André J. Thomas
 
André J. Thomas (b. 1952) is a Professor Emeritus of Music at Florida State University. He was visiting Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University from 2020-2022. He also served as a faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin. He is presently an Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Thomas received his degrees from Friends University (B.A.), Northwestern University (M. M.), and The University of Illinois (D.M.A). He is in demand as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and director of Honor/All-State Choirs throughout North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa. Dr. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, division, and national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference (NAFME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His international conducting credits are extensive. Thomas is a distinguished composer/arranger with Hinshaw Music Company, Mark Foster Music Company, Fitzsimons Music Company, Lawson Gould, Earthsongs, Choristers Guild, and Heritage Music Company.
 
 
Timothy C. Takach
 
Inspired by narrative, magical realism, speculative fiction and making better humans through art, the music of Timothy C. Takach (b. 1978) has become a mainstay in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines, text choices and rich, intriguing harmonies, his compositions are performed worldwide. He is a co-founder of Cantus, Graphite Publishing and Nation, and he is a co-creator of the theatrical production All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914. Takach has frequent work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, conductor, clinician and lecturer.
 
 
Alice Parker
 
Alice Parker (1925-2023) was a celebrated composer, conductor, and teacher for her contributions to the American choral tradition. Since her encounter with Robert Shaw (1916-1999) at the Tanglewood Summer Festival, studying conducting under his tutelage, both developed a long-term association that led to many choral arrangement publications. Parker’s arrangements were often performed by the famous Robert Shaw Chorale, which championed her reputation as a composer as she was one of the few female composers who was actively publishing at her time. In Parker’s over fifty year career, she arranged folk songs from different cultures and Christian hymns from over the centuries. Some of her notable choral works include Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal, Viva L’amour, and Saints Bound for Heaven. In 1984, she founded her own choir, Melodious Accord, as the embodiment of her teaching and composition philosophy: “Melodies which last teach me about the nature of melody itself, and I never tire of composing, arranging, conducting and teaching from these ever-flowing sources.” Parker passed away at the age of 98 on December 24, 2023.
 
 
Robert Sieving
 
Robert Sieving (b. 1942) is a Minneapolis-based composer and arranger following a career as a high school choral music educator. In addition to his choral pieces he is also active as a composer and arranger of works for string orchestra. He is a past recipient of the ACDA of Minnesota Conductor of the Year Award and the Plymouth Music Series (now VocalEssence) Award for Creative Programming.
 
 
Benjamin Britten
 
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. An exceedingly practical and resourceful musician, Britten worked with increasing determination to recreate the role of leading national composer held during much of his own life by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), from whom he consciously distanced himself. Notable among his musical and professional achievements are the revival of English opera, initiated by the success of Peter Grimes in 1945; the building of institutions to ensure the continuing viability of musical drama; and outreach to a wider audience, particularly children, in an effort to increase national musical literacy and awareness. Equally important in this was his accessibility as a composer, rejecting the isolationism of the postwar avant garde and developing a distinctive tonal language that allowed amateurs and professionals alike to love his work and to enjoy performing and listening to it. Above all, he imbued his works with his own personal concerns, some of them hidden, principally those having to do with his love of men and boys, some more public, like his fiercely held pacifist beliefs, in ways that allowed people to sense the passion and conviction behind them even if unaware of their full implication.
 
 
Ale Möller
 
Ale Möller (b. 1955) is a Swedish musician and composer who began his musical career as a jazz trumpeter. Though he is best known for playing traditional Scandinavian music, he is, according to his website, a proponent of world music and loves to combine Swedish folk traditions with those of Scotland, Greece, India, and West Africa. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays the Greek bouzouki, mandola, accordion, flute, shawm, dulcimer, harp, and harmonica. As a composer, he only began dabbling in choral music later in his life.
 
 
Abbie Betinis
 
Composer Abbie Betinis (b. 1980) is a two-time McKnight Artist Fellow. Listed in NPR Music’s 100 Composers Under Forty, she was recently named Musical America’s Artist of the Month, with a feature article lauding her “contrapuntal vitality” and “her ability to use her talents to effect social change.” She has written over 80 commissioned pieces for world-class organizations, including the American Choral Directors Association, Cantus, Chorus Pro Musica, Dale Warland Singers, The Schubert Club, St. Olaf Choir, and Zeitgeist. She lives in Minnesota, where she is adjunct professor of composition at Concordia University-St Paul and co-founding executive director of Justice Choir.
 
