Department of Music & Theatre A current American composer and published author, Ned Rorem is well recognized for his unique connections of text and music. He is one of America’s most honored composers, receiving such awards as the Pulitzer Prize, and he is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. Rorem is also one of the most prolific composers in American history, the closest second to his nearly 500 compositions being Charles Ives, who has nearly 200 songs in his catalog. Rorem is known as a master of text setting, as his use of rhythmic devices create interesting text flow. His harmonic language includes complex chords that mirror textures of Debussy and Stravinsky, who he studied as a young piano student. Senior Recital

Ralph Vaughan Williams was influenced throughout his career by his collection and interpretation of English folk songs at the turn of Emma Feldhans the 20th century. By notating these folk songs and carols from singers on his travels through the English countryside, he hoped that future mezzo-soprano generations would be able to enjoy them. Vaughan Williams composed for nearly every musical genre, including orchestral, stage, and chamber works. The draw to the melodic and harmonic styles of folk songs influenced his compositions through his career, and he Jodi Goble started drawing British composers away from the heavy German influences on British music at the time toward their own native piano musical style.

This recital is given in partial fulfillment of a October 23, 2020 Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Music Education. 7:30 pm Emma is a student of Professor Janet Alcorn. Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall Program

When daisies pied and violets blue Thomas Arne Notre amour (Our love) (1710-1778) Our love is something light like the perfumes which the breeze brings from the tips of ferns Three Neapolitan Songs from for us to inhale as we dream. Il prigioniero fortunato (1660-1725) Our love is something light.

i. Quell’esser misero “Incanto” Our love is something enchanting ii. Luce degl’occhi miei “Ultimo bacio” like the morning’s songs iii. Datti pace, osventurato “L’Incostante” in which regrets are not heard but uncertain hopes vibrate. Our love is something charming. Wie sollten wir geheime sie halten Richard Strauss Nacht (1864-1949) Our love is something sacred Zueignung like the forests’ mysteries in which an unknown soul quivers INTERMISSION and silences have voices. Our love is something sacred! Les berceaux Gabriel Fauré Prison (1845-1924) Our love is something infinite Notre amour like the paths of the evening, where the ocean, joined with the sky, falls asleep under slanting suns. O you whom I often and silently come Ned Rorem Orchids (b. 1923) Our love is something eternal I am Rose like all that has been touched by the fiery wing of a victorious god, like all that comes from the heart. Silent noon Ralph Vaughan Williams Our love is something eternal! (1872-1958) Translated by Peter Low Program Notes and Translations Les Berceaux (The Cradles) All along the quay the great ships, A British composer of the eighteenth century, Thomas Arne was Which the swell rocks in silence, one of the leading native English composers of his time. His settings do not take any notice of the cradles, are almost exclusively in English, and he had a successful career that the hand of the women rock. composing for the London theatre. Throughout his career, Arne But will come the day of farewells, composed about 90 stage works including plays, , for it is necessary that the women cry, pantomimes, and . As a Freemason, he never composed and that the men curious music for the , and instead produced such works attempt the horizons that entice them! as his . Many of Arne’s dramatic works were And on that day the great ships, unfortunately lost in a fire at the in 1808, where leaving the port which recedes in the distance, he worked for a time as the house composer. shall feel their bulk held back by the soul of the distant cradles. “When daisies pied and violets blue” is a setting of Act V, Scene 2 from Love’s Labour’s Lost by . This edited Translated by Bard Suverkrop version of the text by Dr. Charles Vincent imagines a beautiful spring day enjoyed by the narrator and the cuckoo bird singing nearby. Prison (Prison) The is is, above the roof, so blue, so calm! Alessandro Scarlatti A tree, above the roof, is an Italian late composer of over 600 rocks its crown. and 100 operas, as well as oratorios, sonatas, and other The bell, in the sky that one sees, instrumental works. He is credited with establishing the Neapolitan sweetly rings. school of opera, creating a lasting and sophisticated tradition of music A bird, on the tree that one sees, in Naples. His career led him to hold a number of posts as the plaintively sings. maestro di cappella for Queen Christina of Sweden, and later under My God, my God, the life is there, the Viceroy of Naples. By the 1690’s, Scarlatti was composing at a simple and serene. prolific pace, attributed to the demands of his positions. Two of That peaceful sound there Scarlatti’s sons, Domenico and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, followed in his comes from the town. footsteps to become successful composers themselves. What have you done, oh you who are there weeping without end, The Three Neapolitan Songs are three that come from Scarlatti’s Say, what have you done, you who are there, 1698 Il prigioniero fortunato. They were transcribed from a with your youth? performance by mezzo-soprano Theresa Berganza and pianist Félix Lavilla in 1975. The arranger is unknown, but the setting gives the Translated by Bard Suverkrop 17th century composition a new life fit for the 20th century. Enchantment Being miserable Made him lovable In my thoughts. Wie sollten wir geheim (How could we keep it secret) It seems that the soul How could we keep it secret, Wants to be a dungeon This bliss with which we’re filled? For a prisoner. No, into its deepest recesses Our hearts must be revealed to all! The Last Kiss When two souls have fallen in love, Light of my eyes, Nature’s filled with exultation, If you are my life, And daylight lingers on wood and meadow You must die with me. In longer hours of rapture. Before anyone else in your arms Even the oak tree’s rotten trunk, Melts this sweet snare, That has survived a thousand years, I want to die with you. Sends fresh flaming green to its crown And rustles with the thrill of youth. The Fickle One The buds, seeing the lovers’ bliss, Calm yourself, Flower more brightly and fragrantly, Unfortunate one, And the brooks babble more sweetly, My love is not for you. And May gleams and blooms more lavishly. I’m not interested in A private heart. I have a king’s heart in my snare. Gabriel Fauré is known as one of the leading French composers of his time, and his music displays harmonic and melodic Translated by Ossia Editions: PDF Scores and Publishing complexity that continues to captivate listeners and performers alike. He influenced many 20th century composers, bringing together traditional composition styles and progressive musical As a Late Romantic German composer, Richard Strauss wrote in ideas of the time. The most innovative features of his music are nearly every classical compositional form during his career. His greatest the daring harmonic progressions and modulations, carried out successes were with operas and tone poems. The virtuosic nature of with deceptive simplicity. his symphonic tone poems in particular show the influence of Richard Wagner and Alexander Ritter, both of whom were known to be less conservative in their compositional styles. True to the Late Romantic style of emotional involvement, Strauss produced programmatic compositions throughout his career. His music maintains its emotional beauty to this day, showcasing some of the most expressive melodies of the modern repertoire.