St John’s, New Briggate, Leeds, LS2 8JD
Saturday 9 May, 4.30pm
Polite request: if you are reading this during the concert, please set your device to silent. Please don’t distract other members of the audience.
- Welcome
- Practical information
- Music listing
- Overview
- About the music – text, translation and notes
- Timeline
- About St Peter’s Singers
Welcome
Welcome to this open, relaxed concert of early European sacred choral music at St John’s, given by St Peter’s Singers, directed by Alex Woodrow.
Please feel free to come and go as you like, and to take in the interior of this magnificent early Stuart church.
St John’s was opened in 1634, just eight years after King Charles I granted Leeds its first Royal Charter 400 years ago, an anniversary being widely celebrated across the city this summer. Sadly, St John’s no longer functions as a church, but is managed by the Churches Conservation Trust, who, thanks to their volunteers, open it to the public on alternate Saturdays.
Practical information
Admission to the concert is free, but a donation to the Churches Conservation Trust would be warmly welcomed. You can make it here, or by card or in cash near the door.
Please be aware that the nearest toilets are in the St John’s Centre nearby. The building is accessible to wheelchairs, which can be accommodated near the back of the church.
This post gives some background relating to the music as well as the text, an English translation, and some notes about each piece which we hope will prove interesting and make listening more enjoyable and rewarding. You will find that some unusual words are highlighted with a dotted line – just click or tap to see an explanation.
However, it is quite possible to enjoy the music by just sitting back and letting the sound wash over you. We invite you to listen in the way that feels most engaging to you — whether following the text, observing the performers, or simply letting the music fill the space around you. If you wish to applaud, that will be most welcome at the end of each piece.
Find out more about St Peter’s Singers and what to expect at a St Peter’s Singers concert
Programme
| Laus Trinitati | Hildegard |
| Urbs beata Jerusalem | Guillaume Dufay |
| Ave Maria | Josquin |
| Virgo Prudentissima | Heinrich Isaac |
| Veni, Dilecti mi | Lassus |
| Missa O Quam Gloriosam (Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei) | Tomas Luis da Vittoria |
| Haec Dies | William Byrd |
| O Rex Gloriae | Luca Marenzio |
| Ascendens Christus in altum | Raffaella Aleotti |
| O Clap Your Hands | Orlando Gibbons |
St Peter’s Singers
Alexander Woodrow conductor
About the programme
This afternoon’s programme presents a whistlestop tour of the progression of music in Europe from the late 12th century to 1624, just ten years before St John’s Church was built in Leeds. The deaths of the last great English Renaissance composers, William Byrd (1623) and Orlando Gibbons (1625), mark the end of the Renaissance period and so the opening of St John’s occurred during something of a lull before English composers found their feet with the new soundworld of the Baroque era.
Unfortunately we don’t know whether music would have formed part of the services at St John’s – it’s probably quite unlikely. But if anyone from the congregation travelled to maybe York, or London, or some of Europe’s great cities, then this is what they may have heard, what the music of that time sounded like. It may possibly seem a little strange to the modern ear on account of its modality, but it is staggeringly beautiful nonetheless, and we hope that if you’ve not heard anything like it before you will hang around and give it a chance to work its magic.
The Renaissance was possibly the most exciting time in history for composers. A number of events and inventions came together to allow a cultural “rebirth”; Petrarch brought back teachings from ancient Greece and Rome, bringing in a humanist view of the world; the great famine and black death between them decimated the population of northern Europe, but for those who survived there was more money and opportunity for art, music and literature.
Church music had consisted of plainchant sung by ear or from an aide memoir of the outline of the melodic line and with little indication of rhythm; a second line was added for accompaniment, singing in parallel to the main voice, usually at the interval of a fourth below (organum). Melody was based on modes. Each mode had a different arrangement of tones and semitones, roughly relating to the white keys on a keyboard instrument. The beginnings of musical notation at the end of the 11th century facilitated the composition of more complex melodic lines and rhythmic patterns. Composers began to experiment with tonality, Polyphony and rhythms towards a more expressive interpretation of texts. Modes gave way during this time to the form of tonality (major and minor keys) that was dominant in Western music until the beginning of the 20th-century and beyond. Modes are still used in jazz today.
