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Bellevue Chamber Chorus Laulusild (Bridge of Song) .......................................... Finnish/Estonian, arr. Veljo Tormis

I Love My Love ............................................................................ Cornish, arr. Gustav Holst

O whistle and I’ll come to ye .................................................... Scottish, arr. Mack Wilberg piano: Kristine Anderson, Kim Borom

Kas tie tadi ................................................................................ Latvian, arr. Steven Sametz

Hine Ma Tov ............................................................................ Hebrew, arr. Neil Ginsberg piano: Kristine Anderson; flute: Louise Baldwin

Fog Elna Khel ............................................................................ Syrian/Iraqi, arr. Salim Bali soloists: Jeff Pierce, Melanie Grube, Frank Trujillo, Kris Bryan percussion: Jane Hall

Dunava Kaval Sviri ............................................................................. Bulgarian, arr. Petar Lyondev La Roza Enflorese ......................................... Bulgarian Sephardic, arr. Nikolai Kaufmann Trendafilko ...................................................................... Bulgarian, arr. Nikolai Kaufmann

Bellevue Chamber Chorus Red River Valley ........................................................ …American, arr. Bern Herbolsheimer

INTERMISSION

Saturday, June 4th 2016, 7:30 pm St. Luke’s Lutheran Church

Sunday, June 5th 2016, 3:00 pm Maple Leaf Lutheran Church

Program

Bellevue Chamber Chorus presents

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Program Notes

W elcome to “Bridges of Song”, the final concert in Bellevue Chamber Chorus’ 32nd season. In this festive program of folk music from around the world, we explore the human connections we all share through the power of song.

Our concert begins with a piece from which we take the title and theme of our program: Laulusild (Bridge of Song), by Veljo Tormis (b. 1930). One of the most important contemporary Estonian choral composers, Tormis is especially noted for his seemingly simple yet hypnotic settings of ancient Baltic folk songs, as is evident in this piece. From his own description of Laulusild: “The need for such a song appeared when, after long years of Soviet isolation, the gates to the Western world started slowly to re-open for Estonia. They opened to the North, to our closest relatives by kin and language, the Finns. The Bridge of Song is based on old folk tunes. Each Finn knows the first verses of their national epic Kalevala, sung to an old runo tune; each Estonian knows the popular initial line of the songs “Kui mina hakkan laulemaie” (“When I start to sing”). These are the two posts supporting the bridge.”

(see next page for text/translation)

Bellevue Chamber Chorus Arirang ................................................................................. Korean, arr. Kenneth Jennings

Chinese Melodies (Two Songs on Love and Nature) .............................. arr. Jon Washburn soloists: Sarah MacDonald, Aaron West

Ching-a-ring Chaw ...................... American, adapted by Aaron Copland; arr. Irving Fine At the River ..................................................... adapted by Copland; arr. R. Wilding White Zion’s Walls ....................................................... adapted by Copland, arr. Glenn Koponen

Dunava Oj Jabuko ................................................................................................................ Croatian As Ja Merr ............................................................................................................... Albanian Daleko Je ................................................................................. Croatian, arr. Klapa Neverin

Bellevue Chamber Chorus and Dunava Što mi e milo ............................................................... …………Macedonian, arr. Ethel Raim

Bellevue Chamber Chorus Peze Kafé .......................................................................... …………Haitian, arr. Sten Källman

percussion: Jane Hall

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We turn next to two songs of love from the British Isles. I Love My Love is part of the collection Six Choral Folksongs, arranged by Gustav Holst in 1916. This Cornish folk song tells a dramatic love story about a woman whose love is sent off to sea by his parents in attempt to ruin the relationship. She becomes so distraught that she is sent to an asylum, finally to be rescued when her love returns. Holst (1874-1934) uses marvelous text painting to vary the mood of the piece, changing the dynamics, voicing, tempo, and harmonies of the song to relate them closely to the drama of the text.

I have a good mind take into my head to start off singing begin reciting reeling off a tale of kin and singing a tale of kind. The words unfreeze in my mouth and the phrases are tumbling upon my tongue they scramble along my teeth they scatter.

