WHLive0009 booklet 14/4/06 11:22 am Page 24 PAGE 1 WHLive0009

WHLive0009 Also Available Made & Printed in England

NASH ENSEMBLE Beethoven Trio in Bb Joyce DiDonato mezzo-soprano Mendelssohn Octet WHLive0001 SIR piano MALCOLM MARTINEAU piano Songs by Beethoven, Wolf, Butterworth Vaughan Williams and Bridge ARDITTI QUARTET WHLive0002 Nancarrow String Quartet No. 3 Ligeti String Quartet No. 2 Dutilleux String Quartet ‘Ainsi la nuit’ Songs by Fauré, Hahn and Head WHLive0003 DAME soprano GRAHAM JOHNSON piano Arias by Rossini and Handel Fallen Women and Virtuous Wives Songs by Haydn, Strauss, Brahms andWolf WHLive0004 ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC Concerti and Concerti Grossi by Handel, JS Bach and Vivaldi WHLive0005 ANDRÁS SCHIFF piano Schubert Songs WHLive0006 NASH ENSEMBLE Schumann Märchenerzählungen Moscheles Fantasy, Variations and Finale Brahms Clarinet Quintet in B minor WHLive0007 DAME MARGARET PRICE soprano GEOFFREY PARSONS piano Songs by Schubert, Mahler and R Strauss KOPELMAN QUARTET WHLive0008 Schubert String Quartet in D minor ‘Death and the Maiden’ Tchaikovsky Available from all good record shops String Quartet in Eb minor A BBC recording WHLive0010 and from www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/live WHLive0009

Joyce DiDonato mezzo-soprano Julius Drake piano A journey through Venice ROSSINI HAHN La regata veneziana Venezia 01 Anzoleta avanti la regata 3.22 12 Sopra l’acque indormenzada 3.16 02 Anzoleta co’ passa la regata 2.21 13 La barcheta 3.52 03 Anzoleta dopo la regata 3.59 14 L’avertimento 1.32 15 La biondina in gondoleta 3.46 HEAD 16 Che pecà 2.13 Songs of Venice 17 La primavera (arr. J. Drake) 2.12 04 5.10 The Gondolier Encores 05 St Mark’s Square 2.36 06 Rainstorm 4.20 HANDEL 18 Cara speme www.wigmore-hall.org.uk FAURÉ (from ) 5.38 Cinq Mélodies de Venise 07 Mandoline 1.51 ROSSINI 08 3.30 19 Non più mesta En sourdine 7.30 09 Green 1.43 (from ) 10 À Clymène 3.12 Total time: 66.40 11 C’est l’extase 3.09

Produced by Adam Gatehouse Recorded by Tracy Ross Edited by Tony Faulkner Recorded live at , , 16 January 2006 Director: John Gilhooly - General Manager: Tomas King, Marketing Manager: Claire Simons Cover photograph of Joyce DiDonato by Sheila Rock Designed by Studio B, The Creative People email: [email protected] Manufactured by Repeat Performance Multimedia, London

The BBC word mark and logo are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used 1 under licence from BBC Worldwide. BBC logo © BBC 1996 22