 
Moira Smiley
 
Moira Smiley (b. 1976) has written commissions for the LA Master Chorale, Conspirare, Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble, Mirabai, Stile Antico, American Choral Directors Association, Voces Novae, VocalEssence, Pacific Chorale, NOTUS, Ad Astra Festival and countless others. Her arrangements and original compositions for choir—especially those with her signature body percussion—are performed by millions of singers around the world. The European premiere of Time In Our Voices was performed by the voices and mobile phones of Ars Nova Copenhagen under the direction of Paul Hillier. In 2018-2019 Moira released the album and choral songbook, Unzip The Horizon as companion to her The Voice is a Traveler solo show. She continues composing and improvising in collaboration with artists in film, video game production, theater and dance, and her work can be heard on feature film soundtracks, BBC & PBS television programs, NPR, and on more than 70 commercial albums. Her most recent premieres include her secular liturgy, The Song Among Us for Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble and Keep On for VocalEssence.
 
 
Felix Mendelssohn
 
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor. His well-known compositions include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (which contains his ubiquitous “Wedding March”), several symphonies, and the oratorio Elijah. Mendelssohn was enamored of earlier musics—most notably that of J.S. Bach, whose St. Matthew Passion Mendelssohn conducted in 1829. His love of Renaissance and Baroque music could account for the relative conservatism of his style when compared to his more musically-adventurous contemporaries like Liszt, Wagner, and Berlioz.
 
 
Sergei Rachmaninoff
 
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was a renowned Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Although primarily known today as a composer who hailed as the last great figure of Russian late Romanticism, during his era, he stood out as one of the premier pianists of his generation. Additionally, he garnered considerable acclaim for his skillful conducting, achieving nearly equal success in this field. His compositions reflect his personal style characterized by “with a pronounced lyrical quality, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity and a palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colours,” influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian composers. Rachmaninoff immigrated to the United States in 1918 and passed away in Beverly Hills, California, in 1943.
 
 
Gi-Kyoung Lee
 
Gi-Kyoung Lee (b. 1965) is a South Korean composer and choral conductor. She pursued her studies in music composition at Hanyang University (B.M.) and choral conducting at Korea National University of Arts (M.M.) under the guidance of Martin Behrmann. A versatile artist, she began her career in the early 1980s by composing the winning song for the MBC Campus Music Festival, a prestigious event that has propelled numerous notable singers and songwriters in the South Korean popular music scene. Additionally, she dedicated intensive effort to learning Korean traditional singing and dancing during her formative years. Drawing from her profound understanding of popular music, Korean traditional music, and classical music, her compositions possess an irresistible charm. Lee’s music has been performed by numerous amateur choirs, as well as civic and professional choirs in South Korea, including the National Chorus of Korea.

Swing Down, Chariot
trad. Spiritual
arr. André J. Thomas
 
Swing Down, Chariot is a shining example of Thomas’s scholarship on and continuation of the rich choral traditions established by the likes of William Dawson (1899-1990) and Moses Hogan (1957-2003). His use of rich chord textures and driving tempo in the refrain give the work a great sense of excitement, while the verses set individual sections of the choir over a humming texture in the other voices to highlight the text of the narrative portrayed in the piece. The references to having a “home on the other side” bear dual meaning, representing both the imagery of salvation in the next life, as well as a hopefulness for freedom from bondage and slavery in life on Earth, the context from which most Black spirituals emerged. More detail on the rise to prominence of the Black spiritual as well as Thomas’s own views on the idiom and on this piece in particular may be found in his book: Way Over in Beulah Lan’: Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual.
 
