Vassar College Women's Chorus
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T H E D E P A R T M E N T O F M U S I C V A S S A R C O L L E G E Vassar College Women’s Chorus Christine Howlett, conductor Susan Brown, p iano Saturday, April 14, 2018 8:00 PM Skinner Recital Hall PROGRAM Shar Ki Ri Andrea Clearfield (b. 1960) Susan Brown , piano Nada te turbe Joan Szymko (b. 1957) Dan Frankhuisen , cello You are the light of the Stars Joanne Metcalf (b. 1958) Marla Rathbun , violin Its Motion Keeps Caroline Shaw (b. 1982) Kathy Bosman, viola Anne Frank: A Living Voice Linda Tutas Haugen I. It is the Silence II. My Nerves III. Hanneli IV. Sunshine and Cloudless Sky V. My Work VI. Peter VII. Ideals and Hopes Marla Rathbun, v iolin, F rancia Mann, v iolin, Kathy Bosman, v iola , Dan Frankhuisen, c ello Please silence all cell phones or other personal electronic devices and refrain from texting. Use of these instruments will disturb other audience members and cause interference with inhouse recording and webcasting. VASSAR COLLEGE WOMEN’S CHORUS Soprano I Isabel Bielat ‘20 Emma Chun ‘21 Abby Goldman ‘21 Schuyler Osgood ‘21 Soprano II Sarah Dolan ‘18 Maiel Richards ‘20 Jennie LytelSternberg ‘18 Emma Bauchner ‘21 Susannah Atkinson ‘21 Benita Rosalind ‘21 Alto I Jackie Hwang ‘19 Linda Liu ‘19 Shuang Elinor Qiao ‘20 Lucy Sinclair ‘21 Ivy Teng ‘21 Adalia Wu ‘21 Alto II Abi Bethke ‘21 Shannon Croft ‘20 Abby Lass ‘21 Alice Marbach ‘21 Corinne Sigmund ‘20 Rachel Walker ‘21 TEXTS & NOTES “Shar Ki Ri” is excerpted from my largescale 2012 cantata Tse Go La (At the Threshold of this Life) scored for SATB an SSA choruses, chamber orchestra and electronics. The work is inspired by my fieldwork in the restricted, remote Himalayan region of Lo Monthang in Upper Mustang, Nepal. There I recorded and documented indigenous folks music with Katey Blumenthal, ethnomusicologist and anthropologist. The people of this region, just over the border of Tibet, are ethnically Tibetan. This ancient horse culture is threatened and efforts are being made to help preserve their music, dance, medicine, religion, language and art. Under the auspices of the Rubin Foundation, Katey and I recorded 130 songs that had not been previously documented. Our recordings are now part of the University of Cambridge World Oral Literature Project: “an urgent global initiative to document and make accessible endangered oral literatures before they disappear without record”. Some of the original songs that we recorded “including “Shar Ki Ri”) are being taught to Mustangi children in NYC as part of a Himalayan language and culture preservation initiative. “Shar Ki Ri” is a troglu song (common folks song) that often includes dance. Three women from the community, Kheng Lhamo, Yandol Dolkar and Pema Dolkar, had a vast knowledge of t roglu (common song) they learned from their elders. “Shar Ki Ri” was one of many songs they performed for us. I incorporated the traditional text, melody, and rhythm into a contemporary framework. A ndrea Clearfield. Shar Ki Ri Translation by Katey Blumenthal, Karma Wangyal Gurung and Sienna Craig Do not look toward the eastern mountain Look instead toward the western mountain. Look up to the heights, and down to the depths of the mountain Toward the places of wealth, the pure treasure of the dharma. Do not look toward the eastern mountain Look instead toward the western mountain For this is the root place, the coppercolored paradise of Guru Rinpoche. Do not look to the hills of India. Instead look to the place of pure treasure and excellent perception, A place of future accomplishment for sentient beings. May we be prosperous! Note: Do not destroy the culture (life) of the Tibetan people, The underlying meaning is that one should not look to the past (i.e. East, where the sun has already risen), but instead look to the future (i.e West, where the sun has not yet set). One should do good and build a profound spiritual practice. Venerable Losang Sampten, Spiritual Director, Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia Nade te turbe Let nothing disturb you, nada te espante Nothing frighten you, todo se pasa All things are passing. Dios no se muda. God never changes. La paciencia todo alcanza Patience obtains all things. Quien a Dios tiene Whoever has God nada le falta lacks nothing. Solo Dios basta. God is enough. Text by Saint Teresa of Avila You are the Light of the Stars Text by Joanne Metcalf walk out of your troubled house leave behind the ragin of the Furies forsake the noise abandon the war banish the restless shades follow me to the wondrous land leave storms and thorns far behind follow me