Page 2 Page 23 WHLive0009

ENCORES ENCORES A JOURNEY THROUGH VENICE

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Venice, called in Italian “the most serene”, is not, of course, just that. She offers strangely intense (1685 – 1759) (1685 – 1759) experiences and inspires a plethora of not always pleasant emotional responses. She is both gay and Cara speme from Giulio Cesare Cara speme from Giulio Cesare sinister, enticing and enclosing. Her fragility reminds us of our own mortality, yet while she exists (Nicola Francesco Haym) (Nicola Francesco Haym) she’s beautiful. It’s not surprising that she should have inspired so much music, of which Joyce Cara speme, questo core Beloved hope, you begin tu cominci a lusingar. to relieve this heart. DiDonato’s programme is a small but choice selection. Par che il ciel presti favore It seems the heavens offer favour i miei torti a vendicar. to revenge these wrongs to my family. (1792-1868) La regata veneziana (Francesco Maria Piave) GIOACHINO ROSSINI GIOACHINO ROSSINI Anzoleta avanti la regata Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto, Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto, Anzoleta co passa la regata from La Cenerentola from La Cenerentola Anzoleta dopo la regata (Jacopo Ferretti) (Jacopo Ferretti) Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto, I was born into worries and tears, Rossini worked hard as a young man, earning enough from his prodigious output of both Soffrì tacendo il core; my heart suffered silently; serious and comic to be able to take what amounted to early retirement. Astonishingly, he wrote his Ma per soave incanto but by some sweet enchantment last opera, Giovanni Tell, in 1829. Exhausted, he returned to from Paris in 1836 and for the next Dell'età mia nel fiore, of my youth, Come un baleno rapido quick as a flash two decades wrote next to nothing. But in the mid 1850s all that changed. He moved back to Paris, La sorte mia, la sorte mia cangiò. my fate changed. feeling rejuvenated, and took up composing again - but just for fun. He called the dozens of No, no! tergete il ciglio: No, no! Stop crying: miniatures he wrote in his last decade or so his “Péchés de vieillesse”, - sins of old age. They were Perchè tremar, perchè? why do you tremble, why? strictly not for publication. A questo sen volate, Fly to me, Figlia, sorella, amica, daughter, sister, friend, La regata veneziana is one such sin, setting three poems in Venetian dialect by Francesco Tutto, tutto, tutto, tutto trovate in me. everything you will find in me. Maria Piave. There’s no Angst or emotional depth evident here. Just a delight in the age-old tale of a Padre, sposo, amico, oh istante! Father, husband, friend, what a moment! strapping young lad – a gondolier, of course – setting out to impress his girl, and his girl setting out to Non più mesta accanto al fuoco No longer will I sit sad be impressed. Both, of course, succeed. Starò sola a gorgheggiar, no! by the fireside singing, no! Ah fu un lampo, un sogno, un gioco Ah, but a flash of lightning, a dream, a game was Il mio lungo palpitar. my long heartache.

21 2

Page 22 Page 3 WHLive0009

MICHAEL HEAD (1900-1976) El sol chiapa fià. and the sun is gaining strength. Songs of Venice (Nancy Bush) Amici, fa ciera! Friends, be of good cheer. Xe qua primavera! Spring is here! The Gondolier Me’l dise quel nuvolo ... I know it by that cloud ... St Mark’s Square Senti! senti el ton! Hark, hark to the thunder! Rainstorm Ohimé! che sta idea Oh, how the thought El cuor me ricrea, delights my heart, Michael Head wrote his Songs of Venice towards the end of his life, composing them for and E tuto desmentego the dreary cold Quel fredo baron! is now forgotten! dedicating them to , who gave their first performance at a Royal Festival Hall recital on 24 Ancora un meseto, Just one more month October 1977. The texts are by Nancy Bush, wife of the composer Alan Bush. As a performer Head E el rusignoleto, and the nightingale’s song was one of that rare breed, a singer who expertly accompanied himself on the piano. But these songs Col canto, ne sgiozzolo, will pour its honey show both his fastidiousness and facility as a composer, facets which have stood him in good stead Su’ anima el miel. on my soul. Stagion deliziosa! Oh delightful season, and maintained his reputation among singers of songs in the English language. Admittedly he was no Ti vien cola rosa, you arrive bearing roses revolutionary, and the authority on English twentieth-century song, Stephen Banfield, notes that in Ti parti col giglio, and depart with the lilies, his work “there is found little room for tension”. Neither does he seek to explore the deepest or Fior degno del ciel! flowers worthy of heaven! subtlest emotions. Rather, here he plays the part of the musical equivalent of a brilliant Translation of Cinq Mélodies de Venise by photographer, recording, as it were, person, place and natural phenomenon in turn with expert Richard Stokes from A French Song Companion feeling for colour, composition and texture. (Graham Johnson and Richard Stokes) published by OUP. Translation of Venezia by Laura Sarti GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845 - 1924) Cinq Mélodies de Venise Op. 58 (Paul Verlaine) Mandoline En sourdine Green À Clymène C’est l’extase

In May 1891 Fauré was in Venice, the guest of Winaretta Singer, Princesse de Polignac, daughter of

3 the founder of the sewing machine company, and indefatigable philanthropist. Also in town was Paul 20

