ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.The Long Day Closespresents An Evening of Choral Excellence 1

W e l c o m e t o T h e L o n g D a y C l o s e s . To n i g h t M e i t h e a l i n v i t e s y o u t o s p e n d a n e v e n i n g i n s i d e a s i n g l e s u m m e r d a y . W e b e g i n i n t h e b r i g h t n e s s o f m o r n i n g : t h e j o y f u l c o u n t e r p o i n t o f B y r d ' s S i n g J o y f u l l y , t h e p l a y f u l c h a s e o f F a r m e r ' s s h e p h e r d e s s e s , t h e o p e n a i r o f M e n d e l s s o h n ' s f o r e s t . A s t h e p r o g r a m m e m o v e s o n , t h e s u n c l i m b s , t h e l a n d s c a p e f i l l s w i t h c o l o u r a n d w i t h h u m a n a c t i v i t y , a n d t h e m u s i c s e t t l e s i n t o t h e l o n g , g o l d e n w a r m t h o f a f t e r n o o n . T h e n , g e n t l y , t h e l i g h t b e g i n s t o c h a n g e . S t a n f o r d ' s B l u e B i r d f l i c k e r s a t t h e e d g e o f e v e n i n g . E l g a r ' s t o r r e n t s r u n t h e i r c o u r s e . A n d a s d u s k g a t h e r s , t h e r e p e r t o i r e t u r n s i n w a r d : t o w a r d s m e m o r y , s t i l l n e s s , a n d t h e q u i e t o f n i g h t . F i n z i ' s s p i r i t h a s s u n g a l l d a y a n d f i n d s i t s r e s t ; B r a h m s s i n g s i n t h e s t i l l n i g h t ; Ta l l i s a s k s s i m p l y t h a t w e l o v e o n e a n o t h e r . S u l l i v a n g i v e s u s t h e t i t l e s o n g a t t h e h e a r t o f t h e p r o g r a m m e , a n d r e t u r n s a t t h e v e r y e n d w i t h E v e n i n g , a s i f t o s e e t h e d a y s a f e l y t o b e d . T h e m u s i c t r a v e l s a c r o s s f o u r c e n t u r i e s , f r o m R e n a i s s a n c e p o l y p h o n y t h r o u g h t h e E n g l i s h R o m a n t i c p a r t - s o n g t o t h e v o i c e s o f o u r o w n t i m e . I n d o i n g s o i t r e m i n d s u s t h a t s o m e t h i n g s d o n o t c h a n g e : t h e f a l l o f l i g h t , t h e t u r n i n g o f t h e d a y , a n d t h e s o u n d o f a h u m a n v o i c e r a i s e d i n s o n g . M e i t h e a l i s a c o m m u n i t y c h o i r , w h i c h m e a n s e v e r y o n e o n t h i s s t a g e s i n g s b e c a u s e t h e y l o v e i t . T h i s p r o g r a m m e i s t h e w o r k o f a c o m p a n y o f s i n g e r s g r o w i n g t o g e t h e r , a n d w e a r e p r o u d t o s h a r e w h e r e t h e j o u r n e y h a s b r o u g h t u s . T h a n k y o u f o r b e i n g h e r e . A c o n c e r t i s o n l y h a l f a c o n v e r s a t i o n u n t i l a n a u d i e n c e a r r i v e s , a n d y o u r p r e s e n c e t o n i g h t c o m p l e t e s t h e m u s i c . W e h o p e y o u l e a v e w i t h t h e l a s t l i g h t o f t h e d a y s t i l l g l o w i n g s o m e w h e r e i n s i d e y o u . Welcome 2ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

Contents W e l c o m e C o n c e r t R e p e t o i r e S i n g J o y f u l l y U n t o G o d F a i r P h y l l i s I S a w S i t t i n g A l l A l o n e A b s c h i e d v o m W a l d e T h e B l u e B i r d A s To r r e n t s i n S u m m e r M e i t h e a l C h o r i s t e r s A b o u t t h e c h o i r T h e C o n d u c t o r A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s 3ununhinged.hinged.unhinged. 2 4 6 6 6 7 7 8 9 1 0 1 1

4 Sing Joyfully Unto God (c. 1590) William Byrd (c. 1540–1623) Byrd's most famous anthem, a six-voice setting of Psalm 81 that opens the programme with pure morning radiance. Its bright, interweaving lines tumble over one another in what feels like uncomplicated joy. Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone (1599) John Farmer (c. 1570–c. 1601) A cheeky pastoral tale from Farmer's First Set of English Madrigals: a shepherdess, her lost lover Amyntas, and the kiss that ends the hunt. The word-painting is the point, with the voices scampering "up and down" as the lovers search. Abschied vom Walde (1843) Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) "Farewell to the Forest", from the Op. 59 songs to be sung outdoors, setting Eichendorff's O Täler weit, o Höhen. A gentle, hymn-like goodbye to the green valleys as evening falls, so loved in Germany it is almost a folk song itself. The Blue Bird (1910) Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) A shimmering setting of Mary Coleridge's poem, from Stanford's Eight Part Songs. Translucent high voices ripple like water while a solo soprano floats above them, the blue bird itself in flight. As Torrents in Summer (1896) Edward Elgar (1857–1934) Longfellow's words, first heard as the closing unaccompanied chorus of the cantata King Olaf, later lifted out to a life of its own. Its rising, surging phrases turn sudden summer rain into pure yearning. Selected Part-Song from Op. 59 (1837–1843) Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) One of the six songs Mendelssohn wrote "to be sung in the open air", nature music for four unaccompanied voices, written for summer evenings like this one. Tell me which song it is and I'll give it its own two lines. My Spirit Sang All Day (1936) Gerald Finzi (1901–1956) The most radiant of Finzi's Seven Partsongs, setting Robert Bridges, in which the joy of a single day overflows the music. An ecstatic line carried aloft on harmonies that never quite sit still, like happiness that cannot keep quiet. Concert Repertoireununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

