Upload
truongngoc
View
213
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The
Oratorio Society of Estes Park
conducted by Kathryn Bowers, DMA, presents a
RMNP Centennial Celebration Concert
Friday 6/12/15 @ 7:00pm
Saturday 6/13/15 @ 2:00pm EPHS Auditorium www.OSEP.info
Program
The Seasons: Spring, Hob. XXXI:3 Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-‐1809) 1. Overture & Recitative 2. Chorus of Peasants 3. Bass Recitative 4. Bass Aria 5. Tenor Recitative 6. Song of Thanks for Trio & Chorus 7. Soprano Recitative 8. Trio & Chorus
Hanne: Melissa Westover Lucas: Scott Anderson Simon: Bob Gunn
OSEP Chorus & Chamber Orchestra
~ Intermission ~
Rocky Mountain Majesty Jerry Brubaker (b. 1946)
Forest Awakening ~ Mountain Grandeur Trail, Lake, and Meadow
Frozen Tundra ~ Long’s Peak Wilderness Reflections: Robert Charles Howard Echoes of Timeless Wonder (b. 1943) 1. A Song of the Rockies 2. River Song
Anna Baker, soprano solo Annette Dechant, clarinet solo
3. The Song of the Seasons a. Winter (TTBB chorus) b. Spring c. Summer
Jeff Tyler, violin solo Mary Jo Andrews, cello solo
d. Winter (SSA chorus) 4. Alpenglow (orchestra) 5. A Timbered Choir (tenor solo) 4. Alpenglow (orches5. A Timbered Choir
Scott Anderson, tenor solo 6. Canticle of Hope
Solo Quartet: Anna Baker, soprano Denise Stookesberry, contralto
Mark Richards, tenor Bill Kehl, bass OSEP Chorus
Estes Park Chamber Orchestra Kathryn Bowers, conductor
The following OSEP members and patrons have proudly contributed toward the Commissioned Works Fund. Two new works were composed especially for this Rocky Mountain Centennial Celebration Concert: Rocky Mountain Majesty by Jerry Brubaker and Wilderness Reflections by Robert Charles Howard.
$25 -‐ $49 Bizet Level Allen Kallenbach $50 -‐ $99 Purcell Level Ruth & Michael Dzik Lea Hemphill Alan & Suzanne Miller Steven & Betty Nickel Jon & Terry Sonstroem $100 -‐ $499 Mendelssohn Level Scott Anderson Gary & Kelly Brown Loren & Lynette Johnson Tom & Kathryn Hornbein Michael & Carolyn Managan Larry & Karen Olson William & Jane Stuart $500+ Beethoven Level David & Kathryn Bowers Bob & Jane Gunn
Program Notes Kathy Bowers on Haydn’s The Seasons Programming new music is exciting, especially when it’s composed just for us and is truly stunning. OSEP is thrilled to share not just one, but two newly commissioned works with our audiences to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rocky Mountain National Park. We believe that Rocky is definitely worthy of this special accolade! To begin, however, we set a pastoral scene with the Spring section of Joseph Haydn’s The Seasons (1801). Inspired by the phenomenal success of Handel’s oratorios in England, The Seasons follows on the Viennese success of Haydn’s first oratorio The Creation. Saddled with an awkward translation by the librettist Baron Van Swieten, The Seasons has unfortunately suffered from neglect over the centuries, but critics deem it one of his best efforts. Van Swieten’s libretto is based largely on an 18th-‐c. epic English poem, The Seasons, by James Thomson. Van Swieten translated it into German and then back into English. Given his poor command of English, the result was uninspiring. Its theme of humankind’s appreciation for and love of nature and spring make it a perfect addition to this program. In spite of constant aggravations that Van Swieten caused Haydn during its composition, and the severe physical ailments that afflicted him in his old age, Haydn rose to the occasion. Audiences loved it! Musical ideas, such as the farmer whistling a theme from the 2nd movement of one of Haydn’s London Symphonies, #94, nicknamed the ‘Surprise’—as if the farmer had just heard it at a concert—provide ample evidence of Haydn’s renowned sense of humor. Jerry Brubaker on Rocky Mountain Majesty Rocky Mountain Majesty by composer Jerry Brubaker was commissioned by the Oratorio Society of Estes Park, Colorado in celebration of the centennial of Rocky Mountain National Park, which was dedicated September 4, 1915. The piece has 5 sections, each depicting part of the personality of the park: Forest Awakening depicts an October morning at first light. There’s a chill in the air and the wildlife is just beginning to move around. Woodwinds, a horn solo and other mysterious sounds set a pastoral mood. Mountain Grandeur describes the feeling one gets when seeing for the first time a snow covered 14,000 ft. peak cast against a dark blue sky! It truly takes one’s breath away! Trail, Meadow and Lake is all about outings! Picture a family picnicking in Moraine Park or Bear Lake. RMNP has over 300 miles of hiking trails and it is not at all uncommon to encounter a herd of Elk just about anywhere. Frozen Tundra refers to the area just above the tree line where harsh conditions block tree growth. The flora of the Alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. Marmots, Pikas and Ptarmigan are some of the wildlife that survive these harsh conditions. Below zero temperatures, strong winds and monumental snowfalls are common here. The music in this section sounds quite harsh and dissonant. It becomes almost torturous, but not nearly so much as the actual conditions in the tundra!
