The Stones Sang: Celebrating the Land
Ola Gjeilo: Sunrise Symphonic Mass for Choir and Orchestra
Composer: born May 5, 1978, Skui, Bærum, Norway
Work composed: Commissioned in 2007 by the Majorstua and Nova chamber choirs
World premiere: Tore Erik Mohn conducted the first performance on November 2, 2008, in Oslo.
Instrumentation: SATB chorus and string orchestra
Estimated duration: 32 minutes
Norwegian-born composer/pianist Ola Gjeilo is based in the United States; he is best known for his choral works. Gjeilo grew up in an eclectic sound world, and draws inspiration from symphonic film scores, jazz, and the visual works of glass artist Dale Chihuly and architect Frank Gehry.
For composers, the Latin Mass can serve more than one purpose: it can be an expression of faith as a sacred work, and, because its structure and trajectory are familiar to many, a mass can also function as a ready-made template to express non-religious – albeit spiritual – ideas. In his Sunrise Symphonic Mass, Gjeilo expands on the Mass to encompass his portrayal of the elements reflected in each movement’s subtitle. He writes, “The reason I used English titles for each movement in this setting of the Latin Mass has to do with the initial idea behind Sunrise Mass. I wanted the musical journey of the work to evolve from transparent and spacey to something earthy and warm; from nebulous and pristine, through more emotional landscapes, to ultimately solid groundedness – as a metaphor for human development from child to adult, or as a spiritual journey…”
Composer/conductor/professor Kira Zeeman Rugen provides in-depth program notes for Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass:
“While Gjeilo set the meaning of the Latin text respectfully, and observes the traditions that masses are expected to exhibit, his overall vision for the piece lies within the titles of the work, only loosely related to the Latin. In so doing, he reveals a structure outside of the text, a metaphysical journey from the heavens to earth …” Rugen also observes the visual nature of Gjeilo’s music, a manifestation of his affinity for film and TV scores.
The Kyrie, which Gjeilo titles “The Spheres,” evokes an atmosphere that, in his words, “floats in space, in deep silence, between stars and planets.”
Gjeilo’s Gloria (“Sunrise”) is his musical representation of an actual sunrise, which begins slowly and quietly, then transitions to an up-tempo outpouring of joy as the sun rises above the horizon.
Credo (The City) is the longest and most complex movement, and Gjeilo pays careful attention to nuances. This text, he declares, “is the most powerful and assured text in the Mass; ‘I believe’ is a strong statement.’” It begins with a pulsing string accompaniment that evokes the urban energy of a large city: traffic, crowded sidewalks, each person intent on their own pursuits. The tenors and basses begin alone, and are later joined by the sopranos and altos. Midway through The City, Gjeilo returns to the static stillness of The Spheres, which unifies the whole Mass. The City is also the dramatic high point of the Mass, and Gjeilo emphasizes this musically as he launches without pause into the combined final two movements, Sanctus (Identity) and Pleni sunt coeli/Agnus Dei (The Ground).
Identity returns to the musical material of The Spheres, with the addition of a solo violin. Gjeilo characterizes the violin as “the individual and the emergence of a conscious ‘self.’” As with any identity, different emotional states materialize: confidence, turmoil, certainty, insecurity. Identity slides seamlessly into The Ground. Rugen writes, “After all the tension and dark crevices the music has visited … The Ground is a place of absolute peace, tranquility, and relief. It is also the point at which one feels that one has arrived and is finally ‘grounded.’ No longer is the music floating in the spheres, rising with the sun, bustling in the city, or discovering the self. The music depicts being at one with humanity and the Earth; herein lies a sense of awareness of everything grounded and real.”
Katerina Gimon: “Fire” from Elements
Composer: born February 1993, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Work composed: 2013; rev. 2016
World premiere: Lee Willingham led the Laurier Singers at the First United Church in Waterloo, Ontario, in March 2014.
Instrumentation: SATB divisi (with optional percussion)
Estimated duration: 2 minutes
Katerina Gimon is an award-winning Canadian composer whose uniquely dynamic, poignant, and eclectic compositional style has gained her a reputation as a distinctive voice in contemporary Canadian composition and beyond. In her music, Gimon draws influence from a myriad of places – the Ukrainian folk music of her heritage, indie rock, and from her roots as a songwriter. Gimon’s music is performed widely across Canada, the USA, and internationally.
