DURUFLÉ PROGRAM NOTES & TRANSLATIONS
MOLLICONE PROGRAM NOTES & TRANSLATIONS
DURUFLÉ PROGRAM NOTES & TRANSLATIONS
From age 10 to 16, Maurice Duruflé studied organ and choral directing at a choir school in Rouen, France. At this time he also assisted his organ teacher in services at the Rouen cathedral, where the choral tradition of singing Gregorian chant made a life-long impression on Duruflé. From 1924 to 1947, he composed only instrumental music, for organ, orchestra, and chamber ensemble. When he returned to choral music, it was to write his masterpiece Requiem, which is based on Gregorian chant melodies. The Four Motets on Gregorian Themes fol-
lowed in 1960.
Each of the four motets begins with an incipit of Gregorian Chant which is then developed into short anthems that vary in style and mood. They were dedicated to August le Guennant, director of the Gregorian Institute in Paris.
Ubi Caritas is a Christian antiphon dating from between the fourth and tenth centuries. It has long traditionally been used during the washing of the feet in the Maundy Thursday service, but is also commonly used during Communion.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart. Amen.
Tota pulchra es is the only of the four motets to be composed for women’s voices, but is fitting as it is used for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Written in the fourth century, this prayer is based on texts from the books of Judith and the Song of Songs.
You are beautiful, Maria.
and the original stain is not in you.
Your clothing is as white as snow,
and your face is like the sun.
You are beautiful, Maria,
and the original stain is not in you.
You are the glory of Jerusalem,
You are the joy of Israel,
You are the honor of our people.
You are beautiful, Maria.
Tu es Petrus is taken from Matthew 16:18, where Jesus gives his disciple Simon the name of Peter, which means “rock” in Latin.
You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
Tantum ergo is the beginning of the last two verses of the Pange Lingua, a Medieval Latin Hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). They are sung during the veneration and the Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Therefore, so great a sacrament
Let us worship with bowed heads
And may the ancient practice
Give way to the new rite;
May faith supply a substitute
For the failure of the senses.
To the begetter and the begotten
be praise and jubilation,
Hail, honor, virtue also,
and blessing.
To the one proceeding from both
Let there be equal praise. Amen.
Notre Père was composed in 1977 for the choir of the Church of Saint-Étienne du Mont after the Roman Catholic church made the transition to the vernacular liturgy. He originally wrote a version for unison men’s voices and organ, and then composed this one for SATB a cappella. It is still sung to this day at Mass at Saint-Étienne du Mont in Paris.
Our Father, who are in Heaven,
Hallowed by Thy name.
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
-Cathy Meyer
ROUSSEL PROGRAM NOTES
Joueurs de Flûte was written in 1924 and consists of four movements, each named after a flute player from literature and each dedicated to a flutist of Roussel’s time. Pan is named after the half-goat, half-man god of nature in Greek mythology, who is often depicted playing the flute, and after whom the panflute is named.
Tityre is named after the lucky shepherd in Virgil’s Eclogues.
Krishna is named after the Hindu god, probably particularly referring to the period in his youth as the divine herdsman, where Krishna played the flute, mesmerizing people and animals.
Monsieur de la Péjaudie is named after the protagonist of a novel by Henri de Régnier, La Pécheresse (The Sinful Woman).
MOLLICONE PROGRAM NOTES
This is a story with a beginning and no end in sight. Henry Mollicone sat down one day with his friend Father Jon Pedigo. Father Jon urged his friend to use his artistic talent to help raise funds for homeless people. “He was the one who came up with the idea to write a piece of music based on interviews with homeless people,” Mollicone explained. That’s how it began. But no one imagined how far it would go or how much difference it would make.
Mollicone chose the mass as a setting. Father Pedigo took Mollicone to a mission for homeless women and he talked with many of the residents. “…they had regular middle-class existences and then something went wrong,” he reported. “But the interesting thing is this: each one I talked to had hope. They had plans. They were excited about where they could go.”
