Lullay, lullow
Curated by Matthew Hensrud
presented by Consensus, a vocal ensemble of New York’s premier singers
Friday, December 5, 2025 at 7:00
Christ Church Episcopal
431 Union Street
Hudson, NY
Hudson Baroque is pleased to host Consensus in their debut concert of Christmas and Advent music.
Curated by Matthew Hensrud, this program will include repertoire from chant, to early carols sung by troubadours in the courts of royalty, to the Messe de Nostre Dame—the earliest recorded example of a through-composed mass.
Journey through 900 years of musical history with some of New York’s premier choral singers.
—
Program
Conditur Alme Siderum
Hail Mary full of Grace
There is no Rose
Beata Progenies
De Quan Qu'on Puet
Messe de Nostre Dame
Kyrie
Gloria
Credo
Sanctus
Angus Dei / Ite Missa Est
Verbum Caro Factus Est (chant)
Salutation Carol
Lullay, Lullow: I Saw a Swete Semly Syght
Noel, Noel, Noel
Noe, Noe, Noe
Vox in Rama
Deo, Gracias Anglia
Edi be thu hevenqueene
Angelus ad virginem
—
Christmas is my favorite time of year, the lights, the snow, the seasonal beverages, family, and of course the music — all combine to create a feeling far larger than any of those components individually. For many of us, music is the true gateway into the holidays — my mother still expects hymn singing from us kids, we shuffle our feet, slightly embarrassed but mom usually gets what mom wants.
I am so very pleased to have you here for this (second) premiere performance of Consensus: a new ensemble created to bring small-ensemble choral music to the Hudson Valley, and what better way to introduce ourselves to you, than with a program of Christmas (and advent) music.
Consensus started in 2004, when 4 nerdy choral singers met at a Western Wind workshop and realized they had the odd ability to sing SATB, TTTB, Jazz, Classical, Early, Modern, and every other genre of music. We had exactly one performance, made a recording, and were never heard from again — until today!
The music of the medieval period covers a vast range of time, from the 6th, all the way to the 15th century - 900 years of world events. It feels a little insane to consider the Viking conquests and the founding of the Holy Roman Empire, in the same paragraph as the creation of the printing press and Columbus sailing to America. In the same way, the music of this period changes dramatically, with the church exerting huge influence over what was “acceptable”. Indeed, this is when the very notion of “western” music is created. Before this period, and the church’s outsize influence, music was not written down precisely (no notation yet existed), and was largely the work of improvisers — the major and minor scales that underpin western music now were only 2 of 8 commonly used scales, some of which you may hear this evening if you listen closely.
Tonight’s program will give you a wide overview of the music of this time — from chant, to early carols sung by troubadours in the courts of royalty, to the important Messe de Notre Dame, a significant piece, in that it is the earliest written down example we have of a through-composed mass. In other words, we have music for all of the mass Ordinary, that is the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Angus Dei.
In short, enjoy this journey through 900 years of musical history, music that comforted the Normans of England, the peasants of Paris, ravaged by a plague they could not understand, music that ushered in a reconstitution of the roman empire, and girded the faith of a continent.
Texts
Conditur alme siderum
Conditur alme siderum,
aeterna lux credentium,
Christe, redemptor omnium,
exaudi preces supplicum.
Qui condolens interitu
mortis perire saeculum,
salvasti mundum languidum,
donans reis remedium,
Vergente mundi vespere,
uti sponsus de thalamo,
egressus honestissima
Virginis matris clausula.
Cuius forti potentiae
genu curvantur omnia;
caelestia, terrestria
nutu fatentur subdita.
Te, Sancte, fide quaesumus,
venture iudex saeculi,
conserva nos in tempore
hostis a telo perfidi.
Sit, Christe, rex piissime,
tibi Patrique gloria
cum Spiritu Paraclito,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.
Hail, Mary, full of Grace
Hail Mary, full of grace, Mother in virginity.
1. The Holy Ghost is to thee sent
From the Father Omnipotent,
Now is God within thee went,
The angel said "Ave."
2. When the angel ave began,
Flesh and blood together ran;
Mary bare both God and man,
Through virtue and pure dignity.
3. So saith the gospel of Saint John:
God and man is made but one,
In flesh and blood, body and bone,
One God in Persons Three.
4. And the Prophet Jeremy
Told in his prophecy
That the Son of Mary
Should die for us on the Rood-tree.
5. He to us much joy did grant
And of peace on earth no want,
Since the birth of this Infant
In the land of Galilee.
6. Mary grant to us thy bliss
Where thy Son His dwelling is;
For what we have done amiss
Pray for grace for charity. Amen.
There is no rose
There is no rose of such virtue
As is the rose that bare Jesu;
Alleluia.
2. For in this rose contained was
Heaven and earth in little space;
Res miranda.