Long’s Peak is the Crown Jewel of Rocky Mountain National Park! Standing at 14,259 it was named in honor of explorer Stephen Harriman Long and is featured on the Colorado State quarter. Long’s is a challenging but popular destination for climbers and the hardiest of hikers. A mountain of this magnitude deserves the most heroic of music. The composer hopes his work does justice to such a magnificent National Park. Robert Howard on Wilderness Reflections I can't think of anything more rewarding for a composer than to be invited to compose a work to honor a national treasure as magnificent as Rocky Mountain National Park and be performed by musicians who call this beautiful part of the country their home. The first movement, the Song of the Rockies, opens with an orchestral introduction that celebrates the power and beauty of the mountains followed by choral and solo declarations of many of the myriad natural wonders found here culminating in a bold statement of the RMNP Centennial motto, "Wilderness. Wildlife and Wonder". Most of the other movements are settings of the beautiful poems of Wendell Berry. Throughout the composition I have tried to employ the widest possible range of vocal and instrumental resources in service of the profound insight of Wendell Berry's visions. I am deeply grateful to Kathryn Bowers and the Oratorio Society of Estes Park for asking me to join in saluting Rocky Mountain National Park on the occasion of its Centennial.
OSEP is Estes Park’s Community Chorus & Orchestra! With few exceptions, our players and singers are residents of the Estes Valley, which is incredibly fortunate to be home to lots of people with exceptional musical, as well as other, talents. As Estes Park plans for a Community Center, our hope is that space will be allotted for musical endeavors, including our rehearsals. Several Town churches have been as good as gold to share their space with us, but their first priority is church activities. We need a space we can count on—week in and week out—with proper chairs and music stands. We would appreciate your support in a bid for an appropriate space in the design of the Community Center, so that we too can support the idea. If you feel so inclined, please email Lori Mitchell at [email protected] BEFORE JUNE 15th to express your support for a music room. Such a space can provide room for music classes for infants and toddlers, music therapy, guitar and drumming classes, rehearsals for youth choirs, all sorts of music groups, maybe even a youth orchestra! Hardly any recreational activity does more for brain health than music-‐making. In any given second, musicians need to make dozens of decisions that affect the end result. That’s one reason why your hometown community chorus and orchestra is such an amazing ensemble! Although we welcome all ages, we tend to be a group of retired people who still function at a very high level, and we aim to keep it that way!
Haydn The Seasons: Spring 1. Introduction & Recitative Simon: Behold, now surly winter flies! To northern ice plains wends his way. He calls his ruffian blasts, a rushing host of tempests wild; they follow at his call. Luke: Behold, from rock and crag, the snows dissolv’d in livid torrents flow! Hanne: Behold, from southern climes, by gentle breezes soft beguiled, Spring’s messenger appears! 2. Chorus Come, gentle Spring, O gift of Heaven, come! From long and deathlike sleep bid Nature now awake. Women: She comes, see gentle Spring, draws near, her balmy fragrance soft we breathe, new life to all the world she brings. She comes, see gentle Spring draws near. Men: Let not your hearts too soon rejoice, as yet the year is unconfirm’d, and often, veiled in vapors grey, old winter swift steals back; on tender bud and blade he sheds his venom’s chill. All: Come, gentle Spring, O gift of Heaven, come! Come and smile on meadow, hill and dale! O come, and linger now no more! 3. Recitative for Simon From Aries now the sun to Taurus rolls, and bounteous shining, drives mist and frost away; the atmosphere, no more cramp’d with cold, lifts the light clouds sublime, and spreads them, all fleecy, o’er Heaven’s dome serene. 4. Aria for Simon The farmer joyous, hastens forth to till and ploughs his fields, and striding in the furrows long, behind the plow he sings. The farmer joyous, hastens forth, he drives his lusty team, and striding in the furrows long, behind the plough he sings, cheerful sings. With measured tread he throws the grain, he lib’ral throws the grain. Earth guards it faithfully, till ripe and gold the harvest stands. 5. Recitative for Luke The husbandman has done his part; trouble and toil in naught has spared, and while from Nature’s hand he looks for his reward, his fervent prayers to Heaven ascend. 6. Trio and Chorus ~ a prayer of thanks Gracious Heaven, show us favor, prosper us, and pour thy blessing over our beloved land. Luke: O send the dews, the tender showers. Simon: Send rain to feed the thirsty furrows. Hanne: O let the fost’ring breezes blow, and let thy sun shine on our land! Trio & Chorus: Then shall abundance crown our toil, and hymns of praise to thee shall rise.
