Program

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)—PRELUDE, FUGUE, AND CHACONNE IN C MAJOR (BuxWV 137) (Organ)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)—DUET FROM CANTATA 78 (Vocal Duet)

Johannes Brahms (1833-97)—FELDEINSAMKEIT (Op. 86 No. 2) (Mezzo Soprano Solo)

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)—ARIA FROM JOSHUA (Soprano Solo)

Oh! Had I Jubal’s lyre or Miriam’s tuneful voice,

To sounds like this I would aspire, in songs like hers rejoice.

My humble strains but faintly show

How much to heav’n and thee I owe.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91)—FROM MASS IN C MINOR (Vocal Duet)

VARIATIONS ON THE CHORALE “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten” (“If You But Trust in God to Guide You”)

Prelude by Randall Thompson (1899-1984), melody in Bass

Prelude by Randall Thompson, melody in Tenor

Prelude by Helmut Walcha (1907-91)

HYMN 453, stanzas 1-2, sung by all, standing

Prelude by Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933)

Prelude by Flor Peeters (1903-86)

HYMN 453, stanzas 3-4, sung by all, standing

Three Preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach:

Ornamented melody in Soprano

From Schübler Chorales, melody in Alto

From Orgelbüchlein, melody in Soprano

(Organ with Singing by the Audience)

F. Flaxington Harker (1923)—HOW BEAUTIFUL UPON THE MOUNTAINS (Vocal Duet)

Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the east, and

behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the

Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God. How beautiful upon the

mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth

peace, that saith unto Zion: “Thy God reigneth!” The glorious majesty of the

Lord shall endure forever. The Lord shall rejoice in all his works; the earth

shall tremble at the look of him; if he do but touch the hills, they shall smoke.

I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have

my being.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)—DU BIST DIE RUH (Mezzo Soprano Solo)

Thou art the calm, the quiet peace;

Thou art the longing, and what satisfies it.

Filled with desire and pain, I will to thee

A dwelling here in my eye and my heart.

Enter here with me, and lock

Quietly the gates behind thee.

Drive other pain out of my breast!

May this heart be filled with thy joy.

Let this view from my eyes be lighted

Only by thy radiance, O fill it fully!

Johannes Brahms (1833-97)—WIE MELODIEN ZIEHT ES MIR (Op. 105 No. 1) (Mezzo Soprano Solo)

Like melodies it passes

Quietly through my mind;

Like spring flowers it blooms

And hovers like an odor.

But when the Word comes and seizes it

And brings it before the eye,

It pales like the gray fog

And vanishes like a breath.

And yet, hidden in the rhyme

A fragrance rests

That mildly from the quiet bud

A moist eye calls forth.

Gustave Charpentier (1860-1956)—“DEPUIS LE JOUR” from the opera LOUISE (Soprano Solo)

Ever since the day I gave myself to thee, my future seems radiant with flowers.

I seem to dream in a fairyland heaven, while my soul is still drunk with

the joy of thy first kiss! How sweet is life! My dream was not a mere dream!

Ah! I am so happy! For love over me his wings is spreading! In the garden of

my heart a new joy is singing! All is vibrant and rejoices in my triumph! All

around me I see only smiles, light, and joy, and I tremble with exquisite delight

when I recall the charming memory of our first day in love!

Richard Rodgers (1902-79)—“YOU’LL NEVER WALK ALONE” from CAROUSEL (Mezzo Soprano Solo)

When you walk through a storm,

Hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark;

At the end of the storm is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart,

And you’ll never walk alone!

George Gershwin (1898-1937)—“SUMMERTIME” from PORGY AND BESS (Soprano Solo)

Summertime an’ the livin’ is easy,

Fish are jumpin’ an’ the cotton is high.

Oh yo’ daddy’s rich an’ yo’ ma is good-lookin’,

So hush, little baby, don’ yo’ cry.

One of these mornin’s you goin’ to rise up singin’,

Then you’ll spread yo’ wings an’ you’ll take the sky.

