Program

Masters Recital

Marinero en Tierra, Op. 27 Rodolfo Halffter I. ¡Qué altos los balcones! (1900-1987) II. Casadita III. Siempre que sueño las playas IV. Verano V. Gimiendo por ver el mar

Tornami a vagheggiar, Alcina George Friderick Handel (1685-1759) Mishelle Cipriani, soprano A Dream in Summer Night Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Student of Julie Wright-Costa Op. 56, No. 2 (1844-1908)

Intermission

Saturday, November 7, 2020 Libby Gardner Concert Hall Virtual Venue - https://music.utah.edu/libby-live/index.php This recital is presented as partial fulfillment for 8:00 p.m. the requirements for the Master of Music degree. Program Cont.

Liederkreis, Op. 39, No. 5 Robert Schumann Mondnacht (1810-1856)

Wanderer’s Nightsong II Franz Liszt Uber allen Gipfeln ist Ruh (1811-1886)

Fünf Lieder, Op. 105, No. 2 Johannes Brahms Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer (1833-1897)

Suleika I, D. 720 Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Trois Melodies, IMF 7 Manuel De Falla I. Les Colombes (1876-1946) II. Chinoiserie III. Séguidille

Songs from the Countryside, No. 5 Michael Head Sweet Chance that led my Steps Abroad (1900-1976)

Love’s Philosophy, Op. 3, No. 1 Roger Quilter (1877-1953)

Love went a-riding, H. 114 Frank Bridge (1879-1941) Program Notes / Words and Translation

Rodolfo Halffter (1900-1987)

Rafael Alberti (1902-1999) Marinero en Tierra Op. 27 (1945)

Rodolfo Halffter was a Spanish born Mexican composer who fled to in 1936 during the . While growing up, his mother trained him in music. He taught himself composition and received some advice from Manuel de Falla. Halffter was a member of the group Grupo del los Ocho; a group of young Spanish composers devoted to maintaining a nationalistic style using modern compositional technique. He was also interested in Neoclassicism, especially the works of Stravinsky, allowing him to incorporate more harmonic and rhythmic depth. He wrote Marinero en tierra in 1925, the same year Rafael Alberti had his poems published. These five songs incorporate the style of cante jondo, which is also heard in the short, lyric poetry. Qualities of cante jondo include changing time signature to follow poetic meter, Andalusian cadences in the Phrygian mode, tonal ambiguity, textural repetition, dynamic extremes, and personification. Halffter uses harmonic dissonances to create frustration and pain to the character. He also uses layers of rhythm to make the sounds of clapping, the strumming of guitars, and the waves on the ocean. The fascinating theme in this cycle is the theme of longing. This longing is for what is familiar and what feels like home. Although I haven’t found any commentaries on why Halffter chose these poems, but I can only imagine that Halffter felt this loss of his home in and Alberti’s poems provided the words he needed to set the songs of his heart.

¡Qué altos los balcones!

My translation: How high are the balconies of my house? But you cannot see the sea. How low! Higher, climb up my balcony, trek the air without stalling: be the terrace of the sea, be the tower of the ship. “Whose is the flag of that lookout tower?” “Sailors, it is mine!” (Mishelle Cipriani)

Casadita He carries her from Spain, the place that she most loved, her husband, a Genoese sailor. “Goodbye, walls from birth, crowns of Andalusia! “So far: Oh, how they tremble, “the bells of Cadiz, they loved me so much!” (Mishelle Cipriani)

Siempre que sueño las playas

Every time I dream of the beaches I only dream of them, my love. …Perhaps some sailors…

As well as a small sail from a distant sailboat. (Mishelle Cipriani)

Verano

“I return from the drive-in theater, mother, from seeing a fake sea and a real sea, which is not the sea, but it is the sea.” “You shall never return to the drive-in theater, son,

That wasn’t the sea in the movies, yet it is the sea.” (Mishelle Cipriani)

Gimiendo por ver el mar

Desperate to see the sea, a little sailor on land laments to the air: “Oh, my sailors blouse; always inflated from the wind when seeing the breakwater!” (Mishelle Cipriani)