 
“Gravedigger” from Some Devil
David J. Matthews
arr. Timothy C. Takach
 
Originally recorded by Dave Matthews (b. 1967), “Gravedigger” dwells on themes of grief and reflects on the nature of mortality. The text utilizes names and dates written on tombstones, as well as a brief window into the lives of the people to whom those tombstones belong. As the piece progresses, the lives described in each verse become progressively shorter, beginning with a man who lived to one-hundred-three years old, followed by a woman who lived to fifty-one and lost both of her children during World War II. The final verse focuses on a child who only lived to eight years old, presumably perishing in a tragic accident while riding his bike. Takach’s arrangement of the song was originally made for his tenor/bass a cappella group Cantus. Since its original performance, Takach has made editions for mixed choir and treble choir as well.
 
 
Saints Bound for Heaven
Traditional
arr. Alice Parker
 
Saints Bound for Heaven is a hymn tune originating from the shape-note singing tradition, also known as Sacred Harp singing, which was popularized in the rural American south community and church singing gatherings — or “singings.” This particular singing style is seen as part of the foundation of music education in the US since the people who join these singing gatherings also learn how to read music. Parker took this vibrant hymn tune and arranged it into SATB, SSAA, and TTBB versions, but all versions have similar structures. In this TTBB version, all four voices jubilantly introduced the familiar hymn tune together in harmony in the first verse. Afterwards, one would hear only the Tenor 2 take over the melody while the basses have a rhythmic countermelody. By the third verse, the texture thickens as tenors and basses are singing in call and response to each other. The music is approaching its height as Bass 1 leads into the fourth verse while all other voices sing in a rocking motion. With the interruption of the basses at “Shouting Glory to our King,” all voices resounded in glorious harmony with one another with a grand finale.
 
 
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Duncan Tuomi
 
This setting of William Butler Yeats’s (1865-1939) poem “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” was originally composed for the 2018 Brothers, Sing On! Festival for tenor/bass choral music, and is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s, Duncan Tuomi (b. 1994), grandfather, Lawrence Tuomi (1935-2017), who had passed the previous spring. Tuomi’s family annually visits Paulina Lake in central Oregon, and it was at this lake where a portion of his grandparents’ ashes were scattered. Drawing upon the parallel between Yeats’s poetry of finding peace at the lake described in the text and the lake that has held so much significance for his family, Tuomi’s composition reflects upon the beauty of nature and the musical traditions of his family. The piano throughout the composition mimics the ebb and flow described in the final stanza of the poem: “I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore.” The choral voices move in slow and steady statements that give way to rippling imitation, and a solo voice sings in a style reminiscent of the rural American folk music that gave rise to the genres of country and bluegrass. The harmonic language of the work alternates between folk-like pentatonic scales over open fifth drones and the more lush texture of romantic tonality.
 
 
Music on the Water
Robert Sieving
 
“Music on the Water” is a poem by William Wordsworth, set to music by Robert Sieving. In Wordsworth’s Romantic poem, he draws a connection between human-made music and the sounds of the natural world. The work begins with a french horn solo; as an instrument, the French horn recalls ideas of the words, nature, and hunting. Sieving structures Music on the Water in an A-B-A form. The outer sections are unified by melodic content, text, and the homophonic use of voices. The inner section is set in the key of the relative minor, and begins with three of the voices accompanying the melody on an “oo.” The work is scored for french horn and TTBB choir.
 
 
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard
Benjamin Britten
 
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard was written for British soldiers who had been captured by the Nazis during the second world war. The work was smuggled into the POW camp Oflag VII-B on microfilm where it likely received its world premiere. The poem that serves as the basis and namesake of the work contains love concealed, adultery, a duel, and a devastating final twist. The composition is built in A-B-A form (slow-fast-slow). The B section contains the action of the story, and begins with an alarming sonority played very quietly. The climax of the work is prepared with a long section in which the choir chants, on one pitch, the depiction of Lord Barnard discovering his wife and servant together; this is followed by an explosive call to “arise” sung by the choir. The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard is scored for TBB voices and piano accompaniment.
 
