Gary D. Cannon - Performance Archives - Pulchritudina

Lauda Jerusalem	Manuel Sumaya

Magnificat	Hernando Franco

Motete: !Oh Señora! Motete: Reina celestial	Don Hernando Franco Don Hernando Franco

Mi niño dulce y sagrado	Gaspar Fernàndez

Lamentatio a 4 Lamentatio in coena Domini a 4 Lamentacion a 5	Anonymous Juan de Lienas Juan de Lienas

— INTERVAL —

Villancico: Albricias pastores	Juan Gutièrrez de Padilla

Villancico: Sola Maria	Tomas Salgado
Modern Premiere Performance

Como glorias el fuego	Manuel Sumaya
Modern Premiere Performance
Melissa de Graaf, contralto

Sequence for the Dead	Anonymous
Modern Premiere Performance
I. Dies irae II. Quantus tremor III. Quid sum miser IV. Recordare V. Ingemisco VI. Pie Jesu Domine

Credidi a 6 con violines	Francisco Martinez de la Costa
Modern Premiere Performance
I. Credidi II. Gloria patri III. Sicut erat
Melissa de Graaf, contralto Seth Arnopole, tenor

NOTES

The music of colonial Mexico has traditionally suffered from lack of exposure and recognition, not only from the public at large, but also from musicians and historians. Yet, from the outset of the Spanish occupation, musicians in Mexico reached a level of quality that matched that of their European counterparts.
The Spanish presence in Mexico, begun with Cortez's conquest of the Aztec empire in 1521, went beyond military occupation, and encompassed all aspects of culture and art. At first, composers naturally mirrored the musical style of the Iberian peninsula. Very quickly, however, Mexican-born (and even Indian) musicians embarked on their own stylistic path, one far removed from the developments occurring in Spain and the rest of Europe. Over three centuries, a body of innovative musical works emerged, reflecting the cultural, racial and geographical diversity of Mexican composers. The works heard in tonight's performance were composed by Spaniards, Portuguese, Creoles (Mexicans of Spanish descent) and Indians. They were written in Mexico City, Puebla and Oaxaca, and they span the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.
Mexican colonial music is slowly emerging from archives and cathedrals throughout the country, most of it still unpublished and unperformed. In particular, the archives of the cathedral in Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico, have recently yielded several dozen previously unknown compositions. Several of these works have been transcribed and analyzed, and will be performed tonight for the first time in more than two centuries.

Manuel de Sumaya (1678–1755)
Lauda Jerusalem

Sumaya was possibly the greatest Mexican composer of the colonial period. Appointed to the Mexico City Chapelmastership before he was thirty, he radically transformed the musical establishment, forcing it to surrender its polyphonic Renaissance tradition in favor of the more concerted Baroque style that dominated European music since the previous century. In 1735, Sumaya abruptly resigned his post in Mexico City, in order to assume the chapelmastership in Oaxaca. Having thoroughly modernized the Mexico City Cathedral during the 1710s and 20s, Sumaya did the same for Oaxaca in the 1730s and 40s. Both cathedrals contain numerous works by the composer, most of them still unpublished.
This eight-voice Lauda Jerusalem is one of three by Sumaya from his Oaxaca period. Based on Psalm 147, it is a motet for double-choir. The practice of composing polychoral works, originally developed in Venice during the Renaissance, quickly found its way to Spain, and from there to the colonies. Mexican cathedrals were built to encourage polychorality, with two (and sometimes four) choirs facing each other across the church, responding antiphonally to one another. The Lauda Jerusalem is written in this style, and Sumaya takes advantage of contrapuntal devices within each choir, and between the two ensembles, to create a brilliant panoply of tone.

Lauda Jerusalem, Dominum,
Lauda Deum tuum Sion.
Quoniam confortavit seras portarum tuarum
et benedixit filiis tuis in te.
Qui posuit fines tuos pacem,
et adipe frumenti satiat te.
Qui emittit eloquium suum terrae:
velociter currit sermo eius.
Qui dat nivem sicut lanam,
nebulam sicut cinerem spargit.
Mittit crystallum suum sicut buccellas,
ante faciem frigoris eius quis sustinebit?
Emittet verbum suum, et liqufaciet ea,
flabit spiritus eius, et fluent aquae.
Qui annuntiat verbum suum Jacob,
justitias et judicia sua Israel.
Non fecit taliter omni nationi,
et judicia sua non manifestavit eis.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritu Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper
et in saecula saeculorum.
Amen.

