1 GRADUATE SACRED MUSIC RECITAL by HANNAH MILLS
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GRADUATE SACRED MUSIC RECITAL By HANNAH MILLS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE: LAURA ELLIS, CHAIR BRENDA SMITH, MEMBER PAUL BASLER, MEMBER A PERFORMANCE IN LIEU OF THESIS PRESENTED TO THE COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2013 1 Summary of Performance in Lieu of Thesis Presented to the College of Fine Arts of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music GRADUATE SACRED MUSIC RECITAL By Hannah Mills May 2013 Chair: Laura Ellis Major: Sacred Music On February 16, 2013, I presented a graduate recital in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music in Sacred Music degree. The recital took place at the University of Florida on Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 5:30p.m. in the School of Music Building. I was assisted by Dr. Paul Basler, Dr. Nansi Carroll, and Shawn Thomas. This recital was comprised of sacred music, spanning different countries, languages, and genres. The program consisted of works for both horn and voice, separated by an intermission. The recital opened with vocal pieces in four languages including English, French, German and Italian. The program started with “Domine Deus”, the sixth movement of Gloria by Antonio Vivaldi. “Gloria” was most likely composed in 1715 in Venice. The recital continued with two selections from George Frederic Handel’s Messiah: Come unto Him and How Beautiful are the 2 Feet. Incorporating a chamber work into the first half of the recital allowed the opportunity to perform the French work “Le Jeune Pâtre” Breton, a piece for horn, voice and piano by Hector Berlioz. Dr. Paul Basler played the horn part of the composition. Two selections from Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, utilizing the poetry of Eduard Mörike, followed the French chamber work. The pieces “Auf ein altes Bild” and “Gebet” are spiritual pieces, as the first depicts a painting of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus, and the latter portrays a “prayer”. The first half of the recital concluded with a song from the operetta The Student Prince by Nicholas Brodszky. Works composed for horn and piano followed intermission. “Sonata in F Major, Op. 5, No. 10” by Arcangelo Corelli was originally scored for violin, but the arrangement performed was for horn and piano. “Three Hymn Tune Settings” by Dr. Paul Basler, a University of Florida professor on the School of Music faculty, was performed. The three settings included arrangements of “Abide with Me”, “Amazing Grace”, and “How Firm a Foundation” and the composer performed on piano. This piece was composed during Basler’s time in North Carolina as a Visiting Artist in Residence at Caldwell Community College. The program continued with the premiere of “Salve Regina” for horn and piano by Dr. Nansi Carroll. “Salve Regina”, translated as “Hail Holy Queen”, is an arrangement of the Latin prayer typically sung during the final church service of the day between Trinity Sunday and the first Sunday of Advent. The program ended with an arrangement of “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” for two horns by Marc Guy. Dr. Basler assisted in this piece, playing the first horn part. 3 The University of Florida College of Fine Arts School of Music presents Hannah Mills, horn, soprano assisted by Paul Basler, piano, horn Shawn Thomas, piano Nansi Carroll, piano Saturday, February 16, 2013, 5:30 p.m. MUB 326 Gloria in D, RV589 Antonio Vivaldi Domine Deus (1678-1741) Messiah George Frederic Handel Come Unto Him (1685-1759) How BeautiFul are the Feet Le Jeune Pâtre Breton Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) Mörike-Lieder Hugo WolF Auf ein altes Bild (1860-1903) Gebet I’ll Walk With God Nicholas Brodszky arr. Neil Jeinkins (1851-1929) Intermission Sonata in F Major, Op.5, No.10 Arcangelo Corelli Preludio (1653-1713) 4 Sarabanda Gavotta Giga Three Hymn Tune Settings Paul Basler Abide With Me (b.1963) Amazing Grace How Firm a Foundation Salve Regina Nansi Carroll Premiere performance Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing Arr. Marc Guy (b.1956) This graduate recital is presented in partial FulFillment oF the Master of Music degree. Ms. Mills is From the studios oF Dr. Paul Basler and Dr. Brenda Smith. 