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Home , Lucy Crowe, Nicky Spence, The Proms

RES10183 Anna Starushkevych Song by F ata Morgana Anita Watson Lada Valešová P Nicky Spence avel Haas Navar James Platt

mezzo soprano ra Quartet

soprano

piano

tenor bass Sedm písní v lidovém tónu, Op. 18 (1940) Fata Morgana Seven Songs in Folk Style 1. Což je víc! [1:05] Song by Pavel Haas (1899–1944) 2. Dárek z lásky [3:08] 3. Krotká holubička [1:30] 4. Zrušení slibu [2:41] 5. Přípověď [1:20] Anita Watson soprano 6. Slzy a vzdychání [3:47] 7. Statečný jonák [1:39] Anna Starushkevych mezzo soprano Nicky Spence tenor Fata Morgana, Op. 6 (1923) James Platt bass Rabíndranáth Thákur, Zahradník Part I Navarra Quartet 8. Když šla kolem mě rychlými kroky [7:27] Lada Valešová piano & artistic director 9. Noc je noc plného máje [8:46] 10. Mé srdce pták houštin [3:58] Part II 11. Má milá, srdce mé touží [4:09] 12. Jsi oblak večerní [6:29]

Čínské písně, Op. 4 (1921) Chinese Songs 13. Smutek [2:43] 14. Na řece Jo-Yeh [2:37] 15. Jarní déšť [2:29]

Čtyři písně na slova čínské poezie (1944) Four Songs on Chinese Poetry About Lada Valešová: 16. Zaslech jsem divoké husy... [2:52] 17. V bambusovém háji [2:27] ‘You have to take your hat off to someone who can plan a recital CD 18. Daleko měsíc je od domova [6:16] with the imaginative insight of the investigative musicologist 19. Probděná noc [3:57] and then execute it with such musicianly sensitivity’ International Piano Magazine Total playing time [69:29] Fata Morgana: Song by Pavel Haas his imprisonment in Terezín in the 1940s. It is particularly notable, that this album contains In the case of Pavel Haas (1899–1944), a the first commercially available recording of number of factors conspired to push the Haas’s Fata Morgana, Op. 6 (1923). music of a highly accomplished composer to the verge of oblivion. As a student of The Seven Songs in Folk Style, Op. 18 are best Leoš Janáček and a life-long resident of understood as a series of stylised musical Brno, the capital of Moravia, Haas had images, portraying different aspects of love, limited opportunity to have his music its joys and sorrows. Here the composer performed in the Czechoslovak capital utilised his mastery of musical Prague, or abroad, and to build a characterisation, combining sharp wit with reputation on a national or an international emotional sensitivity. Listening to the cycle, level. During the Nazi occupation of few would suspect that this charming work Czechoslovakia, the composer was was conceived during when the banned from performance, imprisoned Nazis were tightening their grip on occupied in Terezín and eventually killed in Czechoslovakia. In fact, the Seven Songs Auschwitz because of his Jewish origins. were composed between two major Little was done in the following works – the Suite for Oboe and Piano (1939) Communist era to revive his musical and the unfinished Symphony (1940–41) – legacy. It was not until the 1990s that both of which are infused with patriotism, Haas’s music became more broadly faith and defiance. Apparently, the composer available to scholars, performers, and turned to František Ladislav Čelakovský’s audiences (both at home and abroad) (1799–1852) paraphrases of Czech folk poetry through modern editions and recordings. to seek refuge in the idyllic world of the past.

