CONCERT CHOIR AND ALUMNI CHOIR David P. DeVenney, Director
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2022 MADELEINE WING ADLER THEATRE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 3:00 PM
PROGRAM MESSA DI REQUIEM (1922-23) .................................................................... Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968) I. Requiem II. Dies irae III. Sanctus IV. Agnus Dei V. Libera me MAGNIFICAT IN D MAJOR (BWV 243) ................................................ Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) I. Magnificat II. Et exultavit III. Quia respexit IV. Omnes generationes V. Quia fecit mihi magna VI. Et misericordia VII. Fecit potentiam VIII. Deposuit potentes de sede IX. Esurientes implevit bonis X. Suscepit Israel XI. Sicut locutus est XII. Gloria Patri
Concert Choir InYoung Lee, soprano Emily Bullock, mezzo soprano Sofia Bobrysheva, soprano (no. 10) Stephen Ng, tenor Nicholas Provenzale, baritone David P. DeVenney, director
ABENDLIED...................................................................................................... Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901) MY LORD, WHAT A MORNIN’ ........................................................................arr. H.T. Burleigh I GOTTA HOME IN’A DAT ROCK ................................................................... arr. Melvin Butler
WCU Concert Choir and Alumni Choir David P. DeVenney, director Please Turn Off All Electronic Devices
Translations Requiem Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance; he shall not fear the evil hearing. Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. Dies irae The day of wrath, that day, will dissolve the world in ashes: (this is) the testimony of (both) David and the Sibyl. How great will be the quaking, when the Judge is about to come, strictly investigating all things! The trumpet, scattering a wondrous sound through the sepulchres of the regions, will summon all before the throne. Death and nature will marvel, when the creature will rise again, to respond to the Judge. The written book will be brought forth, in which all is contained, from which the world shall be judged. When therefore the Judge will sit, whatever lies hidden, will appear: nothing will remain unpunished. What then shall I, poor wretch [that I am], say? Which patron shall I entreat, when [even] the just may [only] hardly be sure? King of fearsome majesty, Who gladly save those fit to be saved, save me, O fount of mercy. Remember, merciful Jesus, that I am the cause of Your journey: lest You lose me in that day. Seeking me, You rested, tired: You redeemed [me], having suffered the Cross: let not such hardship be in vain. Just Judge of vengeance, make a gift of remission before the day of reckoning. I sigh, like the guilty one: my face reddens in guilt: Spare the imploring one, O God. You Who absolved Mary, and heard the robber, gave hope to me also. My prayers are not worthy: but You, [Who are] good, graciously grant that I be not burned up by the everlasting fire. Grant me a place among the sheep, and take me out from among the goats,
setting me on the right side. Once the cursed have been silenced, sentenced to acrid flames, Call me, with the blessed. [Humbly] kneeling and bowed I pray, [my] heart crushed as ashes: take care of my end. Tearful [will be] that day, on which from the glowing embers will arise the guilty man who is to be judged: Then spare him, O God. Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest. Amen. Sanctus Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who cometh in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Agnus Dei Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, grant them eternal rest. Libera me Deliver me, O Lord, from death eternal in that awful day. When the heavens and the earth shall be moved: When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. Dread and trembling have laid hold on me, and I fear exceedingly because of the judgment and of the wrath to come. When the heavens and the earth shall be moved. O that day, that day of wrath, of sore distress and of all wretchedness, that great day and exceeding bitter. When Thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Chorus: He has shown strength with his arm: He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
Magnificat Chorus:
My soul doth magnify the Lord And my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
Tenor: He casts down the mighty from their thrones: and has exalted the lowly.
Soprano: Because he has looked down upon his handmaiden: for behold, henceforth (all generations) shall call me blessed.
Alto: He fills the hungry with good things: and the rich he sends empty away.
Soprano:
Chorus: …all generations
Trio: He has received his servant Israel: being mindful of his mercy.
