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CHRONOSVOCAL ENSEMBLE
JORDAN VAN BIERT CONDUCTOR
SATURDAY JANUARY 13WEST END CHRISTIAN
REFORMED CHURCH
1 7 | 1 8 S e a s o n p r e s e n t e d b y Pro fes s iona l Aud io logy C l i n i c L td .
C L I N I C
WITH GUESTS Edmonton Youth Choir John Wiebe, Conductor
NEW MUSIC FROM CANADA
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SOPRANOMelanie Astle
Virginia Clevette
Jessica Heine
Stephanie Mattingly
Elle Salvalaggio
Janet Smith
Elizabeth Stolte
Melodie VanderWey
ALTOLana Cuthbertson
Deanna Davis
Jessica Hatton
Kelly Henry
Guylaine Lefebre-Maunder
Monica Littleton
Judith Plumb
Anne-Marie Switzer
TENORDavid Dykstra
Graham Fast
Slava Morozov
Caleb Nelson
Juan Ramirez
Anthony Wynne
BASSJoel Forth
Kurt Illerbrun
Damon MacLeod
Hugh McCune
John McCune
Justin Strand
Frank Thede
Shad Turner
CHRONOS[vocal ensemble]
Jordan Van Biert, conductor
Kim Cousineau, piano
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PROGRAM
WINTER SUNDon Macdonald (b. 1966)
A FLAME IN THE EMBERS Nicholas Ryan Kelly (b. 1986)
THREE LACQUER PRINTS Zachary Wadsworth (b. 1983)
Anne-Marie Switzer, alto soloCaleb Nelson, tenor solo
VOIX DU VENT Guillaume Boulay (b. 1982)
ONE BLACK SPIKE Jocelyn Morlock (b. 1969)
PICKING WILD BERRIES Alex Eddington (b.1980)
Elle Salvalaggio, soprano solo
PLAYING WITH FIRE Kristopher Fulton (b. 1978)
Edmonton Youth Choir
FOUR HERRICK SONGS (3 excerpts) David L McIntyre (b. 1950)Edmonton Youth Choir
AMBE Andrew Balfour (b. 1967)
INTERMISSION
SPRING AND FALL: TO A YOUNG CHILDTawnie Olson (b. 1974)
WHEN THE SUN COMES AFTER RAIN Matthew Emery (b. 1991)
WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND? David Archer (b. 1985)
I LOVED YOU FIRST Stuart Beatch (b. 1991)
THE EIGHTH OF SEPTEMBER Peter Togni (b. 1959)
LITTLE BELLSNicholas Ryan Kelly (b.1986)
Kim Cousineau, piano
THE FROST Kathleen Allan (b. 1989)
AMBE (reprise)
WORLD PREMIERE CANADIAN PREMIERE ALBERTA PREMIERE
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CHRONOS MUSIC SOCIETYChronos Music Society is a registered charity and issues tax receipts
for all donations over $20. Charity registration # 820201788RR0001
Cheques payable to:
Chronos Music Society, c/o 10615 - 137 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5N 2H5
www.chronosvocalensemble.com [email protected]
Thanks for your support!
CHRONOS VOCAL ENSEMBLE
Chronos Vocal Ensemble is governed and operated by Chronos Music Society, a non-profit organization incorporated in Alberta and a federally-registered charity. Our aim is to support the production of choral performances of a high calibre in Edmonton and Alberta.
CHRONOS[vocal ensemble]
WE INVITE YOU TO SUPPORT CHRONOS VOCAL ENSEMBLE• Attend a performance.• Contact us to join our mailing list.• Like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.• Make a personal donation, and help produce concerts, recordings, and the creation of
new choral works! • Have a business? We’re looking for Advertisers and Concert Sponsors. • Contact us:
Kurt Illerbrun, President
Judith Plumb, Treasurer
Shad Turner, Secretary
Deanna Davis, Past President
BOARD OF DIRECTORSMatthew Blimke, Director
Mark Freeman, Director
Namisha Hlus, Director
Anne-Marie Switzer, Director
Find us on Facebook or Twitter!
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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S WELCOME
Happy New Year from Chronos Vocal Ensemble, and welcome to this evening’s performance!
This is the second production of our Season Five, which features three contrasting concerts: Fearless, Fresh and Free. Like the other titles, Fresh describes the music you will hear tonight – new music by Canadian composers. We also think it describes the experience you’ll continually have at our concerts.
Tonight’s program features shorter works, mostly a cappella, and secular in theme; topics include nature and the changing seasons, human relationships, passion, love, loss, death, and hope. The texts come primarily from the last 150 years, and are mostly in English.
You will be the first-ever audience for five world premieres this evening. We are particularly excited to premiere the winning entry to our inaugural composition competition, Nicholas Ryan Kelly’s Little Bells, and to have the composer here from Penticton BC to hear it. As I got to know Nick’s music, I discovered another a cappella gem that had yet to receive a public performance, and so his A Flame in the Embers is also on tonight’s program.
