Notes on Anno Domini
This album, recorded in sacred spaces, is a tour of sacred music that offers music for every season in the Liturgical calendar. True to Seraphour’s mission, the music on this album is a conversation that spans centuries and stirs souls. Released November 15, 2024
Seraphour A.D. Album Notes
- O Magnum Mysterium
Mia Ruhman (b. 2003)
Recorded at Padre Serra Parish Church, Camarillo, CA
O magnum mysterium
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
jacentem in praesepio.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Ave Maria, gratia plena: Dominus tecum.
O beata Virgo, cujus viscera meruerunt
portare Dominum Jesum Christum.
Alleluia!!
O great mystery and wonderful sacrament,
that the animals should witness the birth of the Lord in the manger.
Blessed are you,
O Virgin Mary,
whose womb was deemed worthy to bear Christ the Lord.
(Alleluia)
Seraphour’s second commission project, is an ethereal setting of the iconic Christmas text “O Magnum Mysterium.” Written by Los Angeles Philharmonic young composer fellow, Mia Ruhman, this introspective setting highlights the intimate nature of the birth of Christ. It begins with a reflective and contemplative musical statement that builds to an excited celebration fit for the birth of a king and crafted to highlight the beauty of the female voice.
- Videntes Stellam
Cesar Alejandro Carillo (b. 1957)
Recorded at Padre Serra Parish Church, Camarillo, CA
Videntes stellam Magi
gavisi sunt gaudio magno:
et intrantes domum
obtulerunt Domino aurum,
thus et myrrham.
Seeing the star,
the Magi rejoiced exceedingly with great joy;
And, entering the house,
they offered the Lord gold, Frankincense and myrrh.
“Videntes stellam” (Matthew 2:10-11) is the Magnificat antiphon sung during the second Vespers on the second day within the Octave of Epiphany. César Alejandro Carrillo dedicated this setting to his friend, composer Javi Busto. The work is characterized by its homophonic texture, featuring elegant harmonic progressions and chromaticism that elevate the overall musical language. The result is an uplifting and bright interpretation of this ancient text.
The Epiphany, or the “manifestation” of Christ to the Gentiles through the visit of the Magi, is celebrated on January 6, also known as Twelfth Night. This feast, one of the oldest in the Roman Church, dates back to the late 3rd century. The narrative of the Three Kings from the East and the guiding Star has inspired a liturgy rich in imagery of rulers, kingdoms, dominion, and light.
- Kyrie
Bruce Vandervalk (1935-2024)
Recorded at St Vincent de Paul Church, Los Angeles, CA
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison.
Lord have mercy,
Christ have mercy,
Lord have mercy.
Born in Australia and trained in American Conservatories, Bruce Vandervalk, celebrated a long career in concert and church music. His setting of the Kyrie text (which he composed in 2021 for Seraphour) was not written to be a part of a mass, but as a solo concert piece. The tempo and texture changes in the setting offer an interesting insight into the repetitive text that can be at once fearful and hopeful.
- Miserere
Gregorio Allegri (arr. Aidan Vass) (1582 -1652)
Recorded at St Vincent de Paul Church, Los Angeles, CA
Miserere mei, Deus: secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.
Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum, dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea: et a peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: et peccatum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas cum judicaris.
Ecce enim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti: incerta et occulta sapientiae tuae manifestasti mihi.
Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et laetitiam: et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne proiicias me a facie tua: et spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.
Redde mihi laetitiam salutaris tui: et spiritu principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: et impii ad te convertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meae: et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.
Domine, labia mea aperies: et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.
Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: cor contritum, et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: ut aedificentur muri Ierusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiae, oblationes, et holocausta: tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.
Have mercy upon me, O God, after thy great goodness:
according to the multitude of thy mercies
do away mine offences.
Wash me throughly from my wickedness:
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my faults:
and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee only have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified
in thy saying, and clear when thou art judged.
Behold, I was shapen in wickedness:
and in sin hath my mother conceived me.
But lo, thou requirest truth in the inward parts:
and shalt make me to understand wisdom secretly.
Thou shalt purge me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean: thou shalt wash me,
and I shall be whiter than snow.
Thou shalt make me hear of joy and gladness:
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Turn thy face from my sins:
and put out all my misdeeds.
Make me a clean heart, O God:
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence:
and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
O give me the comfort of thy help again:
and establish me with thy free Spirit.
Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked:
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God,
thou that art the God of my health:
and my tongue shall sing of thy righteousness.
Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord:
and my mouth shall shew thy praise.
For thou desirest no sacrifice, else would I give it thee:
but thou delightest not in burnt-offerings.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit:
a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise.
O be favourable and gracious unto Sion:
build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifice of righteousness,
with the burnt-offerings and oblations:
then shall they offer young bullocks upon thine altar.
The Miserere is a sublime setting of Psalm 51 by Italian composer Gregorio Allegri. It was composed during the reign of Pope Urban VIII, probably during the 1630s, for the exclusive use of the Sistine Chapel during the Tenebrae services of Holy Week. Originally scored for two choirs, of five and four voices respectively, singing alternately. This, more intimate treble arrangement was created specifically for Seraphour by composer Aidan Vass (also heard on this album in the Veni Creator). It often serves as an anchor-piece for the ensemble’s lenten concerts/appearances.
- O bone Jesu
Johannes Brahms (1797-1828)
Recorded at Padre Serra Parish Church, Camarillo, CA
O bone Jesu, miserere nostri/nobis,
quia tu creasti nos,
tu redemisti nos sanguine
tuo pretiosissimo.
O gracious Jesus, have mercy on us,
because you have created us
and redeemed us with your most precious blood.
Published in 1866, but believed to be composed in 1859, this selection from Brahms’ Geistliche Chöre Op. 37, is presented here in its original scoring – for treble voices. Though a Romantic composer, his application of contrapuntal technique owes more to the study of Baroque vocal works than the influence of his musical contemporaries. Premiered by the Hamburg women’s chorus founded by Brahms in the year of their composition, the Op. 37 pieces are based on texts originally found in the Roman Catholic Liturgy.
- O vos omnes
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1540-1611)
Recorded at Padre Serra Parish Church, Camarillo, CA
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam:
attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.
O all of you that pass this way, attend and see
If there be any sorrow like my sorrow.
Attend, all you people, and see my sorrow
A contemporary of Palestrina and Orlando di Lasso Spanish composer, Tomás Luis de Victoria, was among the principal composers of the Late Renaissance. A priest and accomplished organist and singer, he is best known for his beautiful motet writing – especially for those written for holy week and around the offices of the dead. O Vos omnes, based on Lamentations 1:12 is traditionally presented on Holy Saturday.
- Alleluia
Randall Thompson (1896-1989)
Recorded at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA
Alleluia. Amen
Commissioned for the opening of the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood, Randall Thompson’s Alleluia was expected to be a fanfare. Given that the year was 1940 and war was gripping Europe, Thompson didn’t feel a fanfare was appropriate. Thompson would later say about the piece, “The word “Alleluia” has so many possible interpretations. The music in my particular Alleluia cannot be made to sound joyous. It is a slow, sad piece, and…here it is comparable to the Book of Job, where it is written, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Since its debut, Alleluia has become Thompson’s most often performed work.
- Veni Creator
Aidan Vass (b. 2003)
Recorded at St Vincent de Paul Church, Los Angeles, CA
Veni, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia quae tu creasti pectora.
Qui diceris Paraclitus, altissima donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio.
Tu, septiformis munere, digitus paternae dexterae, Tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura.
Accende lumen sensibus: infunde amorem cordibus: infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti.
Hostem repellas longius, pacemque dones protinus: ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium.
Per te sciamus da Patrem, noscamus atque Filium; Teque utrisque Spiritum credamus omni tempore.
Deo Patri sit gloria, et Filio, qui a mortuis surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God’s hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts o’erflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Amen.
Written as a commission for Pentecost, Aidan Vass’ setting of the iconic Liturgical text begins with the traditional chant. With mixed meters and a contemporary use of contrapuntal techniques the piece expands throughout the stanzas culminating in the haunting final statement. This setting of Veni Creator is a dialogue between the ancient and modern. It’s a piece that feels both timeless and fresh and it speaks to the ethos of the piece – an echo of the infinite.
- Audivi vocem de caelo
John Taverner (1490-1545)
Recorded at St Vincent de Paul Church, Los Angeles, CA
Audivi vocem de caelo venientem: venite omnes virgines sapientissime;
oleum recondite in vasis vestris dum sponsus advenerit.
Media nocte clamor factus est:
ecce sponsus venit.
I heard a voice coming from heaven: come, all wisest virgins.
