Britten Brahms Bennett
Saturday 24th August 2013, 10pm St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh
WELCOME TO THIS EVENING’S CONCERT The National Youth Choir of Scotland was established in 1996 to provide opportunities for young people, teachers and choir directors to support and develop choral singing across Scotland. NYCoS activities now include four National Choirs, a growing network of Area Choirs across Scotland, Mini Music Makers classes and a broad range of educational projects. NYCoS also commissions and publishes a range of publications, songbooks and educational resources.
This Evening’s Concert Includes NYCoS National Girls Choir NYCoS National Girls Choir was formed in 2007 to give girls aged 13-16 the opportunity to sing at national level. In 2010 a Training Choir was added and the age range increased to include 12 year olds. In its short lifetime the National Girls Choir has recorded two CDs (on sale tonight), taken part in the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, the Lammermuir Festival and two performances in Edinburgh International Festival. Next month the choir will make a return visit to the Lammermuir Festival and the 2013 season will finish with two Christmas concert on 14th December in St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow and on 15th December in St Cuthbert’s Church, Edinburgh. NYCoS Scotland NYCoS tours internationally every three years. The singers in the touring choir are offered a two-year membership and, in the tour year, a second group is formed named NYCoS Scotland - the group you will hear tonight. At the top of our pyramid of choirs in 2013 we have NYCoS Scotland, generally at the younger end of our 16-24 age range, and the 120 strong NYCoS Tour Choir, which gave a performance of Fauré Requiem with Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra last week in the Usher Hall. NYCoS Scotland is performing in both of our concerts in St Giles’ Cathedral this weekend.
NYCoS NATIONAL GIRLS CHOIR CONDUCTOR
Christopher Bell
NYCoS SCOTLAND CONDUCTOR
Mark Evans
St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh Saturday 24th August, 10pm
Please SWITCH OFF your mobile phone Please note that it is not permitted to make video or sound recordings or to take photographs during the performance All details correct at time of going to print
PRINCIPAL SUPPORTERS:
EDUCATION PARTNER:
PROGRAMME
NYCoS NATIONAL GIRLS CHOIR Missa Brevis Britten
Conductor
Christopher Bell
Organ Stephen Doughty
Ges채nge f체r Frauenchor
Conductor
Brahms
Christopher Bell
Horns Alec Frank-Gemmill Harry Johnstone Harp Sharron Griffiths
A Ceremony of Carols
Conductors
Britten
Christopher Bell
Andrew Nunn Harp Sharron Griffiths
NYCoS SCOTLAND A Little Jazz Mass Chilcott
Conductor Mark Evans Piano Richard Michael Bass Paul Michael Drums Mike Clowes
NYCoS NATIONAL GIRLS CHOIR A Song at Evening Bennett
Conductor
Christopher Bell
Harp Sharron Griffiths
CONDUCTOR - Christopher Bell Belfast born Christopher Bell is the Artistic Director of NYCoS. Alongside that he currently holds posts as Chorus Director of the Grant Park Chorus, Chicago, Chorusmaster of the RSNO Junior Chorus and the Edinburgh Festival Chorus. In 2009 he became Associate Conductor of Ulster Orchestra. Christopher has worked with many of the major orchestras in the UK and Eire, including the Royal Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, BBC Scottish Symphony, Ulster, Scottish Chamber, City of London Sinfonia, London Concert, RTE National Symphony, RTE Concert and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras. He was largely responsible for the formation of the National Youth Choir of Scotland in 1996 and has been its Artistic Director since then. The organisation has grown, not only as a choral group with four national choirs and area choirs across Scotland, but as a provider of educational training and resources for teachers and choir directors. Christopher Bell has received the following awards: a Scotsman of the Year 2001 for Creative Talent, the Charles Groves Prize in 2003 for his contribution to cultural life in Scotland and the rest of the UK, an Honorary Masters Degree from the Open University for Services to the Arts in 2009. In 2012 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in recognition of his contribution to the performing arts in Scotland and in 2013 was awarded the Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art.
CONDUCTOR - Mark Evans Mark studied music at Glasgow University, specialising in musicology, before moving to Lithuania where he studied choral conducting at the Lithuanian Music Academy and later also with Christopher Bell. The first joint Alexander Gibson Conducting Fellow with the RSNO Chorus, he worked with Takuo Yuasa, Alexander Lazarev, Gary Walker and with Walter Weller as assistant chorus master on the Chorus’ tour to Denmark. Mark is currently Head of Music at Douglas Academy in Milngavie, where amongst many other activities he directs a 100 strong senior choir, and a chamber choir. He has been Director of the NYCoS Edinburgh Choir since 2005 and is the Musical Director of Voice Factory, The Strathendrick Singers, and the Aberdeen International Youth Festival. As well as working with NYCoS, Mark has worked with NYCoS Chamber Choir, NYCoS Training Choir, has been a choral coach with NYCoS National Girls Choir for the past four years and has been director of NGC Training Choir since 2011.