We’ve had the thrilling experience of working on a highly collaborative commission project with Toronto composer Alex Eddington. His Picking Wild Berries, based on a children’s book by Canadian author Julie Flett on a text in English and Swampy Cree, will be an interesting feast for your ears. Our thanks to Julie for allowing us to project the images from the book.
Speaking with composer Peter Togni this fall, I was excited to hear he’d completed a new commission that didn’t have built-in performance plans; he was pleased to send us the piece, which is captivating, and you will be the first to hear The Eighth of September.
Among the many other offerings on tonight’s program, we’re excited to bring you music of two US-based Canadian composers, Zachary Wadsworth and Tawnie Olson, whose works will be receiving their Canadian premieres tonight. We also have Edmonton-raised David Archer here from the West Coast to hear us perform his Who Has Seen The Wind, and we’ll present the first performance outside of BC of Juno-nominated composer Joceyln Morlock’s One Black Spike. Each other offering deserves a few words, and I’ll introduce more of the music verbally as we go along.
We’re so glad to have John Wiebe and Edmonton Youth Choir join us for tonight’s performance, and we’ve had a great time making music with them: we salute their energy, excellence and dedication to this art form!
Yesterday evening we were delighted to present a preview version of tonight’s program in St. Albert, and we look forward to future opportunities to perform in Edmonton’s surrounding communities, continuing tomorrow as we travel to Camrose to present a recap performance at the University of Alberta Augustana Campus.
We hope to see you again soon!
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A “a rapidly rising star in the Canadian choral scene” (Anacrusis), Chronos Vocal Ensemble was founded in 2013 by Jordan Van Biert. Under his leadership, and through a process of collaborative learning with careful preparation and dedication to the choral tradition, the choir aims to deliver compelling performances to audiences in Edmonton and beyond.
The singers are united in an appreciation for inspired music-making and significant repertoire. Coming from diverse backgrounds, professions, and ages, they each possess a high level of musicianship and strong vocal technique.
Now in its fifth year of operation, the ensemble has delighted audiences in Edmonton and the surrounding area, and performed by invitation at distinguished events including the University of Alberta Alumni Centennial, Alberta Music Conference, and the Podium 2016 Festival and Conference. In 2015 the choir was awarded the Healey Willan Grand Prize in the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs, and in Spring 2016 toured the Canadian prairies.
The choir has released two successful recordings, most recently The Simplest Way: The music of Trent Worthington, recently reviewed glowingly in Anacrusis magazine: “I would highly recommend this CD to lovers of choral music… very fine singing.” In November 2016, the choir was given a Performance Award by the City of Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence for bringing recognition to Edmonton.
CHRONOS VOCAL ENSEMBLE
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Over the past decade, Jordan has emerged as a respected choral leader and organization builder, uniting singers in the common goal of creating rich musical experiences—for themselves, for each other, and for audiences. A graduate of the University of Alberta and The King’s University, Jordan is an experienced conductor of many ensemble types, a passionate educator, and an accomplished singer, having performed extensively with professional choirs in Alberta and beyond. He also serves as a workshop leader, adjudicator, juror, and organizational
consultant. In summer of 2016 he was part of a group of international conductors selected to conduct the Stuttgart Chamber Choir in performance as part of a masterclass with Frieder Bernius.
Jordan founded Chronos Vocal Ensemble in 2013 to pursue excellence in choral performance within the context of a non-professional ensemble. His work with the choir is gaining wider recognition: he has been recognized with a nomination as Emerging Artist in Edmonton’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts, and recently received the Con Spirito award from Choir Alberta, for “spirit, dedication, and commitment to choral music in the Province of Alberta.” More at www.jordanvanbiert.com
JORDAN VAN BIERT CONDUCTOR
Proud to help this outstanding choir
stand out.
B r a n d s t h a t s i n g . I d e a s t h a t s o a r .
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Edmonton Youth Choir (EYC) is the oldest choir in the Edmonton Youth & Children’s Choir family and focuses on advanced, a cappella repertoire. The choir has competed successfully in festivals and competitions across Canada and Europe, has been heard nationally on CBC Radio, and has recorded six CDs, and tours have taken the group to locales across Canada and around the world. In July 2014, the choir received two Gold Medals for their performances at the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia, and in 2016 they toured South Africa. The choir has presented a number of choral–orchestral works with members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, and their latest CD, “Playing with Fire,” has just been released.
EDMONTON YOUTH CHOIR
Dr. John Wiebe is an award-winning conductor and pianist based in Edmonton, Alberta, where he is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alberta – Augustana Campus, and the Conductor and Artistic Director of the Edmonton Youth & Children’s Choirs. He is known for his energy, craftsmanship and passion; choirs under his leadership have recorded six CDs, performed across Canada and around the world, and received numerous awards. John has studied at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Alberta, with Frieder Bernius from Stuttgart, Germany, and in Vienna, Austria. John is active in the choral community as a clinician and adjudicator and is currently the President of Choral Canada.
