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Publication Date

Winter 12-6-2008

Year of Release

2008

Note(s)

Saturday, December 6th, 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, December 7th 3:00 p.m.

David Castleberry, conductor

Burcu Korkmaz Delph, soprano

Ann McDaniel, Michele Schiavone, alto

Mitchell Spurlock, Adam Stephenson, tenor

P. Jackson Meador, bass

David Castleberry, conductor

Delta Omicron, MU's music fraternity, would like to begin renovation of the choir room next summer. Donation boxes will be at ticket sales before the concert and outside the recital hall after the concert. Any donations will help.

MU Chamber Choir

David Castleberry, conductor

Mark Smith, pianist

Kelsey Anderson, Jennifer Billups, Jeseca Bragg, Kaitlin DeSpain, Burcu Korkmaz Delph, Jessica Kline, Halley Kurtz, Leeah Weber, soprano

Staci Arthur, Rachel Bartram, Erin Corbitt, Gabrielle Gardner, Allie Hughes, Brittany Kimball, Briana McElfish, Rachel Parlock, alto

Edward Brown, Michael Elmore, John Galloway, Andrew Lowers, Matthew Pritt, Michael Rose, Michael Sidoti, Mitchell Spurlock, Adam Stephenson, Justin Wiget, tenor

David Hines, David Patrick, Blake Racer, William Reuschel, William Richards, Matthew Sparks, Fred Workman, bass

MU Orchestra

Solen Dikener, conductor

Abby Holmes, concertmaster, Korey Jividen, Lindsay DiFatta, Tim Feverston, George Beter, Elizabeth Reed Smith, Rebecca Lepanto, Sam Bauserman, violin I

Janet Bromley, Sercan Anaer, Joel Hatfield, Lauren Keller, Emiko Hori, Eric Williamson, Basil Dixon, Kelcey Elaine Perkins, violin II

Dilek Engin, Jame Mccumbee, Lauren McDaniel, viola

Caitlin Zirkle, James Kiger, Jamie Dzierzak, Dean Pauley, Joshua Wassum, Melinda Littlejohn, Keely Frazier, cello

Rebecca Murphy, bass

Laura Johnson, Cassandra Thompson-Chapman, oboe

Robert Heath, Rebecca Adkins, clarinet

Kay Lawson, Lauren Kemp, bassoon

Mindy Kelle, Kristen Liegy, horn

Jackson Armstrong, Mary Heath, trumpet

Jeff Blair, Alex Conn, Michael Stroeher, trombone

Neal Titus, timpani

MU Choral Union

David Castleberry, conductor

Mark Smith, pianist

Justin Altizer, Faith Balshaw, JoAnne Beals, Heath Bozonie, Mary Beth Brown, Nancy Campbell, Melody Cook, Ruth Crowe, Kelli Dailey, Georgette Elwell, S. Ashley Gallaher, Maria Tulia Gomez, Melanie Griffis, Craig P. Hinchman, Jennifer Honaker, Gwenyth E. Hood, Jeanne Hubbard, John L. Hubbard, Edward Jeffery, William Jennings, Tina Hill John, Barbara Ladner, Charles C. Lewis, Margaret Ann Lewis, Maryna Lvovska, Lee Ann Lykens, Jessica McClure, Ann McDaniel, Nick McDonald, Marjorie M. McKee, Randy McMullen, P. Jackson Meador, Maria Teresa Miller, Joan Molnar, Anne Myers, Sarah Nichols, G.D. Nixon, Charlotte Nixon, Judy Owens, Sue Parker, Pat Pierce, Frances Plemich, Irina Presnyakova, Pamela D. Ramsey, Beth Rankin, Graham Rankin, Michele Schiavone, Momoko Shiki, Joseph E. Smith, Lou Spears, Gertrude Spurlock, Adam Stephenson, Carla Rae Terry, Caroline Thomas, Mary Thornton, Monica Wang, Tim Watts, Joyce Wilcox, Deborah Willis, Paul Winters, Heather Wood, Sue D. Woods,

