Portara Ensemble Presents: Canticles
Songs of Brother Sun & Sister Moon
Sunday, October 5, 2025

Jason Shelton, Artistic Director
Patrick Dunnevant, Assistant Director
Horacio Guendulain, Accompanist

In 1225, Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone (now better known at St Francis of Assisi) composed one of the great works of medieval literature – the Canticle of Brother Sun & Sister Moon. 800 years later, his poetic reflection on the interrelatedness of all things still inspires and challenges us to care for the world around and among us as a manifestation of the divine.

Our Community Partner for this concert is the Cumberland River Compact, whose goal is to enhance the health and enjoyment of the Cumberland River and its tributaries through action, education, and collaboration.  The work of the Compact is innovative and wide-ranging as it spans an 18,000 square miles watershed of rugged wilderness, beautiful streams, and charming towns in the Cumberland River basin of Kentucky and Tennessee. The Compact’s efforts in Stream Restoration, Working Lands, Education and Engagement, and Urban Waters all contribute to maintaining the Cumberland River basin’s clean and abundant water.

Program

Welcome
Jason Shelton, Artistic Director

Brother Sun & Sister Moon
from Brother Sun, Sister Moon, adapted by Katherine Paterson
Narrator: Tony Jackson

A Love Like That
Words: Daniel Ladinsky; Music: Elizabeth Alexander
Solos: Leigh Ferro & Zach Gureasko

Sing to the Moon
Words & Music: Steven James Brown & Laura Mvula; arr. Laura Mvula
Solo: Elizabeth Miller

Brother Wind & Sister Water

Voice on the Wind
Words & Music: Sarah Quartel
Solo: Beth Hampton

I’ve Known Rivers
Words: Langston Hughes; Music: Carl Marsh

Conducted by Patrick Dunnevant

Brother Fire & Sister Earth

Phoenix
Words: Noor Unnahar; Music: Jocelyn Hagen

Sacred Earth
Words: Cathy Chamblee; Music: Cathy Chamblee & Ken Medema
Solo: Lea Maitlen

Deep Humanity & Sister Death

When the Earth Stands Still
Words & Music: Don Macdonald

Partner Spotlight - Cumberland River Compact

Canticle
Words: “Il Cantico del Sole” by St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
Adapted by Rami Shapiro and Jason Shelton
Music: Jason Shelton (World Premiere)

I. Invocation
Solo: Greg Gunther

II. Chorale

III. Brother Sun & Sister Moon

IV. Chorale

V. Brother Wind & Sister Water
Solos: Josh Post, Molly Lins, Patrick Dunnevant; Amy Darrow

VI. Chorale

VII. Brother Fire & Sister Earth
Solo: Lauren Herring

VIII. Chorale

XI. Deep Humanity & Sister Death

X. Benediction
Solos: Ericka Gundlach, Emily Ritter, Greg Gunther

Program Notes

A Love Like That
Words: Daniel Ladinsky; Music: Elizabeth Alexander (2010, 2025)

Originally composed for solo voice as part of a song cycle called Songs of Unconditional Love, Minnesota-based composer Elizabeth Alexander has re-cast her work for Portara Ensemble in a new setting for choral voices which we’re thrilled to premiere to open today’s concert. Ladinsky’s text is inspired by the ecstatic poetry of the Persian mystic Hafiz (1325-1390).

Even after all this time
The sun never says to the earth,

“You owe me.”

Look what happens with a love like that:
It lights the whole sky.

Sing to the Moon
Words & Music: Steven James Brown & Laura Mvula; arr. Laura Mvula (2012, 2022)

Birmingham (UK)-born Laura Mvula is a singer-songwriter who graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition. Her debut album Sing To The Moon - a favorite of many of our singers! - was released in 2013, reaching number nine in the UK albums chart. A former choir director herself, Mvula arranged this setting of her song for the BBC Singers in 2022.

Hey there you, shattered in a thousand pieces
Weeping in the darkest nights
Hey there you, try to stand up on your own two feet
And stumble into the sky

When the lights go out and you're on your own
How you're gonna make it through till the morning sun'

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, lead you to the other side
Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, heaven's gonna turn the tide

Hey there you, looking for a brighter season
Need to lay your burden down
Hey there you, drowning in a helpless feeling
Buried under deeper ground

When the lights go out it's a waiting game
Never gonna see a day when your world will change

Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, lead you to the other side
Sing to the moon and the stars will shine
Over you, heaven's gonna turn the tide

Voice on the Wind
Words & Music: Sarah Quartel (2015)

Composer Sarah Quartel is one of Canada’s most internationally celebrated and widely performed living choral composers. Her music is programmed globally, and her commissions have premiered in spaces such as Carnegie Hall, Canterbury Cathedral, and the famed Church of the Rock in Helsinki. Raised as a choral singer herself, Sarah is inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur in group singing. Known for her fresh, exciting, and chorister-centred approach to music making, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience.

