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Zefiro - Marian Antiphons

by: Zefiro

Usage: Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0

Topics: vocal, a capella, sacred, Renaissance

~ PROGRAM ~
Ave Regina caelorum
Plainchant Solemn Tone
Alonso Lobo c. 1555 - 1617
Guillaume Dufay c. 1400 - 1474
Regina caeli
Plainchant Solemn Tone
Robert White c. 1538 - 1574
William Byrd 1543 - 1623
Cristobal de Morales c. 1500 - 1553

Salve Regina
Plainchant Solemn Tone
William Cornysh 1465 - 1523
Alma Redemptoris
Plainchant Solemn Tone
Aires Fernandez fl.ca. 1550
Johannes Ockeghem c. 1410 - 1497
Tomas Luis de Victoria 1548 - 1611

Pauline Lim & Cory MacLean, soprano
Ruth Berry & Allegra Martin, alto
Jonathan Wiening & Joel McCoy, tenor
Jonathan Moore & Jacob Cooper, bass

Zefiro is a Boston- and Providence-based ensemble of eight singers devoted to performing sacred a capella vocal music of the 14th - 17th centuries. Founded by six members of the group formerly known as passio, this award-winning ensemble takes inspiration from specialist groups around the world such as the Tallis Scholars, the Sixteen, and the Taverner Consort. Zefiro's credits include winning a project grant from the Somerville Arts Council, chapter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and National Endowment for the Arts; and an invitation to participate in the Society of Historically Informed Performance (SoHIP) 2009 Summer Concert Series; with upcoming performances in Boston, Weston, Andover, and Nahant. For more information, please visit our website at www.zefiroensemble.com. To book us for an event, please send email to zefiroensemble@gmail.com.

Program Notes

The Marian antiphons are a group of sacred devotional songs in the Gregorian chant repertoire of the Roman Catholic Church, sung in honor of the Virgin Mary. The original manuscripts date back to the 12th century. There are four chants in current usage, each associated with one of the four seasons of the liturgical year. They are sung at the end of the evening monastic offices of Compline or Vespers. These texts and melodies have been the source of hundreds of brilliant and moving works by various composers down through the centuries, of which we offer a very small selection today.

Texts

Ave Regina

Sung from Candlemas to Maundy Thursday

Ave Regina coelorum, ave

Domina angelorum Salve, radix

sancta, ex qua mundo lux est

orta: Gaude gloriosa, super

omnes speciosa: Vale, valde

decora, et pro nobis semper

Christum exora.

Hail, Queen of heaven, hail,

Mistress of the angels, hail, holy root

from which came the light of the

world. Rejoice, glorious one, beautiful

above all others. Hail and farewell

most gracious, Always plead with

Christ for us

In the setting by Dufay, the text is interspersed with pleas from the composer:

Miserere tui labentis Dufay, ne

peccatorum ruat in ignem

fervorum. Miserere genitrix

Domini, Ut pateat orta coeli

debili. Miserere supplicant

Dufay. Sitque in conspectus

tuo mors eius speciosa. In

excelsis ne damnemur,

Miserere nobis. Et iuva ut in

mortis hora nostra.

Mercy on thee for thy missteps,

Dufay, neither let [thy] sins destroy

[thee] with raging fire. Have mercy,

Mother of God, so that an opening

to heaven may be made by [his]

feeble works. Have mercy, Dufay

prays, let his death also be lovely in

thy sight, so that he not be

condemned on high. Have mercy on

us, and assist us even at the hour of

our death.

Translation by Peter T. Gibson

Regina Coeli

Sung during Paschal-tide*

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia,

quia quem meruisti portare,

alleluia, resurrexit sicut dixit,

alleluia; ora pro nobis Deum,

alleluia.

Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia, for

he whom you were merited to bear,

alleluia, was resurrected as he said,

alleluia; entreat God for us, alleluia.

*We ask divine absolution for the singing of Alleluia during Lent.

Salve Regina

Sung from Trinity Sunday to Advent

Salve, Regina, mater

misericordiae; vita dulcedo et

spes nostra, salve, Ad te

clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et

flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, Advocata nostra, illos

tuos misericordes oculos ad nos

converte. Et Jesu, bendictum

fructum ventris tui, nobis post

hoc exsilium Ostend. O

Clemens: O pia: O dulcis Virgo Maria

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy,

our life, our sweetness and our hope.

To thee do we cry, poor banished

children of Eve; to thee do we send up

our sighs, mourning and weeping in

this vale of tears. Turn then, most

gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy

toward us; and after this our exile,

show unto us the blessed fruit of thy

womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O

sweet Virgin Mary.

Alma Redemptoris

Sung from Advent to Candlemas

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae

pervia caeli porta manes, et

stella maris succurre cadenti

surgere qui curat, populo: tu

quae genuisti, natura mirante,

tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius a posterius

Gabrielis ab ore sumens illud

Ave; peccatorum miserere.

Loving mother of the Redeemer, that

passage to heaven, gate of the

morning, and star of the sea, assist

the fallen people, who strive to rise,

you who bore to the wonderment of

nature, your holy Creator, Virgin

before and after, who received from

Gabriel that joyful greeting. Hail;

have mercy on us sinners.

This album is a recording of a live performance by Zefiroon March 29, 2009. It was produced by Randy Winchester for ARTSomerville. CD quality FLAC files of this recording are available from http://www.archive.org/details/Zefiro-MarianAntiphons_158.

ARTSomerville (ARTS) is a volunteer arts organization based in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA, which draws upon the talents of local creativity, strengthening communication among artists and the public by presenting exhibits, performances, and educational activities. Albums appearing under the ARTSomerville logo are from artists that have given performances at ARTSomerville sponsored events. Visit www.artsomerville.org to learn more.

Addeddate: 2009-06-24 19:26:12

External_metadata_update: 2019-04-09T15:24:18Z

Identifier: Zefiro-MarianAntiphons_158

Ocr: ABBYY FineReader 9.0

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Reviewer: BenjaminS.T. - - January 11, 2014
Subject: Marian Antiphons by Zefiro

If you want to hear some chanting that you can play at the end of your day as you crawl into your bed that can help you go to sleep then take a look at this. I rate this at five stars.

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