A Choral feast of Romantic masterpieces
Saturday 17 October 4.30pm
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- Welcome
- If you’re new to classical concerts
- Practical information
- Music listing
- About the music
- Texts, translations and notes
- About St Peter’s Singers
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Welcome
Welcome to this concert of great choral music given in the historic setting of St Mary’s Church in Whitkirk. With a carefully chosen mix of English pastoral part-songs, sacred German Motets, and the deeply moving Songs of Farewell composed by Hubert Parry in his twilight years, this programme has something for everyone, and we hope that if some of it is a bit unfamiliar, you will still be able to sit back, relax and let its magic work for you!
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.
St Peter’s Singers would like to thank the Vicar and PCC of St Mary’s Church most warmly for hosting this afternoon’s concert and making us so welcome.
Please note that audio and video recording of this concert is not permitted.
If you’re new to classical concerts…
we’re really glad you’re here! Classical concerts can feel a little different if you haven’t been to many before. They’re calmer, more spacious, and built around close listening rather than spectacle. You don’t need any background knowledge to enjoy them. Just settle in, let the sound unfold, and take the experience at your own pace.
Fun fact: We call this a “classical” concert, but none of tonight’s music is from the Classical period (1750–1830, the era of Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn). “Classical” has simply become a convenient umbrella term for centuries of Western art music, even though the styles within it vary hugely.
What to expect: this afternoon’s music is drawn from a number of different strands and styles that all fit under the term ‘Romantic’, not because they concern themselves with romantic love, but because they were all written in the period known as the Romantic period, which for music means roughly 1820-1900 although its characteristics lingered well beyond that with some composers born late within that period. Typically the music is characterised by rich harmonies underpinning sweeping broad melodies in music conceived on a grand scale.
This concert is all sung a cappella, that is without any accompaniment from the organ or an orchestra, leaving the fabulous sound of human voices interacting and joining with each to make some of the most thrilling sounds imaginable, and to communicate some of the deepest of human emotions.
Not sure when to clap? Just follow the room, no pressure to get it “right”.
You can find out more about what to expect here.
In case this is your first encounter with this kind of music, we hope it opens a door and we’d love to hear what you made of it afterwards. Now sit back and enjoy the performance!
Practical information
There will be an interval of 20 minutes, during which refreshments will be served in the adjoining community centre.
Accessibility: There is step-free access to most public areas of the building. Most public areas are accessible to wheelchair users, although some spaces are narrow. The flooring within the church building is mostly York stone flag paving, with some concrete and wood.
There are two accessible parking spaces next to the neighbouring Community Centre. There is step-free access from these spaces to the church building. The surfaces are tarmac, concrete flagstones and bonded resin path.
We do not have fixed wheelchair spaces, but wheelchair users are welcome to remain in their wheelchair and sit either at the front or rear of the building, or to transfer to pews if they are able. Please let any of the team know if you need help finding a space or storing a wheelchair.
Seating
Most seating in the church building is on fixed wooden bench pews with backs, which may have limited legroom. There is a shallow step up to all pews.
Find out more about St Peter’s Singers and what to expect at a St Peter’s Singers concert
Programme
| My spirit sang all day | Gerald Finzi |
| Linden Lea | Ralph Vaughan Williams |
| The Turtle Dove | Ralph Vaughan Williams |
| The Blue Bird | Charles Villiers Stanford |
| Ave Maria | Anton Bruckner |
| Tantum ergo | Déodat de Severac |
| Warum ist das Licht gegeben | Johannes Brahms |
Interval
| Songs of Farewell | Hubert Parry |
St Peter’s Singers
Alexander Woodrow conductor
About the music
This afternoon’s music is drawn from a number of different strands and styles that all fit under the term ‘Romantic’, not because they concern themselves with romantic love, but because they were all written in the period known as the Romantic period, which for music means roughly 1820-1900 although its characteristics lingered well beyond that with some composers whose formative years came late within that period. Typically the music is characterised by rich harmonies underpinning sweeping broad melodies in music conceived on a grand scale.
We begin with some delightful English part-songs from the early 20th century, composed by Finzi, Vaughan Williams, and Stanford, who all had their musical origins in the Romantic period, even if – as with Vaughan Williams and Finzi – they later outgrew Romantic music, adapting to the new world that emerged after the First World War.
Next we step back in time and over to the continent of Europe and into the world of religious music. The Austrian Anton Bruckner is famous for his large scale symphonies, but he was also a church organist who left a number of superb Motets notable for their rich harmonies and grand scale. His Ave Maria is a fine example. Déodat de Severac’s Tantum ergo, which may be familiar to some, is a finely wrought Motet from France, before Brahms’ epic Warum ist das Licht gegeben explores the meaning of human existence and demonstrates his mastery of both harmony and Counterpoint.
