The San Francisco Lyric Chorus, under the direction of Music Director Robert Gurney, presents:
With Harp, Flute & Chorus: Joyous Music for the Season
Program:
Benjamin Britten: A Ceremony of Carols
Kirke Mechem: Seven Joys of Christmas
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Wassail Song
Ralph Vaughan Williams: O My Dear Heart
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves for Harp & Flute
Ben Allaway, arr: Three 16th Century Spanish Carols: Dadme Albricias, Dansaron (E La Don Don), Riu Riu Chiu
Stephen Chatman: Lullay My Liking
Featured Musicians:
Meredith Clark, harp
Elizabeth Roddy, flute
Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols for harp and chorus is a Christmas classic. Modeled after the English ceremony of nine lessons and carols, Britten uses the nine carols to show the various moods surrounding the celebration of this joyous holiday.
San Francisco composer Kirke Mechem composed his Seven Joys of Christmas for harp and chorus in 1964. He sets seven carols from different countries, each describing a different aspect of holiday joy.
We’ll sing Ralph Vaughan Williams’ delightful 1913 a cappella Wassail Song as well as his O My Dear Heart, a work for soprano, alto and harp, first published in 2009. To complete our Vaughan Williams set, our harpist and our flautist will perform Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves for Flute and Harp.
California composer Ben Allaway has arranged three charming 16th century Spanish carols for chorus, flute, and harp: Dadme Albricias, Dansaron (E La Don Don), and the popular Riu Riu Chiu.
American/Canadian composer Stephen Chatman has created a lilting, haunting setting of the 15th century English carol, Lullay My Liking, for chorus and harp.