CONDUCTOR - Andrew Nunn An MMus and BMus(Hons) graduate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Andrew is currently working for a Masters in conducting, specialising in choral music, under the tutelage of Alasdair Mitchell and Gordon Wilson. Andrew is Musical Director of the highly acclaimed Les Sirènes Female Chamber Choir, which he led to victory in the 2012 Choir of the Year competition. In February 2012 he became the first Student Conductor of NYCoS, helping to prepare the flagship choir for performances at the BBC Proms and the Edinburgh International Festival. A year later, Andrew became the Choir’s Conducting Fellow, funded by the BBC Performing Arts Fund. The recipient of The Sir Alexander Gibson Memorial Fellowship for Choral Conductors with the RSNO Chorus in 2011, Andrew is also Conductor of the Junior Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Chamber Choir, Thomas Coats Memorial Choral Society, Hutcheson’s Choral Society and Carlisle Community Choir, Assistant Tutor for the Yorkshire Youth Choir and Director of Choirs at the East Glasgow Music School.
ORGAN - Stephen Doughty Stephen Doughty read Music at the University of Edinburgh before graduating with a Masters Degree from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1997. He is currently accompanist to the NYCoS National Girls Choir, and is a freelance accompanist of students and professional musicians. In addition, he is Organist and Director of Music of St. John’s, Princes Street, Edinburgh and Musical Director of East Lothian-based Garleton Singers. In 2012 he was appointed Chorusmaster of Belfast Philharmonic Choir. Stephen has studied choral and orchestral conducting at Dartington and Canford International Summer Schools and was the joint holder of the first Alexander Gibson Memorial Scholarship in Choral Conducting with the RSNO Chorus. He is in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, particularly of children’s songs, with commissions from, among others, Children’s Classic Concerts, the Ulster Orchestra, the RSNO and the National Youth Choir of Scotland. The BBC commissioned an arrangement of Canan nan Gaidheal which was performed at Proms in the Park 2008, subsequently broadcast during the launch of BBC Alba. In addition he is an Examiner for ABRSM.
HORNS - Alec Frank-Gemmill and Harry Johnstone Alec Frank-Gemmill is Principal Horn of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He also appears regularly with other ensembles as soloist, chamber musician or first horn. Recent concerto highlights include Strauss with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and Haydn with Sinfonietta Köln. As guest principal horn he has appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Chamber Orchestra of Europe this year alone. After taking part in Open Chamber Music at Prussia Cove in 2012, Alec was invited to perform the Brahms Horn Trio and Mozart Horn Quintet on a five-concert tour which concludes at the Wigmore Hall this October. Harry Johnstone, from Kirkcaldy, gained his earliest musical experience in the brass bands of the area before going on to study horn at the RSAMD and at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His professional activities since that time have included appointments with the RSNO and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. As well as playing Second Horn with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, he is also active in performing with SCO Brass, SCO Wind chamber music, and horn teaching.
HARP - Sharron Griffiths A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity College of Music, Sharron works regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Northern Sinfonia and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. She has also freelanced with, among others, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and RTE National Symphony Orchestra. Sharron recently performed duo concerts with the Scottish Tenor Jamie MacDougall and Debussy’s Danse Sacrée et danse profane with the Northern Sinfonia. She is a member of the Clyde Ensemble, Solway trio and performs regularly with many established ensembles, including the Paragon Ensemble, Scottish Voices and the RSNO Glasgow Quartet, at concerts & festivals including the Lammermuir Festival, Cottiers Chamber Project, Edinburgh Festival, North Yorkshire Moors Festival, Celtic Connections, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, Manchester Midday Series, UKLA festival in Los Angeles, T-in-the-Park and the Belladrum Festival. Sharron currently teaches at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Hutchesons’ Grammar School and the National Children’s Orchestra of Scotland.
JAZZ PIANO - Richard Michael Richard is one of Scotland’s most versatile musicians, who has influenced a generation of teachers and students with his innovative methods of teaching improvisation through thirty years work with Fife Youth Jazz Orchestra (FYJO) and a career as composer, performer and workshop leader. As a composer, Richard has written for artistes as diverse as Colin Currie, Georgie Fame, Tommy Smith and Guy Barker. His many works for FYJO have been recorded and broadcast. A documentary programme for BBC2’s Young Musician of the Year in 1996 brought his teaching methods to a wider audience. As a pianist and organist, Richard gives recitals on The Art of Improvisation, and can improvise in any key, in any style at the merest hint of a theme! He is Radio Scotland’s ‘Jazz Jargonbuster’, demonstrates many styles in ‘The Jazz House‘, and has opened up classical music to a new audience in ‘Classics Uncovered’. His most recent work is ‘Listen Up’, a new Young Persons Guide to the instruments of the Orchestra, Big Band, Folk Group and Rock Band based on Jeremiah Clarke’s famous Trumpet Tune. It has received much praise as a major work to attract the interest of youngsters toward playing a musical instrument.