The second half is given over to the six songs which Hubert Parry composed in his twilight years before his death in 1918. Parry is better known perhaps for his tunes for the hymns Jerusalem and Dear Lord and Father of mankind, but these songs are undeniably masterpieces of choral writing, demonstrating an attentive ear for the texts and a imaginative and complete mastery of harmony as he builds from four parts in the first two songs, through to eight parts in the extended last song.
Texts, translations and notes
My spirit sang all day | Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)
This is a setting of a poem by Robert Bridges. Finzi was introspective and reclusive, which is not evident in this song. He was a fine setter of words and this piece was written shortly before his marriage to Joy(ce) Black. He also saved a number of rare English apples from extinction!
My spirit sang all day
O my joy
Nothing my tongue could say,
Only My joy!
My heart an echo caught
O my joy
And spake, tell me thy thought,
Hide not thy joy.
My eyes gan peer around,
O my joy
What beauty hast thou found?
Shew us thy joy.
My jealous ears grew whist;
O my joy
Music from heaven is’t,
Sent for our joy?
She also came and heard;
O my joy,
What, said she, is this word?
What is thy joy?
And I replied,
O see, O my joy,
‘Tis thee, I cried, ’tis thee:
Thou art my joy.
Text: Robert Bridges (1844-1930)
Linden Lea | Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
An enthusiastic collector of English folk tunes, Vaughan Williams used a Dorset folk song in this setting of words by poet William Barnes, himself from Dorset.
Within the woodlands, flow’ry gladed,
By the oak trees’ mossy moot,
The shining grass blades, timber shaded,
Now do quiver underfoot;
And birds do whistle overhead,
And water’s bubbling in its bed;
And there for me, the apple tree
Do lean down low in Linden Lea.
When leaves, that lately were a-springing,
Now do fade within the copse,
And painted birds do hush their singing,
Up upon the timber tops;
And brown leaved fruit’s a-turning red,
In cloudless sunshine overhead,
With fruit for me, the apple tree
Do lean down low in Linden Lea.
Let other folk make money faster
In the air of dark-room’d towns;
I don’t dread a peevish master,
Though no man may heed my frowns.
I be free to go abroad,
Or take again my homeward road
To where, for me, the apple tree
Do lean down low in Linden Lea.
Text: William Barnes (1801-1886)
The Turtle Dove | Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Ralph Vaughan Williams is well known for collecting English folksongs in an attempt to preserve this important part of our culture. His gift for arranging them without losing their essential character is beautifully demonstrated by this charming love song that he had heard several years previously, sung by an innkeeper in Sussex.
Fare you well my dear I must be gone
and leave you for a while
If I roam away I’ll come back again
Though I roam ten thousand miles, my dear
Though I roam ten thousand miles
So fair though art my bonney lass
So deep in love as I
But I never will prove false to the bonney lass I love
Till the stars fall from the sky my dear
Till the stars fall from the sky
The sea will never run dry my dear
Nor the rocks never melt with the sun
But I never will prove false to the bonney lass I love
Till all these things be done my dear
Till all these things be done
O yonder doth sit that little turtle dove
He doth sit on yonder high tree
A making a moan for the loss of his love
As I will do for thee my dear
As I will do for thee
Text: Traditional
Soloist: David Hawkin
The Blue Bird | Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
Charles Stanford’s motionless, almost hallucinatory setting of Mary Coleridge’s poem provides a complete contrast to the Finzi. It is one of the most popular secular choral pieces from the Edwardian period with its soaring soprano solo, and exquisite image of perfect beauty.
The lake lay blue below the hill.
O’er it, as I looked, there flew
Across the waters, cold and still,
A bird whose wings were palest blue.
The sky above was blue at last,
The sky beneath me blue in blue.
A moment, ere the bird had passed,
It caught his image as he flew.
Text: Mary E Coleridge (1861-1907)
Soloist: Debbie Trigg
Ave Maria | Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
Bruckner is best known for his epic symphonies. He was also a devout Catholic and a composer of fine sacred music. This Motet was first performed in Linz Cathedral where he was organist. It was much appreciated by the choir, who applauded it twice! The second part is a Canon (one voice followed by another singing identical music).
| Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro nobis peccatoribus, Nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. | 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, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, Now and in the hour of our death. Amen. |
Traditional Christian prayer
Tantum ergo | Déodat de Severac (1872-1921)
Another organist, Severac was profoundly influenced by the music traditions of his native Languedoc in the south of France, and by impressionistic composers such as Debussy. This is a setting of words by Thomas Aquinas.
