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One of the pleasures of being the conductor of an ensemble that performs modern works is to be able to work directly with the composers. I was honored to be befriended by Jean Berger late in his life (and I am quite proud of the fact that St. Martin's was the choir to be asked to sing at his memorial service in 2002); I have enjoyed knowing and working with Austin Lovelace on a handful of occasions; and I have been privileged to be a part of the blossoming and cultivation of younger talent within St. Martin's itself, in the persons of M. Susan Brown and Terry Schlenker. All of that, and a little more, is on display tonight, as St. Martin's makes a case for Colorado's significance in the history of American choral music. I am pleased that you have joined us in this exploration.
Crossing the Bar, Henry Houseley (1851-1925)
The first Dean of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in Denver was an Englishman, the Very Rev'd H. Martyn Hart; and he brought a veritable procession of English organist-choirmasters to Denver between 1878 and 1892, none of whom lasted very long in the "Wild West." That is, until Henry Houseley, who came over as assistant organist in 1892, but quickly became the choirmaster as well, and who served for the rest of his life in that capacity. He played an important role in the early musical life of Denver, starting its first regular orchestra (that later evolved into the Denver Symphony Orchestra, which itself evolved into the Colorado Symphony Orchestra). His compositional output, though large, has not stood the test of time, employing too much chromaticism and overtly sentimental expressions. This partsong is among the stronger of his choral works, and has been recorded by St. Martin's on its CD
Dreams All too Brief.
Three Anthems, Austin C. Lovelace (b. 1919)
(Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love; Through all the world; Bless Thou the Lord, O my soul)
Though he originally trained for the pastorate, Austin Lovelace has had a long and distinguished career as a church musician, including time on the music faculty of Southern Methodist University, and organist at a number of prominent churches, most recently Wellshire Presbyterian in Denver. Known for his expertise in hymnology (and many of his hymns appear in the hymnals of various denominations), his anthems are of equally solid craftsmanship, as demonstrated by these three contrasting works.
Three Part-Songs, Jean Berger (1909-2002)
(Now is where the years behind have led; I had a dream; Life would be simple)
Born in Alsace and educated as a musicologist at Heidelberg University, Berger fled Europe during the 1930's due to his Jewish heritage, and eventually settled in the United States, where he served as a musicologist on faculties in Middlebury, Vermont; Champagne-Urbana, Illinois; and Boulder, Colorado. He is arguably one of the United States' best-known choral composers, and St. Martin's has sung a large number of his works, with one of our concerts devoted entirely to his works (on his 89th birthday in 1998). We have also recorded two of his works, both on the CD The American Spirit, including his large-scale work for chorus, soloists and piano, Skelton Poems, the rehearsals of which he personally supervised. Tonight's set of partsongs were chosen because their texts were written by a Colorado poet, Joyce Mullan, and because they are new to St. Martin's. I must express my gratitude to Linda Giedl for her assistance in providing scores of
multiple works by Berger that I have not seen before.
Thou Good Supreme, Robert D. Penn (b. 1935)
Born in 1935 in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, Robert D. Penn graduated from Cornell College (Iowa), received a Master’s degree from the University of Iowa, and did doctoral work at the University of Colorado. He served for 13 years as a music teacher and administrator in public schools in Iowa, Wisconsin and New Mexico. After accepting the position of Director of Choral Activities at the University of Denver in 1969, Penn directed the choirs and taught music theory at DU for 31 years, until his retirement in 2000. Many current and former St. Martin’s singers sang under and studied with Bob during his long and distinguished career at DU. During his academic career Penn wrote many compositions for choir, as well as art songs and works for instruments. He continues to live and compose in Denver, and has recently completed a Missa Brevis.
Two Songs from “Colorado Ballads” (1958), George Lynn (1915-1989)
(Envoy; Warning)
George Lynn studied composition at Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) with such American luminaries as Roy Harris and Randall Thompson, among others. He taught briefly at CU-Boulder in the early 1950's, then returned to teach and conduct the choirs at Westminster Choir College until 1969, when he returned to Denver to more actively pursue composition. He conducted choirs at Colorado School of Mines and Loretto Heights College during this latter period in Denver, but otherwise committed himself entirely to composing, and composed over 1000 pieces during that period, including 800 choral works. His widow and daughter continue to live in the Denver area, and the latter, Christina Lynn-Craig, carries on her father's legacy with the founding and directing of Aster Women's Chorus, based in Broomfield.
Four Pastorales, Cecil Effinger (1914-1990)
(No Mark; Noon; Basket; Wood)
One of the only composers on tonight's program who was a Colorado native, Cecil Effinger was born in Colorado Springs, studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, then taught composition at Colorado College and later at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He was the principal oboist for many years of the Denver Symphony Orchestra. This connection to the oboe is clear in this exquisite set of pieces for a cappella choir and oboe obbligato, to texts by Colorado Poet Laureate Thomas Hornsby Ferril.
© 2007 Timothy J. Krueger |