Music Box
January 8, 2023
Sophia Gonzalez, mezzo soprano
Jubal Joslyn, tenor and cantor
Cathryn Wilkinson, piano and organ
Today’s vocal selections include images of stars, evening, and epiphanies, or realizations. “Et Exsultavit” is a musical setting of Mary’s Song from Luke, chapter 1, when she sings, “and my spirit has rejoiced in God My Savior.”
Im Abendrot (In the glow of evening) by Karl Lappe
How lovely is your world,
Father, in its golden radiance
when your glory descends
and paints the dust with glitter;
when the red light that shines from the clouds
falls silently upon my window.
Could I complain? Could I be apprehensive?
Could I lose faith in you and in myself?
No, I already bear your heaven
here within my heart.
And this heart, before it breaks,
still drinks in the fire and savours the light.
Translations by Richard Wigmore first published by Gollancz and reprinted in the Hyperion Schubert Song Edition. English Translation © Richard Wigmore, author of Schubert: The Complete Song Texts, published by Schirmer Books, provided via Oxford Lieder (www.oxfordlieder.co.uk)
Story of a Carol
“We Three Kings,” is based on the account in Matthew’s gospel, although Matthew simply mentions “magi,” without a specific number. This song is sometimes called the first American Christmas carol. Unlike many English carols from European traditions, “We Three Kings” was composed in the mid- 19th century in New York City. The composer and poet John Henry Hopkins, an Episcopal priest, wrote it for a family Christmas pageant and imagined various singers in the role of each king. Hopkins later became the Music Director at General Theological Seminary in New York and published this hymn in Carols, Hymns, and Songs in 1863.
“Saw You Never in the Twilight,” the offertory music, tells of the Wise Men’s (Magi) journey to the crib of the Christ Child and of the manifestation of Christ to the world, which is celebrated in the season of Epiphany. The Welsh lullaby, “Suo Gan,” is used as accompaniment to the text in this arrangement.
Welcome back to guest musician Sophia Gonzalez!
Katherine Edison, soprano, holds an MFA in Performance from the Art Institute in Chicago. Katherine’s career shows her passion for the arts: “In a world with so little harmony, I believe that it is my duty to teach and express the blessings of music.”
