UMS Concert Program, February 24, 1980: Founders Day Concert --

Season: 101st
Concert: Fifty-first
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Founders Day Concert
The Festival Chorus
DONALD BRYANT, Conductor
Carlotta Wilsen, Soprano John McCollum, Tenor
Rosemary Russell, Contralto Willis Patterson, Bass
Student soloists: Gail Mitchell, Soprano, and Uzee Brown, Jr., Bass
MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Nancy Hodge, Harpsichordist Peter Van Eenam, Organist
Sunday Afternoon, February 24, 1980, at 4:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
In order that the continuity of the work be maintained, it is requested that the audience refrain from applause until the end of each part of the program.
Concerto No. 13 in F major for Organ and Orchestra......Handel
("The Cuckoo and The Nightingale") Excerpts: Larghetto, Allegro, Organum ad libitum
Peter Van Eenam
Oratorio, Israel in Egypt............Handel
Part I--Exodus
Tenor--Now there arose a new king over Tenor--Then sent He Moses, His servant,
Egypt, which knew not Joseph; and he set and Aaron whom He had chosen; these shewed
over Israel taskmasters to afflict them with His signs among them, and wonders in the
burthens, and they made them serve with land of Ham.
rigour. He turned their waters into blood.
Contralto and Double Chorus--And the
children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondChorus--They loathed to drink of the river,
age, and their cry came up unto God. They He turned their waters into blood,
oppressed them with burthens, and made them sjrve with rigour; and their cry came up unto God.
101st Season -Fifty-first Concert Special Concert
Contralto--Their land brought forth frogs, yea even in their king's chambers.
He gave their cattle over to the pestilence; blotches and blains broke forth on man and beast.
Double Chorus--He spake the word, and there came all manner of flies and lice in all their quarters.
He spake; and the locusts came without number, and devoured the fruits of the ground.
He gave them hailstones for rain; fire mingled with the hail ran along upon the ground.
Chorus--He sent a thick darkness over the land, even darkness which might be felt.
He smote all the first-born of Egypt, the chief of all their strength.
But as for His people, He led them forth like
sheep; He brought them out with silver and gold; there was not one feeble person among their tribes.
Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them fell upon them.
Double Chorus--He rebuked the Red Sea, and it was dried up.
Chorus--He led them through the deep as through a wilderness.
But the waters overwhelmed their enemies, there was not one of them left.
Double Chorus--And Israel saw that great work that the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord.
Chorus--And believed the Lord and His servant Moses.
INTERMISSION
Part II--Moses' Song
Double Chorus--Moses and the children of Israel sang this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying: I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.
Soprano Duet--The Lord is my strength and my song; He is become my salvation.
Double Chorus--He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.
Bass Duet--The Lord is a man of war: Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea; his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
Double Chorus--The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power; Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
And in the greatness of Thine excellency Thou hast overthrown them that rose up against Thee.
Thou sentest forth Thy wrath, which con?sumed them as stubble.
Chorus--And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
Tenor--The enemy said I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
Soprano--Thou didst blow with the wind, the sea covered them; they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Double Chorus--Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders
Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
Contralto and Tenor--Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth Thy people which Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation.
Double Chorus--The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on them: all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away: by the greatness of Thy arm they shall be as still as a stone; till Thy people pass over, O Lord, which Thou hast purchased.
Contralto--Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thine in?heritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanc?tuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have estab?lished.
Double Chorus--The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
Tenor--For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Double Chorus--The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
Tenor--And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam an?swered them:
Soprano and Double Chorus--Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.
February 24, 1980
This day marks the 100th birthday of the University Musical Society. On February 24, 1880, the founders adopted the formal constitution, and the Musical Society, with its counterpart the Choral Union chorus, has been maintained continuously since that date. Four months after this historic beginning, the Society directors established the School of Music which was administered by the Society until 1940, thus in this present season the School of Music is celebrating its 100th year. In the spirit of an anniversary salutation and collaboration, this program includes distinguished faculty soloists and participating students of the School of Music.
The Festival Chorus has had a very productive yet brief history. Organized in 1969 with its members selected from the larger Choral Union, it has performed annually in various settings, with a repertoire consisting of masses, cantatas, songs, and works with orchestra. Members of the Festival Chorus toured Europe in 1976, and in 1979 gave concerts in the Egyptian cities of Cairo and Alexandria, under the direction of Donald Bryant.
Israel in Egypt
George Frederick Handel (1685-1759) decided to live in England in 1714 and in 1726 became a British subject. His interest centered on the opera but he soon became familiar with the anthem, a particularly British musical genre which became a part of the Anglican Church liturgy. Thus the twelve anthems Handel wrote for the Duke of Chandos and those for the coronation of George II are important forerunners of his oratorios. Handel's oratorio Esther, written c. 1720, marked the beginning of oratorio in England, probably presented in costume with elements of stage production. But because the Bishop of London disapproved of stage action in Biblical presentations, the form in which Handel was to compose his greatest works came into being. Finding that there was an audience for unstaged Biblical music-dramas, Handel wrote Deborah and then Athalia, considered the first great English oratorio. In 1738 he began work on Israel in Egypt, using Biblical verses from Exodus and Psalms 78, 105, and 106. He wrote "Moses' Song" which now forms the second part of the oratorio, completing it in eleven days, and then composed "Exodus," now the first part, in the incredibly short time of two weeks.
