UTSA Chamber Singers - Caritas Concert

UTSA CHAMBER SINGERS

Wachet Auf!

Thursday, October 13, 2022 I UTSA Recital Hall I 7:30 PM

Sunday, October 16, 2022 I The Chapel of The Incarnate Word I 3 PM

PROGRAM

Watchet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140)

I. Chorale Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme

II. Recitative Er kommt (Tenor)

III. Aria Wann kommst du, mein Heil? (Soprano & Bass)

IV. Chorale Zion hört die Wächter

V. Recitative So geh herein zu mir (Bass)

VI. Aria Mein Freund ist mein! (Soprano & Bass)

VII. Chorale Gloria sei dir gesungen

Erin Webber, oboe I Katie Bloise, oboe II Michael Tijerina, English Horn Dr. Nichole Cherry, violin I Shawn Demuth, violin II Jakob Meza, viola Qizhen Liu, violoncello Zlatan Redzic, doublebass Kaitlyn Norman, soprano Lucas Moncada Zoll, tenor Hector Tobar, bass

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis (World Premiere)

Dr. S. Andrew Lloyd, organ

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 1750)

Long Road

I’ll Be On My Way

S. Andrew Lloyd (b. 1979)

Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)

Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970) Christian Stevens, baritone Dr. Jeong Eun Lee, piano

Grace Before Sleep Susan LaBarr (b. 1981)

PROGRAM NOTES

Compiled and Written by Yoojin Muhn

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme Johann Sebastian Bach

One of J.S. Bach’s most well known and best loved cantatas, Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Awake! the voice calls to us) was written for the last Sunday in the Church Year and first performed on November 25, 1731 when Bach was working in Leipzig. The chorale tune on which Bach based this cantata, was from a Lutheran Hymn written by Philipp Nicolai at the end of the sixteenth century. The original hymn consisted of 3 verses, all of which are meaningfully set in this cantata.

The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann sees the cantata as one of the Bach’s "most beautiful, most mature and, at the same time, most popular sacred cantatas.” Another Bach Scholar, Alfred Dürr, notes that the cantata, especially the duets in a unity of "earthly happiness in love and heavenly bliss" in the sixth movement, are an expression of Christian mysticism in art. An English composer, William G. Whittaker also praises this cantata as "a cantata without weakness, without a dull bar, technically, emotionally and spiritually of the highest order "

Two distinct motifs; a dotted rhythm motif that gives a dignified orchestral introduction and an ascending scale motif comprise the first movement, a fantasia, in which Bach confidently demonstrates his ingenious polyphonic writing ability and takes us to the highlight all the way to the end with his beautiful melismatic fugato set on the word “alleluia.” After the tenor calling the daughters of Zion, a beautiful aria duet follows with a solo violin accompaniment in which the Soul is represented by the soprano voice and Jesus represented by the bass voice. Bach also uses the violin’s 32nd notes to depict the flickering oil lamps.

The most popular fourth movement; “Zion hört die Wächter singen" (Zion hears the watchmen singing), is based on the second verse of the chorale. This time, the tenors (and the baritones in this concert) sing the chorale tune with the strings joining together to play a counter melody simultaneously. The next movement is comprised of a duet between the Bass and Soprano that follows a Bass’s recitative, titled "Mein Freund ist mein!" (“My Friend is mine” or often translated as “My beloved is mine.”). The soprano once again depicts the voice of the soul and the bass, Jesus. This duet is filled with joyful assurance that nothing shall separate the love of God from his brides, His people.

The Cantata concludes with a glorious four voice chorale titled: “Gloria sei dir gesungen" (Let Gloria be sung to You) that uses the third verse of the hymn. This concludes the cantata with “In dulci jubilo,” (meaning “In sweet rejoicing”) with the violins doubling the top melody, representing the pure joy and excitement in the “New Jerusalem,” the ultimate destination for those that believe.

