LUX

PRESENTS

The Town Lay Hushed

St. Jerome’s Church

Hyattsville, Maryland

January 10, 2020

7:00 PM
 LUX

Soprano Alto Tenor Bass

Victoria Delgado Taylor Hinds Andy Boggs Dale Auen
Amanda Densmoor Abigail Hines Anthony Jones Ben Busch
Austin Nikirk Kimberly Parr Robby Napoli Ciaran Cain
Emily Shallbetter Anya Trudeau Zach Taylor Tim Crane
Beth Ann Zinkievich John-Paul Teti John Mullan
Collin Power
Thomas Rust

Lux is a chamber choir that specializes in contemporary choral music. Founded in 2014 by a
small group of high school friends, the ensemble performs with a dedication to excellence,
innovation, and accessibility in choral performance.

Lux has met with acclaim from professors at local conservatories, the world’s most popular
composers, fellow musicians, and audience members alike. The group has earned praise
from famed composers such as Eric Whitacre, Paul Mealor, and Ola Gjeilo. Benjamin
Olinsky, Artistic Director of The 18th Street Singers, has called Lux “incredibly
impressive”, while composers, music educators, performers, and listeners all over the east
coast have called the group “beautiful”, “lovely”, and “wonderful”.

Lux’s singers hail from some of the finest conservatories and schools of music across the
United States, and have performed everywhere from local churches to high-profile national
venues such as Carnegie Hall and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2019, Lux was named “Best Local Choral Group”, along with first-place 18th Street
Singers and runner-up Capitol Hill Chorale, in the Best of DC competition held by
Washington City Paper. Lux’s 2018 album Now Ye Heavenly Powers was met with acclaim
from composers, critics, and others, becoming the Featured Choral Album on Classical
MPR’s choral radio station, joining past selectees such as Voces8, Tenebrae, and The
Sixteen.
Welcome to St. Jerome’s Church. We’re glad you could join us for tonight’s concert. We’ve
put a lot of work into it and we hope you will enjoy it. Please silence your cell phones and
any other noise-making devices you may have in the moments before the concert begins.
Restrooms are accessible through the Gold Room stairs (clearly indicated in the church
foyer); the women’s restroom is at the bottom of the stairs, while the men’s restroom is
through a hallway at the far left edge of the Gold Room. There is also a single-
user/“family” restroom within the small room in the church foyer.

With The Town Lay Hushed, we aimed to push ourselves into a different style of singing, and
explore the roots of the contemporary music we love so much. This program includes
Christmas and Advent music spanning nearly 400 years, all of which heavily influenced
the choral music written today. It’s fitting that we begin the concert with Tomás Luis de
Victoria, one of the most celebrated composers of the Renaissance period, who, along with
Byrd and Tallis, deeply shaped the the way Western composers write for the voice to this
day. We hope you enjoy this exploration of our choral roots.

While admission to tonight’s concert is free of charge, the scores and licenses we need in
order to perform are not. If you are able to donate, we would greatly appreciate it. Should
you choose to, you can place cash or checks in the donation box on the table at the entrance
to the church, or donate by credit/debit card. Checks should be made out to “Lux
Choir, Inc.” Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law under
IRC sections 501(c)(3) and 170. You can also donate securely online at ChoirLux.com/
support. Your support means a great deal to us.

Thank you for coming.

Program notes by Amanda Densmoor, John Mullan, Robby Napoli, Austin Nikirk, Emily Shallbetter, and
John-Paul Teti. Latin translations by John-Paul Teti. Translations from German and Russian anonymous.
Special thanks to our families and friends, and to St. Jerome’s Church and Rev. Hahn for letting us perform
and record here. Thank you to Frank Napoli for photography and thank you especially to John Vengrouskie,
our recording engineer. Thank you to St. Jerome Academy for providing rehearsal space.
TOMÁS LUIS DE VICTORIA (1548-1611)
O magnum mysterium
Responsorial for the Matins of Christmas

Tomás Luis de Victoria, one of the most famous Spanish composers of the 16th century,
first published this motet in 1572. It is to this day one of the most well-known works from
the Renaissance period. The motet opens with each part introducing the first theme,
discussing the “great mystery” with subtle layering of harmonies. Open intervals,
particularly fifths, punctuate the first section; the first full chord arrives with the bass
entrance. Largely imitative with punctuations of homophonic texture, the piece is
organized into three large sections, the last being reminiscent of the first. The middle
section picks up the tempo on the word “Alleluia,” which carries through to the end.

