Poldowski Art Songs

Poldowski Art songs

Angelique Zuluaga, soprano Gwendolyn Mok, piano Alexander String Quartet Ryan Zwahlen, oboe d’amore DE 3538

1 ORIGINAL DELOS DE 3538 POLDOWSKI • ART SONGS DIGITAL

Soir ♦

Song ♦ Berceuse Dans une Dans Dimanche ongs s To Love ♦ Love To En Sourdine Sourdine En ♦ ♦ Cythère oboe d’amore rt A L’heure exquise ♦ exquise L’heure

| Colombine Colombine

♦ A Poor Young Shepherd ♦ Shepherd Young A Poor A Clymène ♦ A Clymène soprano Angelique Zuluaga, piano Mok, Gwendolyn Quartet String Alexander Zwahlen, Ryan recordings premiere 5: world 1,2,4 and Tracks Sérénade ♦ Sérénade Pierrot Pierrot ♦ O! Let the Solid Ground ♦ O! Let the Solid Ground Bruxelles ♦ Bruxelles Effet de neige ♦ neige de Effet Narcisse ♦ Narcisse Gardens ♦ Gardens Cortège ♦ Cortège *

Dansons lagigue Dansons

♦

Mandoline ♦ Mandoline

Spleen ♦ Spleen

♦ oldowski

♦

Reeds of Innocence ♦ Innocence Reeds of d’armorique Down by the Sally by Down

musette musette d’Av r i l

** treatments Poldowski

alternate settings of the of settings alternate

* “Salley” of spelling variant

Total Playing Time: 65:28 Time: Playing Total

LOUIS AUBERT: Soir ** AUBERT: LOUIS

REYNALDO HAHN: En sourdine** En sourdine** HAHN: REYNALDO

CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Pierrot Pierrot DEBUSSY: CLAUDE

ORIGINAL DIGITAL

DELOS DE 3538 POLDOWSKI • ART SONGS Poldowski Art songs

1. Down by the Sally† Gardens (1:08) 21. CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Pierrot (1:44) 2. O! Let the Solid Ground (2:53) 22. POLDOWSKI: Colombine (2:00) 3. To Love (1:53) 4. Song (2:17) 23. REYNALDO HAHN: En sourdine (3:23) 5. Reeds of Innocence (1:45) 24. POLDOWSKI: En sourdine (2:53) 6. Narcisse (2:32) * 25. LOUIS AUBERT: Soir (4:50) 7. Sérénade (2:26) 26. POLDOWSKI: Soir (4:39) ** 8. L’heure exquise (2:41) 9. Dans une musette (3:50) Total Playing Time: 65:28 10. Mandoline (1:40) 11. Effet de neige (2:38) † (var. of Salley) 12. A Clymène (2:14) 13. Cythère (1:06) Tracks 1, 2, 4 and 5: world premiere recordings 14. Dimanche d’Avril (2:48)

15. Spleen (2:29) Angelique Zuluaga, soprano 16. Cortège (1:31) Gwendolyn Mok, piano (Tracks 1–5; 7-26) 17. Bruxelles (2:48) Alexander String Quartet * 18. A Poor Young Shepherd (1:48) Ryan Zwahlen, oboe d’amore ** 19. Berceuse d’Armorique (3:55) 20. Dansons la gigue (1:35)

2 ike many other women composers of the with the composers André Gédalge and Vincent past, Poldowski’s name is not particularly d’Indy, though no details of her studies there are Lwell known today. Yet between 1900 and known. From 1911 onwards, Roeder and Du- her death in 1932, she was a well-known fig- rand in Paris began publishing her French songs: ure in such leading musical meccas as London, mostly settings of the poetry of Paul Verlaine, for Brussels, and New York and — despite her own whose art she felt a great affinity. misgivings — was considered a successful composer. Now the rediscovery of Poldowski’s songs In the 1920s, Chester in London published some brings us closer to this fascinating woman. of Poldowski’s music, including more French songs, solo piano pieces, and works for violin Poldowski was the pseudonym of Lady Dean and piano as well as clarinet and piano. It ap- Paul, born Irène Régine Wieniawska, youngest pears that most of these songs, despite their daughter of the celebrated Polish violinist and dates of publication, were written between 1900 composer Henryk Wieniawski. She was born and 1910. Their frequent appearance on con- in Brussels in 1879 but never knew her famous cert programs in London and elsewhere earned father due to his early death in 1880. She en- Poldowski the privilege of becoming personally joyed a successful career as a pianist and was a acquainted with some of the leading performers largely self-taught composer. Some biograph- of the day, including the tenor Gervase Elwes, ical sources suggest that she studied piano one of her music’s most influential advocates. and composition at the Brussels Conservatoire, though there are no substantiating records. But Other close associates included Sir Malcolm Sar- she is known to have begun composing at an gent, Sir Henry Wood (who twice invited her to early age, with Schott publishing her first songs perform her works at the Proms in the Queen’s in Belgium in the 1890s. Around 1896, she Hall), and Sir Thomas Beecham, who was alleged- moved to London, where she began to estab- ly interested in producing one of her short operas. lish herself as a pianist and composer. In 1900, Indeed, Poldowski enjoyed a hectic social life with- Chappell published Poldowski’s first London in London’s musical scene, though she associated works, two songs with piano accompaniment. mostly with performers and artists rather than other composers. Still, she was friendly with some In 1901 Poldowski married an aristocrat, Sir Au- of her contemporaries, including Roger Quilter, brey Dean Paul; the marriage lasted until the Peter Warlock, and Maude Valerie White. couple separated in 1921. In 1902, she gave birth to her first son, Aubrey Donald, who died In 1924, in a letter to her publisher Chester, in 1904 — the same year her second son, Brian, she expressed disappointment that more of was born; her daughter Brenda followed in 1907. her large-scale works had not been accepted During this period, she traveled to Paris to study for publication. Indeed, much of her oeuvre

