Eternity
University of Glasgow Chapel Choir
Thank you for your interest in the music included on Chapel Choir's new CD Eternity (released December 2019). It represents some of the music that Chapel Choir were singing between 2017 and 2019 - including repertoire we took to China, broadcast on the BBC and some long-established choir favourites.
Credits
Conducted by Katy Lavinia Cooper (Director of Chapel Choir)
Organ played by Kevin Bowyer (University Organist)
Tracks 7, 8 & 11 recorded and produced by Neil McDermott in the University Memorial Chapel.
All remaining tracks recorded and produced by Luigi Pasquini in the University Memorial Chapel, and the Principal's Stairwell.
Additional production by Claire Docherty, Tiffany Vong and Katy Lavinia Cooper.
Final edit and mastering by Neil McDermott.
Credits
Conducted by Katy Lavinia Cooper (Director of Chapel Choir)
Organ played by Kevin Bowyer (University Organist)
Tracks 7, 8 & 11 recorded and produced by Neil McDermott in the University Memorial Chapel.
All remaining tracks recorded and produced by Luigi Pasquini in the University Memorial Chapel, and the Principal's Stairwell.
Additional production by Claire Docherty, Tiffany Vong and Katy Lavinia Cooper.
Final edit and mastering by Neil McDermott.
1. Lady Eternity (from A Pageant for Human Life) by Granville Bantock (1868–1946)
Bantock was born in London in August 1868. His father was a famous Scottish surgeon and gynaecologist, and his grandfather had worked as a gamekeeper for the second Duke of Sutherland. His mother, from East Anglia, came from a Quaker family. Granville Bantock studied at the Royal Academy of Music (following a brief flirtation with the Indian Civil Service and chemical engineering), and on completion of his studies, worked as editor for the New Quarterly Musical Review, before progressing to various orchestral conducting positions. In 1908 he succeeded Elgar by becoming Peyton Professor of Music at the University of Birmingham, a post he held until 1934. While at Birmingham, he revolutionised the curriculum to include a ‘much broader spectrum of music including the Elizabethans, English church music, folksong, and recent works by contemporary composers such as Richard Strauss and Rimsky-Korsakov’. (Grove Music Online). It is such promotion and championing of contemporary composers work that Bantock is perhaps best remembered – he was famously the dedicatee of Sibelius’s Third Symphony, in gratitude for all he his help in promoting the Finnish composer’s work in Britain.
Bantock studied Latin, Greek, Persian and Arabic, and his fascination with Classical and Celtic history, and East Asian culture are often evident in his work. He wrote over 800 pieces in a huge variety of styles including oratorio, opera, light music, symphonies, tone poems, piano music, music for brass band and incidental music.
Ivan Hewett, writing in The Telegraph describes Bantock as ‘Britain’s forgotten composer’, offering the following insight. ‘As for Bantock’s music, it captures the spirit of its era exactly, in the way it combines picturesque orientalism and a go-ahead belief in progress, with a fundamentally old-fashioned musical language. Bantock admired Wagner and Strauss, and supported them as a conductor and educator, but wouldn’t have dreamed of emulating their radical harmonic innovations. His old professor at the Royal Academy of Music wrote admiringly, “His music may be externally influenced by his Eastern tastes and proclivities, but it owes all its essentials to his tireless British pluck and determination. It fulfils my idea of what British music ought to be.” The idea that music should encourage the same virtues as the playing fields of Eton strikes us as odd, to say the least, and it helps to explain why Bantock’s music vanished so completely, and had no discernible influence. (The Telegraph, 22 July 2013).
The Pageant of Human Life sets a short cycle of poems by Sir Thomas More (1438–1575). The work was dedicated to Walford Davies. This evening we will sing parts I, II, V and VIII. More apparently wrote these to accompany images, as described in the text below which is taken from the Memories of Sir Thomas More by Arthur Cayley, published in 1808.
Lyrics:
Me needeth not to boast, I am Eternity,
The very name signifieth well,
And mine empire infinite shall be.
