Concert Program

In Mulieribus
presents
Horae: A Musical
Book of Hours
Friday, March 4, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Mount Angel Abbey Church
1 Abbey Drive Saint Benedict, Oregon
Pre-concert lecture at 5:30pm, Mount Angel Abbey Library
Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 7:30 pm
Saint Philip Neri Church
2408 SE 16th Avenue Portland, Oregon
Pre-concert lecture at 6:00pm, Carvlin Hall (adjacent to church)
Sunday, March 6, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Proto-Cathedral of Saint James the Greater
218 W 12th Street Vancouver, Washington
Pre-concert lecture at 5:30pm, St. James Parish Hall (adjacent to church)
About Horae: A Musical Book of Hours
Anna Song, Artistic Director
In Mulieribus
The Christian tradition of reciting prayers at regular hours grew out of the
Jewish practice of praying at certain times throughout the day as a way of sanctifying
the entire day to God. The early Church embraced this form of “unceasing” prayer as
one of its primary duties and systematized this tradition by dividing the day into
eight separate hours. All ordained members of the Church, as well as those in religious orders, were then charged with praying what came to be known as the Liturgy
of the Hours, or Divine Office.
By the thirteenth century, this practice of daily prayer had become widespread among the laity who used personal prayer books, miniature in size, containing
a simplified version of the Liturgy of the Hours (among other devotional texts).
Reflecting the growing Cult of the Virgin at the time and the widespread belief in
the power of Mary’s intercessory role in salvation, this modified form consisted of
prayers to the Virgin, as well as readings and psalms assigned to each of the eight
canonical hours: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.
Remarkable artwork and miniature images portraying key events in Mary’s life were
often presented alongside each hour, intended to facilitate private meditation and
prayer. This section of the prayer books is called the Hours of the Virgin, and the
prayer books themselves are known as books of hours, or Horae – ‘hours’ in Latin.
The popularity of Horae between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries
cannot be overstated. More Horae were produced than any other book during this
time, as they were considered essential to one’s spiritual life, and owned by most
literate adults. Interestingly, the relationship between women and Horae is particularly notable, as women commissioned many of the earliest books of hours and were
influential in their development. Today’s program is designed to provide a glimpse
into a day in the life of a medieval noblewoman praying the Hours of the Virgin using
her own personal book of hours.
Sumi Wu, Videographer
In the months since I first held these prayer books in my hands, I have strived
to merge images preserved for 600 years in pigments on parchment with music that
is equally ancient. I set these images in motion for a visual journey through the
rituals of a medieval day. In the space of an hour, you will take in the thousands of
letters and gilded leaves, the hundreds of pages and years, the many hands and minds
expressing devotion to Mary.
I have teased out multiple threads: the passage of the hours, the story of
Mary, the richness and individuality of each manuscript. Each hour’s song represents
an event in Mary’s life and explores the beauty and peculiarity of a single book. Birds
and flowers, dragons and gargoyles decorate pages of holy words. Saints keep company with animals, and ordinary folk perform the tasks of the season alongside creatures of the zodiac. What could these images have meant to the lady who first turned
these pages?
The Mount Angel Abbey Books of Hours
William Diebold, Reed College
This concert is inspired in part by the books of hours (or Horae) in the collection
of Mount Angel Abbey. That the abbey houses a number of medieval manuscript
Horae may seem unsurprising; after all, Benedictine monasteries such as Mount
Angel, like the manuscripts that inspired this concert, have their origins in the
Middle Ages. But that Mount Angel owns any medieval manuscripts, and especially
these medieval books, is anything but expected. Mount Angel Abbey was founded in
the late 19th century from the monastery of Engelberg in Switzerland. Engelberg
gave the Oregon abbey not only its first monks, but also its name (Engelberg means
"angel mountain" in German). This tie to Engelberg means that Mount Angel stands
in a direct, if attenuated, line that stretches back to the monastery at Monte Cassino
in southern Italy. Established by Benedict of Nursia around the year 529 C.E., Monte
Cassino made coenobitic monasticism (monks living together in a community, as
opposed to separately, as hermits) a major force in western culture.
In the early Middle Ages, Benedictine monks made almost all books and also
were among their primary users; the most famous example is the lavishly decorated
gospel book known as the Book of Kells, made in a monastery somewhere in the
British Isles or Ireland around the year 800. But, by the later Middle Ages, when all
of the Mount Angel Horae were produced, manuscript making had passed from
monks to lay professionals. These lay scribes, painters, and preparers of vellum made
up a thriving trade in the growing urban centers of western Europe. So no monk had
a hand in making any of the Mount Angel Horae; likewise, no monk would have ever
read or owned one of these manuscripts. Books of hours (named for the division of
the day into eight liturgical “hours") were prayer books exclusively for lay men and
women (their readership very much included the latter). Indeed, they were in some
sense anathema to the medieval monk, for their text was explicitly a simplification
and reduction of the demanding monastic ritual of daily and weekly prayer established by St. Benedict. The first Horae were made in the 13th century, but their
heyday was the 15th century, when the book flourished in the wealthy cities and
towns of modern-day France, Belgium, and Holland. Many books of hours, including those at Mount Angel, contain pictures, which aid meditation during prayer and
also help the reader to find his or her way through the text.