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem,
Praise thy God, O Zion.
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates
and he hath blessed thy children within thee.
He maketh peace in thy borders,
and filleth thee with the finest of wheat.
He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth:
His word runneth swiftly.
He giveth snow like wool,
he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes.
He casteth forth his ice like morsels,
who can stand before his cold?
He sendeth out his word, and melteth them,
He causeth the wind to blow, and the water flow.
He sheweth his word unto Jacob,
his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.
He hath not dealt so with any nation,
and as for his judgments, they have not known them.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen

Hernando Franco (1532–1585)
Magnificat: Quarti toni

The Spanish-born Franco was the first great composer in the New World. He arrived in 1554, when he joined the cathedral in Guatemala. In 1575, he became chapelmaster of the Mexico City cathedral, the most important and prestigious musical post in the New World. During Franco's tenure in Mexico City, the musical establishment reached its highest level of accomplishment, unparalleled anywhere in the colonies. Franco's greatest compositions are the polyphonic settings of the Magnificat, the Canticle for the Blessed Virgin. In keeping with Spanish tradition (for example, with the Magnificats by Cristobal de Morales) Franco composed eight settings of the Magnificat, starting on eight different tones. The Magnificats are based on the plainchant of each tone, and the chant then becomes the basis for the compositions, reappearing as a cantus firmus in a single voice, as the subjects for successive imitations, or as motifs used throughout the texture. The fourth setting, based on the fourth tone (E), reveals a continuous flow of overlapping entries and imitations, characterized by close part-writing in three and four voices in limited ranges. As was Franco's custom, the 12th verse, the climax, is in six parts with a canon between the two extra parts.

Magnificat Anima mea Dominum:
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.
quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae:
ecce enim ex hoc beatem me dicent omnes generationes.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus.
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies: timentibus eum.
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo:
dispersit superbos mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles.
Esurientes implevit bonis: et divites dimisit inanes.
Suscepit Israel puerum suum,
recordatus misericordiae suae.
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham,
et semini ejus in saecula.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritu Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc et semper et in saecular saeculorum.
Amen.

My soul doth magnify the lord:
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden:
For behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is his name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm:
he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat:
and exalted the humble and the meel.
He hath filled the hungry with good things:
and the rich he hath sent away empty.
He, remembering his mercy, hath acknowledged his servant Israel.
As he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
Amen.

Don Hernando Franco (fl. ca. 1580)
Motet: In il huicac cihuapille (Reina celestial)
Motet: Dios itlazo nantzine (!Oh Senora!)

For many years, these two hymns were attributed to the Mexico City chapelmaster Franco. Recent scholarship has identified the true composer as an Indian musician who was the appointee of the Spanish composer. It was common for Indians to adopt the name of their Spanish masters, and the appellation "Don" indicates that the composer was a Cacique, a member of the Indian nobility, who enjoyed a position of privilege both among the Spaniards and among his own people.
Very little polyphonic music with native texts has survived, though many such works were composed to help convert the inhabitants of the New World to Christianity. These two compositions are simple hymns to the Virgin in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, and are the only surviving polyphonic pieces in that language. Though the counterpoint of these works is simple and unpretentious, their charm lies in their sober rhythms and vivid melodies. They reflect the syncretism of the two clashing cultures, as the composer combined the newly acquired European styles with the musical traditions of his own past. This combination, part Indian, part European, would come to define the identity of the Mexican people for centuries to come.

Sancta Ma cihuapille tenantzin Dios in titotepantlahtohcatzin. Mahuel tehuatzin topan xinotlahtolti in titlahtlacoanime.	Celestial queen, mother of God, our advocate, pray for us.
Dios itlazo nantzine cemihcac ichpochtli cenca timitztotlatlauhtilia matopan ximotlatlotli ixpantzinco in motlazo conetzin Jesu Cristo. Ca ompa timoyestica in inahuactzinco.	O lady, beloved mother of God, always virgin, intercede for us with thy beloved son, Jesus Christ, thou most beloved of the most high.

Gaspar Fernández (c.1570–1629)
Mi niño dulce y sagrado

The cathedral in Puebla was the second most important musical center in the Americas, second only to Mexico City. It was home to some of the greatest Mexican composers, and it flourished during the first half of the 17th century. The Portuguese composer Gaspar Fernández, who made his way to Guatemala in 1599 and eventually become Puebla chapelmaster in 1606, was only the first in a long line of brilliant composers that served the colonial city. Fernández wrote in many genres, but he is especially remembered for his villancicos: secular motets, usually on a religious theme, and with a Spanish text. A mainstay of colonial music, villancicos were usually allegorical in nature. This charming and tender villancico dates from 1609, and alludes to the recent birth of the child Christ. The first section displays the melody in the soprano alone; the second presents the melody fully harmonized in four parts.