Marshall University Chorus

Robert Wray, conductor

Justin Wiget, pianist

Kelsey Anderson, JoAnne Beals, Daina Berry, Erin Collins, Erin Corbitt, Kaitlin DeSpain, Amber Hay, Erica Keyliah Lanham, Kara Legg, Amber Martin, Jasmine Norwood, Jami Saunders-Jarrett, Rachael Siders Kelsey Storage, Kayla Turner, Sara Vorac, Diana Vorhees, Aurelia Ward, soprano

Staci Arthur, Rachel Bartram, Megan Collier, Lindsay DiFatta, Jannah Dillon, Ashton Ernst, Elizabeth M. Gibson, Kristen Hainkel, Brittany Kimball, Marissa Reardon, Christina Riley, Catrese Thomason, alto

Russell Akerley, Edward Brown, Casey Edwards, Ian Ferrell, Ian Gaunt, Billy Holderby, Lucas Ibrogno McKeown, Andrew Lowers, David Pemberton, Michael Rose, Christopher Stuart, Paul Wetzig, tenor

Joe Bradley, Jason Breslin, Daniel Holderby, Tyler Knight, T .K. Lombardo, Christopher Miller, Dustin Moraczewski, Danilo Moraes, Andrew O'Neal, Jerry Stalnaker, Chris Tucker, Sean Webb, Fred Workman, Michael Wright, bass

Program Notes

After the death of Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828), his friends, family and biographers sought to present him as the quintessential suffering artist, a devoted son who was forced to rely on the charity of friends, a misunderstood artist who burned manuscripts for warmth, a musician ignored by publishers and the public, cut down in the prime of life, a devoutly pious man whose mistress was music. While rumors persisted about Schubert's hedonistic tendencies, his propensity for drink, and his apparent inability to manage money, some biographies elevated him to near sainthood. This false narrative persisted until the late 20th Century, concealing the truth and hiding the paradoxes that defined the composer and the man. Intensely private, Schubert left behind little personal correspondence that might have painted a clearer picture.

Schubert's darkest demon is betrayed by the illness that cut short his life. In January 1823, he was diagnosed with syphilis, whose symptoms led him to eschew the spotlight enjoyed by his contemporary, Beethoven. Between 1823 and 1825, a time during which Schubert enjoyed numerous successful publications, his disease worsened, pushing him further into depression and alcohol.

Between 1825 and 1826, Schubert's health improved to the point that he hoped he had experienced a spontaneous cure. By the time of Beethoven's funeral in March 1827, for which he served as torchbearer, however, Schubert's headaches had returned. By August of 1828, Schubert again sought professional medical attention and was likely given mercury. Confined to bed in late October, he hovered between lucidity and delirium, at times feeling well enough to correct the publisher proofs for Der Winterreise. Schubert died on November 19th. The death certificate cites "nervous fever" as the cause.

Even when illness ravaged his body, Schubert composed prolifically. He began the Mass in E-flat major in June 1828, probably finishing it by September. That Schubert turned his hand to writing a mass is something of a conundrum. Some scholars posit that a performance by the Society for the Performance of Church Music was in the works for October, though no evidence of such a commission survives. While early biographers would have us believe that the work reflected Schubert's devout Catholicism, evidence suggests otherwise. Some scholars have seen the work as Schubert's attempt to delve into more "profound" genres, as represented by this work and his final two symphonies but, given that he had composed his expansive Mass in A-flat major in 1819 and had been composing symphonies steadily, this seems unlikely. A more likely explanation is that Schubert was paying tribute to Beethoven. Like Mozart before him, Schubert had in his final months composed a work that would be his own tribute. The Mass in Eb was premiered under the direction of Schubert's brother lain in state.

Although we assume from his father's pious devotion that Schubert attended Mass as a child, his adult relationship with the state religion of Vienna is largely unknown. He composed sacred music throughout his life, including four short Masses (in the Missa Brevis tradition), two large-scale masses, several Psalm settings, motets, and a cantata/oratorio on the story of Lazarus. Schubert's scant diary entries on the subject seem to point toward Enlightenment ideals that blend humanism and Platonism in which man's time on earth is an ascent toward divine perfection.

