The Pacific Symphony presents Fiat Lux by composer Sir James MacMillan and librettist Dana Gioia, Poet Laureate of the State of California. The world premiere performances and commissioning of Sir James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux were made possible by a generous grant from Howard and Roberta Ahmanson, Fieldstead and Company, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fiat Lux serves as a invocation, blessing, and benediction to the glory of God's creation, salvation, and the resilience of nature and man in California.
Let there be light, In each morning’s new splendor, In the signature of stars.
Let there be light, In the white blaze of noon, In the quiet phases of the moon
Let there be light, In the radiance of August sky. In the bright globe of the human eye
Specifically, the piece rededicates the Christ Cathedral - the "Crystal Cathedral":
Fragile as glass, bright as the air, the angled walls folded in prayer...
Rededicate this crystal spire built in a land of quake and fire.
Carl St.Clair, music director and conductor of the Pacific Symphony, leads the orchestra, who is joined by frequent collaborators Pacific Chorale (Rob Istad, artistic director) and soloists Elissa Johnston, soprano, and Christopher Maltman, baritone.
_______________________________________
FIAT LUX
Sir James MacMillan, composer
Dana Gioia, librettist
| I. In the Beginning |
| II. Chorus |
| III. Litany of Light |
| IV. Light of the World |
| V. Hymn: Cathedral of Light |
Full text:
I. IN THE BEGINNING
(Baritone)
In principio …
creavit Deus …
caelum et terram …
terra autem erat inanis et vacua …
et tenebrae …
errant super faciem abyssi.
Dixitque Deus …
(Soprano)
In the beginning …
God created …
heaven and earth …
and the earth was without form and void …
and darkness …
was on the face of the deep.
And God said…
(Together)
And God said…
II. CHORUS
Fiat Lux.
Et facta est lux.
III. LITANY OF LIGHT
Soprano
Praise be to light—
Of all God’s gifts the first,
The word spoken
From which the world was made.
Chorus
Let there be light,
In each morning’s new splendor,
In the signature of stars.
Let there be light,
In the white blaze of noon,
In the quiet phases of the moon.
Let there be light,
In the radiance of August sky.
In the bright globe of the human eye.
Let there be light,
In the rushing wind that came,
Swift with its pentecostal flame.
Let there be light,
In the gathered prayer of a joyful choir,
In the silent psalm of a shining spire.
Let there be light.
IV. CLOSING VERSES
(Baritone)
You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
(Soprano)
Let your light so shine before men
that they see your good works,
(Together)
And glorify your father who is in heaven.
IV. HYMN: CATHEDRAL OF LIGHT
Upon this rock,
Our cross and spire
built in a land
of quake and fire.
Fragile as glass,
bright as the air,
the angled walls
folded in prayer.
Under the sun
of western skies,
we re-enact
the sacrifice.
Bread of the earth,
fruit of the vine,
the tortured flesh
revealed divine.
The ancient words
fill this new space,
redeeming us
with unearned grace.
Rededicate
this crystal spire
built in a land
of quake and fire.
Amen.
_______________________________________
PACIFIC SYMPHONY PERSONNEL
Carl St.Clair, Music Director
Jacob Sustaita, Assistant Conductor
Eileen Jeanette, Senior Vice President of Artistic Planning and Production
Bella Sunshine, Senior Director of Operations
Will Hunter, Director Production
FIRST VIOLIN
Dennis Kim
Concertmaster; Eleanor and Michael Gordon Chair
Yoomin Seo
Associate Concertmaster
Jeanne Skrocki +
Assistant Concertmaster, Arlene and Seymour Grubman Chair
Michael Siess
Christine Frank
Kimiyo Takeya
Ayako Sugaya +
Ann Shiau Tenney
Joanna Lee
Robert Schumitzky
Agnes Gottschewski
Dana Freeman
Julie Ahn
Paul Manaster
Hwi Eun Kim
Alexis Meschter
Tricia Chen
Wynton Grant
Kyle Gilner
Ellen Jung
SECOND VIOLIN
Bridget Dolkas*+
Elizabeth and John Stahr Chair
Jennise Hwang**
Yen Ping Lai
Yu-Tong Sharp
Ako Kojian
Gabriela Peña-Kim
Linda Owen
Sooah Kim
MarlaJoy Weisshaar
Alice Miller-Wrate
Shelly Shi
Hanbyul Jang+
Madalyn Parnas Möller
Stephanie Pak
Kendra Sobania
Francesca Fetten
VIOLA
Meredith Crawford*
Catherine and James Emmi Chair
