Lament for Pasiphae by Morten Lauridsen

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Dying sun, shine warm a little longer!
My eye, dazzled with tears, shall dazzle yours,
Conjuring you to shine and not to move.
You, sun, and I all afternoon have laboured
Beneath a dewless and oppressive cloud--
a fleece now gilded with our commen grief
That this must be a night without a moon.
Dying sun, shine warm a little longer!

Faithless she was not: she was very woman,
Smiling with dire impartiality,
Sovereign, with heart unmatched, adored of men,
Until Spring's cuckoo with bedraggled plumes
Tempted her pity and her truth betrayed.
Then she who shone for all resigned her being,
And this must be a night without a moon.
Dying sun, shine warm a little longer!

 

- Robert Graves

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Program notes:

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Lament for Pasiphae draws from Greek myth, specifically the story of Pasiphaë, Queen of Crete, who became infatuated with a bull and bore the Minotaur. The poem by Robert Graves explores themes of forbidden love, divine wrath (from Aphrodite), shame, isolation, and the monstrous nature of her offspring. The lament is voiced by Pasiphaë herself, expressing deep sorrow and helplessness through powerful, often dark imagery, such as the "dying sun." Graves, fascinated by mythology, used the Minotaur myth to explore universal human experiences, viewing Pasiphaë as a tragic figure. Lauridsen explores this theme through his composition with moments of extreme dissonance, fluctuations of tempo, and dizzying rhythmic figures.

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Mid-Winter Waking by Morten Lauridsen

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Stirring suddenly from long hibernation
I knew myself once more a poet
Guarded by timeless prinicipalities
Against the worm of death, this hillside haunting;
And dared open both my eyes.

O gracious, lofty, shone against from under,
Back-of-the-mind-far clouds like towers;
And you, sudden warm airs that blow
Before the expected season of new blossom,
While sheep still gnaw at roots and lambless go--

Be witness that on waking, this mid-winter,
I foudn her hand in mine laid closely
Who hsall watch out the Spring with me.
We stared in silence all around us
But found no winter anywhere to see.

 

- Robert Graves

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Program notes:

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Robert Graves wrote “Mid-Winter Waking” during World War II, a period when questions of rebirth, endurance, and spiritual continuity were particularly acute. The poem presents a paradox: in the dead of winter, a moment associated with stasis and death, the speaker experiences a sudden awakening of life and hope. This awakening is not naïve optimism but a defiant affirmation against historical and existential darkness. Graves, invested in mythic cycles, seasonal symbolism, and pre-Christian cosmology, utilizes winter as a concept to explore a cosmic state of suspension, poised on the brink of renewal. Lauridsen explores these themes through explosive choral homophony, rhythmic complexity, and non-functional harmony. The piano part of this piece is a testament to Lauridsen's incredible skill at writing for and playing the instrument, creating a blanket of sound like the frozen winds of winter.

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Snow Burn by Wolfgang Wang​

This piece is a World Premiere by the Neoteric Chamber Choir

 

Because of the silent snow, we are all hushed
                 Into awe.
No sound of guns, nor overhead no rushed
                 Vibration to draw
Our attention out of the void wherein we are crushed.

A crow floats past on level wings
                 Noiselessly.
Uninterrupted silence swings
                 Invisibly, inaudibly 
To and fro in our misgivings.

We do not look at each other, we hide
                 Our daunted eyes.

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- D H Lawrence​​​

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Program Notes: Wolfgang Wang was commissioned to compose this piece not only to express his own compositional voice on the program, but to provide a dark and dreary atmosphere for the center of the set. "Snow Burn" is replete with biting dissonances, non-tonal resolutions, and sparse chord voicings. Wang swaps between synthetic modes and whole tone scales, to enact a dizzying harmonic effect, like one being lost in a haze. The slow tempo and quiet energy of the piece evokes a gentle, yet sinister feeling as the frost and snow grips the earth in the dead of winter. “Winter Lull” the poetry used for this composition, comes from D. H. Lawrence. His distinctive approach to nature poetry is on display in this work, with seasonal imagery as a mirror of bodily, emotional, and erotic states. Unlike poems that treat winter as death or deprivation, Lawrence frames winter as a time of suspension, repose, and intimate withdrawal. Written during Lawrence’s mature period, the poem reflects his belief that human vitality is a rhythmic cycle, governed by exertion and rest. Winter becomes a necessary phase of inwardness, where life remains present but deliberately muted.

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Winter Ride by Mari Esabel Valverde​

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Who shall declare the joy of the running!
           Who shall tell of the pleasures of flight!
          Springing and spurning the tufts of wild heather,
           Sweeping, wide-winged, through the blue dome of light.
          Everything mortal has moments immortal,
           Swift and God-gifted, immeasurably bright.

          So with the stretch of the white road before me,
           Shining snowcrystals rainbowed by the sun,
          Fields that are white, stained with long, cool, blue shadows,
           Strong with the strength of my horse as we run.
          Joy in the touch of the wind and the sunlight!
           Joy!  With the vigorous earth I am one.

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- Amy Lowell (1874-1925)​

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Program Notes: "In 'Winter Ride,' winter is bold, ephemeral, colorful, mysterious, and nurturing. This briskly paced work bursts open iwith melodies striving to express the pleasure of running through white snow. Save a moment to revel in the brightness of the light, it sweeps listeners off their feet, dances through various tonal areas, and carries them away with a joyful message of thankfulness for life and living. Composed in the style of an Advent carol, it is sung in four parts a capella with optional divisi and comfortably rides the fence between secular and sacred." -Mari Esabel Valverde, Composers Notes.​​​

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Hymne au Soleil by Lilli Boulenger (1893-1918)

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French

Du soleil qui renaît la puissance.
Avec tout l'univers célébrons son retour.
Couronné de splendeur, il se lève, il s'élance.
Le réveil de la terre est un hymne d'amour.
Sept coursiers qu'en partant le Dieu contient à peine,
Enflamment l'horizon de leur brûlante haleine.

 

O soleil fécond, tu parais!
Avec ses champs en fleurs, ses monts, ses bois épais,
La vaste mer de tes feux embrasée,
L'univers plus jeune et plus frais,
Des vapeurs de matin sont brillants de rosée.

 

English

 

Let us bless the power of the reborn sun.
With all the universe let us celebrate its return.
Crowned with splendor, it rises, it soars.
The waking of the earth is a hymn of love.
Seven rushing steeds that the God scarcely holds back
Ignite the horizon with their scorching breath.
 
Oh, vivid sun, you appear!
With its fields in bloom, its mountains, its thick forests,
The vast sea set ablaze by your fires,
The universe, younger and fresher,
With morning vapors are glistening with dew.                                        

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- Casimir Delavigne (1793 - 1843)​​​​​

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Program Notes: Lilli Boulanger developed a distinct compositional style marked by musical impressionism, the setting of texts that reflected the social and political issues of the time, innovative harmonic and instrumental color, and explorations of even more adventurous compositional techniques, such as polytonality, later in her life. In 1912, after a two-month bout of severe illness, 18-year-old Boulanger composed two complete works for chorus within six weeks. Hymne au Soleil, the only surviving of the two, features the choir in declamatory homophony as they sing in praise of the sun’s return. The choir planes through earthy harmonies, often cadencing on unexpected yet majestic chords, marking the immense reverence for the morning reborn. An alto solo introduces a gentler iteration of praise, which is followed by a return of the resolute opening that parallels the sun’s return to the sky.