May I welcome you all here tonight and say how delighted we are to be performing excerpts from Bach’s St Matthew Passion and Karl Jenkins’ Requiem. We are indebted to very many people, without whose support this concert could not take place.

We would like to thank Enniskillen Royal Grammar School for facilitating our weekly practices throughout the season. Our thanks go also to the caretaker, priests and parishioners of St. Michael’s Church who, for a number of years, have been extremely generous in allowing us the use of this beautiful building. We also appreciate the assistance of the clergy and staff of St. Macartin’s Cathedral, in providing rehearsal space and allowing us the use of the Cathedral Hall for supper after the concert. You are all most welcome to join us.

Special thanks are due to the professional and amateur musicians of the Sinfonia who provide orchestral support for us this evening. Our thanks also the young people from Fermanagh schools making up the Youth Chorale, who will accompany the Bach pieces. We are delighted to hear their combined voices. We are especially grateful to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland for substantial funding which has enabled us to stage this event. Our thanks go also to Fermanagh Omagh District Council for their funding contribution. We also wish to thank the businesses and individuals who have sponsored this event; please find their names listed in this programme.

We welcome this evening our soloists: our guest artist, Sarah Richmond, Mezzo Soprano; our own Jane McKinley, Soprano; and our musical director, David Robertson as Bass Baritone. We would also like to thank Caecilia Bastian who is the accompanist for the Choral Society at rehearsals and concerts.

It is an honour to be Chairperson of Fermanagh Choral Society and I would like to thank the members for their friendship and dedication to singing and a special thank you to David Robertson, our Musical Director.

Jonathan StylesChairperson of Fermanagh Choral Society

Welcome

PROGRAMME

Chorus Kommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagenChorale Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochenAria – Alto Buß und ReuAria – Soprano Blute nur, du liebes HerzChorale Was mein Gott will, das gscheh allzeitAria – Alto Erbarme dichAria – Bass Gebt mir meinen Jesum wiederChorale Wie wunderbarlich ist doch diese StrafeAria – Bass Mache dich, mein Herze, reinChorus Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder

INTERVAL

Requiem, Karl Jenkins Fermanagh Choral Society, Sinfonia & Youth Chorale

Conductor: David Robertson Soprano: Jane McKinley Mezzo Soprano: Sarah Richmond Bass Baritone: David Robertson

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Bach, St. Matthew’s Passion (excerpts)

The first half of the concert will consist of excerpts from the St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach. This is one of the seminal works of Western Classical Music and, as well as movements for choir, there will be a number of solo arias performed by local Soprano Jane McKinley and professional Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Richmond, with David Robertson also contributing two Bass arias. The work opens with chorus and orchestra who are then joined by a heavenly treble voice choir of local school children singing a beautiful Bach Chorale melody which interweaves seamlessly with the complex chorus and orchestral parts.

During his lifetime, Bach enjoyed more fame as a virtuoso organist than as a composer, and after his death in 1750 his music was largely neglected as being 'old-fashioned'.  We have Mendelssohn to thank, amongst others, for promoting the public rediscovery of Bach's genius by performing an abridged version of this Passion in 1829.  So much else of the great man's work, including at least two other passion settings, has been lost, that we may consider ourselves fortunate that this, one of the 'crown jewels' of western music, successfully negotiated the early years of its long journey from 18th-century Leipzig to world-wide acclaim. An indication of the great affection that Bach felt for the work is that he meticulously prepared a copy of the full score for his personal use.  In this beautiful document, which still exists, he even highlighted, in deep red ink, those words which were taken from the Matthew gospel.  When it was later damaged, he lovingly repaired, rebound, and hand-stitched the manuscript.  Despite all this effort at preservation, the score lay unused outside Leipzig until Mendelssohn's 1829 revival because those who studied it after Bach's death dismissed it as being 'unperformable', despite records showing that it had already been staged at least three times while Bach was alive.  The first performance took place on a Good Friday, in either 1727 or 1729, in Leipzig's Thomaskirche, where Bach was Director of Music. Its layout, and the fact that, on a Good Friday, Bach would have had larger than usual musical forces at his disposal, allowed the composer to divide his performers into two independent choruses with their own orchestras.  This arrangement allowed for a wide variety of sound textures, and no two arias or choruses in the work share exactly the same combination of instruments and voices.