7. Recitative for Hanne Heaven hears our fervent prayers; the southern breeze blows warm, and fills the air with humid, vaporous clouds. They mass in gloom, and now descend,consigning all their treasure’s store, their promised sweetness to the fields. 8. Song of Joy with Lads & Lasses Hanne: O how lovely are the meadows gay with flow’rs bedecked; come, ye maidens, let us wander o’er the verdant leas. Let us gather in their prime, fresh blooming flow’rs to grace the braided hair! Luke: O how lovely are the meadows gay with flow’rs bedecked; come, ye lads, and let us wander thro’ the leafy groves; and together let us tread the morning dews of rosy footed May! Hanne: Violet, lily, bluebell, primrose, see the wealth of flow’rs! Luke: Rich the meadows, green the pastures, see the fields, see the fertile plain! Chorus: O how lovely are the meadows… Hanne: Gardens glowing, brooklets babbling, see the azure skies! Luke: Earth is teeming, waters gleaming, music sweet fills all the air! Hanne: See the playful lambkins frisking! Luke: Leaping fish in sunlight flashing! Hanne: Busy bees the nectar sipping! Luke: Birds on restless wings aflutter! Chorus: Earth is teeming, waters gleaming, music sweet fills all the air! Girls: O what gladness, what enchantment swells our grateful hearts! Youths: Tender feelings, restless longings, yearnings stir within our breasts! Simon: Joy, enchantment, yearnings, longings, all this rapture is the mighty breath of God. Girls & Youths: Glorify Him, praise, adore Him, praise and bless His Name! Men: Let your voices, praising, blessing, rise before His throne! Chorus: May our voices, praising, blessing, rise before His throne! Maestoso: Wonderful! Bountiful! Merciful God! Trio (Adagio): The table of Thy bounty hast Thou for us prepared. And from Thy mercy’s fountain, our thirsting souls restored. Merciful God! Chorus (Allegro~Fugue): Honor, laud, and praise to Thee, wonderful, merciful God! Wilderness Reflections: Echoes of Timeless Wonders 1. A song of the Rockies – [SATB Chorus]
The Rockies sing to us at sunrise when crystal snow-‐capped peaks chant iridescent matins to the dawn, The dawn of a fresh new mountain day. Luminous pastel clouds hover across the horizon painting the hills and valleys below in mysterial shades of lavender, amber and rose.
The Rockies sing to us at daybreak when every crest and vale unites in celebration of the dawn, The dawn of a bright new mountain morn. Soli: Forests and fields awaken. A bull elk grazes by an alpine lake. An eagle soars through the morning mist over rainbows of Mountain Paintbrush. Chorus: A mountain lake spills over its rim and cascades down the slope etching serpentine streams in the valley below. We can hear the mountains chorus singing for us their jubilant songs of wilderness, wildlife and wonder. The mountains sing. The Rockies sing forever! Robert Charles Howard 2. River Song – [Soprano solo and SATB Chorus] Solo: As timely as a river God’s timeless life passes Into this world. It passes Through bodies, giving life And past them, giving death. The secret fish leaps up Into the light and is Again darkened. The sun Comes from the dark, it lights The always passing river, Shines on the great-‐branched tree, And goes. Chorus: Longing and dark, We are completely filled With breath of love in us Forever incomplete. Wendell Berry – from This Day, p 207 3a. Songs of the Seasons: Winter – [TTBB Chorus] Dream ended, I went out, awake To new snow fallen in the dark, Stainless on road and field, on track Yet printed on my day of work. I heard the wild ones muttering, Assent their dark arrival made At dawn, gray dawn on dawn gray wing, Outstretched, shadow-‐less in that shade.