Page 4 Page 21 WHLive0009

No g'aveva altro ben che el to' ben... I knew no happiness but in you... Verlaine. It was no coincidence. Fauré and the Princesse had hatched a plot to encourage the poet to Che schempiezzi! che gusti batoci, What foolishness, what silly behaviour; write an opera libretto. They failed, but Fauré found himself setting Verlaine’s poem Mandoline. On Oh, ma adesso so tor quel che vien; oh, but now I take all as it comes No me scaldo po'tanto el figà. and no longer get agitated. his return (via ) to Paris in late June, he set another Verlaine text, En sourdine. Green Che pecà! But what a shame! followed in late July, À Clymène in August and finally C’est l’extase in September. He took the poems Ti xe bela, ma pur ti xe dona, You are lovely, and yet you are woman, from two collections, Fêtes galantes (1869) and Romances sans paroles: Ariettes oubliées, Qualche neo lo conosso anca in ti; no longer perfection incarnate; Aquarelles (1874), but had made a unified cycle on the theme of love, reinforcing that feeling of unity Co ti ridi co un’altra persona, when your smile is bestowed on another, by using recurrent musical themes. Me diverto co un’altra anca mi. I too can find solace elsewhere. Benedeta la so’ libertà. Blessed be one’s own freedom! Nevertheless the cycle contains a wonderful variety of moods. The youthfully carefree Che pecà! But what a shame! Mandoline is all about serenaders and the serenaded. En sourdine is an unapologetic vision of lovers’ Te voi ben, ma no filo caligo, I still love you, but without all that torment, bliss. The restless, chromatic Green, oddly titled in English, speaks of a passion amounting to Me ne indormo de tanta virtù. and am weary of all that virtue. enslavement - something that Verlaine, who (though married) fell deeply in love with the young Magno e bevo, so star co' l'amigo I eat, drink, and enjoy my friends, E me ingrasse ogni zorno de più. and grow fatter with every day. Rimbaud and was sent to prison for shooting at his lover when Rimbaud ended the relationship, Son un omo che sa quel che'l fa... I am a man who knows what he's about... knew all about. A Clymène returns to a gentler idyll, though again the harmony is restless, the spell Che pecà! But what a shame! that the lover casts “troubling the horizon of my reason”. And finally C’est l’extase, a headily Care gondole de la laguna Lovely gondolas on the lagoon aromatic sequence of definitions. Voghè pur, che ve lasso vogar! row past. I’ll hold you back! Quando in cielo vien fora la luna, When the moon appears in the sky Vago in leto e me meto a ronfar. I’ll take to my bed and snore REYNALDO HAHN (1874 - 1947) Senza gnanca pensarghe al passà! without a thought for the past! Venezia Che pecà! But what a shame! Sopra l’acqua indormenzada (Pietro Pagello)

La primavera Spring La barcheta (Pietro Buratti) (arr. Julius Drake) (arr. Julius Drake) L’avertimento (Pietro Buratti) (Alvise Cicogna) (Alvise Cicogna) La biondina in gondoleta (Antonio Lamberti) Giacinti e violete Hyacinths and violets Che pecà! (Francesco dall’ Ongaro) Fa in tera Baosète deck the earth. Che gusto! che giubilo! What pleasure, what bliss; La primavera (Alvise Cicogna) L’inverno è scampà! winter has fled. La Neve è svania, The snow has melted, The Venezuelan-born Reynaldo Hahn was a frequent visitor to Venice, often going there in the La brina è finia, the frost is over, company of his friend Marcel Proust and enjoying the lavish hospitality of the Princesse de Polignac. Xe tepida l’aria, the air is warm 1901 19 These engaging songs were written in the city in , to poems in the Venetian dialect. Hahn 4