BASS - Paul Michael An experienced music tutor, Paul has been involved in jazz courses at Trinity Summer School, the International Jazz Summer School and various workshops with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As an active musician he has played with many great UK jazz musicians including Julian Joseph, Liane Carroll and Mark Lockheart at venues such as Ronnie Scotts, The Vortex, Bulls Head and Queen Elizabeth Hall. Paul currently tours the UK and Europe with his group ‘It Hugs Back’, working alongside artists such as Paloma Faith, Tony Christie and Beverly Knight.
NYCoS NATIONAL GIRLS CHOIR SOPRANO 1 Sarah Anderson Lola Bingham Emma Burnett Louise Cameron Isla Cartwright Brodie Cummins Georgina Kemp Katie MacKenzie Yasmin Mair Rachel McLean Ella Munro Hannah Murray Victoria Orr Katie Reynolds Alison Ross Kirsty Stirling Anna Swan Kirstie Wilson Alice Yeoman
SOPRANO 2 Mairi Bell Ava Dinwoodie Ciara Ewing Lorna Fraser Mhairi Gibson Karla Grant Beth Hanley Sophie Kelly Jasmine Leila Katie Marshall Gabriella McGrath Lauren McKinney Caitlin Morgan Catriona Murphy Rebecca Roberts Emily Rourke Mhairi Sharp Samantha Sodden Rebecca Tait Jana Tobin Lily Waterton Rebecca-Louise Wolfenden
ALTO Aileen Baker Hayley Clark Olivia Downes Jennifer Downie Kim Erskine Martha Götz Freya Ireland Bethany Mackay Kirsty MacKenzie Ailsa Millar Alice Murray Caitlin O’Donnell Leonie Page Sara Pearce Rebecca Pennykid Kerry Randfield Eilidh Ross Julia Stevens Rosalyn Thomson Rebekah Wilson-Pearce
NYCoS SCOTLAND SOPRANO Tamsin Birch Sally Carr Yolanda Cowen Tamsin Drysdale Georgia Gage Jennifer Halliday Isla MacEwan Christina Menzies Karen Proctor Tamsin Raitt Erin Tinney Jessica Turner Joanne Wright
ALTO Rebecca Anderson Katie Athorne Emma Blake Eilidh Bremner Amanda Connelly Helen Lee Ailie MacDougall Anna MacLeod Victoria McEleny Rachel Mulholland Carla Page Rebecca Shaw Sophie Stuart-Menteth Moira Watkins
BARITONE Peter Barrowman Cahal Gallagher Calum Hayes Andrew Kearney Angus Macnaughton Rory McLatchie Iain Parker Stuart Pauly Duncan Pirie Michael Scanlon Andrew Stevens Kenneth Thomson-Duncan Conrad Watt
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk on 22 November 1913. Although he was already composing vigorously as a child, he nonetheless felt the importance of solid guidance and in 1928 turned to the composer Frank Bridge; two years later he went to the Royal College of Music in London, studying with Arthur Benjamin, Harold Samuel and John Ireland. In May 1939, Britten and his close friend, tenor Peter Pears, set out for a three-month visit to North America. Before they could arrange their return to England, World War II broke out, prompting Britten and Pears to stay in the USA, primarily in New York, earning a living by composing and performing. After almost three years, they decided to return to England. En route, they stopped in Nova Scotia, where Britten came upon The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems, a collection of mostly anonymous medieaval texts. Despite the difficulty and terror of a transatlantic crossing at the height of U-boat activity, he began setting some of the poems for choir and harp, having just familiarised himself with said instrument after receiving a commission to compose a harp concerto. Eight of these polyphonic settings later became the collection we know as A Ceremony of Carols. This work begins and ends with statements of the Gregorian chant “Hodie Christus Natus Est” (“Christ is born today”), and midway through the set is an astounding interlude for harp solo that features this same plainchant tune. The carols themselves show a remarkable diversity of styles, from the jubilant exultations of Wolcume Yule and Deo Gracias, to the pastoral solos of That Yongë Child and Balulalow, to the martial urgency of This Little Babe’s expanding canon -- and whose vivid “holy war” between the infant and Satan must surely have been inspired by the real-life World War. Originally conceived for women’s voices, this work was published for treble voices in 1942; the ‘child-like’ ostinato patterns together with the quality of innocence and nostalgia help make A Ceremony of Carols the perfect setting for the utterly enchanting, pure voices of a young persons choir. Like A Ceremony of Carols, Britten’s Missa Brevis is one of his most performed and well-loved works for upper voices. Composed on Trinity Sunday, 1959, and Britten’s first published setting of the Mass, it is written for three-part treble chorus and organ. The printed dedication reads “For George Malcolm and the boys of Westminster Cathedral Choir”. Lavishly inventive, its harmonic exploration is illuminating, as is the evolution of its themes, created mostly from plainchant and motives built on fourths. Compiled by David Fettes
Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg on 7 May 1833. Composed in 1860 for the Hamburg women’s choir that Brahms had founded the previous year, the Gesänge für Frauenchor are settings of poetic laments; each dealing with unrequited love, death or dying in some form. Written for three-part women’s chorus Brahms’ work is set apart by the nature of the accompaniment: the exceedingly romantic combination of two horns and harp. Brahms wrote exquisitely for horn but completely neglected the harp, except in his choral work Nänie and for a few measures of his German Requiem. He remarked that he was not particularly fond of “this dangerously ostentatious instrument”. Therefore, it is surprising to hear how very well he wrote for it. Clara Schumann wrote to Brahms, “What made you think of a harp and horns? I cannot imagine what the combination of these instruments would sound like, but it would certainly be something quite uncommon if not actually spellbinding.” Schumann teased Brahms, “There must have been a very pretty girl in your choir who happened to play the harp and for whom you composed the piece.” The first song, Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang, features Friederich Ruperti’s passionately inconsolable text as two long-breathed melodies; the first a folk songlike tune followed by an arching sigh. Beneath the voices, the harp continues its lush major/minor harmonies with the solo horn punctuating the two phrases of the melody with a C major arpeggio. Lied von Shakespeare is a brief but heartbreakingly beautiful song taken from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In the Duke of Orsino’s house, the Duke and Viola discuss love when Feste the fool is asked to sing this ‘ancient’ song. The seeming simplicity of Brahms’ setting is offset by the intricacy of his phrasing and the graceful complexity of his modulation. The third song is a strophic setting of Joseph von Eichendorff’s two-verse poem, Der Gärtner. Harmonically and rhythmically straightforward, this song tells of unrequited love and exhibits Brahms’ use of unusual, graceful, and masterful phrasing. The final song, Gesang aus Fingal, is a lament for the death of Scottish warrior, Trenar, based on the text of James Macpherson’s 1762 work Fingal under his alias, Ossian. The first section is a grim-faced funeral march in which Brahms makes clever use of dactylic rhythm. The second section opens with the work’s first instance of four-part vocal harmony, unaccompanied, followed by cautious, yet effective, instrumental accompaniment before a powerful return to the beginning. Compiled by David Fettes
Richard Rodney Bennett (1936 - 2012) One of the most versatile musicians of his generation, Richard Rodney Bennett was at the forefront of British composers for nearly half a century. His original compositions include numerous orchestral works, chamber, choral and piano works, ballets, songs, madrigals, jazz pieces and many award-winning film scores and music for television, from Far from the Madding Crowd, Billion Dollar Brain and Murder on the Orient Express to Four Weddings and a Funeral, Doctor Who and Titus Groan. Bennett was born on 29 March 1936 into a musical family in Broadstairs, on the Kent coast, and began composing as a child. His mother, who had been a student of Gustav Holst at St Paul’s Girls’ School, began teaching him piano from the age of five. In 1953 a scholarship took him to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied with Lennox Berkeley and Howard Ferguson. He has been described as ‘the most spectacular rising star on the British musical scene in the Fifties’. Since he has a gift for memorable, quintessentially English melody and an instinctive lyric responsiveness to English poetry, Bennett has been able to produce a distinctive, highly attractive and varied and consistently imaginative body of choral work over a period of almost 50 years. Moreover his extensive knowledge of English lyric poetry enabled Bennett to choose a wide and often fascinating range of texts for appropriate setting. Renowned for his practicality and ability to adapt to any level or idiom, Bennett was able to produce many works for children and young performers. Though they encompass a wide range of texts and approaches, they are all marked by perfect adaptation of words to music, an attractive melodic appeal, wit, humour, pathos and notable economy of means. A Song at Evening, a setting of texts gathered by Walter de la Mare into a poem titled ‘Before Sleeping’, is a beautifully shaped occasional piece from 2009, written to mark the retirement of Christopher Berriman as Director of Music at Northbourne Park. © 2012 by Malcolm MacDonald
Bob Chilcott (1955 - ) Bob Chilcott is one of the busiest and most popular choral composers and conductors in Britain today. He has been involved in choral music for most of his life. He was a boy chorister and then a tenor choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and later sang with, composed and arranged for the celebrated King’s Singers. Since 1997 he has worked as a full-time composer. Today, Bob is in great demand internationally as composer, conductor and choral consultant. He has been invited to appear at many important international festivals, and has worked with some of the world’s leading choral ensembles. At home, he is currently Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers. Bob Chilcott’s singing experience has given him an inside knowledge of an exceptionally