| Tantum ergo sacramentum Veneremur cernui, Et antiquum documentum Novo cedat ritui. Præstet fides supplementum Sensuum defectui. Genitori genitoque laus et jubilatio, Salus, honor, virtus quoque sit et benedictio! Procedenti ab utroque compar sit laudatio! Amen | Let us, therefore, bow and worship, Such a wondrous Sacrament; Let the ancient law and custom To a newer rite now yield; Let our faith supply conviction Where the senses tire and fail. To the Father, unbegotten, And the Sole-begotten Son, Be salvation, blessing, honor, Jubilation, power, and praise; To the One from both proceeding, Equal glory and renown. Amen. |
Text: St Thomas Aquinas (c1264). Translation from International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen? | Johannes Brahms (1833-97)
Brahms composed this piece in the Motet form with four movements or sections including a final Chorale, as was used by Bach, who he greatly admired. He chose the text himself from the Lutheran Bible, while the Chorale text was written by Martin Luther. The four movements are marked as follows:
- Langsam und ausdrucksvoll – Slow and expressive
- Wenig bewegter – More calmly
- Langsam und sanft – Slow and soft, Im vorigen Zeitmas – In the previous tempo (i.e. movement II)
- Choral – Chorale
The second movement, which is constructed in Canonic form, begins with the F-A-Bb motif that is prominent in the German Requiem. This motif reappears towards the end of the third movement, with the voices entering more and more closely after each other in stretto fashion. The Chorale is another nod to Bach, within a long tradition of Lutheran church music.
| I Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen, und das Leben den betrübten Herzen, die des Todes warten und kommt nicht, und grüben ihn wohl aus dem Verborgenen, die sich fast freuen und sind fröhlich, dass sie das Grab bekommen, und dem Manne, des Weg verborgen ist, und Gott vor ihm denselben bedecket? | Why is the light bestowed on those who toil, And life on hearts weighed down with grief, Who wait for death, and yet it comes not, Who’d dig it out from hidden places; Who almost joy and gladness feel To think the grave is theirs at last; And on the man whose path is veiled, Whose way the Lord has covered from him? Text: Book of Job 3:20-23 |
| II Lasset uns unser Herz samt den Händen aufheben zu Gott im Himmel. | Let us lift up our hearts with our hands together, Unto God in heaven. Text: Lamentations 3:41 |
| III Siehe, wir preisen selig, die erduldet haben. Die Geduld Hiob habt ihr gehöret, und das Ende des Herrn habt ihr gesehen; denn der Herr ist barmherzig und ein Erbarmer. | Behold, we call them blessed Who have endured; You have heard the patience of Job, And you have seen the end the Lord has bestowed upon you; For the Lord is full of mercy, And a giver of compassion. Text: Letter of James 5:11 |
| IV Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, in Gottes Willen, Getrost ist mir mein Herz und Sinn, sanft und stille. Wie Gott mir verheißen hat: der Tod ist mir Schlaf worden. | In peace and joy I journey forth, as God has willed it; My heart and mind are comforted, soft and quiet, As God has promised me: death has become my sleep. Text: Martin Luther |
Interval of 20 minutes
Songs of Farewell | Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Sir Hubert Parry was social radical with a humanitarian outlook on life, who supported universal suffrage. He composed the music for the hymn Jerusalem, which is probably what he is best known for.
Songs of Farewell were written in the last few years of his life, when he was suffering from a heart condition. He was director of the Royal College of Music, and during his last few years he was deeply saddened by the loss of so many students in the First World War. It is not surprising that he chose words written by poets who were also living through troubled times. It is interesting that so many artists and composers produce their best work when living through difficult times. Songs of Farewell are widely considered to be Parry’s finest music. They are certainly heartfelt. He heard some of them performed, but the first performance of the work as an entirety was at the memorial service held in his honour after his death.
1 My soul, there is a country
A setting of words written by Welsh poet Henry Vaughan in 1650, when Britain was at war with itself. It is written for four-part choir (SATB).
| My soul, there is a country Far beyond the stars Where stands a wingèd sentry All skilful in the wars: | If thou canst get but thither There grows the flow’r of Peace The Rosе that cannot wither Thy fortress and thy easе. |
| There, above noise and danger Sweet Peace sits crowned with smiles And One, born in a manger Commands the beauteous files | Leave then thy foolish ranges For none can thee secure But One who never changes Thy God, thy life, thy cure! |
| He is thy gracious Friend And — O my soul, awake! — Did in pure love descend To die here for thy sake. |
Text: Henry Vaughan (1622-95)
2 I know myself have power to know all things
Also in four parts, this is a setting of words by poet John Davies, Attorney-General for Ireland under James I. It is short but intense, homophonic (the four parts all together) until the end, when on the words and yet the voices move independently, as if expressing some uncertainty.
I know my soul hath power to know all things,
Yet she is blind and ignorant in all:
I know I’m one of Nature’s little kings,
Yet to the least and vilest things am thrall.