Page 20 Page 5 WHLive0009

himself gave the first performance in extraordinary conditions, according to his own journal. Gera in cielo mezza sconta The moon peeped out “Madame de Béarn asked me to sing – just me and a piano – on the piccoli canale. Just a few Fra le nuvole la luna, from behind the clouds; Gera in calma la laguna, the lagoon lay becalmed, gondolas and one or two friends hastily gathered together. I was in one boat, lit up for the occasion, Gera il vento bonazzà. the wind was drowsy. with my piano and a couple of oarsmen. The other gondolas were grouped around us. We found a Una solo bavesela Just the suspicion of a breeze place where three canals met beneath three charming bridges, and I sang all my Venetian songs. Sventola va i so' caveli, gently played with her hair E faceva che dai veli and lifted the veils Gradually passers-by gathered on the bridges. An audience of ordinary people, pressing forward to Sconto el ento fusse più. which shrouded her breast. listen. The Venetian songs surprised and delighted this little crowd, which made me very happy. Contemplando fisso fisso As I gazed intently “Ancora, ancora”, they called from above. These songs, both light and melancholy, sounded good Le fatezze del mio ben, at my love’s features, beneath the starry skies, and I felt that emotion which resonates in the composer’s heart when it has Quel viseto cussi slisso, her little face so smooth, Quela boca e quel bel sen; that mouth, and that lovely breast; truly been shared and understood by those around him.” Enough said. Me sentiva drento in peto I felt in my heart Una smania, un missiamento, a longing, a desire, ENCORES Una spezie de contento a kind of bliss Che no so come spiegar! which I cannot describe! (1685 - 1759) GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL M’ho stufà po’, finalmente, But at last I had enough Cara speme from Giulio Cesare (Nicola Haym/ G.F.Bussanoi) De sto tanto so’ dormir, of her long slumbers E g’ho fato da insolente, and so I acted cheekily, Guilio Cesare, first performed by a starry cast at the King’s Theatre on 20 February 1720, is one of No m’ho avuto da pentir; nor did I have to repent it; Handel’s finest Italian . This aria is sung by Sextus (Margherita Durastante on the first night), Perchè, oh Dio, che bele cosse for, God what wonderful things Che g’ho dito, e che g’ho fato! I said, what lovely things I did! who movingly addresses “beloved hope” in vowing to avenge the death of his father Pompey, who No, mai più tanto beato Never again was I to be so happy has been beheaded, and his head sent to Sextus, by Ptolomey. Ai mii zorni no son stà. in all my life!

GIOACHINO ROSSINI (1792-1868) Che pecà What a shame (Francesco dall’Ongaro) (Francesco dall’Ongaro) Nacqui’all affano e al pianto... Non più mesta Te recordistu, Nina, quei ani Do you remember those years, Nina, from La Cenerentola (Jacopo Ferretti) Che ti geri el mio solo pensier? when you were my one and only thought? Che tormento, che rabie, che afani! What torment, what rage, what anguish! This is a brilliant coloratura aria, sung by Cinderella when she finally finds happiness at the end of La Mai un’ora de vero piacer! Never an hour of untroubled joy! Cenerentola (1817). It’s actually an embellished and expanded version of the cabaletta for Almaviva Per fortuna quel tempo xe andà. Luckily that time is gone. Che pecà! But what a shame! from Act II of Il barbiere di Siviglia. 2006 Ne vedeva che per i to' oci, I saw only through your eyes; 5 © Stephen Pettitt, 18

Page 6 Page 19 WHLive0009

Cascada qua fallen to earth, JOYCE DIDONATO mezzo-soprano Ma ... ma ... La Nana cocola but ... but ... that lovely Nana G’ha el cuor tigrà. has the heart of a tiger! Joyce DiDonato is universally regarded as one of L’ocio xe vivo Her eye is lively the leading lyric mezzos of her generation. She is Color del cielo, and heavenly blue; in demand from all of the world`s leading opera Oro er cavelo her hair is spun gold Balsamo el fià; and her breath a balm; houses in her signature roles of Rosina/Il barbiere Ghe sponta in viso roses glow di Siviglia and Angelina/La Cenerentola. Do’ rose intate. in her cheeks, Since leaving the Houston Grand Invidia al late her breasts are whiter Quel sen ghe fa than milk, Opera Studio Program, her career progression has Ma ... ma ... La Nana cocola but ... but ... that lovely Nana been meteoric. Her debut as Rosina in G’ha el cuor tigrà. has the heart of a tiger. a new production of Il barbiere di Siviglia in the Ogni ochiadina Every glance 2001/2002 season created such a buzz of Che la ve daga, she darts at you Da qualche piaga carries its own excitement amongst the public that invitations Voda no va! sweet poison! from Wigmore Hall, Covent Garden, , the Co so’ granelo Nor is guile , Chicago and San Francisco De furbaria ever absent quickly followed. In 2002 she received the La cortesia from her Missiar la sa ... gentle manner ... prestigious Richard Tucker Award, thus crowning a whole series of awards. Joyce DiDonato has Ma ... ma ... La Nana cocola but ... but ... that lovely Nana worked with such conductors as , , , , G’ha el cuor tigrà. has the heart of a tiger. , William Christie and .

