The Berkeley Community Chamber Singers (BCCS) welcomes you to our Spring 2023 series. All concerts are FREE.
Spring Concert BENEFIT for St Albans
Saturday May 20 - 4:00 pm
St Albans Episcopal Church
1501 Washington Ave, Albany, CA
Donations gratefully accepted
5 years and older please
North Berkeley Senior Center, Friday, April 28, 1:00pm, 1901 Hearst Ave.
South Berkeley Senior Center, May 18, 12:00nn, 2939 Ellis St., Berkeley
Berkeley Pines, Tuesday May 23, 2:30pm, 2223 Ashby Ave, Berkeley
Chapparal House,Thursday, May 25, 12:00nn, 1309 Allston Way, Berkeley
We hope you enjoy it!
The Berkeley Community Chamber Singers (BCCS) is an a cappella group of 16–32 singers that serves as the outreach arm for the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra (BCCO).
BCCS sings a varied repertoire of madrigals, gospel, pop songs, and spirituals and performs at diverse venues, such as senior residences, hospitals, and homeless shelters. BCCS also presents concerts for the general public.
During Fall and Spring sessions, the Chamber Singers meet on Tuesdays, 5:45 to 7:45 PM, at St. Alban’s Church 1501 Washington Ave, Albany.
To join BCCS or BCCO - email and mention “Chamber Singers” or “Membership”, as applicable, in the Comment section.
Costas Dafnis is a composer and sound artist based in California. In addition to concert music he writes for theater, dance and games, lectures in film at San Francisco Art Institute and composition at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
His work has been awarded by New Music USA, the American Prize, International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition, and the Dallas Winds. His Mariana for soprano and processed underwater audio was featured by NOAA/PMEL in an article called “The Music of Challenger Deep” and his 2019 set of Cajun-language art songs is the subject of soprano Nancy Carey’s series of DMA lecture recitals and dissertation. Upcoming premieres include works for the SoCal Brass Consortium, the Greek Chamber Music Project and the Ferndale Public Schools Orchestra, a new piece for wind ensemble, theater and dance companies. His orchestral work was featured at the 2019 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music’s In the Works series and his music for media will be heard in the indie feature Overwhelm The Sky and at Cinequest in CR Coppola’s VR short, Universe At Play. Costas plays mandolin, designs experimental instruments, conducts and curates New Music at New Vision and lectures in film at San Francisco Art Institute.
Soprano
Lin Clymer
Madeleine Gordon
Christine Izaret
Alice McCain
Janelle Noble
Susan Wakerlin
Alto
Catherine Atcheson
Jan Murota
Lisa Nelbach
Ellen Rosenfield
Tenor
Joan King-Angell
Ignacio Dayrit
Eloise Fox
Janet Hack
Paloma Pavel
Bass
Stan Dewey
Kevin Mann
George Martin
Jarred Miyamoto-Mills
Richard Page
Howard Rosenberg
Brian Shillinglaw
During Fall and Spring sessions, the Chamber Singers meet on Tuesdays, 5:45 to 7:45 PM, at St. Alban’s Church 1501 Washington Ave, Albany.
Learn more about us here.
To join us - email - please enter “Chamber Singers” in the Comment section.
A Path to Each Other is a simple round, suggesting empathy and connectivity between all of us. It was written in honor of the VocalEssence Choir and its conductor, Phillip Brunelle. For more than 50 years, this group has been dedicated to encouraging community singing around the world. We will explain how you can join with us in singing this!
Each word a stone
We can build a wall
Or a
path
to
each
other
-Julie Klatt Singer
This African song entitled ”Bonse Aba” translates as, ”all who sing have the right to be called the children of God.” The traditional lyrics have a buoyant, rhythmic feel that transports the listener to the center of a traditional celebration. It is sung in the Behmba language, spoken primarily in Zambia, and is a Christian song of celebration that is popular throughout the region.
Bonse aba, mu pokelela, Ba lipele maka akuba bana.
Kuba bana, kuba bana, kuba bana bakwa lesa.
Muya ya ya, muya ya ya, muya ya ya, bakwa lesa.
English translation:
All people who accept His authority
Are his children
In the power of God.
The "calm of the night" is captured in music and contrasted with the garish and the raucous. Numerous long note durations and the almost exclusive adherence to the piano sphere captivate both the performers and their audience alike until the piece fades away into virtual nothingness.
Calme des nuits, fraîcheur des soirs,
Vaste scintillement des mondes,
Grand silence des antres noirs
Vous charmez les âmes profondes.
L'éclat du soleil, la gaité,
Le bruit plaisent aux plus futiles;
Le poète seul est hanté
Par l'amour des choses tranquilles.
English translation:
Stillness of the night, cool of the evening,
Vast shimmering of the spheres,
Great silence of black vaults
Deep thinkers delight in you.
The bright sun, merriment,
And noise amuse the more frivolous;
Only the poet is possessed
By the love of quiet things.