How did these lay medieval books get to a modern monastery in Oregon?
Because Horae were owned by laymen, they were private property, handed down
from owner to owner or bought and sold. They were, then, very much like the other
kinds of consumer goods made in the towns that produced these books, goods that
were purchased by the same aristocrats, merchants, and shop owners who originally
owned these manuscripts. Made for private owners, Horae tended to stay in private
hands into the 19th and 20th centuries, when they began to be collected, prized
more as works of art and culture than as prayer books. It is this kind of modern
private collector who donated the manuscripts you will be seeing at Mount Angel
Abbey, likely believing monasteries were where medieval manuscripts belong. Such
donations may have misunderstood the original role of Horae in book history, but
they were fruitful (and generous!), as Mount Angel's is the leading collection of
books of hours in Oregon and so a fine inspiration for the music of In Mulieribus.
A Note from Geri Ethen, IM Board President
In Mulieribus is both proud and excited to present this concert honoring
Mount Angel Abbey's collection of Books of Hours through the beautiful voices of
our singers and the finely crafted video showcasing artistic details from these books.
The original concept for this program was inspired by our former board president,
Nancy Pole-Wilhite, who visited a manuscript exhibit in Los Angeles' Getty Museum in 2003. Videographer Sumi Wu was particularly drawn to the vision of women
holding these books in their hands and using them to pray, and was stunned by the
beauty of the images in the Abbey’s Horae collection. She explains, “My role is to
visually tell the same story the music portrays.” At Matins, because it is before dawn,
Wu incorporates the flicker of candlelight. At compline the video ends with a long,
peaceful image. Vespers is one hour where she uses a different emphasis. “I went for
it,” she says, “and decided to use as many images of the flight to Egypt as I could,
focusing on Mary holding her child.” Some of the images are more downtrodden,
some more urgent. Some portray quiet sadness. Drawing on her background as
theater director (most recently at Reed College), stage director Kathleen Worley is
responsible for bringing all of the aspects of this concert into a unified whole. “A
person in my role [explains Worley] always coordinates the various aspects of the
production and is the keeper of the vision.” Working closely with Nancy PoleWilhite, Horae project producer, Worley aimed to replicate the experience of praying at various times during the day using the beautiful imagery and texts of the book
to enhance that activity. “My job is to ask provocative questions and listen to what
people say so that we can collaborate together to tell our story…I create the stage
picture.” This project would not have been possible without Mount Angel Abbey’s
sizable collection of rare books and their generosity in allowing access to the digital
images. We are particularly indebted to Victoria Ertelt, Mount Angel library administrator, who has helped coordinate visits. On the afternoon and evening of the
concert at Mount Angel on March 4, she will bring up a number of the Books of
Hours to be put on display in cases for public viewing in the library lobby, from 9 am
until close. Images of Horae have also been digitized and can be viewed online:
https://www.mountangelabbey.org/digitization-project/
In Mulieribus thanks the following organizations for their support:
Horae: A Musical Book of Hours
Beata viscera
Opening
Arwen Myers, soprano
Pérotin (fl. c. 1200)
Ave Maria paribus vocibus Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594)
Verbum bonum et suave
Magnificat
Matins
Anon., Wolfenbüttel 1099 (W2)
Lauds
Palestrina (1525-1594)
O magnum mysterium
Prime
Cristóbal de Morales (1500-1553)
In natali Domino
Terce
Anon., 15th century, Codex Speciálník
Magi videntes
Adorna thalamum
Coventry carol
Sext
None
Vespers
Agostino Agazzari (1578-1640)
William Byrd (1540-1623)
Anon., 16th century
Compline
Song I: Assumpta est Maria
Gregor Aichinger (1565-1628)
Song II: Je te pri de cuer
Anon., 13th century
Catherine van der Salm, soprano
Alma redemptoris mater
Closing
Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)
Program Notes and Translations
We open with two pieces before beginning with the Hours of the Virgin:
Pérotin’s Beata viscera, a simple but inspired monophonic work sung most likely
for the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and Palestrina’s Ave Maria
paribus vocibus, a marvelous four-part paraphrased setting of the well-known Marian
prayer and corresponding chant tune.
Beata viscera Marie virginis
cuius ad uberarex magni nominis;
veste sub altera vim celans numinis
dictavit federa Dei et hominis
Refrain: O mira novitas et novum gaudium,
matris integrita post puerperium.