Thou, mortal Time, every man can tell,
Art nothing else but the mobility
Of sun and moon, changing in every degree;
When they shall leave their course, thou shalt be brought,
For all thy pride and boasting, into nought.
Bantock studied Latin, Greek, Persian and Arabic, and his fascination with Classical and Celtic history, and East Asian culture are often evident in his work. He wrote over 800 pieces in a huge variety of styles including oratorio, opera, light music, symphonies, tone poems, piano music, music for brass band and incidental music.
Ivan Hewett, writing in The Telegraph describes Bantock as ‘Britain’s forgotten composer’, offering the following insight. ‘As for Bantock’s music, it captures the spirit of its era exactly, in the way it combines picturesque orientalism and a go-ahead belief in progress, with a fundamentally old-fashioned musical language. Bantock admired Wagner and Strauss, and supported them as a conductor and educator, but wouldn’t have dreamed of emulating their radical harmonic innovations. His old professor at the Royal Academy of Music wrote admiringly, “His music may be externally influenced by his Eastern tastes and proclivities, but it owes all its essentials to his tireless British pluck and determination. It fulfils my idea of what British music ought to be.” The idea that music should encourage the same virtues as the playing fields of Eton strikes us as odd, to say the least, and it helps to explain why Bantock’s music vanished so completely, and had no discernible influence. (The Telegraph, 22 July 2013).
The Pageant of Human Life sets a short cycle of poems by Sir Thomas More (1438–1575). The work was dedicated to Walford Davies. This evening we will sing parts I, II, V and VIII. More apparently wrote these to accompany images, as described in the text below which is taken from the Memories of Sir Thomas More by Arthur Cayley, published in 1808.
Lyrics:
Me needeth not to boast, I am Eternity,
The very name signifieth well,
And mine empire infinite shall be.
Thou, mortal Time, every man can tell,
Art nothing else but the mobility
Of sun and moon, changing in every degree;
When they shall leave their course, thou shalt be brought,
For all thy pride and boasting, into nought.
2. Et Resurrexit, Martin Dalby (1942–2018)
Martin Dalby was born in Aberdeen in 1942 and studied composition with Herbert Howells. He was the Cramb Research Fellow in Composition at the University of Glasgow in 1972. Et resurrexit was written in memory of
Kenneth Leighton, and commissioned by the City of Glasgow District Council for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge during Glasgow’’s year as European Capital of Culture in 1990.
Kenneth Leighton, and commissioned by the City of Glasgow District Council for the choir of King’s College, Cambridge during Glasgow’’s year as European Capital of Culture in 1990.
3. The Lord will always guide you, Harold Thalange (b.1995)
This setting was composed in 2014 for Ashley Grote and the choirs of Norwich Cathedral. We were delighted to broadcast this piece as the anthem on BBC R4 FM’s Sunday Worship at the weekend. Harold graduated with a BMus from Glasgow in 2018.
Lyrics:
The Lord will guide you always and satisfy your needs in dry places. He shall strengthen your arm;
and you shall be like a watered garden, like a fountain whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)
Lyrics:
The Lord will guide you always and satisfy your needs in dry places. He shall strengthen your arm;
and you shall be like a watered garden, like a fountain whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)
4. John Anderson my Jo, arr. Katy Lavinia Cooper (b.1979)
Traditional Scottish melody, with words by Burns. Arranged by Director of Chapel Music, Katy Lavinia Cooper.
Lyrics:
John Anderson, my jo, John,
When we were first acquent;
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson, my jo.
John Anderson, my jo, John,
We clamb the hill the gither;
And mony a cantie day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we'll go,
And sleep the gither at the foot,
John Anderson, my jo.
Lyrics:
John Anderson, my jo, John,
When we were first acquent;
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonie brow was brent;
But now your brow is beld, John,
Your locks are like the snaw;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson, my jo.
John Anderson, my jo, John,
We clamb the hill the gither;
And mony a cantie day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
And hand in hand we'll go,
And sleep the gither at the foot,
John Anderson, my jo.