TEXT TRANSLATION
O magnum mysterium, O great mystery
et admirabile sacramentum and wondrous sacrament
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum that animals should see the newborn Lord
jacentem in praesepio. lying in their manger.

Beata Virgo Blessed [is] the virgin

cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum whose womb merited to carry Christ the
Christum. Alleluia! Lord. Alleluia!

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ENGLISH FOLK SONG
The Truth Sent From Above
Traditional text. Arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

The English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams is known for his work with English folk
songs. He collected over 800 folk songs, helping to save many from extinction, and
incorporated this knowledge—along with the techniques of Tallis and Byrd—into his own
compositions. Vaughan Williams’s arrangement of The Truth Sent From Above is the
opening carol of his larger work Fantasia On Christmas Carols, composed in 1912. The text
of the song tells the story from the Old Testament of the events that led to the need for
redemption and the coming of Christ.

TEXT
This is the truth sent from above, / The truth of God, the God of love; / Therefore don’t
turn me from your door, / But hearken all both rich and poor.

The first thing that I will relate, / Is that God did man create; / The next thing which to
you I’ll tell: / Woman was made with man to dwell.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes / ’Til God the Lord did interpose / And so a promise
soon did run / That he would redeem us by his Son.

And at this season of the year / Our blest Redeemer did appear, / And here did live, and
here did preach, / And many thousands he did teach.

Thus he in love to us behaved, / To show us how we must be saved; / And if you want to
know the way, / Be pleased to hear what he did say.

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JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK (1562-1621)
Hodie Christus natus est
Magnificat antiphon for Vespers on Christmas Day

The text for this piece, taken from a Christian evening prayer service on Christmas Day,
comes from two different books of the Bible: excerpts from the psalms address the coming
of the Messiah, while a passage from the apostle Luke tells of Christ’s birth. Written in a
motet style, this expressive piece intersperses the prayer with joyful acclamations of
“Alleluia”. The celebratory mood is emphasized by the polyphonic voices, each of which
seems to want to proclaim louder than the last, and which often end up overlapping almost
incomprehensibly.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Hodie Christus natus est, (Noe!) Today Christ is born, (Noel!)
Hodie salvator apparuit, (Alleluia!) Today the savior has appeared, (Alleluia!)
Hodie in terra canunt angeli, Today angels sing on earth,
Laetantur archangeli, (Noe!) The archangels rejoice, (Noel!)
Hodie exsultant justi, dicentes: Today the righteous exsult, saying:
Gloria in excelsis Deo. Glory to God in the highest.
Alleluia! (Noe!) Alleluia! (Noel!)

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GUSTAV HOLST (1874-1934)
In The Bleak Midwinter
Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)

The beloved hymn “In The Bleak Midwinter” portrays the birth of Christ. Christina
Rossetti’s text, with its “bleak” midwinter and frozen landscape, is not representative of
mild Palestinian winters, but its vivid imagery captured the feeling of Christmas for the
English parishioners it was composed for. Gustav Holst set the poem to music in 1906 and
it quickly became a classic across denominations. The irregular meter necessitates the
occasional melismatic setting, like on the word “snow” in the first verse, but Holst was able
to keep all four verses almost entirely strophic, like a traditional hymn.

TEXT
In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long, long ago.

God, heaven cannot hold him, nor the Earth sustain;

Heaven and Earth shall flee away when he comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter, a stable place sufficed:
the Lord God almighty, Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels, may have gathered there;

Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air.
But his mother only, in her maiden bliss,
worshipped the beloved with a kiss.

What can I give him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man, I would do my part.
Yet what can I give him? Give my heart.