5 PROGRAM NOTES Vivaldi composed this Gloria in Venice, most likely in 1715 for the Ospedale della Pietà choir. Vivaldi was a virtuoso violist, priest and teacher who wrote many sacred works for the Ospedale della Pietà, which was an orphanage for girls. Vivaldi’s Gloria has 12 varied movements or sections in which “Domine Deus” is the sixth movement. This piece, originally scored for soprano, oboe and string orchestra, forms a duet between the oboe and voice part. Handel entered the musical world as a skilled harpsichord and pipe organ player, having begun to compose music at an early age. Handel’s Messiah is a beautiful work that is broken into three sections and was completed in only 24 days. Part 1 is about the prophecy of the Messiah. Part 2 is about Christ’s sacrifice, and Part 3 is about the promise of the resurrection. The librettist Charles Jennens drew on passages from both the Old and New Testament. The work was premiered on April 13, 1742 and proved to be such a success that hundreds of listeners had to be turned away. Part I of Messiah is performed frequently in the United States during the Christmas season. In other parts of the world, Messiah is presented as a full length oratorio featuring portions of all three portions. Berlioz is a French composer who was proficient in the guitar, flute and flageolet. This horn, voice and piano version was published by Schlesinger in 1835 and differs from previously published versions with the addition of the horn. The piece is about a man’s longing for his sweetheart. The distance he experiences creates a mixture of pain and pleasure, resulting in a playful song where voice and horn play the parts of the lovers. Wolf is an Austrian composer who immersed himself in the poetry of one author’s work at a time. His works contribute to the development of the German Lied. Through Wolf’s immersion into the poetry of Eduard Mörike, we are given two songs with spiritual meaning. Wolf chose to stay strictly with the rhythm of the language, without repeating. Wolf’s disciplined approach to text setting allows for an intricate and exquisite harmonic expression of the words. “Auf ein altes Bild” is about a German landscape painting, although the exact one is unknown. The song describes a summer landscape that paints the picture of the sinless Christ child playing on the virgin mother’s lap, while the tree that will become His cross grows in the distance. “Gebet” is a hymn-like piece that dwells on grace provide by God in times of joy and sorrow. Nicholas Brodszky was born in the Ukraine to Hungarian parents. He was a composer that studied for many years in Vienna, Berlin, Budapest, and Rome, moving to the United States in 1934. “I’ll Walk with God” is a piece from the four-act operetta The Student Prince. This song is performed during the operetta at the coffin of the King of Carlsburg, the singer’s grandfather. When singing this song, the prince is realizing that he will now become King. Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer in the Baroque era. This arrangement is for horn and piano, adapted from the original Sonata in F Major, op. 5, No. 10, for violin and piano. This is Corelli’s only sonata without a minor key movement. The scene painted by these light movements is one of country gaiety. Pastoral lushness is ever present in this sonata, as the light and airy quality is present in each movement. 6 “Three Hymn Tune Settings” was written during 1988-89 while the composer served as the North Carolina Visiting Artist in Residence at Caldwell Community College in Lenoir, North Carolina. Images of Appalachian mountain music (dulcimers, shape note singing, and tent revivals) dominate the mood of the piece while other influences include Brahms, Copland, John Adams, and Baptist hymns. (Program notes for “Three Hymn Tune Settings by Dr. Paul Basler and included with permission) Nansi Carroll studied voice at the Royal Academy of Music and Yale School of Music. She is currently artistic co-director of the Jubilus festival in Gainesville, FL. “Salve Regina”, a Latin prayer, has been arranged for horn and piano for this recital. Dr. Nansi Carroll is an avid composer, with a catalogue of over 300 works. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” was arranged by Marc Guy, Professor of Horn at SUNY- Fredonia. “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is a Christian hymn composed by the 18th century Methodist pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. The hymn is set to the American folk tune Nettleton, by attribution to the evangelist Asahel Nettleton who composed it early in the 19th century. Robinson penned the words at age 22 in the year 1757. (Program notes for “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” by Dr. Paul Basler and included with permission) 7 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Hannah Mills has performed as a French horn player and vocalist throughout New York City and Gainesville, Florida. Hannah performed with a woodwind quintet on NPR and with full orchestra at Carnegie Hall and on the Kentucky Educational Television network. In 2009 she founded a children's choir at St. Jerome Catholic Church in New York City. The group performed several times per year and debuted a Noah’s Ark miniature musical and Adam and Eve, a small ensemble piece, both of which Hannah composed.