Israel in Egypt represents a striking change from Handel's previous oratorios, in that no other work is so predominantly choral. The score includes four short recitatives, four arias, three ducts, and 2S choral numbers of varied length. With the conspicuous absence of the fashionable da capo aria, Handel ruled out the possibility of vocal display on a grand scale, thus shifting the emphasis to the chorus. Israel in Egypt became the choral oratorio par excellence--"the greatest choral epic which exists," according to Romain Rolland, famous French author and musicologist. There is a great variety in the choral writing: four-part and eight-part pieces (18 double choruses) that are treated either polyphonically in fugues and double fugues or chordally, sometimes in a recitative-like manner. The few arias and duets offer lyrical interludes between the dramatic choruses, which depict natural events such as the catastrophe brought about by flies, locusts, and hailstorms, and the breath-taking description of the disaster that befell the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
It was not an unusual practice of the times for composers to borrow musical materials from other composers, and Handel was no exception. In Israel in Egypt, Handel "borrowed" musical ideas from works by two totally forgotten composers, Dionigi Erba and Francesco Antonio Urio, both clerics and older contemporaries of Handel, as well as ideas from his teacher Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau, and the famous German organist Johann Kaspar Kerrl. Last but not least, he reused some of his own music. For example, the subject of the double fugue, "He smote all the first-born," is also known from Handel's harpsichord compositions and reappears in Messiah.
In Handelian tradition, the oratorio in performance is most often preceded by an overture or short piece from some other work, the most common in usage today being the overture to another of Handel's oratorios, Solomon. The first performance of Israel in Egypt took place on April 4, 1739 "with several Concertos on the Organ and particularly a new one," as announced in the London Daily Post. In keeping with the spirit of that first performance, this afternoon's concert begins with two movements from Handel's Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major and Mr. Van Eenam's own im-improvisation leading into the tenor recitative which begins the oratorio.
The significance of this Founders Day celebration is heightened as the University Musical Society presents this great oratorio for the first time in its 100-year history.
THE FESTIVAL CHORUS
Donald Bryant, Conductor
Leif Bjaland, Assistant Conductor
Nancy Hodge, Accompanist Stephen Bates, Manager
First Sopranos
Kimberly Jo Buechner Letitia Byrd Susan Campbell Beverly Chapdelaine Elaine Cox Gladys Hanson Sylvia Jenkins Carolyn Leyh Doris Luecke Loretta Meissner Suzanne Mitchell Kanvyn Rigan Alice Schneider Mary Ann Sincock Joanne Westman Nancy Williams
Second Sopranos
Christine Arnison Kathy Berry Wilma Greening Mary Hiraga Alice Horning Beth Lipson Mary Jo McElheron Karen Myhre Charlotte Nametz Barbara Nordman Eleanor Overdeck Virginia Reese Carolyn Richards Suzanne Schluederberg Patricia Tompkins Christine Wendt Kathleen Young
First Altos Martha Ause Melodie Blacklidge Ella Brown Marion Brown Lael Cappaert Sally Carpenter Jan Engardio Carol Hurwitz Janice Johnson Dawn Kalis Nancy Karp Geraldine Koupal Johanna Kowitz Lois Nelson Kathi Rosenzweig Martha Swartz Helen Thornton Charlotte Wolfe
Second Altos Marjorie Iiaird Mary Haab Katherine Klykylo Elsie Lovelace Melda Morrow Susan Nisbett Beverly Rocger Joan Roth Carol Spencer Kathryn Stebbins Margaret Thompson Helen Welford
First Tenors Hugh Brown Bruce Carter Tim Dombrowski
Paul Lowry Robert MacGregor James McNally Dennis Rigan
Second Tenors William Bronson John Alan Comfort Albert Girod Donald Haworth Jay Klein Carl Smith David Woods
First Basses Mark Avenmarg Mark Bush Steven Daugherty George Dental David Engman Thomas Hagerty Jon Hosier Con Jeffries Klair Kissel William Ling Lawrence Lohr Sol Metz Steven Spencer David Varner
Second Basses Howard Bond John Dietrich Alfred Meyer Raymond Schankin Wallace Schonschack Terril Tompkins John Van Bolt
MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Gustav Meier, Director
First Violins Maria Smith,
conccrtmistrcss David Dyer Joan LaFournaisc I'atti Gouvas Ann Stupay Karen C.'olcman
Second Violins
Karen Damerau, principal
Debbie Schmaltz
Irene Roth
Andrea Hundra
M:irlene Rice
Gary Kapheim
Violas
Margaret Lang, principal
Yvonne Cranga
John Madison Esther Rothenbusch
Cellos
Douglass McNames. principal Suzy Ross Lynn I'eithman Barbara Deppe
Double Basses K'????'?; Hautista Harlan Hutson
Oboes
Bonnie Griffiths
Cindy Koledo
Bassoons
Dean Zimmerman
Jennifer Kelley
Trumpets Deborah Koch David Olson
Trombones Charlotte Leonard Annalee Anderson lirian Robson
Timpani Matt Barber
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
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