G. F. HANDEL (1685-1759) Riccardo Broschi (1698 – 1756) ALCINA (premiered 16 April 1735)

Handel’s Alcina was written for an English audience premiering in 1735 at the King’s Theater. He wrote this during one of the most difficult times in his career. One might think at first it is because he wrote it in eight week’s time during the Lenten season, or because he only spent seven days rehearsing it before the premiere. But these are only the surface of the trials that faced Handel during the years leading up to this opera. The Royal Academy of Music where Handel began performing his works in London closed in 1728. One year later he reopened the company with his impresario under their own management. He also gained competition from English composers in 1732 and was asked to write English operas rather than Italian by a former collaborator. After another company opened in 1733, all of his singers except for Anna Strada who premiered Alcina, left for this company. Unauthorized performances of Handel’s operas also took place at competitors companies as well. Despite these circumstances, he still wrote on of the most beautiful operas to grace the earth. As Baroque opera has gained attention from modern audiences, this opera has become one of Handel’s most well-loved.

Morgana, Alcina’s sister, both of whom are sorceresses, sings this aria to Ricciardo, a knight who has come to their palace. She has fallen in love, but doesn’t realize Ricciardo is actually a woman named Bradamante in disguise who has come to rescue her fiancé Ruggiero from the evil clutches of Alcina. As Ricciardo continues to reject Morgana’s advances, she sings this piece trying to draw him into her own clutches of love.

Come back to woo me; only you does this faithful soul wish to love, my dearly beloved, dear one!

I have already given you my heart: my love will be true; never will I be cruel to you, my dear hope. (Robert L. Larson)

Manuel DE FALLA (1876-1946) Trois Melodies (1909) Pierre-Jules-Théophile Gautier (1811 - 1872)

As I studied this ethereal set of songs, I grew deeper in my practice as an actor and interpreter. I found these pieces at first to be difficult to relate to in many ways. The music was so difficult I had a hard time singing these pieces without overly-focusing and being hypercritical of every note, making sure they were perfect. I wasn’t able to deepen my relationship with these pieces until I started understanding them from an artistic perspective. I wrote my own rhythmic translations for each of them which I provided for you. This means they aren’t word for word, or even have a rhyming scheme, but they helped me connect more with the pieces as I learned to sing them in my own language. This method helped me to connect with the words, feelings, moods, thoughts, motivations, and more of what these poems actually mean. These have become some of my favorite songs and I hope you enjoy them too!

Manuel de Falla began studying composition in his hometown of Cadiz and eventually studied in at the Madrid Conservatory. De Falla had strong opinions on Spanish music and much of his music is in the character of Spanish-folk music as well as strongly influenced by French and Russian styles. He believed too many Spanish composers imitated the Italians and Germans to their own detriment. had no written tradition, but they did have dances, rhythms and modes common in their own music. He desired the incorporation of these Spanish qualities that were so uncommon in Spanish classical music. In 1907 he left for Paris where he learned how to study Spanish-folk music. In Paris, he eventually wrote Trois Melodies. It premiered at the Société Musicale Indépendante on May 4, 1910, sung by Madame Ada Adiny-Milliet with de Falla accompanying on the piano. The three movements all include words by the French poet Théophile Gautier. Each sets a different scene and mood. Les Colombes contains a continuous pattern of septuplets from the piano under the voice, which sings in duple against the accompaniment. Chinoiserie begins as a recitative and then moves briskly with a legato vocal line and peppy accompaniment. The “Seguidilla” is written in the style of “Espanolas,” meaning foreign imitations of Spanish music, such as rhythm and melody, are implemented in the piece. He gained great colleagues while there such as and Paul Dukas.

Les Colombes On the hill-side o’er there are all the graves, A lovely palm tree with her plume of green Stood on her head, during dusk all the doves Come to build a nest and to shelter themselves.

But at the dawn they all flock to the skies; From the branches like a collar, we see them As they scatter in the air, a cloud of white, Then farther off they settle on a roof.

My soul is like the tree where every evening, My visions swirl around my head in white Falling from the sky, the wings keep palpitating Then they take flight at the first light of dawn. (Mishelle Cipriani)

Chinoiserie

It is not you, no, my lady, that I love Nor you, no more, Juliette, nor you Ophelia, Nor Beatrix, not even Laure the Blonde, With her great soft eyes.

The one that I love now is in China; She is living with her old parents there, In a tall tower of fine porcelain By the Yellow River, there are the cormorants.