Legis mosayce clausa misteria;
nux virge mystice nature nescia;
aqua de silice, columpna previa,
prolis dominice signa sunt propera. Refrain
Solem, quem librere, Dum purus otitur
In aura cernere visus non patitur,
cernat a latere dum repercutitur,
alvus puerpere, qua totus clauditur. Refrain
O blessed body of the virgin Mary
in whose womb the king of great name
clothed in other form, hiding his godly power,
has enriched the covenant between God & man.
Refrain: O new wonder and new joy:
the mother’s chastity after childbirth.
The closed mysteries of Moses’ law –
the mystic branch's bud defying nature,
water from a rock, pillars of fire –
these are obvious signs of a lordly offspring. Refrain
Boldly it may try, but the eye cannot look directly
at the sun when it rises pure into the heavens.
But it can be seen reflected sideways,
being entirely covered in the child bearer's womb. Refrain
Ave Maria, gratia plena.
Dominus tecum,
benedicta tu in mulieribus et
benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, regina coeli,
dulcis et pia, O Mater Dei,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus;
ut cum electis te videamus.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with you,
blessed are you among women and
blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, queen of heaven,
sweet and merciful, O Mother of God,
pray for us sinners
that we may see you with the elect.
Matins (beginning of day)
Annunciation, March 25th Mount Angel Abbey MS 65
The first hour is Matins, its prayers recited at first light (or about an hour before
sunrise). From the earliest ages Matins was the Church’s prayer for Christ’s second
coming. Mary’s story begins with the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel
greeted Mary and revealed news that she would conceive and bear the Son of God.
This event in Mary’s life thus appropriately adorns the pages of this first hour.
This key turning point in Mary’s life is the textual focus of Verbum bonum et suave.
Verbum bonum et suave,
Personemus illud ave,
per quod Christi fit conclave,
Virgo mater filia.
Let us ever sound that “ave,”
the good and sweet word
through which Christ dwelt
within virgin, mother and daughter.
Per quod ave salutata
mox concepit fecundata
Virgo David stirpe nata,
inter spinas lilia.
Greeted with that "ave"
she soon became fertile,
the virgin of David's lineage,
a lily among the thorns.
Ave, veri Salomonis
mater, vellus gedeonis,
cuius magi tribus donis
laudant puerperium.
Hail, true Solomon's mother,
fleece of Gideon,
whose childbirth the magi
honored with three gifts.
Ave, solem genuisti,
ave prolem protulisti,
mundo lapso contulisti
vitam et imperium.
Hail, you have borne the sun;
hail, you have borne a son.
You brought life and power
to the fallen world.
Ave, sponsa verbi summi,
maris portus, signum dumi,
aromatum, virga fumi,
angelorum domina.
Hail, bride of the highest word,
sea harbor, sign of the burning bush,
aromatic smoking branch,
mistress of the angels.
Supplicamus, nos emenda,
emendatos nos commenda
tuo natu ab habenda
sempiterna gaudia.
We pray you to put us right,
and being put right
commend us to your son,
so that we might have everlasting joys.
Amen dicant omnia.
Let all things say "Amen."
Lauds (dawn)
TheVisitation , May 31st Mount Angel Abbey MS 31
Lauds, the second hour, consists of songs of praise to be recited at dawn, and recalls
Christ as the light that will dispel darkness. It is most often illustrated with images of
the Visitation, when Mary, shortly after the Annunciation and pregnant with Jesus,
meets her older cousin Elizabeth who is also pregnant with John the Baptist. According the Luke’s Gospel, it is at this meeting that Mary uttered the words that you will
hear in the Magnificat – the text of which is invariably a part of the Divine Office.
Magnificat anima mea Dominum.
Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo,
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae.
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes,
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen eius,
Et misericordia eius in progenies et progenies timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui;
Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles;
Esurientes implevit bonis et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae,
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in saecula.
Gloria Patri et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in prinicipo et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
My soul doth magnify the Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
For he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid:
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He hath showed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble.
He hath filled the hungry with good things: and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy.
As he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his seed forever.
Glory be to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Prime (6:00 am)
The Nativity of Jesus, December 25 Mount Angel Abbey MS 67
Prime, referring to the first hour of daylight, was said around 6am, usually right
after Lauds. It began the day and dedicated one’s work to God. Images of the
Nativity accompany this hour, portraying Mary, Joseph and the infant Christ in the
stable alongside angels, the ox and ass. The mention of animals in O magnum
mysterium corresponds with these images, and Morales’ setting captures the sense
of wonder and awe at the sight of the new-born Christ.
O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum
natum jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Domine, audivi auditum tuum et timui:
consideravi opera tua, et expavi:
in medio duorum animalium.