3. By that rose we may well see1
That he is God in persons three,
Pari forma.
4. The angels sungen the shepherds to:2
Gloria in excelsis deo:
Gaudeamus.
5. Leave we all this worldly mirth,3
And follow we this joyful birth;
Transeamus.
6. Alleluia, res miranda,
Pares forma, gaudeamus,
Transeamus.
Beata Progenies
Beata progenies, unde Christus natus est.
Quam gloriosa est virgo que celi regem genuit.
De quam qu’on puet
De quam qu’on puet
Belle et bonne estrener
De bien donnour de joye desbatement agoinement
Et li belle donner cel pensament
Quen brief termine elle alege ma vuie
Comme celle que tient mes maulx en cuie
Vox in Rama
Vox in Rama audita est,
ploratus et ululatus multus,
Rachel plorans filios suos
et noluit consolari quia non sunt.
Le messe de nostre dame
Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison
Glória in excélsis Deo
et in terra pax homínibus bonæ voluntátis.
Laudámus te,
benedícimus te,
adorámus te,
glorificámus te,
grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis,
Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili Unigénite, Iesu Christe,
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris,
qui tollis peccáta mundi,
miserére nobis;
qui tollis peccáta mundi,
súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris,
miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus,
tu solus Dóminus,
tu solus Altíssimus,
Iesu Christe,
cum Sancto Spíritu:
in glória Dei Patris.
Amen.
Credo in unum Deum,
Patrem omnipotentem,
factorem caeli et terrae,
visibilium omnium et invisibilium,
Et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum,
Filium Dei unigenitum,
et ex Patre natum, ante omnia saecula,
Deum de Deo, lumen de Lumine,
Deum verum de Deo vero,
genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri:
per quem omnia facta sunt.
Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis.
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto
ex Maria Virgine, et homo factus est.
Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato;
passus et sepultus est,
et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas,
et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris.
Et iterum venturus est cum gloria,
iudicare vivos et mortuos,
cuius regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem:
qui ex Patre Filioque procedit.
Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur:
qui locutus est per prophetas.
Et unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam.
Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum.
Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum,
et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen.
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Ite, missa est
Deo gracias.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell
This is the salutation of Angel Gabriel
Tidings true there be come new
Sent from the Trinity
By Gabriel to Nazareth
City of Galilee
A clean maiden and pure virgin
Through her humility
Hath conceiveth the person
Second in deity
When he first presented was
Before her fair visage
In the most demure and goodly wise
He did to her homage
And said, "Lady, from heaven so high
That Lordes heritage
For which of thee born will be
I am sent on message
Hail, Virgin celestial
The meek'st that ever was
Hail, temple of Deity
And mirror of all grace
Hail, Virgin pure, I thee ensure
Within o little space
Thou shalt receive, and him conceive
That shall bring great solace
Then again to the angel
She answered womanly
"Whate'er my Lord command me to
I will obey meekly"
"Ecce sum humillima
Ancilla Domini
Secundum verbum tuum"
She said, "Fiat mihi"
Lullay lullow
Lullay lullow, lullay lully,
Beway bewy, lullay lullow,
Lullay lully, Baw me bairne, sleep softly now.
I saw a sweet and seemly sight,
A blissful burd, a blossom bright,
That morning made and mirth among.
A maiden mother, meek and mild,
In cradle keep, a knavë child,
That softly sleep; she sat and sang.
Deo gratias anglia, redde pro victoria.
Owre kynge went forth to Normandy,
With grace and myght of chyvalry;
Ther God for hym wrought mervlusly,
Wherfore Englonde may calle and cry,
He sette a sege, for sothe to say,
To Harflu toune with ryal aray;
That toune he wan and made a fray,
That Fraunce shall rewe tyl domesday.
Then went owre kynge, with alle his oste,
Thorowe Fraunce for all the Frenshe boste;
He spared for drede of leste, ne most,
Tyl he come to Agincourt coste;
Than for sothe that knyght comely,
In Agincourt feld he faught manly;
Thorow grace of God most myghty
He had bothe the felde, and the victory;
Ther dukys, and erlys, lorde and barone,
Were take and slayne, and that wel sone,
And som were ledde in to Lundone
With joye, and merthe, and grete renone;
Now gratious God he save owre kynge,
His peple and all his welwyllynge,
Gef him gode lyfe and gode endynge,
That we with merth mowe savely synge;
Edi beo thu hevene queen
1. Edi beo thu hevene queen
folks froure and engles blis.
Mo der unwem med and maiden clene
swich in world non other nis.
On the hit is wel eth sene
of alle wimmen thu hav est the pris,
mi swete leyedi her mi bene
and reu of me zif thiwille is.
2. Thu tasteghe so the daiy rewe
The deleth from the deorke nicht;
Of thee sprong a leome new
That al this world haveth ilight.