3 remains unpublished, and many of the original death of her eldest son, the eventual breakup of scores are missing. In 2003, however, her Sona- her marriage, and her often disastrous financial ta for Violin and Piano — after gathering dust situation, combined with poor health, meant in the National Library of Poland for many years that she had to be resourceful in order to sur- — was finally published in the United States. vive. But despite her misfortunes, Poldowski’s indomitable spirit and musical gifts gained her Poldowski’s earlier works, which appear to have the satisfaction of having her music heard — been composed before the First World War, are and heralded — during her lifetime. French in style: one hears in them distinct echoes of Fauré and Debussy. Yet her own unique voice In 1932, upon her untimely death after a long always prevails. Her later works — which began illness, her more influential friends organized a to be published in the 1920s — show a change series of concerts to promote her life’s musical in style, one that incorporates a more modernist legacy and to honor her alleged final words: approach to composition, with increasing use of “Do look after my music!” dissonance and a tendency to explore greater degrees of instrumental virtuosity. For many Poldowski’s talents were not confined to music years, these works remained unperformed. alone. Sources suggest that she wrote children’s stories and designed clothes for her aristocratic During her lifetime, Poldowski’s works enjoyed friends in the late 1920s, when money was scarce. international attention and were often featured During that time, she also penned four short on concert programs in the United Kingdom, essays that express her views on modernism in Belgium, France, Spain, and the United States music, her thoughts on the influence of jazz, her before fading into relative obscurity. But since adoration of Verlaine, and her celebration of two the dawning of the new millennium, performers settings of Laurent de Tailhade’s poetry.

— particularly singers — are rediscovering her The earliest songs presented here are two set- wonderful miniatures, which are again gaining tings in English from 1900. “O! Let the Solid exposure in concerts and recordings. Ground” (Tennyson) and “Down by the Sally Gardens” (Yeats) are essentially drawing room The restoration of an article about Poldowski in ballads that reveal a youthful composer still in the 2001 edition of the New Grove Dictionary II search of her compositional voice. Poldowski’s (which, like those about so many other female truest talent emerges later in her many settings composers, had been omitted from the previ- of Verlaine’s poetry, of which thirteen are re- ous edition) has prompted renewed interest in corded here. this fascinating lady, who sought to combine family life with musical endeavors and endured These settings reveal the clear inspiration extreme hardships for the sake of her art. The Poldowski derived from the verses of this great 4 symbolist. Verlaine’s art never failed to draw setting of “En sourdine,” from his Chansons gris- highly sympathetic responses from her, replete es, shares many similar traits with the Poldowski with music of great beauty, intense feeling, vivid setting in terms of ambiance and restraint. color, and palpable sensuality. In her 1921 essay on the poet, she declares, “…he is of the mob and Verlaine’s Aquarelles collection is represented of the Gods.” Indeed, the uncanny “kindred spir- here by three settings. The darkly brooding it” parallels between their lives and personalities “Spleen” contrasts with the vibrant and dra- are noteworthy, and we may well interpret this matic “Dansons la gigue,” while “A Poor feeling of shared experience as being at the core Young Shepherd” (Verlaine’s only poem with of their artistic affinity. Verlaine’s traits as well as an English title), recalls the pastoral elegance of his artistic and human struggles are clearly mir- Fêtes galantes and many other Verlaine poems. rored in the course of Poldowski’s own life: Both had strong artistic temperaments, the inability “L’heure exquise” is one of Poldowski’s best- to learn from life’s mistakes, failed marriages, loved songs. Taken from the collection La bonne experimentation with drugs, dalliances with chanson, written for Verlaine’s wife, Mathilde, it same-sex relationships, conversion to Catholi- typifies the excesses of youthful love that hov- cism, severe financial problems, and long-term er between the peaceful evocation of moonlit illness — all of which bind these two remarkable landscapes and the lovers’ passionate outcries talents. It seems inevitable that Poldowski would — all of which finally melt into ecstasy in “The create so many Verlaine settings. exquisite hour.” The remaining Verlaine settings — “Bruxelles,” “Dimanche d’Avril” and Poldowski felt a particularly strong attraction to “Effet de neige” — are thoughtful reflections the poems of Verlaine’s Fêtes galantes. These on Nature. Coincidentally, they share musical eighteenth-century pastiches celebrate bucolic allusions to bells: a preoccupation shared by scenes peopled with characters from the Ital- many symbolist poets — and their composers. ian commedia dell’arte tradition. “A Clymène” is a languid love song cloaked in a barcarolle, The other French settings heard here treat the and “En sourdine” recalls the poet’s love as it verses of Adolphe Retté in “Sérénade,” Albert is reflected quietly in his natural surroundings. Samain in “Soir” — partnered here with a set- “Colombine,” “Cythère,” “Mandoline” and ting of the same poem by Louis Aubert — and “Cortège” deliver highly charged and playful Anatole Le Braz in “Berceuse d’Armorique.”. character sketches. The latter setting discloses an especially poi- gnant personal note, as it is a lullaby for a dead Similarly, the inclusion here of Claude Debussy’s baby: no doubt sorrowfully inspired by the early song, “Pierrot,” captures an equally playful, loss of Poldowski’s own firstborn. One of her but vocally challenging treatment. Reynaldo Hahn’s most lyrical songs, Poldowski’s own setting of

