FALL 2010

We will perform our Fall concerts, Christmas Across the Ages, on Saturday, December 4th at 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 5th at 4 p.m. at Putnam Congregational Church.

The program pairs Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai (Saint Nicholas Mass in G) written in 1772, with Christmas Cantata by Geoffrey Bush, composed in 1947, thus providing historical bookends for this greatly celebrated holiday time of year.

 

Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai includes the usual mass parts (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei). The Credo is compressed, with the four voices singing text of various sections simultaneously, which while confusing to the ear, was a widely accepted practice, in order to keep the mass to a shorter length. The music is often pastoral, a quality of sound associated with the Advent season. This classical setting is a delightful example of early Christmas choral music.

 

The Feast of St. Nicholas is observed on December 6th, and for some, marks the beginning of the season. St. Nicholas was Bishop of Myra, and known for his generosity to those in need, and for his love of children. In Europe, the Feast of St. Nicholas is still widely observed with the giving of small gifts at the beginning of Advent, allowing for a more pious focus on the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

 

Christmas Cantata is a compilation of traditional English Christmas carols, including a versions of the familiar songs “Little Jesus, Sweetly Sleep”, “By By Lullay, Thou Little Tiny Child”, and “I Saw Three Ships”. Bush provides interesting and sometimes unexpected harmonies to familiar carol tunes. The results are delightful, airy, reflective, and joyful, and encompass the many moods and dispositions of Christmas. The construction of the Cantata is such that any one of the movements can be heard as a stand-alone piece, or as a complete set offering the many faces of the season. An understated orchestra of strings and oboe accompany chorus and soprano soloist. By setting traditional Christmas music with more contemporary 20th century stylings, Bush wraps the familiarity of holiday tradition in the musical developments of the 175 years since Missa Sancti Nicolai.