Nis non maide of thine heowe
Swo fair, so sche ne, so ru di, swo bricht;
Swete levedi, or me thu reowe
And have merci of thin knicht.
3. Spronge blostme of one rote,
The Holi Gost thee reste upon;
Thet wes for monkunnes bote
And heore soule toalesen for on.
Levedi milde, softe and swote,
Ic crie thee merci, ic am thi mon,
Bo the to honed and to fote,
On alle wise that ic kon.
4. Thu ert eorthe to gode sede;
On thee lighte the heovene deugh,
Of thee sprong theo edi blede
The Holi Gost hire on thee seugh.
Thu bring us ut of kare of drede
That Eve bitterliche us breugh.
Thu sschalt us in to heovene lede;
Welle swete is the ilke deugh.
5. Moder, ful of thewes hende,
Maide dreigh and wel itaucht,
Icem in thine love bende,
And to thee is al mi draucht.
Thu me sschildghe from the feonde,
Ase thu ert freo, and wilt and maucht;
Help me to mi lives ende,
And make me with thin sone isaught.
Angelus ad virginem
Angelus ad virginem,
Subintrans in conclave,
Virginis formidinem
Demulcens, inquit "Ave!
Ave, regina virginum:
Coeli terraeque dominum
Concipies et paries intacta
Salutem hominum;
Tu porta coeli facta,
Medela criminum."
"Quomodo conciperem,
Quae virum non cognovi?
Qualiter infringerem,
Quae firma mente vovi?"
"Spiritus sancti gratia
Perficiet haec omnia.
Ne timeas, sed gaudeas
Secura, quod castimonia
Manebit in te pura
Dei potentia."
Ad haec, virgo nobilis
Respondens inquit ei,
"Ancilla sum humilis
Omnipotentis Dei.
Tibi coelesti nuntio,
Tanti secreti conscio,
Consentiens et cupiens videre
Factum quod audio,
Parata sum parere
Dei consilio."
Angelus disparuit
Et statim puellaris
Uterus intumuit
Vi partus salutaris.
Qui, circumdatus utero
Novem mensium numero,
Hinc exiit et iniit conflictum,
Affigens humero
Crucem, qua dedit ictum
Hosti mortifero.
Eia Mater Domini,
Quae pacem reddidisti
Angelis et homini
Cum Christum genuisti!
Tuum exora filium
Ut se nobis propitium
Exhibeat, et deleat peccata,
Praestans auxilium
Vita frui beata
Post hoc exsilium.
Artists
Eli Berman is a Brooklyn-based vocalist, composer, producer, and sound artist originally from Pittsburgh, PA. She currently sings with the choir at St. Mary the Virgin Times Square and St. Thomas Choir 5th Ave. Berman has appeared as a countertenor and baritone soloist in works by Tavener, Bach, and Eve Beglarian, and she previously sang with C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective from 2018-2020. She recently premiered a new opera by Max Abner at Atlantic Theater Company and recorded all parts of an AATTBB choral work by Shruthi Rajesekar. Berman’s original music weaves together choral traditions, extended vocal techniques, Jewish cantorial singing, and Appalachian ballads with experimental electronics. She performs and builds installations with custom “vocal feedback pipes”—amplified PVC and steel tubes rigged with animal hides, transducers, and effects pedals that transform her voice with resonant feedback. As a member of Kleztronica, a collective blending techno, klezmer, and Jewish liturgy, Berman produces club, ambient, and noise music entirely from processed samples of her voice. She has performed across North America and Europe at venues including Ars Nova, National Sawdust, Morgan Library & Museum, Banff Centre, Centro Cultural Ollin Yoliztli, Neues Nationalgalerie, Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm, and the Monastery of Saint Martin Pinario. Berman holds an MA in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College and a BA in Music from Princeton University, where she graduated summa cum laude and received the Edward T. Cone Memorial Prize.
Eric S. Brenner has been hailed for his “penetrating eloquence,” (NY Times), “astonishing musicality,” (NY Classical Review), & “Mr. Roboto majesty” (Stage Mage). Eric is a co-founding member of Consensus, having sung in the group's first (& only, prior to now) performance back in 2004!! (or 3??) Eric is countertenor & Managing Director of Western Wind, and he continues to sing all over the place. ericsbrenner.com
Patrick Fennig is currently a staff singer at Christ Church in Greenwich, CT. For ten seasons, he sang in the Saint Thomas Choir of Men and Boys in New York and appeared regularly with Early Music New York, Musica Sacra, Pomerium, SEM Ensemble, Collectio Musicorum, New York Virtuoso Singers, Big Apple Baroque, American Classical Orchestra, Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble, and Trinity Choir. As a proud SAG-AFTRA member, he has appeared on HBO’s The Gilded Age and on the soundtracks of Zoolander 2, White Noise, Maestro, Salem’s Lot, and The Parenting. Now working mostly in the realm of arts administration, Patrick is the Executive Director of the Association of Anglican Musicians, Vice Chair of the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, and serves on the board of Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Connecticut, with his wife and two sons. When not singing, he spends time with his family, cheers on the Atlanta Braves, and organizes his extensive baseball card collection.
