Fanfare Magazine Issue 47:4 (Mar/Apr 2024)
Ken Meltzer (Choral I)
Sing, Alleluia: An Interview with Barbara Harbach
Volume 17 of MSR Classics’ ongoing series, Music of Barbara Harbach, is the first to explore the American composer’s choral music. I spoke with Barbara Harbach about the pieces on Choral Music I, and her work in the genre of vocal compositions.
This is our second interview, and the sixth MSR Classics recording devoted to your music that I’ve reviewed. It’s also the first MSR release to explore your choral works. Tell us about your involvement in choral music. Has it been an integral part of your work as a composer?
I grew up in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains in a little town that no longer exists called Livonia, PA. The nearest town was eight miles away. The town basically consisted of the homes of my grandfather and my father’s two sisters. My paternal grandparents had an inn that was called Livonia Hotel, which was famous for its Sunday chicken dinners, and people came from far and near for the outstanding cuisine. In late fall, many hunters would also come and stay at the hotel.
My church playing for church services began in the saloon that was part of the hotel called the Barroom when I was nine years old. I played on a harmonium in the saloon attended by family members and hunters. I then went on to my first paid position at a United Church of Christ that was eight miles away, and since I was tall, I could reach the pedals of the Hammond B3. Over the years I had may positions as organist or organist/choir director in Roman Catholic Churches, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, as well as a Synagogue.
As most composers, I began writing for what I knew best, organ and choral music. I enjoyed writing for my adult choirs and junior or youth choirs. I really became passionate about choral writing after I graduated from Yale University and took an Episcopalian position as organist and choir director in Rochester, NY. I wrote a few anthems for my choirs, both adult and youth, and the choir members were gracious and kind and encouraged my efforts. They encouraged me to send away an anthem I wrote for the choir, Praise Him with the Trumpet (which is the first piece on the CD), and I sent it off to a publisher. I didn’t hear anything, and a month or two later I received a packet from the publisher, and I thought, “Oh well, they didn’t like the anthem so they sent me copies of anthems on how to write good choral music.” When I opened the packet, in it was a contract and the galley proofs for the piece. I was overwhelmed! The first year the royalties surprised my husband and me, and we ate at a French restaurant with all the trimmings. The second year we ate at McDonald’s with the royalties, and the third year, I received all the copies that they did not sell and several postage stamps as royalties. With the publication of Praise Him I thought, “Oh, this is easy, I will write and publish choral anthems. However… I did not publish any other choral anthems for years after that.
As time passed, I kept writing choral music and branching out into song cycles, solos, and after gaining confidence in instrumental writing, I had the courage to write musicals and operas. In 2009 Booth! – An American Musical was performed off-Broadway at Skirball Theatre, NYC, and my opera O Pioneers! – An American Opera was premiered at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. I am now writing an opera with the outstanding and gifted librettist, Linda Rimel, called Pushkin in Baltimore. We have written musicals and operas together and are always on the lookout for a performance venue.
Are there specific challenges in composing choral works that might not be as pressing or apparent in chamber and orchestral instrumental works?
I have worked mostly with volunteer church choirs or community choral organizations and have learned the capabilities of writing for those voices. Having had choirs in New York, California, Washington, and Missouri, regional accents can be a challenge as well as teaching a piece that is in Latin or a foreign language. I have always enjoyed striving to have my choirs rise to a level beyond what they think they can do. It is a joy to hear a choir sing a Schubert Mass or Vivaldi’s Gloria to the best of their ability, Gott sei Dank.
Your choral music disc is divided into five sections: Sacred Music, Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, Spirituals, and Secular Music. I note that the compositions dates range from 1990-2021. If we could cover the Sacred Music (encompassing the Christmas and Easter works as well), tell us about the circumstances that led to these works’ creations.
