Welcome

Healing Song

In honor of survivors of abuse everywhere

Featuring guest artists 3.12

Spring 2009 Concert

Dan Krynak, Artistic Director
Jeffrey Cogan, Accompanist
Renee Bartholomew, Percussion
 

Program Notes

Don't blink, because if you do then two years pass just like that. I can't believe my term as president is up, and yet, as I look back on all the CPWC has accomplished, I am so very proud.

We've had our share of change, as we went through the process of having two interim directors, and then choosing a permanent one, as well as acquiring a new accompanist. Having Dan Krynak return as our director has been a blessing in so many ways for the chorus, and has allowed us to grow and move forward with our mission. So many thanks are owed to past accompanist Anthony Haubert for sharing his gifts with us, and to Jeffrey Cogan for creating a smooth transition as he took on the role of new accompanist. Both positions are so vital to the chorus, and we are very fortunate to have two of the best musicians with us.

We are very pleased to be sharing the stage with 3.12 today. This remarkable group, consisting of David Glasgow, Deb McCain, and Jason Whetstone, presents uplifting, healing music. According their website, in discussing how 3.12 came to be, they write, "We sang for us. We sang because we needed to hear the songs. And the best way for us to hear them was to sing them-to breathe them deeply into our lungs, wrap our muscles around them, and offer them back to the space around us. We sang to change ourselves. We sang because to keep silent would have been to surrender to something less than hope."

We are proud to present Healing Song: In Honor of Survivors of Abuse Everywhere. To be a survivor takes an inordinate amount of courage, and we wanted to recognize that. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this event as we present a concert of hope.

Cathy Nelson
CPWC President

	Prelude -- 3.12  Cherish  Madonna Ciccone and Pat Leonard Think about That Brian Steckler, George Rowe and Lydia Gott Love’s Divine Seal  Testify to Love Paul Field, Henk Pool, Ralph van Manen and Robert Riekerk All 3.12 songs are arranged by David Glasgow
	How Could Anyone Libby Roderick Soloists: Rachel Neff and Pamela Smith
	A New Beginning  Audrey Snyder
	Laschia Chi'io Piango Georg Friederic Handel arranged by Catherine DeLanoy
	Joan of Arc Ruth Huber
	Give Us Hope Jim Papoulis arranged by Francisco J. Núñez Readers: Pamela Smith and René Roadcap
	Seasons of Love Jonathan Larson from Rent Soloists: Rachel Neff, Jennie Jones, and Cheryl Huber
	Somewhere That's Green  Howard Ashman from Little Shop of Horrors Soloists:  Darla Henry and Lucy Twitchell
	Padmapani Paula Foley Tillen
	Pie Jesu Andrew Lloyd Webber from Requiem Soloists:  Nora Carreras and Virginia DeChristopher
	Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning Traditional arranged by Jay Althouse Soloist: Nora Carreras
	Intermission -- 3.12 Bridge over Troubled Water Paul Simon arranged by David Glasgow Love Won’t Leave You Ben Glover and Shaun Shankel arranged by David Glasgow
	Woman Am I Joan Szymko Reader: Arleen Shulman
	Miss Celie's Blues Quincy Jones, Rod Temperton, Lionel Richie arranged by J. David Moore Trumpet: Parker Kenyon
	Breaths Ysaye Barnwell words by Birago Diop
	What I Want  Pat Lowther
	Sisters, You Keep Me Fighting Patty Huntington arranged by Diana Porter additional text by Muse Philip Hagemann
	Laughing Song  David Brunner text by William Blake
	In Remembrance Eleanor Daley
	Still I Rise   Rosephanye Powell Soloist: Lorraine Hennessy Laura Dalton
	Bold New Song 3.12 preformed by: 3.12 and CPWC

