
THE HARVARD/ASHMONT EVENING SERVICE (2022) was commissioned to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Archibald T. Davison (1833-1961). Dr. Davison, after previously serving as organist at the Parish of All Saints Church, Ashmont, was the conductor of both the Harvard University Choir and Harvard Glee Club. Through his work with these institutions, and as faculty member of Harvard’s Department of Music, Davison championed music education at all levels. His powerful legacy includes books, articles, collections of scores, and a tradition of collaboration extending up to today through the Harvard Glee Club’s Archibald T. Davison Fellowship program, numerous joint musical projects, and new commissions. Owing to Dr. Davison’s vision and work, the rich and ongoing musical partnership between Harvard and the Parish of All Saints, Ashmont, continues.
The fundamental tonal center relationships in THE HARVARD/ASHMONT EVENING SERVICE (2022) stem from the whole-tone scale, even though the melodic and harmonic essence of both Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis lies with the Lydian mode. Underpinning the Nunc Dimittis is a descending whole-tone scale, heard in sustained pedal points over the duration of the piece. Not until near the end of the Nunc Dimittis is the sound of the whole-tone scale made obvious. Throughout Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, dialogues and antiphonal writing between the choirs and organs abound, all with the intention of freshly heightening the meaning of these powerful ancient texts and creating a thrilling sound that embraces the congregation.
The Harvard/Ashmont Evening Service (2022) for SATB & TTBB Choruses & Two Organs by Dan Locklair
Sunday March 26, 2023
at 4:00pm
Andrew Sheranian & David von Behren, organists
Andrew Clark & Edward Elwyn Jones, conductors
Harvard Glee Club
University Choir
The All Saints' Choir of Men and Boys