The choirs I have worked with over the years welcomed new music as well as held an appreciation for traditional choral literature. Sacred music or general music does not include Advent-Christmas or Lent-Easter. There are a lot of Sundays to provide music on general topics as Bach did with his Cantatas. Yes, there is a span on the CD from 1990-2021. I have written a lot of choral music, and the choices were difficult. Some of the pieces I wrote in the late 70s, and when I revised them, used the later date.
Sacred Music
Praise Him with the Trumpet (1990) is from Psalm 150 with vocal trumpet calls, rollicking bass lines, tightly knit harmonies and vocal glissandi.
Sing, Alleluia (2018) begins with a meditative mantra and uses only the two words “Sing, Alleluia.” The strong middle section still uses these two words but transforms them into a glorious section praising God.
The Hills Shout Glad Hosannas (2007) is a rousing anthem with an exuberant piano part, “The earth itself awakens to greet the Prince of Peace and sings of restoration of energy released.”
Sing, Jubilation (2018) is a celebratory response to Psalm 116: 15, 16. Dextera Domini is the right hand, the dexterous hand, of the Lord, and jubilatio is jubilation, wild shouting, and whooping. The soaring melodies and jubilant spirit are especially appropriate for the celebration of the Easter Vigil where it was first sung.
Advent and Christmas
This Night in Bethlehem (2990) is a serene, a cappella setting telling the story of the mysterious night of Christ’s birth.
Sing! Christ is Born (2990) is an exuberant Christmas choral setting, “Sing with loud and joyful voices. Sound the trumpet! Sound the horn! Earth is glad, and heaven rejoices. Christ is Born”
Audible Light (1991) is a joyous song featuring synesthesia, “Radiate singing! Reverberate light! Brightness and music together this night.”
Lent and Easter
Bathe My Soul I (1991) is a SATB a cappella motet featuring bleakness and with hope at the end:
“As in a desert, desolate, I wander…Bathe my soul in gentle rain… And let a stream of soothing words refresh me as the morning dew.”
Of Christ’s Dark Cup (1991 is a dramatic Holy Week anthem,
“Of Christ’s dark cup of sorrow, drink,
And of his crucifixion think…”
The litany pleads, “Grant us, Lord, your mercy.”
Turn Round, O My Soul, To Your Rest (2018) is a eulogy and elegy for All Souls Day, remembering the friends and loves that have passed through our lives. The melodies and harmonies evoke the feelings that words cannot express – sadness, beauty, mournfulness, grief, sorrow, and nobleness. The harshness of grief is portrayed by the dissonance near the end of the middle section with loud, tension, and grief-stricken chords. Convertere, anima mea, in requiem tuam, requiem.
Mary’s Joyful Shout (1990) for SATB with piano is an ecstatic Easter cry, “Awake! Awake! Come see what God has done. Come see! Come See! The resurrected Son!”
In Peace and Joy I Now Depart (2016) is a six-phrase hymn by Martin Luther. I was inspired to write a two-part piece with the form of ABAB. The A parts are newly composed with the ethos underscoring a feeling of Peace, while the B portions evoke the feeling of Joy. The A section begins with a decorated flute melody with comments by the altos, tenors, and basses. The Joy section is reminiscent of a Renaissance dance with the flute melody soaring above with ecstatic fervor. The flute melody from the beginning of the piece (A) now returns and is joined in the dialogue by the piano, followed by the dancelike B section. The piece ends on a joyous note for the final words “That death is but a slumber.”
One of the qualities of your music I’ve noted in my various reviews is the sense of life-affirming optimism. I find this even in moments depicting pain and despair. I wonder if you agree with my assessment. Does that inform your approach to the various sacred choral works on this recording, and perhaps to the choral works in general?
Sometimes when life is its most challenging or frustrating or melancholic, the music comes out joyously, perhaps my way of coping with difficult issues. Other times, soulful melodies emerge from happiness. In Peace and Joy I Now Depart is a Lent-Easter piece, and should be desolate or repentant, but adding a Renaissance dance-bounce to the B section brings the piece to life.