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Kim Cousineau received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Victoria, and studied privately with Anna Cal, student of Russian pianist Pavel Egorov. He has been involved with numerous operatic and musical theater productions, including “Carmen”, “Hansel & Gretel”, and the world premieres of “Mary’s Wedding” and “Rattenbury” (Pacific Opera Victoria), “Candide” and “La Voix Humaine” (Opera Nuova), “Bernarda Alba” and “The Light in the
Piazza” (MacEwan Theatre), “The Last Resort” (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), and “Urinetown” (Concordia University of Edmonton). Kim was a staff pianist and coach with Vancouver Island summer music programs “In the Key Of Glee” and “A Voce Sola”, and with Singspiration in Edmonton. He is in high demand as a choral accompanist in the Edmonton area, working with many groups including Concordia Concert Choir, Da Camera Singers, Vocal Alchemy, Joyful Noise, and Chronos Vocal Ensemble. In 2012, he was the recipient of the BC Choral Federation’s Joyce O. Maguire Award for outstanding long-term service as a choral accompanist. Kim maintains a busy schedule as a collaborative pianist and coach in the Edmonton area.
KIM COUSINEAU PIANO
SOPRANOMargaret Bird
Angela Bittman
Laura Blanchette
Eli Brooks
Meghan Bunn4Janet Gauthier
Kiara Krasowski
Jenny Lee
Shaylene Lunam
Emily Luo1Katie Maxfield
Ella Morey
Ehren Moser1Siobhan Taylor
Alena Thompson4Caeleigh Warke
Alana Whitson
Casey Wong
ALTODana Barnstable1Jessica Behnke
Mia Chin
Jullieanna Edwards2,4Merina Fitzgerald4Emilia Grindlay
Anna Kraemer
Paige Lucas1Kerry McCune
Elizabeth Ng
Emma Stout
Justine Tomas
TENORFrederick Enorme
Samuel Esteban
Sean Gleason
Michael Paquia
Kevin Quinn1Juan Ramirez
BASSHendrick Baerends
Koen Baerends
Joshua Camacho
Marcus Esteban2Matthew Guay1,4Christian Maxfield
Josiah Maxfield
Callum McCabe1,4Hugh McCune3Ben Paramonov
Tim To4Luke Wiebe
Nathan Wong
1Section Leader
2Choral Assistant
3Librarian
4Choir Council
Administrative Assistant
Lisa Eriksson
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WINTER SUN
DON MACDONALD
Don Macdonald
has a multifaceted
musical career that
includes professional
performing as a
vocalist, instrumentalist and conductor.
He composes for theatre, dance, voice
and choirs in a multitude of styles; he has
written soundtracks to over 50 film and
television productions. His commissioned
opera, “KHAOS,” received a highlighted
performance at the 2013 Opera America
Conference and his choral works have
been performed and recorded by many
fine ensembles including Rajaton and the
Vancouver Chamber Choir. Don lives in
Nelson, BC.
“To light, to water, and the flow of birds through ancient stars.” This
fantastic poetry written by Malca Litovitz, so rich with imagery of the Canadian winter,
provided the inspiration for a composition that embraces word painting.
To light,
to water,
and the flow of birds
through ancient stars.
To the wild sun of winter
startling the dark green
trees: giants
of majestic silence.
To snow on roofs
and the peace of Sunday.
To quiet and certitude,
to breathing, to air.
To acceptance, to dreams.
To disclosures of the sleeping heart,
for air, for light.
Malca Litovitz (b. 1952)
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A FLAME IN THE EMBERS
NICHOLAS RYAN KELLY
Nicholas Ryan Kelly
was first drawn to
music’s storytelling
potential through
film soundtracks and
symphonic poems. After completing two
degrees in music and writing for nearly
every medium except choir, he began
focusing on choral music in late 2015.
Since then, he has had several choral
pieces commercially published, received
six national and international awards
for choral composition, and composed
for several prominent Canadian choirs,
including Musica Intima, Chor Leoni, and
the Da Capo Chamber Choir. His scores
can be seen (and occasionally heard) at
nicholasryankelly.com.
“‘A Flame in the Embers’ is set to words by Canadian poet Marjorie Pickthall. I
loved the poem’s atmosphere – the contrast between a radiant garden and a sombre
night – and the film-composer part of me had fun translating it into music.”
Dark is the iris meadow,
Dark is the ivory tower,
And lightly the young moth’s shadow
Sleeps on the passion-flower.
Gone are our day’s red roses,
So lovely and lost and few,
But the first star uncloses
A silver bud in the blue.
Night, and a flame in the embers
Where the seal of the years was set, –
When the almond-bough remembers
How shall my heart forget?