wide range of music, and this is reflected in the eclectic nature of his own compositions which, whilst remaining within the mainstream English choral tradition, are variously inspired by folksongs, Gregorian chant, Anglican hymns, spirituals, jazz, close-harmony, gospel and African music. During his time with the King’s Singers, Chilcott had the good fortune to work with such jazz luminaries as George Shearing, Richard Rodney Bennett and John Dankworth. His wonderful setting of the Latin Missa Brevis, A Little Jazz Mass, was composed for the 2004 Crescent City Choral Festival, New Orleans. A relaxed, easy tempo Kyrie is followed by a Gloria with driving, upbeat outer sections enclosing a lyrical central section. The music of the Sanctus could be described as a ‘jazz lullaby’; the Benedictus ups the tempo a little, building to a strong forte for the ‘Hosanna’. Clearly inspired by the blues, the Agnus Dei reaches a powerful climax at ‘Dona nobis pacem’ before arriving at a peaceful conclusion. It says much for Chilcott’s skill that he has successfully brought together two very diverse traditions - the Latin mass and the jazz idiom - in such an expressive and entirely unforced way, an achievement that has generally eluded other composers who have tried something similar. © by John Bawden This adaptation for Soprano, Alto and Baritone voices by Stuart Hope is produced by permission of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Missa Brevis - Britten / A Little Jazz Mass - Chilcott Kyrie Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonĂŚ voluntatis.
Glory be to God in the highest. And in earth peace to men of good will.
Laudamus te; benedicimus te; adoramus te; glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.
We praise Thee; we bless Thee; we worship Thee; we glorify Thee. We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory.
Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris.
O Lord God, Heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, miserere nobis.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy upon us.
Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
For thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord, thou only art the most high, Jesus Christ. Together with the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Sanctus Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis.
Holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.
Benedictus Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Agnus Dei Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei. qui tollis peccata mundi, Dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.
Gesänge für Frauenchor - Brahms 1. Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang
Ruperti
1. The full sound of harps rings out
Es tönt ein voller Harfenklang, den Lieb und Sehnsucht schwellen, er dringt zum Herzen tief und bang und läßt das Auge quellen.
The full sound of harps rings out, swelling one with love and yearning; it pierces one to the heart, deeply and anxiously, and leaves the eyes streaming.
O rinnet, Tränen, nur herab, o schlage Herz, mit Beben! Es sanken Lieb und Glück ins Grab, verloren ist das Leben!
O run, my tears, stream down, o pound, my heart, and quiver! Love and Happiness are buried in the grave; lost is my life!
2. Lied von Shakespeare
2. Song from Shakespeare
Komm herbei, komm herbei, Tod! Und versenk in Cypressen den Leib. Laß mich frei, laß mich frei, Not! Mich erschlägt ein holdseliges Weib. Mit Rosmarin mein Leichenhemd, o bestellt es! Ob Lieb ans Herz mir tötlich kommt, Treu hält es.
Come away, come away, death! And in sad cypress let me be laid. Fly away, fly away, breath! I am slain by a fair cruel maid. My shroud of white, stuck all with yew, o prepare it! My part of death, no one so true, did share it.
Keine Blum, keine Blum süß sei gestreut auf den schwärzlichen Sarg. Keine Seel, keine Seel grüß mein Gebein, wo die Erde es verbarg. Um Ach und Weh zu wenden ab, bergt alleine mich wo kein Treuer wall ans Grab und weine.
Not a flower, not a flower sweet on my black coffin let there be strown. Not a friend, not a friend greet my poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown. A thousand, thousand sighs to save, Lay me, o where sad true lover never find my grave, to weep there.
3. Der Gärtner
3. The Gardener
Wohin ich geh und schaue, in Feld und Wald und Tal, vom Berg hinab in die Aue: viel schöne, hohe Fraue, grüß ich dich tausendmal.
Eichendorff
Wherever I go and look, in field and forest and plain, down the hill to the mead: most beautiful noble lady, I greet you a thousand times.
In meinem Garten find ich viel Blumen schön und fein, viel Kränze wohl draus wind ich und tausend Gedanken bind ich und Grüße mit darein.
In my garden I find many flowers, pretty and nice, many garlands I bind from them and a thousand thoughts and greetings I weave into them.
Ihr darf ich keinen reichen, sie ist zu hoch und schön, die müssen alle verbleichen, die Liebe nur ohne Gleichen bleibt ewig im Herzen stehn.
Her I must not give one, she is too noble and fair, they all have to fade, only unequalled love stays in the heart forever.