About Voice on the Wind, from the composer: “The bones of the work were conceived as I drove down dirt roads, windows open, hair blowing, on the way to visit my beloved grandmother Pearl. I am very lucky to have had many incredible women mentors in my life, grandma included, who inspired me to find my voice and share it. This piece is a celebration of those mentors and a reminder to those still searching for their own voice that it might not be as far away as it seems. In this piece you’ll find catchy melody, powerful syllable singing, and driving hand drum accompaniment.”

I heard a voice on the summer wind,
Blowing free and blowing wild.
I heard a voice on the summer wind,
strength and spirit in her song.

I heard a voice on the summer wind,
with a song I seem to know.
I heard a voice on the summer wind,
sounds familiar like my own.

I heard a voice on the summer wind,
moves me like she knows me well,
sounds familiar like my own.

I am the voice on the summer wind,
strong and sure wherever I stand.

I’ve Known Rivers
Words: Langston Hughes (1901-1967); Music: Carl Marsh (2002)

Grammy® nominated arranger/composer Carl Marsh has been an integral part of the North American recording industry for over 3 decades. He began his musical career at the age of five on piano, adding bassoon, recorder and guitar by age twelve. By the time he reached the age of twenty he was proficient on over thirty instruments. Based in Nashville since 1986, Carl’s client roster for his string and orchestra arrangements includes such artists as Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Trisha Yearwood, Wynonna, Vince Gill, Donna Summer and Willie Nelson. On the rock side, he was an integral part of the success of ZZ Top in the late 80s and early nineties, and has contributed to projects from REM, Bon Jovi, and Bad Company.

I’ve Known Rivers is Carl’s first work for choir.

Langston Hughes was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, the flowering of black intellectual, literary, and artistic life that took place in the 1920s in a number of American cities, particularly Harlem. A major poet, Hughes also wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays. He sought to honestly portray the joys and hardships of working-class black lives, avoiding both sentimental idealization and negative stereotypes. As he wrote in his essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” “We younger Negro artists who create now intend to express our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame. If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not, it doesn’t matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly too.”

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi [when Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans],
and I’ve seen its muddy bosom turn all golden in the sunset.

I’ve known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Phoenix
Words: Noor Unnahar; Music: Jocelyn Hagen (2023)

Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). She is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, and opera. Her melodic music is rhythmically driven and texturally complex, rich in color and deeply heartfelt. A champion of the female spirit, many of her projects focus on the stories of women. She is a co-founder of Graphite Publishing and the band Nation, singing her heart out every chance she gets.

Hailing from the city of Karachi, Noor Unnahar is a pioneering creative voice associated with the international publication and social media industry with over 6 years of experience. She received her BFA from the esteemed institution of Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2022, where she was the recipient of Dr. Salim Uz Zaman award for the best Final Research Paper for her undergrad research. Her poetry has been translated into a number of languages, which include published translations of her debut collection Yesterday I Was the Moon (Penguin Random House, 2018) in Dutch (Gisteren Was Ik De Maan, MUSE, 2019) and Chinese (Pan Press, 2021). Her latest collection of poetry New Names for Lost Things was published in October 2021 by Andrews McMeel and continues to bring raving reviews from readers around the world. A number of poems from New Names for Lost Things have been translated into Albanian and published in PEN International (Kosovo) magazine (JUNE 2022).

it’s okay
if you’re burning
with anger
or sadness
or both
it is necessary
for you to collapse
so you can learn
how phoenixes are
reborn
when they burn
and rise again
from the ashes of
their existence
survival is not beautiful
it is fire, ache, and everything that hurts
combined
but the survivors know how
after survival
everything is so insanely beautiful

Sacred Earth
Words: Cathy Chamblee; Music: Cathy Chamblee & Ken Medema (2024)

Cathy Chamblee holds a B.S. in Special Education, magna cum laude, from James Madison University (1982), a B.M. in Music Education, summa cum laude, from the University of Richmond (1993), an M.M. in Conducting from Emory University (1994), and a Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Pennsylvania (2008), where her dissertation advisor was Edmund J. Kahn Distinguished Professor Emeritus Eugene Narmour. Her research interests center around musical improvisation in diverse traditions as viewed through the lens of cognitive memory theory. She was a 2004 recipient of the University of Pennsylvania Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Along with her colleague, Ken Medema, Cathy is a composer and arranger whose works have been published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company and Pavane Publishing. Their choral works focus on topics of social justice and care of the environment. Recent works include “Prayer for the Unbound Soul,” “Elegy for a Glacier,” “Sacred Earth,” “Toward Justice: A Choral Suite in Three Movements,” and “Teach Us Wisdom.”