4. Ye Banks and Braes, arr. John Kitchen (b. 1950)
This setting of Ye banks and Braes was arranged by John Kitchen, organist of Old St Paul’s Church in Edinburgh, and is sung with its original tune The Caledonian Hunt’s Delight.
Lyrics:
1. Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair;
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu' care!
Thou'lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro' the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o' departed joys,
Departed — never to return!
2. Aft hae I rov'd by Bonie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o' its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o' mine;.
Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,
Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose,
But ah! She left the thorn wi' me
Lyrics:
1. Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon,
How can ye bloom sae fresh and fair;
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I sae weary, fu' care!
Thou'lt break my heart, thou warbling bird,
That wantons thro' the flowering thorn:
Thou minds me o' departed joys,
Departed — never to return!
2. Aft hae I rov'd by Bonie Doon,
To see the rose and woodbine twine:
And ilka bird sang o' its Luve,
And fondly sae did I o' mine;.
Wi' lightsome heart I pu'd a rose,
Fu' sweet upon its thorny tree!
And may fause Luver staw my rose,
But ah! She left the thorn wi' me
6. Gaudeamus Omnes in Domino, William Byrd (c.1539–1623)
William Byrd was one of the most outstanding composers of his day, writing vocal and instrumental music that influenced composers throughout Europe. He lived during a turbulent time in English history, when the Reformation changed the nature of music that was permissible in church services, and made Byrd’s position, as an active Catholic, somewhat dangerous. Thankfully, Byrd was never seriously troubled by the authorities due to his powerful patrons (who included Queen Elizabeth I). This vigorous introit is for the Feast of All Saints (November 1).
Lyrics:
Gaudeamus omnes in Domino diem festum celebrantes sub honore Sanctorum omnium: de quorum solemnitate gaudent
angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.
Exsultate iusti in Domino: rectos decet collaudatio.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Let us all rejoice in the Lord celebrating the feast in honour of all the saints, in which solemnity the angels rejoice, while the
Archangels praise the Son of God.
Ring out your joy to the lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, and now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Lyrics:
Gaudeamus omnes in Domino diem festum celebrantes sub honore Sanctorum omnium: de quorum solemnitate gaudent
angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.
Exsultate iusti in Domino: rectos decet collaudatio.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Let us all rejoice in the Lord celebrating the feast in honour of all the saints, in which solemnity the angels rejoice, while the
Archangels praise the Son of God.
Ring out your joy to the lord, O you just; for praise is fitting for loyal hearts.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, and now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
7. Rublev, Peter Sykes
Rublev is a setting of a poem by Rowan Williams’ poem (former Archbishop of Canterbury). Andrei Rublev (1370–1430) was a devout monk, and an accomplished icon-painter. The poem was discussed in the 'Poem of the week' column in the Guardian, by Carol Rumens. 'I wouldn't call Rublev a religious poem, and it certainly doesn't preach religion. If it preaches anything, it's artistic courage. But, perhaps coincidentally, the poem illustrates something that Williams has said he wishes for Christianity – that it might "again capture the imagination of our culture". Rublev helps us imagine how shocking such a transformation could prove to be.'
Peter graduated with an MA in Music from the University of Glasgow in 2018.
The Guardian's 'Poem of the Week' column: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/18/rublev-rowan-williams-poem-week
Solo: Hannah Morgan
Peter graduated with an MA in Music from the University of Glasgow in 2018.
The Guardian's 'Poem of the Week' column: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/18/rublev-rowan-williams-poem-week
Solo: Hannah Morgan
8. Astra Tenenti, anon. arr. Bowyer & Cooper
There's a bit of a story to the inclusion of this improvised performance the medieval song Astra Tenenti, which comes from a thirteenth-century manuscript of the liturgical drama, the 'Play of Daniel'. During the academic year 2017-2018, we used both the architecture of the University of Glasgow's West Quadrangle, where the chapel sits, and the interior design feature of the chapel itself as inspiration for two of our regular Choral Contemplations concerts. Astra Tenenti was embroidered on a pew cusion by Dr Betty I. Knott Sharpe (now Honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Classics) in 1984. It forms one of embroidered pew cushions which can be found on the back row of stalls in the chapel, and were the result of a project designed and coordinated by Mrs Jean Miller and Mrs Priscilla Dorward.
