Randall Thompson
 
Randall Thompson (1899-1984) was one of the most important American composers active during the twentieth century. He completed his musical education at Harvard University and the Eastman School of Music before teaching at Wellesley College, the Curtis Institute of Music, and Harvard. Particularly remembered for his choral works, Thompson was known for writing in a neoromantic style. His most important works include Frostiana: Seven Country Songs, Alleluia, The Testament of Freedom, and The Last Words of David. As a professor, his most important pupils included Leonard Bernstein and Samuel Adler.
 
 
Ralph Vaughan Williams
 
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was an English composer and conductor known for his choral, symphonic, and shorter vocal works. Following the completion of his compositional education with Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), he began a long and successful career as a composer and conductor, particularly influenced by the folk traditions of England. Vaughan Williams had a strong affinity for song composition and produced a large volume of art songs for solo voice and keyboard, most notably the Songs of Travel. As a choral composer, he wrote for a cappella and accompanied mixed chorus; his most famous works in this genre include Dona Nobis Pacem, Three Shakespeare Songs, Five English Folksongs, and Hodie. As a symphonist, Vaughan Williams completed nine large-scale symphonies, and a number of smaller works for orchestra.
 
 
The Kingston Trio
 
The Kingston Trio was originally founded in 1957 and is still active today with different members. Original members Dave Guard (1934-1991), Bob Shane (1934-2020), and Nick Reynolds (1933-2008) were known nationally and internationally for their tight harmonies, inclusion of conventional and unconventional folk instruments, and elements of American folklore in their music-making. The original trio released over one dozen albums, several of which were ranked in Billboard’s top 100 charts.
 
 
Morten Lauridsen
 
Morten Lauridsen is one of America’s most well-known choral composers. He was been a professor of composition at the University of Southern California for over 40 years and received the National Medal of Arts in 2007 for his contributions to American music. Lauridsen is passionate about poetry, often drawing inspiration from great poets for his choral works. His love for the written word is evident in the many vocal cycles he has composed, blending music and poetry in a deeply meaningful way.
 
 
Pablo Casals
 
Pablo (Pau) Casals was a Spanish cellist and conductor from Catalonia. He is regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. Casals is perhaps best remembered for the recordings of the Bach Cello Suites which he made in the 1930s. When asked why he was still playing cello every day at the age of 90, he replied, “because I think I can still improve!” In that spirit, we have replaced the first conjunction in the conventional Latin version of this text from sed (but) to et (and), which takes away the nonsensical division between blackness and beauty. Other historically informed ensembles, especially those with people of color well-represented in their ranks, have adopted this practice lately, and we followed their lead gladly.
 
 
Paul Basler
 
Paul Basler is an American composer and horn player, recognized for his ability to blend diverse musical traditions into captivating and energetic compositions. Currently a professor at the University of Florida, where he has taught since 1993, Basler’s time as a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Kenya profoundly shaped his compositional voice. His works reflect a unique fusion of classical, folk, and world music influences, often marked by rhythmic vitality and directness. Basler’s music is celebrated for its communicative power, with compositions that span from large choral works to chamber music, performed in venues worldwide.