5 “Soir” benefits from the interesting addition of 1. Down by the Sally* Gardens an oboe d’amore part that tenderly reinforces the piece’s plaintive quality. Based on a French Down by the Sally Gardens folk dance, “Dans une musette” is the only My love and I did meet, published setting by a female poet, “Jean Dom- She pass’d the Sally Gardens inique,” the pseudonym of Marie Closette. With little snow-white feet. She bid me take life easy, Three later English settings, published in 1924, As the leaves grow on the tree, include two contrasting treatments of poems by But I, being young and foolish, William Blake. These settings are characterized With her would not agree. by simpler musical textures and increasingly In a field by the river, dissonant harmonies. Parallels can be drawn My love and I did stand, with the work of the French composers known And on my leaning shoulder as Les Six, whose neoclassical approach served She laid her snow-white hand, as a reaction to the excesses of the so-called She bid me take love easy, Impressionists. “Reeds of Innocence” cap- As the grass grows on the weirs, tures the innocent childlike glee of Blake’s poem But I was young and foolish, while “Song” recalls the lute songs of early En- And now am full of tears. glish composers. The composer also adheres to this style for her setting of “To Love,” a short (W.B. Yeats) and slightly modernist account of an anony- * As it is spelled in printed score; mous medieval-style text. a variant of “Salley.”

“Narcisse” is Poldowski’s last published song • and is certainly the most openly modern work on this album. Here she unveils a stylistic departure 2. O! Let the Solid Ground from her other songs, most notably in her use of bitonality. The accompanying string quartet en- O! Let the solid ground hances the ghostly representation of Narcissus Not fail beneath my feet, with its muted string tremolandi and trills. One has Before my life has found to wonder if such an altered compositional style What some have found so sweet. hints at the direction in which Poldowski — had Then, let come what may; she lived longer — would have evolved. No matter if I go mad, I shall have had my day! — David Mooney Let the sweet heavens endure, Not close and darken above me,

6 Before I am quite, quite sure 4. Song That there is one to love me. Then, let come what come may; My silks and fine array, To a life that has been so sad, My smiles and languish’d air I shall have had my day! By love are driven away And mournful lean despair (Alfred, Lord Tennyson, from Maud) Sends me Yew to deck my grave Such end true lovers have • His face is fair as heaven When springing buds unfold 3. To Love O why to him wast given Whose heart was wintry cold Love, the beauty of the eyes His breast is Love’s all-worshipped tomb of my beloved, Where all Love’s pilgrims come has made me her slave, Bring me an axe and spade, and yours. Bring me my winding sheet The glory of her eyes, When I my grave have made and your fire possesses my heart. Let winds and tempests beat, Therefore I pray you Then down I’ll lie as cold as clay sweet god of love True love doth pass away. that you make her realize and feel your holy fire (William Blake) on my behalf, so that she see, • I die of love for her, that die I slowly, 5. Reeds of Innocence as a martyr, little by little. Piping songs of pleasant glee And when the time comes, On a cloud I saw a child speak with her of me, And he laughing said to me so willing would I breathe Pipe a song about a lamb! your name to her. So I piped with merry cheer. Piper pipe that song again (Anonymous) So I piped, he wept to hear Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, • Sing thy songs of happy cheer! 7 So I sung the same again Narcissus While he wept with joy to hear. Piper sit thee down and write Oh! What is this ghost that is watching me, In a book that all may read! The swirling water surrounds it So he vanished from my sight; with a halo of light, And I plucked a hollow reed, Its white body like a lily bends towards me And I made a rural pen, and in my eyes puts words which its mouth And I stain’d the water clear dares not speak to me. And I wrote my happy songs I quiver, I exhale, open your arms, Every child may joy to hear. embrace me divine specter so that our two foreheads will melt in an eternal (William Blake) coupling. Love! Crown our heads with pale • and frozen flowers. Narcissus, O my lover! 6. Narcisse • Oh! Quelle est cette ombre qui me regarde L’eau que vire l’entoure d’une auréole 7. Sérénade de lumière Son corps blanc comme le Lys se penche Belle, la lune est si calme: vers moi Pris aux lèvres des naïades, Et dans mes yeux des paroles que sa bouche Le soir dort dans les roseaux, n’ose me dire. Et pas même un oiseau Je tremble, j’expire, ouvre tes bras, Ne se lève. enlace moi Vois languir au long des grèves Ombre divine que nos deux êtres L’eau qui rêve. se confondent Les noirs marronniers soupirent en une étreinte eternelle. où palpite Amour! Couronne nos fronts de fleurs L’or des étoiles limpides, blêmes et glacées. Les cascades murmurantes, Narcisse, O mon amant! Les vagules chuchoteuses, sous les yeuses (Poldowski) Vers la lune se lamentent.

8 Entends cette voix charmante: Hear this charming voice: L’eau qui chante. Viens, je sais The singing water. le val des fraises, je te tresse Come, I know a vale of Un lien de marjolaine… strawberries, tu te détournes, tu muses I plait your tresses Aux bouquets blancs des sureaux? A wreath of marjoram… Je détache ta ceinture You turn away, you muse Et je cueille ton sanglot. Of the white bouquets of L’eau lascive au loin s’argente elderberry tree? L’eau qui rêve, l’eau qui chante, I undo your sash, L’eau qui fuit sous les roseaux. And I catch your tear. The lascivious water, further (Adolphe Retté, La forêt bruissante) away, turns silver The dreaming water, the singing Serenade water, The water that recedes beneath Beautiful one, the moon is the reeds. so calm: Taken from the lips of the • water-nymphs, The evening sleeps amongst 8. L’heure exquise the reeds, And even a bird La lune blanche Does not arise. Luit dans les bois; Watch languishing along De chaque branche the shores, Part une voix the dreaming water Sous la ramée… The black chestnut trees Ô bien-aimée. sigh where L’étang reflète, The gold of the limpid stars Profond miroir, twinkles, La silhouette The murmuring waterfalls, Du saule noir The whispering currents, Où le vent pleure… under the holly-oaks, Rêvons, c’est l’heure. Lament to the moon. Un vaste et tendre Apaisement