Victor De Almeida**
Carolyn Riley
John Acevedo
Adam Neeley
Hanbyul Jang
Julia Staudhammer
Joseph Wen-Xiang Zhang
Cheryl Gates
Phillip Triggs
Alice Ping
Josephine Moerschel
Colleen Sugata
Michelle Gasworth
Sorah Myung
CELLO
Warren Hagerty*
Catherine and James Emmi Chair
Benjamin Lash**
Robert Vos
Lázló Mezö
Ian McKinnell
M. Andrew Honea
Jennifer Goss +
Rudolph Stein
BASS
Vacant*
Douglas Basye**
Christian Kollgaard
David Parmeter
David Black
Andrew Bumatay
Constance Deeter
Tim Jensen
Oscar Hidalgo
FLUTE
Benjamin Smolen*
Valerie and Hans Imhof Chair
Sharon O’Connor
Cynthia Ellis
Johanna Borenstein
PICCOLO
Cynthia Ellis
OBOE
Jessica Pearlman Fields* +
Suzanne R. Chonette Chair
Ted Sugata
Scott Janusch
Jonathan Davis
ENGLISH HORN
Lelie Resnick
Cat Cantrell
CLARINET
Vacant*
The Hanson Family Foundation Chair
David Chang
Charlie and Ling Zhang Chair
Chris Stoutenborough
BASS CLARINET
Joshua Ranz
David Change
BASSOON
Rose Corrigan*
Ruth Ann and John Evans Chair
Elliott Moreau
Andrew Klein
Allen Savedoff
CONTRABASSOON
Allen Savedoff
FRENCH HORN
Keith Popejoy*
Adedeji Ogunfolu
Kaylet Torrez**
Stephanie Thomas
Paul Klintworth
TRUMPET
Barry Perkins*
Susie and Steve Perry Chair
Tony Ellis
David Wailes
TROMBONE
Michael Hoffman*
David Stetson
BASS TROMBONE
Kyle Mendiguchia
TUBA
James Self*
TIMPANI
Todd Miller*
PERCUSSION
Robert A. Slack*
Kenneth McGrath
Danielle Squyres
HARP
Michelle Temple
The Sungaila Family Chair
Amy Wilkins
PIANO/CELESTE
Vacant
Hye-Young Kim
ORGAN
David Ball
DIRECTOR OF ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Craig Hahn
LIBRARIAN
Alison Spaeth
_______________________________________
PACIFIC CHORALE PERSONNEL
Robert Istad, Artistic Director & Conductor
Kibsaim Escarcega, Assistant Conductor
Andrew Brown, President & CEO
Alex Nelson, Vice President of Artistic Production & Operations
SOPRANO
Rebecca Hasquet*
Section Leader
Lauren Adaska*
Alexandria Burdick*
Andria Nuñez Cabrera
Chelsea Chaves*
Katy Compton*
Karla V. Delgado
Ayanna Delk-Lewis*
Sophia Do
Diana Farrell*
Saousan Jarjour
Barbara Kingsbury
Rita Major Memorial Chair
Susan M. Lindley
Rose Lodewick
Anne McClintic
Maria Cristina Navarro*
Hien Nguyen
Deborah Pasarow
Jessica Pettygrove
Libby Quam
Elizabeth Sanders
Sarah Sweerman
Rosaleigh Taylor
Rachel Van Skike
Ruthanne Walker Rice
Linda Wells Sholik
Anne Williams
Victoria Wu
ALTO
Jane Hyun-Jung Shim*
Section Leader
Emily Border*
Anna Caplan
Kathryn Cobb-Woll
Denean R. Dyson*
Harriet Edwards
Jacline Evered
I-Chin Betty Feinblatt*
Marilyn Forsstrom
Mary Galloway
Kathryn D. Gibson
Erin Girard
Kathleen
Thomsen Gremillion*
Sandy Grim
Brandon Harris
Anne Henley
Allison Hieger
Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt*
Bonita Jaros
Michele M. Mulidor
Pat Newton
Kathleen Preston
Bonnie Pridonoff
Suzanne Rahn
Lauren Shafer
Stephanie Shepson*
Sammy Yonjai Sohn
Emily Weinberg*
TENOR
Nicholas Preston*
Section Leader, Roger W.
Johnson Memorial Chair
Jephte Acosta
Mike Andrews
Michael Ben-Yehuda
Chris Buttars
Craig Davis
Marius Evangelista
David Evered
Jason Francisco*
Alan Garcia*
Vincent Hans
Dan Haub
Steven M. Hoffman
Brian P. Katz
Craig S. Kistler
Christopher Lindley
Zachary Lindquist*
Benjamin Lopez
David López Alemán
Ricardo Martinez*
Gerald McMillan
David Melendez*
Jesse Newby
Carl Porter
Singers Memorial Chair
Rohan Ramanan
Sammy Salvador*
Jeff Wang
W. Faulkner White
Yngwie Slassh Zamarippa*
BASS
Ryan Thomas Antal*
Section Leader, Ron Gray
Legacy Chair
Kyle Boshardy
Robert David Breton
James Brown
Michael Fagerstedt*
Louis Ferland
Karl Forsstrom
Singers Memorial Chair
Carlos Franquez
Larry Gates
Tom Henley
Jens Hurty*
Jared Daniel Jones*
Matthew Kellaway*
Jonathan Krauss
Tom Mena
Martin Minnich
Kenneth Moore
Fernando Muñoz*
Jason Pano*
Seth Peelle
Ryan Ratcliff
George Reiss
Antone Rodich
Malek Sammour*
Haocheng Sun
_______________________________________
PRODUCTION PERSONNEL
Christian Amonson, recording producer
John Downey, additional engineer
Peter Pitout, cover art: Distant Fires V
Recorded June 15-17, 2023
Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, CA
Digital Audio Denmark - D/D/D - 24-bit/96kHz
Main mics: Sennheiser MKH Twins (orchestra), Sennheiser MKH 8040s (choir)