‘Horizons,’ by South African composer Peter Louis Van Dijk, explores the music and history of the San people of Southern Africa previously known as 'Bushmen. "The hunter-gatherer San are among the oldest cultures on Earth [1] , and are thought to be descended from the first inhabitants of what is now Botswana and South Africa. This evocative work is based on a 16th-century Bushman painting of a European ship inhabited by people they saw as gods but who would soon be the cause of the Bushmen's near-extinction.
… Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child,
When morning comes I'll go out hunting,
For you are hungry and thirsty.
Small moon, Hai! Young moon,
When the sun rises you must speak to the Rain,
Charm her with herbs and honeycomb,
O speak to her, that I may drink, this little thing ...
She will come across the dark sky:
Mighty Raincow, sing your song for me
… Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child,
When morning comes I'll go out hunting,
For you are hungry and thirsty.
O Star, Hai! Hunting Star,
When the sun rises you must blind with your light
The Eland's eyes,
O blind his eyes, that I may eat, this little thing ...
He will come across the red sands:
Mighty Eland, dance your dance for me,
… Sleep, my springbok baby,
Sleep for me, my springbok child,
When morning comes, they'll come a-hunting,
For they are hungry and thirsty.
They will come across the waters:
Mighty saviours in their sailing ships,
And they will show us new and far horizons.
And they came, came across the waters:
Gods in galleons, bearing bows of steel,
Then they killed us on the far horizon
If a database could sing, this is how it might sound. Vienna Teng’s "Hymn of Acxiom" sounds like a choir hymn, except that the speaker isn't a divine being — it's a database. With lyrics like "somebody hears you" and "someone is gathering every crumb you drop," the song addresses both the pros and cons of the surveillance that, through companies like marketing-data company Acxiom, has become a regular part of life. Teng experimented with a pedal hooked up to her electronic keyboard that automatically generated vocal harmonies, thus creating a multilayered sound with only one singer. This arrangement tries to mimic that sound.
Somebody hears you. you know that. you know that.
Somebody hears you. you know that inside.
Someone is learning the colors of all your moods, to
Say just the right thing and show that you're understood.
Here you're known.
Leave your life open. you don't have. you don't have.
Leave your life open. you don't have to hide.
Someone is gathering every crumb you drop, these
Mindless decisions and moments you long forgot.
Keep them all.
Let our formulas find your soul.
We'll divine your artesian source (in your mind),
Marshal feed and force (our machines will)
To design you a perfect love
Or (better still) a perfect lust.
O how glorious, glorious: a brand new need is born.
Now we possess you. you'll own that. you'll own that.
Now we possess you. you'll own that in time.
Now we will build you an endlessly upward world,
Reach in your pocket) embrace you for all you're worth.
Is that wrong?
Isn't this what you want?
Amen.
"If ye love me" is a four-part motet or anthem by the English composer Thomas Tallis, a setting of a passage from the Gospel of John. First published in 1565 during the reign of Elizabeth I, it is an example of Tudor music and is part of the repertoire of Anglican church music.
If ye love me,
keep my commandments,
and I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another comforter,
that he may bide with you forever,
e'en the spirit of truth.
"Little Innocent Lamb" by Marshall Bartholomew is a traditional spiritual. It is widely understood that religious language was used to comment on, and to escape the harsh conditions of slavery. Here, the singers aspire to reach that “heavenly land” where they will be servants only of God. Meanwhile, they confer with one another in sassy verse about the hypocrisy, trickery, and ultimate vulnerability of the “devil,” with whom they were well acquainted.
Little lamb, little innocent lamb
I'm a gonna serve God 'til I die
Hypocrite, tell me what he do
He'll talk about me, and he'll talk about you
Debil he's got a slippery shoe
Now if you don't mind, he's gonna slip on you
'Cause there ain' no dyin' ober der
In dat hebenly lan'
Dere'll be joy
Jes' take one from Satan's wall
Satan's wall gonna stumble an' fall
Loch Lomond tells the story of two Scottish soldiers who were imprisoned. One of them was to be executed, while the other was to be set free. According to Celtic legend, if someone dies in a foreign land, his spirit will travel to his homeland by "the low road" -- the route for the souls of the dead. His spirit would reach Scotland before his comrade gets home, but he will never meet his true love again.
By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae
On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond
Oh, ye′ll tak the high road
And I'll tak the low road
And I′ll be in Scotland afore ye
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond
'Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen
On the steep, steep sides of Ben Lomond
Where deep in purple hue
The highland hills we viewed
And the moon coming out in the gloaming
The wee birdies sing and the wildflowers spring
And in sunshine the waters lie sleeping
But the broken heart will ken nae second spring again
And the world knows not how we are grieving
Nelly Bly was written by Stephen Foster, prolific 19th century American songwriter. Most of Foster's handwritten manuscripts are lost but his minstrel show music, church hymns, and parlor songs have been published many times over. We sing an arrangement by Halloran, Bolks, and Tam. Derek Tam is a previous BCCS music director, keyboard specialist, and Executive Director of the SF Early Music Society.
