Several members of the Boston College and St. Ignatius community came together on Saturday to present a concert titled Gaudete in carminibus: A Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols in the Romance Language Tradition. It was coordinated and conducted by Daniel Gostin, BC ’09, with Ana Conboy as the co-director.
The evening began with a talk by Gostin, in which he explained the concept of the Festival, the history of the carols to be played, and the history of the various instruments present in the ensemble.
A 12-member choir sang the various carols accompanied by a consort of percussion, guitar, violin, violoncello, bass and tenor trombone, oboe, recorder, lute, and English horn.
The Festival, originally an Anglican tradition, featured nine scripture readings, or lessons, narrating the Christmas story with a complementary carol following each reading. As a special touch, each reading and carol was in a romance language.
The choir processed in with the chant Letabundus sung in Latin and then performed Convidando Está La Noche in Spanish. The first lesson was from Genesis 3, the story of Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, was read in Latin and the hymn Veni, Veni, Emanuel followed. The second lesson, in French, was the story of God’s promise to Abraham and the carol Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes, which we more commonly know as Angels We Have Heard on High.
The third lesson, in Italian, was from Isaiah, foretelling the coming of the Savior with the Quando Nascette Ninno. A passage from Isaiah about the peace the Christ brings read in Portugese and the instrumental tune Branle De L‘Official were the fourth lesson. The fifth lesson returned to Spanish with a reading of the Visitation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary from the Gospel of Luke and the carol E La Don Don followed by an instrumental version of Verbum Caro Factus Est. The sixth lesson, in French, was the birth of Christ according to Luke and the songs Entre Le Bœuf Et L’âne Gris and Un Flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle.
The seventh lesson told the story of the shepherds going to the manger, in Spanish, with the carol O Mangnum Mysterium. A reading of the story of the wise men led by the star and Noël Nouvelet in French made up the eighth lesson. The ninth and final lesson, in Italian, was the opening passage from John’s Gospel, unfolding the great mystery of the Incarnation followed by the carol Gaudete! (Rejoice!) sung in Latin.
After the lessons, the audience joined together with the choir to sing Silent Night with each verse in a different language. The choir then concluded the evening with a beautiful performance of Riu, Riu, Chiu. The choir, instrumentalists, and lectors were Boston College students and faculty, members of the Jesuit community, and parishioners of St. Ignatius church.
Daniel Gostin and all involved presented a wonderful celebration of scripture and music helping all present prepare for the coming Christmas season. Good job, Dan!