Landscape at Berry’s Kentucky farm ~ photo courtesy of Robin Howard
Down from high distances arrived Within the shelter of the hill: The river shuddered as they cleaved Its surface, floated and were still. Wendell Berry – from This Day, p 35 3b. Song of the Seasons: Spring – [SATB Chorus] A man is walking in a field and everywhere at his feet in the short grass of April the small purple violets are in bloom. As the man walks the ground drops away, the sunlight of day becomes a sort of darkness in which the lights of the flowers rise up around him like fireflies or stars in a sort of sky through which he walks. Wendell Berry – from This Day, p 318 3c. Song of the Seasons: Summer – [SATB Chorus] I love the passing light Upon this valley now green In early summer as I watch Late in life. And upon the one By whom I lived, who is herself A light, the light is passing As she works in the garden In the quiet. The past light I love, but even more The passing light. To this Love, we give our work. Wendell Berry – from This Day, p 310 3d. Song of the Seasons: Autumn – [SSA Chorus] Now constantly there is the sound, Quieter than rain, Of the leaves falling. Under their loosening bright Gold, the sycamore limbs Bleach whiter. Now the only flowers Are beeweed and aster, spray Of their white and lavender Over the brown leaves.
The calling of a crow sounds Loud, -‐ a landmark-‐now That the life of summer falls Silent, and the nights grow. Wendell Berry – from New Collected Poems, p 63 4. Alpenglow – [Orchestra] (not sung) Dusk descends across the west as our yellow dwarf star surrenders its daily reign -‐ washing the horizon in a diadem of refracted light. The prismatic clouds blaze like a wondrous skyscape brushed by an impressionist deity conjoining the passing day with the emergent shades of night. The first stars have arrived to escort the silver moon through its nocturnal journey. The season of sleep is upon us. A few tilts of the hour glass will transport our circling furnace just below the eastern peaks -‐ a harbinger of the coming day. Dawn and twilight framed in luminous Alpenglow. Robert Charles Howard 5. A Timbered Choir – [Tenor solo] Slowly, slowly they return To their small woodland let alone: Great trees, outspreading and upright, Apostles of the living light. Patient as stars, they build in air Tier after tier, a timbered choir, Stout beams upholding weightless grace Of song, a blessing on this place. They stand in waiting all around, Uprisings of their native ground, Downcomings of the distant light; They are the advent they await.
Above: poet Wendell Berry and composer Robert Howard visit at Berry’s Kentucky farm ~ photo courtesy of Robin Howard
Receiving sun and giving shade, Their life’s a benefaction made, And is a benediction said Over the living and the dead. In fall their brightened leaves, released Fly down the wind, and we are pleased To walk on radiance amazed O light come down to earth, be praised! Wendell Berry – from This Day, p 71
6. Canticle of Hope – [SATB Soli & Chorus]
The whole earth resounds With the exuberant songs of nature’s majestic harmony. And sways to the steady pulse of all that breathes and roams the land, That inhabits the rushing brooks Or soars through borderless skies, Of every seedling, branch and flower. And every fledgling, fawn and chrysalis, All that rise to greet the sun Intone their vibrant songs To nature’s exultant harmony. Soli: The boundless wonders of nature’s realm Sustain our spirits and illumine our paths With wisdom taught by the lakes and mountains And solace sung by the forests and plains. So with steady and transfigured hearts, We forge our trails through hallowed land. Chorus: When the sun has run its daily course And when twilight claims the fading light We offer thanks for the nascent moon And the radiant star-‐jeweled sky And tune our hope and aspirations To music of the spheres. The whole earth resounds With the exuberant songs of nature’s majestic harmony. Robert Charles Howard
OSEP is grateful for grants from The Town of Estes Park, The Estes Park Community Thrift Shop, and the Estes Park Rotary Club Foundation. OSEP is also grateful to: Hobert Business Services for discounted printing; The Estes Park News and The Estes Park Trail Gazette for publicizing these events; The Estes Park News for its steeply discounted ads; Park R-‐3 Schools, especially Sheridan Monroe and Dr. Alan Denney for the use of the percussion instruments, choral platforms and chairs; the Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies and Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church for rehearsal space; dues from its members; and the many generous donors who attend its concerts. The Music Director is grateful to all the OSEP musicians, especially our two commissioned composers and our soloists for their hard work and dedication to the cause of beautiful music and music-‐making! We love to offer our concerts free to the public! Some cannot afford tickets, while others can. We hope that those of you who are able will be generous with your donations. All donations are tax deductible. Thank you! What does OSEP do with your donations? Lots of things, for example:
* Pay rent for rehearsal and performance spaces * Rent a storage space for music and music stands * Purchase music * Purchase equipment items, such as music stands * Print programs and posters * Hire a few fill-‐in musicians and a choir accompanist
Help, please! Our audience can assist us by filling out a very short survey included in the program or in the lobby. Thanks for dropping it in the donations plate or at the exit. This demographic information helps us apply for much needed grants!