Thomas McCahill

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Programme Notes

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St. Matthew’s Passion

ChorusKommt, ihr Töchter, helft mir klagen,Sehet - Wen? - den Bräutigam,Seht ihn - Wie? - als wie ein Lamm!Sehet, - Was? - seht die Geduld,Seht - Wohin? - auf unsre Schuld;Sehet ihn aus Lieb und HuldHolz zum Kreuze selber tragen!(Chorale)O Lamm Gottes, unschuldigAm Stamm des Kreuzes geschlachtet,Allzeit erfunden geduldig,Wiewohl du warest verachtet.All Sünd hast du getragen,Sonst müßten wir verzagen.Erbarm dich unser, o Jesu !

ChoraleHerzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen,Dass man ein solch scharf Urteil hat gesprochen?Was ist die Schuld, in was für MissetatenBist du geraten?

Aria – AltoBuß und ReuKnirscht das Sündenherz entzwei,Dass die Tropfen meiner ZährenAngenehme Spezerei, Treuer Jesu, dir gebären.

Aria – SopranoBlute nur, du liebes Herz!Ach! ein Kind, das du erzogen,Das an deiner Brust gesogen,Droht den Pfleger zu ermorden,Denn es ist zur Schlange worden.

ChoraleWas mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit,Sein Will, der ist der beste,Zu helfen den'n er ist bereit,Die an ihn gläuben feste..Er hilft aus Not, der fromme Gott,

Come, you daughters, help me to lament,See - Whom? - the bridegroom,See him - How? - like a lamb!See - What? - see his patience,See - Where? - our guilt;See how from love and graceHe bears the wood of the cross himself!

O Lamb of God, innocentSlaughtered on the beam of the cross,Always found to be patientNo matter how much you were despised.All our sins you have borneOtherwise we would have to despair.Have mercy on us, O Jesus

Jesus, most dear to my heart, what have you done wrong,so that such a harsh judgement is pronounced?What is your guilt, in what sort of wrongdoing have you been caught?

Penance and remorseGrind my sinful heart in two,So the drops of my tearsMay produce pleasing spices for you, faithful Jesus.

Bleed now, loving heart!Ah! A child, whom you reared,That sucked at your breast,Is threatening to murder its guardianFor that child has become a serpent.

May what my God wills happen alwaysHis will is what is best,For he is ready to help thoseWho believe firmly in him He helps them in their distress, the righteous God,

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St. Matthew’s Passion

Und züchtiget mit Maßen.Wer Gott vertraut, fest auf ihn baut,Den will er nicht verlassen.

Aria – AltoErbarme dich,Mein Gott, um meiner Zähren willen!Schaue hier,Herz und Auge weint vor dirBitterlich.

Aria – BassGebt mir meinen Jesum wieder!Seht, das Geld, den Mörderlohn,Wirft euch der verlorne SohnZu den Füßen nieder!

ChoraleWie wunderbarlich ist doch diese Strafe!Der gute Hirte leidet für die Schafe,Die Schuld bezahlt der Herre, der Gerechte,Für seine Knechte.

Aria – BassMache dich, mein Herze, rein,Ich will Jesum selbst begraben,Denn er soll nunmehr in mirFür und fürSeine süße Ruhe haben.Welt, geh aus, lass Jesum ein!

ChorusWir setzen uns mit Tränen niederUnd rufen dir im Grabe zu:Ruhe sanfte, sanfte ruh!Ruht, ihr ausgesognen Glieder!Euer Grab und LeichensteinSoll dem ängstlichen GewissenEin bequemes RuhekissenUnd der Seelen Ruhstatt sein.Höchst vergnügt schlummern da die Augen ein.

And chastises in measure.The person who trusts God, builds firmly on him He will not abandon.

Have mercy,My God, for the sake of my tears!Look here,My heart and eyes weep before youBitterly.

Give me back my Lord Jesus!See, the money, the wages of murder,Is thrown by the lost sonDown at your feet!

How amazing is this punishment!The good Shepherd suffers for his sheep,The Lord, the one who is just, pays the penaltyFor his servants.

Make yourself pure, my heartI want to bury Jesus himself within me,For he now within meForeverShall have his sweet rest.World, depart from my heart, let Jesus enter!

We sit down with tearsAnd call to you in your tombRest gently, gently rest!Rest, you exhausted limbs!Your grave and tombstoneFor our anguished conscience shall beA pillow that gives peace and comfortAnd the place where our souls find rest.With the greatest content there our eyes will close in sleep.

Requiem, Karl Jenkins

Any composer attempting to write a Requiem must immediately feel very conscious of how many of history’s greats have composed in this idiom.From Mozart to Verdi and Fauré to Berlioz, an illustrious list of composers have all triumphed with their moving, exquisite and often gargantuan requiems.

