presents

May 1, 2021 Doug Oldham Recital Hall MUSIC 170 1:30 PM

O del Mio dolce Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)

Voi, che sapete Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from Le nozze di Figaro (1756-1791) ~~~~

Der Blumenstrauss Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Die Bekehrte Max Stange (1856-1932)

Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) ~~~~

Romance Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Chanson d’amour Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

Mon Coeur s’ouvre a ta voix Camille Saint-Saëns from Samson et Dalila (1835-1921) ~~~~

Charlie is my Darling Roger Quilter (1877-1953)

Ye Banks and Braes Roger Quilter (1877-1953) ~~~~

Simple Gifts arr. Mark Hayes (b. 1953)

Deep River arr. Mark Hayes (b. 1953) ~~~~

Till There Was You Meredith Wilson from The Music Man (1902-1984)

Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man Jerome Kern from Showboat (1855-1945) ~~~~

L’amour est une oiseau rebelle Georges Bizet from Carmen (1838-1875)

O del Mio dolce Christoph Gluck was a composer of the Early Classical period and a main contributor to the opera reform during the Enlightenment. His musical style was simple yet beautiful. Gluck used music to enhance the plot of opera rather than overpower it with flashy ornamentation. O del Mio Dolce is from the opera Paride ed Yelena. This opera tells the story of the first meeting between the characters Paris and Helen on their flight from Sparta. It centers on three characters: Paris, Helen, and Cupid who is instrumental in persuading Helen to choose love over duty. But when the Gods intervene in the lives of mortals, can there be a happy ending? After the resounding success of Ezio in 2016, Odyssey Opera resurrects another of Gluck’s lost gems. Featuring a unique cast of all sopranos in this, the third of Gluck’s “reform” operas.

Oh object of my burning sweet desire, at last we breathe the same air. Wherever I turn to look love paints your image in my mind. My thoughts are filled with happy hopes and in the longing which fills my breast I look for you, I call for you – I hope and sigh.

Voi, che sapete This aria is from Mozart’s opera Le nozze di Figaro. “Voi che sapete” is one of the best known arias and is heard in many recital venues. It is presented in the second act by a young boy, Cherubino, who is at that age where he is discovering his feelings for women. For Cherubino love is all-important but a mystery to him. In this aria he sings a plea to the Countess and Susanna describing how much love he has to give and asks them to tell him what love is. He explains to them how the mere sight of a woman is enough to set his heart beating wildly. He is so confused about how one moment he can be filled with passion and the next he is tormented by it. The role of Cherubino is a pants role meaning it’s the character of a young boy but played by a female, typically being a mezzo-soprano. Although this might sound peculiar, the appearance of a beautiful woman dressed in trousers to sing a boy's role was quite sensational and popular among eighteenth-century Viennese audiences.

You ladies, who know what love is, see if I have it in my heart! I'll tell you what I'm going through, it's new to me; I can't understand it. I feel a liking full of desire that now is pleasure, now is agony. I freeze, and then feel my soul burning, and in another moment go back to freezing. I look for a good outside myself, I don't know who has it, and I don't know what it is. I sigh and groan without wanting to, I quiver and tremble without knowing it, I find no peace night or day, and yet I like suffering this way!

Der Blumenstrauß Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the early Romantic period. Throughout his life, he wrote some 120 songs, that reflect the elegance, polish, craftsmanship, and emotional reserve that characterized both his personality and his other compositions. His music played such an important role in 19th-century musical life. Mendelssohn’s music displays harmonic subtlety and graceful lyricism. One of Mendelssohn’s earlier compositions was Der Blumenstrauss. At the age of just 21, he wrote this elegant song. “Der Blumenstrauss” is set to a text by Karl Klingeman about a woman who, while strolling through a flower garden, decides to arrange a bouquet for her love. The piece contains lyrical phrases that seem to paint the text with “blooming” climaxes. The piece begins with an ascending pitch from solfege pitch sol, which naturally drives into the tonic and is doubled in the accompaniment. Rising scalar passages begin the verses, and are followed by varying phrase shapes until the final line of the stanza is repeated, both times ending on the tonic to give the listener the sense of arrival.

She strays in the flower garden surveying the gaudy scene, while all the flowers are waiting, and gazing on her, their queen. "And are ye the heralds of Springtide, foretelling the ever new, then bear me a messenger of Springtide to him who loves me true.” Lightly the flowers entwining, how deftly her fingers toil: She hands them to one who nears her, avoiding his gaze the while. What flowers and hues betoken, Divine it, oh, ask it not, when spring so sweetly hath spoken in looks that with love are fraught.