Hi! Nelly Ho! Nelly, listen, love, to me,
I'll sing for you and play for you a dulcet melody.
Nelly Bly! Nellie Bly! Bring the broom along,
We'll sweep the kitchen clean, my dear, and have a little song.
Poke the wood, my lady love, And make the fire burn,
And while I take the banjo down, just give the mush a turn.
Nelly Bly has a voice like a turtle dove,
I hear it in the meadow and I hear it in the grove.
Nelly Bly has a heart warm as a cup of tea,
And bigger than a sweet potato down in Tennessee.
Nelly Bly! Nelly Bly! Never, never sigh. Never bring a teardrop to the corner of your eye.
The title of this song, "Sing to the Moon", came from a biography composer Laura Mvula read about an under-appreciated jazz singer named Adelaide Hall, whose father used to tell her “sing to the moon and the stars will shine.” Mvula was so taken by that line that it stuck with her and became the foundation of this song.
Hey there you, shattered in a thousand pieces
Weeping in the darkest nights
Hey there you, try to stand up on your own two feet
And stumble into the sky
When the lights go out and you're on your own
How you're gonna make it through till the morning sun'
Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, lead you to the other side
Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, heaven's gonna turn the time
Hey there you, looking for a brighter season
Need to lay your burden down
Hey there you, drowning in a hopeless feeling
Buried under deeper ground
When the lights go out it's a waiting game
Never gonna see a day when your world will change
Spaséñiye, sodélal, or "Salvation is Created" was composed by Pavel Tschesnokov in 1912 as the fifth in his Ten Communion Hymns. It was one of the last sacred works before turning to secular arts after the Soviet government suppressed Christianity. He never heard this composition performed.
Spaseniye sodelal yesi posrede zemli, Bozhe.
Alleluiya.
English translation:
Salvation is created, in midst of the earth, O God, O our God.
Alleluia.
Dr. Rosephanye Dunn Powell, is a Professor of Voice at Auburn University and has created choral works for women’s, men’s, children’s and mixed voices in a variety of genres, including spiritual and secular. "The Word Was God" is a musical word-painting of the creation.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1-3
Laid back and swingingly relaxing, "Java Jive" was written by Ben Oakland and Milton Drake in 1940, and speaks of the love of coffee. The lyrics also reflect the slang of the times, including a reference to "Mr. Moto", a Japanese film spy. First performed by the Ink Spots, other popular versions include renditions from Guy Lombardo, The King Singers and Manhattan Transfer.
I love coffee, I love tea
I love the java jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the jiving and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup!
I love java, sweet and hot
Whoops! Mr. Moto, I'm a coffee pot
Shoot me the pot and I'll pour me a shot
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup!
Oh, slip me a slug from the wonderful mug
And I cut a rug till I'm snug in a jug
A slice of onion and a raw one, draw one.
Waiter, waiter, percolator!
Boston bean, soy bean
Lima bean, string bean.
You know that I'm not keen for a bean
Unless it is a cheery coffee bean.
Oh, slip me a slug from the wonderful mug
And I cut a rug till I'm snug in a jug
Drop me a nickel in my pot, Joe, Taking it slow.
"The Lamb" was written in 1982 by John Tavener as a birthday present to his three year old nephew. It is a setting of music to the William Blake poem "The Lamb" his collection of poems Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1789). The music is minimalistic and combines chromaticism with more conventional harmony. In the first bar, a tonally-ambiguous melody is sung by the the sopranos. The altos enter in the second bar with an exact inversion of the soprano's melody in bar 1, which results in interlocking melodic lines and unconventional harmony. .[1]
Little Lamb who made thee
Dost thou know who made thee
Gave thee life & bid thee feed.
By the stream & o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing wooly bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice!
Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name,
For he calls himself a Lamb:
He is meek & he is mild,
He became a little child:
I a child and thou a lamb,
We are called by his name.
Little Lamb God bless thee.
The music to Earth Song first appeared in a work called Sanctuary for wind ensemble. Ticheli kept thinking “This music is just begging to be sung by a chorus”. The music is so vocal in and of itself. It was written during the Iraq War. Everyone was tired of that war, and so Earth Song was written to be very pro-peace -- anti-war and anti-violence. It was a cry and a prayer for peace.
Sing, Be, Live, See.
This dark stormy hour,
The wind, it stirs.
The scorched earth
Cries out in vain:
O war and power,
You blind and blur,
The torn heart
Cries out in pain.
But music and singing
Have been my refuge,
And music and singing
Shall be my light.
A lightof song
Shining Strong: Allelulia!
Through darkness, pain, and strife, I'll
Sing, Be, Live, See...
Peace.