“Serenade,” Marjorie Pickthall (1883–1922)
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THREE LACQUER PRINTS
ZACHARY WADSWORTH
Canadian-American
composer Zachary
Wadsworth’s “fresh,
deeply felt and
strikingly original”
music (Washington Post) has been
heard around the world. He has held
a residency at the Metropolitan Opera,
and his music has been performed at
Westminster Abbey in the presence of
Queen Elizabeth II. Other recent honours
include awards from Choral Canada
and the American Academy of Arts
and Letters. He is currently an Assistant
Professor of Music at Williams College in
Massachusetts.
Amy Lowell’s poetic “Lacquer Prints” were written as short responses to Japanese
woodblock prints. Each “print” exists in one static moment. In “Temple Ceremony,” rich
chords alternate between high and low voices, passing like wind. In “A Year Passes,”
the chorus imitates picturesque natural scenes and living creatures. In “A Burnt Offering,”
Lowell’s haunting description of emotional trauma unfolds in winding solo lines, building
to a climax on the image of Lowell’s indelible “Beloved.”
I. Temple Ceremony
Blow softly,
O Wind!
And let no clouds cover the moon
Which lights the posturing steps
Of the most beautiful of dancers.
II. A Year Passes
Beyond the porcelain fence of the pleasure
garden,
I hear the frogs in the blue-green rice-fields;
But the sword-shaped moon
Has cut my heart in two.
III. A Burnt Offering
Because there was no wind,
The smoke of your letters hung in the air
For a long time;
And its shape
Was the shape of your face,
My Beloved.
Amy Lowell (1874–1925)
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VOIX DU VENT
GUILLAUME BOULAY
Guillaume Boulay
studied singing,
composing, conducting
and pedagogy at the
Quebec Conservatory
and Laval University, where he also
conducted the Music Faculty choir and
taught choral conducting from 2012 to
2015. As a composer, his work has been
notably presented in Edmonton, New
York (Carnegie Hall), Paris (Conservatoire
de Musique), Quebec and Montreal. He
has performed as a professional singer in
many settings, has been musical director
of Quebec’s Catholic Cathedral, and
is currently president of the board for
Quebec’s Sacred Music Festival.
“Voix du Vent” is the first piece of a five-song choral cycle composed in 2012 to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau. This
famed Quebecois poet is considered by many to be the first modern poet in French-
speaking Canada. The vocal parts of this cycle are faithful images of the author’s
wording, its inner musicality as well as its irrepressible melancholy, carried musically by
a sort of uninhibited tonal serialism.
La grande voix du vent
Toute voix confuse au loin
Puis qui grandit en s’approchant
Devient
Cette voix-ci, cette voix-là
De cet arbre et de cet autre
Et continue et redevient
Une grande voix confuse au loin
The great voice of the wind
Every voice confused far off
That then grows as it approaches
Becomes
This voice, that voice
From this tree and from this other
And goes on and becomes again
A great voice confused far off
Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau (1912–
1943)
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ONE BLACK SPIKE
JOCELYN MORLOCK
Juno Award-
nominated composer
Jocelyn Morlock’s
music is hailed as
“airy but rhythmic,
tuneful but complex” and with “uncanny
yet toothsome beauty” (Georgia Straight).
Her music is recorded on 22 CDs
including the newly released “Halcyon”
and “Cobalt”, whose title track won the
2015 Western Canadian Music Award
for Best Classical Composition. Jocelyn
is the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s
Composer in Residence; recent premieres
include Lucid Dreams, a cello concerto
written for Ariel Barnes and the VSO.
www.jocelynmorlock.com
“‘One Black Spike’ represents the time period 1914–1945. Its subject is the Grand
Trunk Pacific Railway, opened in 1914, which connects Port Hardy and the BC interior.
The last spike (made of black iron ore) of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was driven
one mile east of Fort Fraser, British Columbia, Canada on April 7, 1914. Thanks to
Alan Ashton for his help in making the list that comprises the text of this song.”
One black iron spike
One mile east of Fort Fraser
Three thousand miles of track, standard
gauge
Three thousand days of immigrant labour
One resource economy
One black spike.
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PICKING WILD BERRIES
When Clarence was little, his grandma
carried him on her back through
the woods to the clearing to pick
wild berries
pickaci-mīnisa
Grandma carried a bucket and sang.
Now Clarence carries his own bucket
and walks behind his
grandma
ōkoma.
They sing together.
Blueberries dot the clearing.
Grandma checks for
bears
maskwak.
They pick the plumpest berries they can find
and drop them into their
buckets
otaskīkowāwa.
Tup, tup.
Grandma likes sweet
blueberries
ininimina,
soft blueberries, juicy blueberries. Clarence
likes big blueberries, sour blueberries,
blueberries that go POP in his mouth.
Clarence and his grandma pick blueberries
for a
long time
konēsk.
They eat
So many
mīcēt
berries that their lips turn purple.
An ant
ēnik crawls up Clarence’s leg.
Tch, tch. It tickles.
A spider
kōkom-minākēsīs makes its web.
Sh, sh.
A fox
mākēsīs sneaks by.
Rustle, rustle.
When the buckets are full, Clarence lays a
handful of berries on a leaf for the
birds
pinēsīsak
and the other animals of the woods.
