January 18, 2014 • 3:00 pmMesquite Arts CenterKen Davis, conductorClinton Barrick, accompanist

KEN DAviSchorale

Exsultate Deo ...........................................................................................................Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Os Justi meditabitur sapientiam ...................................................................................................... Anton Bruckner

Gloria, from Coronation Mass in C-major, K. 317 ..........................................................Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Come to Me, My Love ..................................................................................................................Norman Dello Joio

Tafellied ...........................................................................................................................................Johannes Brahms

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Good Ale, from When Icicles Hang .......................................................................................................... John Rutter

Pilgrims’ Hymn, from The Three Hermits ..........................................................................................Stephen Paulus

O whistle and I’ll come to ye ..................................................................................................arr. Mack Wilberg

Tundra ..............................................................................................................................................Ola Gjeilo

i carry your heart with me ....................................................................................................... David C. Dickau

The Gift to be Simple .......................................................................................................................arr. Bob Chilcott

Sinner Man .............................................................................................................................arr. Howard A. RobertsP R

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ELWhether he is holding a paintbrush or baton, Ken Davis is committed to actively producing images and sounds of extraordinary meaning and beauty. Deeply passionate about a life in the arts, he holds degrees in education, music, theology and the liberal arts. Davis completed a doctorate in conducting at the prestigious Eastman School of Music and worked for over 25 years as a college choral conductor. He has studied with Don Neuen, Roger Wagner, Alfred Mann and has sung with Robert Shaw in Atlanta, France and New York. His ensembles have toured Europe many times and have performed in Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, on The Today Show and Good Morning America, as well as, at Regional and National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. His faculty appointments include Western Kentucky University, Texas Tech University and St. Johns College. His life changed forever when he took a course in Plein Air painting in 2001. What began as a hobby, became a passion and is now an obsession. Since that time he has pursued serious study with Albert Handell, Matt Smith, Richard McKinley and Kevin Macpherson. He recently made the decision to undertake painting full time and now spends the majority of his time painting in the field or working in the studio. He remains active as a guest conductor and workshop clinician, and is thrilled to conduct this new professional choral ensemble.

Clinton Barrick is Director of Programming for the network of radio stations that comprise Texas Tech Public Media. Mr. Barrick is a staff pianist at the Texas Tech University School of Music where he plays for the University Choir as well as faculty and select students. Mr. Barrick has written program annotations for concerts at Texas Tech and has been published in the periodical, Classical Singer.

KEN DAVIS

www.kendavischorale.com

Brad AllenCullen AllenDara AllenLaura AllenJeannie BarrickKristen BarronTamara BayoKristen BennettPhilip BenthamJana BishopBrandon BohannonChris BohannonKelly BohannonMarcy BohannonJeremy BrownDebbie BufordBecky ByersAlana CarreonMegan CloweChristy CorderDoyle CorderSusan DavenportTraci DavidsonDeidra DavisCarol EganEd EllsworthJana EllsworthAmanda EvansClay FergusonKristin FergusonMary FergusonKatie FoxJenny Fridge

Michelle GarciaGabe GonzalesMonica HutchisonRebecca JacksonLori JohnstonKathryn KendallAmy LoterBryce LowranceMichael MadridShannon MageeKelly McClendonMitzi MeekTill MeynPaula OlsenArian OrlandoSara ProodianAngie RamosChris RayBrad ReidDanny SalazarRebekah SchroederJustin ShumakerEric SkilesHal SnyderJonathan StilleyTony TasilloAmy TriggsThomas TriplettStephen VanoJody WassonAnna WilkersonDawn WilliamsJ.T. WilliamsNikki Wilson

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S

B O A R D of D I R E C T O R S

Ken Davis, Artistic Director, conductorJenny Fridge, PresidentAmanda Evans, MembershipKristin Ferguson, MarketingCarol Egan, SecretaryHal Snyder, Treasurer

Kathryn Kendall, SalesDawn Williams, WebmasterBecky Byers Debra Buford Susan Davenport David Gaschen Gabe Gonzales Bryce Lowrance Michael Madrid

n Conductor's Circle $2500 and aboveKen & Elise Davis

n Benefactor $1000-$2499

n Patron $500-$999Jenny FridgeMike & Michelle GarciaRobert HillCorey KershawArian OrlandoJoe Peters

n Sponsor $250-$499Joe & Kristin FergusonJody Wasson

n Donor $100-$249Debbie BufordBill & Pam CrumrineSusan DavenportKevin & Carol Egan

D O N A T I O N S

Michael MarcadesBrad Olesen Chris Ray Danny Salazar Eric SkilesJill Smith Jonathan Stilley Stephen Vano Jody Wasson Anna Wilkerson

Brad & Amanda EvansSusan FridgeJeff & Kathryn KendallRebekah SchroederStephen & Mary Vano

n Friend to $99Megan CloweJudith Ann GraafSharon KohoutChris & Karen RayDale & Marnie Sanders

Please join us for our next concert: July 28, 2014, 4:00 p.m. at the Texas Choral Directors Association Convention, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, TX.