Her eyes made up all the way to her temples, A tiny food that I hold in my hand, Her skin is fairer than lamps made of copper, Long nails are painted a dark crimson red;

By her trellis, there she passes her head, And the swallow comes flying by to land, And every night, as good as any poet,

Sings a song perched on the peach blossom. (Mishelle Cipriani)

Seguidille

Tight around her hips is a skirt A large comb holding up her hair Her legs so long and feet so small Fiery eyes, pale skin, and teeth white; Alza ! olà ! She’s there! Hard working woman she is!

Her moves are bold, freely speaking, Salt and pepper full of taste, Not worried for tomorrow, And loving all so gracefully; Alza ! olà ! She’s there! Hard working woman she is!

She sings, dancing with castanets And in the bull pen does she judge, The bull fighters moves and their blows, While she is smoking cigarettes; Alza ! olà ! She’s there!

Hard working woman she is! (Mishelle Cipriani)

Nikolai RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908)

Apollon Maykov (1821-1897) (poem 1857)

A Dream in Summer Night (Op. 56, No. 2) (lied 1898)

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote much of his songs as depictions of nature transforming scales, chords, and modes into images that surrounded him. He wrote much in his journals in detail using many adjectives describing the world he saw. He does not fall short with this musical detail in A Dream in Summer Night.

This piece was written by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1898. It sets the dramatic scene of a young woman who cannot get sleep and is greeted by a god when she goes to open her window. He has come to fulfill her passions, and the poetry written by Apollon Maykov describes this in sensual detail. It is interesting how a piece so erotic could have been published in Russia in the last year of the 19th century. The piece begins with octaves in the piano which soon flow down replicating the melody that the voice comes in with, which returns throughout the piece several times. There are many key changes throughout the piece creating new moods for each thrilling moment. With a wide range, the melody expresses passion, fear, excitement,

For a long time I couldn't get to sleep last night, I got up, opened the window... The still night caressed and burned me, Intoxicating me with the aroma of the flowers...

Suddenly the bushes rustled under the window, The curtain blew open - And a youth flew in, with a bright face, As if he was made from the moon's sparkle.

The doors to my bedroom opened, Colonnades were revealed behind them; Garlands of lights adorned with roses Were shining in alabaster vases...

The wondrous guest approached my bed And said with a mild smile: "Why at my sight did you dive so quickly Into your pillows like a frightened little fish!

Look back at me - I am the God of illusions and dreams, I am a secret friend for a shy maiden... And the rapture of heavens I have brought for the first time For you - my queen..."

He was speaking and gently lifting My face from the pillow with his hands, And the side of my cheek he was passionately kissing, And seeking my lips with his own...

Under his breath I grew weak... My hands I unclasped from my chest... And I heard: "You are mine! You are mine!" Like the distant sounds of the harp...

The hours have passed... I opened my eyes... My slumber has already been lit by the dawn... I'm alone... shaking all over... My hair is undone. I don't know what happened to me. (Sergey Rybin)

Robert SCHUMANN (1810 – 1856) Mondnacht, Liederkreis, Op. 39, No.5 (1840) Joseph Eichendorff (poetry Intermezzo, 1788 – 1857)

Robert Schumann held a very different view of song cycles than other composers. He wrote with a fluidity in poetry, melody, harmony, and theme. Before, other composers were scolded for having too little differentiation between songs in cycles if the musical content remained the same. Schumann saw his cycles as associative variations, meaning he tied his musical motives between the individual songs in the cycle. This flexibility and freedom allows consistency in the thematic content. He more often than not presenting these themes as the opening statement which allows him to develop them throughout the piece.

Mondnacht comes from Robert Schumann’s Eichendorff Liederkreis. Schumann selected the poems themselves and ordered them differently than their published sequence in a non-chronicled sequence. Mondnacht is in strophic form with variation on the last verse. Musically, the piece focuses on the Dominant chord more than the Tonic itself, creating a feeling of floating or never finding rest. There are three stanzas of poetry with the first and third acting as a frame. The first stanza describes heaven coming down and softly kissing the earth, while the third stanza is the soul ascending to it’s heavenly home. The middle stanza consist of moving descriptors that become softer and softer until the night stands still. This depiction of nature has a close relationship with resurrection in Christianity: heaven comes down to earth, the spirit (Luft) moves through the earth, the soul returns to heaven.

It was as though Heaven Had softly kissed the Earth, So that she in a gleam of blossom Had only to dream of him.

The breeze passed through the fields, The corn swayed gently to and fro, The forests murmured softly, The night was so clear with stars.

