Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Digital Concert Program
We are the Ones We are Waiting For
Gather by the fire, gather at the well.
Gather near the temple, gather where you dwell.
Gather before sunrise, gather at midday.
Gather in the twilight, gather where you lay.
We are the ones / We are waiting for.
Who will feed the hungry, who will serve the poor?
When will we answer the knock upon the door?
We are hands and feet, we are answered prayer.
When the world needs healing, we will all be there.
We are the ones / We are waiting for.
Five Mystical Songs
No. 1. Easter
Rise heart; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
With him may'st rise;
That, as his death calcined thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and much more, Just.
Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part
With all thy art.
The cross taught all wood to resound his name
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate this most high day.
Consort both heart and lute, and twist a song
Pleasant and long:
Or since all music is but three parts vied,
And multiplied;
O let thy blessed Spirit bear a part,
And make up our defects with his sweet art.
No. 2. I got me flowers
I got me flowers to strew thy way;
I got me boughs off many a tree:
But thou wast up by break of day,
And brought'st thy sweets along with thee.
The Sun arising in the East,
Though he give light, and the East perfume;
If they should offer to contest
With thy arising, they presume.
Can there be any day but this,
Though many suns to shine endeavour?
We count three hundred, but we miss:
There is but one, and that one ever.
No. 3. Love bade me welcome
Love bade me welcome: yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-ey'd Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
If I lack'd anything.
A guest, I answer'd, worthy to be here:
Love said, You shall be he.
I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on thee.
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
Who made the eyes but I?
Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.
And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame?
My dear, then I will serve.
You must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat:
So I did sit and eat.
No. 4. The call
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth death.
Come, My Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.
No. 5. Antiphon
Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
The heavens are not too high,
His praise may thither fly:
The earth is not too low,
His praises there may grow.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
The church with Psalms must shout.
No door can keep them out:
But above all, the heart
Must bear the longest part.
Let all the world in every corner sing,
My God and King!
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Hymn of St. Columba
Regis regum rectissimi
Propre est dies domini,
Dies irae et vindicatae,
Tenebrarum et nebulae,
Regis regum rectissimi.
Diesque mirabilium
Tonitruorum fortium,
Dies quoque angustiae,
Maeroris ac tristitiae.
Regis regum rectissimi.
In quo cessabit mulierum
Amor et desiderium,
Nominumque contentio
Mundi hujus et cupido.
Regis regum rectissimi
prope est dies domini.
King of kings and of lords most high,
Comes his day of judgement nigh:
Day of wrath and vengeance stark,
Day of shadows and cloudy dark.
King of kings and of lords most high.
Thunder shall rend that day apart,
Wonder amaze each fearful heart.
Anguish and pain and deep distress
Shall mark that day of bitterness.
King of kings and of lords most high.
That day the pangs of lust will cease,
Man's questing heart shall be at peace;
Then shall the great no more contend
And worldly fame be at an end
King of kings and of lords most high,
Comes his day of judgement nigh.
Hymn to the Virgin
Of one that is so fair and bright
Velut maris stella,
Brighter than the day is light,
Parens et puella:
I cry to thee, thou see to me,
Lady pray thy Son for me,
Tam pia,
That I may come to thee.
Maria!
All this world was forlorn
Eva peccatrice,
Till our Lord was yborn
De te genetrice.
With ave it went away
Darkest night, and comes the day
Salutis;
The well springeth out of thee.
Virtutis.
Lady, flower of everything,
Rosa sine spina,
Thou bear Jesu, Heaven’s King,
Gratia divina:
Of all thou bear’st the prize,
Lady, queen of paradise
Electa:
Maid mild, mother es
Effecta
Carry Her Over the Water
Carry her over the water,
And set her down under the tree,
Where the culvers white all days and all night,
And the winds from every quarter,
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
Put a gold ring on her finger,
And press her close to your heart,
While the fish in the lake snapshots take,
And the frog, that sanguine singer,
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
The streets shall flock to your marriage,
The houses turn round to look,
The tables and chairs say suitable prayers,
And the horses drawing your carriage
Sing agreeably, agreeably, agreeably of love.
Seal Lullaby
Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us,
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow,
Oh weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow swinging seas!
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine
I.
Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine…
Tormented by visions of flight and falling,
More wondrous and terrible each than the last,
Master Leonardo imagines an engine
To carry a man up into the sun…
And as he’s dreaming the heavens call him,
softly whispering their siren-song:
“Leonardo. Leonardo, vieni á volare”.
(“Leonardo. Leonardo, come fly”.)
L’uomo colle sua congiegniate e grandi ale,
facciendo forza contro alla resistente aria.
(A man with wings large enough and duly connected
might learn to overcome the resistance of the air.)