The two words of Sing, Alleluia should perhaps portray an upbeat piece, but my setting of turned out melodic and haunting. Yes, I agree with you that my music is life-affirming – I strive to be a “glass half full.”
The section devoted to Spirituals opens with your 2021 arrangement of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” The vocalist on the MSR recording is Louise Clare Marshall. Tell us a bit about this remarkable artist.
Louise Clare Marshall was recommended to me by the Apollo Voices of London, and when I heard her recordings, I knew that she would be the definitive voice to sing “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” She is an outstanding and exceptional artist. Her skills span across genres from Jazz, Pop, R&B, Electronic, Classical to Gospel music. Louise has worked with Beverley Knight, David Gilmour, Michael Ball, Robbie Williams, Bryan Ferry, Ronnie Wood, Van Morrison, Sheila Ferguson, Sam Brown, Steve Winwood, Paul Young, Don Blackman, Solomon Burke, Karl Jenkins, and John Rutter. She has performed in London’s West End in Jesus Christ Superstar (Lyceum Theatre), Whistle Down the Wind (Aldwych Theatre), The Genius of Ray (Haymarket) and with Soul Train on their first UK tour.
Did you create this arrangement for Marshall?
Marshall would be a great inspiration to any composer! When I had an Evangelical Lutheran Church position in St. Louis as organist and choir director, a member of the choir asked if I would write a piece for her, and I happily agreed. Since I love spirituals, I played through many, and when I came to “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child,” I knew it was the one I wanted or needed to arrange. My mother was a gifted soprano, and I remember her singing spirituals to me as a child.
As you describe: “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child has an improvisatory feel over a walking bass line with key changes and a wide range for the soloist and pianist.” It’s quite the showcase for Marshall, including many striking embellishments of the basic vocal line. Are those embellishments written into your arrangement?
Some of the embellishments were written, but I gave Marshall free rein to interpret the spiritual as it moved and resonated within her. And what an interpretation!
“When I Cross That River” is a new Spiritual by you. What do you see as the role of a 21st century composer in the creation of Spirituals? Are there any
Spirituals and/or performers who influenced your approach to this work?
I would hope that 21st century composers appreciate the genres that have come before us and investigate the genres from past generations. Along with spirituals, I am interested in 18th century music such as William Billings and the great hymn writers of that era. I have made many arrangements of 18th and 19th century hymns for solo organ and other ensembles.
Toccatas and Fugues on American Hymns
Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine – Phoebe Palmer Knapp
There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy – Lizzie Tourjee
Nearer, Still Nearer – Lena Naylor Morris
Toccatas and Fugues on Hymns from the Sacred Harp
Chester – William Billings
Hebrew Children – David Walker
The Morning Trumpet – B B.F. White
Toccatas and Fugues on Hymns by European Women Composers
Give of Your Best – Charlotte Barnard
Ye Boundless Realms of Joy – Frances Chattock
Who is on the Lord’s Side – C. Luise Reichardt
I am a fan of gospel music, and The Edwin Hawkins Singers (“O Happy Day” which I performed with my choirs) are an influence, as well the incomparable improv style of Ray Charles.
Your Spiritual “Many Thousands Gone”, a setting of a text by Jonathan Yordy, “was inspired by the empathy Harbach felt for Harriet and Dred Scott while standing on the steps of the St. Louis Courthouse…” Tell us a bit more about that inspiration, and what you express in this Spiritual.
Standing on the steps of the St. Louis Courthouse where many had stood before, I was engulfed and overcome with the sadness and despair for all those who were gone. I had written several pieces about Harriet and Dred Scott, a three-movement Freedom Suite for String Orchestra (I. Harriet Scott – A Strong Woman, II. Eliza and Lizzie – Let My People Go!, and III. Freedom – At Last). “Many Thousands Gone” expresses my feeling of injustice and cruelty, then incorporated the song into my musical, Tom and Sally – A Slave to Love (Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings). In the musical, the piece is sung by four anonymous slaves as they await their turn on the steps.