I know my life’s a pain and but a span;
I know my sense is mock’d in ev’rything;
And, to conclude, I know myself a Man—
Which is a proud and yet a wretched thing.
Text: John Davies (1569-1626)
3 Never weather-beaten sail
The words were written by Thomas Campion in the early part of the 17th-century. It is in five parts (SSATB) and it is more lyrical than the first two Songs of Farewell.
Never weather-beaten sail more willing bent to shore.
Never tired pilgrim’s limbs affected slumber more,
Than my wearied sprite now longs to fly out of my troubled breast:
O come quickly, sweetest Lord, and take my soul to rest.
Ever blooming are the joys of Heaven’s high Paradise.
Cold age deafs not there our ears nor vapour dims our eyes:
Glory there the sun outshines whose beams the blessed only see:
O come quickly, glorious Lord, and raise my sprite to thee!
Text: Thomas Campion (1567-1620)
4 There is an old belief
For this song Parry turned to the Scottish poet John Gibson Lockhart and it is in six parts (SSATBB). There is some fine choral writing, with harmonic changes and dissonances unequalled in English church choral music of the time.
There is an old belief,
That on some solemn shore,
Beyond the sphere of grief
Dear friends shall meet once more.
Beyond the sphere of Time
And Sin and Fate’s control,
Serene in changeless prime
Of body and of soul.
That creed I fain would keep
That hope I’ll ne’er forgo,
Eternal be the sleep,
If not to waken so.
Text: John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1864)
5 At the round earth’s imagined corners
This setting of John Donne’s words At the round Earth’s imagined corners is in seven parts (SSAATBB). The “imagined corners” are a reference to the practice of the time of drawing world maps with angels depicted at each corner of the page. There is some word painting to be heard, on blow your trumpet and again on and arise. Parry employed wide-ranging harmonic changes even more in this setting than in There is an old belief, notably as he attempts to comprehend what God’s pardon might mean.
At the round earth’s imagined corners, blow
Your trumpets, angels, and arise
From death, you numberless infinities
Of souls, and to your scattered bodies go;
All whom the flood did, and fire shall o’erthrow
All whom war, death, age, agues, tyrannies,
Despair, law, chance hath slain; and you whose eyes
Shall behold God and never taste death’s woe.
But let them sleep, Lord, and me mourn a space,
For, if above all these my sins abound,
‘Tis late to ask abundance of Thy grace,
When we are there. Here on this lowly ground,
Teach me how to repent; for that’s as good
As if Thou hadst seal’d my pardon with Thy blood.
Text: John Donne (1572-1631)
6 Lord, let me know mine end
Lord, let me know mine end and the number of my days,
That I may be certified how long I have to live.
Thou hast made my days as it were a span long;
And mine age is as nothing in respect of Thee,
And verily, ev’ry man living is altogether vanity,
For man walketh in a vain shadow
And disquieteth himself in vain,
He heapeth up riches and cannot tell who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what is my hope?
Truly my hope is even in Thee.
Deliver me from all mine offences
And make me not a rebuke to the foolish.
I became dumb and opened not my mouth
For it was Thy doing.
Take Thy plague away from me,
I am even consumed by means of Thy heavy hand.
When Thou with rebukes does chasten man for sin
Thou makest his beauty to consume away
Like as it were a moth fretting a garment;
Ev’ry man therefore is but vanity.
Hear my pray’r, O Lord
And with Thy ears consider my calling,
Hold not Thy peace at my tears!
For I am a stranger with Thee and a sojourner
As all my fathers were.
O spare me a little, that I may recover my strength before I go hence
And be no more seen.
Text: Psalm 39: 5-8, 13, 15 (King James Version)
Programme notes by Fiona Pacey
About St Peter’s Singers
Founded in 1977, St Peter’s Singers has enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with Leeds Minster, and its predecessor Leeds Parish Church. Directed until 2021 by Dr Simon Lindley, and since then by Alexander Woodrow, it performs a wide selection of mostly sacred choral music ranging from the Renaissance to the present day, promoting little-known gems alongside better-known repertoire, and embracing everything from chamber-scale a cappella works to large-scale Passions and Oratorios with Orchestra.
The Choir has a distinguished record of commissioning new works from the likes of Michael Hurd, Francis Jackson, Phillip Moore and Simon Lindley, and was privileged to give the first performances of Penthos, a new Requiem created by two of its members, Hannah Stone (poet) and Matthew Oglesby (composer).
Recordings include One Equal Music (2014), sacred music recorded in the sensational acoustics of one of the premium shopping centres in the North of England, and (jointly with the Choir of Leeds Minster) The Saviour (2025), previously unrecorded music by William Lloyd Webber.
2027 brings our 50th anniversary which we hope to celebrate in a fitting manner!
