Choral Destinations

FRIDAY July 9th, at 7:00pm ONLINE THE FIELDS: Songs of Abundance The music of Hildegard of Bingen has long been appreciated for its vernal, crystalline beauty. For our final Choral Destination, set in the beautiful mountain valleys of the North Cascades, we've paired this beloved repertoire with contemporary works by local composers John Paulson, Mitchell Fund, and Tom Walworth. Join us, along with guest ensembles Windborne and Graveyard Girls, for an adventure into a countryside springing to life. ​PROGRAM WHITACRE Sleep HILDEGARD O Frondens virga PAULSON Dream Land HILDEGARD O viridissima virga FUND In Those Fields HILDEGARD O vos felices radices WALWORTH Our View arr. WINDBORNE Earth's Burdens arr. WINDBORNE Le Diable et Le Fermier arr. KASTANAS Wayfaring Stranger arr. KASTANAS Shall We Gather At The River

John Michael Paulson is a Seattle-based Composer and Conductor. For the past 4 years, John has been the Cantor (Music Director) at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in downtown Seattle. Rossetti’s poem imagines a picturesque journey of the soul to a place, “Where sunless rivers weep their waves into the deep.” The modular musical form of this setting reflects the various landscapes traveled. The recurring and varied opening melody depicts the traveling soul and her perceptions as she journeys toward eternal joy. *** Where sunless rivers weep Their waves into the deep, She sleeps a charmed sleep: Awake her not Led by a single star, She came from very far To seek where shadows are Her pleasant lot. She left the rosy morn, She left the fields of corn, For twilight cold and lorn And water springs. Through sleep, as through a veil, She sees the sky look pale, And hears the nightingale That sadly sings. Rest, rest, a perfect rest Shed over brow and breast; Her face is toward the west, The purple land. She cannot see the grain Ripening on hill and plain; She cannot feel the rain Upon her hand. Rest, rest, for evermore Upon a mossy shore; Rest, rest at the heart’s core Till time shall cease: Sleep that no pain shall wake, Night that no morn shall break Till joy shall overtake Her perfect peace. – Christina Rossetti RADIANCE, directed by Markdavin Obenza Ruth Schauble Julia Baker Margaret Obenza Teresa Clark Sarra Sharif Doyle Orrin Doyle Cary Lee* Markdavin Obenza Tim Blok* Robin Wyatt-Stone Kevin Wyatt-Stone T.J. Callahan *Audio only

The music of Hildegard of Bingen has long been appreciated for its vernal, crystalline beauty. For our final Choral Destination, set in the beautiful mountain valleys of the North Cascades, we've paired this beloved repertoire with contemporary works by local composers John Paulson, Mitchell Fund, and Tom Walworth. Join us, along with guest ensembles Windborne and Graveyard Girls, for an adventure into a countryside springing to life. Support the broadcast by making a donation https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9PNGKBKHRTCSL ​PROGRAM WHITACRE Sleep HILDEGARD O Frondens virga PAULSON Dream Land HILDEGARD O viridissima virga FUND In Those Fields HILDEGARD O vos felices radices WALWORTH Our View arr. WINDBORNE Earth's Burdens arr. WINDBORNE Le Diable et Le Fermier arr. KASTANAS Wayfaring Stranger arr. KASTANAS Shall We Gather At The River GUEST ARTISTS GRAVEYARD GIRLS, directed by Lauren Kastanas Julia Baker Teresa Clark Lauren Kastanas Margaret Obenza Ruth Schauble Sarra Sharif Doyle WINDBORNE www.windbornesingers.com/ Lauren Breunig Jeremy Carter-Gordon Lynn Rowan Will Rowan RADIANCE, directed by Markdavin Obenza www.radiance.org Ruth Schauble Julia Baker Margaret Obenza Teresa Clark Sarra Sharif Doyle Orrin Doyle Cary Lee* Markdavin Obenza Tim Blok* Robin Wyatt-Stone Kevin Wyatt-Stone T.J. Callahan *Audio only "Le Diable et le Fermier by Le Vent du Nord" (CD Tromper le temps, 2009, Borealis Records) Lyrics & music : Nicolas Boulerice. Arrangements by Nicolas Boulerice, Simon Beaudry, Réjean Brunet, Olivier Demers Les Productions Le Vent du Nord / Editorial avenue publishing “Sleep” Music by Eric Whitacre, Words by Charles Anthony Silvestri Copyright © 2002 Walton Music Corp., a division of GIA Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The quiet humility of Shaker music and other American folk tunes take on a new dimension surrounded by the alpine forests of the North Cascades. We'll learn about the history of the Shakers and their deep musical tradition, then embark on a choral adventure to perform hymns and new arrangements by guest composer Kevin Siegfried. Support us by making a donation! https://www.radiance.org/donate PROGRAM * Sow the seeds of love and kindness SIEGFRIED Rolling On * Chosen Spot SIEGFRIED In Yonder Valley * The Savior's Cheering Promise * Holy Wisdom's Feast SIEGFRIED Morning Light SIEGFRIED I Will Walk With My Children * The Waters of Life SIEGFRIED Vum Vive Vum SIEGFRIED Now Is the Cool of the Day SIEGFRIED Wintergrace from Appalachian Carols SIEGFRIED Consolation SIEGFRIED Top of the Hill from At the Water's Edge *these are songs received at Shaker worship locations in the mid to late 1800s *** Radiance Markdavin Obenza, director Produced by Lauren Kastanas and Markdavin Obenza Video and Audio Production: Scribe Records. Markdavin Obenza, Lauren Kastanas, Julia Baker, Willimark Obenza (drone footage), Margaret Obenza. Soprano: Ruth Schauble, Julia Baker Alto: Lindsey Long, Lauren Kastanas Tenor: Markdavin Obenza, Robin Wyatt-Stone Bass: Kevin Wyatt-Stone, T.J. Callahan Recorded in February 2021 at Cle Elum, WA MUSIC “Rolling On” (2019) “Morning Light” (2020) “I Will Walk With My Children” (2017) “Now Is The Cool of the Day” (2019) “Consolation” (2016) © Copyright by Siegfried Publishing (ASCAP). Used with permission. All rights reserved. “In Yonder Valley” (1998) © Copyright by Kevin Siegfried (ASCAP). Used with permission. All rights reserved. “Vum Vive Vum” from Angel of Light “Top of the Hill” from At The Water’s Edge Copyright © 2019 by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Inc. (ASCAP), a division of ECS Publishing Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved. “Wintergrace” from Appalachian Carols Copyright © 2020 by E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Inc. (ASCAP), a division of ECS Publishing Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved. This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission.