La biondina in gondoleta The blonde girl in the gondola In addition to the respect she has earned for her performances of Rossini, Joyce DiDonato (Antonio Lamberti) (Antonio Lamberti) is highly praised for her interpretation of the works of Handel and Mozart. Her recent recordings for La biondina in gondoleta The other night I took EMI have received stellar reviews. Her first major international recital tour in the 2003/2004 season L’altra sera g’ho menà: my blonde out in the gondola: was so well received that another is planned in the 2006/2007 season. Dal piacer la povereta, her pleasure was such La s’ha in bota indormenzà. that she instantly fell asleep. For more information visit www.joycedidonato.com La dormiva su sto brazzo, She slept in my arms Mi ogni tanto la svegiava, and I woke her from time to time, Ma la barca che ninava but the rocking of the boat La tornava a indormenzar. soon lulled her to sleep again. 17 6

Page 18 Page 7 WHLive0009

JULIUS DRAKE piano Andemo in barcheta let us take to our boat I freschi a ciapar! and enjoy the evening breeze. London-born pianist Julius Drake works with the A Toni g’ho dito I have asked Toni Ch’el felze el ne cava to remove the canopy world’s leading vocal and instrumental artists, Per goder sta bava so that we can feel the zephyr both in recital throughout Europe and America, Che supia dal mar. blowing in from the sea; and on disc. Ah! Ah! Among the many outstanding vocal Che gusto contarsela What bliss it is to exchange Soleti in laguna, sweet nothings artists he has partnered are Victoria de los E al chiaro de luna alone on the lagoon Angeles, Sir Thomas Allen, Olaf Bär, Barbara Sentirse a vogar! and by moonlight, Bonney, , , Lorraine Hunt Ti pol de la ventola to be borne along in our boat; Far senza, o mia cara, you can lay aside your fan, my dear, Lieberson, , Matthias Goerne, Dame Chè zefiri a gara for the breezes will vie with each other Felicity Lott, , Angelika Te vol sventolar. to refresh you. Kirchschlager, , Mark Ah! Ah! Padmore, Joan Rodgers, Dorothea Röschmann and Se gh’è tra de lori If among them Sir Willard White. He has also worked with a range Chi tropo indiscreto there should be one so indiscreet Volesse da pèto as to try to lift the veil of leading instrumentalists, and his duo with El velo strapar, shielding your breast, oboist has been described by The Independent as “one of the most satisfying in British No bada a ste frotole, pay no heed to its nonsense, chamber music: vital, thoughtful and confirmed in musical integrity of the highest order”. Soleti za semo for we are all alone E Toni el so’ remo and Toni is much too intent He appears regularly at all the major music centres, and concerts have taken him to the Lè a tento a menar. on plying his oar. Edinburgh, Munich, Salzburg, Schubertiade, and Tanglewood Festivals; and Lincoln Ah! Ah! Centre, New York; the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus in Vienna; L’avertimento The warning the Chatelet, Paris; the Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms in London; and on tours to Australia, Japan (Pietro Buratti) (Pietro Buratti) and America. No corè, puti, smaniosi tanto Do not rush so eagerly, lads, 2000 – 2003 Director of the Perth International Chamber Music Festival in Australia from Drio quel incanto after the charms Julius Drake was also musical director in ’s staging of Janacek’s Diary of One who Che Nana g’ha of the lovely Nana. Xe tuto amabile All is enchantment Vanished, touring to Munich, London, Dublin, Amsterdam and New York. Ve acordo, in ela, in her, I grant you; Julius Drake’s passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise series for the La xe una stela she is like a star 7 16