They say
thank you
nanāskomowak.
Clarence and his grandma walk back
through the
woods
sakāk
with their buckets full of berries.
The birds
sing
nikamo
in the clearing.
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ALEX EDDINGTON
Alex Eddington has
been commissioned
by a diverse list of
musicians including
the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra, Continuum Contemporary
Music, and soprano Kristin Mueller-
Heaslip. He has composed many
pieces for students, including the Suzuki
String School of Guelph. His music
was recently released worldwide on
two albums on the Cambria label.
Alex has worked with theatre and
dance companies across Canada as a
composer and sound designer, including
Tarragon Theatre and Mile Zero Dance.
Listen at www.AlexEddington.com.
“‘Picking Wild Berries’ is a musical setting of Julie Flett’s beautiful children’s book Wild
Berries / Pikaci Minisa, written in English and Swampy Cree. The text is a simple
story about a boy and his grandmother picking blueberries in a forest clearing, while
observing nature. I was just as much influenced by Flett’s illustrations; the restricted
colour palette, clean lines, surprising animals, and the eternal presence of a deep
red sun all have analogies in the music. I am indebted to Chronos Vocal Ensemble for
commissioning me to work with this gorgeous source material.”
Wild Berries – Julie Flett
Text and images copyright Julie Flett (2014), used with permission.
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PLAYING WITH FIRE
KRISTOPHER FULTON
Kristopher Fulton
is a Canadian
composer
(Vancouver, BC)
known for his use
of inter-textuality, specifically with reference
to film and comic books, to create new
and exciting works within the genre of
contemporary classical music. Kristopher’s
work has been actively commissioned and
performed by ensembles across North
America, Europe and Asia, has been
featured in several independent films, and
featured in the field of modern dance.
“I had been wanting to work with the renowned American author and poet Jason Mott
for years. When he agreed to write a poem (“Pyro”) as part of this commission for Dr.
John Wiebe and the Edmonton Youth Choir, I was absolutely elated. Jason has the
ability to combine mythic qualities of the superhero with the heartbreaking realism of the
everyday. The result is an emotional journey that explores many contemporary issues
such as identity, gender, mortality and even love through the lens of one of my favourite
X-Men characters: Pyro.”
PYRO
Someone once said that we all dream of
flame, that, in the end, we all wish to see
the light
fade.
That’s why we love stories of the end, songs
of the time when the future has become
the past
and all that remains are the dogged embers,
flickering, clinging to the last breaths of
warmth.
They call me Pyro. A name and a warning.
Someone who chases fire, who loves it,
who loses
control and lets it consume them.
But I am unconsumed. I am whole.
Because fire lives and breathes, just like us.
So I tend it. The flame never drew me,
only the life.
– Jason Mott
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FOUR HERRICK SONGS
1. The Wounded Cupid
Cupid as he lay among
Roses, by a Bee was stung.
Whereupon in anger flying
To his Mother, said thus crying;
“Help! O help! your Boy’s a dying.”
“And why, my pretty wagge?” said she.
Then blubbering, replied he,
“A Serpent winged hath bitten me,
Which Country people call a Bee.”
At which she smil’d; then with her hairs
And kisses drying up his tears:
“Alas!” said she, “my lad! if this
So fierce a torment is:
Tell me then, how great is the smart
Of those, thou woundest with thy Dart!”
by Anacreon, translated by Robert Herrick
(1591-1674)
2. A Willow Garland
A willow Garland thou didst send
Last daye perfumde to me,
Which did but only this portend,
I was forsooke by thee
Since thus it is I’le tell thee what
To Morrow thou shalt see
Me weare the willow, after that
To dye uppon the tree
As Beasts unto the Alter goe
With garlands soe I
Will with my willow wreathe alsoe
Com foorth and sweetly dye.
Robert Herrick
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DAVID L. MCINTYRE
David L. McIntyre is
living his childhood
dream of being a
composer and pianist.
Spending most of his
life on the Canadian prairies, he was
born in Edmonton, educated in Saskatoon
and Calgary, and has been based in
Regina since 1976. Known equally for
his piano, vocal, choral and chamber
works, David has fulfilled commissions for
the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the
Montreal Music Festival, among others,
and among many commissions. David
lives with his partner Greg and a flock
of Fantail and English Trumpeter pigeons
and nurtures a love of architecture and
cooking.
In “Four Herrick Songs,” composer David L. McIntyre sets four poems by the 16th-
century writer and minister, Robert Herrick (you will hear the first three tonight). Herrick
loved the richness, variety and sensuality of life, with an overriding message that “life
is short, the world is beautiful, love is splendid, and we must use the short time we
have to make the most of it – carpe diem.” McIntyre, who is known as a playful, witty,
tuneful and passionate composer, vividly and wonderfully marries his musical writing to
these Herrick texts. From the theatrical setting of “The Wounded Cupid” to the funeral-
procession of “The Willow Garland” to the impassioned sensuality of “The Showre of
Roses,” these pieces capture the essence of carpe diem.