Step forward Welsh music master Karl Jenkins – who, in 2005, decided it was time to add his name to this collection. Jenkins’s Requiem absolutely fits into his unique and distinctive style. As with all of his major works, it’s an unashamed melting pot of musical styles. In keeping with tradition, Jenkins chose to set the traditional Latin text of the Requiem Mass. He makes a nod in the direction of the conventional, while still including a few surprises along the way. In the case of his Requiem, it’s the use of Japanese haiku poems, which, just like the Latin text, focus on the subject of death.

His Requiem was composed in 2005 and is dedicated to his father, a teacher and church organist, from whom he learned piano as a small boy. He grew up, after the death of his mother, with his grandmother, a widowed aunt and his father, on the Gower peninsula in south Wales. Although he trained at the Royal Academy as a classical musician he didnot return to those roots as a composer, until, having spent his twenties as a jazz musician on tour and his thirties as a writer of advertising music and jingles he felt the need to write music that was more expansive but which still benefitted from his interest in jazz and world music.

“Jenkins’ iteration of the Requiem is a powerful, boldly dramatic interpretation. It is a moving yet inspirational work, with everything from beautifully plaintive melodies to fierce and wild rhythmic sections, particularly in the ‘Dies irae’ or ‘Day of Wrath’. There are lots of opportunities for the percussionists to express themselves, while other, more reflective moments make poignant use of the harp and flute. One of the highlights of the work is the moving Pie Jesu which will feature one of our wonderful sopranos, Jane McKinley, alongside a talented young ERGS student, Harry Parkinson, singing the haunting treble solo. While most of the work is in Latin there are a number of moving Japanese Haikus that have been set to music, and which reflect on the nature of the soul and passing into the afterlife.”

David Robertson, Musical Director, Fermanagh Choral Society

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Programme Notes

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Requiem

1. IntroitRequiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.Et lux perpetua luceat eis.Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,Et tibi reddetur votum in JerusalemExaudi orationem meamAd te omnis caro veniet.Kyrie, eleison!Christe, eleison!Kyrie, eleison!

2. Dies IraeDies irae, dies illaSolvet saeclum in favilla,Teste David cum Sibylla.Quantus tremor est futurus,Quando judex est venturus,Cuncta stricte discussurus!Tuba mirum spargens sonumPer sepulcra regionum,Coget omnes ante thronum.Mors stupebit et natura,Cum resurget creatura,Judicanti responsura.Liber scriptus proferetur,In quo totum continetur,Unde mundus judicetur.Judex ergo cum sedebit,Quidquid latet apparebit.Nil inultum remanebit.Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?Quem patronum rogaturus,Cum vix justus sit securus?

3. The Snow of YesterdayHana to mishiYuki wa kinouzoMoto no mizu

Eternal rest give unto them, O LordAnd let perpetual light shine upon themA hymn, O God, becometh Thee in ZionAnd a vow shall be paid to thee in JerusalemHear my prayerAll flesh shall come before you.Lord, have mercy on us.Christ, have mercy on us.Lord, have mercy on us.

This day, this day of wrathshall consume the world in ashes,as foretold by David and the Sibyl.What trembling there will beWhen the judge shall cometo weigh everything strictly!The trumpet, scattering its awful soundAcross the graves of all landsSummons all before the throne.Death and nature shall be stunnedWhen mankind arisesTo render account before the judge.The written book shall be broughtIn which all is containedWhereby the world shall be judgedWhen the judge takes his seatall that is hidden shall appearNothing will remain unavenged.What shall I, a wretch, say then?To which protector shall I appealWhen even the just man is barely safe?

The Snow of yesterdayThat fell like cherry blossomIs water once again

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Requiem

4. Rex TremendaeRex tremendae majestatusqui salvandos salvas gratissale me, fons pietatis

5. ConfutatisConfutatis maledictisFlammis acribus addictis,Voca me cum benedictus.Oro supplex et acclinis,Cor contritum quasi cinis,Gere curam mei finis.

6. From Deep in my HeartKokoro karaYuki utsukushi yaNishi no kumo

7. LacrimosaLacrimosa dies illa,Qua resurget ex favillaJudicandus homo reus.Huic ergo parce, Deus:Pie Jesu Domine:Dona eis requiem. Amen.

8. Now as a spiritHitodama deYukuki SanjiyaNatsu no hara

9. Pie JesuPie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem.Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis requiem, sempiternam.

King of awful majestyYou freely save those worthy of salvationSave me, found of pity.

When the damned are confoundedand consigned to keen flames,call me with the blessed.I pray, suppliant and kneeling,a heart as contrite as ashes;take Thou my ending into Thy care.