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis S. Andrew Lloyd

In 2019, after composing my last choir and organ work, Khrīstós II: Et ecce vox for two choirs, tenor solo, and organ, I craved an opportunity to write something more intimate and simple. Inspired by Herbert Howells, Like as the Hart, David Bednall’s In paradisum, and Rachmaninov’s Vespers, I immediately came up with the melody heard at the outset of the Magnificat, with its lush octave unison lines, and descending harmonic cadence. After months of living with the music, and struggling to find the right text, I eventually settled on Mary’s Magnificat, which fit the music beautifully. With several commission deadlines on the horizon, I was unable to work on the piece for over two years. This was a difficult time, because I deeply loved this music, and in it I found healing, and an escape, which I couldn’t wait to share with the world. I am so grateful to Dr. Yoojin Muhn and the UTSA Chamber Singers for encouraging me, and agreeing to premiere this sacred work. Lastly, my Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis attempts to place the listener at the feet of Mary and Simeon as they experience God, transcendent joy, loneliness, pain, resolve, and ultimately faith to move forward despite uncertainty.

Long Road Ēriks Ešenvalds

S. Andrew Lloyd

The poet Paulīne Bãrda lived a long life, to the age of 93, but her husband, Fricis Bãrda, also a poet, died young. It seems to me that Paulīne’s poem Long Road is about them meeting (or not meeting) in deep dark nights as she gazes into the starry beyond. The eight bar melody came to me rather quickly, but then I reached a dead end: the melodic line would not evolve any further and there also was too little text, just two little quatrains. Although I added another quatrain, which I borrowed from a different poem by Paulīne Bãrda, it was not enough for a six minute composition. So I opted to paint the starry heavens described by Paulīne without any words whatsoever, just as a vocalise. Colors deepened, a more mystical dimension broke through, and together they lit up the long way to the starry expanse. It is a very sad story, yet one filled with love.

Ēriks Ešenvalds I’ll Be On My Way Shawn Kirchner

I have lived a block away from the church where I work for many years. But for much of that time, there was no stoplight at the one busy street between me and the church. I would carefully wait for breaks in traffic to dart across (noticing that if I happened to be wearing a suit, people would magically stop for me but if I wore regular clothes, no such luck.) One time (maybe in 2004), waiting at the corner, a city bus whizzed powerfully by, and I remarked to myself: “What if I weren’t paying attention some day, and got into the path of that bus?” Looking as far down that long street as I could see and feeling the sense of freedom one gets on the open road my immediate response was “Well, I’d be on my way.” Instantly, the idea for the song sprang into my mind, and on the way home I came up with the chorus: “I’ll be on my way, I’ll be on my way; I’ll have left my feet of clay upon the ground, I will be glory bound, I’ll be on my way.” The rest of the song soon followed, because sometimes they just come like that fast, easily, all at once.

An inspirational memorial song that moves from a sense of sorrow into great joy. A slow opening, sung by a soloist, captures a feeling of reverence before a light, banjo inspired piano accompaniment launches the spirit freeing rest of the piece. The rising arpeggio motive on the chorus to the words “I’ll Be On My Way” fills both the singers and the audience with joy.

Shawn Kirchner

Grace Before Sleep Susan LaBarr

A leading 21st century choral composer, Susan LaBarr, sets a Poet, Sara Teasdale’s poem to an exquisite unaccompanied piece that expresses a heart felt gratitude for enduring beauty of life. LaBarr was Missouri’s Composer Laureate for 2012 2013. She is highly sought after and has been commissioned to compose for leading organizations such as Seraphic Fire, National ACDA Women’s Choir Consortium, and Texas Choral Director’s Association’s Director’s Chorus. LaBarr currently serves as editor of Walton Music, the choral division of GIA publications publishing house.

Many of Teasdale’s poems were from developments in her own life and this poem was also written on the night of Thanksgiving in 1931 as she sat along with her friends and reflected their friendship and life together. This poem expresses the gratitude of comfort and contentment despite of the storms of life that she faced along the way. As with the author, I hope this piece brings much comfort and contentment as we reflect the beauty of life.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the following for their ongoing support and dedication to the UTSA Choirs:

Dr. Tracy Cowden, Director, School of Music

Dr. Stacey Davis, Acting Director, School of Music Dr. Kasandra Keeling, Associate Director, School of Music

Naomy Ybarra, Administrative Services Officer 1 Steven Hill, Administrative Associate Wesley Penix, Senior Events Manager Rolando Ramon, Marketing Coordinator