3. The Showre of Roses
My Mistris blush’de, and there-with-all,
As that Rich Crimson spread,
From either cheeke a showre did fall
Of blossoms whyte and Red.
The more she blush’de the more the grace
Did make the Softe bloomes grow,
Which guilded there fell down a pace
Like flakes of winter snow.
Had she not cast her Eye beneath
And Seene a realm of flowr’s
Ah doubtless she had bloomed to death
With Rayninge Rosye showr’s.
But when she stopt…
A sent soe blest I smelt, that I did sweare
That paradise had lefte the East
To spend his spices there.
Robert Herrick
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AMBE
ANDREW BALFOUR
Of Cree descent,
Andrew Balfour
has written a body
of more than 30
choral, instrumental
and orchestral works and has been
commissioned by many Canadian
artists and ensembles. Andrew is also
the founder and Artistic Director of the
innovative Winnipeg-based 14-member
vocal group Camerata Nova. Andrew
was Curator and Composer-in-Residence
of the WSO’s Indigenous Festivals in
2009 and 2010, and in 2007 received
the Mayor of Winnipeg’s Making a Mark
Award, recognizing the most promising
mid-career artist in the City.
This piece is based on an original song in Ojibway that was gifted by traditional
drummer and singer Cory Campbell to Andrew Balfour and the University of Manitoba
Concert Choir. Cory describes the song as “a call to the people to the ceremonial
way of life or to the red road or, quite frankly, to whatever we have going on,
because everything happens with spirit and in spirit.” Andrew has created an original
composition inspired by Cory’s song. The melodies of Andrew’s piece are original,
but hints of Cory’s song remain. For Andrew, the steady beat throughout represents
the heartbeat of Mother Earth, and the lyrical soprano melody that emerges from this
rhythmic texture conveys the powerful totem of the eagle, representing the teaching
of love, wisdom, and strength. The pronunciation for the text is based on the dialect
spoken on Sagkeeng First Nation in Cory’s home province of Manitoba. Specifically, the
pronunciation of the word “Anishinaabeg” reflects one of the teachings that have come
to Cory involving the etymology of the word; it represents not only the Ojibway people,
but all “two-legged beings.”
Ambe, ambe Anishinaabeg
biindigeg Anishinaabeg
Mino-bimaadiziwin* omaa
Ambe
Come in two-legged beings
come in all people
The way of a good life* is here
Come in!
*Mino-bimaadiziwin is an Ojibway
philosophy – the way of a good life – as
explained by the traditional teachings of the
Anishinaabe.
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SPRING AND FALL: TO A YOUNG CHILD
TAWNIE OLSON
Tawnie Olson is an
Alberta-born composer
whose music draws
inspiration from
spirituality, politics, the
natural world, and the musicians for whom
she composes. www.tawnieolson.com
“When setting ‘Spring and Fall: to a Young Child,’ I tried to underscore
meaningful features of the poem (e.g., how Hopkins’ meter ties together “Márgarét”
and “Goldengrove,” foreshadowing the poem’s conclusion) and draw out things that
are glossed over in the text (the whole journey from childhood to middle age, casually
summed up with “by and by”). This piece is dedicated to my father, Tom Olson, and to
the Ithaca College Choir. It was commissioned by the Ithaca College School of Music,
the Ithaca College Choir, and Janet Galván.”
Márgarét, are you gríeving
Over Goldengrove unleaving?
Leáves, like the things of man, you
With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
Ah! ás the heart grows older
It will come to such sights colder
By and by, nor spare a sigh
Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
And yet you wíll weep and know why.
Now no matter, child, the name:
Sórrow’s spríngs áre the same.
Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
It ís the blight man was born for,
It is Margaret you mourn for.
Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)
22
WHEN THE SUN COMES AFTER RAIN
MATTHEW EMERY
Matthew Emery is a
composer who “writes
with an honesty which
enchants” (Vancouver
Sun); his music has
been performed in sixteen countries and
in every province. Recent performances
include ones at the White House
(Obama), the Great Wall of China, and
the Musikverein. His music is available on
numerous commercially released albums,
and through several leading publishers.
Matthew studied at the University of British
Columbia and the University of Toronto.
“‘When the Sun Comes After Rain’ is an anthem about finding home. I wrote the
work while in my second year of university, living on the other side of the country. It is an
imaginative a cappella setting of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem that brings a freshness
as real as the smells after a summer rain.”
When the sun comes after rain
And the bird is in the blue,
The girls go down the lane
Two by two.
When the sun comes after shadow
And the singing of the showers,
The girls go up the meadow,
Fair as flowers.
When the eve comes dusky red
And the moon succeeds the sun,
The girls go home to bed
One by one.
And when life draws to its even
And the day of man is past,
They shall all go home to heaven,
Home at last.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894)
23
WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND?
