Fading - last tickets

Since the 4th century, the service of Compline has marked the end of the day, ushering in the darkness of the night. Much of the music here is inspired by this ancient service, evoking a contemplative atmosphere. Renaissance polyphony that contains startling harmonic shifts and expressive word painting is juxtaposed with contemporary reflections by Veljo Tormis, Jonathan Seers and Alison Willis among others.

 

The earliest known settings of the ancient Compline hymn Te lucis ante terminum appear as plainsong versions in Catholic liturgical books from the mid-sixteenth century. In this intimate setting by Thomas Tallis (1505-1585), included in the 1575 Cantiones sacrae, two verses of the chant frame a simple five-voiced middle section in which the highest voice sings the melody. Tallis’s craft is reserved for the lower parts which subtly bring out the nuances of the text.

 

The recusant William Byrd (1539/40-1623) gave voice to the plight of Catholics in England through many of his compositions, using his royal favour to escape punishment for his beliefs, and in doing so wrote some of the most enduring and powerful music of the era. Miserere mihi Domine is technical masterpiece, a double canon on a chant fragment which proceeds almost entirely by step. When the bass enters as the final voice to be heard, Byrd completes the chant melody that had briefly appeared in the highest part.

 

Written while he was a student at St John’s College in Cambridge, Look down, O Lord by Jonathan Seers (b1954) sets words from the service of Compline. At the opening, cascading short motifs mark out the harmonic territory, before the voices join together on the word ‘illuminate’. Two ascending melodies then begin in the lower voices, leading towards brass-like chords for ‘brightness’ and ‘banish’. At the end of the work the voices divide into two groups as the music disappears into the night.

 

Known for his dense complex polyphony, Nicolas Gombert (c. 1495 - c. 1560) was one of the last exponents of the influential Franco-Flemish School. In the six-voice motet Media vita, each phrase is worked out in slow passages of imitation. Listen out for the dissonances around ‘Sancte Deus’ and ‘Sancte fortis’ – Gombert often employed these false relations for emotional effect — as the music cries out to God for help.

 

Twelfth-century polymath and religious icon Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a prolific composer of devotional pieces. In its complete form, O Ecclesia celebrates Saint Ursula, a martyr and leader of early Christians; in the opening section presented here, Hildegard begins not with Ursula herself, but with the greater church whose visionary faith in Christ was Ursula’s calling.

 

Among the earliest known Christian hymns, Phos hilaron (‘Gladdening light’) can be dated to at least the fourth century on account of its inclusion in the Apostolic Constitutions—prescriptive texts compiled in the Syrian region in the 370s AD. Contemplating the dying light of the evening, the hymn has traditionally been associated with the ritual lighting of candles, and Owain Park’s (b1993) 2017 setting, which features a solo line accompanied by soft-grained chords, evokes both the literal and spiritual contrast between darkness and illumination.

 

The Wind's Warning by Alison Willis (b1971) was the winning work in the 21-and-over category of The Gesualdo Six’s second composition competition. Willis chose to set The Wind, believed to be the last poem written by Ivor Gurney. The poem is a bleak reflection on the passing of time and lost opportunities. Musically the piece uses vocalisations to create the sound of the wind against which are set gently dissonant clusters.

 

Singing In jejunio et fletu at the original (low) pitch pushes vocal extremities almost to their limit, enabling us more vividly to depict the anguish of this Lenten text. Listen for how Thomas Tallis uses vocal range and texture to his advantage, building from low-set homophony at ‘inter vestibulum et altare’ (“between the porch and the altar”) through to a top B-flat at ‘Parce populo tuo’. This cry to ‘spare thy people’ unfurls into an extended passage as the words are despairingly repeated.

 

Originally ascribed to Josquin Desprez, it is now thought that Absalon fili mi was written by Pierre de La Rue (c. 1450/60–1518), a celebrated composer at the French Court. Depicting a topic later notably tackled by Gombert, Tomkins and Weelkes, this early and astonishing setting of King David’s lament for his dead son was printed in extremely low clefs, and we perform it here in that original key.

 

Luca Marenzio (1553-1599) wrote twenty-three books of madrigals, and his 1581 setting of Potrò viver io più se senza luce is an excellent example of his style. The text questions whether life has any meaning without ‘light’, perhaps indicating that the protagonist’s beloved has died. The speaker now longs for death and to be with God, the ‘true light’. Marenzio emphasizes the expressive details of the text with surprising chromatic twists embedded in a dense network of motifs.

 

A composer associated with the reforms of the Council of Trent, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594) wrote secular madrigals as well as religious music. In a mainly syllabic style of writing, punctuated by the accents of the text, Palestrina uses ingenuity to highlight the main words and their meaning. Io son ferito, ahi lasso, published in 1561, emphasises the invisible pain presumably caused by unrequited love. This madrigal inspired Roland de Lassus to write his Missa Io son ferito, ahi lasso.

