Songs of Transcendence: Histories of Becoming
A choral celebration of Trans lives
Saturday 14 March
Milton Court Concert Hall, Barbican
Conducted by
Jamie Powe
Developed by
Harrison Knights, Hope Heaven, Adele Julier, Séamus Rea
Saturday 14 March
Milton Court Concert Hall, Barbican
Conducted by
Jamie Powe
Developed by
Harrison Knights, Hope Heaven, Adele Julier, Séamus Rea
Narrators
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Robyn Holdaway
Robyn is a non-binary actor best known for their work as Layla in Netflix's Sex Education. Their credits also include: AMC's Moonhaven, BBC's Strike: Lethal White, and various other stage and screen roles. Their audiobook work includes the award winning Our Wives Under the Sea, as well as critically acclaimed Sistersong, How To Understand Your Gender and Skin. Robyn can be heard in the audio drama Camlann and in the video game Eternal Strands. They are an active member of the LGBTQ community, and are passionate about bringing this diversity into the mainstream both as an artist and as an activist. |
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Mary Malone
Mary Malone is an actress from Suffolk, who graduated from the BA Acting & Contemporary Theatre course at East 15 Drama School in 2020. Her career spans theatre, television and film. On stage she has performed in acclaimed plays and musicals across London and the West End, with notable credits including Fangirls (Lyric Hammersmith), As You Like It (Soho Place), Hope has a Happy Meal (Royal Court) and Burnt at the Stake (Shakespeare’s Globe). In television, Mary’s recent screen work includes Doctor Who (BBC), Vera (ITV), The Girlfriend Experience (STARZ), Chivalry (Baby Cow Productions) and most notably, her role as Aqua in Harlan Coben’s Missing You (Netflix). |
FIRST HALF
Ego flos campi
Clemens Non Papa (1510–1555)
Text from the Song of Songs
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
Nigra sum
Michael Bussewitz-Quarm (b. 1971)
Text from the Song of Songs
I am black and beautiful,
Daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare because I am dark,
Because the sun has changed my colour.
My mother’s sons fought against me;
They made me keeper of the vineyards.
Rise up and come, my love,
For now the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
Flowers have appeared in our land.
Alleluia.
Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Three lovely birds from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Three lovely birds from Paradise
Have flown along this way.
The first was bluer than Heaven's blue
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
The second white as the fallen snow
The third was wrapt in bright red glow.
Ye lovely birds from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Ye lovely birds from Paradise
What bring ye then this way?
I bring to thee a glance of azure
Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone
And I on fairest snow white brow
A fond kiss must leave, yet purer still.
Thou bright red bird from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Thou bright red bird from Paradise
What bringest thou to me?
A faithful heart all crimson red,
Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone
Ah! I feel my heart glowing cold…
Take it also with thee.
Le Chant des Oyseaux
Clément Janequin (c1485–1558)
Awake, sleepy hearts,
The god of love calls you.
On this first day of May,
The birds will make you marvel.
To lift yourself from dismay,
Unclog your ears.
And fa la la la la …
You will be moved to joy,
For the season is good.
You will hear, I advise you,
A sweet music
That the royal song thrush will sing
The blackbird, too
In a pure voice.
Ti, ti, pi-ti …
To laugh and rejoice is my device,
Each with abandon.
Nightingale of the pretty woods,
Whose voice resounds,
So you don’t become bored,
Your throat jabbers away:
Frian, frian …
Flee, regrets, tears and worries,
For the season commands it.
Turn around, master cuckoo
Get out of our company.
Each of us gives you a ‘bye-bye’
For you are nothing but a traitor.
Cuckoo, cuckoo …
Treacherously in others' nests,
You lay without being called.
Awake, sleepy hearts,
The god of love is calling you.
The Risk of Birth
Tara Mack (b. 1972)
Text by Madeleine L'Engle
This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.
That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honour & truth were trampled by scorn --
Yet here did the Saviour make his home.
When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn --
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.
