Introduction

18/03/23 at St Pancras New Church, London NW1 2 BA
For centuries, choral music has been integral to coronation ceremonies, often with pieces composed especially for the occasion. To mark the forthcoming coronation of King Charles III, the German Choir of London will perform the most famous of the coronation anthems, Handel’s Zadok the Priest, alongside pieces by Purcell, Parry, Stanford and Mendelssohn.
To add to the rich tapestry of coronation music performed in this concert, the choir will premiere two newly commissioned pieces. In keeping with past coronations, Richard Pantcheff has set to music the words of Psalm 84, Behold, O God our defender. The second piece, In orbe, ad astra, by Christopher Fox, uses passages from The Paderborn Epic which extol the virtues of Charlemagne by celebrating universal human aspirations for a world in which wise counsel, scholarship and trans-national cooperation might flourish.
Extending the theme of the monarchy to love and loyalty, we will also perform Der König in Thule, Goethe’s poem, set to music by Zelter and arranged for the German Choir by V. Georgia.
To mark this special occasion the German Choir has invited the Junge Consortium Berlin and musical director Vinzenz Weissenburger to sing with us. In April we will travel to Berlin to perform the programme there as well.
Lyrics
Gloria in excelsis
C. V. Stanford
Glory be to God on high,
And on earth peace, good will towards men.
We praise Thee, we bless Thee,
We worship Thee, we glorify Thee,
We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King,
God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only begotten Son Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
That takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world;
Have mercy upon us,
Thou that takest away the sins of the world,
Receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father,
Have mercy upon us.
For Thou only art holy;Thou only art the Lord;
Thou only, O Christ with the Holy Ghost,
Art most high in the glory of God the Father,
Amen.
There is an old belief
C. H. H. Parry
There is an old belief,
That on some solemn shore,
Beyond the sphere of grief
Dear friends shall meet once more.
Beyond the sphere of Time and Sin
And Fate’s control,
Serene in changeless prime
Of body and of soul.
That creed I fain would keep
That hope I’ll ne’er forgo,
Eternal be the sleep,
If not to waken so.
III. Pater Noster
(from: Three Sacred Miniatures)
P. W. J. Stopford
Pater noster,
qui es in caelis,
sanctificetur nomen tuum.
Adveniat regnum tuum.
Fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in caelo et in terra.
Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie,
et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut
et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris.
Our Father,
Who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Sing Ye Praises to our King
(from: Four Motets)
A. Copland
Sing ye praises to our King,
O sing ye praises to our King and Ruler.
Come and hear all ye men.
Come and hear my praises.
He doth bless all the earth,
bringeth peace and comfort.
Shout unto God all ye men.
Shout unto God all your praises.
Ubi Caritas
P. Mealor
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur:
Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus.
Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites.
Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus.
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Simul quoque cum beatis videamus,
Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus:
Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum,
Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
Love of Christ has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice in Him and be glad.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And from a sincere heart let us love one.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
At the same time, therefore, are gathered into one:
Lest we be divided in mind, let us beware.
Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease.
And in the midst of us be Christ our God.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
At the same time we see that with the saints also,
Thy face in glory, O Christ our God:
The joy that is immense and good,
Unto the World without end. Amen.
Pange lingua
G. Orban
Pange lingua gloriosi
corporis mysterium
sanguinisque pretiosi,
quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi
Rex effudit Gentium.
Nobis datus, nobis natus
ex intacta virgine
et in mundo conversatus,
sparso verbi semine,
sui moras incolatus
miro clausit ordine.
In supremae nocte cenae
recumbens cum fratribus
observata lege plene
cibis in legalibus,
cibum turbae duodenae
se dat suis manibus.
Verbum caro, panem verum
verbo carnem efficit:
fitque sanguis Christi merum,
et si sensus deficit,
ad firmandum cor sincerum
sola fides sufficit.
Tantum ergo sacramentum
veneremur cernui,
et antiquum documentum
novo cedat ritui;
praestet fides supplementum
sensuum defectui.
Genitori Genitoque
laus et iubilatio,
salus, honor, virtus quoque
sit et benedictio;
procedenti ab utroque
compar sit laudatio.
Amen.
Sing, my tongue,
The mystery of the glorious body,
And of the precious Blood
That for the world’s salvation
The fruit of a noble womb,
The king of the nations, shed.
Given to us, born to us,
From an unblemished virgin,
And having lived in the world,
Scattering the seed of the Word,
The time of his habitation
Miraculously He closed in due order.
In the night of His last supper,
Resting with His brothers,
The law being fully observed
With permitted foods,
To the group of twelve
He gave Himself as food with his own hands.
