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“Songs of Life” Dr “Songs of Life” Dr. Edward C. Harris, conductor Layna Chianakas, mezzo-soprano Vivace Youth Chorus, Peggy Spool, artistic director Sunday, March 18, 2018, 3:00 PM McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga, California Symphonic Jubilee ........................................... Joseph Willcox Jenkins Southern Harmony .................................................Donald Grantham I. The Midnight Cry II. Wondrous Love III. Exhilaration IV. The Soldier’s Return My Robin Is to the Greenwood Gone ..... Percy Aldridge Grainger arr. Fred Sturm River Songs of the South ...................................William G. Harbison I N T E R M I S S I O N Symphony No. 4 (Symphony of Songs) ...................... Johan de Meij 1. Ein Jahr ist nun geschwunden 2. Wenn zur Thür hinein 3. Wiedersehn 4. Zwei Brüder 5. Vorfrühling 6. Liedchen des Harlekin Layna Chianakas, mezzo-soprano Vivace Youth Chorus, Peggy Spool, artistic director Symphony No. 4 (“Symphony of Songs”): Libretto 1. Ein Jahr ist nun geschwunden (“A Year Has Now Passed”) (from: Nachträge zu den Kindertotenlieder - Friedrich Rückert) A year has now passed, Since you passed away, And like two bleak hours I’m brought back by this period. And had you lived, My sweet child, this year, This period would have floated away Like a bright pair of hours. Now, since I had to see You on the bier, my child, I think about the few years That are granted to man. Whether bleaker or lighter They are only like hours, Whether slower, whether faster Vanishing without a trace. Once I wished a long life To watch you flourish a long time; Now may it quickly float away, Since I saw you pass away. 2. Wenn zur Thur hinein (“When Your Dear Mother”) (from: Kindertotenlieder - Friedrich Rückert) When your dear mother Walks in through the door, With the glowing candle, It feels to me as always, That you would come, Flitting along behind her Just as usual into the room. Am I dreaming or awake, Or do I see weakly By the light dimly? Not you, only a shadow Following after the mother. Always you are, oh, Still the mother’s shadow. When your dear mother Walks in through the door, And I turn my head, To look at her, Upon her face at first My gaze does not fall, Rather at the place, Just past the threshold. There where would be Your sweet little face, Bright with joy, If you were to come in, As usual, my little girl. Oh you, from your father’s world Too quickly Extinguished light of joy! 3. Wiedersehn (“Reunion”) (from: Nachträge zu den Kindertotenlieder - Friedrich Rückert) Your children, here lost, You will see over there, Because what is born from you, You can never lose. That you will see them again, This you can well understand, Even if you also do not understand, How you will see them again. Not as children, or did you want To keep them eternally small? Nothing changed; or were you supposed To be alienated from them? The struggling forms here, There where they are compared, Where one cannot separate man from woman, Are not separated the aged and the child. 4. Zwei Bruder (“The Hostile Brothers”) (from: Romanzen - Heinrich Heine) Up on the summit of the mountain The castle stands shrouded in night; But in the valley, lightning blazes And bright swords clash savagely. It is brothers fencing A grim duel there, enraged with anger. Tell me, why are brothers fighting With sword in hand? Countess Laura’s sparkling eyes Ignited the brothers’ strife: Both smolder, intoxicated with love, For the noble, lovely maid. But to which of the two Does her heart lean? No musing can decide it; So out comes the sword - you shall decide! And they fight on keenly, foolhardily, Blow upon blow cracking down. Beware, you savage swordsmen. Grisly illusion creeps about in the night. Woe! Woe! Bloody brothers! Woe! Woe! Bloody valley! Both fighters fall, Each upon the other’s steel. Many centuries drift past, Graves cover many generations; Mournfully from the heights of the mountain The deserted castle looks down. But at night, in the depths of the valley, Something is moving secretly, wondrously: When the twelfth hour arrives, The pair of brothers are fighting there. 5. Vorfruhling (“Early Spring”) (from: Selected Poems - Hugo von Hofmannstal) The spring wind is gliding Amid boughs that are bare, In his heart are hiding Strange things and rare. His cradle hath swung In sob-shaken air, And oft hath he clung In passion-loosed hair. Acacia blossoms Beneath him snowed, His breath cooled the bosoms That throbbing glowed. Lips in their laughter First he would claim, Soft fields thereafter Woke when he came. The flute he passed through in A sobbing cry, The sunset’s red ruin He swiftly flew by. In silence proceeding Through whispering rooms, And quenched with his speeding The lamps’ yellow blooms. The spring wind is gliding Amid boughs that are bare, In his heart are hiding Strange things and rare. Through the reviving Alleys and meadows His breath is driving Ghostlike shadows. A scent without name He bears in his flight From whence he came Since yester-night. 