O great mystery and wonderful sacrament,
that animals should see the new-born Lord
lying in a manger.
Blessed is the Virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear Jesus Christ the Lord.
Lord, I heard your voice and was afraid;
I contemplated your works and trembled
between two animals.
Terce (9:00 am)
The Angel's announcement to the shepherds, January 1
Mount Angel Abbey MS 29
Terce derives its name from the Latin word for ‘third’ (tertia), and is the midmorning prayer recited at the third hour of the day, or around 9am. Recalling the
hour of the first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit is said to have descended upon the
Church, Terce marks the halfway point between the beginning of the workday and
noon, and calls upon the Holy Spirit for renewal. The illumination for Terce
depicts the shepherds reacting with amazement to the vision of angels announcing
the birth of Jesus. In natali Domini likewise depicts this scene.
In natali Domini
Gaudent omnes angeli
Et cantant cum iubilo
Gloriam uni deo.
On the birthday of the Lord
there is rejoicing among all the angels,
and they sing with joy
giving glory to the one God.
Virgo Deum genuit,
Virgo Deum peperit,
Virgo semper intacta.
A virgin has conceived God,
a virgin has given birth to God;
a virgin ever intact.
Natus est Emmanuel
Quem predixit Gabriel
Testis est Ezechiel
A patre processit El.
Now is born Emanuel
whose coming was announced by Gabriel.
Witness comes from Ezekiel
that from the Father proceeds God's Son.
Virgo Deum…
A virgin has conceived…
Nuntiavit angelus
Gaudium pastoribus
Christi nativitatem
Magnam jucunditatem.
The angel announced,
to the joy of the shepherds,
the birth of Christ
with great delight.
Virgo Deum…
A virgin has conceived…
Christus natus hodie
Ex Maria virgine
Non conceptus semine
Apparuit hodie.
Christ is born today
From Mary virgin-mother.
Not conceived from human seed
He has appeared today.
Virgo Deum…
A virgin has conceived…
--translation by Bernard Mageean
Sext (noon)
The Adoration of the Magi, January 6 Mount Angel Abbey MS 64
Sext is the midday prayer recited at noon. Taking its name from the Latin word for
‘sixth’ (sexta), it corresponds to the sixth hour after sunrise, and commemorates the
hour when Jesus was nailed to the cross. Images of the Adoration of the Magi are
associated with this hour; three wise men, having followed a star to Bethlehem, pay
homage to the infant Jesus as a new king. Agostino Agazzari’s ebullient Magi videntes
stellam illuminates both image and text: three voices, fittingly representing the
three magi, explore varied polyphonic textures, including moments of direct imitation to portray the wise men echoing one another in agreement.
Magi videntes stellam dixerunt ad invicem
hoc signum magni regis est.
Eamus et requiramus et offeramus ei
aurum thus et myrrham. Alleluia.
The magi, seeing the star, said to one another:
This is the sign of a great king.
Let us go and look for him and offer him
gold, frankincense and myrrh. Alleluia.
None (3:00 pm)
The Presentation in the Temple, February 2
Mount Angel Abbey MS 66
None, from the Latin word for ‘ninth’ (nona), marks the ninth hour after sunrise, or
3pm. It is the hour that Jesus is believed to have spoken his final words and died on
the cross. Images in the Books of Hours depict the Presentation in the Temple, when
Mary and Joseph, following Jewish law concerning first-born males, brought the
infant Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated to God.There they met the
prophet Simeon, who foretold not only the salvation of all through Christ, but also
the pain Mary would endure in her future as the mother of Jesus. Traditionally sung
during the procession for the Feast of the Presentation in the Church was the antiphon Adorna thalamum. William Byrd’s remarkable three-part setting employs a
variety of gestures carefully governed by the text’s inflection and meaning. Particularly noteworthy are distinct shifts in harmony and rhythm towards the end of the
second half; after maintaining a predominantly spirited and joyful character with
major sonorities, Byrd introduces minor harmonies on the words “esse vitae et mortis” (of life and death), and uses descending 5-6 progressions on longer note values to
poignant effect.
Adorna thalamum tuum Sion,
et suscipe Regem Christum,
Amplectere Mariam, quae est caelestis porta:
ipsa enim portat Regem, gloriae novi luminis.
Subsistit Virgo, adducens manibus
filium ante luciferum genitum,
quem accipiens Simeon in ulnas suas,
praedicavit populis Dominum eum,
esse vitae et mortis et Salvatorem mundi.
Adorn thy bridal chamber, O Sion,
and receive Christ the King:
embrace Mary, who is the gate of heaven,
who herself truly brings the glorious King of new light.
She remains a virgin, though bearing in her hands
a Son begotten before the daystar,
whom Simeon, taking him in his arms,
proclaimed to the people to be the Lord
of life and death, and Savior of the world.