Page 8 Page 17 WHLive0009

Andaremo fora in mar. and make for the open sea. Wigmore Hall, London, for the BBC, and the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. Passaremo i porti e l’isole We will go past harbours and islands Among many discs are included Mahler, Schumann and Haydn with Alice Coote, Che circonda la cità: which surround the city, El sol more senza nuvole and the sun will sink in a cloudless sky Charles Ives with Gerald Finley, French Mélodie with , Sonatas with Christian E la luna spuntarà. and the moon will rise. Poltera and Nicholas Daniel, and award winning recitals of Schubert, Schumann, Britten and Oh! che festa, oh! che spetacolo, Oh what fun, oh what a sight Henze with Ian Bostridge. Che presenta sta laguna, is the lagoon Quando tuto xe silenzio, when all is silent For more information visit www.juliusdrake.com Quando sluse in ciel la luna; and the moon climbs in the sky; E spandendo i cavei morbidi and spreading its soft hair Sopra l’acqua indormenzada, over the tranquil waters, La se specia, la se cocola, it admires its own reflection Come dona inamorada! like a woman in love. Tira zo quel velo e scòndite, Draw your veil about you and hide Che la vedo comparir! for I see the moon appearing Se l’arriva a descoverzarte, and if it catches a glimpse of you La se pol ingelosir! it will grow jealous! Sta baveta, che te zogola This light breeze, playing Fra i cavelli imbovolai, gently with your ruffled tresses, No xu turbia de la polvere bears no trace of the dust raised De le rode e dei cavai. Vien! by cartwheels and horses. Se in conchigli ai Greci Venere If in other days Venus Se sognava un altro di, seemed to the Greeks to have risen from a shell, Forse visto i aveva in gondola perhaps it was because they had seen Una zogia come ti, a beauty like you in a gondola. Ti xe bela, ti xe zovene, You are lovely, young Ti xe fresca come un fior; and fresh as a flower. Vien per tutti le so lagrime; Tears will come soon enough, Ridiadesso e fa l’amor! so now is the time for laughter and for love.

La barcheta The little boat (Pietro Buratti) (Pietro Buratti) La note è bela, The night is beautiful. Fa presto, o Nineta, Make haste, Nineta, 15 8

Page 16 Page 9 WHLive0009

GIOACHINO ROSSINI GIOACHINO ROSSINI Induit mon cœur subtil, led on my receptive heart– (1792-1868) (1792-1868) Ainsi soit-il! so be it!. La regata veneziana (1858) The Venice regatta (1858) C’est l’extase It is rapture (Francesco Maria Piave) (Francesco Maria Piave) C’est l’extase langoureuse, It is langorous rapture, Anzoleta avanti la regata Anzoleta before the regatta C’est la fatigue amoureuse, it is amorous fatigue, Là su la machina xe la bandiera, Over there the flag is flying, C’est tous les frissons des bois it is all the tremors of the forest Varda, la vendistu, vala a ciapar. look, you can see it, now go for it. Parmi l’étreinte des brises, in the breezes’ embrace, Co quela tornime in qua sta sera, Bring it back to me this evening C’est vers les ramures grises it is, around the grey branches, O pur a sconderte ti pol andar, or run away and hide. Le chœur des petites voix. the of tiny voices. In pope Momolo, no te incantar. Once in the boat, Momolo, don’t start gawping! Ô le frêle et frais murmure! O the delicate, fresh murmuring! Va voga d’anema la gondoleta, Row the gondola with heart and soul, Cela gazouille et susurre, The warbling and whispering, Né il primo premio te pol mancar. then you cannot help being first. Cela ressemble au bruit doux it is like the sweet sound Va là, recordite la to Anzoleta Go on, think of your Anzoleta Que l’herbe agitée expire... The ruffled grass gives out... Che da sto pergolo te sta a vardar. watching you from this harbour. Tu dirais, sous l’eau qui vire, You might take it for the muffled sound, In pope, Momolo, no te incantar. Once in the boat, Momolo, don’t start gawping! Le roulis sourd des cailloux. of pebbles in the swirling stream. In pope, Momolo, cori a svolar! Once in the boat, Momolo, go with the wind! Cette âme qui se lamente This soul which grieves Anzoleta co’ passa la regata Anzoleta during the regatta Et cette plainte dormante And this subdued lament, I xe qua, i xe qua, vardeli, vardeli, They’re coming, they’re coming, look at them, C’est la nôtre n’est-ce pas? it is ours, is it not? Povereti i ghe da drento, the poor things, they’re nearly all in: La mienne, dis, et la tienne, Mine, and yours too, Ah contrario tira el vento, ah, the wind’s against them, Dont s’exhale l’humble antienne breathing out your humble hymn I gha l’acqua in so favor. but the tide’s running their way. Par ce tiède soir, tout bas? On this warm evening, soft and low? El mio Momolo dov’elo? My Momolo, where is he? Ah lo vedo, el xe secondo. Ah, I see him, in second place. Ah! che smania! me confondo, Ah! the excitement’s too much for me, REYNALDO HAHN REYNALDO HAHN (1874 – 1947) (1874-1947) A tremar me sento el cuor. my heart’s racing like mad. Su coragio, voga, voga, Come on, keep it up, row, row, Venezia: chansons en dialecte vénitien Venice: songs in the venetian dialect Prima d’esser al paleto you must be first to the finish, (1901) (1901) Se ti voghi, ghe scometo, if you keep on rowing, I’ll lay a bet Sopra l’acqua indormenzada Asleep on the water Tutti indrio ti lassarà. you’ll leave all the others behind. (Pietro Pagello) (Pietro Pagello) Caro caro, par che el svola, Dear boy, he’s almost flying, Coi pensieri malinconici Let not melancholy thoughts El li magna tuti quanti, he’s beating the others hollow No te star a tormentar: distress you: Meza barca l’è andà avanti, he’s gone half a length ahead, Vien von mi, montemo in gondola, come with me, let us climb into our gondola 9 Ah capisso, el m’a vardà. ah, now I understand: he’s seen me. 14