Mi niño dulce y sagrado, encoged vuestras rodillas
que son cortas las mantillas, y el lugar desabrigado

My child sweet and sacred, tuck in your knees
For the cloak is short, and the surroundings are exposed.

Juan de Lienas (fl. ca. 1620–1650)
Lamentatio: Feria sexta, Lecto prima, a 4
Lamentatio: in coena Domini, a 4
Lamentatio a 5

The singing of the Lamentations of Jeremiah in the Catholic service at matins in Holy Week was long established in Europe, as was continued fervently in the New World. These three works, two for four voices, one for five, are the first lessons of the Lamentations, traditionally sung on Maundy Thursday, the Thursday before Easter.
Though details of Lienas's life are scarce, there is speculation that he may be the composer Juan Hernández, successor to Hernando Franco as chapelmaster at the Mexico City cathedral, and that he may have been Indian. Lienas's Lamentations (the anonymous work is almost certainly his) are in keeping with the Spanish tradition of the previous century. Their dark and somber mood, with characteristically low voices, are reminiscent in particular of the works of Cristobal de Morales, which circulated extensively throughout the colonies.

De Lamentation Jeremiae Prophetae Heth: Cogitavit, Dominus, Dissipare murum filiae Sion. Tetendit funiculum suum et non avertit manum suam a perditione. Luxitquae ante murale, et murus pariter dissipatus est.	The Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah Heth: The Lord resolved to ruin the city wall of the daughter of Zion; with a line he measured it, and did not withdraw his hand until he had completely overthrown it, bringing mourning on the city wall and rampart; now they are crumbling down together.
Teth: Defixae sunt in terra portae eius. Perdidit et contraivit vectes eius. Regem eius et principes eius in gentibus.	Teth: Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has shattered their bars. Her king, her nobles, are now with the pagans.
Non est lex. Et prophetae eius non invenerunt visionem a Domino.	The Law is no more. Even her prophets receive no further vision from the Lord.
Caph: Defecerunt prae lacrimis oculi mei, et conturbara sunt viscera mea. Effusum est in terra jecur meum super contritione filiae populi mei. Cum deficeret parvulus et lactans in plateis oppidi.	Caph: My eyes wasted away with weeping, my entrails shuddered, my liver spilled on the ground at the ruin of the daughter of my people, as children, mere infants, fainted in the squares of the citadel.
Jerusaleum, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.	Jerusalem, Jerusalem, come back to your God, the Almighty
Incipit Lamentation Jeremiae Prophetae Aleph: Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo; facta est quasi vidua domina Gentium: Principes provinciarum facta est sub tributo.	Here begin the Lamentations of Jeremiah the Prophet Aleph: How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people; how she has become a widow: She that was princess among the provinces, how she has become tributary.
Beth: Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrimae ejus, in maxillis ejus: non est qui consoletur eam, ex omnibus caris ejus.	Beth: She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her.
Omnes amici ejus spreverunt eam et facti sunt ei inimici.	All her friends have dealt treacherously with her and they are becoming her enemies.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem! convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum.	Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Return unto the Lord your God.

Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (1590–1664)
Villancico IX a los Reyes: Albricias pastores (1653)

Padilla was another of the brilliant line of composers that worked at the Puebla cathedral in the first half of the 17th century. He arrived there in 1622, and quickly became Gaspar Fernández's assistant. During his tenure as chapelmaster in the 1640s and 50s, the cathedral reached its musical apogee, receiving lavish financial support from the civil and church authorities. In particular, the cathedral supported a professional double choir, and composers were encouraged to write sumptuous polychoral compositions. Puebla thus became the center for polychoral composition in the New World.
As chapelmaster, Padilla would composer a series of Christmas villancico cycles. Each cycle consisted of nine compositions, the last of which was always dedicated to the three Kings. This villancico is from Padilla's Christmas ccle of 1653, and describes the trials of travelers come from afar to worship the child in the manger. The double-choir setting of the villancico reflects Padilla's (and Mexico's) worship of the brilliant tone color inherent to polychorality.

