Message in a Bottle

Musica est Dei donum optimi.

Music is the gift of the supreme God.

Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum;
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, mater Dei,
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae.
Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you;
Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners,
Now and in the hour of our death.
Amen.

Verbe égal au Très-Haut, notre unique espérance,
Jour éternel de la terre et des cieux;
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence,
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux!

Répands sur nous le feu de ta grâce puissante,
Que tout l’enfer fuie au son de ta voix;
Dissipe le sommeil d’une âme languissante,
Qui la conduit à l’oubli de tes lois!

Ô Christ, sois favorable à ce peuple fidèle
Pour te bénir maintenant rassemblé.
Reçois les chants qu’il offre à ta gloire immortelle,
Et de tes dons qu’il retourne comblé!

Word equal to God, the Almighty, our only
hope,
Eternal day of the earth and heavens;
We break the silence of the peaceful night,
Divine Saviour, look upon us!

Fan the fire of your powerful grace upon us,
That all Hell may flee at the sound of your voice;
Shake off the sleep of a languishing soul,
Who has forgotten your laws!

O Christ, be kind to these faithful people
Who have now gathered in thanks.
Listen to the chants they offer to your immortal glory,
And may they come away fulfilled with your gifts!

O magnum mysterium,
et admirabile sacramentum,
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum,
jacentem in praesepio!
Beata Virgo, cujus viscera
meruerunt portare
Dominum Christum. Alleluia!

O great mystery,
and wondrous sacrament,
that animals should see the newborn Lord,
lying in a manger!
Blessed is the virgin whose womb
was worthy to bear
the Lord Jesus Christ. Alleluia!

Lass dich nur nichts nicht dauren mit Trauren,
sei stille, wie Gott es fügt,
so sei vergnügt mein Wille!

Was willst du heute sorgen auf
morgen?
Der Eine steht allem für,
der gibt auch dir das Deine.

Sei nur in allem Handel ohn Wandel,
steh feste, was Gott beschleusst,
das ist und heisst das Beste.
Amen.

Do not be sorrowful or regretful;
Be calm, as God has ordained,
and thus my will shall be content.

What do you want to worry about from day to day?
There is One who stands above all
who gives you, too, what is yours.

Only be steadfast in all you do,
stand firm; what God has decided,
that is and must be the best.
Amen.

Ave, verum corpus
Natum de Maria Virgine,
Vere passum immolatum
In Cruce pro homine,
Cujus latus perforatum
Unda fluxit et sanguine,
Esto nobis praegustatum
In mortis examine.

Hail, true Body,
born of the Virgin Mary,
who having truly suffered,
was sacrificed on the cross for mankind,
whose pierced side
flowed with water and blood:
May it be for us a foretaste
in the trial of death.

O nata lux de lumine,
Jesu redemptor saeculi,
dignare clemens supplicum
laudes preces que sumere.

Qui carne quondam contegi
dignatus es pro perditis.
Nos membra confer effici
tui beati corporis.

O born light of light,
Jesus, redeemer of the world,
mercifully deem worthy and accept
the praises and prayers of your supplicants.

Thou who once deigned to be clothed in flesh
for the sake of the lost ones,
grant us to be made members
of your holy body.

Non Nobis, Domine, non nobis,
sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name be the glory.

Abandon entouré d’abandon,
tendresse touchant aux tendresses…
C’est ton intérieur qui sans cesse
se caresse, dirait-on;

se caresse en soi-même,
par son propre reflet éclairé.
Ainsi tu inventes le thème
du Narcisse exhaucé.

Abandon surrounding abandon,
tenderness touching tenderness…
Your oneness endlessly
caresses itself, so they say;

self-caressing
through its own clear reflection.
Thus you invent the theme
of Narcissus fulfilled.

Pianist Nicole Aldrich is Director of Chapel Music at Princeton University, where she directs the 65-voice Princeton University Chapel Choir and oversees a full calendar of concerts and other special musical events. Before coming to Princeton, she served as Director of Choral Activities at Washington University in St. Louis for 10 years and held teaching positions at the University of Delaware and University of Maryland. She has prepared choruses for Helmuth Rilling and Paul Goodwin, has conducted honor choirs in six states, and is a frequent guest clinician and lecturer on group vocal pedagogy.

Dr. Aldrich earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Maryland, holds a master’s degree in conducting from Northwestern University, and studied piano and voice at Virginia Wesleyan College. She counts her work as a collaborative pianist one of the great joys of her musical life, and she is delighted to perform with Monmouth Civic Chorus and Ryan Brandau today.

Soprano

Donna Boris
Linda Boyce
Marina Christopher
Hillary Critelli
Patti D’Andrea
Heather Daniels
Wendy Davis
Caitlin deBrigard
Lisa Ficarelli-Halpern
Valerie Guerrero
Claire Harbeck
Barbara Jacomme
Lisa M. Kirby
Janice Liddy
Sandra Liddy-Papp
Cindy Lin
Teri Lindstrom
Eleanor Mason
Pat Miller
Nicole Moran
Christine Psolka
Jacqueline Reynolds
Janet Rostad
Carol Van Kirk
Martie Viets
Hui-Ling Wu
Shelley Ziegler

Alto

Lindsay Abbot
Carol Andrew
Kathleen Blinn
Jenni Blumenthal
Janet Breslin
Carolyn Gratzer Cope
Suzanne Costello
Celeste Credle
Ellen Crimi
Alissa Downey
Becky Gorman
Susan Gorsky
Deb Hoffman
Marcie Horowitz
Joanne Kelsey
Kari Martin
Susan Metz
Marlena Najar
Janine Nehila
Mari-Jo Policastro
Linda Wasser
Caroline Whittemore
Kathleen Woolston

Tenor

Douglas Clark
Tim Cooney
Daniel Ford
Marshall Gorman
Matthew Izzo
George Liddy
James Scavone
David Willis

Bass

Kenneth Almquist
Leyland Brenner
Kenneth Budka
William Clingerman
James J. Green
Joseph A. Leen
Kelly Morgan
Richard Oppenheim
Joseph Pisano
Kenneth Wasser
Gordon Wu