Ich schein wohl froher Dinge, und schaffe auf und ab, und ob das Herz zerspringe, ich grabe fort und singe und grab mir bald mein Grab. 4. Gesang aus Fingal
I seem to be of good cheer and work to and fro, and though my heart bursts I dig on and sing and soon I dig my grave. Ossian
4. Singing from Fingal
Wein’ an den Felsen, der brausenden Winde, weine, o Mädchen von Inistore! Beug über die Wogen dein schönes Haupt, lieblicher du als der Geist der Berge, wenn er um Mittag in einem Sonnenstrahl über das Schweigen von Morven fährt.
Weep on the rocks of roaring winds, o maid of Inistore! Bend thy fair head over the waves, thou lovelier than the ghost of the hills, when it moves in a sun-beam at noon over the silence of Morven!
Er ist gefallen, dein Jüngling liegt darnieder, bleich sank er unter Cuthullins Schwert. Nimmer wird Mut deinen Liebling mehr reizen, das Blut von Königen zu vergießen.
He is fallen, thy youth is low, pale beneath the sword of Cuthullin. No more shall valour raise thy love to match the blood of kings.
Trenar, der liebliche Trenar starb, starb! o Mädchen von Inistore! Seine grauen Hunde heulen daheim; sie sehn seinen Geist vorüber ziehn. Sein Bogen hängt ungespannt in der Halle, nichts, nichts regt sich auf der Haide der Rehe.
Trenar, graceful Trenar died, o maid of Inistore! His grey dogs are howling at home!; they see his passing ghost. His bow is in the hall unstrung, no sound is in the hall of his hinds.
A Ceremony of Carols - Britten Procession Hodie Christus natus est: hodie Salvator apparuit: hodie in terra canunt angeli laetantur archangeli: hodie exsultant justi dicentes: Gloria in excelsis Deo. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Today Christ is born; today the Savior has appeared. Today the angels sing on earth; the archangels rejoice. Today the righteous exult, saying: Glory to God on high! Alleluia! Wolcum Yole! Wolcum, Wolcum, Wolcum be thou hevenè king, Wolcum Yole!
Wolcum, born in one morning, Wolcum for whom we sall sing! Wolcum be ye, Stevene and Jon, Wolcum, Innocentes every one, Wolcum, Thomas marter one, Wolcum be ye good Newe Yere, Wolcum, Twelfthe Day both in fere, Wolcum seintes lefe and dere, Wolcum Yole, Wolcum Yole, Wolcum! Candelmesse, Quene of bliss, Wolcum bothe to more and lesse. Wolcum,Wolcum, Wolcum be ye that are here, Wolcum Yole, Wolcum alle and make good cheer Wolcum alle another yere, Wolcum Yole, Wolcum!
There is no Rose There is no rose of such vertu As is the rose that bare Jesu. Alleluia, Alleluia, For in this rose conteinèd was Heaven and earth in litel space, Res miranda, Res miranda. By that rose we may well see There be one God in persons three, Pares forma, pares forma.
As Dew in Aprille I sing of a maiden That is makèles: King of all kings To her son she ches. He came also stille There his moder was, As dew in Aprille That falleth on the grass.
The aungels sungen the shepherds to: Gloria in excelsis, Gloria in excelsis Deo!
He came also stille To his moder’s bour, As dew in Aprille That falleth on the flour.
Gaudeamus, Gaudeamus, Leave we all this werdly mirth, and follow we this joyful birth. Transeamus, Transeamus, Transeamus,
He came also stille There his moder lay, As dew in Aprille That falleth on the spray.
Alleluia, Res Miranda, Pares forma, Gaudeamus Transeamus, Transeamus, Transeamus.
Moder and mayden was never none but she: Well may such a lady Goddes moder be.
Alleluia, Marvellous thing, Equal in nature, Let us rejoice Late us pass over That Yongë Child That yongë child when it gan weep With song she lulled him asleep: That was so sweet a melody It passèd alle minstrelsy. The nightingalë sang also: Her song is hoarse and nought thereto: Whoso attendeth to her song And leaveth the first then doth he wrong. Balulalow O my deare hert, young Jesu sweit, Prepare thy creddil in my spreit, And I sall rock thee to my hert, And never mair from thee depart. But I sall praise thee evermoir With sanges sweit unto thy gloir; The knees of my hert sall I bow, sall I bow, And sing that richt Balulalow!
This little Babe This little babe so few days old, Is come to rifle Satan’s fold; All hell doth at his presence quake, Though he himself for cold do shake; For in this weak unarmèd wise The gates of hell he will surprise. With tears he fights and wins the field, His naked breast stands for a shield; His battering shot are babish cries, His arrows looks of weeping eyes, His martial ensigns Cold and Need, And feeble Flesh his warrior’s steed. His camp is pitchèd in a stall, His bulwark but a broken wall; The crib his trench, haystalks his stakes; Of shepherds he his muster makes; And thus, as sure his foe to wound, The angels’ trumps alarum sound. My soul, with Christ join thou in fight; Stick to the tents that he hath pight.