Nature Boy
eden ahbez (1908–1995), arr. Edenroth
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return"
Nobody does it better
Marvin Hamlisch (1944–2012), arr. Clements
Text by Carole Bayer Sager
Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you're the best
I wasn't looking, but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love light
But like heaven above me, the spy who loved me
Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight
And nobody does it better
Though sometimes, I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from running, but just keep it comin'
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
Ego flos campi
Clemens Non Papa (1510–1555)
Text from the Song of Songs
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon.
Nigra sum
Michael Bussewitz-Quarm (b. 1971)
Text from the Song of Songs
I am black and beautiful,
Daughters of Jerusalem,
Like the tents of Kedar,
Like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not stare because I am dark,
Because the sun has changed my colour.
My mother’s sons fought against me;
They made me keeper of the vineyards.
Rise up and come, my love,
For now the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
Flowers have appeared in our land.
Alleluia.
Trois beaux oiseaux du Paradis
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Three lovely birds from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Three lovely birds from Paradise
Have flown along this way.
The first was bluer than Heaven's blue
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
The second white as the fallen snow
The third was wrapt in bright red glow.
Ye lovely birds from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Ye lovely birds from Paradise
What bring ye then this way?
I bring to thee a glance of azure
Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone
And I on fairest snow white brow
A fond kiss must leave, yet purer still.
Thou bright red bird from Paradise
My belov'd is to the fighting gone
Thou bright red bird from Paradise
What bringest thou to me?
A faithful heart all crimson red,
Thy belov'd is to the fighting gone
Ah! I feel my heart glowing cold…
Take it also with thee.
Le Chant des Oyseaux
Clément Janequin (c1485–1558)
Awake, sleepy hearts,
The god of love calls you.
On this first day of May,
The birds will make you marvel.
To lift yourself from dismay,
Unclog your ears.
And fa la la la la …
You will be moved to joy,
For the season is good.
You will hear, I advise you,
A sweet music
That the royal song thrush will sing
The blackbird, too
In a pure voice.
Ti, ti, pi-ti …
To laugh and rejoice is my device,
Each with abandon.
Nightingale of the pretty woods,
Whose voice resounds,
So you don’t become bored,
Your throat jabbers away:
Frian, frian …
Flee, regrets, tears and worries,
For the season commands it.
Turn around, master cuckoo
Get out of our company.
Each of us gives you a ‘bye-bye’
For you are nothing but a traitor.
Cuckoo, cuckoo …
Treacherously in others' nests,
You lay without being called.
Awake, sleepy hearts,
The god of love is calling you.
The Risk of Birth
Tara Mack (b. 1972)
Text by Madeleine L'Engle
This is no time for a child to be born,
With the earth betrayed by war & hate
And a comet slashing the sky to warn
That time runs out & the sun burns late.
That was no time for a child to be born,
In a land in the crushing grip of Rome;
Honour & truth were trampled by scorn --
Yet here did the Saviour make his home.
When is the time for love to be born?
The inn is full on the planet earth,
And by a comet the sky is torn --
Yet Love still takes the risk of birth.
Nature Boy
eden ahbez (1908–1995), arr. Edenroth
There was a boy
A very strange enchanted boy
They say he wandered very far
Very far
Over land and sea
A little shy and sad of eye
But very wise was he
And then one day
A magic day he passed my way
And while we spoke of many things
Fools and kings
This he said to me
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return"
Nobody does it better
Marvin Hamlisch (1944–2012), arr. Clements
Text by Carole Bayer Sager
Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as you
Baby, you're the best
I wasn't looking, but somehow you found me
I tried to hide from your love light
But like heaven above me, the spy who loved me
Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight
And nobody does it better
Though sometimes, I wish someone could
Nobody does it quite the way you do
Why'd you have to be so good?
The way that you hold me whenever you hold me
There's some kind of magic inside you
That keeps me from running, but just keep it comin'
How'd you learn to do the things you do?
SECOND HALF
Darest, O Soul
Mari Esabel Valverde (b. 1987)
Text by Walt Whitman
Darest thou now O soul,
Walk out with me toward the unknown region,
Where neither ground is for the feet nor any path to follow?