Bass: Because the Mighty One has done great things for me: and holy is his name.
Chorus: And he has spoken to our father, to Abraham and his seed forever.
Alto, Tenor: And his mercy is from generation to generation: on those who fear him.
Flute Oboe Bassoon Violin 1 Violin 2 Viola Cello Bass Trumpet Timpani Organ
Glory be to the Father, the Son, And the Holy Spirit. As it was in the Beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.
Morgan Turner* Erica Westcott* Nick Masterson John DeBiase* Aaron Datsko* Emilie Park Hope Linton† William Binkley† Molly Germer David Brown† Jemma Malkasian† Linnea Marchie Katrina Kelly Ken Laskey† Richard Amoroso Genevieve Brogdon† Patrick Nugent†* Zachary Walter* Brendan Hartner* Bonnie Callahan* Matthew Langlois* Jonathan Kreamer†
*Current WSOM student †WSOM graduate
Program Notes Ildebrando Pizzetti is little remembered today, but he was a major force in twentieth-century Italian music. A teacher and academic, he composed in many genres and was a prominent conductor of opera. He wrote two choral/orchestral works and seven unaccompanied choruses, including the often-performed Tre compositionali corali. While often lush and warm, none of Pizzetti’s choral music reaches the heights of supreme beauty or displays such utter confidence in the genre as the Messa di Requiem. Coming from a Catholic background, Pizzetti was entirely familiar with the plainchant of the Mass. However, the work’s opening movement, Requiem, starts with a free-flowing quasiplainchant line (here sung by the basses). With the words “et lux perpetua luceat eis” the music suddenly broadens out into a radiant five-part texture (there are two bass parts) strongly reminiscent of Renaissance madrigals. Signifying the move into the formal liturgy of the Mass, Pizzetti sets the words “Kyrie eleison” as a fugue, the harmony becoming correspondingly more stark. The longest movement of the Requiem is the Dies irae which is founded on the traditional plainchant associated with these words. This is heard at the opening sung by basses and altos as a kind of inexorable funeral march to the accompaniment of a subdued wailing counter-melody sung by tenors and sopranos. This sparse two-part writing continues for fifty bars, a quarter of the movement’s length, before, with the words “Quid sum miser,” the music branches out into eight-part polyphony, reaching a passionate climax with the cry “Salva me.” A brief return of the two-part writing precedes a deeply moving conclusion in which the words “Pie Jesu” suddenly shine through in gloriously radiant C major harmony. For the Sanctus Pizzetti divides the ensemble into three choirs (a fourpart women’s choir and two four-part men’s choirs), calling to mind the multiple choirs used in sixteenth-century Venetian church music. The glorious “Hosanna in excelsis” subsides into a gentle setting of the “Benedictus” which again builds up into a dazzling final “Hosanna,” a truly breathtaking climax. The gentle Agnus Dei, in simple four-part harmony, provides a tranquil prayerlike interlude before the final Libera me marked to be sung “with profound fervor.” Pizzetti here returns to the five-part texture of the first movement and, while for the most part the movement is restless and rhythmically unsettled, there is a moment of sheer magic with the final setting of the words “Requiem aeternam dona eis.” — DPD, partially adapted from notes by Marc Rochester (Hyperion Records) Bach’s Magnificat was written in 1723 during his first year in Leipzig. In E-flat major, it also contained four Christmas chorales interpolated into the normal text. Sometime after 1732, Bach changed the key to D major (much more suited to the trumpets and drums), removed the Christmas hymns, and made other slight alterations to the musical fabric. It is this version that is most commonly performed today. Despite its expansive formal design, the Magnificat is surprisingly precise: less than 600 measures in length. It varies choral utterances with solo movements and, typically for the time, provides each line of text its own musical setting. The choir throughout is in five parts with divided sopranos, a somewhat old-fashioned practice. Bach’s rich instrumental scoring is the most complete that would have been available to him at the time: flutes, oboes, bassoon, trumpets, timpani, and organ – allowing for a multitude of timbral variations to suit each line of text. There are strings only for “Et exultavit”; a solo oboe for “Quia respexit”; solo cello for the bass’s “Quia fecit”; flutes and muted violins for the alto-tenor duet “Et misericordia”; unison violins for the tenor’s “Deposuit” (“put down”), with its vivid text painting of a descending run on the title word; and two flutes to accompany “Esurientes.” While normally doubled by instruments, the choir’s “Sicut locutus est” is unaccompanied save for the continuo. Finally, Bach rounds the work by repeating the opening music at “Sicut erat in principio” (“as it was in the beginning”). It is no mystery why the Magnificat has become one of the most performed and beloved works from the hand of this most masterful composer. — DPD