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HERBERT HOWELLS (1892-1983)
A Spotless Rose
Traditional German carol, trans. Catherine Winkworth

Herbert Howells is one of the most revered modern English composers, and his choral
works are especially well-known. His style was influenced by Tallis and fellow English
composer Vaughan Williams, who would later go on to teach Howells as a composition
student. Howells’s A Spotless Rose comes from a set of “Three Carol-Anthems”. His setting
of this fourteenth-century Marian text is filled with an overwhelming sense of peace,
portrayed through the sweeping phrases which imitate the blowing wind described in the
poetry. This sense of peace is contrasted by the striking harmonies at the end, which
portray the harshness of the “cold winter’s night.”
TEXT
A spotless rose is blowing, sprung from a tender root,
Of ancient seers’ foreshowing, of Jesse promised fruit;
Its fairest bud unfolds to light
Amid the cold, cold winter, and in the dark midnight.

The Rose which I am singing, Whereof Isaiah said,

Is from its sweet root springing, in Mary, purest maid;
For through our God’s great love and might,
The blessed babe she bare us in a cold, cold winter’s night

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JOSQUIN DES PREZ (c. 1450-1521)
O virgo virginum
Traditional English Magnificat Antiphon for December 23 (addition to the “O antiphons”)

This motet for six voices, O virgo virginum, by early Renaissance composer Josquin des
Prez, emphasizes the mystery of the virgin birth. The text is written in two sections—the
first from the point of view of the daughters of Jerusalem, the second Mary’s response. In
the Anglican tradition, this text is traditionally added to the famed “O antiphons” (most
famous in the form “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”), a tradition which stretches back to
before the separation of the Church of England and the Catholic Church. The piece
displays typical characteristics of Josquin des Prez’s motets: imitation between the lower
voices, and long, sustained notes in the upper voices. A quoted chant melody can be found
in the soprano line, except when only the lower voices are singing, during which it can be
found instead in the tenor.

TEXT TRANSLATION
O virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud? O virgin of virgins, how will this be?
Quia nec primam similem visa es nec For neither before you was any like you, nor
habere sequentem. will there be after.
Filiae Jerusalem, quid me admiramini? Daughter of Jerusalem, why do you marvel
Divinum est mysterium hoc quod cernitis. at me?
The thing which you behold is a divine
mystery.

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ANDREA GABRIELI (c. 1532-1585)
Quem vidistis, pastores?
Third Responsory for Matins on Christmas Day

Andrea Gabrieli was one of the first masters of the Venetian School of choral music, which
arose during the transition from the Renaissance to the Baroque era, and was based out of
St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The space’s unique acoustic and multiple choir lofts led
composers to develop a compositional style which relied heavily on complex, antiphonal
arrangements to accommodate the Basilica’s architecture. Gabrieli’s friendship with the
composer Orlande de Lassus influenced him to blend Lassus’s expressive Franco-Flemish
style with the sensibilities of the emerging Venetian School. In Quem Vidistis Pastores,
Gabrieli sets a Christmas Day responsory from a traditional Christian morning prayer
service (Matins) for double choir. The dialogue in the original text between the shepherds
and the townspeople is represented through the densely-layered, joyful call and response
between the choirs.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Quem vidistis, pastores, Who did you see, shepherds;
Dicite, annuntiate nobis, Speak, tell us,
in terris quis apparuit? Who has appeared on earth?
Natum vidimus, et chorus angelorum We saw the newborn, and choirs of angels
collaudantes dominum. Alleluia! praising the Lord. Alleluia!

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ANONYMOUS
Coventry Carol
Traditional English

The Coventry Carol is an English carol that dates to the sixteenth century. It gets its name
from the town of Coventry, where it was originally performed as part of a mystery play. The
text refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which King Herod, feeling threatened after
the Magi inform him that they have come to worship a king, decides to have all children
under the age of three executed. “Lully” and “lullay” are not common words in modern
English, but in 1500s slang they mean, roughly, “I saw, I saw!”

TEXT
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child,
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters too, how may we do

For to preserve this day
This poor youngling for whom we do sing: By By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the king in his raging

Chargéd he hath this day
His men of might in his own sight all young children to slay.

That woe is me, poor child for thee! And ever morn and day
For thy parting, neither say nor sing: By, by, lully, lullay.