 
“Glaspolskan” from The Horse And The Crane
Ale Möller
 
Glaspolskan, translated from Swedish, means “The Glass Polish,” but the words of this piece are actually Swedish “vocables” and do not mean a thing other than “ha di da!” It was composed as a love theme for the play The Horse and the Crane, a story about the expansion of Sweden’s railways into the country’s northern territory, based on texts by author Sara Lidman. Glaspolskan is a Swedish polska, a dancing tune “in three” – a polska is similar to a waltz except that each macro beat is divided into three additional micro beats, so it can simultaneously be felt in very quick, bright triplets as well as slower, lilting triplets. Listeners may note that the harmonic movement of this piece does not always land where Western ears expect it to, saving special moments for beat two or three (instead of the ever-popular beat one). This in combination with the macro and micro beats give the piece a constant feeling of motion, and of slight surprise in something that otherwise feels very familiar.
 
 
Lumen
Abbie Betinis
 
Tonight’s selection, Lumen, is one of Abbie Betinis’ yearly carol compositions carrying on the tradition begun by her great grandfather Bates Burt, and continued famously by her great uncle Alfred Burt. It has a sweeping modal melody that works beautifully as a canon, and is underpinned by an ostinato chant line reminiscent of a medieval tenor line.
 
 
Bring Me Little Water, Silvy
Lead Belly
arr. Moira Smiley
 
Tonight’s piece is Smiley’s arrangement of Bring me a Little Water, Silvy, composed by Lead Belly (1888-1949), and influenced by Sweet Honey in the Rock’s iconic performance. The body percussion was created by Evie Ladin. Smiley, in gratitude for the great success of this arrangement has instituted the annual ‘Bringing The Water’ Award to honor the profound influence and benefit to past and future folk music innovators by Black American musical artists “who, in addition to their towering performance and recording achievements, educate and share their culture with astonishing generosity amidst ongoing systemic racism, cultural appropriation and personal hardship.”
 
 
“Laudate pueri Dominum” from Drei Motetten, op. 39
Felix Mendelssohn
 
Tonight’s selection, “Laudate pueri Dominum,” is from a collection: Drei Motetten (Three motets), op. 39, all scored for treble voices and organ. They were composed in 1830 for various church services, but published together in 1838. The introductory notes of the Carus Verlag edition of this opus cite its inspiration as a visit to the romanesque church of Trinità dei Monti (located at the top of the Spanish steps in Rome). In 1830 Mendelssohn wrote to his parents: “The French nuns sing there, and it is wonderfully lovely…now, one should know one more thing: that one is not allowed to see the singers. Therefore, I have come to an unusual decision: I will compose something for their voices, which I remember exactly…”
 
 
“The Angel (Lermontov)” from Six Choruses, op. 15
Sergei Rachmaninoff
 
“The Angel (Lermontov)” from Six Choruses, op. 15 was composed for treble voices and piano between 1894 and 1896, while Rachmaninoff was teaching music theory at the Marynsky Girls’ School. He set six nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Russian poems, including two (one being “The Angel”) by the relatively renowned Mikhaíl Lyérmontoff (1814–41). The version performed tonight was commissioned by Peter David, director of music for the Oakham School in England, to translators Ronnie Apter and Mark Herman, and published by Musica Russica in 2009 (from Translating Art Songs for Performance: Rachmaninoff’s Six Choral Songs by Ronnie Apter and Mark Herman). This cycle, Six Choruses, bears heavy influence from French impressionist music, featuring gorgeous accompaniment, frequent key changes, and lengthy phrases with sudden dynamic shifts.
 
 
Apáno Stin Triantafyllia
trad. Greek & Macedonian
arr. Eftychia Mitritsa
 
Apano Sti Triantafyllia (On Top Of The Rosebush) is a traditional Greek song with Macedonian roots collected and arranged by Greek singer/songwriter Eftychia Mitritsa (b. 1979). This piece would traditionally be sung by a group of women prior to a wedding, who would link arms and dance together in one line that follows the trajectory of a larger circle. This lively dance is, like many Greek songs, organized metrically into groups of seven beats. An “asymmetric meter” such as seven may sound difficult or unbalanced to American ears, but is as common and flowing in Greece as 3/4 time (a waltz) would be here in the USA. Instead of counting 1234567 over and over, listeners can find the “groove” of Triantafyllia by clustering the beats into 3+2+2, demonstrated by the percussion in this performance. The singers of Oriana send their thanks to Eftychia for her help with the Greek pronunciation, the appropriate vocal production for this kind of folk song, and the attitude that brings the song to life.
 
