Livestreamed from the Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, MA
Easter Sunday, April 9th, 3:00 PM
Prelude on Finlandia, James Curnow
Canzona per Sonare No. 2, Giovanni Gabrieli
La Rejouissance, G.F. Handel, arr. Elgar Howarth
Prelude and Exultation, Craig Phillips
Alleluia, Randall Thompson
Canzon per sonar septimi toni à 8, CH. 172, Giovanni Gabrieli
Canzon duodecimi toni, Giovanni Gabrieli
Luminosity, Anthony DiLorenzo
He Is Risen Fanfare, Michael Hale
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead!’” Matthew 28:1–7a
The themes of unity and new life resound in James Curnow’s Prelude on Jean Sibelius’ beloved tune, Finlandia. Composed in 1899 for a small local event, the piece was intended to stir Finnish patriotism in the face of increasing Russian censorship. Sibelius was surprised by the immense popularity of the piece, yet acknowledged the sentiment behind it may have had something to do with Finlandia’s place in people’s hearts. “We fought 600 years for our freedom, and I am part of the generation which achieved it. Freedom! My Finlandia is the story of this fight. It is the song of our battle, our hymn of victory.”
While many hymns and songs sprang out of the moving hymn tune contained in the piece, perhaps best known and loved is that of “Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.” Curnow’s arrangement uses the entire brass family to portray the richness and strength of this work. Considering the work’s origin, and the steadfastness of the Finnish people in the face of adversity, it is no surprise that it has become an anthem of sorts, known and loved all over the world.
Giovanni Gabrieli began his studies with his uncle, Andrea Gabrieli, and later served in Munich (1575–79) under Orlando di Lasso. In 1585, he succeeded his uncle as the second organist of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, a post he held for the rest of his life.
Canzona per Sonare No. 2 celebrates the radiance of King Jesus. First published in 1608, No. 2 is one of four canzona per sonare that begin a collection of thirty-six canzonas by Gabrieli. Canzona per Sonare No. 2
is notable for its style, which is often said to have laid a path for what would soon become the new Baroque concerto style, which remains popular to this day.
La Rejouissance, translated as The Rejoicing, is the fifth movement from Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, a suite in D major. Handel was commissioned by George II to compose a celebratory work to accompany a lavish fireworks display in celebration of the end of the War of Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.
The original instrumentation was twenty-four oboes, twelve bassoons, one contrabassoon, nine natural trumpets, nine natural horns, one serpent, three pairs of kettledrums, and side drums. The King “insisted on a very large ensemble of only war-like instruments.”
On April 27, 1749, in London’s Green Park, roughly 10,000 fireworks erupted from a large wooden pavilion painted to resemble stone. It was 410 feet long and 114 feet high, constructed by the Chevalier Nicolas Servandoni, architect of St. Sulpice and stage designer for the Paris Opera. Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks was a huge success and, even without fireworks, continues to excite and inspire to this day. In today’s program, La Rejouissance serves as an expression of the jubilation at the Resurrection of Jesus. “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again, I say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
Prelude and Exultation was commissioned by the Air Force Academy’s Stellar Brass in 2007. Dr. Phillips’s successful compositional career includes many awards and commissions. The instrumental combination showcased in this commission seems to be a favorite— perhaps these instruments enable expression of an energy and optimism in Phillips’s personality as a composer.
The mysterious opening chords create a sense of anticipation, as though the listener is waiting for something to appear. Gradually, with the interjection of short, fanfare-like phrases, the piece builds momentum until bursting into a vibrant and spirited conversation between brass and organ. In the final measures, all the voices dance together towards a triumphant conclusion.
Randall Thompson’s Alleluia is perhaps best known as a choral piece. Thompson was commissioned by Sergei Koussevitzky to write a choral “fanfare” for the opening exercises of the new Berkshire Music Center in Lenox, MA, in July 1940. But Thompson, faced with what seemed to be the imminent collapse of the civilized world to Nazi Germany, found himself unable to compose a joyful piece. He said he used the word “Alleluia,” with the biblical story of Job in mind. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
This transcription for brass was commissioned by the Brass Fellows of Tanglewood for the opening of the 2020 Tanglewood Festival, marking the first time since 1940 that the piece would not be performed by a choir at the festival’s opening exercises.
Like his uncle, Andrea, Giovanni Gabrieli typically composed music that featured multiple choirs, playing back and forth like a musical conversation. But Giovanni added another layer, varying the instrumentation and voicing in each choir, essentially creating a color and texture unique to his compositional voice.
Gabrieli’s canzonas (“song-like” instrumental works) were most likely written for use at San Marco during important liturgical events and services. Canzonas of the sixteenth century had similar structures, but Gabrieli began adding contrasting tempos, meters, and rhythms, giving his own voice to the style.
Canzon per sonar septime toni à 8 was composed in 1597. It is part of Sacrae Symphoniae, a collection of forty-five motets written for eight instrumental parts in two antiphonal choirs. Michel Rondeau’s arrangement has added tuba, a voice not heard in Gabrieli’s time.
Canzon duodecimi toni, a canzona on the twelfth note, also known as the Hypoionian (four notes above “C”) is scored for two brass choirs. It opens with an enthusiastic declamation from one choir, answered in short order by the second choir, with this antiphonal “discussion” carrying on joyously throughout the piece.
In 1994, the Gloriæ Dei Brass had the privilege of performing these exciting works in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice as part of St. Mark’s 900th year anniversary celebration. Playing Gabrieli’s works in such a space gives a bit of insight into the inspiration for this musical style.
The basilica’s spatial layout of the Greek cross, with its three apses, and five grand domes overhead, all contribute to the live resonance and mixing of Gabrielli’s sonorities, creating lingering chords during the ongoing performance, while still articulating the moving parts, all with remarkable clarity.
Anthony DiLorenzo is one of the most exciting composers of our time, creating works for film, TV, stage, and well over eighty works for brass ensemble alone. Luminosity, commissioned for the grand opening of a worship and performing arts center, was written to capture in musical imagery the beauty and amazing properties of a pulsar—a star that blinks and spins in rapid motion. In DiLorenzo’s own words, “The music is meant to be vibrant and energetic as it mimics a distant Pulsar emitting bursts of light and energy. The star can illuminate the most wondrous display of beauty and color.”
The rapid pulse of this piece, articulated by constant eighth notes in the brass and timpani, conveys the energy of the pulsar as it hurls through space. A shift to a contrasting, slower tempo echos the stark beauty of space, while solo voices and rich ensemble chords create moments of awe and peace before the piece accelerates to a close with a powerful and victorious reprise.
Today’s concert closes with a triumphant fanfare based on the well-loved hymn “He is Risen.” Brass and organ give voice to creation itself, unable to contain its joy in the face of such an event! The majestic harmonies call out “let the whole wide earth rejoice!” Woven through the phrases of the hymn tune is the stirring Gregorian chant Easter sequence, Victimae paschali laudes. The Paschal Victim has become the Conqueror—“Death is conquered, we are free; Christ has won the victory!”
Upcoming Events
Gaudete Baroque Ensemble in Concert
May 6, 2023
Church of the Transfiguration
Rock Harbor, Orleans, MA
Gloriæ Dei Cantores Ascension Concert
May 20, 2023
Church of the Transfiguration
Rock Harbor, Orleans, MA