Page 10 Page 15 WHLive0009

Green Green Anzoleta dopo la regata Anzoleta after the regatta Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches Here are flowers, branches, fruit, and fronds, Ciapa un baso, un altro ancora, Here’s a kiss for you, and another, Et puis voici mon cœur qui ne bat que pour vous. and here too is my heart that beats just for you. Caro Momolo, de cuor; darling Momolo, from my heart; Ne le déchirez pas avec vos deux mains blanches Do not tear it with your two white hands, Qua destrachite che xe ora now relax, because I must Et qu’à vos yeux si beaux l’humble présent soit doux. and may the humble gift please your lovely eyes De sugarte sto sudor. dry the sweat from your body. J’arrive tout couvert encore de rosée I come all covered still with the dew Ah t’o visto co passando Ah, I saw you, as you passed, Que le vent du matin vient glacer à mon front. frozen to my brow by the morning breeze. Su mi l’ocio ti a butà throwing a glance at me, Souffrez que ma fatigue à vos pieds reposée Let my fatigue, finding rest at your feet, E go dito respirando: and I said, breathing again: Rêve des chers instants qui la délasseront. Dream of dear moments that will soothe it. Un bel premio el ciaparà. he’s going to win a good prize. Sur votre jeune sein laissez rouler ma tête On your young breast let me cradle my head Sì un bel premio in sta bandiera, Indeed, the prize of this flag Toute sonore encor de vos derniers baisers; Still ringing with your recent kisses; Che xe rossa de color; the red one; Laissez-la s’apaiser de la bonne tempête, after love’s sweet tumult grant it peace, Gha parlà Venezia intiera, all Venice is talking about you, Et que je dorme un peu puisque vous reposez. and let me sleep a while, since you rest. La t’a dito vincitor. they have declared you the victor.

À Clymène To Clymène Ciapa un baso, benedeto, Here’s a kiss, God bless you, A vogar nissun te pol, no one rows better than you, Mystiques barcarolles, Mystic barcarolles, De casada de tragheto of all the breed of watermen, Romances sans paroles, songs without words, Ti xe el megio barcarol. you are the best gondolier. Chère, puisque tes yeux, sweet, since your eyes, Couleur des cieux, the colour of skies,