Another major step was in the invention of a printing press for music manuscript in the late 15th century, which enabled composers and performers to access a wide variety of music from across Europe and to learn from different styles and traditions.
You can view a timeline showing a brief, and very selective, overview of what was happening in Britain and Europe at the times that the composers in today’s concert were living.
Texts, translations and notes
| Laus Trinitati | Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) |
Hildegard was an abbess who wrote music for the nuns to sing at their devotions. She was a visionary, a prophet, a writer on biology, medicine, botany, theology and the arts as well as a composer. Her music was rediscovered in the latter part of the 20th-century.
Laus Trinitati is a single line of plainchant, although it might have been accompanied in some way. It is written on an early form of music staff with four lines rather than the five that came later, and the melodic outline is notated, but the rhythm is indicated just by longer and shorter. It’s in the phrygian mode typical of Hildegard, characterised by the flattened second note of the mode (beginning on a keyboard E).
| Laus Trinitati, que sonus et vita ac creatrix omnium in vita ipsorum est, et que laus angelice turbe et mirus splendor archanorum, que hominibus ignota sunt, est, et que in omnibus vita est. | Praise to the Trinity—the sound and life and creativity of all within their life, the praise of the angelic host and wondrous, brilliant splendor hid, unknown to human minds, it is, and life within all things. |
| Latin collated from the transcription of Beverly Lomer and the edition of Barbara Newman; | translation by Nathaniel M. Campbell. |
| Urbs beata Jerusalem | Guillaume Dufay (ca.1397-1474) |
Dufay is thought to have been the illegitimate son of a priest and he himself was an ordained priest, working throughout Europe and composing much liturgical music, but also secular songs. This sacred Motet was written for the dedication of a church.
Urbs Beata is a fine example of the early Polyphony that grew out of organum. Dufay uses the Aeolian mode, which is a forerunner of the later minor key. It begins and ends with “open fifths”, chords without the interval of a third, looking back to organum; the addition of a third came a little later. (The “open fifths” are widely used today in jazz and pop, known as a “power chord”.)
| Urbs beata Jerusalem, dicta pacis visio, Quæ construitur in coelo [caelis] vivis ex lapidibus, Et angelis coronata ut sponsata comite | Blessed City, Heavenly Salem, Vision dear of Peace and Love, Who, of living stones upbuilded, Art the joy of Heav’n above, And, with angel cohorts circled, As a bride to earth dost move! |
| 7th or 8th century hymn for Dedication of a church based on Ephesians 2:20, 1Peter 2:5 and Revelation 21 | translated John Mason Neale |
| Ave Maria | Josquin des Prez (1440/5-1521 |
Composed in about 1485, this Motet was very popular in the 15th century, and it appeared as the first piece in the first volume of Motets ever printed. It alternates between Counterpoint and homophony, the latter drawing attention to the text. It is in the Ionian mode, which led later to the major scale. There is a middle homophonic section in triple time, in contrast to the duple time and Polyphony of the rest of the piece.
| Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, virgo serena. Ave cujus conceptio, Solemni plena gaudio, Coelestia, terrestria, Nova replet laetitia. Ave, cujus nativitas, Nostra fuit solemnitas, Ut lucifer lux oriens, Verum solem praeveniens. Ave, pia humilitas, Sine viro fecunditas, Cuius annunciatio, Nostra fuit salvatio. Ave, vera virginitas, Immaculata castitas, Cuius purificatio Nostra fuit purgatio. Ave praeclara omnibus, Angelicis virtutibus, Cujus fuit assumptio Nostra glorificatio. O Mater Dei, memento mei. Amen. | Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with you, gentil Virgin. Hail, whose conception, Full of solemn joy The heaven, the earth, Fills with new rejoicing. Hail, thou whose birth Was our festival As our luminous rising light, Coming before the true sun. Hail, pious humility, Fertility without a man, Whose annunciation, Was our salvation. Hail, true virginity, Unspotted chastity, Whose purification Was our cleansing. Hail, famous with all, Angelic virtues, Whose assumption was Our glorification. O Mother of God, Remember me. Amen. |
| Catholic prayer, based on the Gospel of Luke |
| Virgo Prudentissima | Heinrich Isaac (1450-1517) |
Isaac was a Netherlandish singer and composer who worked across Europe. Composed in 1507, this Motet is in five parts, using a cantus firmus, another development of earlier plainchant; the plainchant on which the Motet is based is heard in the first tenor line, with the other parts weaving around it.
He makes effective use of texture which is sometimes two parts, sometimes five, mostly polyphonic but with some homophonic passages to illustrate the text. It is in the Dorian mode and, like all Renaissance composers, Isaac uses accidentals to achieve a smoother vocal line, not necessarily to change key.
| Prima pars Virgo prudentissima, quae pia gaudia mundo Attulit et sphaeras omnes transcendit et astra Sub nitidis pedibus radiis et luce chorusca Liquit et ordinibus iam circumsaepta novenis Ter tribus atque ierarchiis excepta supremi Ante Dei faciem steterat patrona reorum. Dicite, qui colitis splendentia columina Olympi, Spirituum proceres, Archangeli et Angeli et almae Virtutesque throni, vos principum et agmina sancta, Vosque potestates et tu dominatio coeli, Flammantes Cherubin verbo Seraphinque creati, An vos laetitiae tantus perfuderit umquam Sensus ut aeterni matrem vidisse tonantis Consessum, coelo terraque marique potentem Reginam, cuius numen modo spiritus omnis Et genus humanum merito veneratur, adorat? | Part 1 When the most wise Virgin, who brought holy joy to the world, rose above all the spheres and left the stars beneath her shining feet in gleaming, radiant light, she was surrounded by the ninefold Ranks and received by the nine Hierarchies. She, the friend of suppliants, stood before the face of the supreme God. You who inhabit eternally the dazzling lights of Heaven Archangels, leaders of the spirits, and Angels, and sustaining virtues, and you thrones of princes, and you holy armies and you powers, and you dominions of Heaven, and you fiery Cherubim, and you Seraphim, created from the Word, say whether such a feeling of joy has ever overwhelmed you as when you saw the assembly of the Mother of the everlasting Almighty. She is the queen, powerful in Heaven, on land and at sea; |
| Secunda pars Vos, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, testamur, ad aures Illius ut castas fundetis vota precesque Pro sacro Imperio, pro Caesare Maximilano; Det Virgo omnipotens hostes superare malignos; Restituat populis pacem terrisque salutem. Hoc tibi devota carmen Georgius arte Ordinat Augusti cantor rectorque Capellae, Sclatkonius praesul Petinensis, sedulus omni Se in tua commendat studio pia gaudia, mater. Praecipuum tamen est illi, quo assumpta fuisti, Quo tu pulchra ut luna micas electa es et ut sol. | Part 2 You, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, we beg you to pour out to her chaste ears our prayers and entreaties for the sacred Empire and for Maximilian the Emperor. May the all-powerful Virgin grant that he may conquer his wicked enemies and restore peace to the nations and safety to the lands. With faithful skill Georgius, the emperor’s Precentor and Kapellmeister, rehearses this anthem for you. The Governor of the Province of Austria, diligent in all things, earnestly commends himself to your holy pleasure, mother. The highest place, however, belongs to Him by whom you were taken up, so that you shine beautiful as the moon, excellent as the sun. |
| Cantus firmus Virgo prudentissima, quo progrederis, quasi aurora valde rutilans? Filia Sion. Tota formosa et suavis es: pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol. | Cantus firmus Virgin most wise, where are you going, shining out as brightly as the dawn, Daughter of Sion? You are most comely and merciful, beautiful as the moon, excellent as the sun. |
| Veni, Dilecti mi | Orlando di Lassus (1532-1594) |
Born in the Netherlands, Lassus’ early works were madrigals, but later he composed mostly for the church. Like other composers of his time he travelled across Europe.