Vespers (6:00 pm)
The Flight to Egypt /The Slaughter of the Innocents, December 28
Mount Angel Abbey Various Manuscripts
Marking the twelfth hour of the day at around 6pm is Vespers. Also known as Evensong,
or the ‘sunset hour,’ its principal theme is one of thanksgiving for the day that is
about to end and for all the blessings bestowed throughout the ages. The image
associated with Vespers is the Flight into Egypt, when Mary and Joseph fled into
Egypt after hearing of King Herod’s intent to find and destroy Jesus.The well-known
Coventry carol, which also depicts Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, is most
appropriate here.
Lully, lulla, thou little tiny child;
By by, lully lullay;
Thou little tiny child;
By by, lully lullay.
Herod the King, in his raging,
Charg-ed he hath this day
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young to slay.
O sisters too, how may we do
For to preserve this day?
This poor Youngling for whom we do sing,
By by, lully lullay.
That woe is me, poor child, for thee,
And ever morn and day,
For thy parting neither say nor sing,
By by, lully lullay.
Compline (9:00 pm)
The Coronation of Mary, August 15 Mount Angel Abbey MS 29
Compline comes from the Latin word ‘complere,’ which means to complete, or
finish. As such, it concludes the day’s Hours, and is recited after sundown. Its prayers
serve to examine the conscience, but also include a petition for a happy death.
Images of the Assumption and/or Coronation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven
generally accompany Compline. Two pieces are performed for this hour. The first is
the exuberant Assumpta est Maria by Gregor Aichinger, which opens with rapidly
ascending scales in each voice part spanning full octaves to effectively depict Mary’s
bodily assumption into heaven.
Assumpta est Maria in coelum,
gaudent angeli, laudantes benedicunt Dominum.
Alleluia.
Mary has been received into Heaven:
the angels rejoice with praises and bless the Lord.
Alleluia.
The second and final piece for the Hours of the Virgin is the exquisite chanson,
Je te pri de cuer, whose text presents a deeply personal petition to Mary –
“I ask you from the heart, for love, high Virgin Mary, for your pity and sweetness.”
Je te pri de cuer par amors,
Haute virge Marie,
Par ta pitié, par ta douçor,
Que ton chier fiz deprie,
Dame, que il n'oblie
Ces chaitis dolens pecheors
Qui metent leur ame a dolor,
Ne se conoissent mie;
Perdu seront sanz nul retor,
Se tu lor faus d'aie.
I pray you with love from my heart,
exalted virgin Mary,
in your pity, your sweetness,
that you pray your dear son,
Lady, not to forget
these grieving captive sinners
whose souls are in sorrow,
who do not know themselves;
they will be lost without recourse,
if you fail to help them.
Röine, mere au sauveor
Qui tout a en baillie,
Qui es de paradis la flor
Et la rose espanie,
Par toi, virge Marie,
Avront merci maint pecheor.
Dame, qui te sert nuit et jor,
Sa paine ne pert mie:
N'avra garde d'entrer el four
Dont nus ne revient mie.
Queen, mother of the savior,
who has everything in your care,
flower of paradise,
full-blown rose,
through you, virgin Mary,
many sinners will have mercy.
Lady, whoever serves you night and day
does not waste his effort;
he need not worry about entering the furnace
from which no one ever returns.
Haute dame qui es es ciels
Röine coronée
Et des angres esperiteus
Servie et aorée,
[Dame virge Marie,]
Vos qui portastes le fiz Dieu,
Le haut sire, le glorïeus,
Qui t'a grace donée
De delivrer qui que tu veus;
Ci ot digne portée.
Exalted lady who are crowned
queen in heaven,
served and adored
by spiritual angels,
Lady, virgin Mary,
you who bore the son of God,
the high lord, the glorious,
who gave you the grace
to save whom you wish;
his was a worthy birth.
Dame, qui bien te servira,
De fin cuer sans faintise,
Riche guerredon en avra
Au grant jor dou jüisse:
Quant cil tendra justise
Qui en vostre cors s'aombra,
Ne haut ne bas n'espargnera;
Si est la chose enprise:
Selonc que chascun fait avra
L'en rendra le servise.
Lady, whoever serves you well,
with pure heart, without pretense,
will have a rich reward
on the great day of Judgment;
when he will render justice,
who hid himself in your body,
and will not spare high nor low.
The thing is so arranged that
according to what each has done,
he will be served.
The program concludes with Alma redemptoris mater, one of four Marian
Antiphons traditionally sung at the end of Compline. Dufay’s setting ingeniously
paraphrases the plainsong melody in the top voice, and ends with slow, unmetered
chords that lead us to meditate on the final phrase of the hymn text.
Alma redemptoris mater,
quae pervia caeli porta manes,
et stella maris,
succurre cadenti
surgere qui curat populo:
Tu quae genuisti, natura mirante,
tuum sanctum Genitorem:
Virgo prius ac posterius,
Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud Ave,
peccatorum miserere.
Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
who remains the gate by which we enter heaven,
and star of the sea,
help your fallen people
who strive to rise:
You who gave birth, amazing nature,
to your sacred Creator:
Virgin prior and following,
taking from the mouth of Gabriel that Hail!
Have mercy on our sins.
Save the Date
and join IM for
Dufay
and Company
Friday, May 20, 2016 at 7:30 pm
St Stephen’s Catholic Church 1114 SE 41st Avenue Portland, Oregon
Sunday, May 22, 2016 at 7:00 pm
Proto-Cathedral of St. James the Greater 218 W 12th Street Vancouver, WA
Our final concert of the season will highlight 15th century composer Guillaume
Dufay, a cosmopolitan figure whose fusion of French, Italian, and English
elements cultivated a new international style that would have a lasting influence on
the music of the Renaissance and following centuries. This program will present an
array of works from his estimable output alongside those of his Burgundian contemporaries such as Binchois, Dunstable, Busnois, and Ciconia.
In Mulieribus (the Latin phrase meaning “amongst women”) is a female
vocal ensemble dedicated to the promotion and enrichment of community through
the art of music with a focus on works written primarily before 1750. From our
inception, In Mulieribus' mission has included both an artistic and philanthropic
component. Every season we sponsor a human service organization that serves our
community. We are pleased to announce our partnership with Rahab’s Sisters, an
organization that seeks to offer support compassionately to vulnerable women,
especially those impacted by the sex industry, domestic violence, homelessness,
substance abuse, and poverty. Please visit www.rahabs-sisters.org for more
information on the work and mission of this extraordinary local organization.
Founded in 2004, In Mulieribus (IM) presents its own annual concert
series in Portland, Oregon. The ensemble has also appeared as guest artist at the
Portland Art Museum, the University of San Diego, the Multnomah County
Library, Abbey Bach Festival and the Linfield Lively Arts Concert Series at Linfield
College. Performances by IM have been broadcast on nationally syndicated radio
shows such as Performance Today and Millennium of Music. IM has self-released
four recordings to date, which have been featured as Critics' Picks in The Oregonian
newspaper. The first, Notre Dame de Grâce, presents conductus compositions from
the late twelfth century, and the second, In Mulieribus: LIVE, is a compilation of live
recordings from concerts between 2004-2008. The third, A December Feast, features
music for the various feasts in December, including of course, Christmas. Our
newest release, In Mulieribus: LIVE 2 is available for purchase at today’s concert.
You can read more about our musicians and keep apprised of the many
adventures of IM on our website, inmulieribus.org, or by signing up for our
online newsletter that will arrive in your inbox about once per month. We are
thankful for your company, support, generosity and interest, and look forward to
the next time we can share this exquisite music with you and yours.
In Mulieribus PO BOX 6374 Portland Oregon 97228
www.inmulieribus.org
THE ARTISTS
Anna Song, Artistic Director and Conductor, co-founded In Mulieribus with former
member and Executive Director, Tuesday Rupp in 2004. She has been directing
choirs and teaching music in the Portland area since moving to Oregon in 2001.
After graduating with a B.A. in composition from UCLA she went on to finish her
Masters of Music in conducting from the School of Music and the Institute of
Sacred Music at Yale University, and earn a doctorate in Music Education from
Teachers College, Columbia University. She has studied with Dennis Keene at the
Keenefest Choral Institute and has appeared at the Oregon Bach Festival as a
conducting fellow with Helmuth Rilling. Her past positions include Associate Director
of Choral Activities at DePaul University in Chicago and Assistant Conductor of
the Portland Symphonic Choir. Dr. Song is currently Associate Professor at Linfield
College where she serves as the Director of Choral Activities. She lives in
Sherwood with husband Blake Applegate and their two children, Grace and James.
Kari Ferguson, soprano, grew up in the rural outskirts of Canby, Oregon. She
completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Goshen College, Indiana, and was a twotime winner of the Concerto-Aria Contest. Her love of early music led her to
study at Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She then returned to
Oregon and became involved in the Portland music scene. She is currently singing
with Cantores in Ecclesia and has performed with local ensembles such as Wildwood Consort, Urban Baroque, Resonance Ensemble, Cappella Romana, and the
Oregon Renaissance Band. She is currently a piano instructor at Portland School of
Music and Dance, and resides with her husband and son in North Portland.