Within his crib is surest ward; This little Babe will be thy guard. If thou wilt foil thy foes with joy, Then flit not from this heavenly Boy.
The persons in that poor attire His royal liveries wear; The Prince himself is come from heav’n; This pomp is prizèd there.
Interlude
With joy approach, O Christian wight, Do homage to thy King, And highly praise his humble pomp, Which he from Heav’n doth bring.
In Freezing Winter Night Behold, a silly tender babe, In freezing winter night, In homely manger trembling lies Alas, a piteous sight! The inns are full; no man will yield This little pilgrim bed. But forced he is with silly beasts In crib to shroud his head. This stable is a Prince’s court, This crib his chair of State; The beasts are parcel of his pomp, The wooden dish his plate.
Spring Carol Pleasure it is to here iwis, the Birdès sing, The deer in the dale, the sheep in the vale, the corn springing God’s purvayance for sustenance. It is for man. Then we always to him give praise, And thank him than. Deo Gracias Deo gracias! Deo gracias!
A Song at Evening - Bennett Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lie on. Before I lay me down to sleep, I give my soul to Christ to keep.
I go by sea, I go by land, The Lord made me with his right hand. If any danger come to me, Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.
Four corners to my bed, Four angels round my head, One to watch and one to pray And two to bear my soul away
He is the branch and I’m the flow’r, Pray God send me a happy hour, And if I die before I wake, I pray that God my soul will take.
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NYCoS - WHO WE ARE The National Youth Choir of Scotland is dedicated to providing high-level singing opportunities for Scotland’s young singers. Formed in 1996 as a flagship youth choir, its activities have dramatically expanded since then to include: •
National Youth Choir of Scotland for singers aged 16-24
•
NYCoS Training Choir for singers aged 16-19
•
National Boys Choir for singers aged 10-16
•
National Girls Choir for singers aged 12-16
•
NYCoS Area Choirs for Primary and Secondary pupils aged 8-18
•
Mini Music Makers for babies, toddlers, nursery age children and parents/carers
•
Annual Education Conference/Summer School for teachers/choir leaders
•
Educational and training opportunities for teachers/choir leaders
•
Publishing and commissioning resource material for use in schools
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Publishing and commissioning music for young singers
•
Advocacy for choral singing in Scotland’s cultural and educational life
NYCoS Patron Howard Goodall
Patron Lady Gibson NBC Patron NGC Patron Billy Boyd Karen Cargill
Education Patron László Nemes
NYCoS Board Chairman James Coyle Honorary President Raymond Williamson Trustees Lynn Drennan, Myra Grant, Lizanne McKerrell, Ian Mills, Christopher Underwood, James Waters, Jackie Westbrook Artistic Director & Conductor: Chief Executive: Education Director: Director of Finance & Administration: Director of Marketing & Communications: Head of National Choirs: Head of Education & Outreach: Area Choirs Manager: Fundraising Manager: Marketing & Communications Assistant: Assistant Administrator (Education & National Choirs): Outreach Assistant: Office Assistant:
Christopher Bell Morag Campbell Lucinda Geoghegan Stuart McCue-Dick Peter Muir Ruth Townsend Carole Allen Lorna Rudden Louise Goodlad David Fettes Claire Ashwood Claire McBride Laura Galbraith
NYCoS - FRIENDS Thank you to all our Friends; your loyal support makes a huge difference to our work. fortissimo Friends Geoff & Mary Ball Christopher Bell Mary Bennett Roger & Craig Chalmers-Lang James Coyle Tom & Alison Cunningham Dr & Mrs J Going Helen & Mark Goodwill Charles & Catherine Leeson-Payne Graham & Liz Mackenzie Jean Macnab In memory of Walter McCandless Katie & James McNeill Susan Meiklejohn Prof. & Mrs K R Paterson Rob & Anne Walter Mr & Mrs R Williamson forte Friends Mr Ken Allen Moira Allingham Mrs Sheila Anderson John Anderton Dinah Bourne Margaret & Eddie Briggs Morag & Stuart Campbell The Campbell Family Kathryn Cartwright Alison Chambers Derek Clark Alison & Martin Cockcroft Donald MacDonald Cowan Pamella Dow Dr Lynn Drennan Dr Elwyn Evans Mr & Mrs K Fraser Douglas & Julia Haddow Neil & Elizabeth Halliday Morag Hayes Dr David A Hughes & Dr Joyce E Davidson Rea Johnston David & Zoe Kemp Jenny Laidlaw Carol Leddy Jan Livesley Angus & Elizabeth Mackay Jim & Linda McColl Stuart McCue-Dick Iain McGregor Norrie & Eleanor McKay Linda McLauchlan Mr & Mrs McLuskie Archie McPherson
