Dona nobis pacem (English: Grant us peace) is a cantata written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936 and first performed on 2 October of that year. The work was commissioned to mark the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society. Vaughan Williams produced his plea for peace by referring to recent wars during the growing fears of a new one. His texts were taken from the Mass, three poems by Walt Whitman, a political speech, and sections of the Bible. A.V. Butcher has analysed Vaughan Williams' use of the Whitman poems in this composition.[1]
The work is scored for chorus and large orchestra, with soprano and baritone soloists. The phrase Dona nobis pacem ("Give us peace"), in different settings, punctuates the entire piece.
Sectionsedit
The work is in six continuous movements:
Agnus Dei, whose Latin text comes from the last movement of the same name in the Catholic Mass. The soprano introduces the theme, singing it over the orchestra and choir. The text translates as "Lamb of God, grant us peace."
Beat! Beat! Drums!, is based on the first Whitman poem. The text describes the drums and bugles of war bursting through doors and windows, disrupting the peaceful lives of church congregations, scholars, bridal couples, and other civilians.
Reconciliation, uses the entire second Whitman poem. The baritone soloist introduces the first half of the poem, which the choir echoes and varies. The baritone then continues with the rest of the poem, followed by the choir presenting a new variation of the first half. At the end, the soprano repeats a variation of the Dona nobis pacem of the first movement, hauntingly soaring above the final lines of the chorus.
Word over all, beautiful as the sky,
Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost,
That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly softly wash again
and ever again, this soiled world;
For my enemy is dead, a man divine as myself is dead,
I look where he lies white-faced and still in the coffin - I draw near,
Bend down and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin.
Dirge for Two Veterans, uses most of the Whitman poem. The movement was originally composed in 1914 and later incorporated into Dona nobis pacem. Here the drums return, but now in a dirge for the father and son, "dropped together", being marched in a "sad procession" to their "new-made double grave", overlooked by the "immense and silent moon". Still, for all the solemnity, the notes of hope in Whitman's poem are set to a swelling choral paean, as if to reassure us that we have indeed learned from the carnage of World War I.
The fifth movement, which bears no title in the original score, starts with the baritone soloist and a quote from the John Bright speech with which he sought to bring an end to the Crimean War ("The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land . . ."). It continues with sombre quotes from the Book of Jeremiah, with the soprano and choir intervening with the Dona nobis pacem plea.
An orchestral interlude, during which the music becomes more optimistic, leads into the final movement, also untitled. The baritone's opening "O man, greatly beloved, fear not!" is the first of eight Old Testament texts set in this movement. A brief setting of the opening lines of the Gloria in English is followed by an a cappella coda, marked pianissimo, in which the soprano, supported by the choir, sings Dona nobis pacem.
Recordingsedit
BBC Music MM340 (included with BBC Music Magazine, Vol. 20 no. 4, January 2012): BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Chorus, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Cond.; Renée Flynn, soprano; Roy Henderson, baritone. Recorded before an audience in the Concert Hall, BBC Broadcasting House, November 13, 1936.[2]
^Butcher, A.V. (April 1947). "Walt Whitman and the English Composer". Music & Letters. 28 (2): 154–167. doi:10.1093/ml/XXVIII.2.154. JSTOR 855527.
^"BBC Concerts of Contemporary Music—I - Regional Programme London - 13 November 1936 - BBC Genome". Retrieved 8 March 2017.
^Payne, Anthony (Winter 1967–1968). "Record Guide". Tempo. New Series. 83 (83): 26–28. doi:10.1017/S0040298200034768. JSTOR 00402982. S2CID 251411355.