 
“My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music
Rogers & Hammerstein
arr. Mitos Andaya Hart
 
“My Favorite Things” from the stage musical (1959) and then movie The Sound of Music (1965) has been an American classic since its initial release. Unlike most other Golden Age Broadway tunes that gained radio popularity at that time, “My Favorite Things” has transcended beyond musical theater. Saxophonist John Coltrane released his 14-minute iconic interpretation in 1960, after which the tune became a jazz standard. In 1961 Julie Andrews, who would go on to play the main character Maria in the film, sang the song on the Garry Moore Show Christmas episode – due to its inclusion of winter imagery (mainly warm woolen mittens, sleigh bells, and silver white winters) – after which the song also became a classic holiday song, recorded by the Diana Ross and the Supremes and Herb Albert & The Tijuana Brass, among many others. For songwriting team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (“Rodgers & Hammerstein”), “My Favorite Things” is but a drop in the bucket of their success; other credits include the music from Cinderella, Oklahoma, The King and I, Carousel, and South Pacific. In their shared career, they won 34 Tony Awards, 15 Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Pulitzer Prizes.
 
This particular arrangement was written by Mitos Andaya-Hart, currently an associate professor of choral activities at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Andaya-Hart wrote this piece for the University of Georgia’s Women’s Glee Club to celebrate the 100th birthday of Richard Rodgers (the composer of the duo) in 2002. She set it to a “spirited samba” wherein the choir gets to alternately play the role of lead singer and backing instrumentals. Lovers of The Sound of Music will delight in the “outro” of this piece, wherein Andaya-Hart quotes five beloved songs from the musical one after another as wordless tunes delightfully reharmonized to fit with the main chord progression of the song. Musical theater lovers with keen ears can also listen out for one sneaky allusion (or “quote”) to “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler On the Roof in the middle of the scat section!
 
 
Kwaejina Chingching Nane
Gi-Kyoung Lee
 
Kwaejina Chingching Nane is a choral work composed for a treble choir accompanied by piano and traditional Korean percussion instruments, including the Janggu Drum, Buk Drum, and Kkwaenggwari Gong, as well as featuring a Pansori singer. Pansori is a traditional genre of musical storytelling performed by a vocalist and drummer, known for its expressive singing, stylized speech, and repertoire of narratives and gestures. It embodies both refined artistry and folk culture (from UNESCO). The most notable characteristic of the work is gradual tempo change, which is related to the Korean traditional rhythmic system called Jangdan. It begins with a comfortable slow tempo and gradually transitions to faster tempi: “Gutgeori Jangdan, Eonmori Jangdan, Jajinmori Jangdan,” and finally, hurrying to a climax. In the song, you can recognize consistent repetition of the phrase “Kwajina chingching nane,” which comprises nonsense syllables in contemporary usage but is believed to convey uplifting and joyous sentiments. The concluding shoutout “Eeolssu” is a filler word used to express appreciation for Pansori.

Swing Down, Chariot
 
Oh-oh-oh-oh,
Swing down, chariot, stop and let me ride,
Oh, rock me Lord, calm and easy,
I’ve got a home on the other side.
 
Well Ezekiel went out in the middle of a field
He saw an angel workin on a chariot wheel
He wasn’t particular ’bout the chariot wheel
He just wanted to see how a chariot feels
 
Well, Ezekiel went down and he got on board.
The chariot when a-bumpin’ on down that old road
He wasn’t particular ‘bout the bumpin’ of the road.
He just wanted to lay down his heavy load.
 
Swing down, chariot, stop and let me ride…
 
Well, a sinner, he went out to the middle of a field.
And then he started workin’ on a chariot wheel.
He wasn’t so particular ‘bout workin’ on that wheel.
He just wants to see how the chariot feels.
 
Then an angel saw the sinner workin’ hard there in the field,
And said, “Hold on, believer, Ezekiel rides that wheel.
The chariot will swing on down that old and bumpy road.
The chariot’s the place to lay your heavy load.”
 