From deep in my heartHow beautiful are the snow cloudsIn the west

That day is one of weeping,on which shall rise again from the ashesthe guilty man, to be judged.Therefore spare this one, O God,merciful Lord Jesus:Give them rest. Amen.

Now as a spiritI shall roamThe summer fields

Merciful Jesus, O Lord, grant them rest.Merciful Jesus, O Lord, grant them eternal rest.

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Requiem

10. Having seen the moonTsuki mo miteWare was konoyowoKashiku kana

Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine.Hosanna in excelsis!

11. Lux aeternaLux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,quia pius es.Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine,et lux perpetua luceat eis,quia pius es.

12. FarewellMame de iyoMiwa nara washinoKusa no tsuya

13. In ParadisumIn paradisum deducant angeli;in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyruset perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.Chorus angelorum te suscipatet cum Lazaro, quondam paupere,aeternam habeas requiem.

Having seen the moonEven I take leave of this lifeWith a blessing

Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.Hosanna in the highest!

Let everlasting light shine upon them, Lord,with Thy saints for ever,for Thou art merciful.Grant them eternal rest, Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them,for Thou art merciful.

FarewellI pass as all thingsLike dew on the grass

May the angels lead you into paradise;at your coming may the martyrs receive youand lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem.May the chorus of angels receive youand with Lazarus, once poor,may you have eternal rest.

Caecilia Bastian - Accompanist

Appointed accompanist to Fermanagh Choral Society in 2015, Caecilia studied piano to Grade 8 level with Jeanne Munroe. Caecilia is an organist for the Senior Choir in St. Michael's Church, Enniskillen (directed by Paul Flynn). She has studied the organ with Ian Mills of St. Columb's Cathedral, Derry and is presently pursuing her studies in both piano and organ at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama, Dublin.

Harry Parkinson - Treble

Harry, a Year 8 student at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, is the Treble soloist for this evening’s performance of Jenkins Requiem. Harry has been prepared by his music teacher, Miss Sheena Rasdale.

Jane McKinley - Soprano

At Royal School Dungannon she was in the choir and took part in two of the school Musicals, Oliver and My Fair Lady. She competed in Dungannon Music Festival, the Holywood Music Festival and the Ballymena Music Festival where she had been successful in winning various prizes. She has achieved her ATCL diploma in singing and is an accomplished singer.

While living in Belfast during her University years she joined with SingLive, a choir based in the UK. They performed at the Waterfront Hall with the Belfast Sing Live Choir and twice at the Royal Albert Hall with the complete UK SingLive Choir at the Night of 1000 Voices concert.

She joined Enniskillen Choral Society last year and is very excited to be a soloist at the Spring Concert this year. She is also a member of St Macartin’s Cathedral Choir. Singing is a great part of her life and she likes to take part whenever she can.

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Artist Biography

Sarah Richmond - Mezzo Soprano

Sarah was an ENO Opera Works Artist and NI Opera Young Artist. She graduated with Distinction from the RNCM, where awards included ‘The Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the Singing of Strauss’ adjudicated by Dame Janet Baker.Concert platform appearances include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Vasily Petrenko, Serenade to Music under Gergely Madaras and A Midsummer Night’s Dream under Sir Mark Elder. She

has performed the majority of the core choral repertory with choirs and orchestras across the UK and Ireland. She also performed in Monte Carlo as guest Mezzo for Ristretto’s performance of Messiah, conducted by Errol Girdlestone.Songs of Spring and Winter conducted by Paul Daniel, released by Stretto Records, featured Sarah as a soloist. She has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and several times on BBC Radio Ulster. Recital venues include Oxford Lieder Festival, UK Strauss Society, Chester Music Festival, NI Opera, Queen's University, Rhyl Music Club, Dolgellau Music Club, Belfast Music Society and Egerton Music Club.Operatic engagements have included collaborations with Iford Arts, Pavilion Opera, NI Opera/Nevill Holt Opera, Lyric Opera, Clonter Opera, Spark Opera, Castleward Opera, Wetherby Choral Society and Keele Concerts Society. Wexford Festival Opera awarded Sarah the Gerard Arnhold Bursary and in conjunction with PwC their Emerging Young Artist Award. www.sarah-richmond.com

David Robertson MSTAT - Bass Baritone

After winning the prestigious Elisabeth Schumann Competition for Lieder in 1995, David completed his undergraduate degree at Trinity College of Music, London, before moving to Italy to study with internationally renowned bass Enrico Fissore and soprano Sylvia Rhys-Thomas. Following a period of intensive concert and recital work, David moved to Vicenza in North East Italy to train in the Alexander Technique. He subsequently worked as a full-time interpreter and Alexander Technique teacher, before

returning to the UK, where he has set up a successful practice as a full-time singing teacher

