Words VCM Summer 2022

Komm Jesu, Komm is performed by the Vocal Chamber Music ensemble, University of Redlands Conservatory of Music, and directed by Prof. Christopher Gabbitas. One of J.S. Bach’s (1685-1750) six motets, scored for double choir and here with the addition of continuo organ, this masterpiece shows the virtuosity of Bach’s writing at its most impressive; an introduction, fugal section, dance, imitative cori spezzatimovement and concluding with a Chorale, this piece has as its central message the assertion that Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Light. By trusting in Him we may conquer all. Visit www.redlands.edu/vcm to learn more about the Master of Music in Vocal Chamber Music program at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music.

Versa est in luctum is performed by the Vocal Chamber Music ensemble, University of Redlands Conservatory of Music, and directed by Prof. Christopher Gabbitas. Juan Gutierrez de Padilla (1590-1664) was one of a wave of Iberian composers who made the journey across the Atlantic to become amongst the first truly American composers, dying in Puebla in Mexico. de Padilla’s work would have been widely performed by choirs both in Mexico and in the Mission Churches of what is now southwest USA. This is a song of mourning, probably on the death of an important church or political figure, and uses imitative writing and dense harmonic texture, in advance of its time. Visit www.redlands.edu/vcm to learn more about the Master of Music in Vocal Chamber Music program at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music.

The Turtle Dove is performed by the Vocal Chamber Music ensemble, University of Redlands Conservatory of Music, and directed by Prof. Christopher Gabbitas. An English folksong arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958), this piece features Connor Licharz (Bass) and Elizabeth Plemmons (Soprano) as soloists and is an example of one of the many folksongs that Vaughan Williams saved from extinction through his pioneering work in the early C20th. In this love song, we hear of the pain of love’s parting and a promise to stay true despite the separation. Visit www.redlands.edu/vcm to learn more about the Master of Music in Vocal Chamber Music program at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music.

Witness is performed by the Vocal Chamber Music ensemble, University of Redlands Conservatory of Music, and directed by Prof. Christopher Gabbitas. A traditional African American spiritual song arranged by Jack Holloran (1916-1997) introduces jazz elements to add flavor and spirit to the sentiment: that we should stand up and be recognized for what we believe in. Visit www.redlands.edu/vcm to learn more about the Master of Music in Vocal Chamber Music program at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music.

Dieu, qu’il la fait bonne regarder is performed by the Vocal Chamber Music ensemble, University of Redlands Conservatory of Music, and directed by Prof. Christopher Gabbitas. A song by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) to words by Charles, Duc d’Orléans, who was imprisoned in Windsor Castle at the time. The piece remarks on the beauty of a woman, and Debussy creates a wonderful suspended sound world that pulls the listener into a dream-like state. Visit www.redlands.edu/vcm to learn more about the Master of Music in Vocal Chamber Music program at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music.