Brother dear, little brother fair one who grew up with me start off now singing with me begin reciting with me Since we have got together since we have come from two ways!

We seldom get together and meet each other on these poor borders the luckless lands of the North.

Let’s strike hand to hand Fingers into finger-gaps That we may sing some good things Set some of the best things forth For those darling ones to hear For those with a mind to know Among the youngsters rising Among the people growing.

(Finnish, translated by Keith Bosley)

When I start to sing, To sing, to spin a yarn…

(Estonian, translated by Kaja Kappel

Abroad as I was walking One evening in the spring I heard a maid in Bedlam

So sweetly for to sing; Her chain she rattled with her hands

And thus replied she:

Chorus: I love my love

Because I know My love loves me

Oh cruel were his parents Who sent my love to sea And cruel was the ship

That bore my love from me:

Yet I love his parents Since they’re his although

they’ve ruined me: I love my love…..

With straw I’ll weave a garland, I’ll weave it very fine;

With roses, lilies, daisies, I’ll mix the eglantine; And I’ll present it to my love When he returns from sea.

For I love my love…..

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O whistle and I’ll come to ye frames a text by famous Scottish poet Robert Burns, set to a lively traditional Scottish tune and arranged for piano four-hands by Mack Wilberg (b. 1955), composer, conductor, choral clinician and the current music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Returning to the Baltic region, for much of its history, Latvia has been a country occupied by a foreign power. Kas tie tadi is a poignant song of the people which reflects their feeling of being orphaned in their own land. Arranger Steven Sametz (b. 1954) has been hailed as “one of the most respected choral composers in America.” He is Professor of Music at Lehigh University and serves as the Artistic Director of the professional a cappella ensemble, The Princeton Singers.

Who are they who weep at sunset? They are orphans, subject to a cruel master.

So dry the tear, dip the crust of bread and huddle closer to the fire.

The little sun gathers rising golden dewdrops. That was not golden dew: those were little orphans’ tears.

Just as she there sat weeping Her love he came on land

Then, hearing she was in Bedlam He ran straight out of hand;

He flew into her snow-white arms And thus replied he:

I love my love…..

She said: “My love don’t frighten me, are you my love or no?”

“O yes, my dearest Nancy, I am your love, also

I am returned to make amends for all your injury.” I love my love…..

So now these two are married, And happy may they be

like turtle doves together, in love and unity.

All pretty maids with patience wait That have got loves at sea;

I love my love…..

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Our next two pieces take us to music of the Middle East. Hine ma tov, arranged here by Neil Ginsberg (b. 1969) is a popular (one might even say ubiquitous) Hebrew folk song based on the first verse of Psalm 133: “behold, how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together in unity!” It can be heard at holiday celebrations, Passover seders, and Shabbat services, and is the basis for several Israeli folk dances.

Although Fog Elna Khel belongs to the Iraqi folklore, it is probably more commonly performed in Syria than in Iraq. It is a fixture in the repertoire of traditional Syrian singers, who perform a Syrian version of the lyrics. Salim Bali was born in 1946 in Aleppo, Syria. A self-taught professional musician since 1970, he spent twenty-five years arranging traditional Arab music to be performed by Aleppo’s Zvartnots choir. He is a pioneer in this field, as there is no precedent for this type of composition in the Arab world.

Our special guests, Dunava, perform three traditional Bulgarian songs. In Kaval Sviri, a girl tells her mother: “Listen to the flute player! If he is from our village, I will love him for a day; if he is not, I will love him my whole life.” La Roza Enflorese, from the Bulgarian Sephardic tradition, laments, “A rose blooms in May, and my soul is suffering from unrequited love.” And in Trendafilko, a girl asks the wild rose to talk with her, but the rose asks her to wait until May.

The Seattle music world lost an important and beloved figure when composer, pianist, and teacher Bern Herbolsheimer (1948-2016) passed away earlier this year. Composer of over 500 works in all instrumental and vocal genres, Bern was particularly noted for his many wonderful choral pieces written for Seattle-area vocal ensembles, with whom he often served as composer-in-residence. His lush and lyrical arrangement of the traditional American song Red River Valley turns this old cowboy tune into a veritable contemporary art song. We are pleased to perform it today in Bern’s honor and memory.