Soprano Amy Goldin enjoys singing a diverse repertoire, ranging from early to new music, classical to jazz, and even kirtan. Amy has performed with many acclaimed ensembles in New York City and the greater Hudson Valley, including Voices of Ascension, Antioch Chamber Ensemble, Bard Festival Chorus, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Chamber Choir, Zenith Ensemble, Meridionalis, Holy Trinity Bach Choir, Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, Kairos Consort, and Prana.
Tenor Matthew Hensrud joined three good friends (including Mr. Brenner) in 2004 to found Consensus and is excited to resurrect the name in a new era (remember 2004? whew). He has been a fixture of the New York City choral and recording scene for 25 years now, mostly known for a decade of service at Trinity Wall Street, multiple recordings with Fred Renz and New York Early Music, regular performances with Clarion under Steven Fox (including the recording of Requiem of Light, which is up for a Grammy® in 2026), and has premiered works by David Lang, Nico Muhly, Steve Reich, among others.
Steven Hrycelak, a Ukrainian-American bass hailed as “lustrous” by The NY Times, has crafted a career around early and new music. In addition to being a long-time member of the Grammy-nominated Trinity Church Choir, he is a founding member of Ekmeles, and has sung with Roomful of Teeth, Blue Heron (with whom he won a Gramophone), Pegasus, the Antioch Chamber Ensemble, Western Wind, the Yale Choral Artists, TENET, Apollo’s Fire, the Thirteen, and the Portland Bach Experience.
A native of Jerusalem, Israel, drummer Ronen Itzik relocated to the United States in late 2000. After completing degrees at Berklee College of Music and Florida State University, he established a reputation as an in-demand drummer and sought-after recording artist in New York City. He has incorporated his unique background and knowledge of diverse musical styles into performances at venues such as the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Blue Note and Bimhuis. His numerous international appearances include jazz festivals in Israel, Germany, Korea, Spain, Belgium, Colombia, Canada and Ukraine. He has performed and recorded with jazz greats Lee Konitz, Gary Burton, Kenny Werner, Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts, and Arnie Lawrence among many others. Ronen has been an adjunct professor at Penn State University between 2022-2024 teaching drum set, ensemble and big band.
Soprano Linda Lee Jones performs and records with a variety of vocal ensembles in New York and California, including the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Clarion Music Society, the Western Wind, Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, Antioch Chamber Ensemble, New York Virtuoso Singers, Essential Voices, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street Church, and the Carmel Bach Festival Chorale. As a member of the vocal sextet The Western Wind, Miss Jones curates and performs concerts featuring an eclectic variety of music, and enjoys coaching small ensembles at workshops for amateur and young professional singers. Solo appearances include the role of Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, chamber music recitals, and First Lady in scenes from the Magic Flute at the Carmel Bach Festival, as well as Filia in Carissimi’s Jephthe with the Zenith Ensemble of New Hampshire. Recordings include: Clarion Music Society’s Grammy nominated trio of CDs- Maximillian Steinberg’s Passion Week, Kastalsky’s Memory Eternal and Kastalsky’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and Leonard Slatkin; Robert Kyr: In Praise of Music, by the Antioch Chamber Ensemble; Western Wind’s We are Still Here: The Holocaust Through Music and Memory, and Julia Wolf’s Anthracite Fields recorded with Bang on a Can All Stars and the choir of Trinity Wall Street. Miss Jones earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Loyola University (New Orleans), and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College of Rider University.
Richard Lippold has enjoyed a multi-faceted career, begun in Portland, Oregon, that continues to thrive since coming to New York in 2000. An engaging interpreter of a diversity of styles and historical periods, Mr. Lippold embraces operatic, sacred, and concert works from the Renaissance and Baroque through to those of today’s composers. In addition to his varied, early career on the west coast, He has been an operatic and featured choral soloist in Greece, France, England, Italy, Germany, Argentina, in NYC and the Tri-State area, and in several prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Le Poisson Rouge, and The Baryshnikov Arts Center, among others. In addition to a thriving voice studio at home, he is a staff baritone and voice teacher at Christ Church Greenwich. He was previously at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue for 21 seasons, is a Grammy nominee with Trinity Wall Street, and a Grammy winner with The Metropolitan Opera (Wagner’s Ring Cycle on DVD, Extra Chorus). He has also been a district winner, and northwest regional finalist, in the Metropolitan Opera competitions.