Old South Church
645 Boylston Street
Boston MA 02116
Map • Phone: 617-267-7442
Join Chorus Pro Musica’s 75th Anniversary Holiday Concert! Experience traditional and contemporary choral favorites at historic Old South Church, December 13th. Enjoy a special pre-concert wine reception and post-concert dessert buffet. Celebrate 75 years of musical excellence in Boston.
Ticket Options
Premium Experience: $85
- Pre-concert wine and cheese reception from 6:30p to 7:30p
- Priority floor seating
General Admission
- Floor Seating: $55
- Balcony Seating: $45
Discounts available for seniors and students and EBT card holders
Program Highlights
Experience a carefully curated selection of holiday masterworks:
- In the Stillness (Sally Beamish) – A mesmerizing portrait of winter’s quiet beauty
- The Unexpected Hour (Reena Esmail) – East meets West in this innovative fusion of musical traditions
- Singet dem Herrn (J.S. Bach) – Bach’s masterful motet of praise and joy
- When the Song of the Angels is Stilled (Elizabeth Alexander) – A contemporary meditation on the Christmas story
- Ring Out, Ye Bells (Marques L. A. Garrett) – An exuberant finale to ring in the season
Program
Prelude: Die Hirten an der Krippe (In dulci jubilo) from “Weihnachtsbaum,” S.186, Franz Liszt
In the Stillness, Sally Beamish
Processional: Dona nobis pacem, Anonymous
Carol: O Come, All Ye Faithful, J.F. Wade, arr. David Willcocks
The Unexpected Early Hour, Reena Esmail
O magnum mysterium, Tomás Luis de Victoria
Alúmbrame el Zaguán, Hugo Blanco
Mónica Henao, soprano; Adam Cruz and John Rogers, bass;
Alejandro Chavez, cuatro; Carlos Yepes, bass;
Angel Marcello Yepes Henao, cajon; Carolyn Kelley, shaker
Carol: In the Bleak Midwinter, Gustav Holst
When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled, Elizabeth Alexander
Dreidel, arr. Adam Paltrowitz
Ring Out, Ye Bells!, Marques L.A. Garrett, Samuel Carlton, and Dan Forrest
Angel Marcello Yepes Henao, cajon;
Jean Croll, Jeff Mitchell, Lauren Olson-Sidford, Trudi Olivetti, Kim Petot, Hannah Torp, and Mary Wolf, handbells
Carol: O Holy Night, Adolphe Adam, arr. Philip Le Bas
Singet dem Herrn ein Neues Lied, BWV 225 – J.S. Bach
Velléda Miragias, cello; Benjamin Rechel, bass; Victoria Wu, soprano;
Hannah Torp, alto; Andrew Wright, tenor; Brian Rappaport, bass
Carol: Angels We Have Heard on High, Edward Shippen Barnes
Night of Silence, Daniel Kantor, arr. Marilyn Biery
Carol: Joy to the World, Lowell Mason, arr. David Overton
Postlude: Noël Grand Jeu et duo, Louis Claude Daquin
A NOTE FROM THE CpM MUSIC DIRECTOR
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Holidays. Harmony. Hope!
Thank you for helping us celebrate Chorus pro Musica’s 75 years of singing. I am honored to have played a small part in CpM’s distinguished history, which includes hundreds of performances in all of Boston’s greatest concert halls, often in collaboration with the finest musicians in the city, and beyond.
The centerpiece of tonight’s program is J.S. Bach’s magnificent, celebratory double-choir motet, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing to the Lord a new song). Other featured works include Sally Beamish’s shimmering In the Stillness; Reena Esmail’s brilliant The Unexpected Early Hour, based on the Hindustani Raag Ahir Bhairav; Venezuelan composer Hugo Blanco’s boisterous carol Alúmbrame El Zaguán, with soloists and numerous instruments; and Marques L.A. Garrett’s powerful and uplifting Ring Out, Ye Bells! with … bells!
We are honored to be working with Mitchell Crawford, Old South Church’s Minister of Music, on organ and piano; Alejandro Chavez on cuatro; Velléda Maragais on cello; Ben Rechel on double bass; plus numerous CpM singers playing a variety of different instruments.
We sing tonight with humility, thinking about the decades of singers who came before us, and with a sense of responsibility to this important and inspiring organization. We are grateful for your support as we look forward to the next 75 years …
Thank you for joining us. Wishing you and your family a
happy and healthy holiday season.
—Jamie Kirsch
TONIGHT’S MUSICAL GUESTS
Mitchell Crawford (organ and piano) is Minister of Music at Old South Church in Boston. A native of southwest Virginia, he holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Florida State University, where he was awarded a conducting fellowship. Mr. Crawford has appeared as a recitalist at Harvard and Princeton Universities, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and numerous churches. Though his primary focus is on performance, he is fascinated by the history of music and has pursued advanced studies in musicology and music theory. A lover of nature and wildlife, he enjoys the outdoors, where he may often be found adventuring with his dog, Dale.