Sing of wild terrestrial place
of nascent and yet infinite space!
Of cathedral free of mortared span,
no trace of human scheme or plan.

No colored glass but dappled leaves,
no pew or loft, but arboreal eaves,
and winged and whiskered congregants,
sweet fragrant meadow’s residents.

Of chickadee’s chant over flow’ring plain
and time-smoothed stone as river’s refrain,
of meteor-ribboned firmament
that serves primeval sacrament.

For all the canticles yet unsung
by snow-capped peaks at rising sun
and irrepressible antiphons
from ocean waves when day is done,
we’re tasked by hallowed homily
to hold this place’s sanctity.

Come, let us guard this glorious space
from feast of pow’r that would deface,
And sing with hosts as yet unborn,
for souls who here will be transformed.

When the Earth Stands Still
Words and Music: Don Macdonald (2016)

Don Macdonald (born 1966) is an internationally recognized composer of film and choral music, and he has an eclectic musical background as a performer, producer, and educator. His diverse body of work spans music for theatre and dance, published choral works, and forays into everything from rock and jazz to world and folk music. Don lives in Nelson, BC Canada, and teaches at the Selkirk College Contemporary Music and Technology Program.

About When the Earth Stands Still, from the composer: “I first got the notion to write this poem when I was lying on the grass with my young son next to me, both of us transfixed by the slow-motion celestial dance of billowing clouds above us. In moments like these time has a way of slowing down and the high-stakes patterns of everyday life somehow become more trivial. The song is a call to a loved one to be present in the moment and to really see and reflect on simple things like the rain, the quiet, and the cool breeze. It is in these moments that we can greater appreciate the gift of life and the ability to love and be loved.”

Come listen in the silence of the moment before rain comes down.
There’s a deep sigh in the quiet of the forest and the tall tree’s crown.

Now hold me.
Will you take the time to hold me and embrace the chill?
Or miss me,
will you take the time to miss me when the earth stands still?

Cause there’s no use running
cause the storm’s still coming
and you’ve been running for too many years.

Come listen in the silence of the moment before shadows fall.
Feel the tremor of your heartbeat matching heartbeat as we both dissolve.

Now hold me….

Cause there’s no use running
cause the storm’s still coming
and you’ve been running for too many years.

So stay with me, held in my arms
Like branches of a tree
They’ll shelter you for many years.

Canticle
Words: “Il Cantico del Sole" by St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
Adapted by Rami Shapiro & Jason Shelton
Music: Jason Shelton (2025 - World Premiere)

Explore St Francis’ original Italian/Umbrian text & translation here.

I. Invocation

All praise, all glory, all honor and blessing belong to You.

You alone are truth,
and any name we give You
could never be enough,
for You are beyond naming.

All praise, all glory, all honor and blessing belong to You

II. Response

III. Brother Sun & Sister Moon

You are made known to us through Brother Sun
bringer of light and maker of day
whose beauty, radiance, and splendor
bears the likeness of Your light.

And Your glory manifests in Sister Moon and Stars
whose clear, precious, and beautiful lights
dot the heavens with wonder and mystery.

Through these gifts we know You:
Brother Sun, Sister Moon

IV. Response

V. Brother Wind & Sister Water

(movement opens with swirling cacophony of voices/instruments)

You are made known to us through Brother Wind
declaring praise through air
tempestuous and serene.

And your glory is made manifest in Sister Water - 
vital, terrible, precious, and pure.

Every kind of weather gives life to Your creatures
in cycles of flourishing, destruction, and renewal.

Through these gifts we know You:
Brother Wind, Sister Water

VI. Response

VII. Brother Fire & Sister Earth

You are made known to us through Brother Fire
whose dancing flames at night illuminate our darkness.
They keep us warm, and light our imaginations
with stories and dreams.

And Your glory manifests in Sister Earth,
our Mother,
sustaining, nurturing, inspiring, feeding, and healing us
with bounty and awe.

Through these gifts we know You:
Brother Fire, Sister Earth

VIII. Response

IX. Deep Humanity & Sister Death

You are made known to us through deep humanity,
through healing and forgiveness,
by those who suffer and mourn
yet bear witness to the embrace of Your love.

You are made known to us through deep humanity,
through healing and forgiveness,
by those who bring peace where pain obscures Your face.

And Your glory manifests in Sister Death
who takes each of us by hand
as our bodies are transformed in the end.

Blessed are those who know all life is a part of You
for they die without fear 
knowing death cannot separate us from You
for there is nothing other than You.

(silence)

X. Benediction

In You we move and have our being

All praise, all glory, all honor and blessing belong to You