The Long Day Closes (1868) Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) The title song: Henry Chorley's words set as the most beloved of all Victorian part-songs, its long drowsy phrases easing the day to its end. So bound up with farewell that it was sung at Sullivan's own memorial service. Beati quorum via (c. 1888) Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) "Blessed are those whose way is blameless", from the Three Latin Motets, published in 1905. Its six voices enter one by one and build a luminous, rolling serenity, one of the most loved anthems in the repertoire. Abendlied (1855, rev. 1873) Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901) "Evening Song", setting the Emmaus disciples' words: Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden (Abide with us, for it is toward evening). Written when Rheinberger was sixteen, it is his most loved work, dense glowing harmony that holds the twilight in place. In stiller Nacht (1864) Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) An old folk text from Brahms's German Folk Songs for choir: in the still night, a voice laments a lost love. Tender and deceptively simple, the melody passes through the voices like a thought that cannot be shaken. If Ye Love Me (c. 1550) Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) One of the first anthems written for the new English church, setting Christ's words from John 14. Four voices move together in serene, chordal stillness, a music of pure reassurance. Only in Sleep (2010) Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) Sara Teasdale's poem about dreaming of those we have lost, written for the University of Louisville Collegiate Chorale. A floating solo line hovers over wordless, shimmering voices as the dead return, singing, in sleep. In the Bleak Midwinter (1906) Gustav Holst (1874–1934) Holst's beloved setting of Christina Rossetti's carol, written for The English Hymnal, its tune named after the Gloucestershire village Cranham. The cold, quiet verses gather to the famous close: what can I give Him? Give my heart. Evening (1868) Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) A four-part song from Sullivan's Seven Part-Songs, setting Goethe in Lord Houghton's translation to a graceful, flowing line. Published the same year as The Long Day Closes, it is the perfect companion: a gentler, later goodbye, the very last light.ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

6 Sing Joyfully Unto God (c. 1590) William Byrd (c. 1540–1623) Sing joyfully unto God our strength: make a cheerful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take the psalm, bring hither the timbrel, the merry harp with the lute. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, even in the time appointed, and upon our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob. Fair Phyllis I Saw Sitting All Alone (1599) John Farmer (c. 1570–c. 1601) Fair Phyllis I saw sitting all alone, Feeding her flock near to the mountain side. The shepherds knew not whither she was gone, But after her lover Amyntas hied. Up and down he wandered, whilst she was missing; When he found her, O then they fell a- kissing. Abschied vom Walde (1843) Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847) O Täler weit, o Höhen, o schöner, grüner Wald, du meiner Lust und Wehen andächt'ger Aufenthalt! Da draußen, stets betrogen, saust die geschäft'ge Welt; schlag noch einmal die Bogen um mich, du grünes Zelt! Wenn es beginnt zu tagen, die Erde dampft und blinkt, die Vögel lustig schlagen, dass dir dein Herz erklingt: da mag vergehn, verwehen das trübe Erdenleid, da sollst du auferstehen in junger Herrlichkeit. Im Walde steht geschrieben ein stilles, ernstes Wort vom rechten Tun und Lieben und was des Menschen Hort. Ich habe treu gelesen die Worte schlicht und wahr, und durch mein ganzes Wesen ward's unaussprechlich klar. O valleys wide, o heights, o fair and greenly wood, you, of my joys and sorrows, the still, devout abode! Out there, forever cheated, the busy world speeds by; throw once again your arches around me, green tent of mine! When it begins to dawn, the earth steams and gleams, the birds sing out so gaily your heart itself resounds: then let the gloomy sorrows of earth pass and blow away, then shall you rise again in radiant young glory. Within the forest written stands a still, serious word of rightness, love, and duty, and what is mankind's treasure. I read it, keeping faith, the words both plain and true, and through my inmost being all became clear, unspeakably. Original German English Translation 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