But till that mornin’ there’s a nothin’ can harm you

With Daddy an’ Mammy standin’ by.

Dudley Buck (1839-1900)—CONCERT VARIATIONS ON “THE STAR SPANGLED

BANNER” (Organ)

I. Theme. The audience is asked to stand and sing:

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?

And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

O say does that star spangled banner yet wave

O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

2. II.
   

3. III.II. Maestoso
   

III. Poco vivace

IV. Allegro non troppo

V. Minore adagio

VI. Fughetta: Allegro assai—Tempo I

Chris King, Jennifer Ponzoni, left, and Suzanne Clune, right, in St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, White Plains

CHRISTOPHER KING, Organist, is Director of Music at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in White Plains, NY, and Associate Organist at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys R. C. Church in Brookfield, CT.  He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Harvard University, where he studied organ with John Ferris, Melville Smith, and Lois Pardue.  An Associate of the American Guild of Organists (A.A.G.O.), he has given multiple recitals at Washington National Cathedral, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, San Diego Spreckels Organ Pavilion, Methuen (MA) Music Hall, Busch Hall at Harvard, and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, Baltimore.  In the last few years he played recitals at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.  He has served as Music Director of several churches and choral groups; four of his choirs have been heard in pre-service recitals at Washington National Cathedral.

SUZANNE CLUNE, soprano of Poughkeepsie, NY is a featured soloist recognized for her “remarkable vocal clarity” and “soaring soprano” voice (Times Herald Record).  Some of her performed works include MESSIAH, CARMINA BURANA, EXSULTATE, JUBILATE, Handel’s JUDAS MACCABEAUS, Haydn’s “Paukenmesse”, Mozart’s REQUIEM, Vivaldi’s GLORIA, Corigilano’s FERN HILL and several Bach’s Cantatas including BWV 202 (Wedding Cantata), BWV 51 “Jauchzet Gott” and MAGNIFICAT.  She has sung in many concerts with orchestras and chamber musicians for notable series, such as Broadway Concerts Express, Grand Montgomery Chamber Series, Hudson Valley Bachfest, Downtown Music Series of White Plains, Potluck Concerts, Music at Marist, West Point Cadet Chapel, Camarata/Ulster Choral Union and The Newburgh Symphony Orchestra.  Ms. Clune has also been featured in Samuel Barber’s KNOXVILLE: SUMMER OF 1915 in venues in the U.K. Her highlighted roles include DIE FLEDERMAUS (Rosalinda), THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (Rosina), THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO (Susanna), THE MAGIC FLUTE (Pamina), HÄNSEL AND GRETEL (Gretel) and LA BOHÈME (Musetta) for several organizations including the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra, Opera Company of the Highlands, The Hudson Opera Theatre of NJ, Delaware Valley Opera, Tri-State Regional Opera and Festival Theatre of NY.   She is a voice performance graduate of Purchase College.  When Miss Clune is not performing she works as an adjunct professor at Dutchess Community College and Associate Vocal Director of Marist College.

JENNIFER PONZONI, Mezzo Soprano, studied voice with Angus Godwin and choral conducting with Lawrence Doebler at Ithaca College. After moving to Orange County with her family, she performed regularly as an accompanist for the choral ensembles at Orange County Community College and was Music Director for the Wallkill Choral Society for several seasons. Ms. Ponzoni continued her vocal training with Claudia Cummings, and established herself as both soloist and chorister for several ensembles in the Hudson Valley region, including Cappella Festiva, the Hudson Valley BachFest Choirs, Camerata Chorale/Ulster County Choral Union, West Point Messiah Sing, the Newburgh Symphonic Chorale, and Orange County Classic Choral Society. In addition, she has taken part in several joint recitals and performed in various productions for The Festival Theatre of New York. She is currently the Alto Section leader at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church in White Plains and gives private instruction in both voice and piano at C.O.C. Academy of Music in Walden, NY.