Praise Lord

to the

A c e l e b r at i o n of Lutheran Church Music f r o m Ba c h t o M a n z

T w e n t y - T h i r d A n n u a l K e s s l e r R e f o r m at i o n Co n c e r t T u e s d a y, Oct o b e r 1 9 , 2 0 1 0 8 : 0 0 p. m . Sc h w a r t z C e n t e r f o r P e r f o r m i n g A r t s

a

P r a i s e t o t h e l o r d : C e l e b r a t i o n o f l u t h e r a n C h u r c h f r o m B a c h t o M a n z

2 0 1 0

K e s s l e r

t w e n t y - T h i r d

R e f o r m a t i o n

a n n i v e r s a r y o c t o b e r 8 : 0 0

c o n c e r t

r e f o r m a t i o n

1 9 ,

m u s i c

c o n c e r t

2 0 1 0

p. m .

We thank the Donna and Marvin Schwartz Center for Performing Arts for providing this year’s concert venue in the Cherry Emerson Concert Hall

This concert is sponsored by Candler School of Theology at Emory University, the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection of the Pitts Theology Library, and the Emory University Department of Music.

Pitts Theology Library Atlanta 2010 1

T a b l e

o f

C o n t e n t s

Introduction       5

Program       6

Program Notes       7

Pitts Theology Library. Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection. Praise to the Lord: A celebration of Lutheran church music from Bach to Manz: 2010 Kessler Reformation Concert 16 p. ; 24 cm. – (Reformation Day at Emory ; 2010) 1. Reformation—Anniversaries, etc. 2. Concert programs. BR327.P58 2010

110083-1

Musicians       10

3

T h e

R i c h a r d

C .

K e s s l e r

R e f o r m a t i o n

always been important in the development of the Kessler Collection, and often pieces from the collection have formed the basis of the Kessler concerts. Among the forty-seven Kessler items with music are the following important hymnals: the Achtliederbuch of 1524, the only extant copy of the Magdeburg Enchiridion (1536), the 1544 printing of the Klug hymnal, Joachim Slüter’s Low German version of the Klug hymnal, two Bapst hymnals (1561, 1567), and the 1569 Kirche[n] Gesäng, which includes 380 hymns and 26 manuscript leaves of hymns. Many of the foregoing are beautifully illustrated with woodcuts, such as Luther preferred for the decoration of hymnals.

The 2010 Kessler Reformation Concert marks the twenty-third year of the program and once more celebrates the contributions of Johann Sebastian Bach and other great composers to church music. This year it is Bach’s cantata “God Is a Light and a Shield” (Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild, BWV 79) that anchors the concert. Bach wrote this composition in 1725 for the Reformation Festival, celebrated each October 31 to commemorate Luther posting his ninety-five theses on that date in 1517 on the door of the Schlosskirch, or Castle Church, in Wittenberg. The title of the cantata is taken from a psalm that celebrates the joys of God’s temple (Psalm 84:11). This year’s concert concludes the 2010 Reformation Day at Emory program, which has taken as its theme “Luther as Author,” and celebrates the acquisition for the Kessler Reformation Collection of its one thousandth publication by Martin Luther—all original imprints and issued by 1570. The collection now includes almost 3,500 imprints and manuscripts, and thousands of the woodcuts and engravings from these materials are freely accessible to the world via the Pitts Library’s Digital Image Archive.

We are delighted to have this evening’s recital program take place again in the elegant Cherry Emerson Concert Hall in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, and we are grateful to all whose talents and efforts have made this possible: the Emory University Concert Choir under the direction of Eric Nelson, the musicians who accompany them, and Sarah Hawbecker, organist. M. Patrick Graham, Margaret A. Pitts Professor of Theological Bibliography and director, Pitts Theology Library

Preserving musical compositions from the sixteenth-century German Reformation has

Offinbarung des Endtchrists aus dem Propheten Daniel wydder Catharinum (Wittenberg, 1524)

4

C o l l e c t i o n

5

K e s s l e r

R e f o r m a t i o n

C o n c e r t

p r o g r a m

K e s s l e r

Sarah Hawbecker, Organist Emory University Concert Choir Eric Nelson, Director of Choral Studies