“Elements is set of choral works that abstractly depict the four classical elements and explores the wide range of capabilities of the human voice - from overtone singing, to vocal percussion, to colorful vocal timbres,” writes Gimon. “Elements features no 'text' (at least not in the traditional sense), rather a series of syllables generated through improvisation meant to evoke the sound and energy of each element.”
“‘Fire’ is a fun, lively, and energetic work incorporating vocal percussion, body percussion, nasal singing, calls, nonsense syllables, as well as optional percussion.”
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Dies sanctificatus
Composer: born c.1525, Palestrina, near Rome; died February 2, 1594, Rome
Work composed: first published in 1564
Instrumentation: SATB a capella choir
Estimated duration: 3 minutes
Choral singers have a particular fondness for the music of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The works of this Italian late-Renaissance master fit the voice like a bespoke suit of clothes. Palestrina served as a chorister for many years in the Diocese of Rome, and thus had a performer’s understanding of the human voice. His music seems designed not only to elevate the sacred texts he set, but also the unique qualities of the voices that proclaim them.
The words of Dies sanctificatus come from Psalm 117:24, which Palestrina selected for his scared motet composed to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. The text calls on all nations to gather and worship the Lord, for “today a great light descends upon the earth.” Palestrina evokes the joy with soaring lines and gossamer counterpoint, which he also contrasts with moments when all voices proclaim the same words at the same time (homophony).
Andrew Balfour: Ambe
Composer: born 1967, Fisher River Cree Nation
Work composed: 2017, for the University of Manitoba Concert Choir and its director, Catherine Robbins
Instrumentation: SSATB a capella chorus
Estimated duration: 2.5 minutes
Ambe, ambe Anishinaabeg biindigeg Anishinaabeg Mino-bimaadiziwin omaa Ambe
(Come in two-legged beings! Come in all people. The way of a good life is here. Come in!)
Over the past 15 years, Andrew Balfour, a Winnipeg-based composer of Cree ancestry, has created a body of work that combines European classical traditions with Indigenous music. In addition to his growing list of choral and instrumental works, Balfour is a music educator and cultural outreach worker focusing on low-income and marginalized populations, particularly on northern reserves and in inner-city Winnipeg schools, through his work on behalf of the National Arts Centre.
Ambe (Come In!), Balfour’s first published composition, is based on an original song in Ojibway that was gifted to him and the University of Manitoba Concert Choir by traditional drummer and singer Cory Campbell. “‘Mino-bimaadiziwinis’ (the way of a good life) is an Ojibway philosophy as explained by the traditional teachings of the Anishinaabe,” Balfour writes. Ambe is an original work inspired by Campbell’s song; Balfour’s melodies and harmonies blend in with the steady drumbeat of Campbell’s original. This pulsing rhythm evokes the heartbeat of Mother Earth, while the lyrical soprano melody that emerges from the rhythmic texture conveys the powerful totem of the eagle, which represents the teaching of love, wisdom, and strength.
Giselle Wyers: The Waking
Composer: born 1969
Work composed: Commissioned by the University of Washington Chamber Singers in June 2009.
World premiere: undocumented
Instrumentation: SATB with piano
Estimated duration: 3 minutes
Conductor/composer/educator Giselle Wyers balances several careers. She heads the choral program at the University of Washington, where she also teaches choral conducting and music education courses and leads the award-winning University Chorale. Wyers is an in-demand guest conductor and lecturer throughout the United States and Europe. As a composer, Wyers focuses on choral music; her catalogue contains a number of pieces for different choral configurations.
One of Wyers’ most-performed works, The Waking, takes its text from the eponymous 1948 poem by Theodore Roethke. Wyers’ setting of Roethke’s paean to nature reflects the poet’s deliberate use of simple, straightforward language. Wyers contrasts that simplicity with sophisticated, opulent harmonies that lend depth and significance to what seems, upon first hearing, to be merely an account of an everyday stroll through an open field. Wyers’ music, like Roethke’s words, compels our attention to specifics: a flower here, a trilling bird’s song there, a grove of apple trees, and the sighing of the river.
© Elizabeth Schwartz