Friday, October 25, 2024, 7:30pm, United Methodist Church, Shelburne VT
Saturday, October 26, 2024, 7:30pm, St Thomas Episcopal Church, Hanover NH
Sunday, October 27, 2024, 3:30pm, Christ Church Episcopal, Montpelier VT
Sunday, November 17, 2024, 3:00pm, Universalist Church, Barre VT
Counterpoint, directed by Nathaniel G. Lew
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Singers
Soprano: Anne D’Olivo, Sudie Marcuse, Lorna Jane Norris, Cathleen Stadecker
Alto: Erin Grainger, Maria Lamson, Nessa Rabin, Linda Radtke
Tenor: Brian Clancy, Scott Czerwinski, Ryan Matos
Bass: Stephen Falbel, Da-Shih Hu, Zebulun McLellan, Neil Wacek
Program
I. Tudor Sacred Music … and Purcell
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), If Ye Love Me
Richard Farrant (1525-1580), Call to Remembrance
William Byrd (1540-1623), Hodie beata Virgo
Thomas Morley (1557-1602), Nolo mortem peccatoris
Henry Purcell (1659-1695), Thou Knowest, Lord
II. Twentieth-Century Sacred Music
Edward Bairstow (1874-1946), Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
William Henry Harris (1883-1973), Holy Is the True Light
Herbert Howells (1892-1983), Long, Long Ago
William Walton (1902-1983), A Litany: Drop, Drop, Slow Tears
III. Part Songs since the Victorians
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956), My Spirit Sang All Day
Frank Bridge (1879-1941), The Bee
Edward Elgar (1857-1934), Death on the Hills
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924), The Blue Bird
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918), Crossing the Bar
IV. Tudor Madrigals
Orlando Gibbons (1583-1625), The Silver Swan
Thomas Weelkes (1576-1623), Hark, All Ye Lovely Saints Above
John Bennet (1575-1614), Weep, O Mine Eyes
John Farmer (ca 1570-1601), Fair Phyllis
Translations
Hodie beata Virgo: Today the Blessed Virgin Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple and Simeon, full of the Holy Spirit, took Him in his arms, and blessed God for evermore.
Nolo mortem peccatoris: “I do not wish the death of a sinner.” These are the words of the Savior.
Bios
Founded by legendary choral director and arranger Robert De Cormier in 2000, and based in Montpelier, Vermont, Counterpoint Vocal Ensemble is dedicated to performing choral chamber music and engaging with student musicians in Vermont and beyond. Praised for their “clarity, skill” and “sophisticated musical expressiveness,” the ensemble presents concerts throughout Vermont and the surrounding region and has toured the Midwest. Counterpoint has recorded seven CDs with Albany Records and has released five further CDs independently. Their repertory ranges all over the map, including folksongs from around the world, African-American spirituals, sacred music of many traditions, and concert works by classical composers of the past and our own age. In addition to being Counterpoint’s Artistic Director, Nathaniel G. Lew is Professor of Music at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master at Opera Company of Middlebury, and a Board Member of Choral Arts New England.
Rehearsal space for Counterpoint is generously provided by the First Church in Barre Unitarian-Universalist, 19 Church St.