Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943) composer-in-residence of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1994-2001 and professor of composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for more than thirty years, occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twentieth Century. His seven vocal cycles including Les Chansons des Roses, Nocturnes, and Lux Aeterna -- and his series of sacred a cappella motets are featured regularly in concert by distinguished ensembles throughout the world. Lauridsen himself says of this Roses cycle:
In addition to his vast output of German poetry, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) wrote nearly 400 poems in French. His poems on roses struck me as especially charming, filled with gorgeous lyricism, deftly crafted and elegant in their imagery. These exquisite poems are primarily light, joyous and playful, and the musical settings are designed to enhance these characteristics and capture their delicate beauty and sensuousness. Distinct melodic and harmonic materials recur throughout the cycle, especially between Rilke's poignant Contre Qui, Rose (set as a wistful nocturne) and his moving La Rose Complete. The final piece, Dirait-on, is composed as a tuneful chanson populaire, or folksong, that weaves together two melodic ideas first heard in fragmentary form in preceding movements.
René Clausen (b. 1953) has served as conductor of The Concordia Choir of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota since 1986. Additionally, he is the artistic director of the award-winning Concordia Christmas Concerts, which are frequently featured by PBS stations throughout the nation. He is a well-known composer, and his compositional style is varied and eclectic, ranging from works appropriate for high school and church choirs to more technically-demanding compositions for college and professional choirs. "Set Me As a Seal" is the most frequently excerpted movement from Clausen's cantata, A New Creation in which he uses Latin and English texts on various religious subjects to express those aspects of one's relationship to God. The text for the piece heard today is taken from Song of Solomon 8:6-7 and is used frequently at both weddings and funerals because of its description of sure and unfailing love.
"My Beloved Spake" by Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was also composed upon text from Song of Solomon 2:10-13,16 which embodies a different aspect of love and uses imagery of spring and nature to reflect the beauty and joy of those truly in love. Since it was originally scored for strings and organ, we can assume that this piece was written for the Chapel Royal at St. James' Palace in London. Purcell was music director and organist there for a time as was, perhaps most famously, George Frederic Handel. It is a traditional English anthem from the Baroque period, and is also originally scored for men and boys' voices. Today, it will be sung with mixed voices and accompanied by organ, and the brightness of the tempi reflect the buoyant mood of the text.Adolphus Hailstork (b. 1941) is Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at Norfolk State University in Virginia. He received his doctorate in composition from Michigan State University, where he was a student of H. Owen Reed. Dr. Hailstork has written numerous works for chorus, solo voice, various chamber ensembles, band, and orchestra. In “Nocturne,” he calls upon a lover to contemplate and appreciate the simple beauties of the night. The text of the poem by Jim Curtis is at first carried by the soprano, while the other parts provide an atmospheric background. Following a middle section in which all parts work over the poem, the conclusion returns to the atmosphere of the beginning. This is the second of his set of Five Short Choral Works embodying similar programmatic themes.
The Liebeslieder Walzer (Lovesong Waltzes) are what brought Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) to prominence in his career. Brahms had not yet produced anything of great acclaim in the public eye -- not even the German Requiem had had much effect in the previous year. But, thanks to fellow composer Robert Schumann's rave reviews, it was the Liebeslieder that first convinced the public that Schumann was right about Brahms all along, and it immediately paved the way for public acceptance of Brahms' greater and weightier masterpieces. There are a total of 18 brief waltzes in this Opus 52 written for chorus and piano duet with texts from George Friedrich Daumer's Polydora. Brahms' Liebeslieder represent the mingling of the folk music of northern Germany (the composer's former homeland) and the waltzes and Ländler of Upper Austria (his new homeland). In effect, these are stylized Viennese waltzes. Nearly all of Daumer's poems are pastoral verses on both the positive and negative attributes of love. Today, we will be singing some of our favorite excerpts from this beautiful set of pieces.