Swing down, chariot, stop and let me ride…
 
 
“Gravedigger”
 
Cyrus Jones, 1810 to 1913
He made his great grandchildren believe
He could live to a hundred and three
A hundred and three is forever
When you’re just a little kid
So Cyrus Jones lived forever
 
Gravedigger, when you dig my grave
Could you make it shallow
So that I can feel the rain?
Gravedigger
 
Muriel Stonewall, 1903 to 1954
She lost both of her babies in the second great war
You should never have to watch
As your only children lowered in the ground
I mean
Never have to bury your own babies
 
Gravedigger, when you dig my grave…
 
Ring around the rosie
Pocket full of posies
Ashes to ashes
We all fall down
 
Gravedigger, when you dig my grave…
 
Little Mikey Carson, ’67 to ’75
He rode his bike like the devil
Until the day he died
When he grows up he wants to be
Mister Vertigo on the flying trapeze
Oh 1940 to 1992
 
Gravedigger, when you dig my grave…
 
 
Saints Bound for Heaven
 
Our bondage it shall end By and by,
From Egypt’s yoke set free;
Hail the glorious jubilee,
And to Canaan we’ll return, By and by.
 
Our deliverer He shall come By and by,
And our sorrows have an end,
With our three score years and ten,
And vast glory crown the day By and by.
 
And when to Jordan’s floods we are come,
Jehovah rules the tide
And the waters he’ll divide,
And the ransom’d host shall shout we are come
 
Then with the happy throng we’ll rejoice,
Shouting Glory to our King
Till the vaults of heaven ring,
And thro all eternity we’ll rejoice
 
 
The Lake Isle of Innisfree
 
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
 
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.
 
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
 
 
Music on the Water
 
Lutes and voices down th’ enchanted woods
Steal, and compose the oar-forgotten floods,
While Evening’s solemn bird melodious weeps,
Heard, by star-spotted bays, beneath the steeps;
Slow glides the sail along th’ illumined shore,
And steals into the shade the lazy oar.
Soft bosoms breathe around contagious sighs
And amourous music on the water dies.
 
 
The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard
 
As it fell on one holy-day,
As many be in the year,
When young men and maids together did go
Their matins and mass to hear,
 
Little Musgrave came to the church-door –
The priest was at private mass –
But he had more mind of the fair women
Then he had of Our Lady’s grace.
 
The one of them was clad in green,
Another was clad in pall,
And then came in my Lord Barnard’s wife,
The fairest amongst them all.
 
Quoth she, ‘I have loved thee, Little Musgrave,
Full long and many a day.’ –
‘So have I loved you, fair ladye,
Yet never word durst I say.’ –
 
‘But I have a bower at Bucklesfordberry,
Full daintily it is dight;
If thou’lt wend thither, thou Little Musgrave,
Thou’s lig in my arms all night.’
 
With that beheard a little tiny page,
By his lady’s coach as he ran.
Says, ‘Although I am my lady’s foot-page,
Yet I am Lord Barnard’s man.’
 
Then he’s cast off his hose and shoon,
Set down his feet and ran,
And where the bridges were broken down
He bent his bow and swam.
 
‘Awake! awake! thou Lord Barnard,
As thou art a man of life!
Little Musgrave is at Bucklesfordberry
Along with thy own wedded wife.’ –
 
He callèd up his merry men all:
‘Come saddle me my steed;
This night must I to Bucklesfordberry,
For I never had greater need.’
 
But some they whistled, and some they sung,
And some they thus could say,
Whenever Lord Barnard’s horn it blew:
‘Away, Musgrave, away! … –
 
‘Methinks I hear the threstle cock,
Methinks I hear the jay;
Methinks I hear Lord Barnard’s horn,
Away, Musgrave, away!’ –
 
‘Lie still, lie still, thou little Musgrave,
And huggle me from the cold;
‘Tis nothing but a shepherd’s boy
A-driving his sheep to the fold.’
 
By this, Lord Barnard came to his door
And lighted a stone upon;
And he’s pull’d out three silver keys,
And open’d the doors each one.
 
