Program Notes
Welcome to Hops & Harmony!
There is something special about hearing choral music outside the concert hall. Today, voices, friends, and community come together in one of Springfield’s favorite gathering places for an afternoon that is meant to feel relaxed, surprising, and shared.
This year’s program travels across centuries, languages, and styles. Some of the music asks us to listen inwardly—to questions of hope, grief, connection, and what it means to be known. Other pieces simply invite us to celebrate, laugh, and enjoy being together.
That range is part of what we love about choral music. A room full of individual voices can become something none of us could create alone.
Thank you to Mother’s Brewing Company for welcoming us, and thank you for spending part of your afternoon with the Springfield Chamber Chorus.
Enjoy the music, enjoy the company, and cheers to another Hops & Harmony!
Chris Brammer
Artistic Director, Springfield Chamber Chorus
Artistic Director
Christopher Brammer
An accomplished conductor, clinician, and educator, Christopher Brammer spent twelve years teaching music in public schools before leaving to serve as music minister at University Heights Baptist Church in Springfield, Missouri.
Chris received music degrees from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he studied with Rick Bjella, and from Missouri State University, where he served as a graduate assistant to Dr. Guy B. Webb.
Chris resides in Springfield with his wife, Amy, and their three children, Wyatt, Will, and Izzy, and maintains an active schedule as a clinician and adjudicator.
Song Lyrics
Incantations – Michael McGlynn
Irish
’S Tusa an dámh, ’s Tusa an éan,
’S Tusa an t-iasc, aililú.
’S Tusa an ghaoth, ’s Tusa an fuacht,
’S Tusa an mhuir, aililú.
’S Tusa an ghrian, ’s Tusa an réalt,
’S Tusa an spéir, aililú.
’S Tusa an fear, ’s Tusa an bláth,
’S Tusa na crainn, aililú.
Aililú mo Íosa,
Aililú mo chroí,
Aililú mo Thiarna,
Aililú mo Chríost.
English Translation
You are the stag, you are the bird,
You are the fish, Alleluia.
You are the wind, you are the cold,
You are the sea, Alleluia.
You are the sun, you are the star,
You are the sky, Alleluia.
You are the grass, you are the flower,
You are the tree, Alleluia.
Alleluia, my Jesus,
Alleluia, my heart,
Alleluia, my Lord,
Alleluia, my Christ.
Spes – Mia Makaroff
Latin and Sámi
Quis talis, ut sapiens est?
Et quis cognovit solutionem rerum?
Biekka oapmi lean
muhto liikká ealán
ja dat lea vissa eallima dárkkuhus
Ealán odne dál ja dás
ja just dat lea madoheapme de in eali sat ihttin
nu ja máid dasto
Non est in hominis potestate
dominari super spiritum
nec cohibere spiritum
nec habet potestatem supra diem mortis
Sapientia hominis illuminat vultum eius
et durities faciei illius commutatur.
English Translation
Who is like the wise?
Who knows the explanation of things?
I belong to the wind,
but I live,
maybe that is the meaning of life.
I live here and now…
I won’t be alive tomorrow.
That is the way—and so what.
As no one has power
over the wind to contain it,
so no one has power
over the time of their death.
A person’s wisdom brightens their face
and changes its hard appearance.
Tristitia et anxietas – Nikos Myrogiannis-Koukos
Latin
Tristitia et anxietas
occupaverunt interiora mea.
Moestum factum est cor meum in dolore,
et contenebrati sunt oculi mei.
Vae mihi quia peccavi.
Sed tu Domine,
qui non derelinquis sperantes in te,
consolare et adiuva me,
propter nomen sanctum tuum,
et miserere mei.
English Translation
Sadness and anxiety
have filled my innermost being.
My heart has become sorrowful in grief,
and my eyes have grown dark.
Woe is me, for I have sinned.
But you, Lord,
who do not abandon those who hope in you,
comfort me and come to my aid,
for the sake of your holy name,
and have mercy on me.
Imprecation – Carl Schimmel
Psalm 3:7 Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God!
Psalm 94:1 The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth.
Psalm 143:12 Destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.