Fantasy on “Lobe den Herren” (“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”)

Aaron David Miller (b. 1972)

Three choral settings of “Lobe den Herren” “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” arr. Hugo Distler (1908–1942) “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” arr. F. Melius Christiansen (1871–1955) “All that hath Life and Breath, Praise Ye the Lord” René Clausen (b. 1953) Organ Improvisation on “Beautiful Savior”

Paul Manz (1919–2009)

“E’en So Lord Jesus, Quickly Come”

Manz

Organ Improvisation on “Dear Christians, One and All”

Manz

Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542

J. S. Bach (1685–1750)

Cantata no. 79

Bach

R e f o r m a t i o n

C o n c e r t

N o t e s

“Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” (or “Nun freut euch”) is a Reformation hymn with text by Martin Luther. Manz’s improvisation on the tune begins and ends with an extensive pedal solo, which serves as the ritornello. When the chorale tune appears, it is played in canon between the right and left hands.

Many composers have been inspired to write musical settings of the seventeenth-century tune “Lobe den Herren.” This particular setting for organ by Aaron David Miller is one of the most recent, published in 2004. Miller is a renowned organist and composer, and is currently director of music at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is often commissioned to write new works, and his critically acclaimed compositions have been premiered by major orchestras. In the Fantasy on “Lobe den Herren” Miller takes snippets of the melody and plays with rhythmic motives, changing meters often. The listener will find that the energy of the music quite convincingly conveys exuberant praise and adoration.

Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, with the drama of the fantasy and the nonstop energy of the fugue, is a favorite Bach work of many people. Bach was known for his playing of the pedals. Several anecdotes of Bach’s genius are recorded in The Bach Reader. In 1743 Constantin Bellerman described one encounter: [Bach] deserves to be called the miracle of Leipzig, as far as music is concerned. For if it pleases him, he can by the use of his feet alone . . . achieve such an admirable, agitated, and rapid concord of sounds on the church organ that others would seem unable to imitate it even with their fingers. When he was called from Leipzig to Cassel to pronounce an organ properly restored, he ran over the pedals with this same facility, as if his feet had wings, making the organ resound with such fullness, and so penetrate the ears of those present like a thunderbolt, that Frederick, the legitimate hereditary Prince of Cassel, admired him with such astonishment that he drew a ring with a precious stone from his finger and gave it to Bach as soon as the sound had died away. If Bach earned such a gift for the agility of his feet, what, I ask, would the Prince have given him if he had called his hands into service as well?

Paul Manz was undeniably one of the greatest and most influential Lutheran musicians of the twentieth century. In the forward to The Journey Was Chosen: The Life and Work of Paul Manz, John Ferguson writes: His playing and teaching did transform the leading of congregational song in America and ushered in a new era of appreciation for the organ as a uniquely effective vehicle for the energizing of that song. Manz’s organ chorale preludes originated as improvisations in the context of worship, and the music always was inspired directly from the hymn text. Baroque influences are evident in his compositions. For example, both preludes heard this evening employ the use of ritornello—a refrain occurring at the beginning, end, and in between phrases of the chorale tune. For the well-loved hymn “Beautiful Savior,” the flutes of the organ play a gentle descending motive for the ritornello as well as for the accompaniment to the melody.

6

p r o g r a m

—Notes by Sarah Hawbecker, Organist

7

K e s s l e r

R e f o r m a t i o n

C o n c e r t

p r o g r a m

n o t e s

Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild (“God the Lord Is Sun and Shield”) Cantata BWV 79 Event: Cantata for the Feast of the Reformation Text: Psalm 84:11 (Mvt. 1); Martin Rinckart (Mvt. 3); Ludwig Helmbold (Mvt. 6); Anon (Mvts. 2, 4, 5) Chorale Texts: Nun danket alle Gott | Nun laßt uns Gott dem Herren o r i g i n a l 1

C o r o

G e r m a n

TE x t

E n g l i s h



1

t r a n s l a t i o n

C h o r u s

[ s a t b ]

