porto in April this year. We gave a concert in the Anglican church and took part in the Sunday morning service, and also sang in the baroque church of St Ildefonso, which has a remarkable organ dating from 1811. We visited and were shown round a port wine lodge, and in the Cathedral I found CDs of their choir, one item from which is included in this concert.

Oporto, in north west Portugal, is a city with a very long history and relationship with Britain, particularly in the field of wine production. Portuguese wines have been shipped to England from the 12th century, as soon as Portugal became an independent nation, and subsequent treaties with Britain promoted this trade and gave it preferential treatment over wines from France. In 1580 the Spanish annexed Portugal and ruled it until 1640. The Duke of Braganza was then proclaimed King John lV and Portugal regained its independence. Portuguese music flourished and an immense library was built up in Lisbon of music from all over Europe as well as music of the native tradition. Sadly the library was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. Composers such as Diogo Dias Melgas (1638-1700), very highly regarded in his lifetime, are now not well-known.

We start the concert in the narrow but tall nave of Porto’s Romanesque cathedral, looking up to a beautiful rose window. The cathedral was completed in 1321, with Gothic cloisters. It is now 1650 and the composer of the Christmas Responsories is a canon regular in the nearby Augustinian monastery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra. He is also ‘a most remarkable organ player’. These Responsories are unusual in that they specify instrumental accompaniments for the solo verses, this being a much more common practice in the secular repertoire. Each Responsory is introduced by a short Biblical passage, read in Latin as is the custom of the time.

Before Hodie nobis from an Advent antiphon and from the Advent prose:O wisdom, coming out of the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end (of the earth) and ordering all things mightily and sweetly, come and teach us the way of prudence.Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people; your salvation shall not be delayed. I will save you. Fear not, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Redeemer.

After Hodie nobis a passage from Micah, chapter 1, vv2-4:Hear, all ye people; hearken O earth, and all that therein is. For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

After O magnum mysterium a passage from Luke, ch 1, v 28, 30-31, ch 2, v7:And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

After Beata Dei Genitrix a passage from Matthew ch1, vv20, 22, 23:Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which, being interpreted is, God with us.

After Beata Viscera a passage from Psalm 96, vv 9, 13, and Psalm 97, vv 11-12:O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. For he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous.

We move to a British merchant’s house a hundred years later. In the 17th century English wine merchants had discovered the virtues of fortified wine with its enhanced flavour and stability on long journeys. The Chaplaincy of Oporto was established in 1671, so there were many families like this, celebrating Christmas in a cross-cultural way. By now Charles Wesley had written his advent hymn Lo, he comes, which might have been heard on visits home to England. The villancico was a kind of secular Spanish poetry set to music as a popular dance-song with verses and chorus. During the 16th century it developed into a madrigal-like part-song and many had religious texts for use at Christmas.

By the 1840s there was a great demand for port in Britain. Port lodges were set up along the banks of the river Douro. These families have been here for generations and are familiar with a general Iberian culture, but still enjoy carols with old tunes such as Good King Wenceslas on the virtue of charity. Portuguese homes too are not immune from the influence of other parts of the peninsula. It is 1650 again and a Portuguese king is back on the throne, but the natives of Porto have been used to singing villancicos from Galicia, Castile and Catalunya.

St James’ Anglican church was built in the first part of the 19th century and consecrated in 1843. It is cruciform in shape, which we recall tonight by singing antiphonally from all four corners of the church. It is surrounded by a high wall; English traditions are held dear here, and well-loved traditional English carols such as Tomorrow shall be my dancing day form an essential part of their Christmas celebrations. Joy to the world might well have been heard by a member of this congregation on a visit home in the 1830s.

The welcome we received and warm invitation to sing in the church of São Ildefonso is typical of Portuguese friendliness towards the British. The acoustics are marvellous and the organ in a west end gallery has a brilliant and biting tone. In April 2013 we sang Portuguese music in this church; what better place in which to hear and perform music from Portugal’s ‘Golden Age’ as 2013 comes to a close!

Frances Brewitt-Taylor

Texts and Translations Christmas Responsories:1. ResponseHodie nobis de coelo pax vera descendit.Hodie per totum mundum melliflui facti sunt caeli.This day, unto us true peace descended from heaven.This day, through all the world, honey flowed from heaven.

VerseHodie illuxit nobis dies redemptionis novae, reparationis antiquae, felicitatis aeternae.This day, unto us dawned the new redemption, the reparation of the old, eternal joy.

2. ResponseO magnum mysterium, et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, iacentem in praesepio.O great mystery, admirable sacrament, that the beasts should see the newborn Lord lying in the crib.Beata Virgo, cuius viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Christum.Blessed Virgin, whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord.

VerseAve, Maria, gratia plena: Dominus tecum.Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

3. ResponseBeata Dei genitrix Maria, cuius viscera intacta permanent.Blessed Mother of God, Mary, whose womb remained intact.Hodie genuit Salvatorem saeculi.This day is born the Saviour of all time.