Alejandro Chavez (cuatro) started playing the cuatro at a very early age, as with many Venezuelan string players do; he performed in public for the first time when he was six years old.
Mr. Chavez’s formal music education started at age seven at Escuela de Musica Pablo Castellanos, the conservatory in his hometown, La Guaira, where he learned music theory and classical guitar from Eric Colon and Leopoldo Igarza. At age 12 he decided to continue playing on his own, which gave him the opportunity to add folk and contemporary pieces to his mostly classical repertoire. This mix of classical training and “playing by ear” self-training helped him develop the skills that define his essence as a musician. “When I listen to music,” he says, “what I hear is music notation. I then transfer the notes onto my instrument and that’s what you hear when I play.”
In addition to the cuatro, Mr. Chavez plays classical, Baroque and Renaissance guitars, and hand percussion instruments. Since moving to Boston in 2000, Mr. Chavez has played with Rumbarroco, a Latin and Baroque fusion ensemble that explores the impact of early music and instruments, brought by Spanish conquerors, on contemporary Latin music. He has also performed with Fran Vielma & the Venezuelan Jazz Collective in Washington, DC, and accompanied Chorus pro Musica in past concerts.
Velléda Miragias (cello), a French native, studied at the Conservatoire National de Boulogne and Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris rue de Madrid, where she won first prizes in cello performance, chamber music, and theory. She went on to earn Indiana University’s prestigious Performer Diploma as a student of Iseut Chuat and János Starker, and a Master of Music from Boston University.
Ms. Miragias made her concerto debut at the age of 19, performing the Haydn Concerto in D Major with the Lourmarin Youth Symphony in France, and has had the honor of performing in the public master classes of iconic string pedagogues Isaac Stern, Natalia Gutman, and Anner Bylsma, in addition to studying conducting with Jean-Sébastien Béreau in Paris.
A committed educator, Ms. Miragias is instructor of cello at Phillips Exeter Academy and cofounder of Artisan Music Studio and Artisan Child-
care Center, a comprehensive music-immersion program for infants through preschoolers. Ms. Miragias’s teaching philosophy encourages the development of well-rounded artistic personalities through a personalized curricula that provides a holistic approach to everyday practice and performance that allows students to develop an acute awareness of the body’s needs while nurturing their individual musical voices.
As an orchestral performer, Ms. Miragias is currently associate principal with the Boston Philharmonic, assistant principal with the Cape Symphony, and regularly performs and records with the Handel and Haydn Society, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Portland Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera, and Boston Landmarks Orchestra.
Benjamin Rechel (double bass) is a freelance historical bass and violone specialist, violist da gamba, and organist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A graduate of the Longy School of Music of Bard College, they have appeared with numerous period ensembles including Grand Harmonie, Eudaimonia, La Fiocco, and Harvard Baroque, and is co-director of the Rare Byrds Ensemble and a frequent collaborator at the First Lutheran Church in Boston. They serve as music director at Trinity Parish (Episcopal) in Melrose, MA.
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
IN THE STILLNESS
With original words by Katrina Shepherd, this short, lush Christmas carol beautifully captures the hushed rapture of a small parish church in a snowbound landscape just before Christmas.
Where candles glow,
In the softness of a fall
Of fresh white snow,
In the brightness of the stars
That shine this night,
In the calmness of a pool
Of healing light,
In the clearness of a choir
That softly sings,
In the oneness of a hush
Of angels’ wings,
In the mildness of a night
By stable bare,
In the quietness of a lull
Near cradle fair,
There’s a patience as we wait
For a new morn,
And the presence of a child
Soon to be born.
DONA NOBIS PACEM
The source of this enchanting three-part round is unknown.
| Dona nobis pacem. | Grant us peace. |
SING-ALONG CAROL: O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL
Music and words: Adeste Fideles by John Francis Wade (1740). Written at a time of Catholic-Protestant conflict in England, the carol may have begun as a Jacobite birth ode to Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the exiled Catholic King James II, proclaiming, “Come and Behold Him, Born the King of the English: Bonnie Prince Charlie!” Today it is one of the most most-loved Christmas hymns.
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold him,
Born the King of Angels:
Refrain:
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ the Lord.
See how the shepherds,
Summoned to his cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear;
We too will thither
Bend our joyful footsteps.
Refrain
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above;
Glory to God in the highest.
Refrain
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, revealing our glory within.