to the silverbright kingdom where you are the light of the stars unwrite what was written set out, depart throw off your crown of thunder encircled with gold ensapphired by the sky follow me to the wondrous land leave storms and thorns far behind follow me to the silverbright kingdom where you are the light of the stars Its Motion Keeps Britten's attraction to his native English folk songs and hymns comes through in so much of his music, from his choral and opera works to his chamber music and vocal arrangements. Taking a step in that direction, and then sideways and back and around, Its Motion Keeps is based on the words from the first verse of the American shape note hymn Kingwood , found in The Southern Harmony (1835) and other early 19th century hymn books. (Very likely it is a text that immigrated from England.) It begins with a palindromic viola pizzicato line that gestures to the continuo lines of Henry Purcell, to whom Britten wrote several homages . The choir echoes this contour at first and soon splits into swift canonic figures like those found in "This Little Babe" from Britten's Ceremony of Carols , eventually expanding into the "swirling spheres" above string arpeggiations in a texture that recalls the vivace movement of his second string quartet (one of his homages to Purcell). The ecstatic double choir section evokes the antiphonal sound of the early English choral tradition, with harmonies overlapping overhead in the reverberant stone cathedrals, creating brief dissonances while one sound decays as the next begins. The last line, "Time, like the tide, its motion keeps ; Still I must launch through endless deeps," is just one of those perfect, beautiful lyrics — resilient and bittersweet. Caroline Shaw Its Motion Keeps Lyrics: The Southern Harmony #98 (1835) My days, my weeks, my months, my years, My days, your weeks, their months, our years, Fly rapid as the whirling spheres, My days, your weeks, their months, our years. Time, like the tide, its motion keeps; Still I must launch through endless deeps. Program Notes for Anne Frank: A Living Voice Anne Frank: A Living Voice , was commissioned by the San Francisco Girls Chorus in celebration of its Silver Anniversary. The text is based on excerpts from T he Diary of Anne Frank, taken from the 1952 and 1991 English translations of the book. The first section, It Is The Silence , was premiered by Chorissima on November 1, 2002, and the entire composition in seven movements premiered on May 6, 2004. Anne Frank was between 13 and 15 years old when she wrote her Diary, while living in a secret upstairs annex over a warehouse in Amsterdam with her family, the Van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer. Despite all the fears and frustrations she experienced in over two years of hiding from the Nazis, Anne learned how to survive, to find beauty in small things, and to hold on to her ideals. Composer Linda Tutas Haugen writes, “My goals for this composition are to honor the life of Anne Frank, and to gain a deeper understanding of what she, her family, and friends experienced during the Holocaust.” The text excerpts are chronologically arranged, and span more than two years. They portray a psychological progression from fear and despair to strength and hope. The first three movements explore the grim reality of the war and her situation. Anne’s feelings of helplessness are expressed when she discovers that one of her best friends, Hanneli Goslar, has been captured and deported. In the next three movements, she finds meaning and purpose in nature, her writing, and her first love with Peter Van Pels. In the final movement, she recognizes the chaos and destruction of society and ideals, and faces the likelihood that she and her family will not survive. Amazingly, she is able to look beyond the present and herself, to a time when she believes that peace will return. The hope that one day she would be able to realize her ideals and dreams, gives her strength and courage. Through her words, Anne Frank portrays the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of suffering and cruelty. Otto Frank, Anne’s father and only annex survivor, states: “I hope that Anne’s book will have an effect on the rest of your life so that insofar as it is possible in your circumstances, you will work for unity and peace.” The composer adds: “It is my hope that A nne Frank: A Living Voice , sung by these young women, will also be an inspiration to this end.” L inda Tutas Haugen. The Diary h as been published in 67 languages, and over 31 million copies have been sold. Anne Frank: A Living Voice I. It is the Silence July 11, 1942.