He lifted up the coverlet,
He lifted up the sheet:
 
‘Arise, arise, thou Little Musgrave,
And put thy clothès on;
It shall ne’er be said in my country
I have kill’d a naked man.
 
‘I have two swords in one scabbard,
They are both sharp and clear;
Take you the best, and I the worst,
We’ll end the matter here.’
 
The first stroke Little Musgrave struck,
He hurt Lord Barnard sore;
The next stroke that Lord Barnard struck,
Little Musgrave ne’er struck more.
 
‘Woe worth you, woe worth, my merry men all,
You were ne’er born for my good!
Why did you not offer to stay my hand
When you saw me wax so wood?
 
‘For I have slain the fairest lady
That ever wore woman’s weed,
Soe I have slain the fairest lady
That ever did woman’s deed.
 
‘A grave, a grave,’ Lord Barnard cried,
‘To put these lovers in!
But lay my lady on the upper hand,
For she comes of the nobler kin.’
 
 
Lumen
 
Lumen acceipe et imperti.
Do ut des.
 
Receive the light and pass it on.
I give that you may give.
 
 
Bring Me Little Water, Silvy
 
Bring me little water Silvy
Bring me little water now
Bring me little water Silvy
Every little once in a while
Bring it in a bucket Silvy
Bring it in a bucket now
Bring it in a bucket every once in a while
Silvy come a running
Bucket in my hand
I will bring a little water
Fast as I can
Bring me little water Silvy
Bring me little water now
Bring me little water Silvy
Every little once in a while
Can’t you see me coming
Can’t you see me now
I will bring a little water
Every little once in a while
 
 
“Laudate pueri Dominum”
 
Laudate, pueri, Dominum,
laudate nomen Domini:
sit nomen Domini benedictum,
ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum.
Auxilium meum a Domino,
qui fecit caelum et terram.
Benefac, Domine,
bonis et rectis corde.
 
Beati omnes qui timent Dominum,
qui ambulant in viis ejus.
 
English Translation
 
Praise the Lord, ye children:
praise ye the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
from henceforth now and forever.
My help is from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Do good, O Lord,
to those that are good and of upright heart.
 
Blessed are all they that fear the Lord:
that walk in his ways
 
-Psalm 113:2 and Psalm 128:1
 
 
“The Angel (Lermontov)”
The heavenly song of an angel in flight
was quietly filling the night.
The clouds and the moon and the stars in a throng
were list’ning as he sang the song.
He sang of the sinless spirits in bliss
in gardens of paradise.
He sang of the greatness of God
and his guileless praises pervaded the sky.
The angel embraced a young soul in his arms
to set in this harsh vale of tears.
The sound of the song lingered on in the soul,
remaining alive through the years.
Confined to the face of the wearisome world,
the soul ached with wondrous desire;
the sounds of the earth could never replace
a song of the heavenly choir.
 
 
Apáno Sti Triantafyllia
 
Apáno sti – mávra mou mátia – Apáno stin triantafylliá
Chtízein’ i pérdika foliá
 
Chtízein’ i pér – mávra mou mátia – Chtízein’ i pérdika foliá
Simpainovgaínoun ta pouliá
 
Simpainovgaí – mávra mou mátia – Simpainovgaínoun ta pouliá
Kai siétai i triantafylliá
 
Kai siétai i – mávra mou mátia – Kai siétai i triantafylliá
Kai péftoun ta triantáfylla
 
Kai péftoun ta – mávra mou mátia – Kai péftoun ta triantáfylla
Mésa stis nýfis tin podiá
 
English Translation
 
On the… – Oh, my black eyes – On the rose bush
The partridge is building a nest
 
The patridge is build… – Oh, my black eyes – The partridge is building a nest
The little birds fly in and out
 
The little birds fly… – Oh, my black eyes – The little birds fly in and out
And the rose bush is shaken
 
And it’s shaken… – Oh, my black eyes – And the rose bush is shaken
And make the roses to fall
 
And they fall… – Oh, my black eyes – And the roses fall
Inside the bride’s apron
 
 
“My Favorite Things”
 
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
 
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
 
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
 
When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad
 
 
Kwejina Chingching Nane
Kwejina Chingching Nane
We have fun! Let’s enjoy ourselves!
 
