Mdch Programme Notes
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The Tait Memorial Trust presents High Commissioner Series Australian High Commission, London Series Sponsor: Voyage Control ‘Stars of Covent Garden in Recital’ ARTISTS: Kiandra Howarth (soprano) Lauren Fagan (soprano) Filipe Manu (tenor) Samuel Sakker (tenor) Sergey Rybin (pianist) PROGRAMME: CLAUDE DEBUSSY Apparition PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY None but the lonely heart Why? EDVARD GRIEG Zur Rosenzeit Ein Traum VINCENZO BELLINI La Ricordanza FRANZ LISZT Die Lorelei SERGEI RACHMANINOFF She’s as fair as a noon day Pied Piper Sleep DOUGLAS LILBURN Holiday Piece RICHARD STRAUSS Ich trage meine Minne Mein Auge RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Silent noon FRANCIS POULENC C Fêtes Galantes OTTORINO RESPIGHI Crepuscolo EARNEST CHARLES When I have sung my songs Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Apparition (Apparition) Text: Stéphane Mallarmé La lune s’attristait. Des séraphins en pleurs The moon was saddened. Seraphim in tears rêvant, l’archet aux doigts, dans le calme des fleurs dreaming, bows at their fingers, in the calm of filmy Vaporeuses, tiraient de mourantes violes flowers, threw dying violas of white sobs De blanc sanglots glissant sur l’azur des corolles. sliding over the blue of corollas. C’était le jour béni de ton premier baiser. It was the blessed day of your first kiss. Ma songerie aimant à me martyriser My reverie, loving to torture me, S’enivrait savamment du parfum de tristesse wisely imbibed its perfume of sadness Que même sans regret et sans déboire laisse that even without regret and without setbacks leaves La cueillaison d’un rêve au coeur qui l’a cueilli. A dream’s gathering within the heart that gathered it. J’errais donc, l’oeil rivé sur le pavé vieilli So I wandered, my eye fixed on the aged cobblestones, Quand avec du soleil aux cheveux, dans la rue when, with light in your hair, in the street Et dans le soir, tu m’es en riant apparue and in the evening, you appeared to me smiling Et j’ai cru voir la fée au chapeau de clartet and I thought I had seen the fairy with a hat of light Qui jadis sur mes beaux sommeils d’enfant gaté who passed in my sweet dreams as a spoiled child passait, laissant toujours de ses mains mal fermées always dropping from her carelessly closed hands Neiger de blanc bouquets d’étoiles parfumées. Snow of white bouquets of perfumed stars. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Nyet tolko tot kto znal (None but the lonely heart) Text: Lev Aleksandrovich Mey Net, tol'ko tot, No, only one who has known kto znal svidan'ja, zhazhdu, What it is to long for one’s beloved pojmjot, kak ja stradal Can know how I have suffered i kak ja strazhdu. And how I suffer still. Gljazhu ja vdal'... I gaze into the distant ——but my strength fails me, net sil, tusknejet oko... My sight grows dim… Akh, kto menja ljubil Ah, the one who loved me i znal - daleko! And knew me is far away now! Akh, tol'ko tot, My breast is all aflame — whoever has known kto znal svidan'ja zhazhdu, What it is to long for one’s beloved pojmjot, kak ja stradal Can know how I have suffered i kak ja strazhdu. And how I suffer still. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Otchego (Why?) Text: Heinrich Heine, translated by: Lev Aleksandrovich Mey Otchego poblednela vesnoj Why has the sumptuous rose pyshnocvetnaja roza sama? Grown pale in spring? Otchego pod zeljonoj travoj Why is the blue violet so mute golubaja fialka nema? Under the green grass? Otchego tak pechal'no zvuchit Why does the little bird’s song pesnja ptichki, nesjas' v nebesa? Sound so sad as it rises up to heaven? Otchego nad lugami visit Why does the dew hang over the meadows pogrebal'nym pokrovom rosa? Like a mourning veil? Otchego v nebe solnce s utra Why is the morning sun in the sky kholodno i temno, kak zimoj? Cold and dark, as in winter? Otchego i zemlja vsja syra Why is the earth so damp i ugrjumej mogily samoj? And gloomier than the grave itself? Otchego ja i sam vse grustnej Why do I grow sadder i boleznennej den' oto dnja? And sicker each day? Otchego, o, skazhi mne skorej ty, Why, oh tell me why, did you leave me pokinuv, zabyla menja?i kak ja strazhdu. And forget me? Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) Zur Rosenzeit (Time of Roses) Sechs Lieder op.48 no.5 Text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen, You fade, sweet roses, Meine Liebe trug euch nicht; My love did not wear you; Blühet, ach! dem Hoffnungslosen, Ah! You bloom for one bereft of hope, Dem der Gram die Seele bricht! Whose soul now breaks with grief! Jener Tage denk’ ich trauernd, Sorrowfully I think of those days, Als ich, Engel, an dir hing, When I, my angel, set my heart on you, Auf das erste Knöspchen lauernd And waiting for the first little bud, Früh zu meinem Garten ging; Went early to my garden; Alle Blüten, alle Früchte Laid all the blossoms, all the fruits Noch zu deinen Füßen trug At your very feet, Und vor deinem Angesichte With hope beating in my heart, Hoffnung in dem Herzen schlug. When you looked on me. Ihr verblühet, süße Rosen, You fade, sweet roses, Meine Liebe trug euch nicht; My love did not wear you; Blühet, ach! dem Hoffnungslosen, Ah! you bloom for one bereft of hope, Dem der Gram die Seele bricht. Whose soul now breaks with grief. Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) Ein Traum (A Dream) Sechs Lieder op.48 no.6 Text: Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt Mir träumte einst ein schöner Traum: I once dreamed a beautiful dream: Mich liebte eine blonde Maid; A blonde maiden loved me, Es war am grünen Waldesraum, It was in the green woodland glade, Es war zur warmen Frühlingszeit: It was in the warm springtime: Die Knospe sprang, der Waldbach schwoll, The buds bloomed, the forest stream swelled, Fern aus dem Dorfe scholl Geläut— From the distant village came the sound of bells— Wir waren ganzer Wonne voll, We were so full of bliss, Versunken ganz in Seligkeit. So lost in happiness. Und schöner noch als einst der Traum And more beautiful yet than the dream, Begab es sich in Wirklichkeit— It happened in reality, Es war am grünen Waldesraum, It was in the green woodland glade, Es war zur warmen Frühlingszeit: It was in the warm springtime: Der Waldbach schwoll, die Knospe sprang, The forest stream swelled, the buds bloomed, Geläut erscholl vom Dorfe her— From the village came the sound of bells— Ich hielt dich fest, ich hielt dich lang I held you fast, I held you long, Und lasse dich nun nimmermehr! And now shall never let you go! O frühlingsgrüner Waldesraum! O woodland glade so green with spring! Du lebst in mir durch alle Zeit— You shall live in me for evermore— Dort ward die Wirklichkeit zum Traum, There reality became a dream, Dort ward der Traum zur Wirklichkeit! There dream became reality! Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) La Ricordanza (Recollection) Quattro sonetti Text: Carlo Pepoli Era la notte, e presso di Colei It was night, and beside Her Che sola al cor mi giunse e vi sta sola, Who alone reached my heart and there remains alone, Con quel pianger che rompe la parola, With those tears that impede words, Io pregava mercede a martir miei. I pleaded for pity on my anguish. Quand' Ella, chinando gli’occhi bei, When She, lowering her lovely eyes, Disse (e il membrarlo sol me, da me invola): Said (the mere memory of it makes my head whirl): Ponmi al cor la tua destra, e ti consola: "Place your hand on my heart, and be consoled: Ch'io amo e te sol' amo intender dei, You should know that I love you and you alone", Poi fatta, per amor, tremante e bianca, This said from love, pale and trembling, In atto soävissimo mi pose In the sweetest of acts she leaned La bella faccia sulla spalla manca. Her lovely face on my left shoulder. Se dopo il dole assai più duol l'amaro; Even if, after this bliss, grief was far more bitter, Se per me nullo istante a quel rispose, Even if; for me, no moment matched this, Ah! quant' era in quell' ora il morir caro! Ah! how dear was dying in that hour! Franz Liszt (1811-86) Die Lorelei (Lorelei) Text: Heinrich Heine Ich weiß nicht, was soll’bedeuten I’m looking in vain for the reason Daß ich so traurig bin; why I am so sad; Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten I cannot stop thinking about Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn. a tale from long ago. Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt, Cool is the air and it is twilight, Und ruhig fließt der Rhein; and the Rhein flows quietly; Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt the tops of the mountains glow Im Abendsonnenschein. in the evening sunshine. Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet The fairest maiden is sitting Dort oben wunderbar, so wondrously up there, Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet, her golden treasure glitters, Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar. she is combing her golden hair. Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme She combs it with a comb of gold Und singt ein Lied dabei, and meanwhile sings a song; Das hat eine wundersame, it has a strange Gewaltige Melodei. overpowering melody. Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe It siezes the boatman in his small craft Ergreift es mit wildem Weh, with wild longings, Er schaut nicht die Felsenrisse, he does not see the submerged rocks, Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.