A 10-minute intermission will follow the Coventry Carol

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FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
Traditional Christian text

One of Mendelssohn’s later works, this piece comes from a set of sacred works for double
choir called “die Deutsche Liturgie”. Mendelssohn’s choral music is often reminiscent of
Bach’s chorale style, but this piece has more lush and romantic leanings. The two choirs
interact, mostly using imitative motion, sometimes just responding to one another. The
dense texture is somewhat broken up in the middle section, with the introduction of solo
voices, heightening the pleading motives in the text. The polyphonic end theme is
triumphant, with a smooth ending on the word “Amen”.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe, und Friede auf Glory to God in the highest, and peace on
Erden, und den Menschen ein earth, and to people of good will. We praise
Wohlgefallet! Wir loben dich, wir you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify
benedeien dich, wir beten dich an, wir you, we give you thanks for your great glory.
preisen dich, wir sagen dir Dank um deiner Lord God, heavenly king, almighty father!
grossen Herrlichkeit. Herr Gott, Lord, only-begotten son, Jesus Christ! Lord
himmlishcer König, allmächtiger Vater! God, Lamb of God, son of the father. You
Herr, du eingeborner Sohn, Jesu Christe! take away the sins of the world, have mercy
Herr Gott, du Lamm Gottes, Sohn des on us! You take away the sins of the world,
Vaters! Der du die Sünde der Welt trägst, receive our prayer. You are seated at the
Erbarme dich unser! Der du die Sünde der right hand of the father, receive our prayer.
Welt trägst, nimm an unser Gebet! Der du For you alone are the holy one, you alone
sitzest zur Rechten des Vaters, erbarme are the Lord, you alone are the most high,
dich unser. Denn du allein bist heilig, denn Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the
du allein bist der Herr, du allein bist der glory of God the Father. Amen.
Allerhöchste, Jesus Christus, mit dem
heiligen Geiste in der Herrlichkeit Gottes
des Vaters. Amen.

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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY (1840-1893)
Legend (The Crown of Roses)
Anonymous English text

Alternatively known as “The Crown of Roses” (the title given by the poet), Legend is set to a
poem written in 1857 by Richard Henry Stoddard and was originally set in Russian as part
of Tchaikovsky’s “Sixteen Songs for Children” in 1883. Tchaikovsky’s strophic setting takes
a turn from its melodic repetition in the final verse to accentuate Jesus’s suffering by using a
slew of musical techniques including a melody which falls down the scale as Jesus’ crown is
“pressed down” onto his head.

TEXT
When Jesus Christ was yet a child
He had a garden small and wild,
Wherein He cherished roses fair,
And wove them into garlands there.

Now once, as summer time drew nigh,

There came a troop of children by,
And seeing roses on the tree,
With shouts they plucked them merrily.

Do you bind roses in your hair?

They cried, in scorn, to Jesus there,
The Boy said humbly: “Take, I pray,
All but the naked thorns away.”

Then of the thorns they made a crown,

And with rough fingers pressed it down,
Till on His forehead fair and young,
Red drops of blood like roses sprung.

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REBECCA CLARKE (1886-1979)
Ave Maria
Traditional Christian text

Violist and composer Rebecca Clarke is most known for her instrumental chamber works,
particularly her Piano Trio and Viola Sonata, while her choral compositions are relatively
unknown. This Ave Maria was published in 1937, around the time Clarke began exploring
the registers and timbres of the treble voice; it was her first published choral work. The
setting uses modal scales and Renaissance techniques to pay tribute to the history of the
text. The particular version of the Marian prayer Clarke chose to set contains some
alternative text, the source of which is unknown—but it has also been set by other
composers such as Josquin des Prez and Tomás Luis de Victoria, as well as by Ola Gjeilo in
a setting (Second Eve) which Lux has performed before.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Hail Mary, full of grace,
Dominus tecum. the Lord is with you.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus Blessed are you among women, and blessed
fructus ventris tui, Jesus. is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, regina caeli, dulcis et pia, O Holy Mary, queen of heaven, sweet and
mater Dei, devout, O mother of God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, pray for us sinners,
ut cum electis te videamus. that with the chosen we may see you.
Amen. Amen.

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WILLIAM BYRD (c. 1540-1623)
Lulla, Lullaby
Anonymous

William Byrd was famously a contemporary of Tallis; both lived in England and wrote
choral music at the same time. Lulla, Lullaby is an excerpted section from a much longer
setting of the same text. In classic Renaissance form, he employs imitative entrances for
each line of text. New melodic content is used to denote a new line of text or a new emotive
idea, which is then passed around the choir in any manner of different ways, from direct
imitation passed back-and-forth, to continuous development of a theme over which the
original is restated.