Susan Hale, alto, Susan Hale has been actively involved with choral music for
many years in the Portland area as an ensemble singer, soloist and educator. She has
sung with Choral Cross-Ties, Cappella Romana, Trinity Consort, Portland Baroque
Orchestra Chorus, Oregon Repertory Singers, and Cantores in Ecclesia. Susan
performed for many years as a member of the Berwick Chorus of the Oregon Bach
Festival in Eugene. Solo appearances include performances with the Portland
Symphonic Choir, the Oregon Chorale, and the Oregon Ballet Theater. She has
recently completed a long tenure as choral director at Tigard High School. Susan's
love of music education has encompassed elementary, middle school, and high
school vocal music as well as private instruction. She is now mentoring student
teachers in music education at Portland State University. She lives in Wilsonville,
Oregon with her husband Paul Klemme, a church musician and conductor in Salem.
Arwen Myers, soprano. Praised for her musical sensitivity and clarity of tone,
soprano Arwen Myers is quickly gaining a reputation as one of today’s most intelligent and skilled interpreters of new and early music. A versatile artist equally
comfortable in oratorio, chamber music, and the recital stage, Ms. Myers has
appeared with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra,
Augusta Opera, the Idaho Bach Festival, and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra,
among many others. In July 2014, she placed third nationally in the prestigious
NATS Artist Award competition in Boston, MA. 2015-16 season highlights include
solo appearances with Musica Maestrale and The Ensemble, a recording project
with Indiana-based GRAMMY-nominated composer and jazz pianist J.J. Wright,
and appearances on Friends of Chamber Music's Dinner with Friends series and All
Classical FM's Thursdays @ Three. This season also marks the launch of Northwest
Art Song, an ensemble devoted to the song recital launched this fall by Ms. Myers,
mezzo-soprano Laura Thoreson, and pianist Susan McDaniel. An avid collaborator,
Ms. Myers will also appear as a choral artist with In Mulieribus, Cappella Romana,
and Prometheus, among others. Ms. Myers holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees
and a Performer's Diploma in vocal performance from the Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music. A native of Augusta, GA, she is currently the Music
Associate at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, OR, and she is an active
freelance artist both in the Northwest and across the United States.
Hannah Penn, mezzo-soprano, enjoys a diverse career as a performer of opera,
oratorio, and recital literature. Frequently praised for her musicality and the
timbre of her voice, Ms. Penn has recently been called “…a major talent,” and
“…an intelligent and wonderfully musical singer” by Portland’s Willamette Week,
and was praised for having “…intriguing colors at both ends of her range” by The
Oregonian. She has sung with Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Tacoma
Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, and Portland Opera, among other companies.
She sang her first Carmen with Portland Opera, which garnered critical acclaim
and resulted in a chance to reprise the role following season with the Teatro
National Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. A strong proponent of new works, Ms. Penn has
performed in the American premiere tours of John Adam's El Niño and Sven-David
Sandstrom's High Mass, and has been involved in the American premiers of several
operas, including Anthony Davis’ Wakonda’s Dream and David Carlson’s Anna
Karenina. Ms. Penn enjoys a full concert schedule, having been featured with
orchestras around the country, including the Oregon Symphony, the Florida
Philharmonic, the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, the Portland Baroque
Orchestra and the Seattle Baroque Orchestra. Ms. Penn teaches at Portland State
University and Linfield College and maintains a large private studio.
Jo Routh, alto, has been a professional vocalist in the Portland area for almost 15
years. Her first singing job was at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral while studying Vocal
Performance at Portland State University. She earned her Bachelors in 2002 and
has sung with numerous ensembles since, including Cappella Romana, Cantores in
Ecclesia, Portland Baroque Orchestra and Columbia Chorale. She also records often
with Oregon Catholic Press. In addition to singing, Jo has a passion for teaching
and earned her MEd from Portland State in 2003. She taught middle school and
high school choir and drama for eight years in Scappoose, OR where she co-directed
productions of Oklahoma, Guys and Dolls, Little Shop of Horrors, and Peter Pan. Jo's high
school chamber choir made eight consecutive appearances at the OSAA state choir
competition, earning high marks in sight reading, which she loves to teach. For the
past two years she has enjoyed staying home with her two children. She lives in
Beaverton, OR with her husband Rob, daughter Rosabelle and son Riley.
Catherine van der Salm, soprano, is a native of the Northwest. She grew up in
Sandy, Oregon, and graduated with honors from Willamette University in Salem,
Oregon, earning two degrees: Bachelor of Science in Business Economics and
Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Catherine is an active performer, singing
with Cappella Romana, In Mulieribus, The Ensemble of Oregon, Cantores in
Ecclesia, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Resonance Ensemble, Chor Anno and
Oregon Catholic Press, and has appeared as a guest artist with Third Angle,
Willamette Master Chorus, Musica Maestrale, Cascadia Academy of Music, Portland
Vocal Consort, Bach Cantata Vespers at St. James Lutheran Church, Columbia
Chorale of Oregon, Bravo! Vancouver and the Vancouver Camerata. In 2002 and
2004, she was a regional finalist in the NATSAA competition, and sang for Elly
Ameling at the 2005 International Congress of Voice Teachers. Catherine makes
her home in Vancouver, Washington, with her husband, Ruud and their daughters
Juliana and Annelies. She maintains a home studio teaching singers of all ages in art
song, opera, Broadway, and popular musical styles.