7 Soon I shall leave you, forest, walk strange in strangeness there, and watch on bright, moving streets the great play that is living; yet in the midst of life the weight of your earnestness will raise me, the lonely one, and my heart will not grow old. 4. 4.Bald werd ich dich verlassen, fremd in der Fremde gehn, auf bunt bewegten Gassen des Lebens Schauspiel sehn; und mitten in dem Leben wird deines Ernsts Gewalt mich Einsamen erheben, so wird mein Herz nicht alt. The Blue Bird (1910) Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924) The lake lay blue below the hill. O'er it, as I looked, there flew Across the waters, cold and still, A bird whose wings were palest blue. The sky above was blue at last, The sky beneath me blue in blue. A moment, ere the bird had passed, It caught his image as he flew. As Torrents in Summer (1896) Edward Elgar (1857–1934) As torrents in summer, Half dried in their channels, Suddenly rise, though the sky is still cloudless, For rain has been falling far off at their fountains; So hearts that are fainting Grow full to o'erflowing, And they that behold it marvel, And know not that God at their fountains Far off has been raining.ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

The Performers VOIC E S U N I T E D I N H A R MON Y . 8 Meitheal are Sopranos Kate Brogan, Aoife Connolly, Maeve Gallagher, Lucy Hanratty, Róisín Kavanagh, Eleanor McManus, Síofra Ní Bhroin, Ciara O'Donnell, Gráinne Walsh. Altos Orlaith Brennan, Niamh Costello, Rachel Doyle, Eimear Duffy, Deirdre Foley, Claire Hennessy, Fiona Kearney, Sarah-Jane Loughrey, Margaret O'Shea. Tenors Eoin Burke, Seán Flanagan, Dara McDonagh, Conor McGrath, Jack O'Malley, Tomás Reilly Basses Ronan Griffin, Pádraig Hynes, Cathal McCarthy, Brendan Noone, Liam O'Connor, Fergal Quinnununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

9 About the choir Meitheal is a community choir from Galway, and its name is its promise. In Irish, a meitheal is a gathering of neighbours who come together to help one another with work that benefits everyone: bringing in the harvest, building a home, supporting a family through its busy seasons. This choir gathers around the shared work of music. Under the artistic direction of Oran Tobin, Meitheal makes unaccompanied choral music rooted in place, community and imagination, drawing on the landscapes, folklore and living traditions of Ireland, and setting the great masterpieces of the choral repertoire alongside new music written for voices like ours. Everyone is welcome. Meitheal is open to singers aged eighteen and over, with no experience required: a choir where artistic excellence and generosity go hand in hand, and where every singer, whatever their starting point, is taken seriously as a musician. Tonight's programme follows a single summer day from first light to last, through landscape, memory and evening, which is exactly the kind of concert Meitheal exists to make: one that belongs to everyone in the room. Meitheal is a division of Unhinged, the Galway arts organisation founded by Rob Partridge and Oran Tobin.ununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

Oran Tobin is an Irish baritone, conductor, composer and educator based in Galway. He trained at the Cork School of Music, where he completed his first degree, a BA (Hons) in Music, and has since built a career that moves with ease between the classical tradition, contemporary music and the creation of new work. As a singer he brings a performer's instinct to everything he writes and conducts: a fascination with what the human voice can do, and with the way choral music brings people together. As a composer, he draws on the Irish landscape, folklore and the changing seasons, writing in a rich harmonic language shaped by lyrical storytelling, and his work blends traditional Irish influences with contemporary themes. As a conductor, he is known for performances that are technically strong and emotionally immediate, and for building ensembles in which singers of every level are nurtured, encouraged and taken seriously as musicians. He is the Artistic Director of Meitheal, Cór Bród and Réalt, co-founder of Unhinged and its first Composer in Residence, a role in which he champions living composers, mentors emerging ones and helps shape the sound of the organisation as it grows. He believes the best music is made in conversation: with performers, with audiences, with the space it is made in. Tonight's programme is that belief in action. Meitheal is the ensemble he founded and built, a place where artistic excellence and generosity go hand in hand, and every piece on this programme, from Byrd's radiant morning to Sullivan's quiet last light, has been chosen to carry you through a single summer day, and to show what a community of singers, under his direction, can do with unaccompanied voices in an ancient church at evening. Conductorununhinged.hinged.unhinged.

11 Acknowledgements Meitheal and Unhinged thanks the Rector and parish of St Nicholas' Collegiate Church for the generous loan of this beautiful building, and the Rev. Canon Helena O'Dowd for her warm welcome to it. With thanks to Dr. Marion O'Grady, who accompanied our rehearsals with patience and good humour, and to Declan Brosnan for sound and recording. Cover artwork by Fiona Lally of Claddagh Creative; photography by Conor McEvoy; programme designed and typeset in-house. Front of house and refreshments were looked after by Kate Brogan, Niamh Costello, Dara McDonagh and Ronan Griffin. Our sincere thanks to the committee: Aoife Connolly, Claire Hennessy and Conor McGrath, who keep the wheels turning, and to everyone who wrestled posters, tickets and the hundred small kindnesses that make a concert happen. We are grateful to Galway City Council Arts Office for their support, and to Unhinged, the umbrella organisation of which Meitheal is a division, for believing in this music. Finally, thank you to our families and friends, who heard every note first, from the kitchen, often at length, and always told us it was lovely. And thank you to you, the audience: a choir is only a choir when someone is listening. Enjoy the last of the light. We hope you enjoyed this evening of musicununhinged.hinged.unhinged.