For our first choral destination, Radiance travels to Seattle's constant companion: the sea. William Billings's epic Euroclydon anchors a program of classic American folk hymns in this unique virtual event. The unpredictable waters of the Pacific provide a fitting backdrop for the powerful, ebullient harmonies of shapenote singing. Support us by making a donation! Your contribution helps us perform and record American choral music. https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=9PNGKBKHRTCSL PROGRAM SHUMWAY Schenectady "From all that dwell below the skies" BILLINGS Euroclydon BILLINGS Jordan WATTS Windham BILLINGS Hear my pray'r, O Lord, my God WATTS Montgomery "Early, my God, without delay" WALKER Sweet Prospect "On Jordan's stormy banks I stand" WATTS Rainbow

Words by Solomon J.D. Fendell. "Love Lasts Like a Lily." Poetry Magazine May 1918: 77. Fendell's simple, alliterative poem inspired a musical setting exploring the beauty and expressivity of harmo­ny, dissonance, and meaning in each word. Tonal centers shift throughout and focus on phrases to the point of abstraction, meditating on the general theme of love, its myopic nature, its intensity, its fragility, its capri­ciousness, and its evanescense. About the composer: Stacey Philipps writes music of close, lush harmonies and contrapuntal textures, explor­ing the human experience and timbres of voices and instruments in minute, exposed detail and vibrant, sweeping gestures. A lifelong choral singer, Philipps is an early- and new-music devotee, and currently sings with the Oregon Repertory Singers. Her vocal interests extend to a love of composing choral music and art song, as well as collaborating with solo instrumentalists and chamber music ensembles. She is also a concert producer and arts advocate committed to building community by facilitating the evanescent thrill of live per­formances. Philipps holds degrees in music composition from Portland State University and in philosophy from St. John's College, Santa Fe. She is a member of the American Composers Forum, the National Associa­tion of Composers, Cascadia Composers, and ASCAP and is the proprietor of Sirensong Publishing online at www.staceyphilipps.com. *** Love lasts like a lily, Tender on Time's trail; Breathing burning beauty, Fragrant, fine, and frail.

Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) is a New York-based musician. She is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition Partita for 8 Voices. New York’s Lincoln Center commissioned Shaw along with several other Pulitzer-Prize-winning composers to write a psalm setting for The Psalms Experience, a festival of choral settings of all 150 psalms by 150 different composers. Shaw composed and the swallow, based on Psalm 84 for the occasion. Shaw selected Psalm 84 because it has to do with finding a home and celebrating the sense of safety. *** How beloved is your dwelling place, o lord of hosts, my soul yearns, faints, my heart and my flesh cry out. The sparrow found a house, and the swallow her nest, where she may raise her young. They pass through the Valley of Bakka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn also covers it with pools. *** How to make a virtual choir video - Preparing the Audio (Part 1 of 2) https://www.patreon.com/posts/mt01-how-to-make-37197291

Seattle-based vocal ensemble, Radiance, sings an arrangement of "The Old Churchyard" by Lauren Kastanas. Performed by Radiance Lauren Kastanas, soloist https://www.radiance.org/ https://www.facebook.com/radiancechoir/ Directed by Markdavin Obenza Videography: Willimark Obenza *** Come, come with me to the old churchyard I so well know those paths 'neath the soft green sward Friends slumber in there that we want to regard We will trace out their names in the old churchyard Mourn not for them for their trials are o'er Why weep for those who will weep no more? For sweet is their sleep, though cold and hard Their pillows may be in the old churchyard I know that it's vain when our friends depart To breathe kind words to a broken heart And I know that the joy of life is marred When we follow lost friends to the old churchyard But were I at rest 'neath yonder tree Why would you weep, my friends, for me? I'm so weary, so wayworn, why would you retard The peace I seek in the old churchyard? Why weep for me for I'm anxious to go To that haven of rest where no tears ever flow And I fear none my fate when it's time to depart I will set with the sun in the old churchyard I rest in the hope that one bright day Sunshine will burst through these prisons of clay The trumpets will sound in the hills near and far Will wake up the dead in the old churchyard The trumpets will sound in the hills near and far Will wake up the dead in the old churchyard