There are so many little stars in the skies.
I also have many hopes in my mind.
Who can catch and stop the sun that’s
Setting way beyond the western mountain?
No, nobody can halt the flight of time.
 
Moon, moon, you bright moon,
In the vast land, you shine.
By the riverside, many pebbles,
As the sun sets in the west,
The moon rises in the east.
Oh, passing time, don’t slip away,
Youth, so precious, will eventually age.
The sun setting in the west,
Tie it firmly with a rope,
Attempting to delay the arrival of white hairs.

DEPARTMENT OF CHORAL & SACRED MUSIC FACULTY
 
Tram Sparks, Chair & Associate Professor of Practice
Cristian Grases, Professor
Emily Sung, Assistant Professor of Practice
Suzy Digby, Adjunct Professor
Jennifer Ellis Kampani, Adjunct Instructor in Early Music
Troy Quinn, Part-Time Lecturer in Conducting
 
 
DEPARTMENT OF CHORAL & SACRED MUSIC
GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS
 
Collin Boothby
Ann Chen
Ali Sandweiss Hodges
Michael Raleigh
Han-Ah Park
Duncan Tuomi
Shijia Ye
 
 
DEPARTMENT OF CHORAL & SACRED MUSIC DONORS
 
We are grateful to the following individuals who have made contributions to the USC Thornton Department of Choral & Sacred Music since July 1, 2017.
 
Anonymous, Charles Albers, Victor Apanovitch, Elizabeth Armour & Jonathan Lewis, Kristin & Larry Ball, Jane & Robin Blomquist, John Michael Boyle, Jennifer & Donald Brinegar, Robert E. Brooks, Kellie & Aaron Custino, Dr. Harold A. Daugherty Jr., Elizabeth Molly Flier, Joanne & Nathaniel Fryml, Ada Gates, Carol & Ilan Glasman, Lisa Hane & Hugh Rienhoff, Jazmine Harnishfeger-Brand, Dr. Todd J. Harper & Connie C. Kim, Lisa H. Harrington, Kathleen Hartley, Tamara & Mark Hatwan, Dr. Carl W. Haywood, Dr. Stephanie Henry, Margaret P. & Guilbert C. Hentschke, Barbara A. & Wayne Hirabayashi, Nancy & James Holland, Alvin Hughes, Debora Lee Huffman, Dr. Buddy Oscar James, Young Lee-Ko & Seungseop Ko, Dr. Yewon Lee & Daniel Lee, L’Etoile Apparel, Dr. Iris Sue Levine & Lesili Beard, Shou-Ping Liu, Hazel & James Lord, Dr. Marguerite Marsh, Joan Mattei, Dr. Stanley R. McDaniel, Patricia & John McIntyre, Dr. Donald B. & Mary C. Miller, Ann F. Mohrbacher, Shirley & John G. Morgan, Music Celebrations International (LLC), Kimberly & Douglas Nason, Mr. David Noble, Christine Marie Ofiesh, Peter & Masha Plotkin Memorial Foundation, Anthony H. Pasqua, Pawasut Piriyapongrat, Thomas B. Ringland, Kenneth D. Sanson Jr. Estate, Rose F. Sapia, Margaret & Christopher Saranec, Virginia Sato & Raymond Bates, Mary & Jo-Michael Scheibe, Nicole D. Singer, Virginia & Thomas Somerville, Christian D. Stendel, Toni & Nick Strimple, The Donald & Alice Noble Foundation, Town & Gown of USC, Leslie J. & Jeffrey B. Unger, Barbara & James Harold Vail, Emily Kuo Vong, Ken White & Allison White, Gregory Wait, John P. Wiscombe, Pamela & Donald “Jeff” Wright, Janice Lynn Wyma, Zena & Steve Yamamoto, Xu & Young Foundation, Ruth & David Yoder
 
Please contact the USC Thornton Office of Advancement at music.advancement@usc.edu or (213) 740-6474 if you would like more information on how to contribute to the USC Thornton Department of Choral & Sacred Music.