There above, I have an intimate friend. Is it his cheek that shone?

Or is it the moon up above?

By God, I do not want him; his love troubles me.

Your cheek shone, my love, and lit over Baghdad. God took his time

creating you, and was indeed generous.

By God, I am taken by him; I don’t know what to do with myself.

By God, o water course, give my regards to them. It’s so hard being apart; I do long for my loved ones.

By God, I do not want him; his love troubles me.

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INTERMISSION

The second half of our program begins with music of Asia. Arirang, one of Korea’s best-known folksongs, is a reflective lament about a mystical mountain pass to which lovers climb when parting. Kenneth Jennings (1925 - 2015) arranged Arirang for the St. Olaf Choir’s performance at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Arts Festival, which preceded the 1988 Olympic Games.

Chinese Melodies (Two Songs on Love and Nature) was written for the Vancouver Chamber Choir’s first overseas tour in 1987 when they visited China and Hong Kong. There was very little unaccompanied repertoire available in Mandarin Chinese at that time, so conductor Jon Washburn decided to provide the Choir with something new. He chose two popular Chinese songs (Kang Ding Love Song and Looking for Plum Blossoms in the Snow) and composed a lilting vocal accompaniment which evokes the sounds of the Chinese lute and flute.

Our song bridge takes us back to native soil with three pieces by Aaron Copland (1900-1990), one of the most respected and influential American composers of the 20th century. By incorporating popular forms of American music such as jazz and folk into his compositions, Copland became a spokesman for the advancement of indigenous American music. His two sets of Old American Songs (1950/1952) were originally written for solo voice and piano (later orchestrated), with several subsequently arranged for chorus by other composers. From Set 2 we perform the jaunty minstrel song Ching-a-ring Chaw (with its vocal imitations of strumming banjos), the beloved old hymn tune At the River, and the sturdy revivalist song Zion’s Walls.

Returning to music of the Balkans with Dunava, Oj Jabuko is a Croatian "kolanje" (ring dance song) from the village of Boljanić in the Ozren Mountain area of Eastern-Central Bosnia: “Oh, green apple tree, how beautiful you are! Each branch has three apples, but this one has four.” As Ja Merr is an Albanian song in which a bride asks the nightingale to sing for her, and is saddened by the song and the sounds of the lute. Daleko Je, another Croatian tune, states: “I write a letter to my love far away, and my ink is running. Oh my caramel-colored sweetheart, don’t ask another to be yours.” Dunava and Bellevue Chamber Chorus together perform Što mi e milo, a Macedonian village song made popular in America by singer and folklorist Ethel Raim and her group “The Penny-whistlers” during the 1960’s folk revival. “How I would love to have a shop in the town of Struga. I’d sit on the steps outside and watch the girls gather and go to the well for water.”

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Cascadian Chorale:

Shakespeare and Friends:

June 4th, 2016 - 7:30 pm - Redmond June 5th, 2016 - 3:30 pm - Medina

Master Chorus Eastside:

Celebrate America!

Sunday, June 26th, 2016 - 3:00 pm Pickering Barn, Issaquah

Our final bridge of song takes us all the way to the Caribbean region for the lively Peze Kafé, from the rich Haitian treasure of folk music. It tells the tale of a young boy who is sent to the market with coffee for sale—and somehow, he loses the coffee on the way. What will he say to his mother when he returns home? Sten Källman (b. 1952 in Gothenburg, Sweden) is known for his folk music arrangements, focusing on music from Scandinavia, Haiti and the Middle East.

~ program notes by Fredrick Lokken, Dina Trageser and Kris Bryan

Bellevue Chamber Chorus 2016-2017 Season

“O Magnum Mysterium” Christmas music of various periods and styles, featuring multiple settings

of O Magnum Mysterium.

December 11, 16 and 17, 2016

“The French Connection” A program of French music and/or texts by French, French-Canadian and American composers,

featuring Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem, Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Fauré, and more.

March 4 and 5, 2017

“It Might As Well Be Spring” Rejoice in Spring with our musical celebration of flowers, birds and newfound sunlight!