9 Semble descendre Ma musette diligente et pleine Du firmament de nouveaux airs. Ils seront Que l’astre irise… d’allure folle, C’est l’heure exquise. sitôt oubliés que dits, Sitôt perdus que joués, (Paul Verlaine, La bonne chanson, No. 6) vagues, vagues… et, tant pis! N’ayant d’âme plus assez The Exquisite Hour pour aller en Paradis.

The white moon Avec des mots blanc sur blanc, Shines in the woods; de silence évanouis, From every branch Avec des rires, des cris, A voice is heard des larmes parfois aussi, Beneath the branches, J’y hasarderai mon cœur, O my beloved. l’amour en étant sorti. The pond reflects, Tout le long des pays verts, Like a deep mirror, d’une démarche légère, The silhouette Je promènerai ma vie Of the black willow dans cette musette claire Where the wind weeps… Qu’écouteront les agneaux, Let us dream, for it is the hour. les enfants et les grand-mères. A vast and tender J’irai, j’irai, je te dis! Calm quand j’aurai jeté mon âme, Seems to descend Quand j’aurai jeté ceci que From the heavens personne ne réclame, Made iridescent by the moon… Et que le porte en souci It is the exquisite hour. depuis mes premières larmes.

• (Marie Clossette, dite [aka] Jean Dominique, La gaule blanche) 9. Dans une musette In a musette Quand j’aurai jeté mon âme comme un caillou dans la mer When I have thrown my soul Je promènerai longtemps, like a pebble into the sea, tout le long des pays verts, I shall walk for a long time,

10 all along the green country, C’est Tircis et c’est Aminte, My diligent musette, is full of new airs. Et c’est l’éternel Clitandre, They will have a manic character, Et c’est Damis qui pour mainte no sooner told than forgotten, Cruelle fait maint vers tendre. No sooner lost than played, vague, vague… and too bad! Leurs courtes vestes de soie, Not possessing enough soul Leurs longues robes à queues, to enter paradise. Leur élégance, leur joie Et leurs molles ombres bleues With words white on white, Tourbillonnent dans l’extase of disappearing silence, D’une lune rose et grise, With laughter, with cries, Et la mandoline jase and with tears sometimes, Parmi les frissons de brise. I would risk my heart as well, since love has left it. (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 15) All through the green country, with light step, Mandolin I will walk my life with this clear-sounding musette The singers of serenades Heard by lambs, children And the beautiful listeners and grandmothers. Exchange idle words I’ll go, I’ll go, I tell you! when I have Beneath the singing branches. thrown away my soul, There’s Tircis and there’s Aminte, When I have cast away And the eternal Clitandre, that which no one will claim, And Damis, who, for many And which I have carried anxiously Cruel, writes many a tender verse. ever since my first tears. Their short silk coats, • Their long gowns with trains, Their elegance, their joy 10. Mandoline And their soft blue shadows Twirl in the ecstasy Les donneurs de sérénades Of a moon pink and gray, Et les belles écouteuses And the mandolin chatters Échangent des propos fades Amidst the quivering breezes. Sous les ramures chanteuses.

11 11. Effet de neige The effect of the snow

Dans l’interminable In the endless Ennui de la plaine Tedium of the plain La neige incertaine The uncertain snow Luit comme du sable. Gleams like sand.

Le ciel est de cuivre The sky is copper Sans lueur aucune. With no glow at all. On croirait voir vivre One could imagine Et mourir la lune. The moon is living and dying.

Comme des nuées Like clouds, Flottent gris les chênes Seem to drift, grey Des forêts prochaines The oaks in the nearby forests Parmi les buées. Amongst the mists. Le ciel est de cuivre The sky is copper Sans lueur aucune. With no glow at all. On croirait voir vivre One could imagine Et mourir la lune. The moon living and dying.

Corneille poussive Wheezy crow Et vous, les loups maigres, And you, skinny wolves Par ces bises aigres What is happening to you Quoi donc vous arrive? In these bitter winds? Dans l’interminable In the endless Ennui de la plaine Tedium of the plain La neige incertaine The uncertain snow Luit comme du sable. Gleams like sand.

(Paul Verlaine, Romances sans • paroles, Ariettes oubliées, No. 8) 12. À clymène

Mystiques barcarolles, Romances sans paroles,

12 Chère, puisque tes yeux, A penetrating music, Couleur des cieux, Nimbuses of deceased angels, Puisque ta voix, étrange Tones and perfumes Vision qui dérange Has, by its fair cadences, Et trouble l’horizon In its harmonious music: De ma raison, Ensnared my subtle heart. Puisque l’arôme insigne So be it! De ta pâleur de cygne. Et puisque la candeur • De ton odeur, Ah! puisque tout ton être, 13. Cythère Musique qui pénètre, Nimbes d’anges défunts, Un pavillon à claires-voies Tons et parfums, Abrite doucement nos joies A, sur d’almes cadences, Qu’éventent des rosiers amis; En ses correspondances L’odeur des roses, faible, Induit mon cœur subtil, Grâce borne Au vent léger d’été Ainsi soit-il! qui passe, Se mêle aux parfums qu’elle a mis; (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 16) Comme ses yeux l’avaient promis Son courage est grand et sa lèvre To Clymène Communique une exquise fièvre; Et l’Amour comblant tout, hormis Mystical barcarolles, La faim, sorbets et confitures Songs without words, Nous préservent des courbatures. My darling, because your eyes, The color of the skies, (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 12) Because your voice, strange Vision which upsets Cythera And troubles the horizon Of my reason, A latticed pavilion Because the distinctive aroma Barely shelters our joys Of your swan-like pallor Fanned by friendly rosebushes And because the candor The faint fragrance of roses, Of your scent, On the passing light summer breeze, Ah! Because all your being, Mingles with her perfume;