Program Notes

	How Could Anyone. Written in 1988, the song has traveled around the globe, been translated into multiple languages, reprinted in numerous books, sung at the U.N. Conference in Beijing by thousands of non-governmental organization representatives, and used in every conceivable format and venue, from videos, films, and slide shows to hospitals, prisons, kindergartens, marches, peace gatherings, weddings, funerals and shelters. Several years ago, Princess Diana was even spotted wearing a "How Could Anyone" T-shirt to work out in the gym! In 2005, CNN did a special segment on the worldwide healing impact of the song. This is truly the world's number one Healing Song. How could anyone ever tell you, you were anything less than beautiful? How could anyone ever tell you, you were less than whole? How could anyone fail to notice that your loving is a miracle? How deeply you're connected to my soul.
	A New Beginning.With beautiful harmonies and lush piano accompaniment, the song recognizes the possibilities of the fresh start. Widely recognized as one of the top educational choral writers today, Audrey Snyder composes music with rare beauty, simplicity and charm. She is a highly regarded educator, clinician, editor and producer.
	Lascia Ch'io Pianga.Lascia Ch'io Pianga is part of Handel's opera Rinaldo, sung by the character of Almirena. In this aria, Almirena is held prisoner in the palace. She is crying over her separation from her love, Rinaldo, and says, "Let me weep my cruel fate, and let me sigh for freedom! May sorrow break these chains of my sufferings, for pity's sake." (The opera has a happy ending.)
	Joan of Arc.Saint Joan was canonized in 1920, and in 1924, the irreverent George Bernard Shaw, who was himself upset that he portrayed Joan as too weak in his play "Saint Joan," described her in his prologue as "Joan the Original and Presumptuous...most notable Warrior Saint in the Christian calendar...the queerest fish among the eccentric worthies of the Middle Ages...pioneer of rational dressing for women...lectured, talked down, and overruled statesmen and prelates. As her actual condition was pure upstart, there were only two opinions about her. One was that she was miraculous: the other that she was unbearable."  We salute her for both.
	Give Us Hope is from the project SOUNDS OF A BETTER WORLD = small voices calling, a foundation started by the composer and his wife. The organization uses music and art to help children of all ages come to believe in themselves as capable, creative, and compassionate individuals whose contributions to society make a difference. The Foundation brings artists from diverse backgrounds and fields of expertise together with children to create music. As James Papoulis says, "If we want society to evolve, we need to understand the importance of childhood, and how vital our role should be in doing whatever we can to nurture every child."
	Seasons of Love, from the Broadway musical Rent.This song is often associated with World AIDS Day and AIDS awareness because four of the lead characters have HIV or AIDS. To the question, "How do you measure a year?" answers come in the form of times of day (daylights, sunsets, midnights) to units of measure (inches, miles) to everyday events (cups of coffee) to symbolic concepts (laughter, strife). The conclusion however, is that love is the only proper measure of a year in a human life.
	Somewhere That's Green is from the 1982 rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, Little Shop of Horrors. In an abusive relationship, Audrey reveals that she secretly has feelings for Seymour and sings of her ultimate dream to have the ideal suburban life, complete with tract home, frozen dinners and plastic furniture. This song brought an awareness to domestic abuse in the 1980s that might otherwise have remained unspoken.
	Padmapani: The Lotus Bearer. In Mahayana Buddhism, all practising Buddhists are apprentice Bodhisattvas (enlightened being, the ideal being one who has reached ultimate understanding). One of the most popular of the bodhisattvas is Padmapani, bearer of the lotus. He is the compassionate one and will appear in different forms to teach people the way of enlightenment. This text was inspired as Thich Nhat Hanh visited the Buddhist rock-cut caves at Ajanta in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. The thirty caves are cut into a steep and curving basaltic rock mountain in a remote ravine formed by the Waghora River. The early Buddhist or Satavahana phase dates from about 100 BC to about 100 AD. The second phase began shortly after 460 AD. These caves served as monastaries until they were suddenly abandoned a few hundred years ago. The particular cave painting, Padmapani, was most likely painted in the 7th Century. The text has been set to hauntingly beautiful music.
	Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The version from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem has gained popularity especially in the world of popular music as a separate song.
	Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning. Music is a fuel for every social revolution, never more so than in the African-American struggles out of slavery and into a semblance of equality in our modern culture. In pre-Civil War years, traditional black gospel spirituals sometimes served dual purposes – to assert hope for a better life and to convey coded directions and advice to runaway slaves heading north on the Underground Railroad, a network of sympathizers providing food, shelter and aid. The text of Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning was one of those spirituals.
	Woman Am I. Joan Szymko has directed choirs in the Pacific Northwest for over twenty-five years. Abundant lyricism, rhythmic intensity and vigorous attention to text are hallmarks of her diverse and distinctive choral writing. Especially noteworthy is Szymko’s significant contribution to the body of literature for women’s voices, particularly Woman Am I, a favorite spiritual feminist song.
	Miss Celie's Blues was written for the Oscar-nominated movie version of The Color Purple. The film tells the story of a young African-American girl named Celie and shows the problems faced by African-American women during the early 1900's; including poverty, racial and sex discrimination, abuse. Celie is transformed as she finds her self-worth through the help of two strong female companions. Shug Avery sings this song to the shy and downtrodden Celie.
	Breaths was adapted from a poem by Senegalese poet, Birago Diop by Ysaye Barnwell, best known as a member of Sweet Honey in the Rock. The song says that we are our grandmother's prayers, our grandfather's dreamings, and the breath of our ancestors. We are filled with imagination and hope, big dreams and endless possibilities. We are different, yet we are all the same.
	What I Want. Canadian Pat Lowther was a poet from an early age. Her first poem published in the Vancouver Sun when she was ten years old. In 1963, she married Roy Lowther and they had two daughters. By the early 1970s, her stature as a poet was at its height. Her domestic life, however, was complicated and weighed down by poverty and unhappiness. Friends encouraged her to leave her destructive marriage. But in late September 1975, Pat Lowther disappeared. Her body was discovered three weeks later and in 1977, her husband Roy was convicted of her murder. The loss to her family and friends is immeasurable, and the loss to Canadian literature huge. The Dictionary of Canadian Biographies suggests that Pat Lowther's death "robbed Canadian poetry of one of its most vital and visionary poets."
	Sisters, You Keep Me Fighting.  Originally written as a tribute to Vietnamese women's courage and strength, this song has taken on a special meaning as a source of hope in sad or troubled times.
	Laughing Song.  Poet William Blake (1757-1827) captured a playful innocence in the words of Laughing Song from Songs of Innocence. It is set to music by David L. Brunner, one of today's most active and versatile composers. He is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
	In Remembrance. Eleanor Daley's "Requiem" from which this song is taken was awarded the 1994 National Choral Award for Outstanding Choral Composition of the Year by the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors. Daley has composed more than fifty works for choirs, piano, and organ.
	Still I Rise was inspired by the poem of the same name by poet laureate Maya Angelou. It is a women's anthem, saluting the strength of women to persevere through life's difficulties--low self-esteem, physical and emotional abuse, rape, incest, prejudice, abandonment.
	Bold New Song. Though all of the songs 3.12 performs are arranged especially for the trio, “Bold New Song” is their first totally original anthem. The words to each verse were written by the soloist who sings it, both as a “we’ve been there too” recollection of various points along the difficult road of faithful living, and a confession of the disappointment we feel within ourselves as we realize we still harbor the same insecurities and fears we thought we’d overcome. The refrain turns our attention—as we must so often do—to the second-person Divine: the unknowable source of hope, security, and confidence, in which we live and move and find our true being. The words of the refrain were inspired by the scripture passage from which 3.12 takes its name: “Because we have great hope… we act with great boldness.” The choral parts you hear today were composed especially for the Central PA Womyn’s Chorus in honor of this joint event.