Page 2 - Susquehanna Chorale - Spring 2023 Newsletter

Songs for the Journey
SELECTIONS:
I
Let All the World in Every Corner Sing - Ralph Vaughan Williams
Pilgrims’ Hymn - Stephen Paulus
The Ground - Ola Gjeilo Crucifixus - Antonio Lotti
Indodana - arr. Michael Barrett, Ralf Schmitt
II
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms - arr. Eric Nelson
How Can I Keep from Singing? - Robert Lowry
Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing - arr. Mack Wilberg
III
Oh My Luve’s Like a Red, Red Rose - René Clausen
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) - Billy Joel
Cardinalis Nobis Pacem - William Stowman
IV
Two Colonial Folksongs - arr. Dan Forrest
Red River Valley - arr. Brandon Williams
Skip To My Lou - arr. Paul Busselberg
V
Deep River - arr. Mack Wilberg
Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child - arr. Robert Page
I’ll Be on My Way - Shawn Kirchner
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
have always been fascinated by cairns. These are stones or rocks, carefully and often precariously constructed
to mark a place of significance. Throughout history,
these piles of stones have indicated a variety of things. To me, they indicate a yearning for the builder to state “I was here,” or “I exist,” or “something important happened here.”
I chose the repertoire for our spring concert series, Songs for the Journey, with that in mind. The music takes us through many milestones of life, and each could be a stone in our cairn.
We begin with our faith, with a jubilant call to the whole world to praise the Creator, followed by deeply moving and contrasting portrayals of Christ’s crucifixion from the Italian Baroque and from South Africa, and finally hymns of experience and reflection. The final hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, uses the word “Ebenezer,” another word for a cairn: “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’m come.”
The second half of the program begins with the experience of love: the romantic Robert Burns’ poem, O My Luve’s Like a Red, Red Rose, Billy Joel’s Goodnight My Angel, sung to his daughter, and Cardinalis Nobis Pacem, an imagined conversation between spouses, one who has “gone on” to the final destination.
On a lighter note, we feature folksongs of America, also speaking of love in songs we have known from our childhood.
Finally, we sing about the final step on our journey. The African American spirituals, Deep River and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child eloquently
speak of the deep yearning for a better place. Shawn Kirchner’s I’ll Be on My Way is a glorious expression of the joy of reaching that final destination. “Don’t
you cry for me, I’ll be on my way, I will be glory bound!”
We are excited to present inspiring texts set beautifully
to music by composers from
the Baroque to our own time.
As always, we hope our music “speaks” to you, communicating the joy of life, the beauty of choral singing, and hope and comfort for the various stages of our “journey.”
I look forward to seeing you and sharing this beautiful program!