Corno I/II, Timpani, Flauto traverso I e Oboe I all’ unisono, Flauto traverso II e Oboe II all’ unisono, Violino I/II, Viola, Continuo Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild. God the Lord is sun and shield, Der Herr gibt Gnade und Ehre, the Lord gives mercy and honor, er wird kein Gutes mangeln lassen den Frommen. he will allow no good thing to be lacking to the righteous. 2

A r i a

A



2

A r i a

[ a l t o ]

4

r e c i t a t i v o

R e f o r m a t i o n

B

C o n c e r t



4

p r o g r a m

R e c i t a t i v e

N o t e s

[ b a s s ]

Continuo Gottlob, wir wissen God be praised, we know Den rechten Weg zur Seligkeit; the right way to blessedness; Denn, Jesu, du hast ihn uns durch dein for, Jesus, you have shown it to us through   Wort gewiesen,   your word, Drum bleibt dein Name jederzeit gepriesen. therefore your name forever remains praised. Weil aber viele noch But since many still Zu dieser Zeit at this time An fremdem Joch must bear a foreign yoke through blindness, Aus Blindheit ziehen müssen, ah! have pity Ach! so erbarme dich on them graciously Auch ihrer gnädiglich, so that they come to know the right way Dass sie den rechten Weg erkennen and name you as their only mediator. Und dich bloß ihren Mittler nennen. 5

A r i a

( D u e t t o )

S

B



5

A r i a

( D u e t )

[ s o p r a n o ,

b a s s ]

Violino I/II all’unisono, Continuo

Oboe solo, Continuo Gott ist unsre Sonn und Schild! Darum rühmet dessen Güte Unser dankbares Gemüte, Die er für sein Häuflein hegt. Denn er will uns ferner schützen, Ob die Feinde Pfeile schnitzen Und ein Lästerhund gleich billt.

God is our sun and shield! Therefore our grateful spirit praises the kindness with which he cares for his little flock. For he wants to continue to protect us although our enemies sharpen their arrows and a blasphemous dog now barks.

3

3

c h o r a l

K e s s l e r



c h o r a l e

[ s a t b ]

Gott, ach Gott, verlass die Deinen God, ah God, forsake your people Nimmermehr! never again! Laß dein Wort uns helle scheinen; Let your word shine clearly for us; Obgleich sehr although our enemies rage very greatly   against us, Wider uns die Feinde toben, our mouth will then praise you. So soll unser Mund dich loben. 6

c h o r a l



6

c h o r a l e

[ s a t b ]

Flauto traverso I/II e Oboe I/II e Violino I col Soprano, Violino II coll’Alto, Viola col Tenore, Corno I/II, Timpani, Continuo

Flauto traverso I/II e Oboe I/II e Violino I col Soprano, Violino II coll’Alto, Viola col Tenore, Corno I/II, Timpani, Continuo

Nun danket alle Gott Mit Herzen, Mund und Händen, Der große Dinge tut An uns und allen Enden, Der uns von Mutterleib Und Kindesbeinen an Unzählig viel zugut Und noch itzund getan.

Erhalt uns in der Wahrheit, Gib ewigliche Freiheit, Zu preisen deinen Namen Durch Jesum Christum. Amen.

Now all thank God with heart, mouth, and hands; He does great things for us and all our purposes; He for us from our mother’s womb and childish steps countless great good has done and still continues to do.

8

Keep us in the truth, give us eternal freedom to praise your name through Jesus Christ. Amen.

English Translation by Francis Browne (April 2003); available online at: http://www.bach-cantatas.com. Used with permission.

9

K e s s l e r

S a r a h

R e f o r m a t i o n

C o n c e r t

p r o g r a m

E r i c

H a w b e ck e r

Sarah Hawbecker is an active recitalist, full-time church musician, and winner of numerous competitions. She is a prize winner of both the 1998 and 1996 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. She won first place in the 1988 Undergraduate Organ Competition, Ottumwa, Iowa, and was a finalist in the 1992 Spivey International Competition. Hawbecker’s performances have been broadcast on American Public Media’s Pipedreams radio program. She has performed for three different regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and a national conference of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and has served as adjudicator for several organ competitions, including the semifinal round of the 2008 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. She has been published in the journal The American Organist and presents workshops throughout the region. A native of Illinois, Hawbecker studied organ and church music with John Ferguson at St. Olaf College, where she earned a bachelor of music, magna cum laude with departmental distinction. She went on to earn a master of music in organ performance from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Russell Saunders. An active lifetime member of the American Guild of Organists, she recently completed three terms on the National Council and serves as a member of the Guild’s Task Force for Long-range Planning and the Editorial Advisory Board.