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Artist Biography

and accompanist at second and third level, teaching in local grammar schools and at Queen’s University, Belfast.David is active as a recitalist and performer with recent activities including solo engagements with the Belfast Philharmonic, Ulster Orchestra, St. George’s Singers, Studio Symphony Orchestra and the Belfast Bach Consort, as well as a number of performances on BBC Radio Ulster’s “Sounds Classical”. Recent operatic roles include Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Escamillo (Carmen) with NorthWest Opera. David also recently performed as the main soloist at the inaugural Glasgow Tattoo in the SSE Hydro, Glasgow.David is also an apprentice Teacher of LearningMethodstm, a development of the Alexander Technique which helps performers (and non-) learn how to investigate and free themselves from issues such as stress, performance anxiety and nervous tension. This evening’s concert is the culmination of David’s first season as Musical Director of Fermanagh Choral Society.

Sinfonia

The choir are accompanied by an orchestra made up both professional and talented amateur musicians. Our musical director, David Robertson, made a conscious decision to create an orchestra with a mixture of experience and potential, as a wonderful way to give our talented local musicians and students a chance to play alongside skilled professionals, many of whom have played and indeed currently play with the Ulster Orchestra and other professional ensembles.

Fermanagh Choral Society

Fermanagh Choral Society is a mixed choir of about 50 voices. Past performances include Haydn The Creation, Faure Requiem, Handel Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Haydn Nelson Mass, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Rutter Requiem, Bruckner Requiem, Puccini Messa di Gloria, Vivaldi Gloria, Pergolesi Magnificat, Rutter Mass of the Children, Jenkins The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and Brahms A German Requiem.

The society has been invited to perform at events with a repertoire of classical music from various periods. Each December, for a number of years, the National Trust has hosted the choir performing a selection of Christmas music in the Grand Hall at Castle Coole. Past events have included concerts in Sligo cathedral, at the Carleton summer school, the Upper Lough Erne Islander Festival at Crom Castle and the launch of FLive in Enniskillen Town Hall. Fermanagh Choral Society has successfully collaborated with other choirs such as the Cavan Singers and Omagh Music Society.

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Artist Biography

New members are welcome to join the Society. Rehearsals take place in the Music Department at Enniskillen Royal Grammar School, Lough Shore site, at 7.30pm on Tuesday evenings. If you are interested in joining please email fermanaghchoralsociety@hotmail.co.uk

Follow us on Facebook @fermanaghchoralsociety & on Twitter @ChoralFermanagh

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Choir

SopranoMary BradyYvette BrowneHelena CorcoranHeather EllisVicky GilfillanEsther JanzenRosemary MagowanLiz McCaldinEmma McCrackenPhyllis McGuinnessOlivia McKeeMarion McKibbenJane McKinleyPetronilla O’ConnorSheena RasdaleCarmel Tracey

AltoAnne BeattieDoreen BoothCatherine ConroyOlivia CosgroveJane DunlopRosemary FrazerKathryn GaultTyga GeblerGillian GlassTraude GrahamMary HerbertSue HoggBeata Iwanicka

Michele KennedyMelanie LittleAnn McCarthyEmma McGarrityHelen McMurrayHannah NorthridgeDorothy PendryBridget RippeyNessa ScottMary Sloan

TenorCraig ArmstrongJonathan BeattyTom BeattyPaul BoothAlan GaultBrendan McCannJohn McCrea

BassDavid BurtonBryan GallagherJohn IllandJędrek IwanickiHamish LoganJames LunnyMatthew MurphyJonathan StylesDanny SutherlandJohn Walsh

Fermanagh Choral Society would liketo acknowledge support from the following businesses:

Dowler Homestore, LisnaskeaMurnaghan Fee Solicitors

The Manor Garden Centre, Lisnaskea

Aghinver Boat CompanyArmstrong and Kingston

Classics LadieswearCooper Wilkinson Solicitors

J C Brady and SonJ J Sloan and SonsMercer’s Jewellers

S D KellsThe Kissing Crust LisnaskeaTracey Concrete Enniskillen

Mr David Robertson, Musical Director, would like to offer his personal thanks to Dr. David Baxter, Erne Integrated College, for his role as Treble Choir Master, Miss Sheena Rasdale & Mrs Ann Bloomfield, Enniskillen Royal Grammar School for their assistance in rehearsing with the treble soloist and the musicians in the orchestra and Mrs Rachel Bingham, Omagh Academy who accompanied the choir at rehearsal in St. Michael’s Church.

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