Sunday, 5th December 2021 at 3:00 p.m.
Donna M. Di Grazia, Conductor, Rosa Li, piano
It is interesting that when the conductor, Donna M. Di Grazia, began thinking about this year's concert, she had Covid19 on her mind. She frankly speaks about the Choir when she says how grateful I am for your presence.
But keeping six feet of distance between each member of the choir on performance day is simply too much!
Nor testing for Covid19 three times a week leading up to that time is really too much!
1. Alleluia (2020) Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
It's interesting that the composers of the various Alleluia use different churchmen as their first quote. Elaine Hagenberg used St. Augustine, whereas many would use Martin Luther. Here is how the program looked when she came on with St. Augustine,
"Alleluia! All shall be Amen and Alleluia. We shall rest and we shall see. We shall see and we shall know. We shall know and we shall love. Behold our end which is no end. Amen."
Leonard Cohen based his finding in "Hellelluia" on wordings which didn't "fix" that something. It was intemperate!
2. O nata lux (1997) Morten Lauridsen (b. 1943)
This didn't rest on substituting Martin Luther for St. Augustine but instead on the lovely vocals which soared above the phrases!
3. Praise the Lord (1951) Florence Price (1887-1953)
Florence Price composed the Symphony in E Minor. Both the White and Black press were glowing. The Chicago Tribune noted that Price was "repeatedly called on stage to acknowledge the enthusiastic applause her music received." Similarly, the Black weekly The Chicago Defender reported, "...the large auditorium, filled to the brim with music lovers of all races, rang out in applause for the composer and orchestral rendition, [and] it seemed that the evening could hold no greater thrills," while the Chicago Daily News added, "[the symphony] is worthy of a place in the regular symphonic repertory." But it didn't take its place because repression didn't let up.
So Praise the Lord came up on our list.
4. O magnum mysterium (2009) Mark Buller (b. 1986)
5. Lovely, Dark, and Lonely One (1934; arr. 2021) Harry T. Burleigh (1866-1949) arr. Donna M. Di Grazia
Harry T. Burleigh comes up. Do you remember "Black Patti"? She came up because Adelaide Patti was the White one, whereas soprano Matilda Sissieretta Jones was the Black one. "African Mahler" was a Black and he was compared to Gustave Mahler. No such sobriquet adorned Harry T. Burleigh Lovely, Dark, and Lonely One (1934). He had Marian Anderson's voice in mind.
6. The Ballad of the Brown King (1954; rev. 1960) Margaret Bonds (1913-1972)
Six years after 1954 she decided to expand the the piano piece to full orchestra. She added the movements (4, 5 and 7) and she dedicated it to Martin Luther King, Jr. One of the things she added was a 4 calypso Mary Had a Little Baby.
In recalling the premiere in 1960, Bonds daughter Djane Richardson noted, "The place was jam-packed. People from Harlem could be depended upon to attend black cultural events and support their own."
"Despite The Ballad's early success, the full orchestral version of the work remains in manuscript, which has prohibited performances in that guise, " according to Donna M. Di Grazia, the conductor. "Inexplicably, the piano version from 1954, which we are singing here, remains out of print. I am thus grateful to Allegra Martin (who I discovered had a photocopy of the score) for graciously answering my email this summer, and for Alfred Music Publishers for granting permission to photocopy it for our work this semester. Without both, we could not perform The Ballad this weekend."
-Donna M. Di Grazia, Conductor, page 6 of the Program.
1. Of the Three Wise Men
2. They Brought Fine Gifts
3. Sing Alleluia
4. Mary had a Little Baby
5. Now When Jesus was Born
6. Could He have been an Ethiope
7. Oh, Sing of the King who was Tall and Brown
8. That was a Christmas Long Ago
9. Alleluia!
1. Of the Three Wise Men
Of the three wise men who came to the King, one was a brown man, so they sing.
Alleluia!
Of the three wise men who followed the star, one was a brown king from afar.
Alleluia!
2. They Brought Fine Gifts
They brought fine gifts of silver and gold
in jeweled boxes of beauty untold.
Unto His humble manger they came
and bowed their heads in Jesus's name.
3. Sing Alleluia to our King!
4. Mary Had a Little Baby
Mary had a Little Baby
Jesus, that was His name.
All the world became much brighter
when the little Jesus, the Christ child came.
That was in a lowly manger,
outside the night was cold.
But within that lowly manger,
behold how warm His love is; Oh, behold!
Mary had a little baby,
in the night a bright shone.
I, so lost, so lost and lonely,
nevermore shall be alone.
5. Now When Jesus Was Born
Now When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem,
in the days of Herod, the King.
Behold the came wise men for the East saying,
"Where is He that is born?"
For we have seen His star in the East.
Oh, we have seen His star.
6. Could He Have Been an Ethiope?
Could he have been an Ethiope
from an Ethiopian land?
I do not know just who he was,
but he was a kingly man.
I do not now just who he was,
but he followed the star that night,
Could he have been a tall, dark king?
Maybe Arabian?
I do not know just who he was,
But he was a wise, wise man.
Of all the kings who came to call,
one was dark like me,
and I'm so glad that he was there
our little Christ to see.
Follow, follow the star tonight,
our little Christ to see.
7. Oh, Sing of the King Who Was Tall and Brown
Oh, Sing of the King Who Was Tall and Brown,
crossing the desert from a distant town;
crossing the desert on a caravan,
his gifts to bring from a distant land;
his gifts to bring from a palm tree land,
across the sand by caravan,
with a single star to guide his way to Bethlehem,
to Bethlehem where the Christ Child lay.
Oh, sing of the king who was tall and brown,
and the other kings that this king found,
who came to put their presents down
in a lowly manger in Bethlehem town,
where the King of Kings, a babe was found;
three kings who came to the King of Kings,
and one was tall and brown, tall and brown.
8. That Was a Christmas Long Ago
That was a Christmas long ago,
when the three wise men bowed so low.
The three wise men who followed the star,
one was a brown man from afar.
The three wise men who came to the King,
one was a brown man, so they sing.
9. Alleluia
Alleluia! Christ the King.
Alleluia! So they sing!
He is Christ the King, Alleluia!
Alleluia! Praise his name!
Alleluia! Christ the King!
Alleluia! They did sing!
Alleluia! Christ the King!
-- Langston Hughes (c. 1954/55, pub. in part as Carol of the Brown King)
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