 

Veljo Tormis (1930-2017) was a lifelong evangelist for his country’s folk-song tradition, as evidenced by his Four Estonian Lullabies, all largely unembellished settings of traditional tunes. Marjal aega magada (‘It’s time for the little berry to sleep’) has the quality of a lament, with the emphasis placed on the second beat of each bar, so the music never quite settles.

 

O Little Rose, O Dark Rose by Canadian composer Gerda Blok-Wilson (b1955) sets a poem by another Canadian, Charles Roberts. The words express a mutual love that cannot be: one is free-spirited and ‘Carmenesque’, the other is from the ‘other side of the world’ and yearns to be with this ‘little rose’.

 

Also titled ‘Introit’, James O’Donnell’s (b1961) Present Yourselves has a welcoming quality, inviting the listener to engage with the opening theme through textual repetition. The middle section climbs through the gears, twisting upwards harmonically to culminate at ‘hope’. At the end, as if recalling a memory, the introductory music returns as a thoughtful and prayerful conclusion.

 

The first version of Abendlied was written in 1855 when Josef Rheinberger (1829-1901) was just 15 years of age. Some nine years later, he revised the motet, improving the voice-leading and altering some performance instructions. It is perhaps his most famous choral work, which looks backward to the great sacred music of the Renaissance. 

 

Owain Park

Text about Io son ferito, ahi lasso by Luc Vermeulen

 

* In 1570-1791, an English Catholic committing a crime by refusing to attend Church of England services.

The Gesualdo Six

The Gesualdo Six is a vocal ensemble made up of some of the UK's finest young ensemble singers. Formed in 2014, the group directed by Owain Park likes to bring together Renaissance polyphony and works by modern and contemporary composers in its programmes. In 2016, the ensemble held its first composition competition, followed by a second in 2019. Since 2018, the ensemble has released five albums, the third of which, Fading, was named Vocal and Choral Recording of the Year 2020 by the Australian magazine Limelight.

 

Owain Park

Born in Bristol and trained as a chorister at St Mary Redcliffe Church, Owain Park is a singer, composer, organist and leader of the vocal ensemble The Gesualdo Six. He studied at Wells Cathedral as a Senior Organ Scholar and at Trinity College Cambridge (composition). His works have been performed by the Tallis Scholars and the Aurora Orchestra, among others. He regularly works with The Sixteen and Polyphony ensembles and has also conducted the BBC Singers, the Academy of Ancient Music, Cappella Cracoviensis and the Cambridge Chorale.

Te lucis ante terminum   

Music by Thomas Tallis

Te lucis ante terminum,

Rerum Creator, poscimus,

Ut pro tua clementia, 

Sis praesul et custodia. 

 

Procul recedant somnia, 

Et noctium phantasmata: 

Hostemque nostrum comprime, 

Ne polluantur corpora. 

 

Praesta, Pater piissime, 

Patrique compar Unice, 

Cum Spiritu Paraclito, 

Regnans per omne saeculum. 

Amen.

 

[EN]

Thee, Lord, before the close of day,

Maker of all things, Thee we pray

For Thy dear loving kindness' sake

To guard and guide us in Thy way.

 

Banish the dreams that terrify,

And night's fantastic company:

Keep us from Satan's tyranny:

Defend us from unchastity.

 

Protect us, Father, God adored,

Thou too, co-equal Son and Lord,

Thou, Holy Ghost, our Advocate,

Whose reign can know nor bound nor date. 

Amen.

 

 

Miserere mihi Domine  

Music by William Byrd

Miserere mihi Domine, 

et exaudi orationem meam.

[EN]

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 

and hearken unto my prayer.

 

Look down, o lord

Music by Jonathan Seers

Look down, O Lord, from thy heavenly throne,

illuminate the darkness of this night

with thy perpetual brightness

and from the sons of light banish the deeds of darkness;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

 

 

Media vita

Music by Nicholas Gombert

Media vita in morte sumus

Quem quaerimus adjutorem nisi te, Domine? 

Qui pro peccatis nostris juste irasceris 

Sancte Deus, Sancte fortis, 

Sancte et misericors Salvator, 

Amaræ morti ne tradas nos.

 

[EN]

In the midst of life we are in death:

Of whom may we seek for succour, but of Thee, 

O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? 

Holy God, Holy and strong,

Holy and our most merciful Saviour,

Deliver us not into the bitter pains of death.

 

 

O Ecclesia

Music by Hildegard von Bingen

O Ecclesia,

oculi tui similes saphiro sunt,

et aures tue monti Bethel,

et nasus tuus est

sicut mons mirre et thuris,

et os tuum quasi sonus

aquarum multarum.

 

[EN]

O Ecclesia,

your eyes are like sapphire:

your ears the mount of Bethel,

your nose 

like a mountain of myrrh and incense,

and your mouth is like the sound

of many waters.

 

 

Phos hilaron

Music by Owain Park

Hail, gladdening Light, 

of his pure glory poured

who is the immortal Father, 

heavenly, blest,

holiest of holies, 

Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now we are come to the sun's hour of rest,

the lights of evening round us shine,

we hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit divine.