In all six of his Mass settings, Schubert omits the portion of the Credo that refers specifically to the Church: "[Credo] in unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam" ("I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church”'). Whether this act was subversive or not cannot be determined definitively. Mozart had often omitted portions of the Credo, even arranging passages so that each vocal part sang a different text line to dispatch a lengthy text quickly. This was typical of the Missa Brevis tradition. Schubert had practiced the same in his four early short masses, but would not have had to do this with his last two settings, both full-sized large-scale works, leaving us to speculate as to his motives.

In the Mass in Eb, Schubert's primary concern seems to have been musical design rather than textural clarity. The work is predominantly choral, with vocal solos kept to a minimum. Symphonic structure is evoked m all five movements, with the orchestra assuming an active role. The "Kyrie" is a typical three-part ABA design, but the middle section or "Christe’ is highly charged, as is the coda. Schubert showed an interest in counterpoint near the end of his life, seeking lessons from Vienna’s foremost contrapuntalist, Simon Sechter. The "Gloria" and "Credo" reflect this interest, concluding as they do with massive fugal sections. Schubert's unusual treatment of the "Credo" text at the Resurrection is noteworthy. Where one expects celebration, complete with trumpets and drums, Schubert returns instead to the ominous timpani rolls that open the movement. Apart from the "Credo," the most perplexing movement is the darkly haunting "Agnus Dei," whose anguished chromaticism is based on the C-minor fugue of Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier book 1. In the end, the peace usually evoked by the "Dona nobis" is threatened by a return of material from the beginning of the movement, so that the final repetitions bring not serenity, but urgency. Vicki Stroeher

Mass

Kyrie

Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy.

Christe, eleison. Christ, have mercy.

Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy.

Gloria

Gloria in excelsis Deo,

et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.

Laudamus te. Benedicimus te.

Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.

Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam.

Domine Deus, Rex coelestis,

Deus Pater omnipotens,

Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe;

Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris:

qui tollis peccata mundi,

miserere nobis;

qui tollis peccata mundi,

suscipe deprecationem nostram;

qui sedes ad dexteram Patris,

miserere nobis.

Quoniam tu solus Sanctus,

tu colus Dominus,

tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe.

Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris.

Amen.

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth peace to men of goodwill.

We praise You. We bless You.

We adore You. We glorify You.

We give you thanks for Your great glory.

Lord God, Heavenly King,

Almighty God the Father,

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father;

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

You take away the sins of the world;

have mercy on us;

You take away the sins of the world;

receive our prayer;

You sit at the right hand of the Father;

have mercy on us.

For you alone are holy,

You alone are the Lord,

You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of

God the Father.

Amen.

Credo

Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem coeli et terrae, visibilium omnium, et invisibilium.

Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum Filium Dei unigenitum.

Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero.

Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: per quern onmia facta sunt.

Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis.

Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine: et homo factus est.

Crucifixus etiam pro nobis: sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est.

Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas.

Et ascendit in coelum: sedet ad dexteram Patris.

Et iterum venturus est cum Gloria judicare vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis.

Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem: qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.

Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas.

Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostlicam Ecclesiam.

Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.

Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum.

Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.

I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, Of all that is seen and unseen.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father.

God from God, Light from Light, True God from true God; begotten, not made; of one being with the Father; through Him all things were made.

For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary and was made man.

for our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He shall come again in glory to judge both the living and dead, and His kingdom shall have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; with the Father and the Son He is worshipped and glorified; He has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead, And the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Sanctus

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth: Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.

Hosanna in excelsis.

Benedictus quit venit in nomine Domini:

Hosanna in excelsis.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might;

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world; have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world; grant us peace.

Note

Smith Recital Hall

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music

Marshall University Music Department Presents the MU Choral Union, with, MU Chorus, Chamber Choir & MU Orchestra, performing, Franz Schubert's Mass in E-flat

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