Vespers 2020 Music Guide

MILLIKIN UNIVERSITY®

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MUSIC GUIDE VESPERS MEANS ‘EVENING’ AND IS ONE OF THE SEVEN CANONICAL HOURS OF PRAYER.

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BELL CAROL (2017 All Choirs) William Mathias

“All the Bells on Earth Shall Ring” was the Vespers theme in 2017. Mathias’ composition was the perfect opening. The procession endeavors to reveal to audience members that bells are gifts, sounds (music if you will) offered to the manger. Indeed, the remainder of the program displayed bells in both celebratory and reflective moments. The piece was composed for Sir David Willcocks, the choirmaster who brought so much attention to the Lessons and Carols of King’s College Cambridge.

ALLELUIA (2018 University Choir) Fredrik Sixten

“Sing Alleluia” was the theme of Vespers in 2018 and Sixten’s reflective setting came early in the program giving this word, usually considered festive in mood, a sense of advent hope.

LAUDATE DOMINUM (2015 Millikin Women) Gyöngyösi Levente

Laudate Dominum has served many composers in including Mozart who used it in his well−known Solemn Vespers. Contemporary Hungarian composer Gyöngyösi combines an incessant mantra on a single note with complex rhythms for this setting of Ps. 117 (“O Praise the Lord all ye nations”). Harmonic density increases and joins the rhythmic drive to the final Alleluia where the addition of a tambourine adds a final celebratory note.

MAGNIFICAT (2017 Collegiate Chorale) Bryan Kelly

Evensong, the Anglican version of Vespers, always includes a setting of the Magnificat. Even though this is composed for English ears, Bryan Kelly’s enthusiasm for Latin American music is clearly evident in this setting from the 1960s.

GLORIA PATRI (MAGNIFICAT) (2019 All Choirs) John Rutter

The final movement of Rutter’s Magnificat gathers many of the work’s themes into a triumphant finale.

Still it seems to stand on its own as an anthem of praise. The soprano solos are interpolations of Marian texts from other liturgical moments, a reminder of the original voice of the ‘Song of Mary.’

HODIE CHRISTUS NATUS EST (2019 Millikin Women) Kelly-Marie Murphy

“This day Christ is born!” The exuberant proclamation is matched by tempo and shifting meters.

The interplay of both melodic and rhythmic motives builds to the climactic ‘Alleluia’ sung by the chorus of the angels. Intricate complexity dissolves as the choir concludes on a C major cadence.

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O SING TO THE LORD (2015 Millikin Men) Dan Davison

Syncopated and uplifting in an alternating 6 to 4 rhythm, Davison chooses a four−hand accompaniment to carry the mood.

WE PRAISE THEE O GOD (TE DEUM) (2019 Collegiate Chorale) George Frideric Handel

Te Deum is an ancient hymn of thanksgiving and praise used by composers over the ages for celebratory events, to commemorate victories or to inaugurate royalty. The choir opens with block chords that evolve into fuguettos of praise.

The usual trumpets and drums of Handel’s festive compositional arsenal are spectacularly overshadowed by the ornaments of the piccolo trumpet.

ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (2018 All Choirs) Arr. Mack Wilberg

The conclusion of the 2018 concert, Mack Wilberg’s arrangement has been featured in several previous Vespers at Millikin.

Triumphant throughout, even its four−fold modulation seems appropriate to the grandeur of the moment.

INTERMISSION

(Interview with the conductors)

GLOW (2016 All Choirs) Eric Whitacre

Whitacre’s easy harmonies pair well with the following Silent Night. The warmth of a single candle shines brightly in the dark.

SILENT NIGHT (2020 All Choirs) Michael John Trotta

This well−known text is set to new music by composer Michael John Trotta. The words provide our theme for this year’s Vespers. “All is Bright” is not merely a yearning for a post−virus world. It is an acknowledgement that much of our current condition is worth embracing. There is light midst the darkness. We notice blessings previously unseen in the glare of 21st century living. As our pupils contract, a simple glow becomes significant. Our incessant searching, shuttered by our present circumstance can now focus on details of the less. Here we find meaning in silence, connection in relationships, purpose in helping others. The light we seek comes from the most unusual places, like a manger.

The virtual choir presentation required each singer to unify interpretive elements in isolation. Alterations of dynamics and tempo were executed by individuals with no reference to other singers. Mike Englehardt (audio) and Andre Rhoden (video) built the whole from these separate files. This is our way of bridging these difficult times and saying, “Vespers lives On! We will sing together again!”

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FESTIVAL FIRST NOWELL (2017 All Choirs and Audience) Arr. Dan Forrest

Every Vespers includes three or four audience carols. Students often speak of these moments with amazement as every voice in the hall joins with one spirit in a singular purpose. We have included Forrest’s arrangement of this carol for several years running. Whether it is because of the solemn undergirding of low brass at the start or the florid fanfares and soaring descant at the conclusion, his arrangement never fails to move us: “Then let us all with one accord sing praises‥”

EIT BARN ER FODT I BETHLEHEM (2018 University Choir/Collegiate Chorale) Orjan Matre

Largely unknown in our country, this carol frequents Scandinavian celebrations. Its folksy and mystical quality provides unique variation in mood.

BRIGHTEST AND BEST (2019 Millikin Men) Arr. Shawn Kirchner

Shawn Kirchner recasts this Early American tune with fiddles in a folk−like setting well suited for men’s voices.

CAROLS AROUND THE WORLD

Natufurahi Siku Ya Leo (Kenya) (2019 Collegiate Chorale) Llega La Navidad! (Domnican Republic) (2015 Millikin Women) Suo Gan (Wales) (2017 University Choir) Alilo (Republic of Georgia) (2019 Millikin Men) Always a favorite moment in Vespers, the quick geographical jump around the world reminds us of the unique ways different cultures celebrate the season.

SOMBODY TALKIN’ ‘BOUT JESUS (2015 University Choir) Stacey Gibbs

Arranger Stacey Gibbs is arguably the most prolific arranger of Spirituals living today. His recasting of these well−known tunes always seems fresh.

O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL (2020 One Voice) Take 6

One Voice performs the challenging voicings of Take 6. Though the group has a long history of success and those attuned to the vocal−jazz genre know them well, this is their first appearance on Vespers.

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NOEL (2015 All Choirs) Arr. B. Holmes

Written by the child of missionary parents, Noel draws on the sounds learned by Todd Smith while living among the Congolese.

STILL STILL STILL (2016 All Choirs) Arr. Norman Luboff

One of the ‘standards’ of seasonal repertoire, in 2016 this Austrian carol became a reflective moment just before the triumphant finale. It occupies the same purpose here.

DONA NOBIS PACEM (2019 All choirs) Z. Randall Stroope

Randall Stroope’s setting of Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) has both started and concluded several past Vespers performances. The solo soprano is joined by full choir imploring the Almighty for peace. Then, in angular and discordant harmony, the chorus recites the prophet Isaiah’s vision of peace. The dream has yet to be realized. But the closing hymn tune (Hyfrodol) is both prophetic and triumphant, pleading and hopeful, present and future. “All Is Bright.”

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