David & Kathy Miller Ian & Margaret Mills Keren Nicol Richard Nixon Audrey Ogilvie Derek Ogston Pauline Perry Pat Reed Jane & Tamlin Roberts Judith Robertson Kay Smith Heather Smith Marion & James Stevens Victoria Sutro Graham Graham Taylor MBE Dr & Mrs C Watson Mrs Aline Watson Karen Watt Johnathan & Elspeth Waugh Finlay Williamson Jeannette Wilson Chris & Ros Wilson Kathy Wishart Family Friends Margaret & Joe Aronson Rosemarie Bremner Wendy & Mike Davidson Alison & Howard Duthie Janey & Leslie Fleming Rona & Norman Gray The Knechtli Family Joan & David Lacy Dr C. E. Lennox Euan Macdonald Eleanor & Marshall MacKillop Kirsteen Grant & Iain Maclean The Macnaughton Family Veronica Mair Mr & Mrs McGrath Graham Mitchell Mr & Mrs J B More Ronald & Ann Morrison Nella Parker & family Mr & Mrs Beau Pettinger Ian Rolfe & family Hamish & Christina Scott Malcolm & Maureen Stewart Robert & Christine Tait Susan & John Wexler NYCoS Friends Mrs Dorothy Batchelor Graham Boyce Rosanne Brackenridge
Dorothy Buchanan Mrs Morag Burton Richard Chester Claire Christie Joe & Eleanor Clark Eilidh Cochrane Wendy Colquhoun Lucinda Coulthard Kathy Crawford Hay Gillian Crosier Mrs Ann Dye Elaine Ellen Miss Anne Farquhar Ann Firth John L Fulton Lady Gibson Louise Goodlad Mrs Myra Grant Anne Grindley Moira Hamilton Miss Margaret Harbison Jill Hardy Muriel Holroyd Alison B. Hunter Patricia Hutton L. Inglis N. A. Johnston Jill Kerr Olive Kinnear Marion Lang Mrs V M Langston Mrs Josephine Leighton Jane MacLeod Helen Macpherson Susan McArthur Brenda McFarlane Mrs J Miller Simon & Rachel Murphy Moira Murray Mrs Christine Neale Mrs Ruth Orr Tom Pate Mrs Anna Robertson Mr I M Roper-Caldbeck Norma Speirs Ken & Margaret Taylor John Thomson Margaret Thomson Dame Lorraine Veitch Rutherford Jackie Westbrook Susan White Alice E Woodward Ian Young
Join these esteemed ranks by becoming a Friend. For further information contact Louise Goodlad, email: louise.goodlad@nycos.co.uk or tel: 0141 287 2856
NYCoS - FUNDING NYCoS is incredibly grateful to the following organisations whose support makes our work possible. Principal Supporters Creative Scotland Glasgow Life Education Partner NASUWT Scotland Trusts & Foundations The Alexander Moncur Trust AmbITion Scotland The Bacher Trust Bank of Scotland Foundation Barfil Charitable Trust BBC Performing Arts Fund The Binks Trust Callendar Charitable Trust Cruden Foundation The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust The Gannochy Trust The Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust The Hope Scott Trust The Hugh Fraser Foundation The Imlay Foundation The Jennie S Gordon Memorial Foundation JTH Charitable Trust The Leverhulme Trust The Margaret Murdoch Charitable Trust The Merchants House of Glasgow Miss Jean R. Stirrat’s Charitable Trust The Moffat Charitable Trust MV Hillhouse Trust The Nancie Massey Charitable Trust PF Charitable Trust The RJ Larg Family Trust The RKT Harris Charitable Trust The Robertson Trust
The St Katherine’s Fund The Stevenston Charitable Trust Tay Charitable Trust The Turtleton Charitable Trust
Scottish Secondary School Teachers Association
Thomas Tunnock Ltd
SFIA Educational Trust Limited
Area Choir Partners The University of Aberdeen Angus Council Dumfries and Galloway Council Dundee City Council East Dunbartonshire Council City of Edinburgh Council Falkirk Council Highland Council Midlothian Council Perth & Kinross Council Renfrewshire Council Stirling Council West Lothian Council Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar Bursary Providers BAA Communities Trust East Renfrewshire Council
Glasgow City Council Integrated Grant Fund
The McGlashan Charitable Trust North Ayrshire Council PRG Recruitment
Saint Andrew Society (Glasgow) Charitable Trust
If you or someone you know would like to discuss supporting young singers in Scotland please contact Louise Goodlad, email: louise.goodlad@nycos.co.uk or tel: 0141 287 2856
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Letters to Lindbergh
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There’s Lilt in the Song
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