Songs of Travel
Ralph Vaughan Williams
 
Songs of Travel was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams between 1902 and 1904 and remain one of his most frequently performed vocal compositions. The entire cycle consists of nine movements, featuring poetry from Robert Louis Stevenson’s collection of the same title. “The Vagabond” is the opening movement in this cycle. In this movement, Vaughan Williams uses the keyboard to paint the footsteps of a vagabond basking in the beauty of nature. The second movement, “Let Beauty Awake,” also showcases text painting in the keyboard, using sixteenth note flourishes to paint a roaring fire underneath the soloist’s soaring melody about finding love. “The Roadside Fire” continues the narrative from movement two, illustrating the excitement of a new love from the perspective of the protagonist. In this movement, the piano begins with harried eighth note accompaniment figures underneath a fast melody, then returning to the fire accompaniment motive before a tapered ending. The fourth movement, “Youth and Love,” is the first slow movement in this cycle, chronicling the end of this love from the perspective of the protagonist’s lover and recalling these moments in dreams until the dream ends and the protagonist continues on in their journey. In this movement, the keyboard alternates between slow eighth note and triplet accompaniment figures, followed by several references to earlier musical moments in the cycle. The sixth movement, “The Infinite Shining Heavens,” returns to the protagonist’s commentary on the beauty of nature, specifically observing the sky. The keyboard features rolled chords throughout the work, painting twinkling stars in the night sky. In “Bright Is the Ring of Words,” the protagonist sings about the endurance of art after the death of the artist underneath a hymn-like accompaniment.
 
 
M.T.A.
The Kingston Trio
 
Originally written and recorded as a campaign song for Walter O’Brien, M.T.A. quickly became a favorite folksong throughout Massachusetts and the United States. The song chronicles the story of Charlie, a man who got on a Boston subway train running through the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority. He is unable to exit the train because he doesn’t have enough money to pay the increased subway fare, which was one of the important campaign issues referenced in the song. The work was originally written by Jacqueline Steiner and Bess Lomax Hawes, but was made famous by the folk group The Kingston Trio, who accompany themselves on the guitar and banjo.
 
 
Makedonsko devojče
Jonče Hristovski
(1931-2000)
arr. Jurica Petar Petrač
Makedonsko devojče is a Macedonian song composed in 1964 by Jonče Hristovski (1931-2000) in the style of traditional folk music. Macedonia lies at the crossroads of Slavic and Greek regions, and like all Balkan lands, bears cultural influence from many Ottoman incursions over its history, as well. Its folk music bears the marks of all these influences—Turkish ornamentation, Greek asymmetrical meter, and Slavic language and tonality. Sadly, Jonče Hristovski’s wife passed away after giving birth to their twin daughters, Olgica and Nevenka, lending extra poignancy to his most famous song praising the wonders of a Macedonian girl. Our arrangement is by Croatian conductor Jurica Petar Petrač, adapted for trebles by Phoebe Rosquist.
 
 
“Dirait-on” from Les Chanson de Roses
Morten Lauridsen
 
“Dirait-on” is the final piece in Lauridsen’s Les Chansons des Roses, a song cycle based on poems from Rainer Maria Rilke’s collection Les Roses. Lauridsen first wrote “Dirait-on” as a stand-alone piece, but its popularity led him to create a full cycle with four additional poems. The phrase “Dirait-on,” meaning “so they say,” serves as a gentle refrain throughout the piece, evoking a sense of reflection and quiet emotion.
 
Musically, “Dirait-on” captures the simple elegance of a French folk song. Lauridsen’s harmonies, filled with seventh and extended chords, give the piece a rich, layered texture. The music perfectly complements Rilke’s exploration of the rose as a symbol of self-sufficiency and completeness. Unlike the myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection, the rose in this poem stands alone, fulfilled and whole in itself.
 
 
“Landlside” from Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks
 
“Landslide” by Stephanie “Stevie” Nicks was first heard widely on the 1975 album Fleetwood Mac, released by the band of the same name. In the liner notes of a later album, Stevie described her circumstances at the time of composition—she was at a crucial juncture in her life, contemplating either sticking with music or going back to school. She had just been dropped from her first record label and was working as a waitress and house cleaner. She was visiting Aspen, CO and was sitting in a friend’s living room, looking out at the Rocky Mountains, considering all the things that had come crashing down, and the song arose.
 