Worthiest art thou at all times to be sung

with undefiled tongue,

Son of our God, giver of life, alone:

therefore in all the world thy glories, Lord, they own.

 

 

The Wind’s Warning   

Music by Alison Willis

All night the fierce wind blew – 

All night I knew 

Time, like a dark wind, blowing 

All days, all lives, all memories 

Down empty endless skies –

A blind wind, strowing 

Bright leaves of life's torn tree 

through blank eternity: 

Dreadfully swift, Time blew. 

All night I knew 

the outrush of its going. 

 

At dawn a thin rain wept. 

Worn out, I slept 

And woke to a fair morning. 

My days were amply long, and I content 

In their accomplishment – 

Lost the wind's warning.

 

In jejunio et fletu

Music by Thomas Tallis

In jejunio et fletu orabant sacerdotes:
Parce, Domine, parce populo tuo,

et ne des hereditatem tuam in perditionem.
Inter vestibulum et altare 

plorabant sacerdotes, dicentes: 

Parce populo tuo.

 

[EN]

In fasting and weeping the priests prayed:

Spare, O Lord, spare thy people, 

and give not thine inheritance to perdition.

Between the porch and the altar 

the priests wept, saying: 

Spare thy people.

 

Absalon, fili mi

Music by Pierre de la Rue  

Absalon, fili mi,

Quis det ut moriar pro te,

Fili mi Absalon?

Non vivam ultra,

Sed descendam 

in infernum plorans.

 

[EN]

Absalom, my son

Would that I had died instead of you,

My son, Absalom?

Let me live no longer,

but descend 

into hell, weeping.

 

 

Potrò viver io più se senza luce   

Music by Luca Marenzio

Potrò viver io più se senza luce

Rimasto son e se altrove riluce

Del mio bel sol la sua lucente luce?

Ahi, non fia ver, ma copri d'ogni intorno 

Oscure nubbi il giorno

E a me la luce cara di questa vita sia per sempre amara, 

Finche d'un giorno più serena luce

Non meni a gli occhi miei la vera luce.

 

[EN]

Would I be able to live any longer 

if I were left without light, and the shining light 

of my beautiful sun were to shine elsewhere? 

Ah, let it not be true, but cover 

the day with dark clouds, 

and the dear light 

of this life will be forever bitter to me, 

until one day a more serene light 

will open my eyes to the real light.

 

Io son ferito, ahi lasso   

Music by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Io son ferito, ahi lasso
e chi mi diede accusar pur vorrei, ma non ho prova, 

che senz’indici al mal non si da fede,
ne getta sangue la mia piaga nova. 

Io spasm'e moro, il colpo non si vede, 

la mia nemic’armata non si trova,
che fia tornar a lei crudel partita,
che sol m’habbi’a sanar chi m'ha ferito.

 

[EN]

I am wounded, alas, and I desire
to accuse her who gave it to me,
but I have no proof; without evidence
of evil, no-one will believe it;
nor does my new wound pour forth blood. 

I shiver and die – the blow cannot be seen.
My enemy is armed.
What good would it do to return to her – cruel happening – 

because only she who wounded me can heal me.

 

Marjal aega magada   

Music by Veljo Tormis

Maka, maka, marjaken, 

uinu, uinu, ul’liken! 

Marjal aigu magada, 

ul’lil aigu uinuda

 

Kunas sii kud’u kodo tulõ, 

kunas sii tibu tüühle lät, 

kunas sii mari magama jääs, 

kunas sii ul’li uinus jo?
 

[EN]

Sleep, sleep, little berry,

doze, doze, deary!

Time for the little berry to sleep,

time for my deary to doze.

 

When will the cock come home, 

when will the chick go to work,

when will the little very go to sleep,

when will deary doze off?

 

O Little Rose, O Dark Rose

Music by Gerda Blok-Wilson

O little rose, O dark rose,

With smouldering petals curled,

I am the wind that comes for you

From the other side of the world.

 

O little rose, O dark rose,

With the hushed and golden heart,

I am your bee with burdened wings,

Too laden to depart.

 

O little rose, O dark rose,

Your soul a seed of fire,

I am the dew that dies in you,

In the flame of your desire.

 

O little rose, O dark rose,

The madness of your breath!

I am the moth to drain your sweet,

Even though the dregs be death.

 

O little rose, O dark rose,

When the garden day is done

I am the dusk that broods o’er you

Until the morrow's sun.

 

Present Yourselves

Music by James O’Donnell

Present yourselves as a living sacrifice, 

holy and acceptable to God.

Hold fast to what is good; 

be fervent in spirit;

rejoice in hope. 

Consider what is noble 

in the sight of God.

 

 

Abendlied   

Music by Josef Rheinberger

Bleib bei uns, 

denn es will Abend werden, 

und der Tag hat sich geneiget.

 

[EN]

Bide with us, 

for evening shadows darken,

And the day will soon be over.