74TH SEASON 

OF CONCERTS

APRIL 10, 2016 • NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
PROGRAM

3:30 • West Building, West Garden Court

The Rose Ensemble

Jordan Sramek, founder and artistic director, tenor

Elizabeth Windnagel and Kim Sueoka, 'ukulele, sopranos

Alyssa Anderson and Natalie Nowytski, altos

Andrew Kane, 'ukulele, tenor

Mark Dietrich, guitar, Native American flute, and Jake Endres, basses

David Burk, guitar, mandolin, and gourd banjo

Josh Schwalbach, bass

Ginna Watson, fiddle

Special guest Dan Chouinard, accordion

Mark Dietrich (b. 1967)

Improvisation in Honor of the First Inhabitants

Anonymous

From The Southern Harmony (1854)

"Bozrah"

Anonymous

From Original Shaker Music (1893)

"Pure Love" and "Give Good Gifts"

Traditional Appalachian

"Over the Waterfall"

Thomas Hastings

From A Selection of Spiritual Songs (1878)

"Still Water"

Traditional Acadian dance tunes

"La Bastringu" and "A San Malo a

Bord de Mer"

Anonymous

From Original Shaker Music (1893)

"Peace and Joy"

Traditional Irish dance tunes

'Mile of Dublin," "Boys of Malin," and

'Maids of Castlebar"

Niel Gow (1727-1807)

'Niel Gow's Lament on the Death of

His Second Wife"

Anonymous

From Shaker Music (1875)

"Morning Dawn"

"Christmas Eve"

John Playford (1623-1686)

Arr. The Rose Ensemble

"Scotch Cap"

"Juice of Barley" (tune: "Stingo" or 

"Oyle of Barly")

Anonymous American

Arr. C. Patton

"New England's Annoyances" (1630)

Traditional American

Arr. The Rose Ensemble

"Goin' across the Sea"

2 • National Gallery of Art

The Hutchinson Family Singers

Arr. Kachelmeier

"Get Off the Track" (tune: "Old Dan

Tucker")

Hutchinson's Republican Songster (1860) 

Arr. Chouinard

"Lincoln and Liberty" (tune: "Old Rosin

the Bow")

Intermission

John P. Rees

From The Southern Harmony (1854)

"The Great Day"

The Hutchinson Family Singers

Arr. Dan Chouinard

"Uncle Sam's Farm"

Lyrics, Joshua McCarter Simpson

(1821-1877)

"Away To Canada" (tune: "0 Susannah") 

Anonymous

From The Original Sacred Harp (1936)

"Wayfaring Stranger"

Traditional Appalachian

"Cold Frosty Morning"

B.F. White

From The Southern Harmony (1854)

"Jordan's Shore"

Traditional Quebecois 

Recorded by Jos Bouchard, 1938

"Reel Beatrice" (based on Italian tune

"Quando nevica")

Walter Kittredge (1834-1905)

"Tenting on the Old Camp Ground"

William J. Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)

"Help Just a Little"

Albert Brumley (1905-1977)

Arr. Jake Endres

"I'll Fly Away"

Traditional Appalachian

"Kitchen Gal"

Joseph P. Webster (1819-1875)

Arr./Original lyrics, Endres/Dietrich

"The Sweet By and By" (1868)

74th Season • 3
The Musicians

Founded in 1996 by artistic director Jordan Sramek and now in its twentieth performance

season, the Rose Ensemble is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and enjoys a full schedule of 

performing, recording, and outreach. Through virtuosic artistry and scholarly research, the

group produces imaginative and inspiring musical performances and educational programs

that connect each individual to compelling stories of human culture and spirituality from

around the world. Each season, the group illuminates several centuries of rarely heard repertoire, bringing to audiences research from the world's manuscript libraries and fresh 

perspectives on music, history, languages, politics, religion, and more. With ten critically

acclaimed recordings and a diverse selection of concert programs, the Rose Ensemble has

thrilled audiences across the United States and Europe with repertoire spanning one thousand 

years and in more than twenty-five languages, including recent unique programs highlighting

Maltese, Hawaiian, French, Ukrainian, Middle Eastern, and Cuban repertoire.

Rose Ensemble musicians have received acclaim for their ability to perform both as

an ensemble and as individual soloists, while Sramek has been lauded for diverse programming and groundbreaking research. The group is the recipient of the 2005 Margaret Hillis

Award for Choral Excellence and took first place in both secular and sacred categories at the

2012 Tolosa International Choral Competition. Sramek is the 2010 recipient of the Chorus 

America Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal.