And my soul spread Her wings out wide, Flew across the silent land, As though flying home. (Richard Stokes)

Franz LISZT (1811-1886) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) Wanderer's Nightsong II: Uber allen Gipfeln ist Ruh (poem 1780)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote this concise piece on the walls of a cabin when he was thirty-one. It was discovered by travelers and published in 1800 without his permission. Close to the end of his life, he returned this cabin with a friend reading his own inscription through his tears. “‘Yes: just wait, you’ll rest soon, too’, remained silent for half a minute, looked again through the window into the gloomy spruce forest and turned to me with the words: ‘Now we want to go again’.” The incredible combination of syllabic and rhythmic content; shifting phrases to reflect the meaning of the poetry in the literal length of each line. As the poem progresses, the object described goes from vast to intimate. It starts with the quiet expanse of the hills to our own selves falling silent like the rest of creation.

Franz Liszt’s setting is practically as perfect as Goethe’s poetry itself. He uses cyclical harmony moving down progressively from E major in varying thirds. The whole piece is like a messa di voce with quiet dynamics on either end, a bell-shaped melodic line, rhythmic and harmonic intensifying in the middle, and movement to distant keys, but ultimately returning home to the state of rest in E major. Between each section Liszt gives empty space for the listener to expect to hear a breath, but all there is is silence. The return of the hymn-like chords return in the second half only to be played higher in the register with thicker texture as if to be confident in nature’s reality.

O'er all the hilltops Is quiet now, In all the treetops Hearest thou Hardly a breath; The birds are asleep in the trees: Wait, soon like these Thou too shalt rest. (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)

Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer, Fünf Lieder, OP. 105 NO. 2 (lied 1886)

Hermann Lingg (1820 – 1905)

Johannes Brahms masterfully wrote 380 songs plus almost 100 folk song arrangements. He tended to shy away from common German poets and select poetry from those who were less popular. He used the words of the poetry to influence his melody, rhythm, and form. In Immer leiser wird mein Schummer,a young girl is relaying her dying wish to see her lover. The melody comes in hesitantly, and the phrases are relatively short as if she is catching her breath. The piano continues the melodic line when the voice drops out as well as double it in some places. The melody stays relatively the same throughout the piece dropping down often. Only in the end does it rise as she calls for her love to come soon.

My sleep grows ever quieter, Only my grief, like a veil, Lies trembling over me. I often hear you in my dreams Calling outside my door, No one keeps watch and lets you in, I awake and weep bitterly.

Yes, I shall have to die, You will kiss another When I am pale and cold. Before May breezes blow, Before the thrush sings in the wood; If you would see me once again, Come soon, come soon! (Richard Stokes)

Franz SCHUBERT (1797- 1828) Marianne von Willemer (1784 — 1860) Suleika I (lied 1821) D720/Op. 14 No. 1

Franz Schubert is the king of Lied having written over 600 pieces with many different settings, structures, poets, and topics. Not only are the melodies incredibly tuneful, but the piano accompaniment is a necessary player. It informs the melody and builds a deeper meaning to the piece. He uses so many different figures to portray nature such as in Suleika I. The piano opens with a rising scale of sixteenth notes setting the eerie moan of the wind. This continues in a constant flood of rising, falling, and turning sixteenth notes that each give the wind different qualities almost personifying itself for the singer to converse with or react to.

Suleika I is in binary form having two strong sections with differing moods. The first section is in b minor where the music portrays a sense of inquisitiveness, excitement, and joy. The piece is about the East wind, the eager reunification of two lovers long apart, and the journey that lies ahead. Both sections are over a constant dominant pedal, always unsettling to the listener. But when the dominant pedal lets up, the relief is incredible. The second section transitions to B major with a sense of peace and rest at the thought of the two finally being reunited.

The poem was written by a friend of Goethe who met him through her husband and became acquaintances. They corresponded for fourteen months with the pseudonyms “Hatem” and “Suleika.” Goethe published five of Marianne’s poems that only after his death did she reveal they were her creations.

What does this stirring portend? Is the east wind bringing me joyful tidings? The refreshing motion of its wings cools the heart’s deep wound.

It plays caressingly with the dust, throwing it up in light clouds, and drives the happy swarm of insects to the safety of the vine-leaves.

It gently tempers the burning heat of the sun, and cools my hot cheeks; even as it flies it kisses the vines that adorn the fields and hillsides.

