To my knowledge it's never been attempted before: juxtaposing music of Heinrich Schütz and Ludwig van Beethoven with hand-clapping, feet-dancing, soul-stirring gospel hits, plus a whole lot in between. This either means it's a stroke of creative genius or a serious lapse in judgment. Either way, it is sure to be a glorious cacophony of praise!

 

So what is the 'it' I'm talking about? Our Spring Choral Festival: Then Sings My Soul on Sunday, May 15 at 2pm, of course! We will combine, for the first time ever, our three adult choirs – the Marble Community Gospel Choir, Festival of Voices and Sanctuary Choir – for this joyous finale to our choral season. There will absolutely be something for everyone, and I can guarantee you, you won't want to miss this one! (Below I've included links to several audio samples of music from the concert.)

 

The second chapter of Acts records that on the day of Pentecost there were people "from every nation under heaven" living in Jerusalem. When the Holy Spirit descended, all of these people – the Bible specifically records at least 15 nationalities of those present – were astonished to hear those Galileans speaking God's praise in each of their own native languages – even their own dialects!

 

Positioned in the heart of one of the most diverse cities in the world, Marble's music ministry serves as a modern metaphor for the day of Pentecost, enabling people to hear God's praise in a musical language they can relate to. Now it should be noted that on the day of Pentecost – a gloriously cacophonous occasion – we can assume that people must have also heard many languages they did not understand, in addition to hearing God's praise in their own native tongue. Rather than express annoyance at having to listen to languages they couldn't comprehend, the Bible says they expressed repeated astonishment at being able to hear and understand their own language in the midst of so many others. So what that means is this: On May 15th you may hear a couple of musical selections that may be someone else's cup of tea, but not yours. That's okay! Don't be annoyed! Just wait a few minutes and you'll be astonished at hearing your music – the style of music that drills down into the core of your very own, unique being and transports you to a place of sacred joy.

 

 

The concert will open with the mighty Hallelujah from Christus am Ölberge by Beethoven (1770-1827). [LISTEN]Known in English as the Mount of Olives, this was Beethoven's only dramatic oratorio, and was composed during 1802-1803. It focuses on Jesus' turmoil in the Garden of Gethsemane, concluding with His total acceptance of the fate that awaited Him. Although the complete oratorio is seldom performed, the closing Hallelujah has become one of the most beloved works in the choral repertoire, perhaps surpassed only by Handel's Hallelujah Chorus in popularity.

 

An extraordinarily versatile musician, Mark Miller (b. 1967) was formerly Director of the Marble Community Gospel Choir, and is now serving as Director of Music at Christ Church in Summit, New Jersey. A pioneer in contemporary blended worship, his anthems are increasingly sung throughout the country. Sweet Hallelujah was written in 1995 for the installment of Leonard Sweet as Dean of Drew Theological School, and was recorded by the Sanctuary Choir on their first CD (2004), With Many Voices. [LISTEN] This rollicking dance of praise quotes the famous doxology hymn-tune, Old Hundredth, and also pays subtle homage to Randall Thompson's much-loved Alleluia.

 

 

 

Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) was perhaps the most towering figure in German music prior to Johann Sebastian Bach. Much of his life centered on being a composer and court organist in Dresden. However, he made two extended trips to Venice to study first with Giovanni Gabrieli, and later with Claudio Monteverdi. Their influence can readily be heard in the polychoral (multi-choir) works of Schütz, as well as in his use of imitative counterpoint. Jauchzet dem Herren [LISTEN] is a setting of Psalm 100 from his 1619 motet collection, Psalms of David. In it he employs the device of an Echo Choir, which is a smaller ensemble (in our case, eight voices) placed at a distance. Everything that is first sung by the main choir is then answered by the Echo Choir, which creates a wonderful sense of reverberation despite the dry acoustic of the Marble sanctuary. Each phrase of text is masterfully reflected in the character of the music. My favorite? The poignant beauty with which the music becomes eerily still for a moment on the text, 'Denn der Herr ist freundlich' (for the Lord is gracious).