TEXT
Lulla, lullaby, my sweet little baby, what meanest thou to cry?

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THOMAS TALLIS (1505-1585)
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

We’ve chosen to use this melody, known as the “Third Mode Melody”, to set the famous
Christmas poem “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. Originally, though, it was used as one of of
nine tunes for the Anglican Archbishop Matthew Parker’s translation of the Psalms, which
was published around 1560. The melody gets its name because it is written in the Phrygian
mode, often referred to in that time as the “third mode” because it can be thought of as
based on the note E, the third note in a C major scale. Though commonly used in church
services with any number of texts, this melody is probably most famous today for inspiring
Ralph Vaughan Williams’s orchestral work “Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis”.
TEXT
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.
Above thy dreep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets, it shines: the everlasting light.
The hopes and the fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of virgin pure, and gathered all above

While mortals sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, all at once, proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given,

So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
His coming no ear may hear; but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

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ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Virga Jesse
Gradual for the Feast of the Annunciation

This motet was composed in 1885, likely for the centenary of the church in Linz, Germany
where Bruckner served as organist. The text, which honors the Virgin Mary, comes from
the book of Isaiah. Stylistically, this piece ranges from a fairly conventional harmonic style
into rather complex chordal harmonies. The triumphant Alleluia theme, which repeats
twice with different parts leading, is a well-suited mix of the two extremes presented in this
piece. Its dynamic contrasts summarize the emotional context of the work as a whole—
celebratory, reflective, and filled with praise.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Virga Jesse floruit; The root of Jesse has blossomed;
Virgo Deum et hominem genuit; A virgin has brought forth God and man;
pacem Deus reddidit, God has restored peace,
in se reconcilians ima summis. reconciling in himself the lowest and highest.
Alleluia. Alleluia.

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ANTON BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Ave Maria
Traditional Christian text

Anton Bruckner set the “Ave Maria” text three times. This famous motet is his second
setting of the text, composed for mixed choir in 1861. His first setting, composed in 1856, is
for mixed choir, soprano and alto soloists, organ, and cello, and his third setting, composed
in 1881, is for alto soloist and organ. The opening of this motet alternates phrases between
high and low voices, until all voices join together for the first time in the piece to proclaim
the name of Jesus. The choir diminuendos only when the text shifts to asking the Virgin
Mary to pray on behalf of “us sinners”, an effect which indicates the petitioner’s sorrow for
their sins.

TEXT TRANSLATION
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Hail Mary, full of grace,
Dominus tecum. the Lord is with you.
Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus Blessed are you among women, and blessed
fructus ventris tui, Jesus. is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, mater Dei, Holy Mary, mother of God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, pray for us sinners,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. now and at the hours of our deaths.
Amen. Amen.

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SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943)
Нынѣ отпущаеши [Nyne otpushchayeshi]
Traditional Christian text (Canticle of Simeon / “Nunc dimittis”)

The text of this piece, more commonly known under the Latin title “Nunc dimittis”, is
frequently used in the Christian night prayer service of Compline as well as in funeral
vigils. This setting is the fifth movement of Rachmaninoff ’s famous “All-Night Vigil”, and
is likely the most excerpted movement after the ever-famous Bogoroditse Devo (“Ave
Maria”). Two of this setting’s more memorable features are the soaring tenor solo at its
onset, which returns at the end, and the final descent down the B-flat minor scale, which
leads the basses to one of the most satisfying low B-flats in choral music.

TRANSLITERATION TRANSLATION
Nyne otpushchayeshi raba Tvoego, Lord, now you let your servant depart in
Vladyko, po glagolu Tvoyemu s mirom: peace, according to your word. For my eyes
yako videsta ochi moi spaseniye Tvoye, have seen your salvation which you have
ezhe esi ugotoval pred litsem vsekh lyudei, prepared before the face of all people. A
svet vo otkrovenie yazykov, i slavu lyudei light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of
Tvoikh Izrailya. your people, Israel.

TEXT
Ныне отпущаеши раба Твоего,
Владыко, по глаголу Твоему, с миром;
яко видеста очи мои спасение Твое,
еже еси уготовал,
пред лицем всех людей,
свет во откровение языков
и славу людей Твоих Израиля.

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