Albricias pastores, escuchad las nuevas mejores, Albricias zagales, estas sí que non novedades. que a la vista de un infante animo soy obediente, hoy ha rendido el Oriente la plaza mas importante.	Hooray, shepherds! Listen to the good news. Hooray, shepherd boys! This is indeed news. At the sight of a cheerful infant I become obedient. The East has today filled the most important post.
Victor el gigante niño que las fuerza de la rabia, prisioneras de sus ojos, nos han dado buenas pascuas. Rindan muy en hora buena, lo altivo de sus murallas, a lo humilde de un pesebre, y a lo débil de unas pajas.	The giant child is victorious over the forces of wrath, prisoners of his eyes, they have given us a fine Easter. Soon the pride of the great walls will yield, to the humility of a manger, and the weakness of the straw.
Sus homenajes lucientes consagren las torres altas, y presumirán de estrellas si les pone dios las plantas. Rica munición de perlas de dos ojos se dispara, Amor de la batería, no hay resistencia que valga.	His brilliant tributes will consecrate the mighty towers, and will pass off as stars planted by God. From two eyes a rich ammunition of pearls is fixed; To the battery of love, all resistance is futile.
Desenvocese la noche, pierda el ceño la montaña, resuene el aire alegrias, ponga el cielo luminarias. Parte un profeta luciente, y al presidio de Alcázar, con nueva luz les informa, con rayos de paz les habla.	May the night clamor, may the mountain lose its frown May the air resound with joy, May the sky light up A wise prophet departs, and to the prison of Alcazar, with new light he informs them, with rays of peace he speaks to them.
Tres gentiles Castellanos, al primer aviso marchan, para entregar a su dueño el corazon y la placa. El tesoro de sus Indias envía gozosa el alba, porque aprenda a ser riqueza de la que un pesebre guarda.	Three gentle Spaniards, at first notice begin their march to delivery to its owner the heart and the standard. The dawn joyfully delivers the treasure of the Indies that it might recognize the wealth brought forth in a manger.

Thomas Salgado (fl. 1725–1745)
Villancico: Sola Maria

Thomas Salgado was a candidate for the chapelmastership of the Oaxaca Cathedral in 1726, at a time when the musical establishment was struggling to come to terms with the invasion of the Baroque style. This villancico is Salgado's Examen de Opposicion, the examination that candidates had to undergo to obtain the chapelmastership. It is a Villancico de Precision, which required the candidates to set appropriate words in the text to their corresponding solfege syllables. Thus, the opening text "Sola Maria" should be set to the notes sol-la (or G-A), and Salgado obliges. The entire villancico contains numerous bizarre and humorous settings, word paintings and plays-on-words, including a strong umphasis on ut (C) over the words "Uterus of humanity", referring to the womb of the Virgin Mary. Another passage, remarkable for its chromaticism, alludes to the fact that a smooth chromatic ascent leads to Heaven, and not to hell. Salgado got the job.

Sola Maria quando sube, del Utero de la humanidad,
Por el Re-Mi de la gracia, le dize al Diablo la Fa.
Es compasillo lo humilde, y en cromatico le dan
Uno no dar al infierno, suave asi es la eternidad.
De la tierra en canto llano, se dio la culpa de Adán
Quando Maria el contrapunto, haze oy con su Magestad.
Suba, suba el sol,
Suba ut la aurora alumbrar
que pienza subir, supo bajar

When Mary rises alone, from the uterus of humanity,
With the oars of grace, she tells the devil her faith.
Compassion (compas=meter) is humility, and chromatically
One does not go to hell, for thus is eternity smooth.
From the earth and the plains (plainchant), she assumed Adam's guilt
Which today Mary counters with her Majesty.
Rise, rise O sun,
Rise to light the dawn
For he who yearns to rise, knows how to descend.

Manuel de Sumaya
Como glorias el fuego

In this newly rediscovered villancico, Sumaya plays on the words of the text, comparing the changing colors of the salamander to the transformation of Saint Peter, who, through trials of fire and contrition, travels from nothingness to leader of the church. In the final verse, Sumaya provides a striking image of Peter (who was martyred and crucified upside down): though his feet point to the sky, he is nonetheless head of the church.