13 As her eyes had promised, Which smells sweetly of young berries. Her courage is great and her lips Trees and windmills Reveal an exquisite excitement; Are light above the tender green And with Love satisfying all Where the frisky foals Except for hunger, Come to frolic and stretch. With sorbets and sweet preserves On this hazy Sunday, Save us from its pangs. See also the large sheep playing together Soft as their white wool. • Just now there unfurled a wave, Rolling in spirals, 14. Dimanche d’Avril Of bells like flutes In a milky-white sky. L’échelonnement des haies Moutonne à l’infini, mer • Claire dans le brouillard clair Qui sent bon les jeunes baies. 15. Spleen Des arbres et des moulins Sont légers sous le vert tendre Les roses étaient toutes rouges, Où vient s’ébattre et s’étendre Et les lierres étaient tout noirs. L’agilité des poulains. Chère, pour peu que tu te bouges, Dans ce vague d’un Dimanche Renaissent tous mes désespoirs. Voici se jouer aussi Le ciel était trop bleu, trop tendre, De grandes brebis aussi La mer trop verte et l’air trop doux. Douces que leur laine blanche. Je crains toujours, – ce qu’est Tout à l’heure déferlait L’onde, d’attendre! roulée en volutes, Quelque fuite atroce de vous. De cloches comme des flûtes Bells, Du houx à la feuille vernie Dans le ciel comme du lait. Et du luisant buis je suis las, Et de la campagne infinie (Paul Verlaine, Sagesse, III, 13) Et de tout, fors de vous, hélas!

Sunday in April (Paul Verlaine, Romances sans paroles, Aquarelles) The spreading hedgerows Foam infinitely, The roses were all red, A clear sea in the light mist And the ivy all black.

14 My dear, for you the slightest Son fardeau somptueux, afin movement, De voir ce dont la nuit il rêve; Rekindles all my despair. Elle va par les escaliers, The sky was too blue, too gentle, Et ne paraît pas davantage The sea too green and the air Sensible à l’insolent suffrage too sweet. De ses animaux familiers. Always I am afraid – for this is expected! (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 8) For that treacherous flight of yours. Of the holly with its glossy leaves A monkey in a brocade vest And of the shiny boxwood Trots and gambols before her I am weary, As she twists a lace handkerchief And of the infinite countryside In her artfully gloved hand, And, of everything except you, While a little black boy Alas ! dressed in red Keeps at arm’s length and holds up • The train of her heavy gown, Attentive watching every 16. Cortège moving fold; The monkey’s eyes never leave Un singe en veste de brocart The lady’s pale neck, Trotte et gambade devant elle An opulent treasure worthy Qui froisse un mouchoir de dentelle Of the bare torso of one of the gods; Dans sa main gantée avec art, The black boy sometimes lifts up Tandis qu’un négrillon tout rouge Higher than is needed – the little Maintient à tour de bras les pans rascal – De sa lourde robe en suspens, Attentif à tout pli qui bouge; His sumptuous burden, to reveal Le singe ne perd pas des yeux A glimpse of what he dreams of La gorge blanche de la dame, at night; Opulent trésor que réclame She takes the stairs Le torse nu de l’un des dieux; And seems indifferent Le négrillon parfois soulève To the insolent appeals Plus haut qu’il ne faut, l’aigrefin, Of her two pets.

• 15 17. Bruxelles 18. A Poor Young Shepherd

La fuite est verdâtre et rose J’ai peur d’un baiser Des collines et des rampes, Comme d’une abeille. Dans un demi-jour de lampes Je souffre et je veille Qui vient brouiller toute chose. Sans me reposer. L’or, sur les humbles abîmes, J’ai peur d’un baiser! Tout doucement s’ensanglante, Pourtant j’aime Kate Des petits arbres sans cimes, Et ses yeux jolis. Où quelque oiseau faible chante. Elle est délicate Triste à peine tant s’effacent Aux longs traits pâlis. Ces apparences d’automne, Oh! que j’aime Kate! Toutes mes langueurs rêvassent, C’est Saint-Valentin! Que berce l’air monotone. Je dois et je n’ose Lui dire au matin… (Paul Verlaine, Romances sans paroles, La terrible chose Paysages belges) Que Saint-Valentin! Elle m’est promise, Brussels Fort heureusement! Mais quelle entreprise Greenish and pink are the Que d’être un amant Fleeting hills and slopes Près d’une promise! Amidst the half-light of the street lamps J’ai peur d’un baiser Which makes everything obscure. Comme d’une abeille. The golden light on the humble depths Je souffre et je veille Slowly blood-stains everything, Sans me reposer: Little topless trees, J’ai peur d’un baiser! Where a bird sings faintly. I am scarcely sad, (Paul Verlaine, Romances sans paroles, Aquarelles) To these evanescent signs of Autumn, All my languor daydreams, I’m afraid of a kiss Cradled by the monotonous air. As I fear a bee. I suffer and lie awake • Without rest. I’m afraid of a kiss! How much I love Kate