Ann Wetherell, soprano, is a native of Iowa. She is a long-time member of
Cantores in Ecclesia, and has sung with the choirs of St. Michael and All Angels
Church, Cappella Romana, the PBO Chorus, and the St. Ann Chapel Choir of Palo
Alto, CA. She has toured internationally with Cantores in Ecclesia and the St. Ann
Chapel Choir. A specialist in Chinese studies, Ann holds a Ph.D. in Chinese art
history. She is Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History at Willamette University,
where she teaches classes in the art and architecture of South Asia, China and
Japan. She has also taught Asian and Western art history at University of Oregon,
Pacific University, and Portland State University.
Project Collaborators
Kathleen Worley, Stage Director
Kathleen has been involved in theatre for as long as she can remember, acting,
directing, and playwriting. She is Professor Emerita at Reed College where she
taught courses in teaching and directing theatre for thirty years before retiring in
2014. While teaching at Reed she directed and performed professionally with
Artists Repertory Theatre, Cygnet Productions, Portland Experimental Theatre
Ensemble and Profile Theatre. Worley has also performed at various theatres in
Seattle, as well as in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Montana Shakespeare in the
Parks, The Players' Club (NYC), and has portrayed historical figures for the Great
Basin and Oregon Chautauqua programs. The one-woman show she devised from
the writing of Virginia Woolf toured the west coast for several years. She has sung
with Reed’s Collegium Musicum and is on Oregon Repertory Singers’ CD of the
Rachmaninoff Vespers. She has directed productions of The Beggar’s Opera, Brecht/
Weill’s Happy End, and narrated and assisted in staging a performance of David
Schiff’s Vashti. She has a B.A. from Pomona College and a M.F.A from the
University of California at Riverside.
http://academic.reed.edu/theatre/worley/index.html
Sumi Wu, Videographer, costume designer, sculpture.
Sumi is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Portland, Oregon, who specializes in
dance film. She is resident videographer for Oregon Ballet Theatre, Bodyvox, and
WhimW’Him in Seattle. She has completed several large-scale sculpture commissions, including site-specific works for Clark College (2006) and The Evergreen
Stage College (2013) as part of the Percent for Art Program for Washington State.
Sumi combined her dance and sculpture backgrounds to collaborate with choreographer Eric Skinner in the design and construction of interactive kinetic sculptures
for Skinner/Kirk dance (2012). She designed and built an interactive set for the
2013 performance using 70 yards of elastic bands.
Sumi’s costume design work includes the world English-language premiere of Yukio
Mishima’s The Black Lizard at Imago Theater, 2012, in which she alsoappeared as a
kabuki dancer. She designed costumes for the series of plays by Harold Pinter
directed by Jerry Mouawad, The Lover, The Caretaker, and The Homecoming. Sumi
performed in Imago Theatre’s world premieres of Jerry Mouawad’s Opera Beyond
Words: Cuban Missile Tango (2009), and Stage Left Lost (2010). She designed costumes for the final opera of the series, Zugzwang, 2011. She has performed and
taught ballet, and toured Mexico with Agnieszka Laska Dancers. Sumi has also
studied classical music, focusing on violin and piano. She performed with Stanford
University Baroque and Chamber Orchestras, and toured Asia with the Stanford
University Symphony Orchestra and is a graduate of Stanford University.
http://www.sumiwu.com/
Dr. William J. Diebold, Lecturer
William J. Diebold is the Jane Neuberger Goodsell Professor of Art History and
Humanities at Reed College, where he has taught since 1987. He is a specialist in
the Abbey’s Book of Hours collection. He received his BA from Yale College, and
the M.A. and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. William Diebold’s primary
academic interests are in ancient and medieval art, manuscript illumination, and
art historical method. He is the author of Word and Image: An Introduction to
Early Medieval Art and numerous articles on Carolingian and Ottonian images and
image theory. He is currently completing a book on exhibitions of medieval art in
20th-century Germany.
Nancy Pole-Wilhite, concert producer, Horae: A Musical Book of Hours.
Thanks to all who have generously contributed – you are appreciated!
This list reflects gifs made up to February 12, 2016. Please advise us of any errors and we will
gladly make the correction.
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MEMBERS
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of Jae Song
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and staff
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Parish and staff
Grateful thanks to all who backed our Kickstarter campaign for
Horae: A Musical Book of Hours
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An Anonymous gift: Ora et labora in gratitude for the daily prayer and work of the
nuns of Our Lady of the Rock, OSB, Shaw Island, WA
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