Como glorias el fuego, de Pedro canta, abrazada las disfructa la Salamandra: que solicita, probar que solo el fuego le Canoniza.	Fire sings the glories of Peter; the scorched Salamander enjoys them, as only fire leads to sainthood.
Qual Salamandra camina, a el ardor, que no desdeña; y como a llorar se inclina, Quanto el agua a Pedro enseña, tanto el fuego le examina.	The Salamander walks to the fire, which it does not disdain, and it begins to weep; As the holy water cleanses Peter, so too does the fire cleanse.
So Contricion consumada, le haze Santidad crecida, con tanta gloria encumbrada que es Mariposa encendida, y Salamandra abrazada.	Its contrition consumed, its sanctity increases, with so much distinguished glory, that it is both brightly lit Butterfly, and a scorched Salamander.
Santo le hazo por tal modo, el fuego en esta Jornada, que siendo de fragil lodo, su polvo con ser de nada, le haze ir a Roma por todo.	Thus by fire is the journey to sainthood, as the fragile dust, derived from nothingness, leads the way to Rome and everything.
Luego el fuego en tal empressa, le Santifica esta vez, y en el Martyrio que espressa Quando da al cielo los pies, es de la Iglesia Cabeza.	The fire thus transforms, consecrating sainthood in his martyrdom, while his feet are to the sky, he is the head of the church.

Anonymous
Sequence for the Dead

The composer of this Sequence worked in Oaxaca at the end of the 18th century, and could possibly have been the Italian Ignacio de Jerusalem, who became chapelmaster in Mexico City in the middle of the century. The work is scored for four voices, strings and basso continuo, and is an indication of how far Oaxaca composers had progressed in the space of a few generations. The Italian influence is most evident in some of the instrumental passages, and the amazingly chromatic inner movements indivate a daring innovative style, even for the late 18th century.

Dies irae, dies illa Solvet saeclum in favilla Teste David cum Sibylla.	This day, this day of wrath shall consume the world in ashes as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Quantus tremor est futurus Quando judex est venturus Cuncta stricte discussurus.	What rambling there will be When the judge shall come to weigh everything strictly.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus Quem patronum rogaturus Cum vix justus sit securus?	What shall I, a wretch, say then? To which protector shall I appeal When even the just man is barely safe?
Recordare, Jesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae Ne me perdas illa die.	Remember, gentle Jesus that I am the reason for your time on earth, do not cast me out on that day.
Ingemisco tanquam reus, Culpa rubert vultus meus, Supplicanti parce, Deus.	I groan as one guilty, my face blushes with guilt: spare the supplicant, O God.
Pie Jesu, Domine, Dona eis requiem.	Merciful Lord Jesus: Give them rest.

Francisco Martinez de la Costa (fl. 1760s)
Credidi Propter

The Spaniard Martinez de la Costa was chapelmaster in Oaxaca for a short period, from 1765 to 1768, and he left behind, in addition to this Credidi, a half-dozen villancicos, which still survive in the archives. Based on Psalm 116, the Credidi is scored for six voices forming two choirs (the alto and tenor sing together against an SATB choir), with violins and continuo. Though not much is known about the composer, the Italian influence is once again unmistakable, particularly in the treatment of the instrumental lines.

Credidi propter quod locutus sum: ego qutem humiliatus sum Ego dixi in ecxessu meo: omnis homo mendax Quid retribuam Domino, pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi?	I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste: all men are liars. What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?
Calicem salutaris accipiam: et nomen Domini invocabo Vota mea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus: pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum ejus.	I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows until the Lord now in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Domine quia ego servus tuus: ego servus tuus, et filius ancillae tuae	O Lord, truly I am thy servant: I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaind:
Disupisti vincula mea: tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis, et nomen Domini invocabo	Thou hast loosed my bonds. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
Vota ea Domino reddam coram omni populo ejus: in atriis domus Domini, in medio tui Jerusalem.	I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.	Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

PULCHRITUDINA

Kathryn Ivanjack, soprano
Cecilia Seufert, soprano
Alicia Teeter, soprano
Christine Chu, contralto
Melissa de Graaf, contralto
Ann Fardanesh, contralto
Seth Arnopole, tenor
Gary D. Cannon, tenor
Anthony M. Lien, tenor
Joseph Palarca, tenor
Patrick Hoggan, bass
Michael Yap, bass

Ginger Cervantes, violin
Damian Ting, violin
David Calderon, viola
Esther Wright, cello
Cecilia Seufert, harpsichord

Gary D. Cannon, artistic director

program notes and translations by Mark Brill

PULCHRITUDINA is a student ensemble at the University of California, Davis, founded in 1997 by Gary D. Cannon, an undergraduate student of music. The core ensemble consists of eight singers, though performing forces can vary from groups of two to twenty. The intention of Pulchritudina is to present the public with opportunities to hear rarely performed pieces on the UC Davis campus. Each quarter, the ensemble has a different musical emphasis, consisting of a single musical timeframe and nationalistic heritage. This concert of Mexican Renaissance in Pulchritudina's second major public performance.

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