Die Bekehrte This song is about a shepherdess in love with a shepherd boy who plays his flute for her. His flute-playing has tamed her unruliness, and she cherishes his sweet kisses. Max Strange uses the melodic line to mimic the sound of the tune the boy plays on his flute. However, the final stanza of the poem betrays a sense of melancholy. The tonality shifts to a minor sound when the shepherd dies and the shepherdess is lost and brokenhearted without him. Now all she hears is faded tones of the song he once played to her.

In the red glow of sunset I walked silently through the wood. Damon sat and blew his flute so that the rocks resounded: So la la! . . . And he drew me down to him and kissed me so gently, so sweetly, and I said "play again" and the good-hearted lad played: So la la! . . . My peace of mind is now lost, my joy has flown away, and I hear in my ears only the old tones of: So la la, le ralla! . . .

Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen Johannes Brahms is known to have written only one true song cycle, Die schöne Magelone, but one of his often neglected collection of pieces, The nine songs of his Opus 32, composed in 1864 closely resemble the elements of a song cycle. It is unique in how there are two contributing composers, Georg Friedrich Daumer and August von Platen- Hallermünde. The song being performed, Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen was the first of Brahms’s many settings of the poetry from Georg Friedrich Daumer. The plot of this song cycle starts with the narrator wanders out of his town, by some pressing, personal matter, which is revealed in the second song depicting a troubled companionship he has sworn to cease, yet cannot stay away from. The next piece, Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen continues in the storyline where the man demands that his companion would reveal their “true feelings”. The music aids in the expression of the inner turmoil the mad is going through. His despair leads him to the point where his will to live hinges on whether his love is requited or not.

I go no more to you I decided and I swore; Yet I go every evening, for all strength and all control I lost. I want to live no more, I want to perish at this moment, and yet I want to live for you, with you, and never die. Oh speak, say but one word, one clear word only, give life or death to me, only reveal to me what you feel, your true feelings.

Romance Claude Debussy was a man of shifting loyalties, not only among his musical friends but especially among his many women. He was certainly a womanizer, had more than one lover at a time, and most of them were married. Toward the end of his life, he did marry for the second time and had a daughter who proved to be perhaps the only person, besides himself, that he ever truly loved. What has this gossip to do with Debussy as a composer? It parallels his musical life which is reflected in his song set Deux Romances. “Romance” is the first piece in the 1891 song set Deux Romances. Due to the similar names of the single song and the cycle from which it originated, “Romance” is often referred to by its secondary title, “L’âme évaporée” (“The vanishing soul”). It is based on a poem written by French poet Paul Bourget, titled Les aveux (Confessions). Like many other of Debussy’s well-known works, “Romance” features a lilting melody with an elegant accompaniment, typical of his musical aesthetic. This piece follows a heartbroken woman as she questions why her lover left. The harmonic style of this song produces a sound much like that of a conversation – the phrases rise and fall alongside the text. This style, combined with poetic lines such as “Does no more perfume remain?” creates a somber disposition. This mood allows the performer to open up and be vulnerable with the audience.

The spent and suffering soul, The sweet soul, the soul steeped, In the divine lilies I gathered, In the garden of your thoughts, Where have the winds dispersed it, This adorable lilies’ soul? Does not a single scent remain, Of the heavenly softness, Of the days when you enclosed me, In a supernatural mist, Made of hope, of faithful love, Of bliss and of peace? Chanson d’amour Chanson d’amour was composed by Gabriel Fauré in his Op.27. This song has consistent use of arpeggios and almost no heavy chords, giving the feeling of transparency that characterizes so many of his songs. The vocal lines are equally graceful and, in flowing descending phrases which is typical of Fauré. Chanson d’amour is a passionate and sentimental song. The central theme of this piece is romantic love which is suggested by the harp-like gestures in the piano. The style and of this elegant song is very fitting of the French Romantic Period.

I love your eyes, I love your face, o my rebellious, o my fierce one, I love your eyes, I love your lips where my kisses will exhaust themselves. I love your voice, I love the strange gracefulness of everything you say, o my rebellious one, o my dear angel, my inferno and my paradise! I love your eyes, I love your face, I love everything that makes you beautiful, from your feet to your hair, o you, to whom ascend all my desires!

Mon coeur s’ouvre a ta voix “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” is the Act II show-stopping aria from the 1877 opera Samson et Dalila, by Camille Saint-Saëns. The libretto is based on the Old Testament story from the Book of Judges. The opening line can be translated as “My heart opens itself to your voice” but the lush music is a seduction conceived for political gain. Dalila has been sent by the Philistines to discover the secret to Samson’s power – his flowing locks, through which God grants him strength in battle. After the aria, Samson is unable to resist Dalila, and he reveals the secret to his strength, which ultimately leads to his downfall at the end of the opera. The piano arrangement of this piece is an orchestral reduction, meaning the score was originally arranged for orchestra and rewritten for piano. The piano line imitates the texture of the stringed instruments in the original arrangement and the repetitive sixteenth notes in the accompaniment are representative of Samson’s beating heart.