16 And her pretty eyes. Chante ta chanson, She is delicate chante, bonne vieille! With long pale features. La lune se lève et Oh, how I love Kate! la mer s’éveille. It’s St Valentine’s Day! Dors, petit enfant, I must, yet dare not, dans ton lit bien doux, Tell her In the morning… Car tu t’en iras comme The terrible thing ils s’en vont tous. St Valentine’s Day is! Chante ta chanson, chante, She was promised to me, bonne vieille! La lune se lève Very fortunately! et la mer s’éveille. But what an enterprise Tes yeux ont déjà la couleur To be a lover des flots. Close to a promise! Dieu prenne en pitié I’m afraid of a kiss les bons matelots! – As I fear a bee, Chante ta chanson, I suffer and lie awake chante, bonne vieille! Without rest; La lune se lève et I’m afraid of a kiss! la mer s’éveille.

• (Anatole Le Braz, La chanson de la Bretagne)

19. Berceuse d’armorique Armorican lullaby

Dors, petit enfant, Sleep, little child, dans ton lit bien clos: in your snug little bed: Dieu prenne en pitié May God have mercy les bons matelots! on the good sailors! Chante ta chanson, Sing your song, sing, chante, bonne vieille! good old woman! La lune se lève et The moon is rising la mer s’éveille. and the sea is awakening. Au pays du froid, la houle In that cold country, des fjords the swell of the fiords Chante sa berceuse en Sings her lullaby berçant les morts. – while rocking the dead.

17 Sing your song, sing, Que c’en était vraiment charmant! good old woman! Dansons la gigue! The moon is rising Mais je trouve encore meilleur and the sea is awakening. Le baiser de sa bouche en fleur, Sleep, little child, Depuis qu’elle est morte in your very soft bed, à mon cœur. For you will go away Dansons la gigue! like they all do. – Je me souviens, je me souviens Sing your song, sing, Des heures et des entretiens, good old woman! Et c’est le meilleur de mes biens. The moon is rising Dansons la gigue! and the sea is awakening. Your eyes already have (Paul Verlaine, Romances sans the color of the waves. paroles, Aquarelles) May God have mercy on the good sailors! Let’s Dance the Jig Sing your song, sing, good old woman! Let’s dance the Jig! The moon is rising I loved her pretty eyes most of all, and the sea is awakening. Clearer than the stars in the skies, I loved her mischievous eyes. [Note: Armorica was a region Let’s dance the Jig! of ancient Gaul now known She really had a knack as Brittany.] Of saddening a poor lover; Who was truly charming! • Let’s dance the Jig! But I find even lovelier 20. Dansons la gigue The kiss of her blossoming mouth Since she died in my heart. Dansons la gigue! Let’s dance the Jig! J’aimais surtout ses jolis yeux, I remember, I remember Plus clairs que l’étoile des cieux, Times and our meetings, J’aimais ses yeux malicieux. And those were my best times. Dansons la gigue! Let’s dance the Jig! Elle avait des façons vraiment De désoler un pauvre amant, • 18 21. (Claude Debussy) Pierrot 22. Colombine

Le bon Pierrot, que la foule Léandre le sot, contemple, Pierrot qui d’un saut De puce Ayant fini les noces d’Arlequin, Franchit le buisson, Suit en songeant le boulevard Cassandre sous sa Capuce, du Temple. Arlequin aussi, Cet aigrefin Une fillette au souple casaquin si Fantasque En vain l’agace de son oeil coquin ; Aux costumes fous, Et cependant mystérieuse et lisse Ses yeux luisant sous Faisant de lui sa plus chère délice, Son masque, La blanche lune aux cornes – Do, mi, sol, mi, fa, – de taureau Tout ce monde va, Jette un regard de son oeil Rit, chante en coulisse Et danse devant À son ami Jean Gaspard Deburau. Une belle enfant, Méchante. Dont les yeux pervers (Théodore Faullin de Banville Dont les yeux verts des chattes, Les cariatides-Les Caprices Gardent ses appas Et disent: en dizains à la manière “À bas Les pattes!” de Clément Marot, No. 6) – Eux ils vont toujours! – – Fatidique cours Des astres, Good old Pierrot, whom the Oh! dis-moi vers quels crowd admires, Mornes ou cruels Désastres Having concluded Harlequin’s wedding, L’implacable enfant, Daydreaming walks along the Preste et relevant sa jupes, Boulevard du Temple, La rose au chapeau, A girl with a supple blouse Conduit son troupeau De dupes? Vainly sends him a flirtatious look; And however mysterious and smooth, (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 19) Taking her sweetest delight in him, The white moon, bull-horned, Leander the fool, Throws a furtive glance Pierrot who in a flea’s leap At her friend Jean Gaspard Deburau. Clears the bush, • Cassandra hidden by her hood, Harlequin too,