We asked Kevin to improvise under this monophonic song, and the result is quite arresting!
Astra tenenti, cunctipotenti, turba virilis et puerilis contio plaudit.
Nam danielem multa fidelem et subisse atque tulisse firmiter audit.
Convocat ad se rex sapientes gramata dextrae qui sibi dicant e nucleantes.
Quae quia scribae non potuere solvere, regi ilico muti conticuere.
Sed Danieli scripta legenti mox patuere quae prius illis clausa fuere.
Quem quia vidit prevaluisse Balthasar illis, fertur in aula praeposuisse.
Causa reperta non satis apta destinat ilium ore leonum dilacerandum.
Sed, Deus, illos ante malignos in Danielem tunc voluisti esse benignos.
Huic quoque panis, ne sit inanis, mittitur a te praepete vate prandia dante.
To him that holds the stars, the Almighty, the throng of men and the boys’ assembly sing praises.
They hear how Daniel, so faithful, suffered and endured steadfastly.
How the King assembled his wise men, calling them to solve the riddle of words that were written by The Hand.
How they were not able to decipher the message, and fell silent before the King.
How Daniel soon illuminated the message, long obscure.
How Belshazzar realised his pre-eminence, so that he was taken up as favourite in the court.
How a trap was laid, not cunning enough, to have him torn to pieces in the lion's den.
But God, you turned the beasts from malice into tenderness and kept Daniel from starving,
Delivering bread at the hands of your prophet messenger.
We asked Kevin to improvise under this monophonic song, and the result is quite arresting!
Astra tenenti, cunctipotenti, turba virilis et puerilis contio plaudit.
Nam danielem multa fidelem et subisse atque tulisse firmiter audit.
Convocat ad se rex sapientes gramata dextrae qui sibi dicant e nucleantes.
Quae quia scribae non potuere solvere, regi ilico muti conticuere.
Sed Danieli scripta legenti mox patuere quae prius illis clausa fuere.
Quem quia vidit prevaluisse Balthasar illis, fertur in aula praeposuisse.
Causa reperta non satis apta destinat ilium ore leonum dilacerandum.
Sed, Deus, illos ante malignos in Danielem tunc voluisti esse benignos.
Huic quoque panis, ne sit inanis, mittitur a te praepete vate prandia dante.
To him that holds the stars, the Almighty, the throng of men and the boys’ assembly sing praises.
They hear how Daniel, so faithful, suffered and endured steadfastly.
How the King assembled his wise men, calling them to solve the riddle of words that were written by The Hand.
How they were not able to decipher the message, and fell silent before the King.
How Daniel soon illuminated the message, long obscure.
How Belshazzar realised his pre-eminence, so that he was taken up as favourite in the court.
How a trap was laid, not cunning enough, to have him torn to pieces in the lion's den.
But God, you turned the beasts from malice into tenderness and kept Daniel from starving,
Delivering bread at the hands of your prophet messenger.
9. Chì Mi Na Mòrbheanna, Iain Camshroin (John Cameron), arr. James Grossmith
Chì mi na mòrbheanna was written in 1856 by Highlander John Cameron (Iain Camshroin), of Ballachulish. He worked in the slate quarries before moving to Glasgow where he was engaged as a ship's broker. He became the Bard of the Glasgow Ossianic Society and also Bard to Clan Cameron. He returned to carry on a merchant's business along with his elder brother and to cultivate a small croft at Taigh a' Phuirt, Glencoe, in his beloved Highlands. The song is arranged by James Grossmith, former Director of Music of the University of Glasgow Chapel Choir.
Solo: Laura Blackwood
Chorus:
O, chì, chì mi na mòrbheanna;
O, chì, chì mi na còrrbheanna;
O, chì, chì mi na coireachan,
Chì mi na sgoran fo cheò.