Mr. Donald Marchand, Music Program Specialist

Prof. Jordan Boyd, Assistant Director of Choral Activities Prof. Susan Olson, Voice Area Coordinator

Dr. Jourdan Howell, Prof. Crystal Johnson, Dr. William McCrary, Dr. John Nix, Voice Faculty Dr. Susan Dill, Music Education Area Coordinator Dr. Kasandra Keeling, Keyboard Area Coordinator

Dr. Nicole Cherry, String Area Coordinator

Dr. John Zarco, Director of Instrumental Ensembles

Prof. Ron Ellis, Director of Bands Prof. Troy Peters, Director of Orchestra

Prof. Sherry Rubins, Percussion Area Coordinator

Dr. Rachel Woolf and Dr. Oswaldo Zapata, Woodwind and Brass Area Coordinators

UTSA Department of Music Faculty Jadee Dovalina and Jaime Viejo, School of Music Librarians

TEXT AND TRANSLATION

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140)

1. Chorale

2. Recitative (Tenor)

He comes, he comes, Of watchmen from the lofty tower; The bridegroom comes! Wake up, O town Jerusalem!

Wake, arise, the voices call us

O Zion's daughters, come ye forth, "Midnight" is named this hour;

His journey hieth from the heavens They call to us with ringing voices; Into your mother's house. Where are ye prudent virgins now?

The bridegroom comes, who to a roebuck Make haste, the bridegroom comes;

And youthful stag is like, Rise up and take your lamps!

Which on the hills doth leap; Alleluia!

To you the marriage meal he brings. Prepare to join Rise up, be lively now The wedding feast, The bridegroom here to welcome! Go forth to meet him as he comes!

There, look now, thence he comes to meet you.

3. Aria (Soprano and Bass)

4. Chorale

Zion hears the watchmen singing, Jesus: I come, your portion.

Soul: When are you coming, my salvation?

Her heart within for joy is dancing, Soul: I wait with burning oil.

She watches and makes haste to rise. Jesus: Open the hall

Her friend comes from heaven glorious, Soul: I open the hall

In mercy strong, in truth most mighty, Both: to the heavenly feast. Her light is bright, her star doth rise. Soul: Come, Jesus! Now come, thou precious crown, Jesus: Come, lovely soul! Lord Jesus, God's own Son!

Hosannah pray!

We follow all

To joy's glad hall

And join there in the evening meal.

5. Recitative (Bass)

6. Aria (Soprano and Bass)

Soul: My friend is mine, Thou mine elected bride!

So come within to me,

Jesus: and I am yours, I have myself to thee

Both: Nothing shall divide our love. Eternally betrothed.

Soul: I want to graze on heaven's roses with you, I will upon my heart,

Jesus: You will graze on heaven's roses with me, Upon my arm like as a seal engrave thee

Both: There will be fullness of joy, there will be delight. And to thy troubled eye bring pleasure. Forget, O spirit, now The fear, the pain Which thou hast had to suffer; Upon my left hand shalt thou rest, And this my right hand shall embrace thee.

7. Chorale

Gloria to thee be sung now With mortal and angelic voices, With harps and with the cymbals, too. Of twelve pearls are made the portals; Within thy city we are consorts

Of angels high around thy throne. No eye hath yet perceived, No ear hath e'er yet heard Such great gladness. Thus we find joy, Io, io, Ever in dulci jubilo!

Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

Magnificat

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the lowliness of his hand maiden.

For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations.

He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed, for ever.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

Nunc Dimittis

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

To be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen.

Long Road

I love you night and day

As a star in the distant sky. And I mourn for this one thing alone That to love, our lifetime was so short. A long road to heaven’s shining meadow And never could I reach its end.

But a longer road leads to your heart

Which to me seems distant as a star. High above the arch of heaven bends And light so clear is falling. Like a flow’ring tree the world is blooming.

Overwhelmed, my heart both cries and laughs.

I’ll Be On My Way

When I am gone, don’t you cry for me, don’t you pity my sorry soul. What pain there might have been will now be past and my spirit will be whole. I’ll be on my way, I’ll have left my feet of clay upon the ground, I will be glory bound I’ll be on my way.