I also felt compelled to arrange spirituals for orchestra, Spiritualis for Orchestra, and included the spirituals Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and Give Me Jesus, Wade in the Water, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, and They Crucified My Lord.
The concluding section of the MSR recording, Secular Music, includes excerpts from two musicals composed by you. First is Hester, An American Musical, based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter (1850), Hester – An American Musical contains portraits of the three main characters: Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale. The church elders, Hester’s daughter Pearl, and the witch create an unforgettable story.
“Here I Stand” is a solo for Hester Prynne. Tell us about this piece of music, and its dramatic significance in your musical.
In Hester, the song “Here I Stand” highlights the conflicts that Hester faced in her life: guilt and confession, sin and purity, sex, and abstinence, making her a lasting heroine in American literature. The music reflects these turbulent and conflicting qualities in dissonance versus lyricism, both rhythmically and melodically. Hester faces indecision and anguish over her life choices, longing and searching for redemption and solace.
Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is obsessed with exacting revenge on Hester and Dimmesdale for their illegitimate child, Pearl. He is portrayed as a symbol of evil who does the devil’s bidding. His music is restless and dark, portraying his obsession, conniving, and manipulation. The slower tempos indicate his evil ability to use the aura of sacred music to further his nefarious desires.
Dimmesdale, the ordained Puritan minister, struggles with the status of his soul: he ably carries out his pastoral duties but knows he has sinned and will be eternally doomed. Themes are reminders of his fragility and guilt, and his confession on the scaffold. Dimmesdale’s torture is depicted by the alternation of major and minor intervals and keys.
Another of your musicals, is Tom and Sally – A Slave to Love.
Tom & Sally: A Slave to Love is a fictional account of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings.
In Tom and Sally – A Slave to Love, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings had a clandestine, illicit, and loving relationship; and Thomas allegedly fathered six of Sally’s children. Sally Hemings’ mother, Betty, was biracial, and Betty’s father, Captain John Hemings, was white. Sally’s father was John Wayles, who was the father of Jefferson’s wife, Martha. Sally Hemings was half-sister to Jefferson’s wife and three quarters white.
When Jefferson served as United States Minister to France, Sally Hemings joined Jefferson in France to care for his daughter along with Sally’s elder brother, James. At the age of 16, Sally became pregnant. Sally was about 16 years old, and Jefferson 44. Although Sally and her brother James were free in France (which had abolished slavery), Sally agreed to return to Monticello with the understanding that Jefferson promised to free her children when they became of age at 21.
“America, the Promised Land” is a patriotic anthem from Tom and Sally. What characters perform that music in the show?
This rousing and moving patriotic tribute to America has verses for men’s chorus, women’s chorus, and an interlude for the instruments. Sung by the entire cast, it is the belief that the slave owners believed, and it is what the slaves were told when taken, that America is the Promised Land. It is a sentiment that still rings true today.
We’ll see our sons and daughters rise
To take their rightful place,
As full and equal citizens,
Regardless of race.
America, the chosen place
For those of ev’ry race,
America, the chosen place,
A land of hope and grace.
We’ll know it’s right when we can look
Beyond a person’s skin,
And build a place where all join in
As proud Americans.
America, where all join in
As equal citizens.
America, the chosen place,
A land of hope and grace.
The foundation for the works on Choral Music I are SATB Chorus and Piano. But on occasion, you also incorporate solos and other instruments. Tell us about some such moments in the featured compositions.
In “America, the Promised Land” I used SATB, and augmented the voices with three trumpets, snares and piano for a patriotic feel. In the middle of the piece is a short fiddle tune which would be appropriate to the period. “Many Thousands Gone” is for SSAATTBB, and the flute, cello, and piano add poignancy to the lyrics. The flute in “Sing, Alleluia” adds countermelodies that provide a soaring haunting aspect to the piece.