My heart opens to your voice, like the flowers open to the kisses of the dawn! But, o my beloved, to dry my tears the best, let your voice speak again! Tell me that to Dalila you will return forever, repeat to my tenderness the oaths of other times, the oaths that I loved! Ah! Respond to my tenderness! Pour out to me the drunkenness! Like one sees the wheat the blades undulate under the light breeze, so trembles my heart, ready to be consoled, by your voice which is dear to me! The arrow is less quick to carry death, than is your love to fly into my arms! Ah! Respond to my tenderness! Pour out to me the drunkenness!

Charlie is My Darling Roger Quilter was born to a wealthy English family, educated at Eton College, and later pursued musical studies at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where Percy Grainger was also a student. He is known for his light orchestral music, theatre works, incidental music, and more than 100 English art songs. The elegance and richness of his settings have won him a permanent place in the repertoire of English art songs. Roger Quilter was not so much original as he was a highly skilled “romantic-style” melodist, an especially sensitive hearer and capable translator of English words and inflections to musical form. A Quilter’s song is easily recognized by the natural flow of his vocal lines. The rhythm of the words is enhanced by the melody, rather than forcing the rhythm into a preconceived melody. The accompaniments provide rhythmic interest and countermelodies without restricting the singer. He wrote pleasingly melodic, often quite beautiful songs that successfully capture the spirit and meaning of the texts.

Charlie is my Darling is a song arranged by Roger Quilter. This song originates from a Scottish Jacobite marching tune. The original writer of this song was never confirmed but some predict it was written by Lady Nairne, a romantic Jacobite songwriter. The song refers to Bonnie Prince Charlie who comes into a town one morning. This song may have had topical appeal for people who knew the Jacobite cause and its brutal suppression at Culloden in 1746. Quilter’s arrangement choices are used in a descriptive way to transport the listener into the story of the song. The beat of the song is in march time with a brisk and spirited feel. He also uses the piano in a descriptive way to mimicking the pipe and drone playing. The elements help to encapsulate the meaning of this song.

Ye Banks and Braes Ye Banks and Braes is another composition by Roger Quilter. This song originates from an old Scottish melody by Robert Burns that was later arranged by Roger Quilter. This poem about looking at the natural world while one is full of worries and cares because one’s love has been untrue. The natural world continues to be fair and carefree, the birds sing merrily, but the speaker of the poem is filled with sorrow. The flowering rose with its hidden thorn is a metaphor for the pain of love betrayed that was inspired by the story of Margaret Kennedy, who was seduced and then abandoned by Andrew McDouall, the son of a wealthy family and Member of Parliament for Wigtonshire. Kennedy sued for a declarator of marriage but died prior to adjudication of the case. Later on, it was discovered that McDouall was the father of Kennedy's daughter, Peggy.

Deep River Mark Hayes is an American composer and arranger. He predominantly has written choral music in the Christian sacred music and gospel music genres. Deep River is one of the best- known African American spirituals to this day, but it did not become well known until around the second decade of the twentieth century, by which time it had been transformed from its original form. The original composer remains anonymous but there have been many arrangements. It was first published in 1876 in the first edition of The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs. Hayes’s arrangement of it uses unexpected harmonies to create a warm, soulful texture. For example, he sets the word “over” on the highest note of the melody in the phrase, “My home is over Jordan” and, in the following phrase, the word “deep” is sung in a dramatic descending line. Hayes’s arrangement beautifully conveys the meaning of this song. It is a song of hope, and longing, expressing a desire for peace and freedom both in the present and when they go on to heaven. Through this melody, slaves held on to the hope of survival through the many trials they had to endure.

Simple Gifts Simple Gifts was notated in 1848 at a Maine community of Shakers by Elder Joseph Brackett, who either composed the tune or wrote down an existing “dancing song” meant to be used in worship. To this day it has become one of America's most popular all-purpose melodies. It extolls the virtues of a simple life and humility. In Mark Hayes’s arrangement, he preserved the simple, straightforward beauty of the original, yet he brought a fresh lightness to the piece in his personal style. His arrangement brings the audience in and helps them to reflect on how beautiful and rich a simple life can be.