And its soft whispering brings me a thousand greetings from my beloved; before these hills grow dark I shall be greeted by a thousand kisses.

Now you may pass on, and serve the happy and the sad; there, where high walls glow, I shall soon find my dearly beloved.

Ah, the true message of the heart, the breath of love, renewed life will come to me only from his lips, can be given to me only by his breath. (Richard Wigmore)

Michael HEAD (1900-1976) Sweet Chance that led my Steps Abroad William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940), "A great time” (poem published 1914)

Michael Head was a British composer who wrote all sort of compositions, but specialized in art song having written 124 during his lifetime. His love for song started at a young age, and he wrote and performed many beautiful pieces enjoyed by both amateurs and professionals. He emphasized that the diction and expression were incredibly important for the setting. The music is a means of communicating the poetry by both the singer and the pianist. He incorporated modern harmony only when it was used effectively to portray the poetic meaning. Head also used syllabic and complex rhythms, parlando (like speech) singing, and changing meter. All these were used to give the piece mood and atmosphere.

Sweet Chance, that led my steps abroad, Beyond the town, where wild flow'rs grow -- A rainbow and a cuckoo, Lord, How rich and great the times are now! Know all ye sheep And cows, that keep On staring that I stand so long In grass that's wet from heavy rain -- A rainbow, and a cuckoo's song May never come together again, May never come [from]1 This side the tomb. A rainbow, and a cuckoo's song May never come together again…

Roger QUILTER (1877-1953) Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) Love’s Philosophy Op. 3, No 1 (published poem 1819) (song 1905)

Roger Quilter was knows as a kind and generous person who gave his time to many of those who needed it, always bringing joy to his company. He was particular about the poetry he set to music, but loved poetry altogether, spending evenings reading and sharing thoughts on them. His pieces consisted of flowing legato lines, syllabic emphasis, word painting, changing rhythms for emphasis, and harmonic simplicity. His compositions were put on hold becoming bedridden after a surgical operation where he had time to internalize concepts for future works.

Love’s Philosophy is in modified strophic form with a continuous flow of sixteenth notes shifting between hands in the accompaniment. The melody rises and falls quickly comparing all sorts of terrains and it’s opposites. The rhythm is very speech- like with strong emphasis on the stronger syllables. Dotted rhythms begin to build excitement towards the end of the piece until the rhythm stretches out dramatically ending on a high note.

The fountains mingle with the River And the Rivers with the Ocean, The winds of Heaven mix for ever With a sweet emotion; Nothing in the world is single; All things by a law divine In one another’s being mingle. Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high Heaven And the waves clasp one another; No sister-flower would be forgiven If it disdained its brother; And the sunlight clasps the earth And the moonbeams kiss the sea: What are all these kissings worth If thou kiss not me?

Frank BRIDGE (1879-1941) Mary Coleridge (1861 - 1907) Love went a-riding H.114 (poem published 1907) (song 1914 / 1916)

Frank Bridge was a twentieth century English composer that had a different quality of composing than many of his contemporaries. His technique was influenced by methods from 19th century from his teacher, Stanford, whose technique was based in the Brahms-style. He was very structured in his compositions and had fantastic thematic content. Bridge also taught Benjamin Britten, his only compositional student, when he was a child.

His piece Love went A-Riding is full of fanfare like the bugle calls before the entrance of a king. The rhythm depicts galloping referencing the Pegasus, whom Love is riding, shifting in the middle section to flowing sixteenth notes sounding of the melting rivers. It begins in Gb major and shifts between keys in rich chromatic harmony straying from typical tonal chords eventually dropping a tritone to D minor as the nymphs cry and plead to Love. Through rich chromaticism and non-chordal tones he ends up back to the original key in Ternary form, repeating the opening motive.

Love went a-riding reflects Coleridge’s fantastic side. This short mythical tale encompassing depictions of nature as spring wakes up. She has been known for deep contrasts as we see in this poem the protagonist named Love is bringing life back to creation, but Love rejects the pleas from those who desire Love to stay. This light-hearted little poem has this odd turn of events in the form of rejection. Truly Love cannot stay for the seasons continue to change as the winds pick up and take him away.

Love went a-riding over the earth, On Pegasus he rode . . . The flowers before him sprang to birth, And the frozen rivers flowed.

Then all the youths and the maidens cried, "Stay here with us, King of Kings!" But Love said, "No! for the horse I ride, For the horse I ride has wings.”