Words of Creation, now in us appearing:
Refrain
THE UNEXPECTED EARLY HOUR
Poet Rebecca Gayle Howell writes: “A Winter Breviary tells the story
of a person walking in the woods on a solstice night … Time theory in
Indian classical music suggests that raags (pitch frameworks) should
be sung at specific times of day. Similarly, in the Christian tradition,
we find a sequence of prayers that are to be recited at specific times
of day … In The Unexpected Early Hour (Lauds/Raag Ahir Bhairav),
dawn breaks …”
The dim, the dun, the dark withdraws
Our recluse morning’s found.
The river’s alive
The clearing provides
Lie down, night sky, lie down.
I feel the cold wind leaving, gone,
I feel the frost’s relief.
My tracks in the snow can still be erased
In us, the sun believes.
Winter is, Winter ends,
So the true bird calls.
The rocks cry out
My bones cry out
All the trees applaud.
Ev’ry hard thing lauds.
Lie down, night sky, lie down.
I know the seeding season comes,
I know the ground will spring.
My fate is not night
I don’t need to try
Behold! The dawn, within.
Horizon lights across my thoughts,
Horizon lines redraw.
Inside of my throat a rise of the gold
Inside my chest I thaw.
Winter is, Winter ends,
Nothing stays the same.
The moon strikes high,
The sun strikes high and
Now I hear your name:
Earth’s Untired Change.
Praise be! praise be!
The unexpected early hour
grows the good light long.
Our darkness ends,
O mercy sun,
Trust can warm us all.
Begin again, again, again,
O may our day begin!
O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM
Spanish Renaissance composer Tomás Luis de Victoria’s four-part
motet O magnum mysterium appeared in his very first collection of sacred
music, published in Venice in 1572, when he was just 24. The Christmas
text describes the “wonder” and “mystery” of “the newborn Lord lying in
a manger,” and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It concludes with a more
jubilant “Alleluia.”
| O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum, ut animalia viderent Dominum natum, jacentem in praesepio. |
O great mystery and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger. |
| O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum. |
Blessed is the Virgin, whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. |
Alleluia.
ALÚMBRAME EL ZAGUÁN
An aguinaldo (carol) made famous by the Venezuelan group Un Solo Pueblo, in this song the narrator carries a cross made of blessed palms that he received from Jesus that very morning. He asks for the “zaguán” (the entranceway of the house) to be lit so the aguinalderos (carolers) can sing while standing there, because “we cannot sing if it’s dark.” According to tradition, placing the cross on the porch protects the household from misfortune (“malas visitas”). The song’s tone and melody emulate a traditional Venezuelan gaita, with repetitive choruses and an upbeat tempo.
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Yo traigo una cruz de palma bendita Refrain: |
I carry a cross made from blessed palm branches Refrain: |
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Yo puse la cruz sobre la bandera |
I already placed the cross on the flag |
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Y la palma real que nadie la nombra |
And the royal palm that nobody is mentioning |
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Pa’que nos proteja de malas visitas |
So we are protected from bad company |
|
Fíjense en la espada de Simón Bolívar |
Look at Simón Bolívar’s sword |
SING-ALONG CAROL: IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
English poet Christina Rossetti wrote In the Bleak Midwinter in response to a request from the magazine Scribner’s Monthly for a Christmas poem. It was published in January 1872. Gustav Holst set the poem to music (based on his hymn tune, Cranham) several decades later, in 1906, at the express wish of fellow English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, then the musical editor of The English Hymnal.
In the bleak midwinter,
Frosty wind made moan;
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter long ago.
Our God, Heav’n cannot hold Him,
Nor earth sustain,
Heav’n and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign.
In the bleak mid-winter,
A stable place suffic’d,
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him, whom cherubim,
Worship night and day
A breast full of milk
and a manger full of hay.
Enough for Him, whom angels,
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel which adore.
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 I can I give him, give my heart.
WHEN THE SONG OF THE ANGELS IS STILLED
Composer Elizabeth Alexander writes: A rhythmic setting to Howard Thurman’s poem, “The Work of Christmas,” this piece lends a powerful relevance to Christmas which extends far beyond Epiphany. When the Song of the Angels is Stilled is a seasonal favorite at both sacred and secular events, as well as a call for social justice in our time.
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
DREIDEL
Dreidels are a central part of the celebration of Hanukkah for Jewish children everywhere. The Hebrew letters on the four sides of the spinning tops stand for the words “a great miracle happened here.” Adam Paltrowitz, the arranger of this version of the song, writes: I improvised this arrangement about 10 years ago; my choir and I were discussing the lack of “festive” Hanukkah pieces. ‘Dreidel,’ a child’s Hanukkah song, seemed like the perfect ‘spin’ for an audience surprise. We improvised the bass and tenor part to sound like a fun ‘bounce.’ We then created a harmony and counter melody with the altos. Next, we improvised some creative staging and a ‘serious’ ending.”
And when it’s dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play.
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay.
And when it’s dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play.