Chì mi gun dàil an t-àite 'san d' rugadh mi;
Cuirear orm fàilte 'sa chànan a thuigeas mi;
Gheibh mi ann aoidh agus gràdh nuair ruigeam,
Nach reicinn air thunnachan òir.
Chorus
Chì mi ann coilltean; chi mi ann doireachan;
Chì mi ann màghan bàna is toraiche;
Chì mi na fèidh air làr nan coireachan,
Falaicht' an trusgan de cheò.
Chorus
Chorus:
Oh I see, I see the great mountains
Oh I see, I see the lofty mountains
Oh I see, I see the corries
I see the peaks under the mist
I see right away the place of my birth
I will be welcomed in a language which I understand
I will receive hospitality and love when I reach there
That I would not trade for tons of gold
Chorus
I see woods there, I see thickets
I see fair, fertile lands there
I see the deer on the ground of the corries
Shrouded in a garment of mist
Chorus
Solo: Laura Blackwood
Chorus:
O, chì, chì mi na mòrbheanna;
O, chì, chì mi na còrrbheanna;
O, chì, chì mi na coireachan,
Chì mi na sgoran fo cheò.
Chì mi gun dàil an t-àite 'san d' rugadh mi;
Cuirear orm fàilte 'sa chànan a thuigeas mi;
Gheibh mi ann aoidh agus gràdh nuair ruigeam,
Nach reicinn air thunnachan òir.
Chorus
Chì mi ann coilltean; chi mi ann doireachan;
Chì mi ann màghan bàna is toraiche;
Chì mi na fèidh air làr nan coireachan,
Falaicht' an trusgan de cheò.
Chorus
Chorus:
Oh I see, I see the great mountains
Oh I see, I see the lofty mountains
Oh I see, I see the corries
I see the peaks under the mist
I see right away the place of my birth
I will be welcomed in a language which I understand
I will receive hospitality and love when I reach there
That I would not trade for tons of gold
Chorus
I see woods there, I see thickets
I see fair, fertile lands there
I see the deer on the ground of the corries
Shrouded in a garment of mist
Chorus
10. Potato Wassail, Emily Doolittle (b.1972)
“Potato Wassail is one of a set of six new Summer Wassails. Loosely based on the Apple Wassailing tradition, each of these wassails celebrates a familiar plant or animal. The lyrics were written for this project by American composer and poet Forrest Pierce. Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for supporting the creation of these pieces.” (Emily Doolittle)
11. The Dark Island, Ian MacLaughlan, arr. Derek Clark
Words: David Silver.
This famous song was written for a 1960s BBC television series of the same name, which was set on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Derek Clark is head of music at Scottish Opera.
This famous song was written for a 1960s BBC television series of the same name, which was set on the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Derek Clark is head of music at Scottish Opera.
12. Three Craws, arr. Harold Thalange
This Scots children's song is well known throughout Scotland.
Lyrics:
Three craws sat upon a wa',
Sat upon a wa', sat upon a wa’,
Three craws sat upon a wa',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The first craw was greetin' for his maw,
Greetin' for his maw, greetin' for his maw,
The first craw was greetin' for his maw,
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The second craw fell and broke his jaw,
Fell and broke his jaw, fell and broke his jaw
The second craw fell and broke his jaw,
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The third craw, couldnae flee at a',
Couldnae flee at a', couldnae flee at a',
The third craw, couldnae flee at a',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
That's a', absolutely a',
Absolutely a', absolutely a a',
That's a', absolutely a',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
Lyrics:
Three craws sat upon a wa',
Sat upon a wa', sat upon a wa’,
Three craws sat upon a wa',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The first craw was greetin' for his maw,
Greetin' for his maw, greetin' for his maw,
The first craw was greetin' for his maw,
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The second craw fell and broke his jaw,
Fell and broke his jaw, fell and broke his jaw
The second craw fell and broke his jaw,
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
The third craw, couldnae flee at a',
Couldnae flee at a', couldnae flee at a',
The third craw, couldnae flee at a',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.
That's a', absolutely a',
Absolutely a', absolutely a a',
That's a', absolutely a',
On a cauld and frosty mornin'.