BRATTLEBORO — The ichthys (or the “Jesus Fish” as it is more commonly known) has become an icon of modern Christianity.
It so often can be seen on the rear of automobiles that it has spawned many parodies. The most familiar is perhaps the Darwin fish: an ichthys symbol with “evolved” legs and feet attached, and usually with the word “Darwin” or “Evolve” inside.
The punch line plays up how Darwin's scientific theory of evolution contrasts with creationism which is often associated with some variations of Christianity.
But Darwin and Christianity need not be seen in opposition.
Take for instance Gregory W. Brown's Missa Charles Darwin, a Catholic Mass commissioned by the vocal chamber ensemble New York Polyphony. This multi-movement composition, scored for unaccompanied male vocal quartet, uses texts from Darwin compiled and edited by New York Polyphony bass Craig Phillips.
Based on the standard five-movement structure of the Mass, Missa Charles Darwin honors the compositional and harmonic conventions of its musical antecedents. Unlike traditional Mass settings, however, the sacred texts have been replaced with excerpts from On The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, and Darwin's extant correspondence.
On Sunday, Sept. 27, at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary of Centre Congregational Church located at 193 Main Street in Brattleboro, Missa Charles Darwin will have its Southern Vermont premiere as Friends of Music at Guilford presents New York Polyphony in program entitled “Faith & Reason.”
New York Polyphony will also perform the 16th-century Mass for Four Voices by Thomas Tallis, as well an arrangement of three American Folk Hymns, also by Brown and commissioned by New York Polyphony.
In addition, there will be a pre-concert lecture in the parlor of Centre Church at 3 p.m. It traces the development of the Missa Charles Darwin with audiovisual aids and live samples.
Considered one of the world's finest vocal chamber ensembles, New York Polyphony is a male classical vocal quartet, consisting of Geoffrey Williams, countertenor; Steven Caldicott Wilson, tenor; Christopher Dylan Herbert, baritone; and Craig Phillips, bass. Their focus on rare and rediscovered Renaissance and medieval works has not only earned New York Polyphony critical acclaim, but also helped to move early music into the classical mainstream.
“Already established singers in New York, we began nine years ago as a freelance ensemble dedicated to exploring the music of the Renaissance, say from 1400 to 1650,” says Williams. “Through a broad stroke of luck, we gave a concert on public radio in 2006 and a recording was released from that broadcast which got great review in Great Britain. So we had a successful CD before we ever gave a live concert.”
New York Polyphony has recorded six albums, including Sing thee Nowell and Times Go by Turns, which were both Grammy-nominated.
A number of their albums have made the “Top 10” lists of The New Yorker, Gramophone, and BBC Music Magazine. The ensemble is also featured on two other albums, including Moonstrung Air, a collection of compositions by Brown, which features a recording of Missa Charles Darwin.
New York Polyphony has toured the U.S. and Europe, appearing at major international festivals and prestigious music series.
“We give about 35 to 40 concerts a year, and have appeared in 38 U.S. states, and many countries abroad,” says Williams.
Though music of the Renaissance and medieval periods constitutes the core of the ensemble's repertoire, new music occupies an important place both in performance and on recording. Commissioning new works has been central to the mission of New York Polyphony since its founding in 2006.
“Both in performance and on recording, the ensemble has demonstrated a commitment to presenting contemporary compositions that explore the boundaries between ancient and modern music,” the group's website states. “They have forged relationships with numerous composers, including established artists such as Richard Rodney Bennett, Jonathan Berger and Jackson Hill, prominent figures such as Gabriel Jackson and Ivan Moody, and emerging talents Bora Yoon and Gregory Brown.”
“Greg Brown has written six pieces for us, or nine if you take all the movements of Missa Charles Darwin separately,” says Williams.
Brown, who taught for one year at The Putney School in Vermont, is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music with performances throughout the United States and Europe.
Named the 2015 winner of the Boston Choral Ensemble's Commission Competition, Brown holds degrees from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music (University of Georgia), Westminster Choir College, and Amherst College, where he studied with the 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Lewis Spratlan.
“It was Craig Phillips, our bass singer, who initially came up with the idea of a substitute Mass exchanging the sacred text with words by Darwin,” says Williams.
This is not as odd an idea as it might at first seem.
“Using secular texts in masses was common enough in the Renaissance, although using someone like Darwin is certainly more unusual,” adds Williams.
“Craig proposed this idea for a Mass, and I saw it was right up my alley,” says Brown, who first met Craig Phillips when both were in the undergraduate choir at Amherst College. “I am a great Charles Darwin admirer, and am fascinated about the intersection of science and theology. I wanted to explore vocal music by combining the sacred with a great man's humanist ideals and thoughts.”
Musically, Missa Charles Darwin is a mixture of styles. Brown elaborates.
“Some parts of the piece may sound like the Renaissance composer Byrd, other parts like Handel and Bach, others like early 20th century French music, and still others like modern American vocal writing. I believe in a dialogue of many musical styles, and all of them are me.”
Brown said he feels that, at its core, the Missa Charles Darwin is the product of centuries of cultural evolution.
As he explains at his website, “The work is built on the standard five-movement form, its harmonic and musical vocabulary is informed by 'ancestral' precedent, and its function - like all musical settings of text - is to augment the expressive power of language. But instead of the traditional sacred texts, the Missa Charles Darwin employs the secular writings of Charles Darwin, specifically his On the Origin of Species.”
How have people reacted to Missa Charles Darwin?
“At first we never even considered anyone's reaction, because we didn't think there would be any,” admits Williams. “But it turns out that the piece has had legs we never thought it would. The response to it has been really interesting. Many believers find no problem in our combining the words of Darwin with Christianity. There are others who will, in a polite way, indicate this is not entirely the right fashion to present a Catholic Mass. That's okay. Our hope is for people to come to the table to talk about this stuff.”
Brown adds, “Actually the group that has taken the biggest offense by this work are true Darwinians. They are offended that we have taken the words of Darwin and added to them the element of faith. This undermines the pure science of Darwin's important work.”