In Young Lee has garnered widespread acclaim in Korea and the United States as a versatile singer of both opera and art song. She achieved world recognition in 1995 as a Finalist in the Fifth Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition held in Philadelphia. Dr. Lee was invited to perform in the Grand Opening Concert of the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall in Philadelphia in 2001. In 1997, she was engaged by the Philadelphia Orchestra to sing the soprano solo for Brahms’ German Requiem. She has sung with the Mendelssohn Club and Philadelphia Singing City, and with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Yale University Orchestra, Lower Merion Symphony, Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Gwangju Philharmonic Orchestra and Temple Orchestra. In Seoul, Korea, she was the featured soloist in performances with the National Chorus Company, Gwangju City Choir and other ensembles. In Spring, 2013, Dr. Lee performed with the North Czech Philharmonic in Smetana Hall in Prague, Czech Republic. She was also a laureate in several international vocal competitions, including the Lola Wilson Hayes International Vocal Artists Competition and The Friday Morning Club International Music Competition. Dr. Lee has released 4 solo CDs. She received a doctorate in vocal performance, and a master of music and professional studies degrees in opera from Temple University. She also holds bachelor and master of music degrees in vocal performance from Seoul National University. Emily A. Bullock has sung with numerous regional and national opera companies and symphonie, and is an awardwinning opera director. Recent highlights include a lecture recital for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Regional conference (The Many Faces of Mezzo: Witches, *itches, and Boys), and a duet recital (It takes Two) at West Chester University and Elizabethtown College. The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival awarded her “Best Director” for The Sorcerer and her production of The Medium was a semi-finalist in The American Prize in Opera Performance competition. Her recording credits include the music of Samuel Barber with the Russian Philharmonic, and an upcoming recording of the works of Valerie Crescenz. Dr. Bullock is a Professor of Voice, and Chair of the Vocal and Keyboard Department. She holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree from the University of Tulsa, and a doctorate also from Colorado. Heralded for his “powerfully expressive voice” (Washington Post), and “a superb singer . . . with a soaring voice in the extreme registers that could be simply described as amazing” (New York Concert Review), Stephen Ng is known as an opera, oratorio, recital, and new music performer. He has been featured as tenor soloist with Amsterdam’s De Nederlandse Opera, in the staged version of Stravinsky’s Threni, directed by renowned Peter Sellars. His portrayal of Evangelist in Bach’s Passions has received much acclaim, and he has performed as soloist with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra Iowa, Washington Bach Consort, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, and Lucerne, Tanglewood and Aspen Festivals, working with conductors such as James Levine, Nicolas McGegan, Pierre Boulez, Paul Hillier, and Daniel Reuss. Ng has premiered two operas: Jeffrey Ching’s Before Brabant at (Hong Kong) and Chuck Holdeman’s Young Meister Bach (Bethlehem Bach Choir).His CD Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Vanished was released by Clear Note Publications. Of this, Journal of Singing writes “Ng, a tenor with an impressively eclectic resume, is simply superb in every respect. His voice is gorgeous and distinctive.” Born and raised in Hong Kong, Stephen received his master of music at New England Conservatory and doctorate at Indiana University. For several