Carlisle Community Chorus Program Notes –  January 2025

By Joan Laxson

Gaudeamus Hodie  (Let Us Rejoice Today) written by the American composer of hymns and choral music, Natalie Sleeth, has layered melodies and simple calypso rhythms enhanced with Latin percussion instruments and a dancing piano-four-hands accompaniment. [https://www.jwpepper.com/Gaudeamus-Hodie]

If Music Be the Food of Love, play on.’  This is one of the most famous opening sentences in all of English literature, and one of Shakespeare’s most quoted lines. He opens his great comic play, Twelfth Night, with it.  Composer Andrew Miller has taken great care in setting the beloved text in this unique arrangement for SAB choirs. Great passion, a glorious melody, and a fine accompaniment together make this a very special piece.  [https://www.jwpepper.com/If-Music-Be-the-Food-of-Love/]

Fascinating Rhythm is a popular song written by George Gershwin in 1924 with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was first introduced by Cliff Edwards, Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire in the Broadway musical Lady Be Good. The Astaires also recorded the song on April 19, 1926, in London with George Gershwin on the piano. “Fascinating Rhythm”–originally titled “Syncopated City”–synthesized black rhythms and new noises and translated them to Broadway and West End audiences.  It became, effectively, an anthem of the Jazz Age. [Library of Congress]

One Voice is written by Ruth Moody and was first performed by the Canadian folk music group, the Wailin’ Jennys in 2004. It has since been performed by singing groups all over the world and is a powerful anthem that reminds us that together we can create a better world.  “This is the sound of one voice. One People – One Voice. A song for every one of us. This is the sound of one voice.” [https://www.thewailinjennys.com/blog/2010/one-voice] (Edited A.Kern)

Our Time celebrates the promise of the future with this sensitive ballad from Stephen Sondheim’s 1981 show, “Merrily We Roll Along.” In 1957, Frank and Charley go up to the roof of their apartment to watch the launch of Sputnik. Frank dreams about changing the world with his music. It has an inspiring, heartfelt message, and is an intimate moment among friends. “It’s our time, breathe it in: worlds to change and worlds to win. Our turn coming through, me and you…” [https://www.jwpepper.com/Our-Time/]

Joy to the World or Bullfrog, is a song written by Hoyt Axton and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. Some of the words are nonsensical. Axton wanted to persuade his record producers to record a new melody he had written, and the producers asked him to sing any words to the tune. A member of Three Dog Night said that the original lyrics to the song were “Jeremiah was a prophet” but no one liked it.  In the ’70s it topped the singles charts in north America and has been covered by multiple artists.  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joy_to_the_World_(Three_Dog_Night_song]

Time After Time is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper from her debut studio album, She’s So Unusual (1983).The inspiration for the song came from the fact that both Lauper and her fellow songwriter, Rob Hyman, were going through similar challenges in their respective romantic relationships. One of the early lines Rob wrote was “suitcase of memories”, which according to Lauper, “struck her”, claiming it was a “wonderful line”, and other lines came from Lauper’s life experiences. The song’s title was borrowed from a TV Guide listing for the 1979 movie Time After Time, which Lauper had intended to use only as a temporary placeholder during the writing process. Although she later tried to change the song’s name, she said that she felt at some point that “Time After Time” had become so fundamental to the song that it would fall apart with a different title.  It would eventually become one of her signature songs.  [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_After_Time_(Cyndi_Lauper_song)]

How Can I Keep from Singing is based on a 19th century hymn arranged by Vermont composer, Gwyneth Walker, and sung by folk singers such as Pete Seeger who modified the Christian nature of the words and made it more relevant to his own message.  Twentieth-century Quakers adopted it as their own and use it widely today.  When the Carlisle Community Chorus was created fifteen years ago by Megan Fitzharris, she adopted the piece as the chorus’ introductory theme, and tonight we present it to you again in honor of our 15th anniversary.  [Wikipedia; https://www.gwynethwalker.com/]