DAVID ARCHER
David Archer’s music
finds life in the divide
between sacred and
secular. An award-
winning composer
and University of Alberta Music grad,
David creates thoughtful and emotionally
engaging music charged with mystery
and beauty. Pro Coro Canada, Vancouver
Chamber Choir, Canadian Chamber
Choir, Vox Humana Chamber Choir, and
the U of A Madrigal Singers are a few of
the ensembles that have performed pieces
from his expanding catalogue focused on
choral music. www.soundstone.ca
“I was drawn to this poem because of its simplicity and because of its question without a
good answer. No doubt this will be different for every person, but I hope that the music
makes a space for us to savour the mysteries of the unseen, the unknown, of faith, doubt,
wondering, hope, and peace. There is always room for another question.”
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you:
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing thro’.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I:
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.
Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)
24
I LOVED YOU FIRST
STUART BEATCH
Stuart Beatch is a
Canadian composer
of choral and
chamber music
currently living in
London, UK. He recently completed
graduate studies at King’s College
London under Rob Keeley, having
previously studied at the University of
Alberta. With a particular focus on
the choral arts, his music has been
sung by vocal ensembles on both
sides of the Atlantic, including the BBC
Singers, the National Youth Choir
of Canada, and Pro Coro Canada.
www.stuartbeatch.com
“‘I Loved You First’ is a simple and emotional setting of the eponymous poem by
Christina Rossetti. In this piece, I aimed to write something pure, delicate, and vulnerable,
but which remained true to my roots (that of sacred choral music). The text, about the
nature of true and lasting love, is set with clean, sterile lines juxtaposed against passionate
declarations, which ends with a warm and reaffirming chorale.”
I loved you first: but afterwards your love,
Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song
As drowned the friendly cooings of my dove.
Which owes the other most? My love was long,
And yours one moment seemed to wax more
strong;
I loved and guessed at you, you construed me
And loved me for what might or might not be –
Nay, weights and measures do us both a wrong.
For verily love knows not ‘mine’ or ‘thine’;
With separate ‘I’ and ‘thou’ free love has done,
For one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nought of ‘thine that is not mine’;
Both have the strength and both the length thereof,
Both of us, of the love which makes us one.
Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)
25
THE EIGHTH OF SEPTEMBER
PETER-ANTHONY TOGNI
Canadian Peter-
Anthony Togni is
an award-winning
composer, pianist,
organist, conductor
and former CBC broadcaster based in
Halifax. He has toured internationally
and performs currently as part of
Blackwood, and his recordings are
broadcast worldwide. Togni’s Responsio
won the 2014 Nova Scotia Masterworks
Arts Award. In 2016, Peter’s opera
Isis and Osiris premiered to critical
acclaim in Toronto. Current projects
include a symphony, Open Gates
and Sea Dreams for choirs and flute.
www.petertogni.com
“‘The Eighth of September’ is by the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Pablo
Neruda, one of the great poets of the 20th century and a personal favourite of mine.…
These loving, ecstatic and passionate poems were written for his wife Matilde Urrutia.
He turns simplicity into mystical beauty and reveals the hidden corners behind the words
themselves. I have tried to capture this with my own musical language, always being
guided by the underlying passion and simplicity of the poetry.”
This day, Today, was a brimming glass.
This day, Today, was an immense wave.
This day was all the Earth.
This day, the storm-driven ocean
lifted us up in a kiss
so exalted we trembled
at the lightning flash
and bound as one, fell,
and drowned, without being unbound.
This day our bodies grew
stretched out to Earth’s limits,
orbited there, melded there
to one globe of wax, or a meteor’s flame.
A strange door opened, between us,
and someone, with no face as yet,
waited for us there.
Pablo Neruda (1904–1973)
26
LITTLE BELLS
“‘Little Bells’ celebrates the beauty that can be found in the everyday, and the joys
inherent in being attuned to one’s surroundings. The text by Walt Whitman describes an
awed reaction to sounds as commonplace as wind and a heartbeat – and I decided
that, rather than mimicking these sounds (which, to my mind, would be redundant),
the music should underscore this reaction, and help to evoke the remarkable contrasts
between the sounds Whitman describes.”
I heard you, solemn-sweet pipes of the
organ, as last Sunday morn I pass’d the
church;
Winds of autumn!—as I walk’d the woods
at dusk, I heard your long-stretch’d sighs, up
above, so mournful;
I heard the perfect Italian tenor, singing at the
opera—I heard the soprano in the midst of
the quartet singing;
Heart of my love!—you too I heard,
murmuring low, through one of the wrists
around my head;
Heard the pulse of you, when all was still,
ringing little bells last night under my ear.
Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
NICHOLAS RYAN KELLY
(see bio, page 11)
COMPOSITION COMPETITION WINNER
Chronos Vocal Ensemble’s inaugural
composition competition was held in
summer-fall 2017, and we received 21
entries from 6 provinces.
Congratulations to
winner Nicholas
Ryan Kelly!