Composed in 1571, this Motet is a setting of words from the Song of Songs which was interpreted in the Renaissance church as referring to the virgin Mary. It is in the Aeolian mode, but with E as its tonal centre rather than A. There is evidence of a movement towards the major and minor keys of later composers. The first section ends with a perfect cadence in the dominant key with a Tierce de Picardy (a sharpened third to make the final chord major rather than minor.) There is another Tierce de Picardy at the end of the piece, hinting at a major/minor tonality rather than a modal one.
| Veni, dilecte mi, egrediamur in agro, commoremur in villis. Mane surgamus ad vineas, videamus si floruit vinea, si flores fructus parturiunt, si floruerunt mala punica. Ibi dabo tibi ubera mea. | Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards. Let us see if the vines have budded, if the blossoms have opened, if the pomegranate is in blossom. There I will give you my breasts. |
| Song of Songs 7:11-12 |
| Missa O Quam Gloriosum | Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611) |
| Gloria – Sanctus – Benedictus – Agnus Dei |
Victoria was a Spanish priest and organist held in high esteem in the late Renaissance. The music for this Mass is based on Victoria’s Motet of the same name – Motets and Masses were a staple of church music at the time. It is written in the mixolydian mode (beginning on a keyboard G), in Victoria’s hands frequently sounding like G major. Composed in 1583, the Mass is outstanding for its simplicity and effect.
In Polyphony, where each voice follows a line, sometimes there are clashing intervals between voices. When tonality was settled these anomalies were avoided, but they were accepted as normal when music was still emerging from the modal. There is an example of this in the Benedictus when the sopranos are singing A♮ and the altos have an A♭
The text and translation of the Mass can be accessed here.
| Haec Dies | William Byrd (1540-1623) |
A Catholic in a hostile Protestant England, Byrd managed to maintain his faith while staying out of trouble.
Composed in 1591, Haec Dies is a glad and almost madrigal-like setting of Psalm 117:24, a joyful text for Easter. It is from the third of Byrd’s published collections of Cantiones Sacrae. By this stage tonality is settled in Western music. There is also a sense of moving towards a regular metre, although bar lines were still a thing of the future. There is a triple time section in the middle for the word exultamus, with dancing cross-rhythms that express the joy of the text.
| Haec dies quam fecit Dominus; exultemus et laetemur in ea. Alleluia. | This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Alleluia. |
| Psalm 118, Proper for Easter Day |
| O Rex Gloriae | Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) |
Marenzio was an Italian singer, lutenist and renowned composer of madrigals. His influence spread as far as England, helping to popularise the madrigal form. He also wrote music for the church, including, in 1585, this Motet for the Feast of Ascension.
Marenzio continues in the Renaissance tradition of Polyphony, with a homophonic passage for the prayer “ne derelinquas nos orphanos” (leave us not orphans) for dramatic expression.
| O Rex Gloriae, Domine virtutum, qui triumphator hodie super omnes coelos ascendisti, ne derelinquas nos orphanos, sed mitte promissum Patris in nos Spiritum Veritatis Alleluia. | O King of glory, Lord of all goodness, who ascended to heaven on this day triumphant over all, do not leave us as orphans but send us the Father’s promise, the spirit of truth. Alleluia. |
| Collect (prayer) for Sunday after Ascension Day |
| Ascendens Christus in Altum | Raffaella Aleotti (1575-after 1620) |
This piece is number 15 in Aleotti’s Sacrae Cantiones published in 1593. An Augustinian nun, Aleotti was a skilled organist and musician who wrote and directed the nuns in her convent, but who was known and admired much more widely across Italy.