When I am gone, please forgive the wrongs that I might have done to you, there’ll be no room for regrets up there, high above, way beyond the blue. I’ll be on my way, I’ll have laid my frown and all my burdens down, I’ll be puttin’ on my crown, I’ll be on my way.

When I am gone, don’t you look for me in the places I have been. I’ll be alive, but somewhere else, I’ll be on my way again! I’ll be on my way, I will lift my wings and soar into the air, there’ll be glory ev’rywhere on my way.

I’ll be on my way, I’ll have laid my frown and my burdens down, puttin’ on my crown, I’ll have left me feet of clay upon the ground, I will be glory bound, I’ll be on my way!

Grace Before Sleep

How can our minds and bodies be Grateful enough that we have spent Here in this generous room, This evening of content

Each one of us has walked through storm And fled the wolves along the road; But here the hearth is wide and warm,

And for this shelter and light Accept, O Lord, our thanks tonight

PERSONNEL

Yoojin Muhn serves as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she directs the UTSA Chamber Singers, and teaches choral conducting for both undergraduate and graduate students. She recently joined the San Antonio Mastersingers on their 78th season of musical excellence and serves as their music director. Prior to coming to Texas, Dr. Muhn served as the Artistic Director of the Tucson Masterworks Chorale in Tucson, Arizona and directed the Oriana Women’s Chorus, and led the Concert Choir as an assistant director at the University of Southern California.

Dr. Muhn received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music with honors from the University of Southern California, the Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati and in Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College where she graduated with distinction, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Composition from SookMyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea.

Dedicated to performing a wide range of solo and chamber repertoire, pianist Jeong Eun Lee is Assistant Professor of Instruction in Collaborative Piano at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Prior to joining UTSA, Lee taught at Indiana University as Visiting Assistant Professor and Postdoctoral Scholar and held collaborative pianist positions at the State University of New York at Geneseo and Riverside City College in California.

Jeong Eun Lee has served as a collaborative pianist and performance coach at the Aspen Music Festival, where she previously received instrumental and vocal fellowships. She attended Songfest in Los Angeles as a Professional Piano Fellow and played in masterclasses of Margo Garrett, Graham Johnson, Martin Katz and Roger Vignoles. Lee participated in festivals including the Amalfi Coast Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Collabfest, Kneisel Chamber Festival and Holland International Music Sessions. Since her orchestral debut with the Skagit Valley Symphony, Lee has appeared as a soloist with orchestras around the United States including the Seattle Symphony, Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, and the Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA and in the Czech Republic, Italy, and the Netherlands.

Originally from Seoul, South Korea, Lee received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music, and the Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance, from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Jean Barr and Nelita True. As a student of Yoshikazu Nagai, she received the Master of Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music in Piano Performance. In addition to a concerto performance with the Riverside City College Symphony Orchestra, recent engagements include chamber concerts in the United States and South Korea.

S. Andrew Lloyd , whose music has been described as “monumental, hair raising, and leaving you agape in awe” (Classical Music Sentin el), is a concert organist and composer, and the Bess Hieronymus Endowed Fellow and Assistant Professor of Organ and Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio, as well as the 2019/2020 Marlin K. Jensen Artist in Residence at the University of Utah, having previously worked at the University of North Texas. A recipient of a Barlow Endowment commission and winner of the first Ariel Bybee Endowment Commission Competition for a collection of art songs to be written for soprano Rachel Willis Sørensen , Lloyd’s compositions have been performed all over the world including the Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris, the National Cathedral in Washington DC, Riverside Church New York, Trinity Church and Methuen Hall Boston, the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Moscow Cath olic Cathedral in Russia, venues in South Africa and Switzerland, and the 2016 and 2018 National AGO Conventions in Houston and Kansas City respectively.