The Word in flesh true bread
By a word makes His flesh,
And also makes true wine the Blood of Christ,
And if sense is lacking,
To confirm a true heart
Faith alone suffices.
Therefore so great a Sacrament
Let us fall down and worship,
And let the old law
Give way to a new rite,
And let faith stand forward
To make good the defects of sense.
To the Father and the Son
Be praise and joy,
Health, honor and virtue
And blessing,
And to him proceeding from both
Be equal praise.
Amen.
Zadok the Priest
G. F. Händel
Zadok the priest,
And Nathan the prophet
Anointed Solomon King.
And all the people rejoiced,
And said:
God save the King!
Long live the King!
God save the King!
May the King live forever.
Amen. Allelujah.
Richte mich Gott (Psalm 43)
F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Richte mich, Gott, und führe meine Sache
wider das unheilige Volk
und errette mich von den falschen und bösen Leuten.
Denn du bist der Gott meiner Stärke;
Warum verstößest du mich?
Warum lässest du mich so traurig geh’n,
wenn mein Feind mich drängt?
Sende dein Licht und deine Wahrheit,
daß sie mich leiten
zu deinem heiligen Berge,
und zu deiner Wohnung.
Daß ich hineingehe zum Altar Gottes,
zu dem Gott, der meine Freude und Wonne ist,
und dir, Gott, auf der Harfe danke, mein Gott.
Was betrübst du dich, meine Seele,
und bist so unruhig in mir?
Harre auf Gott!
Denn ich werde ihm noch danken,
daß er meines Angesichts Hülfe,
und mein Gott ist.
Do me justice, o God, and fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
For you, o God, are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
With the enemy oppressing me?
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp, my God
Why are you so downcast, o my soul?
And why do you sigh within me?
Hope in God!
Then I will again give him thanks,
In the presence of my savior
and my God.
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe
F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Ehre sei Gott in der Höhe und Friede auf Erden
und den Menschen ein Wohlgefallen!
Wir loben dich, wir benedeien dich,
wir beten dich an, wir preisen dich,
wir sagen dir Dank um deiner großen Herrlichkeit willen.
Herr Gott! Himmlischer König! Allmächtiger Vater!
Herr, du eingeborner Sohn, Jesu
Christe! Herr, Gott, du Lamm Gottes, Sohn des Vaters!
Der du die Sünde der Welt trägst, erbarme dich unser!
Der du die Sünde der Welt trägst, nimm an unser Gebet.
Der du sitzest zur Rechten des Vaters, erbarme dich unser!
Denn du allein bist heilig, denn du allein bist der Herr,
du allein bist der Allerhöchste, Jesus Christus
mit dem Heiligen Geiste in der Herrlichkeit
Gottes, des Vaters.
Amen!
Glory be to God on high,
and on earth peace, good will towards men.
We praise thee, we bless thee,
we worship thee, we glorify thee,
we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ;
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us.
For thou only art holy; thou only art the Lord;
thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost,
art most high in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.
Jauchzet dem Herrn (Psalm 100)
F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Jauchzet dem Herrn, alle Welt!
Dienet dem Herrn mit Freuden;
kommt vor sein Angesicht mit Frohlocken!
Erkennet, daß der Herr Gott ist!
Er hat uns gemacht,
und nicht wir selbst zu seinem Volk
und zu Schafen seiner Weide.
Gehet zu seinen Toren ein mit Danken
zu seinen Vorhöfen mit Loben,
danket ihm, lobet seinen Namen.
Denn der Herr ist freundlich,
und seine Gnade währet ewig
und seine Wahrheit für und für.
Sing to the Lord all ye lands!
Serve the Lord God with gladness;
come ye before His face with rejoicing!
Perceive that the Lord is the Godhead!
He is who made us,
not we ourselves to His own folk
and His sheep upon His pasture.
Enter, advance through the gates of Heav’n and thank Him,
approach His courtyards and praise Him;
give Him thanks, praise His name forever!
For the Lord is friendly,
and the Lord’s mercy lasts forever,
so does His truth eternally.
I was glad (Psalm 122)
H. Purcell
I was glad, when they said unto me,
We will go into the house of the Lord.
For thither the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord:
to testify unto Israel,
And to give thanks unto the name of the Lord.
For there is the seat of judgment,
the seat of the house of David.
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
they shall prosper that love thee.
Peace be within thy walls:
and plenteousness within thy palaces.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning , is now, and ever shall be:
World without end, Amen.