Psalm 58:6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; [Lord,] tear out the fangs of those lions!
Psalm 59:13 Consume them in your wrath, consume them till they are no more.
Psalm 21:9 Burn them [up] as in a blazing furnace.
Psalm 68:2 May you blow them away like smoke — as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.
Psalm 83:17 May they perish in disgrace.
Psalm 140:10 May burning coals fall on them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise.
Psalm 21:10 [You will] destroy their descendants from the earth, [their posterity] from mankind.
Psalm 110:6 … heaping up the dead ….
Psalm 58:10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked
Psalm 68:23 … while the tongues of [your] dogs have their share.
Hymn of Acxiom – Vienna Tang
Somebody hears you.
You know that.
You know that.
Somebody hears you.
You know that inside.
Someone is learning the colours of all your moods.
Say just the right thing
and show that you’re understood.
Here you’re known.
Leave your life open.
You don’t have to hide.
Someone is gathering every crumb you drop,
these mindless decisions
and moments
Insigni die solemnitatis vestrae.
when the moon is full, on our feast.
Smallest Acts of Kindness – Cal Scott
There is grace in the smallest act of kindness,
Be it a smile that is true or a word from the heart.
It can help put pain and suffering behind us
And welcome home a wayward child from afar.
It’s the currency of the spirit,
It’s the language of the soul,
It’s the essence of the good books, one and all,
One and all.
There is courage in the smallest act of kindness
With a lover or a foe.
It is not the easy way.
It’s the simplest to offer in the moment,
But the hardest to master day by day.
It’s the currency of the spirit,
It’s the language of the soul,
It’s the essence of the good books, one and all,
One and all.
Give your time to your brother,
Bring him home from the wilderness.
Lend an ear to the old ones
Before they take their rest.
Light a candle in the darkness
Of the rooms of despair.
Share the harvest with your neighbor
When his cupboard is bare.
Kindness,
Kindness,
Kindness,
Just a little kindness.
There is power in the smallest act of kindness.
It is a whisper in the ear
That echoes far beyond.
It is a wave that carries ’cross the ocean
That was born a simple pebble in the pond.
It’s the currency of the spirit,
It’s the language of the soul,
It’s the essence of the good books, one and all,
One and all.
It’s the essence of the good books,
One and all.
Trinklied – Heinrich August Marschner
German
Brüder, lasst uns lustig sein,
hier beim Wein!
Reicht das volle Glas herum,
schenket ein!
O-ho!
Alle Grillen sollen flieh’n,
weiter zieh’n,
taugen nicht in unsern Kreis,
immer hin!
O-ho!
Wer sich freut, der sei uns Freund,
uns vereint!
Und es lebe dreimal hoch,
wer’s gut meint!
O-ho!
Brüder, wollt ihr lustig sein,
trinket Wein,
trinkt die vollen Gläser aus,
schenket ein!
O-ho!
English Translation
Brothers, let us merry be,
here with wine!
Pass the brimming glass around,
fill it high!
O-ho!
Let all gloomy thoughts take flight,
far away;
They have no place in our circle,
let them stray!
O-ho!
Whoever rejoices, let him be our friend,
joined with us!
And three cheers for anyone
who means us well!
O-ho!
Brothers, if you would be merry,
drink your wine;
Drain the glasses to the bottom,
fill again!
O-ho!
Wana Baraka – arr. Shawn Kirchner
Swahili
Wana baraka wale waombao,
Yesu mwenyewe alisema.
Alleluya!
Wana amani wale waombao,
Yesu mwenyewe alisema.
Alleluya!
Wana furaha wale waombao,
Yesu mwenyewe alisema.
Alleluya!
Wana uzima wale waombao,
Yesu mwenyewe alisema.
Alleluya!
English Translation
Those who pray have blessings;
Jesus himself said so.
Alleluia!
Those who pray have peace;
Jesus himself said so.
Alleluia!
Those who pray have joy;
Jesus himself said so.
Alleluia!
Those who pray have life and well-being;
Jesus himself said so.
Alleluia!
Next SCC Event
December 4th 7:30PM – University Heights Baptist Church
December 6th 3:30PM – University Heights Baptist Church