It has a lovely body, with legs so short and thin,
And when it gets so tired, it drops and then I win.
Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay.
And when you’re dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play! Hey!
RING OUT, YE BELLS!
This energetic, rhythmic anthem featuring a handbell choir, set to a text from Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906), was written for the Florida State University Seasonal Celebration in 2017, and was dedicated to the school’s choirs and their director, André J. Thomas.
Alleluia!
Ring out, ye bells!
All Nature swells
With gladness at the wondrous story.
Sing, earthlings, sing! Oh sing!
Tonight a King
Hath come from heaven’s high throne to bless us.
The outstretched hand
O’er all the land
Is raised in pity to caress us.
Ring out, ye bells!
The world was lorn,
But Christ is born
To change our sadness into glory.
Come at His call;
Be joyful all;
Away with mourning and with sadness!
The heavenly choir
With holy fire
Their voices raise in songs of gladness.
Ring out, ye bells!
No, be not still,
But with a will
Strike all your harps and set them ringing;
Ring out, ye bells!
On hill and heath
Let every breath
Throw all its power into singing!
Ring out, ye bells!
SING-ALONG CAROL: O HOLY NIGHT
A sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, O Holy Night (originally titled Cantique de Noël) is frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on the French-language poem “Minuit, chrétiens,” written in 1843 by Placide Cappeau, it was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam.
O Holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night, O night divine.
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from the orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend;
He knows our need, he guardeth us from danger;
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend.
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend.
Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother;
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise his holy name
Christ is the Lord! O praise his name forever,
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim.
His pow’r and glory evermore proclaim.
SINGET DEM HERRN EIN NEUES LIED
Composed in Leipzig for an unknown occasion between 1726 and 1727, J.S. Bach’s double-choir motet Singet dem Herrn is one of the most energetic, joyous, and challenging pieces in the repertoire. When it was later performed for Mozart (as a surprise!) on his trip to Leipzig in 1789, he exclaimed, “A complete orchestra should be added to this!” Like most of the motets, Bach likely used Singet dem Herrn as a pedagogical piece for his students.
In a three-movement, concerto-like form, the first section (“Sing to the Lord a new song!”), in a jubilant triple meter, features dancing, circular figures, culminating in an ingenious fugue. In the second section, now in 4/4, the combined choirs chant a chorale in dialogue with a solo quartet, singing an anonymous text. By the final section, the two choirs become one: “Praise the Lord . . . Hallelujah!”
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Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, |
Sing to the Lord a new song! |
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Gott, nimm dich ferner unser an! |
God, take us to yourself from now on! |
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Wie sich ein Vater erbarmet |
As a father has mercy |
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Gleichwie das Gras vom Rechen, |
Just as the grass that is mowed, |
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Alles was Odem hat, lobe den Herrn, |
Everything that has breath, praise the Lord, |
SING-ALONG CAROL: ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH
Traditional French carol, translated with some additions in 1860 by James Chadwick, a Roman Catholic Bishop in northeast England, and arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes (1887–1958).
Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.
Refrain:
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Refrain
See now in a manger laid,
Whom the choirs of angels praise;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While our hearts in love we raise.
Refrain
NIGHT OF SILENCE
Text: Daniel Kantor. Arranged by Marilyn Biery. Sung simultaneously with Silent Night (a type of song called a quodlibet), Kantor was inspired by both the wintertime imagery of his Wisconsin home as well as by the Advent season. He notes, “Advent is about preparation and anticipation … it first calls us to a spiritual presence grounded in quiet emptiness and expectant hope, and then asks us to trust in this silence.”
Cold are the people, Winter of life,
We tremble in shadows this cold endless night,
Frozen in the snow lie roses sleeping
Flowers that will echo the sunrise,
Fire of hope is our only warmth,
Weary, its flame will be dying soon.
Voice in the distance, Call in the night,
On wind you enfold us You speak of the light,
Gentle on the ear you whisper softly,
Rumors of a dawn so embracing,
Breathless love awaits darkened souls,
Soon we will know of the morning.
Spirit among us, Shine like the star,
Your light that guides shepherds and kings from afar,
Shimmer in the sky so empty, lonely,
Rising in the warmth of your Son’s love,
Star unknowing of night and day,
Spirit we wait for your loving Son.
Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace.
SING-ALONG CAROL: JOY TO THE WORLD
Music: Lowell Mason (1792–1872), from Antioch. Text: adapted from Isaac Watts (1674–1748), based on Psalm 98.
Joy to the world! for love is come:
Let earthly praises ring!
Let every heart prepare ye room,
and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing,
and heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.
Joy to the earth! for justice reigns;
Let all our songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,
repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.
Love fills the world with truth and grace,
And all creation proves
the glories of this righteousness
and wonders of this love, and wonders of this love,
and wonders, wonders, of this love.