 
“Alleluia” from Songs of Faith
Paul Basler
 
“Alleluia”, part of Basler’s Songs of Faith cycle, is a prime example of his ability to marry reverence with rhythmic energy. Originally written for SATB choir, this SSAA arrangement highlights the flexibility and depth of treble voices. The piece is accompanied by piano, horn, and percussion, with each instrument playing a vital role in creating the rich, layered textures that define the work. The piano provides a rhythmic foundation, while the horn’s warm resonance brings a lyrical, almost meditative quality. The addition of percussion adds an earthy, grounding pulse that propels the music forward, intensifying the sense of joyful praise.
The composition is characterized by its dynamic contrasts and the interplay between voices and instruments. The repetitive “Alleluia” motif is woven through the music, creating an ever-evolving tapestry of sound. Basler masterfully balances moments of buoyant energy with sections of introspective quietude, reflecting both the grandeur and the intimacy of spiritual expression. The horn and percussion are not merely accompanying forces; they are integral to the overall architecture of the piece, reinforcing its rhythmic drive and emotional depth. The harmonic richness and rhythmic vitality in “Alleluia” bring to life the joy, devotion, and complexity of faith, making it a compelling and uplifting experience for both performers and audiences alike.
 
 
“Choose Something Like a Star” from Frostiana
Randall Thompson
 
Frostiana is a choral suite in seven movements for SATB/SSA/TTBB voices and piano by American composer Randall Thompson. Each movement in the cycle comprises a setting of poetry by Robert Frost. “Choose Something Like a Star” is the seventh and final movement of this cycle. In this movement, the sopranos repeatedly perform an octave skip, signifying a shooting star, underneath homorhythmic movement in the alto, tenor, and bass lines. Thompson’s treatment of the text is almost entirely homorhythmic, signifying the charge in Frost’s poem to find and follow something as steadfast as a star.

“The Road Not Taken” from Frostiana
 
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
 
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
 
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
 
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
 
 
Songs of Travel
 
1. “The Vagabond”
 
Give to me the life I love,
Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above,
And the byway nigh me.
Bed in the bush with stars to see,
Bread I dip in the river—
There’s the life for a man like me,
There’s the life for ever.
 
Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o’er me;
Give the face of earth around,
And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek, the heaven above,
And the road below me.
 
Or let autumn fall on me
Where afield I linger,
Silencing the bird on tree,
Biting the blue finger.
White as meal the frosty field—
Warm the fireside haven—
Not to autumn will I yield,
Not to winter even!
 
 
2. “Let Beauty Awake”
 
Let Beauty awake in the morn from beautiful dreams,
Beauty awake from rest!
Let Beauty awake
For Beauty’s sake
In the hour when the birds awake in the brake
And the stars are bright in the west!
 
Let Beauty awake in the eve from the slumber of day,
Awake in the crimson eve!
In the day’s dusk end
When the shades ascend,
Let her wake to the kiss of a tender friend,
To render again and receive!
 
 
3. “The Roadside Fire”
 
I will make you brooches and toys for your delight
Of bird-song at morning and star-shine at night,
I will make a palace fit for you and me
Of green days in forests, and blue days at sea.
 
I will make my kitchen, and you shall keep your room,
Where white flows the river and bright blows the broom;
And you shall wash your linen and keep your body white
In rainfall at morning and dewfall at night.
 
And this shall be for music when no one else is near,
The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear!
That only I remember, that only you admire,
Of the broad road that stretches and the roadside fire.
 
 
4. “Youth and Love”
 
To the heart of youth the world is a highwayside.
Passing for ever, he fares; and on either hand,
Deep in the gardens golden pavilions hide,
Nestle in orchard bloom, and far on the level land
Call him with lighted lamp in the eventide.
 
Thick as stars at night when the moon is down,
Pleasures assail him. He to his nobler fate
Fares; and but waves a hand as he passes on,
Cries but a wayside word to her at the garden gate,
Sings but a boyish stave and his face is gone.
 
 
6. “The Infinite Shining Heavens”
 
The infinite shining heavens
Rose, and I saw in the night
Uncountable angel stars
Showering sorrow and light.
 