May 20 and 21, 2017

(All programming subject to change)

Keep Supporting Eastside Choirs!

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DUNAVA

Dunava ("the Danube") is Seattle's premier Balkan women's choir. Founded in 2005, the choir is made up of singers with broad musical and performance experience, who all share a passion for complex and beautiful harmonies. The choir's repertoire includes songs from the Balkans as well as other Slavic countries and the Caucasus. Dunava's goal and mission is to study and represent traditional folk songs from Eastern Europe with respect and authenticity. The choir has released two CDs to date, has collaborated with other ensembles and singers, such as Balkan Cabaret, Dave and the Dalmatians, and other local choirs, and in 2014 was the first American group to perform at the Silver Buckle folk festival in Kjustendil, Bulgaria. Dunava has received grants from Jack Straw Productions, the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, and 4Culture.

PERSONNEL:

Dina Trageser Fiore Grey Hila Lenz Jen Morris

Jenny Sapora Meredith Selfon

Raisa Kreek Ramona Wijayratne Teodora Dimitrova

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Bellevue Chamber Chorus, founded in 1984, performs three major concerts each season, encompassing a variety of choral literature from the classical standards and contemporary works to “world music”, Broadway hits, and vocal jazz. The Chorus often joins other ensembles in performances of major choral/orchestral works, such as Mozart’s Vespers, Faure’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Brahms’ Requiem, and Rutter’s Mass of the

Children with the Bellevue Youth Choirs. The ensemble has premiered works by regional and nationally-known composers, including commissioned works for the Washington State Centennial Celebration, the grand opening of the Theatre at Meydenbauer Center, and a special 20th anniversary season commissioned piece, That Music Always Round Me, by Seattle composer, John Muehleisen. The Chorus has released three CDs, “Timeframes”, “Retrospective”, and our 2013 holiday CD, “Christmas Visions, Winter Dreams”. Bellevue Chamber Chorus tours often and has performed in Carnegie Hall, various locations in Europe, the International Music Festival (2000) in Sydney, Australia, and twice at the invitational Kathaumixw International Choral Festival in Powell River, British Columbia, where they won first place in 2008 in the adult mixed chorus category. Other performances include the Leavenworth International Choral Festival, the international “Rolling Requiem” in memory of September 11th, as one of the regional choruses in the NEA sponsored American Masterpieces Choral Festival in Seattle, and in Kelowna, B.C. as part of the Okanogan Choral Society Series.

Bellevue Chamber Chorus is a non-profit organization, which receives its support from the generous donations of people interested in fine musical experiences on the Eastside.

Bellevue Chamber Chorus

Personnel

* denotes Section Leaders ~ denotes Board Member

Soprano: Kris Bryan~

Debra Defotis* Sarah MacDonald*

Marci Melvin Kathie Patten Jane Wasell

Alto: Louise Baldwin Barbara Bridge~ Melanie Grube* Mindy Larrison Susan Liechty~

Tenor: Mike Grube* Andy Haslam

Mark Liebendorfer Jeff Pierce

David Williams

Bass: Allan Chartrand~

Dennis Defotis Don Jones~

James McTernan David Ploude

Frank Trujillo* Aaron West

Additional board members: Frederic DeWulf (T)~, Jan DeWulf (B)~, Maria Bayer (S)~

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Conductor of collegiate, community, and church choirs in Minnesota, California, and the Seattle area for over twenty-five

years, Dr. Fredrick Lokken is in his sixteenth season as music director and conductor of the Bellevue Chamber Chorus. Under his direction the Chorus has gained a growing reputation for exciting performances of diverse and innovative programs from the traditional classics to contemporary music from around the world. He received his doctoral degree in choral conducting from the University of Washington, where he studied under Abraham Kaplan and Joan Catoni Conlon, and he did further study with renowned choral conductors Joseph Flummerfelt, Helmuth Rilling, and Jon Washburn. Dr. Lokken also holds a degree in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin and sang

with the professional Dale Warland Singers. In addition to his work with Bellevue Chamber Chorus, Dr. Lokken is Director of Choral Music at Shoreline Community College, where he also teaches private voice and conducting. He serves on the board of the Puget Sound chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and is in frequent demand as a choral/vocal adjudicator throughout the region.