January 01, 1970
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Dona nobis pacem English Grant us peace is a cantata written by Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1936 and first performed on 2 October of that year The work was commissioned to mark the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society Vaughan Williams produced his plea for peace by referring to recent wars during the growing fears of a new one His texts were taken from the Mass three poems by Walt Whitman a political speech and sections of the Bible A V Butcher has analysed Vaughan Williams use of the Whitman poems in this composition 1 Dona nobis pacemCantata by Ralph Vaughan WilliamsThe composer c 1920OccasionCentenary of the Huddersfield Choral SocietyTextMass ordinary Poems by Walt Whitman Political speech Biblical quotationsLanguageEnglishComposed1936 1936 Performed2 October 1936 1936 10 02 Scoringsopranobaritonemixed choirorchestra The work is scored for chorus and large orchestra with soprano and baritone soloists The phrase Dona nobis pacem Give us peace in different settings punctuates the entire piece Sections editThe work is in six continuous movements Agnus Dei whose Latin text comes from the last movement of the same name in the Catholic Mass The soprano introduces the theme singing it over the orchestra and choir The text translates as Lamb of God grant us peace Beat Beat Drums is based on the first Whitman poem The text describes the drums and bugles of war bursting through doors and windows disrupting the peaceful lives of church congregations scholars bridal couples and other civilians Reconciliation uses the entire second Whitman poem The baritone soloist introduces the first half of the poem which the choir echoes and varies The baritone then continues with the rest of the poem followed by the choir presenting a new variation of the first half At the end the soprano repeats a variation of the Dona nobis pacem of the first movement hauntingly soaring above the final lines of the chorus Word over all beautiful as the sky Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly softly wash againand ever again this soiled world dd For my enemy is dead a man divine as myself is dead I look where he lies white faced and still in the coffin I draw near Bend down and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin Dirge for Two Veterans uses most of the Whitman poem The movement was originally composed in 1914 and later incorporated into Dona nobis pacem Here the drums return but now in a dirge for the father and son dropped together being marched in a sad procession to their new made double grave overlooked by the immense and silent moon Still for all the solemnity the notes of hope in Whitman s poem are set to a swelling choral paean as if to reassure us that we have indeed learned from the carnage of World War I The fifth movement which bears no title in the original score starts with the baritone soloist and a quote from the John Bright speech with which he sought to bring an end to the Crimean War The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land It continues with sombre quotes from the Book of Jeremiah with the soprano and choir intervening with the Dona nobis pacem plea An orchestral interlude during which the music becomes more optimistic leads into the final movement also untitled The baritone s opening O man greatly beloved fear not is the first of eight Old Testament texts set in this movement A brief setting of the opening lines of the Gloria in English is followed by an a cappella coda marked pianissimo in which the soprano supported by the choir sings Dona nobis pacem Recordings editBBC Music MM340 included with BBC Music Magazine Vol 20 no 4 January 2012 BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Chorus Ralph Vaughan Williams Cond Renee Flynn soprano Roy Henderson baritone Recorded before an audience in the Concert Hall BBC Broadcasting House November 13 1936 2 EMI CDM 7 69820 2 London Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Adrian Boult Cond London Philharmonic Choir Sheila Armstrong soprano John Carol Case baritone Philips SGL 5876 original LP Utah Symphony Orchestra Maurice Abravanel conductor 3 Chandos CHAN 8590 Edith Wiens Brian Raynor Cook London Philharmonic Orchestra London Philharmonic Choir Bryden Thomson conductor Naxos Catalogue No 8 572424 Bach Choir Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra cond David Hill choral director Christina Pier Matthew Brook Released Mar 29 2010 c w Sancta Civitas Telarc 80479 Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus cond Robert Shaw Carmen Pelton soprano Nathan Gunn baritone Grammy winner for Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance References edit Butcher A V April 1947 Walt Whitman and the English Composer Music amp Letters 28 2 154 167 doi 10 1093 ml XXVIII 2 154 JSTOR 855527 BBC Concerts of Contemporary Music I Regional Programme London 13 November 1936 BBC Genome Retrieved 8 March 2017 Payne Anthony Winter 1967 1968 Record Guide Tempo New Series 83 83 26 28 doi 10 1017 S0040298200034768 JSTOR 00402982 S2CID 251411355 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dona nobis pacem Vaughan Williams amp oldid 1213026652, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