II.
Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine…
As the candles burn low he paces and writes,
Releasing purchased pigeons one by one
Into the golden Tuscan sunrise…
And as he dreams, again the calling,
The very air itself gives voice:
“Leonardo. Leonardo, vieni á volare”.
(“Leonardo. Leonardo, come fly”.)
Vicina all’elemento del fuoco…
(Close to the sphere of elemental fire…)
Scratching quill on crumpled paper,
Rete, canna, filo, carta.
(Net, cane, thread, paper.)
Images of wing and frame and fabric fastened tightly.
…sulla suprema sottile aria.
(…in the highest and rarest atmosphere.)
III.
Master Leonardo Da Vinci Dreams
of his Flying Machine…
As the midnight watchtower tolls,
Over rooftop, street and dome,
The triumph of a human being ascending
In the dreaming of a mortal man.
Leonardo steels himself,
takes one last breath, and leaps…
“Leonardo, Vieni á Volare! Leonardo, Sognare!”
(“Leonardo, come fly! Leonardo, Dream!”)
Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal
Hark I hear the harps eternal
ringing on the farther shore
As I near those swollen waters
with their deep and solemn roar
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, praise the lamb
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Glory to the great I am.
And my soul though stained with sorrow,
fading as the light of day
Passes swiftly o'er those waters
to the city far away
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, praise the lamb
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Glory to the great I am.
Souls have crossed before me saintly
to that land of perfect rest
And I hear them singing faintly
in the mansions of the blest
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, praise the lamb
Hallelujah, Hallelujah,
Glory to the great I am.
Shenandoah
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
And hear your rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
way, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
I long to see your smiling valley
And hear your rolling river
I long to see your smiling valley
way, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
'Tis seven long years since last I've seen you
And hear your rolling river
'Tis seven long years since last I've seen you
way, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
And hear your rolling river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to see you
way, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri.
Still I Rise
Though I have been wounded, aching heart, full of pain
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Just like a budding rose
My bloom is nourished by rain
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Haven′t time to wonder why, though fearful I strive
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
My prayer and faith uphold me 'til my courage arrives
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Still I rise (still I rise, as an eagle)
Still I rise (still I rise, soaring above every fear)
With each day I succeed
I grow strong and believe
That it′s all within my reach
I'm reaching for the skies
Bolstered by courage, yes, still I rise
(Still I rise)
Yes, it's all within my reach
I′m reaching for the skies
Yes still I rise, still I rise
Still I rise
Gentle as a woman
Tender sweet are my sighs
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Strength is in my tears and healing
Rains in my cries
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Plunging depths of anguish, I determine to strive
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
My prayer and faith uphold me ′til my courage arrives
(Still I rise, yes, still I rise)
Though you see me slump with heartache
Heart so heavy that it breaks
Be not deceived I fly on birds' wings
Rising sun, its healing rays
Look at me, you see a woman
Gentle as a butterfly
But don′t you think, not for one moment
That I'm not strong because I cry
Yes still I rise (as an eagle)
Still I rise (soaring above every fear)
Still I rise
With each day I succeed
I grow strong and believe
That it′s all within my reach
I'm reaching for the skies
Bolstered by courage, yes, still I rise
That it′s all within my reach
I'm reaching for the skies
Higher and higher, yes
Still I rise
Every Great Dream
Every great dream begins with a dreamer
A dreamer
Every great dream begins with a dreamer
A dreamer
Always remember, you have within you
The strength, the patience
And the passion
To reach for the stars
To change the world
You have the strength
You have the patience
You have the passion to change the world
Every great dream begins with a dreamer
A dreamer
Every great dream begins with a dreamer
A dreamer
Dream
Stars
Alone in the night on a dark hill
With pines around me spicy and still
And a heaven full of stars over my head
White and topaz and misty red;
Myriads with beating hearts of fire
The aeons cannot vex or tire;
Up the dome of heaven like a great hill
I watch them marching stately and still
And I know that I am honored to be
Witness of so much majesty
Choose Something Like a Star
O Star, The fairest one in sight
O Star, We grant your loftiness the right
O Star, To some obscurity of cloud
O Star, It will not do to say of night,
O Star, Since dark is what brings out your light.
O Star...
Some mystery becomes the proud.
But to be wholly taciturn
In your reserve is not allowed.
Say something to us we can learn
By heart and when alone repeat.
Say something! And it says 'I burn.'
But say with what degree of heat.
Talk Fahrenheit, talk Centigrade.
Use language we can comprehend.
Tell us what elements you blend.
It gives us strangely little aid,
But does tell something in the end.
O Star…
And steadfast as Keats' Eremite,
Not even stooping from its sphere,
It asks a little of us here.
It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid.
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