Lucy Tamez Creech, Go-Diva Catering • Kristin Ferguson, TMI Hospitality • Christina Flores, Mesquite Arts Center • Thi Ha, AMC Music • Michael Madrid • Pat Maines, Graphic Art • Parks Printing • Michael Templeton • Fred Thurman, Freemon, Shapard, and Storey, certified public accountants • Stephen Vano

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Parial funding of this concert is provided by: THE MESQUITE ARTS COUNCIL.

PROGRAM NOTES

Exsultate Deo by G.P. da Palestrina is a marvelous example of high renaissance polyphony. Written for five voices, this motet was published in 1584 in the composer’s Fifth Book of Motets and is based on the first three verses of Psalm 80. Palestrina’s music is often characterized by a reserved approach, seeking a musical balance in all things. However, in Exsultate Deo, we hear a clear motivic evocation of the text reminiscent of the madrigals of this time. As the music rises and falls, it is clear that Palestrina was moved by this joyous text.

Os Justi meditabitur sapientiam (Gradual), comes from a collection of three ‘Graduals’ for the Church year set to music by the Romantic composer, Anton Bruckner. In this piece, a stunning realization of the four sections of text is achieved through a mixture of homophony and counterpoint. The four-part fugal section is redolent of the Psalm text, conjuring images of ‘tongues speaking judgment’ (et lingua ejus

loquetur judiciam). The rich tone color and expressive nature of this composition make it a jewel in the world of choral literature.

W.A. Mozart’s Mass in C-major “Coronation”, was written in 1779 during the composer’s appointment as court organist to Prince-Archbishop Colloredo in Salzburg. It received its nickname from the performance of the mass during the coronation of Leopold II as king of Bohemia in 1791. The mass is in the ‘missa brevis’ tradition characterized by its homophonic setting with little text repetition and shortened movements. It is also an example of the ‘symphonic’ style of mass utilizing the symphonic musical forms for its movement structure. The “Gloria” from the Mass in C-major is a succinct sonata form. The development section begins on the threefold prayer ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’ and reaches the recapitulation at “Quoniam”, combining the second subject in the orchestra with the ‘Amen’ sung by the soloists.

American composer, Norman Dello Joio, composed Come to Me, My Love for his second wife in 1973, the year before they were to be married and the year after his marriage of 29 years had collapsed. The composition is a personal reflection of love lost and hope of new love again. This sentiment is captured in the wistful text of Christina Rossetti’s poem revised and edited by the composer. In Dello Joio’s version of the poem, the first stanza is looking back to a lost love characterized by dissonance and tension in the music. The second stanza speaks of acceptance and understanding with soaring vocal lines and consonant resolutions that liberate the listener in the final cadence.

Tafellied by Johannes Brahms is a ‘tour de force’ of choral writing. Written as a drinking song in 1885, Brahms works the Eichendorff text into a toast; the three-part female voices toasting the three-part male voices and so on, until the groups come together in an exciting final stanza. One can almost hear the glasses “clink”

as the voices are united in this spirited ending.

In the early 1970’s John Rutter received a commission for a “seasonal” piece of music for winter, not necessarily associated with Christmas. The result was When Icicles Hang, a six-movement work for boys’ choir, mixed chorus and orchestra. The third movement titled ‘Good Ale’ is a delicious romp for mixed chorus and orchestra. The text comes from Elizabethan poetry and makes the claim that no foods satisfy man’s hunger like “Good Ale”!

“Pilgrims’ Hymn” comes from composer Stephen Paulus’ one-act church opera The Three Hermits. The opera is based on an old Russian folk tale which Tolstoy collected and Michael Dennis Browne adapted into a libretto. The story ends with a profound lesson on humility and is masterfully set to music by Paulus. Pilgrims’ Hymn is the final piece in the opera and provides hope to all those who believe.

Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of O whistle and I’ll come to ye comes from a collection of three Scottish folksongs for mixed voices and piano duet. In O whistle, the arranger works the traditional Scottish melody into a dance, taking full advantage of the compound meter and its lilting style. The voices alternate carrying the melodic line while the piano duet creates momentum until the final soprano solo.

Tundra is a sweeping, atmospheric work originally written for women’s voices and piano by the contemporary Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. The text was written specifically for the work by poet Charles A. Silverstri after the composer had shared the title and photos of his native Norway. The result is a unique choral offering filled with a variety of textures, colors and moments of intense beauty.

David Dickau’s setting of i carry your heart with me captures the warmth and abundant optimism found in E. E. Cummings versatile text. The composer paints his music with broad strokes

producing a rich harmonic texture all the while maintaining the rhythmic energy through homophony and beautiful rhapsodic piano accompaniment.

The Gift To Be Simple is a clever arrangement of a traditional Shaker tune by Bob Chilcott for The King’s Singers. Using syncopated rhythms and irregular meters, Chilcott masterfully folds the popular melody into a sophisticated structure without losing any of its charm. This arrangement is a joy to sing and a delight for the ears.

Of the many arrangements of the spiritual, Sinner Man, Howard A. Roberts’ treatment of this text is one of the finest around. Like many spirituals, Roberts employs a traditional “call and response” in the form of soloist and chorus. Additional intensity is created by syncopated rhythms, dynamic manipulation, and full use of the vocal range. The message of repentance is on the tongues of every singer in this exciting finale.

— Stephen Vano