I saw them distant as heaven,
Dumb and shining and dead,
And the idle stars of the night
Were dearer to me than bread.
 
Night after night in my sorrow
The stars looked over the sea,
Till lo! I looked in the dusk
And a star had come down to me.
 
 
8. “Bright is the Ring of Words”
 
Bright is the ring of words
When the right man rings them,
Fair the fall of songs
When the singer sings them,
Still they are carolled and said—
On wings they are carried—
After the singer is dead
And the maker buried.
 
Low as the singer lies
In the field of heather,
Songs of his fashion bring
The swains together.
And when the west is red
With the sunset embers,
The lover lingers and sings
And the maid remembers.
 
 
M.T.A.
 
Let me tell you the story
Of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day
He put ten cents in his pocket,
Kissed his wife and family
Went to ride on the MTA
 
Charlie handed in his dime
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there the conductor told him,
“One more nickel.”
Charlie could not get off that train.
Now all night long
Charlie rides through the station
Crying, “What will become of me?
How can I afford to see
My sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?”
Charlie’s wife goes down
To the Scollay Square station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window
She hands Charlie a sandwich
As the train comes rumblin’ through.
Now you citizens of Boston,
Don’t you think it’s a scandal
That the people have to pay and pay
Vote for Walter A. O’Brien
Fight the fare increase!
And fight the fare increase
Vote for George O’Brien!
Get poor Charlie off the MTA.
 
 
Makedonsko devojče
 
-Macedonian-
 
Македонско девојче,
китка шарена,
во градина набрана
дар подарена.
 
Рефрен:
Дали има на овој бели свет
поубаво девојче од Македонче?
 
Кога коси расплетиш
како коприна
лична си и полична
од самовила.
Рефрен…
 
Нема ѕвезди полични,
од твоите очи,
да се ноќе на небо
ден ќе раздени.
Рефрен…
 
Кога песна запее
славеј натпее,
кога оро заигра
срце разигра.
 
-Bosnian Translation-
 
Makedonsko devojče
Kitka šarena,
Vo gradina nabrana
Dar podarena
 
Refren:
Dali ima na ovoj beli svet
Poubavo devojče
Od Makedonče?
 
Koga kosi raspletiš
Kako koprina
Lična ci I polična
Od samovila.
Refren…
 
Nema dzvezdi polični,
Od tvoite oči,
Da se noke na nebo
Den ke razdeni
Refren…
 
Koga pesna zapee
Slavej nadpee
Koga oro zaigra
Srce razigra
 
-English Translation-
 
Macedonian girl,
a beautiful bouquet,
picked in the garden,
given as a gift.
 
Chorus:
Is there, In this whole wide world,
a more beautiful girl
than a Macedonian?
 
When you unravel your braids,
like silk,
you’re more beautiful
than a fairy.
Chorus…
 
There are no stars brighter
than your eyes,
If they were in the sky at night,
Day would dawn again.
Chorus…
 
And when she sings a song
it is a nightingale singing.
When she dances the oro
she will dance with all her heart.
 
 
Nigra sum
 
Nigra sum, et formosa filiae Jerusalem;
Ideo dilexit me Rex,
et introduxit me in cubiculum suum,
et dixit mihi; Surge et veni amica mea,
surge et veni amica mea, jam hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit, jam hiems transiit,
flores apparuerunt in terrat nostra,
tempus putationis ad venit. Alleluia.
 
-English Translation-
 
I am black, and comely, daughters of Jerusalem; the King hath rejoiced in me,
and brought me into his very own chambers.
He said unto me; rise up, my fair one,
and come away, my love. Lo, for the winter is past and gone, and the rain is over and gone, flow’rs appear on the earth, and the time of renewal is come. Alleluia.
 
 
Landslide
 
I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
‘Til the landslide brought me down
 
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin’ ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
 
Well, I’ve been afraid of changin’
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m gettin’ older, too.
 
Ah, take my love, take it down
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down.