A native of Altoona, Pennsylvania, Jerry Brubaker received his undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music and his graduate degree from the Catholic University of America. He served for 30 years in the United States Navy Band in Washington, DC as a French horn soloist and
composer/arranger. In 1985, he became the Band's Chief Arranger, and held that position until his retirement from the Navy in 1998.
Mr. Brubaker is well-‐known for his patriotic compositions and arrangements of popular music, motion picture scores and Christmas favorites. He has published over 200 works for band, chorus, and symphony orchestra. Brubaker is now happily a resident of Estes Park.
Robert Howard was recently lauded for his 20 years as conductor of the Belleville (IL) Philharmonic Orchestra, which was founded in 1866. For 30+ years, he was a professor at the Meramec branch of the Saint Louis Community College. There he directed the chorus and orchestra and taught music theory, as well as other music courses. His degrees in music and music composition are from Eastern Michigan University and Michigan State University.
His compositions have been performed by the Saint Louis Symphony, St. Louis New Music Circle, A Perfect Fifth Woodwind Quintet, the Kirkwood Symphony, Webster Symphony, Southwest Missouri State University Symphonic Winds, Belleville Philharmonic Orchestra, Webster University Choral Society, Saint Louis Chamber
Chorus, Meramec ensembles and several high school ensembles in the Saint Louis Area. Howard is also a fine poet. He hopes to be a resident of Estes Park in the future. OSEP’s conductor since the spring of 2012 is Kathryn Bowers. Her BMED, MA, and DMA are from Northwestern and the Universities of Oregon and Illinois. A professional choral singer for nearly 30 years, she has sung with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Gächinger Kantorei, Stuttgart, among others. She is semi-‐retired following 30+ years of collegiate teaching at Butler University in Indianapolis and Webster University in Saint Louis. She is Professor Emerita of and an adjunct professor at Webster. Locally, she sings with the Estes Valley Chamber Singers, plays with the Rocky Recorders, and accompanies the 6th Grade Choir at the Middle School.
Estes Park Chamber Orchestra Violin I Concertmaster: Jeff Tyler Louise Johnson Karen Olson Naomi Williams Violin II Marti DeYoung, principal + Dale Bonza Hans Graetzer Judy Koslov Ginny Page* Viola Claudia Hook, principal Kathy Hornbein Carolyn Managan Cello Mary Jo Andrews, principal Patti Overton Double Bass Glenn Patterson Flute & Piccolo Lynette Johnson* Bonnie Dalzell Susan McNeil* Oboe Robert Keep Kirsten Dahlin Clarinet Annette Dechant Randy Amen Bassoon Alan Beste Susan Novy Trumpet Loren Johnson Jim Detterline French horn Scott Anderson Jerry Brubaker Julie Esposito Carolyn Lavallee Trombone Curtis Fox Chuck Varilek Bob Latchaw Tuba Steve Weitz *OSEP Board member OSEP and RMNP: + RMNP volunteer Jim Detterline was a Park Ranger for 27 years. Gary Brown was the Park Magistrate for 12 years.
Timpani & Percussion Gary Brown Dave Bowers Eric Rose Juan Torres Harp Hillary Schefter Keyboard Margaret Patterson Oratorio Society Chorus Margaret Patterson, accompanist Soprano Anna Baker Connie Beard Maureen Gootz Ruth Mutschler Linda Schlitt Jan Thompson Meghan Tokunaga-‐Scanlon Kasey Troutman Carolyn Warner Deborah Webb Pat Welker Melissa Westover Alto Kathleen Black Linda Bowie Suzanne Miller + Carol Nussbaumer + Gerry Pearson Jacquelyn Reed* Judy Ross Betty Shoemaker + Denise Stookesberry Jane Stuart Tenor Scott Anderson* Bert Bergland Hal Dalzell Caroline Duncan Russ Orten Steve Pearson Mark Richards Mike Willborn Bass Bryant Badger Dave Bowers Dick Broman Bob Burger + Bob Gunn* Allen Kallenbach Bill Kehl Rene Moquin Steve Nickel Jon Sonstroem