Recognized as a leader and innovator in the worldwide vocal music scene, the Rose

Ensemble tours regularly. Recent appearances include Trinity Wall Street Series (NYC), Early

Music Now (Milwaukee), the Musical Instrument Museum (Phoenix), Cornell University,

Luther College, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. In 2012, the group served as

artists-in-residence at the Society for Biblical Literature Conference, and in 2013 appeared at

St. Quirinus Cathedral, Neuss, Germany. In 2014, the ensemble was chosen to represent the 

United States at the international Baroque music festival Misiones de Chiquitos in Bolivia, and

later that year made its debut performance with the Minnesota Orchestra. Performance highlights this season include the National Gallery of Art, Princeton University, Houston Early Music,

Chautauqua Institute, and the Madison Early Music Festival. The group can be heard regularly 

on American Public Media, the European Broadcasting Union, and NPR's Performance Today.

Dan Chouinard

Dan Chouinard is pianist and accordionist for a diverse roster of artists across the country,

appearing most recently in performances and recordings by Prudence Johnson, Maria Jette,

Peter Ostroushko, and Kevin Kling. As a musician and writer he is regularly commissioned

to create special live programs for Minnesota Public Radio, the Minnesota Historical

Society, and others. His recent show Civil War Homecoming, was broadcast statewide in

April on Minnesota Public Radio. He has appeared in three previous Rose Ensemble shows,

including Singing for Freedom, his first commission for the ensemble as a writer. Other recent 

works include Steerage Song, coauthored with Minneapolis theater director Peter Rothstein, 

and Cafe Europa, about bicycling from Naples to Normandy, accordion strapped to the bike,

in search of World War II stories. More information is available at danchouinard.com.

4 • National Gallery of Art

Program Notes

The story of music in North America begins with the Native Peoples, who were present

before the British colonists arrived. Today's program begins in a way that recognizes and

honors this original early music played on American soil. May we always remember those

who came before us, and always consider those who will follow us.

Today, the season of Advent is often thought of as a celebration leading up to Christ's

birth. From a liturgical perspective, it is actually the season appropriated by the church to

remind the faithful of Christ's second coming. This theme —one that looks forward to the

Promised Land — is found throughout the program, but it is often mingled with the harsh

reality of the sorrows and hardships of life. In this spirit, the early American hymn ''Bozrah"

employs a haunting melody and prophetic text to tell of Christ's death and his role as

redeemer of his people.

One of the less recognized roots of bluegrass is the Shaker tradition. Frederick

William Evans (1808-1893), born in Leominster, England, sailed with members of his family

to the United States in 1820. Having been influenced by the Owenites and other freethinking

groups, he began editing (with his brother) several publications devoted to radical reform.

After visiting a Shaker community in Lebanon, New York, he became a member and spent

fifty-seven of his remaining sixty-three years with the community as an elder. A born leader 

and natural orator, he became one of the nation's most influential Shaker leaders and published Shaker Music: Inspirational Hymns and Melodies Illustrative of the Resurrection Life and

Testimony of the Shakers, a collection that includes "Give Good Gifts" and "Peace and Joy."

With the rise of industrialism, more and more people flocked to cities seeking 

employment. "Still Water" represents a musical and spiritual movement to reconnect the

city-dwelling faithful with the folk roots of Anglo-American Christianity. Our interpretation

of this lovely little ditty holds fast to the rhythmic strength of the poetry, but our addition of

guitar and fiddle gives a glimpse of what would become "Old-Time Music.”

In 1651, a book by John Playford was published in London called, The English Dancing

Master, or Plaine and Easie Rules for the Dancing of Country Dances, with the Tune to Each Dance.

The original book, containing over one hundred tunes, was an instant hit that went on to include

eighteen editions, printed from 1651 to 1728, by Playford and his descendants. Dancing became

an essential social grace and was given high priority in the education of Europe's upper class.

Polite society in Colonial America was equally concerned about providing dance instruction for their children. Even George Washington — himself a lover of country dances — hired 

a dancing master to teach his young children at Mount Vernon. To this day it remains a beloved

and well-used source by English country dancing groups both in England and the United

States and is our source for the two tunes featured on this program, "Scotch Cap” and

"Juice of Barley.”

The last two selections on the first half of our program take us to January 3,1843, when 

an American cultural tradition was born: social activism and popular music were combined

to define a generation. At an antislavery meeting in Milford, New Hampshire, the Hutchinson

Family Singers, siblings from a local white family, launched into song when a featured guest

arrived. Soon invited to regional and national antislavery events, John, Judson, Asa, and

Abby Hutchinson rocketed to national and international fame. They were the sound of the

American antislavery movement.

74th Season • 5
Inspired by their family upbringing, personal motivation, and religious belief, the

Hutchinson Family Singers played a vital role in an era of interracial social action. They

crafted brilliant lyrics set to well-known tunes and spread the antislavery message across

the northern United States and England.