summers, he taught at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Germany. During a 2019 sabbatical, he was the Musician-inResidence at Lingnan University in Hong Kong. From the Kennedy Center to Hong Kong City Hall, Nicholas Provenzale’s international appearances have delighted audiences and critics alike. His operatic engagements include performances with Musica Viva Hong Kong, Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, San Diego Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, and Bronx Opera. As a soloist, he has appeared with the China National Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. His recordings include the roles of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and Beau Braxton in the world premiere of Pasatieri’s God Bless Us, Every One. Recent performances include Aeneas in Wilmington Concert Opera’s virtual production of Dido and Aeneas, solo appearances with the Sioux City Symphony and the South Dakota Symphony, and recitals at the Sam Houston State University Art Song Festival, Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, Payap University in Thailand, and in Columbus, Ohio. Nicholas won Third Place in the Art Song division of The American Prize in 2016 and won the Hawaii Public Radio Art Song Competition in 2013. Nicholas joined the faculty of West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 2020 as Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera. He previously served on the faculty of the University of South Dakota, Eastern Illinois University, and Mahidol University in Thailand. Nicholas received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Kentucky.
Concert Choir David P. DeVenney, director Hannah Black Sofia Bobrysheva Peter Boretskii Adella Brady, alto section leader Nicholas Burbo Caleb Deutsch Andrew Ference, bass section leader Albert Gonzalez Rachel Gorr Casey Jennings Elizabeth Jones Steven Kendikian, president Sergey Kravets Yuriy Kravets Lauren Longhi Mateo Lopez Chad McKenrick, tenor section leader Miranda Nilan Matthew Quarles Michael Repko Jordan Schreiber William Shaw Reid Simmons Evelyn Stohlman, secretary/treasurer Sydney Szwarc, vice president, soprano section leader Grace Vickery Ethan Whitney Rachel Wilkin Ryan Zickafoose
UPCOMING WELLS SCHOOL OF MUSIC EVENTS For full event details visit wcupa.edu/music or call (610) 436-2739 Sunday, February 20, 2022, 3:00 PM Mastersingers Concert Ryan Kelly, director Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
Sunday, February 20, 2022, 7:00 PM Symphony Orchestra: Irving H. Cohen Memorial & Concerto Winners' Concert Joseph Caminiti, director Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall Philips Memorial Building
Monday, February 21, 2022, 8:15 PM Global Music Residency Program Guest Lecture by Gamin Heidi Lee, faculty liaison Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building
Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 8:15 PM Chamber Winds & Concert Band Concert Andrew Yozviak & Adam Gumble, directors Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
Thursday, February 24, 2022, 8:15 PM Global Music Residency Program Concert by Guest Artist Gamin, WCU Faculty, and Students Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building
Saturday, February 26, 2022, 7:30 PM 3rd Annual Orchestra Festival Concert Joseph Caminiti, director Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
Sunday, February 27, 2022, 3:00 PM Wind Ensemble & Wind Symphony Concert Andrew Yozviak & M. Gregory Martin, directors Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
Sunday, February 27, 2022, 7:00 PM Faculty & Quartet in Residence: Dalí Quartet Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center
*Tickets required for this event.
Events at the Wells School of Music are often supported by individual donors and organizations. Contributions to the Wells School of Music may be made out to: WCU Foundation, 202 Carter Drive, West Chester, PA 19382 Please include “Wells School of Music Excellence Fund” in the memo line. For further information, please call (610) 436-2868 or visit wcufoundation.org A majority of performances are available to watch via live stream at Facebook.com/WellsSchoolofMusic and Vimeo.com/WSOM Mr. Robert Rust, Audio & Visual Technician Steinway & Sons Piano Technical, Tuning and Concert Preparations by Gerald P. Cousins, RPT If you do not intend to save your program, please recycle it in the baskets at the exit doors.
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