Vocal Music

Chorus program notes, texts, and translations

 by Susan Glass

Eilsabeth Irwin Singers

Non nobis Domine,  

a British 3 part canon composed sometime during the Renaissance era, has long been attributed to William Byrd.  However, musicologists have now dispelled that theory with almost certainty.   Whoever the composer may have been, this canon has long been used worldwide in church services, concerts, and community sings.  It’s sheer beauty is evident in the way it uses the idea of a canon a fifth below and then an octave below the soprano.  Simple, elegant, beautiful.  It was greatly admired by Mozart and Beethoven.  

We are….  

Was composed in 1993 by Ysaye Barnwell, as part of a song suite entitled “Lessons”.   Dr. Barnwell is best known for her compositions and performances as part of Sweet Honey in the Rock.  She was a member of that world famous ensemble for 34 years before retiring to expand her work to other compositional styles and performances throughout the world.  

Shenandoah

Much has been written about the ambiguous origins of “Shenandoah.”  American folklorist Alan Lomax suggested that it was a sea-shanty and that its “composers quite possibly were French-Canadian voyageurs.  (Other contemporary researchers have agreed.)  Indeed, the song’s first appearance in print was in an article titled “Sailor Songs,” published in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in 1882.  As unclear as the song’s origin is, so is the definitive version and interpretation of its text.  Some believe that the song refers to the river of the same name.  Others suggest that it is of African-American origins, for it tells the tale of Sally, the daughter of the Indian Chief Shenandoah, who is courted for seven years by a white Missouri river trader.  Regardless of these textual mysteries, Shenandoah remains an American classic. 

Taken from Library of Congress

White Winter Hymnal,

composed in 2008 for Fleet Foxes, has been covered most famously by Pentatonix, and that is the version we do for you today.  Robin Pecknold, the sole writer of “White Winter Hymnal”, has stated that its lyrics are “fairly meaningless”. And his goal was just to write a song that the band can jam to and serve as the opening number on their debut album. Yet he has also stated that there is a storyline contained therein. So the way these seemingly contradictory statements can be interpreted is that some of lyrics have an intended meaning. Others, on the other hand, were just added because they sound cool. 

Composer’s take on the lyrics: 

The term “following the pack” alludes to a time in the singer’s youth when he regularly hung out with a group of his peers, indeed the same collection of friends year-in and year-out. However, as time progressed they went their separate ways – and not in a good way. For example, some became drug dealers and other types of unsavory characters. And this sudden transformation of his buddies, like “Michael”, perturbed the singer. He didn’t understand how suddenly keeping up with gang culture, if you will, became more important than their long-standing friendships.

Taken from: https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/fleet-foxes-white-winter-hymnal-lyrics-meaning/

Blue Moon, 

written in 1934 by Broadway composers Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, became an international hit when recorded by the doo-wop group The Marcels.  It has been recorded by an amazing array of artists, from Ella Fitzgerald to Billie Holiday to Elvis Presley to Cindy Lauper!   

We Learn, 

from “Jagged Little Pill”, is a song well known to many of the high school singers.  Several of the songs from this show were already popular from the singer/songwriter Alanis Morrisette.   We have certainly learned a lot from the past two years, since we last were together as a performing group at a live concert.  We thank you for listening, and we are glad to be back!