In this piece homophonic writing is reserved for the “alleluias”, which are repeated, almost as verse and chorus. If only female voices were available, the lower parts would probably have been played on instruments.
| Ascendens Christus in altum, Alleluia Captivam duxit captivitatem, Alleluia Dedit dona hominibus, Alleluia Ascendit Deus in jubilatione, Alleluia | When he ascended on high, Alleluia he made captivity itself a captive, Alleluia he gave gifts to his people, Alleluia God is gone up with a merry noise, Alleluia |
| based on Ephesians 4:8 |
| O Clap Your Hands | Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625) |
Born in Oxford, Gibbons was organist in the Chapel Royal, and Westminster Abbey. Composed in 1622, O Clap Your Hands was first performed at a ceremony when a friend (William Heather) received the degree of Doctor of Music.
This anthem is celebratory in style, based on words from Psalm 47. It is a wonderful example of late Renaissance English church music, written for double choir, making full use of antiphonal singing and polyphonic voicing within a firmly tonal framework.
| O clap your hands together, all ye people : O Sing unto God with the voice of melody. For the Lord is high, and to be feared : he is the great King upon all the earth. He shall subdue the people under us : and the nations under our feet. He shall choose out an heritage for us : even the worship of Jacob, whom he loved. God is gone up with a merry noise : and the Lord with the sound of the trump. O sing praises, sing praises unto our God : O sing praises, sing praises unto our King. For God is the King of all the earth : sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen : God sitteth upon his holy seat. For God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield. |
| Psalm 47 |
Timeline
This timeline gives you a brief, and very selective, overview of what was happening in Britain and Europe at the times that the composers in today’s concert were living.
| Composers in this programme | Historical Timeline | Selected events and figures in European culture |
| Hildegard of Bingen 1098-1179 | – 1000 Early form of music notation c.1025 Norman Conquest 1066 Domesday Book 1086 Magna Carta 1215 | Dante, 1265-1321 |
| – 1300 England population c. 4m The Great Famine in N. Europe 1315-1317 The Hundred years’ War starts (England and France) 1337 The Black Death across Europe 1346-1353 | Francis Petrarch (a “founder” of the Renaissance humanist era) 1304-1374 Geoffrey Chaucer 1343-1400 First translation of the Bible from Latin into English, John Wycliffe, 1382-1395 | |
| Guillaume Dufay 1397-1474 Josquin des Pres 1440/5-1521 Heinrich Isaac 1450-1517 | – 1400 England population c. 2m First printing press 1440 The Wars of the Roses 1450s The first Tudor King, Henry VII 1485 Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas 1492 First printed music 1498 | The Medici family bankrolled Italian art and culture throughout the 15th century Leonardo Da Vinci 1452-1519 Michelangelo 1475-1564 Raphael 1483-1525 Machiavelli, Italian statesman and political philosopher 1469 1527 |
Orlando di Lassus 1532-1594 William Byrd 1540-1623 Luis di Victoria 1548-1611 Luca Marenzio 1553-1599 Raphaella Aleotti 1575-after 1620 Orlando Gibbons 1583-1625 | – 1500 The Reformation 1534 Queen Mary 1553, tried to restore Catholicism Queen Elizabeth I 1559, enforced Protestantism The Spanish Armada 1588 | Thomas Tallis 1505-1585 Nicolaus Copernicus argued that the earth circles the sun, 1515 Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses of 1517 helped launch the Reformation Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina 1525-1594 Giovanni Gabrieli 1554-1612 John Dowland 1563-1626 Carlo Gesualdo 1566-1613 Francis Bacon (pioneer of modern science) 1561-1626 William Shakespeare 1564 1616 English “Metaphysical” poets e.g. John Donne 1572-1631 |
| – 1600 The Stuart Kings, England and Scotland (uneasily) united 1603 Leeds granted its Royal Charter 1626 St John’s Church opens 1634 | Inigo Jones (Palladian architecture) 1573-1652 |
