Vocal Music
- Mass in D Major – Antonín Dvořák
- New World Symphony: Largo - Antonín Dvořák
- Prelude in D Major – Antonín Dvořák
- Hymn 411 - O bless the Lord, my soul! (St. Thomas (Williams))
- Hymn 255 - We sing the glorious conquest (Munich)
- Hymn 390 - Praise to the Lord, the almighty (Lobe den Herren)
- Hymn 493 - O for a thousand tongues to sing (Azmon)
- Psalm 146:1, 4, 6-9 Lauda, anima mea - tone II
Every year for almost 10 years now, the Good Shepherd Choir ends the choir year by singing a large work, usually a mass setting, as part of the 10:15 liturgy. This year our chosen work is by that Bohemian composer, Antonín Dvořák.
Most people know him for his Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, also known as the New World Symphony. Others might know him for the lyrical Humoresque and the song "Songs My Mother Taught Me." Like his fellow Czech composer, Bedřich Smetana, he was noted for turning folk material into the language of 19th-century Romantic music.
He started out, like most great musicians do (wink), as an organist. In addition to piano and violin, he began studying organ when he was twelve years old. His teacher, the German Anton Liehmann, realized the youth had gone beyond his own modest abilities to teach him, and urged Antonin's father to enroll him at the Institute for Church Music in Prague. The father agreed, on the condition that the boy should work toward a career as an organist. (Father Knows Best).
Dvořák graduated from the school in 1859, ranking second in his class. (I wonder who was first?) He applied unsuccessfully for a position as an organist at St. Henry's Church, but remained undaunted in pursuing a musical career. Ultimately. he was to succeed as a composer.
The Mass in D is one of his many choral works that have fallen from favor in the performance world. It was written in 1887 in response to a commission from architect and patron of the arts Josef Hlavka, later the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In 1886 Hlavka had built a chapel at his summer residence, a castle in Luzany in Western Bohemia. Hlavka asked his friend Dvorak to write a new mass for the occasion of its consecration. Dvorak wrote a mass for soloists, choir and organ. He completed the work within three months.
Given the purpose for which the mass was written, and conscious of the fact that it would be performed by semi-professionals, Dvorak opted for a simple form and clearly arranged choral parts. The Luzany chapel was quite small, so he also restricted the instrumentation, and wrote an accompaniment only for organ, making it a perfect vehicle for the Good Shepherd Choir. Even with these modest means, however, the composer created an exquisite work rich in melodic and harmonic imagery, whose exceptional quality destined it for far greater things than a mere occasional piece. Particularly appealing is its evocation of old church modes combined with the most up-to-date approaches in harmony at that time, distinct elements which Dvorak uniquely brought together with unerring spontaneity.
Soloists for the mass will be former choir member Kim Livingston Bollinger, from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Soprano, Jennifer Wright, choir director for the Pasadena ISD and member of the Houston Opera Chorus, Mezzo‐soprano; Jamie Dahman, Lone Star College, Kingwood voice faculty and also a member of the HGO chorus, Tenor; and Sean Elgin, presently singing with the Good Shepherd Choir and formerly with the HGO chorus, Bass.
He started out, like most great musicians do (wink), as an organist. In addition to piano and violin, he began studying organ when he was twelve years old. His teacher, the German Anton Liehmann, realized the youth had gone beyond his own modest abilities to teach him, and urged Antonin's father to enroll him at the Institute for Church Music in Prague. The father agreed, on the condition that the boy should work toward a career as an organist. (Father Knows Best).
Dvořák graduated from the school in 1859, ranking second in his class. (I wonder who was first?) He applied unsuccessfully for a position as an organist at St. Henry's Church, but remained undaunted in pursuing a musical career. Ultimately. he was to succeed as a composer.
The Mass in D is one of his many choral works that have fallen from favor in the performance world. It was written in 1887 in response to a commission from architect and patron of the arts Josef Hlavka, later the founder and first president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. In 1886 Hlavka had built a chapel at his summer residence, a castle in Luzany in Western Bohemia. Hlavka asked his friend Dvorak to write a new mass for the occasion of its consecration. Dvorak wrote a mass for soloists, choir and organ. He completed the work within three months.Given the purpose for which the mass was written, and conscious of the fact that it would be performed by semi-professionals, Dvorak opted for a simple form and clearly arranged choral parts. The Luzany chapel was quite small, so he also restricted the instrumentation, and wrote an accompaniment only for organ, making it a perfect vehicle for the Good Shepherd Choir. Even with these modest means, however, the composer created an exquisite work rich in melodic and harmonic imagery, whose exceptional quality destined it for far greater things than a mere occasional piece. Particularly appealing is its evocation of old church modes combined with the most up-to-date approaches in harmony at that time, distinct elements which Dvorak uniquely brought together with unerring spontaneity.
Soloists for the mass will be former choir member Kim Livingston Bollinger, from Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Soprano, Jennifer Wright, choir director for the Pasadena ISD and member of the Houston Opera Chorus, Mezzo‐soprano; Jamie Dahman, Lone Star College, Kingwood voice faculty and also a member of the HGO chorus, Tenor; and Sean Elgin, presently singing with the Good Shepherd Choir and formerly with the HGO chorus, Bass.
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