VerseBeata quae credidit: quoniam perfecta sunt omnia quae dicta sunt ei a Domino.Blessed, she who believed, for perfect are all those things told her by the Lord.

4. ResponseBeata viscera Mariae Virginis, quae portaverunt aeterni Patris Filium: et beata ubera, quae lactaverunt Christum Dominum.Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father, and blessed are the breasts that suckled Christ the Lord.Qui hodie pro salute mundi de Virgine nasci dignatus est.He who deigned to be born this day of a Virgin for the salvation of the world.

VerseDies sanctificatus illuxit nobis, venite gentes et adorate Dominum.This holy day has brought us light: come O people, and worship the Lord.

Verbum caro factum est: Y la Virgen le deziaRefrainVerbum caro factum est Por que todos hos salveis.The Word is made flesh for the salvation of you all.

1. Y la Virgen le dezia: ‘Vida de la vida mia, Hijo mio que os haria,Que no tengo en que os echeis.’And the Virgin said unto him:‘Life of my life, what would I (not) do for you, my Son?Yet I have nothing on which to lay you down.

2. O riquezas terrenales,No dareis unos pañalesA Jesu que entre animales Es nascido segun veis.Oh, worldly riches!Will you not give some swaddling clothesto Jesus, who is born among the animals, as you can see?

En Belén tocan a fuego1. En Belén tocan a fuego del portal salen las llamas;porque dicen que ha nacido el Redentor de las almas.In Bethlehem, fire and flames pour forth from the stablebecause the Redeemer of souls is born, they say.RefrainBrincan y bailan los peces en el rio,brincan y bailan de ver al Dios nacido.Brincan y bailan los peces en el agua,brincan y bailan de ver nacida el alba.La, la la . . . . . The fish in the river leap and dance, they leap and dance to see God born.The fish in the water leap and dance,they leap and dance to see dawn break.

2. En el portal de Belén nació un clavel encarnado que por redimir al mundo se ha vuelto lirio morado.In the Bethlehem stable a red carnation is born,which, in redeeming the world, became a purple lily.

3. La Virgen lava pañales y los tiende en el romero;los pajaritos cantaban y el agua se iba riendo.The Virgin washes the babe’s clothes and spreads them on the rosemary,while little birds sing and the stream babbles merrily.Translation by Elisabeth Bayliss

Quem pastores

1. Quem pastores laudavere,Quibus angeli dixere:‘Absit vobis jam timere:Natus est Rex Gloriae!’Shepherds sang their praises o’er him,Called by angels to adore him:‘Have no fear, but come before him:Born is now your glorious King!’2. Ad quem magi ambulabant,Aurum, thus, myrrham portabant;Immolabant haec sincereLeoni victoriae.Eastern sages came to view him,Judah’s conquering Lion knew him,Gold, and myrhh, and incense to himAs their tribute offering.

3. Exsultemus cum MariaIn coelisti hierarchia:Natum promant voce piaDulci cum melodia.On this child, rejoicing, gaze we;Led by Mary, anthems raise we;Reverently, with angels, praise weWith the sweetest melody.4. Christo Regi, Deo nato,Per Mariam nobis dato,Merito resonet vere:‘Laus, honor, et gloria!’Christ our King, from Mary springing,God made man, salvation bringing,Thee we worship, ever singing:‘Honour, praise, and glory be!’

Salve ReginaSalve Regina, Mater misericordiae: vita dulcedo, spes nostra, salve.Hail, O Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, our hope, hail.Ad te clamamus, exules filii Evae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle. To you we cry, exiled children of Eve. To you we sigh, groaning and weeping in this vale of tears. Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte:O then, our Advocate, those merciful eyes of yours turn towards us:et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exilium ostende. and Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb, show to us after this our exile.O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.O gentle, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

ChoirMusical Director: Frances Brewitt-Taylor Sopranos:Sandy Bosher, Ginty Fay, Amanda Hines, Lesley Lambert, Valerie Loveday, Christine Richardson, Audrey Rogers, Suzanne Smith, Susan Terry, Frances ThompsonContraltos:Elisabeth Bayliss, Jenny Boyd, Myrtle Campbell, Val Cooper, Myra Cottingham, Tanya Hawley, Marilyn Purdie, Liz Rapple, Mary Rollinson, Elma Wishart, Jenny Worthington, Cassie Watcyn-JonesTenors:John Burton, Andy Button, John Cottingham, Charles Lambert, Graeme Pearce, Cliff ThorneBasses:Paul Bradstock, Elwyn Hughes, Henry Parkinson, Peter Purdie, Nigel Suffield-Jones, Tom Worthington

Choir NotesForthcoming EventsOur spring concert will take place on Saturday 17th May in St Thomas’. We plan to record our third CD at Shrewsbury in August.

We thank Warmingham Estate Agents for their continued sponsorship of our annual Christmas concert.