19 That temperamental swindler, Parmi les vagues langueurs Fantastical Des pins et des arbousiers. In his mad disguises, Ferme tes yeux à demi, His eyes gleaming beneath Croise tes bras sur ton sein, his mask, Et de ton cœur endormi – Do, mi, sol, mi, fa, – Chasse à jamais tout dessein. They all go, Laissons-nous persuader Laughing, singing Au souffle berceur et doux, And dancing behind Qui vient à tes pieds rider The beautiful but naughty Les ondes de gazon roux. little girl Et quand, solennel, le soir Whose perverse eyes, Des chênes noirs tombera, Like green cat eyes, Voix de notre désespoir, Disguise her charms. And say, Le rossignol chantera. “Paws off!” As for them, they’re still (Paul Verlaine, Fêtes galantes, No. 21) carrying on! – Fateful path of the stars, Muted Oh tell me towards which Dismal and cruel disasters Calm in the half-day Is this relentless child, Made by the high branches, Lifting up Her skirts, Let our love be penetrated A rose in her hat, By this profound silence. Leading her troupe of idiots? Let us merge our souls, our hearts, And our ecstatic sense, • Amidst the vague languors Of pines and the arbutus. 23, 24. En sourdine (Two settings: Half-close your eyes, Reynaldo Hahn and Poldowski) Fold your arms over your breast, And from your sleeping heart Calmes dans le demi-jour Chase away forever all design. Que les branches hautes font, Let us be persuaded Pénétrons bien notre amour By the soft, lulling breeze De ce silence profond. That comes at your feet Fondons nos âmes, nos cœurs To ripple the waves of russet grass. Et nos sens extasiés, And when, solemnly, the evening

20 Descends over the black oaks, mets un signet au livre d’heures, The voice of our despair, L’Ange va recueillir le rêve The nightingale will sing. que tu pleures.

• (Albert Samain, Au jardin de l’infante, Soirs II)

25, 26. Soir Evening (Two settings: Louis Aubert and Poldowski) The evening seraphim passes by the rows of flowers… Le Séraphin des soirs passe le long Our Lady of Dreams sings des fleurs… to the church organ; La Dame-aux-Songes chante à l’orgue And the sky, where the end of de l’église; the day becomes subtle, Et le ciel, où la fi n du jour se subtilise, Prolongs an exquisite agony of colors. Prolonge une agonie exquise de couleurs. The evening seraphim passes the row of hearts… Le Séraphin des soirs passe The virgins on the balcony le long des cœurs… drink the love carried on the breezes; Les vierges au balcon boivent l’amour des brises; And on the flowers and indecisive virgins Et sur les fleurs et sur les It snows slowly with adorable pallor. vierges indécises Each rose in the garden bows down, Il neige lentement d’adorables slow and weary, pâleurs. And Schumann’s soul wandering Toute rose au jardin s’incline, in space lente et lasse, Seems to tell of an incurable pain… Et l’âme de Schumann errante Somewhere a very sweet child par l’espace soon will die… Semble dire une peine impossible O my soul, à guérir… place a bookmark in the book Quelque part une enfant très douce of hours, doit mourir… The angel will come to collect Ô mon âme, the dream for which you weep.

21 Soprano Angelique Zuluaga has performed operas, oratorios, and chamber music through- out the United States and South America and can be found frequently collaborating with composers in new works. Her voice has been described as “free-floating and unfettered” (Bloomington Herald-Times), “dark and delicate” (Indianapolis Star), and as an “exquisite and expressive voice, capable of a wide dy- namic range from the most delicate sotto voce pianissimos to full-voiced fortissimo coloratura passages” (Monterey Herald). Past engage- ments include soprano soloist with the San Francisco Symphony for the inaugural concert of Soundbox under the direction of Michael Til- son Thomas, the role of the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with the Monterey Symphony Orchestra, as well as soloist in the Brahms Requiem with the Indianapolis Sym- phonic Choir and Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia with the orchestra of St. Luke’s at Zankel Hall under the direction of Ton Koopman.

She created the role of Chirinos in the world premiere of Las Cuerdas del titiritero by Gerar- do Dirié, and she has collaborated with Aguavá New Music Studio on several occasions, including the world premiere of Aurelio De La Vega’s Variacion del Recuerdo at the Coolidge audito- rium of the Library of Congress. An avid per- former of chamber and choral music, she has been with the professional chorale of the Carm- el Bach Festival and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale for numerous seasons.

22 Winner of Indiana University’s 2006 Latin Amer- ican Fellowship, she also holds awards, grants, and scholarships for her performance, research, and concert programming from the Early Music Institute of Indiana University, The Latin Amer- ican Music Center of Indiana University, Met- ropolitan Opera Council, Universidad Del Valle National Art Prizes, and the Embassy of Spain. Ms. Zuluaga began her singing career in Cali, Colombia, South America where she received her Licenciatura en Música with Emperatriz Figueroa as her major professor in voice at the Universidad del Valle. Further studies in music led her to the Jacobs School of Music and Early Music Institute at Indiana University, where she completed two master’s degrees in voice performance and early music.

Born in New York City, pianist Gwendolyn Mok has appeared in many of the world’s leading concert halls, including the Barbican, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Davies Symphony Hall, and the Hong Kong Performing Arts Center. She is frequently invited to play and record with major international orchestras, such as the London Symphony, the Philharmonia, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Beijing Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Residency Orchestra of The Hague.

Ms. Mok is a recording artist for Nonesuch/ Elektra, Musical Heritage Society, Musician Showcase Recordings, Cala Records, and EMI. Her highly acclaimed debut CD with