m u s i c i a n s

N e l s o n

10

R e f o r m a t i o n

C o n c e r t

p r o g r a m

m u s i c i a n s

E m o r y U n i v e r s i t y C o n c e r t C h o i r

Eric Nelson is director of choral studies at Emory University, where he teaches graduate choral donducting and choral literature. He conducts Emory’s 45-voice Concert Choir and its 150-voice University Chorus. He is also the artistic director of the Atlanta Sacred Chorale, a professional chamber choir specializing in sacred a cappella repertoire, and the minister of music at the historic Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Nelson is also president of the Georgia American Choral Directors Association.

The Emory University Concert Choir is the University’s select mixed vocal chamber ensemble, performing both a cappella and accompanied works from the Middle Ages to the present day. Recent works with orchestra include the Bach St. John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Poulenc’s Gloria, Mozart’s C-Minor Mass, and the Corliano Fern Hill. The choir is made up of both graduate and undergraduate students chosen by audition from throughout the student body.

Nelson received his training in voice and choral conducting at Houghton College, Westminster Choir College, and Indiana University. He has conducted choirs throughout North America and Europe, including performances in London, Venice, Krakow, Berlin, Leipzig, Prague, Moscow, Washington, D.C, Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Vatican, and the Southern and National Conventions of the ACDA. His ensembles have been praised for their ability to combine a high level of technical precision with warmth of musical expression.

The Concert Choir has appeared at the Southern and National Conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and has sung performances in New York’s Avery Fisher Hall and Symphony Hall in Boston. The choir has toured internationally to Poland, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Great Britain. The ensemble also joins with the University Chorus to sing large-scale works such as the Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Orff ’s Carmina Burana, and the Fauré Requiem.

Nelson is a passionate apologist for the choral craft and its importance to contemporary society. Highly regarded as a clinician, adjudicator, lecturer, and guest conductor, he has conducted and presented workshops for the American Choral Director’s Association, the Music Educator’s National Conference, the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the American Guild of Organists, Chorister’s Guild, and numerous churches, colleges, and universities. In 2004 he was the recipient of a Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching at Emory. He is also a composer of choral music whose works are published by Colla Voce and Augsburg Fortress.

Hawbecker has served as organist and director of children’s music at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta since 1996. At Redeemer she oversees a program of two children’s choirs, three handbell choirs, a summer music camp, and a concert series.

K e s s l e r

C o n c e r t

C h o i r

S o p r a n o

I

S o p r a n o

Audriana Farris Lauren Henrickson Maria Leinbach Meredith Sharps Anna Shapiro Kristen Wiram Dena Vander Tuig

AL t o

I AL t o

Jungmin Cho Margaret Izard Susanna Kim Marlee Madora Anna Snyder Natalie Weiss Pauline Worusski T e n o r

I

I

Donae Fourth Teri Fleming Kristen Nelson Rebecca Ryan Maria Seuffert Chonise Thomas Laura Withers

11

II

Frej Andreassen Andrew Bolden Matt Brittain Parks Greene Will Partin Alex Savello Peter Tran

BASS

Jon Arnold Roy Atwood David Brinson Noah Levy Stephen McCormick Garrett Turner

II

Nour El-Kebbi Gillian Kramer Janice Kuo Rachel Laney Elise Low Hanna Teeter

T e n o r

Russell Hallman Brian Levenson Jake Light Collin Shephard Alex Shin Keshav Venket BASS

II

II

Adam Boukis Kevin Kang Michael Lewis Sean McMaster Makoto Mori Brad Schultz

Publication of the 2010 Kessler Reformation Concert program made possible by the generous support of Roy T. Wise. The image on the cover is from Luther’s Eyn brieff an die Christen zu Strassburg widder den schwermer geyst (Wittenberg, 1524) All images provided courtesy of the Richard C. Kessler Reformation Collection, Pitts Theology Library, Candler School of Theology, Emory University