Many thanks to our
jurors: Julia Davids
(Chicago), Rachel Rensink-Hoff (Hamilton)
and Timothy Shantz (Calgary) who
worked together with Jordan Van Biert to
narrow down selections and determine
a winner; thanks also to our anonymous
donor whose contribution has funded the
prize for this competition as well as other
upcoming new music projects.
27
THE FROST
KATHLEEN ALLAN
Kathleen Allan’s
compositions have
been commissioned
and performed
throughout the
Americas and Europe and have been
featured at two World Symposiums on
Choral Music. She is the Director of
Choral Studies at the Vancouver Academy
of Music, the Artistic Director of Canzona,
Winnipeg’s professional Baroque choir,
and is a founding co-artistic director of
Arkora, a chamber collective dedicated to
interdisciplinary performance. She studied
composition at UBC and holds a master’s
degree in conducting from Yale University.
www.kathleenallan.com
“I composed ‘The Frost’ while at a residency at the Banff Centre in February 2015.
During my residency I visited my aunt and uncle who lived in the Rockies, and spent one
of the most memorable days snowshoeing around and across a beautiful frozen mountain
lake. I didn’t know at the time that this special day would be the last time I saw my
beloved aunt before she died suddenly a couple of months later. Archibald Lampman’s
‘Winter Uplands’ was written after a winter walk near his Ontario home, and I felt that his
words perfectly captured the soundscape and essence of a winter day outdoors.”
The frost that stings like fire upon my cheek,
The loneliness of this forsaken ground,
The long white drift upon whose powdered peak
I sit in the great silence as one bound;
The rippled sheet of snow where the wind blew
Across the open fields for miles ahead;
The far-off city towered and roofed in blue
A tender line upon the western red;
The stars that singly, then in flocks appear,
Like jets of silver from the violet dome,
So wonderful, so many and so near,
And then the golden moon to light me home –
The crunching snowshoes and the stinging air,
And silence, frost and beauty everywhere.
Archibald Lampman (1861–1899)
28
West End Christian Reformed Church, and Staff
Trinity Lutheran ChurchRehearsal venue
Chronos Music Society Board & Volunteers
Beth Mackey
Administrative Assistant
Laurel HalkierConcert and poster designs
David GarberProgram layout
David DykstraWebsite management
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Graham FastMusic library
Envy Leaf SolutionsWeb hosting
Caleb Nelson, Silver StudiosConcert recording
Erin Iampen & Sophia StaufferFront of House
Vocal Alchemy
Ante Meridiem Choral Association
Edmonton Youth Choir Staff and Families
29
SUSTAINERS$2500 AND UP
Anonymous (2) Allard Foundation
Patrick Marchand and Deanna Davis Serendipity Choral Foundation
SUSTAINERS$1000 TO $2499
Anonymous (3) Barbara and Brian Hlus
Heather Jamieson and Sandy Gillis Kenneth Munro
Jordan and Tamara Van Biert
PATRONS$500 TO $999
Anonymous (1) Mark Freeman
Mark Lyrette and Elle SalvalaggioDonna Lynn Smith Blackburn
Frank Thede
FRIENDS$250 TO $499
Anonymous (1)James and Alice Joosse
Melinda and Frank WuestSusan Zukiwsky
SUPPORTERS$100 TO $249
Marcia Becov Deanna and Ronald Betty
August and Harriette GuillaumeMadeleine HenkemansTom and Mary Johnson
Margaret McKagueJan McMillanKaren Mills
Diane QuilichiniAndy and Wilma Van Biert
CONTRIBUTORS$50 TO $99
Audrey BrooksPeter and Tammy Salvalaggio
Patricia Wankiewicz
Chronos Music Society gratefully acknowledges our supporters.
We have made every effort to acknowledge all donations received since January 1, 2017.
Please contact us in case of error or omission.
2018 FUND DRIVE
Chronos Music Society owes so much to our generous financial contributors. This season, in addition to our season of concerts in Edmonton, we are mounting performances in several outlying communities, commissioning new choral works, completing sessions for a new recording, and traveling to Newfoundland to perform at the 2018 Podium Conference.
The time of the year has come where we ask you to make a contribution to Chronos Music Society to help us reach our goals. Read more at chronosvocalensemble.com/support, where you’ll also be able to instantly donate online through Canada Helps, or schedule a monthly recurring donation. (To send a cheque, find our mailing info on page 4.)
We have raised about $7000 in personal donations and pledges toward our goal of $16,500, which we hope to achieve by our next concert in April. Can you help?
31
JORDAN VAN BIERT CONDUCTOR
Featuring arrangements of African-American spirituals.
RESISTANCE TO OPPRESSION & RESILIENCE OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
SUNDAY APRIL 15 7:30 PM, ALL SAINTS’ ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL 10035 103 STREET
CHRONOSVOCAL ENSEMBLE
17|18 Season presented by Professional Audiology Clinic Ltd.
C L I N I C
Tickets ChronosVocalEnsemble.com Tix on the Square I The Gramophone
Adults $20 advance, $23 doorSeniors | Students $15 advance, $18 door
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