DIRECTOR

Kristine Anderson, piano: Kristine Anderson graduated with a music degree from the University of Montana at Missoula. She is well-known in the Puget Sound region for her artistic and sensitive work with singers as well as instrumentalists ranging from tuba to piccolo. Equally at home with jazz, pop, and classical, she can adjust her style from Sondheim to Gershwin to Strauss. Her clients include winners in local and national competitions, including the Seattle Young Artist Music Festival, Metropolitan Opera semifinals, and concerto contests. Kristine

also serves as accompanist for the Flute and Piccolo Forum, hosted by Seattle Symphony flutist Zart Dombourian Eby. In the fall of 2010, Kristine accompanied a former Flute Forum attendee Justin Lee on his Western Washington tour, after he won the Ladies Musical Club contest. In addition to holding two church-pianist positions in Seattle, she was music director for the Seattle Musical Theater, formerly known as Civic Light Opera, during their production of High Society, and the pianist for the Seattle Opera Guild’s Preview shows. She has been the accompanist for Bellevue Chamber Chorus for the past eight seasons.

ACCOMPANIST

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Bellevue Chamber Chorus

Thanks our Generous Donors

Crescendo - $2500 to 5000 Bellevue Arts Commission

Louise Baldwin Maria and Doug Bayer

Rick Bulpin and Kris Bryan Michael and Melanie Grube

Virtuoso - $1000 to 2499 4Culture

** John and Barbara Bridge * Microsoft Corporation

* Nordstrom Corporation J. Frank Trujillo

Jim and Vicki Walch

Diva - $500 to 999

James and Amelia Bryan ** Debra and Dennis Defotis

Fred Lokken and Marsha Thomas Mindy Larrison

Aria - $250 to 499 ** Frederic DeWulf

Sean and Kathie Patten Seattle Foundation/GiveBIG

Bravo - $100 to $249 Anonymous

**Kim Borom Allan Chartrand

Jan DeWulf Mary Griffin Donald Jones

Mark Liebendorfer Susan Liechty

Sarah MacDonald Marci Melvin

James McTernan Leslie Moore

Scott and Meredith Selfon **Bob and Karen Swanson

Moine and Mabel West

** David Williams

Tutti - Up to $99 Anonymous

Linda Andersson Robert and Sue Betts

Lorilee Brasseur Kathleen Chartrand

Margaret Curtin Shaindell Goldhaber

Shadia Kawa Nancy Kirkland Nora Lowenson

Claire Marks Mary Ann Odne

George and Linda Tady Jane Wasell

** Pam Younghans

* indicates corporate matching grants ** indicates in-kind donations

Executive Director ........................................................................................... Debra Defotis Rehearsal Accompanist ............................................................................ Kristine Anderson Costuming ....................................................................................... Melanie Grube, Mindy Freeland Graphic Design .................................................. Kristine Bryan, Chris Meierding, Pam Younghans PR Committee ................................................................................ Kristine Bryan, Frederic DeWulf Program Ads Coordinator ........................................................................................ Barbara Bridge Score Management/Music Librarian.........................................................................Kathie Patten Stage Manager ........................................................................................................... David Williams Ticket Coordination ............................................................................... Mike Grube, Andy Haslam Volunteer Coordinator ......................................................................................... Sarah MacDonald

Special thanks to: Richard Bulpin (community Board Member), Chris Meierding of Meierding

Designs (season graphics), Jen and Kim Hofer (website design and training), and all our volunteers who help make our concerts possible!

STAFF AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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KEEP IN TOUCH!!!

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Come Sing With Us!

Bellevue Chamber Chorus will be holding

auditions in August 2016!

Visit our website or call (425) 881-0445

to let us know of your interest!

Bellevue Chamber Chorus is a

501(c)3 non-profit organization,

which means that all donations

to the chorus are tax-deductible.

Donations are accepted at performances,

online, or via mail at:

Bellevue Chamber Chorus P.O. Box 1714, Bellevue, WA 98009-1714

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