Till There Was You “Till there was you” comes out of the musical The Music Man. In 1957, the show became a hit on Broadway, winning five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and running for 1,375 performances. The plot of the musical concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys’ band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and uniforms to naive townsfolk before skipping town with the cash. A prim librarian and piano teacher Marian Paroo sees through him, but when Hill helps her younger brother overcome his fear of social interactions due to his lisp, Marian begins to fall in love with Harold. Harold, in turn falling for Marian, risks being caught to win her.“Till There Was You,” is loved by many and has had many renditions of it created. It was covered by the Beatles on their 1963 LP Meet the Beatles!

Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” is a song from the musical Showboat. It is sung by Julie, the leading lady of the showboat and the song recurs as one of the show’s main themes. This was a song with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, composed for the musical. Show Boat follows the lives of performers, stagehands, and dockworkers on a Mississippi River showboat. This song is associated with some of the greatest singers ever, including Helen Morgan, Ava Gardner, and Judy Garland. This song a touching and heartbreaking ballad that is about forbidden love.

L’amour est une oisesau rebelle Georges Bizet’s final work, Carmen, is a four-act opera with French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, although the plot is based on the story of Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen, published in 1845. Bizet’s Carmen was premiered on March 3, 1875, at the Opéra Comique in Paris. The opera premiered exactly three months before Bizet’s death on June 3, 1875. It’s been cited as an example of the misunderstood genius driven to an early grave by an indifferent or hostile public, his death being attributed to the "failure" of Carmen. Although the opera received some adverse criticism for the "indelicacy" of its subject, Carmen came to be the most often performed opera in the world. Bizet’s Carmen was revolutionary in its pragmatism and became a notorious example of opéra-comiqué, a genre of French opera without the comic, but containing both spoken dialogue and sung recitative.

The Habanera aria is sung by Carmen on her first appearance. She, and the other girls, have just come from the cigarette factory where they work. Carmen is immediately surrounded by admiring soldiers of the Guard. Only Don José appears immune to her charms. She sings about the inconstancy of love and hints that passion is inspired more often by indifference than by devotion. This provides a clue to the ensuing action, as Carmen is attracted to Don José, the only man who appears immune to her charms. As he is waiting for his childhood sweetheart Micaëla who he is betrothed to. He is soon seduced and corrupted by the fiery Gypsy girl, Carmen.

Love is a rebellious bird that nothing can tame and it is simply in vain to call it if it is convenient for it to refuse. Nothing will work, threatening or pleading, one speaks, the other stays quiet; and it’s the other that I prefer. He said nothing; but he pleases me. Love! Love! Love! Love!

Love is the child of the Bohemian, it has never, never known any law, if you don’t love me, I love you, if I love you, keep guard of yourself! If you don’t love me, I love you! But, if I love you, keep guard of yourself!

The bird you thought to surprise batted its wings and flew away; Love is far away, you can wait for it; if you wait for it no more, it is there! All around you, quickly, quickly, it comes, goes, then, it comes back! You think to hold it, it avoids you; you think to avoid it, it holds you! Love, love, love, love!

Love is the child of the Bohemian, it has never, never known any law, if you don’t love me, I love you, if I love you, keep guard of yourself! If you don’t love me, I love you! But, if I love you, keep guard of yourself!

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my teachers, family, and friends who all have played a decisive role in getting me to this point. Throughout my college experience, someone I would like to thank is my outstanding voice teacher, Dr. Kompelien who has displayed such unwavering guidance, encouragement, and patience to me despite all the challenges faced throughout these last four years. I’ll always be grateful that you pushed me to do my best along with the many laughs we’ve shared. I’d also like to extend my gratitude to my incredible parents who’ve never fail to believe in me and show unconditional love and support. Thank you for always reminded me to hold onto God’s promises and rely on His strength. Most importantly, the one who deserves all the glory is Christ. One of the main things I’ve learned through these past four years is about God’s faithfulness. The Lord has never failed to come through and fulfill his promises to me! I’ve learned to truly embrace my weaknesses and see that they are a gift. The more of a deficit I had, the more I saw God come through to make up the difference, exceeding my expectations. Furthermore, I think sometimes the hardest things to do are the small consistent acts of love, grace, and self-sacrifice and the teachers at Liberty have truly lived in that way. I know these things often seem to go unnoticed, but know that when God’s people are faithful in the everyday pursuit to live as Christ did they truly leave a lasting impact on those around them. I am eternally grateful for you all!

Lauren Rider is a student of Dr. Wayne Kompelien.

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance degree.

We would like to thank the Liberty University Administration for their faithful support of the School of Music.

Dr. Jerry Prevo, President Dr. Scott Hicks, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Stephen Müller, Dean, School of Music The School of Music Administration, Faculty, and Staff