The  Cleftomaniacs

From the "Mass for Five Voices".

Ave verum corpus is a short Eucharistic hymn dating from the 14th century and attributed to Pope Innocent VI (d. 1362), which has been set to music by various composers. During the Middle Ages it was sung at the elevation of the host during the consecration. It was also used frequently during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The hymn’s title means "Hail, true body", and is based on a poem deriving from a 14th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Reichenau, Lake Constance. The poem is a meditation on the Catholic belief in Jesus’s Real Presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and ties it to Catholic ideas on the redemptive meaning of suffering in the life of all believers.

History and impressions of Ave Verum Corpus by Conrad Askland

"Respectfully dedicated to Miss Mary Jordan"

Click here for details of our 2004 performance

Anonymous 16th century Spanish liturgical composition.

El pueblo unido jamás será vencido (The people united will never be defeated) was written in about 1970. It rose in popularity after Pinochet's 1973 coup. The song has been universally adopted as a protest song.

This appears to be a 16th Century German Carol first published in Cologne in 1600. Michael Praetorius published his harmonization in 1609. The English translation is sometimes stated as "Lo how a rose e’er blooming" or "A spotless rose is growing".

German and English versions of the lyric.

Often sung to the popular English lyrics "A Great and Mighty Wonder".

Bruce Springsteen grew up in working class Freehold New Jersey. It may be no surprise to anyone who has heard or read the lyric to this song that his father (Douglas) had a number of jobs including prison guard, bus driver and factory labourer.

Mahalia Jackson was born in New Orleans in 1911 and moved to Chicago in 1927 where she sang with the Johnson Brothers, one of the earliest professional gospel groups.

During her illustrious career she sang and co-wrote songs with Thomas Dorsey.

This arrangement was passed on to The Cleftomaniacs in one furious Monday night session by the Amazing Grace Bros

This song is about one of the most famous "conductors" of the "Underground Railroad"

The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes by which African slaves in the United States attempted to escape to free states, or as far north as Canada, with the aid of abolitionists. Other routes led to Mexico or overseas.

It is estimated that at its height between 1810 and 1850, between 30,000 and 100,000 people escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad, though US Census figures only account for 6000.

See Wikipedia for more info on The Underground Railway

Written in the mid 16th century, this could be described as a baudy love song. Coming from somewhere vaguely in Southern Europe, scholars have debated an accurate English translation but it is something like the following:

Written by the father of gospel music in August 1932 following the tragic death of his wife and son who died during childbirth.

A simple prayer.

A song made popular in current generations by Donald Fagen (Nightly (1982)) but originally created and performed by The Drifters in 1956.