The Southern Harmony, and Musical Companion is a hymnbook compiled by William

"Singin' Billy” Walker, first printed in Philadelphia in 1835, and is part of the larger tradition

of shape-note singing. The hymnal contained 335 songs, went through several editions and

became possibly the most popular southern tune book in the nineteenth century. Walker

claimed his 1867 edition sold over 600,000 copies.

The roots of Southern Harmony -style singing are found in the American colonial era.

The traditional practice of shape-note singing calls for the hymns to be sung without instruments, allowing the voice alone to carry the melody. Indeed, even the word "harp” in the title

of the famous shape-note collection The Sacred Harp — a work first published in 1844 and

reappearing later in multiple editions and title variants such as The Original Sacred Harp —

refers to the voice, not the actual instrument. This is demonstrated in the haunting "The

Great Day," with its references to the Book of Revelations. However, it is important to consider that many melodies in these collections were originally folk tunes, which were then

harmonized and given new religious texts. Our performance of "Jordan's Shore" reflects this

idea, with the notes and words being used from the shape-note source, but featuring an

array of instruments and a decidedly "Kentucky" flair.

Just before "Jordan's Shore," we feature a well-known song as a marvelous example of

how music is transformed as it travels down the path we call "tradition." "Wayfaring Stranger"

is perhaps best known in the form made popular by John Jacob Niles (1892-1980). Niles likely

found the tune in B. F. White's The Sacred Harp (1909), but he altered the melody and rhythm

considerably. Other versions of the text appear as early as J. Bever's The Christian Songster

(1858), but the text as it is traditionally sung was first published in 1891 by Charlie D. Tillman.

Tillman reportedly transcribed the song from his own father's singing. Here, we present the text

in the form that has been traditionally sung since Niles's publication and the melody in a modal

harmonization, which shows the influence of Walker and the Southern shape-note tradition.

Between 1880 and 1897, John R. Sweney and William J. Kirkpatrick published nearly

fifty hymnals and gospel songbooks. Among the most familiar of Kirkpatrick's tunes are

"My Faith Has Found a Resting Place," '"Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," and "He Hideth My

Soul." His song "Help Just a Little" appeared for the first time in 1881 in the Sweney and

Kirkpatrick hymnal Wells ofSalvation, published by John J. Hood. Kirkpatrick set words by

Mrs. E. C. Ellsworth to music in 4/8 time. The year 1885 saw the first appearance of a new

version of the gospel song. A text by Rev. Spencer Thornton and a change in meter to 3/4

time give the song a gentler, more touching character, which is the version we perform on

our program. Like all the nineteenth-century hymns on this program — including Wisconsinite Joseph P. Webster's "The Sweet By and By"— our instrumental accompaniments are

improvised and arranged, based on the vocal harmonies of the original scores, as well as

traditional, regional, and historical performance practices.

Program notes by Jordan Sramek

6 • National Gallery of Art

Upcoming Events of the Seventy- General Information

Fourth Season of The William

Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot

Belin Concerts

Tamagawa University Taiko Group

Japanese Taiko drum and dance

Presented in honor of the

National Cherry Blossom Festival

April 15, Friday, 11:00

East Building Atrium

PostClassical Ensemble

Music by Bernard Herrmann

Presented in honor of Three Centuries of

American Prints from the National Gallery ofArt

April 17, Sunday, 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Prague — New York Effects

A transatlantic collaboration of music and

dance. Cosponsored by the Embassy of the

Czech Republic

April 23, Saturday, 2:00

West Building, West Garden Court

Inscape

Music by John Harbison, Chen Yi,

Asha Srinivasan, and Toru Takemitsu

April 24, Sunday, 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

PostClassical Ensemble

Music by Daniel Schnyder and

Min Xiao-Fen. Presented in honor

of Asian Heritage Month

April 24, Sunday, 3:30

West Building, West Garden Court

Admission to the National Gallery of Art

and all of its programs is free of charge,

except as noted.

The use of cameras or recording equipment

during the performance is not allowed.

Please be sure that all portable electronic

devices are turned off.

Concerts are made possible in part

through the generosity of donors to the 

National Gallery of Art through The Circle.

Reserved seating is available in recognition 

of their support. Please contact the

development office at (202) 842-6450 or

circle@nga.gov for more information.

www.nga.gov

www.instagram.com/ngadc

www.twitter.com/ngadc

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The department of music produced these

program notes. Copyright © 2016 Board of

Trustees, National Gallery ofArt, Washington

Cover Mary Cassatt, The Banjo Lesson (detail),

1938, National Gallery of Art, Washington,

Gift of Mrs. Jane C. Carey as an addition to the

Addie Burr Clark Memorial Collection

Back cover West Building, East Garden 

Court, Photo by Rob Shelley, National Gallery

of Art, Washington