Folksongs are as old as civilization, and composers throughout time have used them for inspiration.

From the Renaissance era with Dufay’s L’Homme Armé and Hollander’s Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen to the modern era with Schönberg’s settings of German folk songs, as well as other composers’ settings of Irish, British, American, Slavic, and Indonesian ones, Musica Sacra explores this rich vein of choral gold.

Full program

America

• Blood Red Roses Sea Chanty, arr. Conrad Susa (1935-2013)
• Come all you fair, arr. Peter Urquhart, (b. 1952)
• I have a soul to be saved or lost, Daniel Roihl, (b. 1975)
• Shenandoah, arr. Conrad Susa
• The chicken’s they are crowin’, arr. Peter Urquhart

British Isles

• My Lagan Love, Ireland, arr. James Erb (1926-2014)
• The song of the blacksmith, Hampshire, Gustav Holst (1874-1934)

France

• Kyrie from “Missa L’homme armé”, Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474)

Germany & Austria

• Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen, Christian Hollander (c. 1512-c.1569)
• Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen, Heinrich Isaac (c.1450-1517)
• Three Folksongs op. 49, Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951)
  1. Es gingen zwei Gespielen gut
  2. Der Mai tritt ein mit Freuden
  3. Mein Herz in steten

Lithuania

• Anoj pusėj Dunojėlio, Vaclovas Augustinas, (b. 1959)

The Philippines

• Pok pok Alimpako, Maranao, arr. Francisco F. Feliciano (b. 1941)
• Rosas pandan, Visayan, arr. George G. Hernandez
• Iddem-dem mallida, Itneg, Elmo Q.Makil (1935-2003)

Slovakia

• Four Slovak Folk Songs Sz. 70, Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Taiwan

• Ting ou ou, arr. Yu-shan Tsai
• Su hsiang ki, arr. Yu-shan Tsai