Puisque ta voix, étrange Since your voice, MICHAEL HEAD Vision qui dérange strange vision that unsettles (1900 – 1976) Et trouble l’horizon and troubles the horizon 1976 De ma raison, of my reason, Songs of Venice (c. ) (Nancy Bush) Puisque l’arôme insigne Since the rare scent De ta pâleur de cygne, of your swan-like pallor. The Gondolier Et puisque la candeur and since the candour Dark, he moves from shade to sun; Idle we lie. Silent and still De ton odeur, of your fragrance, His single oar, rhythmic and slow, The boat drifts down the narrow way Ah! puisque tout ton être, Ah! since your whole being– Divides the quiet waterway, And high above, houses and towers Musique qui pénètre, pervading music, Dips down but scarcely stirs its flow. Stand close, to shut us from the day. Nimbes d’anges défunts, haloes of departed angels, High on the prow a man of bronze, Then, where the channel turns, Tons et parfums, sounds and scents– He rides against the summer light; He pauses, lifts his oar Asur d’almes cadences, Has, in sweet cadences, Bridges and walls of golden stone And calls “Ohé, Ohé, Ohé,” En ces correspondances and correspondences Behind him move and glide from sight. And all around 13 10

Page 14 Page 11 WHLive0009

The walls throw back the sound – Rain Storm C’est Tircis et c’est Aminte, Tirsis is there, Aminte is there, Then, as the long prow lifts and swings, Et c’est l’éternel Clitandre, and tedious Clitandre too, Last night, a storm of rain. The curious echo rings, Et c’est Damis qui pour mainte and Damis who for many cruel maid This morning the city is grey, Here for a space, then gone, Cruelle fait maint vers tendre. writes many a tender song. The endless blue of the sky clouded away The herald of our silent coming on. With a look of autumn. Leurs courtes vestes de soie, Their short silken doublets, Under wet awnings tables stand Leurs longues robes à queues, their long trailing gowns, St Mark’s Square Empty, and sudden wind Leur élégance, leur joie their elegance, their joy A shower of pigeons arch over the rooftops, Scurries the first of fallen leaves. Et leurs molles ombres bleues, and their soft blue shadows, Their flights into light, into the morning begun, Venice, beautiful city of the sun – Tourbillonent dans l’extase Whirl madly in the rapture And thousands of wings are dipping and wheeling So will she look when winter comes, D’une lune rose et grise, of a grey and roseat moon, To shadow the water, to darken the sun. When all her alleys and squares are cold Et la mandoline jase and the jangles on And her great churches dark, And into the square the people are pressing Parmi les frissons de brise. in the shivering breeze. When we, creatures of summer, are gone To stare at the domes, to gape at the tower, And all our pleasures done, To laugh and to listen, as sounding above them En sourdine Muted And those who stay look out and fear The clappers of bronze are striking the hour. Calmes dans le demi-jour Calm in the twilight The fall of the year, Que les branches hautes font, cast by lofty boughs, A commonplace crowd, some wander unheeding; The water’s constant ebb and flow, Pénétrons bien notre amour Let us steep our love Yet some will look back and remember at last Silent and slow, De ce silence profond. In this deep quiet. The marvel of stone that rises around them, Fretting the stone, lapping the marble floor, The grace of the city, the dream of the past. Until the winter flood turns back no more, Mêlons nos âmes, nos cœurs Let us mingle our souls, our hearts To lose in the drowning tide Et nos sens extasiés, and our enraptured senses A city more beautiful than any other. Parmi les vagues langueurs with the lazy langour Des pins et des arbousiers. of arbutus and pine.

Ferme tes yeux à demi, Half close your eyes, GABRIEL FAURÉ GABRIEL FAURÉ Croise tes bras sur ton sein, fold your arms across your breast, (1845 – 1924) (1845 – 1924) Et de ton cœur endormi and from your heart now lulled to rest Cinq Mélodies de Venise Op. 58 (1891) Five Songs of Venice Op. 58 (1891) Chasse à jamais tout dessein. banish forever all intent. (Paul Verlaine) (Paul Verlaine) Laissons-nous persuader Let us both succumb Au souffle berceur et doux To the gentle and lulling breeze Mandoline Mandolin Qui vient à tes pieds rider that comes to ruffle at your feet Les donneurs de sérénades The gallant serenades Les ondes des gazons roux. The waves of russet grass. Et les belles écouteuses and their fair listeners Et quand, solennel, le soir And when, solemnly, evening Échangant des propos fades exchange sweet nothings Des chênes noirs tombera falls from the black oaks, Sous les ramures chanteuses. beneath singing boughs. Voix de notre désespoir, that voice of our despair, 11 Le rossignol chantera. The nightingale shall sing. 12

Page 12 Page 13