Lloyd’s works have been performed by many notable ensembles and performers including Hungarian pianis t Éva Polgár, Rick Bjella and the San Antonio Chamber Choir, Jerry McCoy and the Fort Worth Chorale, Ryan Chatterton and the Choral Artists of Fort Worth, Salt Lake Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott, Steve Durtschi and the Cantorum Chamber Choir, bariton e Jeffrey Snider, violinist Julia Bushkova, tenor William Joyner, and soprano Jennifer Youngs. A recording of Lloyd’s monumental art mass, Christus was released in 2017 on the Neumark label, and featured on Pipedreams public radio in December of 2018. As a n active recitalist, Andrew Lloyd has performed at venues throughout the United States including: the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Eccles Organ Festival at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, St. John the Evangelist and MusicFest Northwest in Sp okane, WA, and as a presenter at the 2015 Southwest Regional AGO Convention in Fort Worth.

Originally from Spokane, WA, Lloyd (b. 1979) earned degrees from the University of North Texas (DMA) the University of Kansas (MM), and Brigham Young University (BM). He studied with the notable composers and organists Forrest Pierce, Jon Nelson, Andrew Ma y, James Worlton, James Higdon, Jesse Eschbach, Douglas Bush, Janet Ahrend, and Barbara Lloyd.

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Dr. Nicole Cherry is Assistant Professor of Violin at The University of Texas at San Antonio and second violinist of the award winning Marian Anderson String Quartet. Based in Texas for over twenty years, Dr. Cherry is a dedicated teacher and has held artist teacher residencies at Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M, University of Washington, and Brown University where she has trained promising string players of all ages. Dr. Cherry received her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School with training that has exposed her to the teaching and mentorship of the world’s most distinguished artists such as members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Emerson, Colorado and the Takács String Quartet; as well as esteemed violinists including Isidore Cohen, Erick Friedman, Joseph Fuchs, Felix Galimir, and Jaap Schroeder. She has performed in ensembles conducted by Pierre Boulez, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and as concertmaster under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich. Dr. Cherry received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland and completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Texas Tech University where she served as the first violinist of the graduate string quartet. Dr. Cherry has also received graduate fellowships from the Peabody Institute of Music and Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

Erin Webber is lecturer in oboe at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is also the oboe instructor at the University of the Incarnate Word, maintains a substantial private studio in the San Antonio area and operates a thriving online reed business. Webber is an active masterclass clinician in south Texas and is the premier oboe instructor for the Bocal Majority/Operation Oboe San Antonio camp. As an orchestral player, Webber holds the position of principal oboe with Symphony Viva and San Antonio Sinfonietta and is a founding member of the chamber ensemble San Antonio Harmonie. She plays regularly with regional orchestras such as the Laredo Philharmonic and Symphony of the Hills and has played oboe and English horn in the pit for several local musical theaters. She enjoys collaborating with fellow San Antonio musicians on recitals and chamber music projects.

Webber holds a Master of Music from Arizona State University, where she studied with Martin Schuring. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Western Kentucky University, where she studied oboe and English horn with Dr. Michele Fiala. She counts David Weber of Weber Reeds, Inc, among her mentors. In addition, Webber is a published composer with two compositions available through Trevco Varner Music under her maiden name of Goad. Her trio, “Overheard on a Saltmarsh,” was premiered at the 2009 IDRS Conference and can be heard on Michele Fiala’s CD, “Overheard.”

SOPRANO I

Madison Blanco Elisa Contreras Madeline Gutierrez Mikaela Nichols Alex Sanchez

ALTO I Katrina Cantu+ Raine Collier Emma Madalina^ Alyssa Moreno Simone Remandaban

TENOR I Ollie Allen Klint Fabian+ Lucas Moncada Zoll Moiz Rehman

BASS I Tayo Dada Jared Kellman Medina Josh Moncada Zoll Dylan Ramirez Christian Stevens Benjamin Telford

University of Texas at San Antonio Chamber Singers Dr. Yoojin Muhn, Conductor Dr. Jeong Eun Lee, Collaborative Pianist

SOPRANO II Megan Achterhof Shani Ekiaka

Yajahira Herrera^ Francheska Lugo Kaylee Rios+

ALTO II Ariana Bonilla Johanna Kitchen Stelly Jimenez Madilyn Lopez Jessica Morales TENOR II Kemper Brewer Osvaldo Chacon Nicolas Garza De’Von O’Neal

BASS II Alejandro Cuellar+ Abraham Gomez Ryan Noelle

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