No map there, nor guide,
Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
Nor face with blooming flesh, nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.
I know it not O soul,
Nor dost thou, all is a blank before us,
All waits undream'd of in that region, that inaccessible land.
Till when the ties loosen,
All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,
Nor darkness, gravitation, sense, nor any bounds bounding us.
Then we burst forth, we float,
In Time and Space O soul, prepared for them,
Equal, equipt at last, (O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil O soul.
Let My Love be Heard
Jake Runestad (b. 1986)
Text by Alfred Noyes
Angels, where you soar up to God’s own light,
Take my own lost bird on your hearts tonight;
And as grief once more mounts to heaven and sings,
Let my love be heard whispering in your wings.
The Hour and the Clime
Jamie Moffatt (b. 1989)
Text by Emily Dickinson and a collection of text messages sent by people in long-distance relationships
Longing is like the Seed
That wrestles in the Ground,
Believing if it intercede
It shall at length be found.
The Hour, and the Clime -
Each Circumstance unknown,
What Constancy must be achieved
Before it see the Sun!
Remember the night we met?
You playing some folky thing in our dorm?
You asked me if I’d ever fallen for a boy with a guitar,
and it was such a fucking pick-up line.
Yes, by the way. I have.
Give orange me
Courage Barda (b. 2003)
Text by Nim Chimpsky and Courage Barda
Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you.
Here you are, an orange.
Eat it up, dear Chimpsky.
I give to you an orange.
Eat it up, dear Chimpsky.
Hope is the things with feathers
Pax Ressler (b. 1989)
Text by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
How do you keep the music playing?
Michel Legrand (1932–2019), arr. L’Estrange
How do you keep the music playing?
How do you make it last?
How do you keep the song from fading too fast?
How do you lose yourself to someone
And never lose your way?
How do you not run out of new things to say?
And since you know we're always changing
How can it be the same?
And tell me how year after year
You're sure your heart won't fall apart
Each time you hear his name?
I know the way I feel for you is now or never
The more I love
The more that I'm afraid
That in your eyes I may not see forever
If we can be the best of lovers
Yet be the best of friends
If we can try with every day to make it better
As it grows
With any luck then I suppose
The music never ends
Butterfly
Mia Makaroff (b. 1970), arr Makaroff & Kähärä
Sweet is the sound of my new-formed wings
I stretch them open and let them dry
I haven't seen this world before
But I'm excused, I'm a butterfly
Sweet is the touch of your newborn wings
We fly in circles and play with the sun
We haven't seen this world before
So fair, so bright, so blue the sky
Love me, love me on the leaves
Before we say goodbye
Love me, kiss me with the breeze
You will be my lullaby
Tomorrow I'll die
Sweet is the wind as it gently blows
The day away, and the nighttime comes
Great are the wonders that silence shows
I fall asleep, and I dream of the sun
And my butterfly
O still small voice of calm
CHH Parry (1848–1918), arr. Knights
Text by John Greenleaf Whittier
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
Darest, O Soul
Mari Esabel Valverde (b. 1987)
Text by Walt Whitman
Darest thou now O soul,
Walk out with me toward the unknown region,
Where neither ground is for the feet nor any path to follow?
No map there, nor guide,
Nor voice sounding, nor touch of human hand,
Nor face with blooming flesh, nor lips, nor eyes, are in that land.
I know it not O soul,
Nor dost thou, all is a blank before us,
All waits undream'd of in that region, that inaccessible land.
Till when the ties loosen,
All but the ties eternal, Time and Space,
Nor darkness, gravitation, sense, nor any bounds bounding us.
Then we burst forth, we float,
In Time and Space O soul, prepared for them,
Equal, equipt at last, (O joy! O fruit of all!) them to fulfil O soul.
Let My Love be Heard
Jake Runestad (b. 1986)
Text by Alfred Noyes
Angels, where you soar up to God’s own light,
Take my own lost bird on your hearts tonight;
And as grief once more mounts to heaven and sings,
Let my love be heard whispering in your wings.