Fill your vessels with the oil for the bridegroom is coming.
In the middle of the night there was a cry;
behold the bridegroom comes.
Taverner’s setting of the Matins responsory for All Saints’ Day, Audivi vocem de caelo, follows the well-established pattern of plainchant alternating with polyphony which incorporates the chant as a cantus firmus. Its unusual scoring for four high voices may be attributable to the liturgical custom associated with All Saints’ Day, whereby the responsory was sung by treble voices supposedly representing the virgins described in the lesson immediately preceding.
- In Paradisum
Chant, Mode VII (11th Century)
Recorded at St Vincent de Paul Church, Los Angeles, CA
In paradisum deducant te angeli,
in tuo adventu
suscipiant te martyres,
et perducant te
in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te suscipiat,
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.
May Angels guide you and bring you into paradise; And may all the martyrs come forth to welcome you home; and may they lead you into the holy city, Jerusalem. May the angel chorus sing to welcome you, and like Lazarus, forgotten and poor, you shall have everlasting rest.
This traditional Liturgical chant is an excerpt from the 11th century chant setting of the Requiem (was for the dead) mass. The In Paradisum and Chorus Angelorum is frequently sung at the end of a funeral service during the procession to the place of committal.
- Song of Miriam
Yoni Fogelman (b. 2002)
Recorded at the Herb Alpert Studio, Los Angeles, CA
וַ ִתּ ַקּ ֩ח ִמְר֨יָם ַהנְּ ִביָ֜אה ֲא֧חוֹתאַ ֲה֛רֹן] ַהנָּ ִביא[* ֶאת־ַה֖תֹּף ְבּיָָ֑דהּ וֵַתֶּ֤צאןָׇֽכל־ַהנִָּשׁי֙םאֲַחֶ֔ריָהְבֻּתִ֖פּיםוִּבְמחFֹֽת׃ וַַ֥תַּען ָלֶ֖הם ִמְרָ֑ים
ִ ֤שׁ י ר וּ ַ ֽל י ה ֹ ו ָ ֙ה ]ִמְריָם ַהשׁוֶֹמֶרתּ[ ִֽכּי־ָג֣אֹה ָגָּ֔אה ]ִמְריָם ַהנְִביאָה[ ֥סוּסוְרְֹכ֖בוֹ ָרָ֥מה ַבָיּֽם ] ִמ ְריָם ַה ַמ ָרה, ִמ ְריָם וְ ַה ַמעיַן [ ] ִ ֤שׁ י ר וּ ַ ֽל י ה ֹ ו ָ ֙ה [
] ׇכל־ ַהנָ ִשׁים ִעם ִמ ְריָם ַהנְ ִביאָה ִשׁירוַּֽליהֹוָה ִעם ִמְריָם[
Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron (the prophet’s) sister, picked up a hand-drum, and all the women went out after her in dance with hand-drums.
And Miriam chanted for them: “Sing to the Lord” (Miriam the Protector), “For He has triumphed gloriously” (Miriam the Prophet); “Horse and driver He has hurled into the sea.”
(Miriam the Bitter, Miriam and the Flowing Water) (“Sing to the Lord”) (All of the women with Miriam the prophet, Sing to the Lord with Miriam.)
The inspiration for The Song of Miriam (in Hebrew, Ha’Shir Shel Miryam) began with a flattering request by the Seraphour Quartet to compose a new piece of vocal music. They were aware of my Jewish background, and asked if I would write a piece in Hebrew about the Biblical character Miriam; I quickly said yes.
Miriam is directly mentioned only four times throughout the Torah (the five books of Moses), but each appearance is particularly meaningful. As a young girl, she watches over her baby brother Moses as he drifts down the Nile River in their mother’s basket. Later, she leads the Hebrew women in song as they walk through the Red Sea in celebration. Further into the desert, Miriam gossips about Moses, and she is punished by God with leprosy and forced to quarantine outside of the community. Finally, Miriam’s death is inscribed into the Torah, followed by the drying up of the Hebrews’ source of water, Miriam’s magical well.
Most of the Hebrew text I set to music comes from Miriam’s second appearance, when she unites the women in celebration of their freedom from slavery and victory over the Egyptians. Throughout the piece, each member of Seraphour is called upon to embody the strength and holiness of Miriam the Prophet, and eventually all four women sing together in harmony Chol hanashim im Miryam haniviah – “All of the women with Miriam the prophetess.” -Yoni Fogelman January 2023