6. Liedchen des Harlekin (“Little Song of the Harlequin”) Hope, love, doubt, hate, Every pleasure, every pain, These a heart can tolerate Time and time again. But numbness both to pleasure and hurt, To joy as well as agony, This is deadly to the heart; So numb you must not be! You must rise again from the dark, If only to suffer new pain. Live you must, lovely spark of life: Live yet once again! ABOUT THE ARTISTS Dr. Edward C. Harris was appointed the music and artistic director for the San Jose Wind Symphony in 2002, only the second conductor in the group’s 60-year history. Under his leadership, SJWS has distinguished itself as one of California’s premier concert bands with performances at the 2009 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference, and the California Music Educators Association Conference. Dr. Harris recently retired as the Director of Bands at San José State University. Layna Chianakas is in her eighth year as Associate Professor of Voice, Voice Area Coordinator and Director of Opera Theater at San José State University. Most recently, she performed Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra conducted by David Ramadanoff, La Principessa in Suor Angelica and Zita in Gianni Schicchi with Intermountain Opera in Montana, and directed Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with the San José State Opera Theater. Ms. Chianakas made a role debut of Amneris in Verdi’s Aida with Dayton Opera, made her Carnegie Hall debut with the SJSU Choraliers in April 2015, and directed Carmen for Opera San José. Upcoming engagements include directing Argento’s Postcard from Morocco and Pasatieri’s La Divina for San José State Opera Theater and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera San José. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Ms. Chianakas moved to Kassel, Germany, where she taught voice and beginning piano with the Musikschule-Ehlen for four years. While in Germany, she attended the Mozarteum Salzburg and studied lieder with some of the foremost coaches in the world. It is there she acquired her fluency in German. She returned to the United States and received a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois. She currently lives in San Jose, CA, with her husband and two children, her greatest productions. Peggy Spool has worked with children’s choruses in the Bay Area for 20 years. She holds a Master’s in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Certificate in Kodály Music Education from Holy Names University. She is a member of the American Choral Director’s Association, National Teachers of Singing, and Organization of American Kodály Educators. Currently, she serves as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Children’s and Community Youth Choruses on the California ACDA Board and sits on the board of Silicon Valley Arts Coalition. Vivace Youth Chorus of San Jose, founded in 2003 by Peggy Spool and a group of dedicated parents, is a high-quality choral program for children ages four to eighteen. The core values of the chorus are commitment to choral excellence, regard for each child, kinship among choristers and their families, and respect for the cultures that comprise our diverse community. Youth from throughout the Silicon Valley participate in our 6 choral levels. The chorus offers a program that balances vocal training, music theory, and performances. Upper level choirs take part in choral festivals and tours. All choristers gain exposure to various musical genres, from traditional folk to classical, jazz, and contemporary. The chorus collaborates with area composers and musicians, as well as with other ensembles including San Jose Symphonic Choir, Opera San José and Mission City Opera. In addition to weekly rehearsals at all levels, intensive semester workshops and retreats that feature guest clinicians are provided for the upper levels. Vivace’s program also includes a one-week optional summer choral music camp for younger students, open to members and non-members. Scholarships and family discounts are available to keep the program accessible to families of all means. PROGRAM NOTES Symphonic Jubilee Joseph Willcox Jenkins (1928 - 2014) Before deciding on a career in music, Jenkins studied pre-law at St. Joseph’s College. He later studied music at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music, and the Catholic University of America. Jenkins began his professional career as a composer and arranger for the United States Army Field Band and the Armed Forces Radio Network.
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