The Hour and the Clime
Jamie Moffatt (b. 1989)
Text by Emily Dickinson and a collection of text messages sent by people in long-distance relationships
Longing is like the Seed
That wrestles in the Ground,
Believing if it intercede
It shall at length be found.
The Hour, and the Clime -
Each Circumstance unknown,
What Constancy must be achieved
Before it see the Sun!
Remember the night we met?
You playing some folky thing in our dorm?
You asked me if I’d ever fallen for a boy with a guitar,
and it was such a fucking pick-up line.
Yes, by the way. I have.
Give orange me
Courage Barda (b. 2003)
Text by Nim Chimpsky and Courage Barda
Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you.
Here you are, an orange.
Eat it up, dear Chimpsky.
I give to you an orange.
Eat it up, dear Chimpsky.
Hope is the things with feathers
Pax Ressler (b. 1989)
Text by Emily Dickinson
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
How do you keep the music playing?
Michel Legrand (1932–2019), arr. L’Estrange
How do you keep the music playing?
How do you make it last?
How do you keep the song from fading too fast?
How do you lose yourself to someone
And never lose your way?
How do you not run out of new things to say?
And since you know we're always changing
How can it be the same?
And tell me how year after year
You're sure your heart won't fall apart
Each time you hear his name?
I know the way I feel for you is now or never
The more I love
The more that I'm afraid
That in your eyes I may not see forever
If we can be the best of lovers
Yet be the best of friends
If we can try with every day to make it better
As it grows
With any luck then I suppose
The music never ends
Butterfly
Mia Makaroff (b. 1970), arr Makaroff & Kähärä
Sweet is the sound of my new-formed wings
I stretch them open and let them dry
I haven't seen this world before
But I'm excused, I'm a butterfly
Sweet is the touch of your newborn wings
We fly in circles and play with the sun
We haven't seen this world before
So fair, so bright, so blue the sky
Love me, love me on the leaves
Before we say goodbye
Love me, kiss me with the breeze
You will be my lullaby
Tomorrow I'll die
Sweet is the wind as it gently blows
The day away, and the nighttime comes
Great are the wonders that silence shows
I fall asleep, and I dream of the sun
And my butterfly
O still small voice of calm
CHH Parry (1848–1918), arr. Knights
Text by John Greenleaf Whittier
Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful mind,
In purer lives Thy service find,
In deeper reverence, praise.
Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thank you for joining us this evening - we'd love to see you at our upcoming concerts later this year!
Saturday 11 April, 5:30pm
Queerscore, Hoxton Hall
The Fourth Choir perform in a festival of queer music makers, curated by Jess Walker and Sholto Biscoe-Taylor.
Thank you for joining us this evening - we'd love to see you at our upcoming concerts later this year!
Saturday 11 April, 5:30pm
Queerscore, Hoxton Hall
The Fourth Choir perform in a festival of queer music makers, curated by Jess Walker and Sholto Biscoe-Taylor.
Sunday 26 April, 6:30pm
Verdi: Requiem & Powe: Gun Mass, Cadogan Hall
Jamie Powe conducts four London choirs in singing Verdi’s epic masterpiece and his own poignant Gun Mass.
Sold out
Saturday 6 June, 7:00pm
Summer Concert, Southwark Cathedral
A stunning programme of works of early music to kick off pride month in the beautiful settings of Southwark Cathedral.
Tickets on sale soon
Monday 13 July, 7:00pm
Invisible Rainbows, Wilton's Music Hall
A celebration of queer creators from the jazz and pop world of the 50s to the 80s with cabaret legend Barb Jungr.
Saturday 31 October, 7:00pm
Hallowe'en Concert, venue TBA
Celebrate spooky season in style with an atmospheric programme of autumnal, gothic and horror-inspired choral masterpieces.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates when tickets go on sale
Sunday 13 December, 5:00pm
Music for a Winter's Night, St Clement Danes
The Fourth Choir's annual festive extravaganza, with exquisite seasonal harmonies, mince pies and mulled cider.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates when tickets go on sale