 

As opposed to the Schütz, the next work contains but eight words, and these are not so much sung as intoned in a kind of harmonic mantra: hope, faith, life, love, dream, joy, truth, soul. [LISTEN] Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) is from Reno, Nevada and studied at The Juilliard School with John Corigliano and David Diamond. His sound palate, utterly unique among choral composers, has been called "supremely evocative," with "shimmering dissonance…unearthly beauty and imagination." Recently Whitacre assembled a virtual choir of 2000 singers from over 58 countries. Over 2 million people have listened to the results on YouTube, and it's definitely worth checking out. Of hope, faith, life, love the composer writes: "The original poem [by e.e. cummings] is actually quite long, and calls for music that is vibrant and virtuosic, a real show piece. The more I thought about faith however he more introspective I became, and I modified the poem entirely to fit that feeling. I took only the first four words and the last for, and set each of them as a repeating meditation." In the context of the title of our concert, Then Sings My Soul, I think of this piece as the wordless cry of the soul, the music of the Spirit which wells up from deep within and cannot be fully captured or contained by mere language.

 

 

I'm Gonna Sing 'Til the Spirit Moves In My Heart – arr. Moses Hogan (1957-2003). Spirituals hold many layers of meaning, for they not only expressed the enslaved people's longing for freedom but also conveyed a strong sense of personal and communal liberation even in the midst of captivity. Seldom written down, these songs grew from the enslaved people's experience and were used to accompany work in the fields, to convey valuable information about plans for escape, and to worship, often in secret. In clandestine all-night praise meetings, blankets would be hung over the doors and windows to muffle the sounds of ecstatic singing and praying, thereby avoiding detection by their owners and possible punishment. 

 

In Hogan's brilliant setting of I'm Gonna Sing the tenors assume the lead throughout with a rhythmic accompaniment full of drive and energy. A florid middle section on the text 'Can't you feel the Spirit moving' recalls the day of Pentecost, imitating the sound of a mighty wind with all voice parts moving in rapid parallel motion. [LISTEN] Born in New Orleans, Moses Hogan was an accomplished classical pianist, graduating from Oberlin Conservatory and winning New York's prestigious Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competition. From there he made his foray into choral music in 1980, which led to his founding of the New Orleans-based Moses Hogan Chorale. Hogan served as editor of the Oxford Book of Spirituals and his contemporary arrangements of traditional spirituals have already become staples in the choral repertoire.

 

Earth Song by Frank Ticheli (b. 1958) This stunning motet is a profound ode to the power of music, for which the composer wrote both text and music. The music undulates with a kind of sighing theme on the words 'Sing, Be, Live, See.' It strongly conveys the idea that singing and music are as necessary to life as breathing and oxygen are. In this audio excerpt [LISTEN] the Festival of Voices sings these poignant words which contain so much of the truth that lies at the center of this concert:

 

 

Frank Ticheli joined the faculty of the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition. He is well known for his works for orchestra and for concert band, many of which have become standards in the repertoire. In addition to composing, he has appeared as guest conductor of his music at Carnegie Hall, at many American universities and music festivals, and in cities throughout the world.

The Gospel Choir will sing two original compositions by their director, Djoré Nance. The first, Power of the Holy Ghost recounts the Second Chapter of Acts and the day of Pentecost in music that is, in the composer’s words, "high-energy, swinging, and very jazzy!" His other work on the program, Mother God, begins with a nod to the famous spiritual with the words, 'Sometimes I feel like a motherless child, a long ways from home.' Of this work the composer writes: "I wrote Mother God because the image of God as a mother or any feminine imagery at all [in gospel music] is seriously underrepresented. Also, the Hebrew name which we've all heard, 'El Shaddai,' is a very specifically female image. So I think that it is of the utmost importance that we recognize the many facets of God's goodness to us, and calling God 'Mother' is a very useful way to begin to do that."

The Sanctuary Choir and Festival of Voices will combine forces in singing the traditional Kenyan song, Wana Baraka, arr. Shawn Kirchner (b. 1970). Through its South Africa Partnership, Marble has maintained a close relationship with three churches in Soweto that continue to suffer the lingering effects of apartheid. On April 15^th, 2007 our award-winning Marble Community Gospel Choir opened their highly successful tour of South Africa with a performance in collaboration with the esteemed Stellenbosch University Choir. Among the repertoire of this outstanding college choir was Kirchner's joyous arrangement of Wana Baraka, [LISTEN] which he had originally heard sung by a delegation of Kenyans at an Agricultural Missions International Consultation in Sogakope, Ghana. The work begins very quietly with just two voices off in the distance, and gradually builds in layers of sound until its exalted conclusion. It has become a favorite of the Marble choirs, who recorded it on their most recent CD (2008), Songs of Simple Faith.