Later, playwright William Luce (The Belle of Amherst), conducted interviews too. When they combined the stories they had heard, Luce created Evelyn (Eve) and Adam and imagined their ex changes with a choir of angels. Together, Mollicone and Luce fashioned a choral work illuminating the plight of homeless people.
Their mass has since raised both money and awareness about the ators, its performers and its listeners in even more profound ways. One of the female soloists has said: “Little did we realize the impact this work would have on us and those around us.” This work, she continued, “has taken on a life of its own and is being performed around the nation by hundreds of musicians who want to make a difference.”
Some say that Mollicone is reconnecting with the tradition of social progressive music. He saw that, with the Beatitude Mass, he could use music for something that really matters. This work or art transcends the words, the score, the orchestration, and gifts of many musicians. It is changing lives. Not only does it benefit those in need, it plants itself in the spirits of those who sing it, and grows in the hearts of those who hear it.
The Beatitude Mass creators—starting with Father Jon’s idea, Mollicone’s score and Luce’s ability to give voice to the words of the homeless people they met—express both the struggle and the hope of the human condition. May those of us who listen today truly comprehend its powerful message: their voices are our voices; our hope is their hope. There is no them, only us.
The piece premiered at St. Joseph’s Cathedral Basilica in San Jose in the spring of 2006. One reviewer wrote: “The Beatitude Mass draws on Mollicone’s exceptional musical gifts of melody and harmony to exalt the simple, anguished words of homeless people into haunting and moving expressions. Alternating with the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, it takes on the universality found in so many great musical settings of the Latin Mass.”
This soulful work tells powerful stories. Luce used his interviews with the people he met it shelters to create two characters who synthesize the stories of many whom he met. The symbolically named characters underline a major theme of the piece, Mollicone describes as: “the similarities – the universality – between all people.”Lynden Keith Johnson added a visual creative component to express the message in a different medium. The illustration you see on today’s cover was designed to accompany the Beatitude Mass. It was sold, along with the artwork of local school children, to raise money for homeless ministries.
-Katie Lee Crane and Debra Morris-Bennett
A Message from the Composer
Greetings!
I would like to say a few words about my composition Beatitude Mass. Written a few years ago to raise money to for organizations that assist the poor and homeless, it has been blessed with several performances in Charlotte NC, San Jose CA, Palo Also CA, Saratoga CA, Washington DC, Los Angeles CA, Santa Clara CA, Monterey CA, and Belmont CA, by various choral organizations. All performances were given as benefit concerts, and thus far, over $60,000 has been raised for different service organizations. The joy in this is that it has been a group effort: so many singers, soloists, musicians, and administrators have come together and donated their time when possible (or performed for low fees) to make these events happen. In addition to this, the commercial recording (available from the website CDbaby.com) has generated more funds. all of which go to organizations that serve
those in need. In these cynical times, it is inspiring to see so many people giving their time and talents to help the cause of the homeless.
The mass combines the traditional Latin texts with English texts written by my good friend the playwright Bill Luce, based upon interviews we have done with homeless people. Musically I have attempted to suggest the experience of homelessness with the English texts, juxtaposed with the lofty inspirational feeling of the Latin mass.
There are two versions of the accompaniment—a chamber version for seven instruments, and an orchestral version. I thought I would never finish the piece, as doing two versions meant that I had to orchestrate it twice! It started to feel like déjà vu all over again when I got into the second version, which was the one for full orchestra!
-Henry Mollicone
Translations
Kyrie
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Gloria
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth, peace to all those of good will.
We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee.
We give thanks to thee according to thy great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, God, the Father almighty.
Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son.
Lord God, Lamb of God, son of the Father.
Thou who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Receive our prayer. For thou alone art the Lord,
thou alone art the most holy,
Thou alone art the most high, Jesus Christ.
With the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Sanctus
Holy Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Meditation and Benedictus
Blessed is he who comes in the name
of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Agnus Dei
Lamb of God,
who takest away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Grant us peace