We’ve talked about vocalist Louise Clare Marshall and her performance of your arrangement of “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” But all the performers on Choral Music I are impressive. Tell us about those artists, and your collaborations with them.
I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have the Apollo Voices of London perform my Choral Music I. The singers were outstanding, artistic, professional, and supportive of an American composer. Genevieve Ellis, conductor, and Timothy End, pianist, inspired all of us! I was thrilled when Ellis asked if I wanted the English to be London, American or Mid-Atlantic, and we went with Mid-Atlantic!
May we expect more Harbach choral releases from MSR?
Yes, the repertoire for Choral Music II is chosen, and I have too many pieces for a CD, so maybe there will be Choral Music III!
HARBACH Praise Him with a Trumpet1,7. Sing, Alleluia1,4,7. The Hills Shout Glad Hosannas1,7. Sing, Jubilation1,7. This Night in Bethlehem1. Sing! Christ is Born1,7. Audible Light1,7. Bathe My Soul1. Of Christ’s Dark Cup1,7. Turn Round, O My Soul1,7. Mary’s Joyful Shout1,7. In Peace and Joy I Now Depart1,4,7. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child3,7. Give Me Jesus1,7. When I Cross That River1,7. Many Thousands Gone1,4,6,7. Hester-An American Musical: Here I Stand2,7. Intoxicated by the Wine of Love1,7. Sunset St. Louis1,7. Women Composers1,7. Tom and Sally-A Slave to Love: America, the Promised Land1,5,7 1Genevieve Ellis, cond; 2Sarah-Jane Lewis (mez); 3Louise Clare Marshall (alt); 1Apollo Voices of London; 4Margaret Campbell (fl); 5Thomas Nielsen, Katie Smith, Tom Watts (tpt); 6Pedro Silva (vc); 5Gary Lovenest (snare dr); 7Timothy End (pn) MSR 1794 (75:40 )
Choral Music I is Vol. 17 in MSR’s ongoing survey of the works of American composer Barbara Harbach. The CD comprises four sections; Sacred Music, Advent and Christmas, Spirituals, and Secular Music. The bulk of the works are scored for chorus and piano. But there are also settings that include vocal soloists and/or instruments, a cappella pieces, and works for solo voice and piano. In my interview with Barbara Harbach (above), she describes in detail the various pieces on Choral Music I. I have reviewed several of MSR’s issues of Harbach’s instrumental music. In them I found music that is tonal, beautiful, transparent and balanced in texture, and radiating an optimistic, life-affirming expression. The same holds true for the music on Choral Music I. As Harbach notes in her interview, she composed many of these works for amateur choruses. Polyphony, when employed, is not complex, and the music’s tessitura graciously resides within the comfort zones of the choral singers. The music is no less affecting for that. And the performances by all concerned present these works in their best light. I think the disc would be worth purchasing just for the performance by alto Louise Clare Marshall and pianist Timothy End of Harbach’s arrangement of the spiritual, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” Harbach’s spare piano part, reminiscent of Copland’s Old American Songs, is the foundation for Marshall’s searing performance. She sings with a breathtaking directness of expression; embellishments are employed for expressive, rather than pyrotechnical ends. And the depth and beauty of Marshall’s voice, and her clarity of declamation, are exemplary. But the artistic quality on this recording is admirable throughout. The Apollo Voices of London, under the direction of conductor Genevieve Ellis, are a fine ensemble, singing Harbach’s music with tonal beauty, lovely diction, and keen involvement. The recorded sound is lovely. Complete texts are included, as are the composer’s commentary on the works. Recommended.
Four stars: Choral music by American composer Barbara Harbach
Ken Meltzer, Fanfare Magazine Issue 47:4 (Mar/Apr 2024)