23 the Philharmonia of Ravel’s Piano Concerto School of Music, completed her undergraduate in G Major on the Cala label was nominated work at Yale University, and earned her master’s for an Alternative Edison award. A second and doctorate degrees at the State University of Cala recording of Saint-Saëns’ Africa — Fan- New York at Stony Brook. tasy for Piano and Orchestra with the London Philharmonic has been equally applauded. Two solo CDs, Ravel Revealed (Ravel’s piano works) Celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2016, the and Brahms: Late Piano Works, were recorded Alexander String Quartet has performed in on historic pianos for the Musicians Showcase the major music capitals of five continents, se- Recording (MSR) label. Her most recent CD, curing its standing among the world’s premier Legacy: the Spirit of Beethoven, also recorded on ensembles. Widely admired for its interpreta- historic pianos, has received universal acclaim. tions of Beethoven, Mozart, Shostakovich, and All three CDs received outstanding reviews and Brahms, the quartet’s recordings of the Bee- are broadcast frequently around the world. thoven cycle (twice), Bartók, and Shostakovich cycles have won international critical acclaim. As a chamber musician, Ms. Mok appears The quartet has also established itself as an im- regularly in the San Francisco Symphony portant advocate of new music through over Chamber Music Series, as well as in the San thirty commissions from such composers as Jose Chamber Society and the Sacramento Jake Heggie, Cindy Cox, Tarik O’Regan, Sam- Chamber Society series. She collaborates often uel Carl Adams, Augusta Read Thomas, Robert with members of the New York Philharmonic Greenberg, Martin Bresnick, Richard Festinger, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A popular Cesar Cano, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Wayne soloist with the Symphony Silicon Valley, Ms. Peterson. Mok co-produced and appeared in four sold-out performances of The Gershwin Ra- The Alexander String Quartet is a major artis- dio Hour. Ms. Mok was named 2015-2016 tic presence in its home base of San Francisco, President’s Scholar by San Jose State University serving since 1989 as Ensemble in Residence in recognition of her outstanding research of San Francisco Performances, and Directors and scholarly contribution in her field – and of the Morrison Chamber Music Center in the in 2008 she was presented the Outstanding College of Liberal and Creative Arts at San Artistic Achievement Award by the College of Francisco State University. Among the fine mu- Humanities and the Arts. Dr. Mok is Coordinator sicians with whom the Alexander String Quar- of Keyboard Studies and the Director of the tet has collaborated are pianists Joyce Yang, Historic Keyboard Collection in the music Roger Woodward, Anne-Marie McDermott, department at San Jose State University. Menachem Pressler, Marc-André Hamelin, and Ms. Mok began her studies at the Juilliard Jeremy Menuhin; clarinetists Joan Enric Lluna,

24 David Shifrin, Richard Stoltzman, and Eli Eban; The quartet has worked with many composers soprano Elly Ameling; mezzo-soprano Joyce including Aaron Copland, George Crumb, and DiDonato; violinist Midori; cellists Lynn Harrell, Elliott Carter, and has long enjoyed a close rela- Sadao Harada, and David Requiro; and jazz tionship with composer-lecturer Robert Green- greats Branford Marsalis, David Sanchez, and berg, performing numerous lecture-concerts Andrew Speight. with him annually.

25 The Alexander String Quartet was formed in New York City in 1981 and captured international attention as the first American quartet to win the London International String Quartet Competition in 1985. The quartet has received honorary degrees from Allegheny College and Saint Lawrence University, and Presidential medals from Baruch College (CUNY).

Oboist Ryan Zwahlen has lived in California since 2000 and has performed with groups including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Diego Symphony. Since relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014, Ryan has performed with the Santa Rosa Symphony, Op- era San Jose, Santa Cruz Symphony and Ballet, Merced Symphony, Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Fremont Symphony, and the conductorless chamber orchestra One Found Sound.

From 2010-2014 Ryan was Music Department Chair and faculty member at the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and he taught during the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program from 2012-2016. In 2017, he joined the faculty of Young Musicians and Artists, former at the Fresno New Music Festival and Oregon’s premiere residential arts camp. Hot Air Music Festival in San Francisco. Ryan holds degrees from the University of Illi- Also an avid chamber musician, he has been a nois at Urbana-Champaign and Arizona State member of the Vientos Trio (winner of the 2011 University and pursued doctoral studies at Beverly Hills Auditions), West Coast Wind Quin- UCLA. His principal teachers include Nancy tet (finalist in the 2013 San Diego Chamber Mu- Ambrose King, Martin Shuring, and Marion sic Competition), and Definiens, and performed Kuszyk. with the Bay Area’s Frequency 49 during their 2015-16 season. He’s also been a featured per-

26 I am deeply grateful to all the voice teachers, coaches, early music specialists, mentors and con- ductors who have helped me to find my own voice — especially Emperatriz Figueroa, Dale Moore, and Mary Ann Hart. I also extend my sincerest thanks to the professors at the Historical Music Institute at Indiana University, Bloomington, for their inspiration and guidance. I am further indebt- ed to Gwendolyn Mok, David v.R. Bowles, Patricia Kristof Moy and David Mooney for their advice, research, encouragement and patience. I thank the British Library of London and the Petrucci Music Library for giving me access to music that I would otherwise not be able to share with audiences — and the people at Delos for their support and faith in this endeavor. Thanks as well to Leslie Jones at Skywalker Sound for her incredible patience. I am especially thankful for my ever-supportive husband — and for my two sons, Martin and Santiago, who are the crux and kindle of my artistic inspiration. — Angelique Zuluaga

Recorded February 12 ,13, 14 and August 26, 2016, at Skywalker Sound, a Lucasfilm, Ltd., company, Marin County, CA

Producer: David v.R. Bowles (Swineshead Productions, LLC) Engineer: David v.R. Bowles Assistant engineer: Dann Thompson Production assistant: Robert Gatley Piano technician: Larry Lobel Booklet editors: Lindsay Koob, Anne Maley Art design/booklet layout: Lonnie Kunkel

Photo credits: Fotografia Ackermann; Cali, Colombia (Ms. Zuluaga); David Schmitz (Ms. Mok); Shirley Singer (Alexander String Quartet); Nathaniel West (Ryan Zwahlen) Cover image: Lambada Studio, Vasilina Popova

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