Beati quorum via (Psalm 119)
C. V. Stanford
Beati quorum via integra est
Qui ambulant in lege Domini.
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the Lord.
Es war ein König in Thule
K. F. Zelter
Es war ein König in Thule,
Gar treu bis an das Grab,
Dem sterbend seine Buhle
Einen gold’nen Becher gab.
Es ging ihm nichts darüber,
Er leert’ ihn jeden Schmaus;
Die Augen gingen ihm über,
So oft er trank daraus.
Und als er kam zu sterben,
Zählt’ er seine Städt’ im Reich,
Gönnt’ alles seinen Erben,
Den Becher nicht zugleich.
Er saß beim Königsmahle,
Die Ritter um ihn her,
In hoher Vätersaale
Dort auf dem Schloß am Meer.
Dort stand der alte Zecher,
Trank letzte Lebensglut,
Und warf den heiligen Becher,
Hinunter in die Flut.
Er sah ihn stürzen, trinken
Und sinken in das Meer,
Die Augen täten ihm sinken,
Trank nie einen Tropfen mehr.
There was a king in Thule
faithful unto the grave,
whose dying mistress
gave him a golden goblet.
Nothing was more precious to him;
he drained it at every feast.
His eyes filled with tears
whenever he drank from it.
And when he came to die
he counted the towns in his realm,
bequeathed all to his heirs,
except for that goblet.
He sat at the royal banquet,
his knights around him
in the lofty ancestral hall
in his castle by the sea.
The old toper stood there,
drank life’s last glowing draught,
and hurled the sacred goblet
into the waves below.
He watched it fall and drink
and sink deep into the sea.
His eyes, too, sank;
he drank not one drop more.
In orbe, ad astra
C. Fox
Karolus
Rex Karolus sapiens inluster pius
Karolus rex pacificus iustus
Karolus ingreditur prior ipse, sequi quo se cupit omnes
Rex Karolus sapiens inluster pius modestus potens resplendens facilis prudens augustus
Karolus rex iustus
Karolus ingreditur prior ipse, sequi quo se cupit omnes
Rex Karolus fulget in orbe, spargit ad astra
Rex Karolus, rex sapiens, fulget in orbe,
spargit ad astra.
Charles.
King Charles, wise, illustrious, pious.
King Charles, peaceful, just.
Charles leads by example, so that all may follow.
King Charles, wise, illustrious, pious, modest, powerful, splendid, graceful, careful, grand.
King Charles, just.
Charles leads by example, so that all may follow.
King Charles is radiant on earth and shines among the stars.
King Charles, the wise king, is radiant on earth
and shines among the stars.
Behold, O God (Psalm 84)
R. Pancheff
Behold, O God our defender:
And look upon the face of thine Anointed.
Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee:
In whose heart are thy ways.
For the Lord is a light and defense:
The Lord will give grace and worship,
And no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.
O Lord God of hosts:
Blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.
Amen.
I was glad (Psalm 122)
C. H. H. Parry
I was glad, when they said unto me,
We will go into the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall stand in thy gates, O Jerusalem
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is at unity in itself.
Vivat Regina!
Vivat Regina Elizabetha!
Vivat! Vivat! Vivat!
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
they shall prosper that love thee.Peace be within thy walls,
and plenteousness within thy palaces
Long live the Queen!
Long live Elisabeth!
Long live! Long live! Long live!
Biographies
The German Choir of London
Barbara Höfling – Musical Director

The German Choir of London, founded in 2009, has established itself as one of London´s leading amateur choirs. In a sociable, friendly atmosphere, we perfect classical German choral masterpieces such as Brahms´ German Requiem and Orff´s Carmina Burana, as well as contemporary music and commissions from composers around the globe.
The choir has performed in some amazing venues around London, and in Paris, Brussels and Rome. Our projects often involve collaborations with cultural institutions and explore topics and themes of social or historical importance – we make music with meaning.
www.deutscherchorlondon.org.uk
Junges Consortium Berlin
Vinzenz Weissenburger – Musical Director

The idea to found the Junges Consortium Berlin was formed by a group of young people that had been singing together since childhood and had grown out of the age span of children’s choirs, but not out of the desire to make music together. The ensemble was able to win over the successful Berlin-based conductor Vinzenz Weissenburger as an musical director. Thanks to him, the Junges Consortium Berlin was created as the youth choir of the Musikschule City West in September 2015.
www.junges-consortium-berlin.de
Ben Frost – Organist
Pub
Join us after the concert for an Afterglow party at:
The Marquis Cornwallis
31 Marchmont St, Greater
London WC1N 1AP