In the present day, it seems safe to say that Fata Morgana, Op. 6 was the first major work Haas’s music has been brought back to life, composed by Haas after he finished his and this new release makes a significant studies with Leoš Janáček in 1922. Scored contribution to the growing recognition for tenor and a piano quintet, Fata Morgana of Haas’s work. It contains four song cycles sets to music five poems from The Gardener composed in various stages of Haas’s career by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore from the time of his studies with Janáček (1861–1941). Haas’s setting of texts by in the early 1920s to the sorrowful years of Tagore demonstrates the composer’s interest in exotic literature, which was a new source the first vocal entry, describing with lyrical performers that the composition’s final scoring for the piano carries the soloist from of inspiration in the early-twentieth century. warmth the ‘fleeting touch’ of love. sustained unison is to gradually decline in one scene to another. He also may have been influenced by dynamics from fff to a ‘dying and vanishing pp’, Janáček, who had recently set Tagore’s The second poem, by contrast, portrays the to indicate, in Haas’s own words, that: ‘the The final song opens with the ‘raindrop’ poetry to music in The Wandering Madman agonising restlessness of the protagonist vision dissolves into nothing’. staccato motive in the piano, which (1922). intoxicated by love. Like a wild animal, he anticipates the main theme of the poem: pursues the elusive ‘image of desire’. Haas composed Chinese Songs, Op. 4, the the celebration of spring rain and its The five poems that Haas selected portray Haas’s imaginative use of rhythm illustrates first of his two song cycles based on Chinese rejuvenating power. Slow moving passages the torments and pleasures of erotic desire, the chase: several distinct ostinato patterns, poetry, while he was still a student in Leoš juxtaposed with the lively ostinato rhythms evoked in the protagonist by an ephemeral each in a different metre, accompany the Janáček’s composition class. In fact, Janáček in music, correspond with the poem’s vision of a lover. Haas chose an unusual tenor’s rapid declamation, interspersed himself made several alterations to Haas’s transition from a dark, rainy night to the scoring for tenor, piano, and a string irregularly with groups of percussive col original score, concerning mainly details of bright shining morning of the following day. quartet to broaden the palette of legno strokes. word settings. instrumental colours to reflect the sensual Two decades later, Haas was now a prisoner eroticism of Tagore’s poem. Fata Morgana The third poem articulates the longing for The first song invites the listener to meditate in the concentration camp of Terezín. Forced defies traditional categories of form and union with a lover, which seems to promise on the ruins of an ancient civilisation; the to abandon his wife and his little daughter, genre, standing between a piece of quasi-religious redemption or mystical splendour of its legendary past and the he also saw his father die in the camp. Under instrumental and a song transfiguration. Haas employs repetitive, transience of human monuments. Haas’s these radically different circumstances, Haas cycle. Extensive instrumental preludes, static harmonies in the piano to convey a music conveys the atmosphere of mystery turns once more to the poetry of ancient interludes, and postludes are combined sense of timelessness and infinite profundity. with slow, stately gong-like chimes in the China for his Four Songs on Chinese Poetry. with three settings of poems in the first These wide-spanning harmonies resonate piano’s low register. These may be associated He chooses four poems from the book movement, and two in the second. with the poem’s sublime image of ‘the with death or the passing of time. In either The New Songs of Ancient China by the Czech kingdom of stars’ and its ‘lonely immensity’. case, they inspire reverential silence and poet and translator Bohumil Mathesius A pentatonic ostinato introduces the exotic meditation. (1888–1952). These free style poetic ambience, and the soft sound of muted The second movement returns to the mood translations must have resonated deeply strings in sensuous chromatic harmonies of unrestrained passion. The protagonist’s The second song depicts an exotic Chinese with Haas, with their themes of loneliness, evokes the erotic lyricism of the opening yearning turmoil is portrayed by the music’s landscape observed from a boat sailing down longing for return home, and the trauma of section. The introduction is concluded by ceaseless whirling. the river. The movement of the boat is loss. a tone-painting image of ‘fata morgana’: conveyed by the opening piano motif, which a brief melodic figure gradually ascends into The last poem offers an ambivalent resolution resembles the splashing of waves against the The opening four-note ostinato, which stratospheric heights of the violin part until to the theme of insatiable longing. The side of the vessel, while the mountains, permeates the whole first song (and reappears it dissolves in the ‘mist’ of ambiguous static protagonist exclaims in ecstasy: ‘You are mine!’. rocks, and valleys are described by later in the cycle), has profound significance. harmonies. From this sound scape emerges Yet, in his manuscript, Haas instructs the unaccompanied solo voice. Haas’s imaginative Associated with the opening words of the poem – ‘My home is there, faraway there’ – of the ‘rising moon’, which connects the Considering the context of Haas’s PhD research concerns the music of Pavel Haas the ostinato becomes a symbol of longing successive poems. The song starts in a imprisonment in Terezín, one is bound to in the context of inter-war avant-garde for home. Its ceaseless repetition and melancholic and meditative mood, which question the meaning of this joyful conclusion. movements in Czechoslovakia and beyond. accelerating pace imply that the thought of later gives way to an ever-increasing sense Is it an expression of the composer’s hope home has become an idée fixe, that is of unrest, culminating with a violent outburst in liberation and return home, or should perpetually and ever more desperately of despair. The protagonist’s agonised cry one search for a darker subtext? The repeated in the protagonist’s mind. ‘Hands of mine, how empty you are to succession of the songs represents a Reminiscent of an archetypal lament, the express all of it!’ convey the impossibility constant oscillation between opposing plaintive chromatic descent in the opening to relate the depth of his despair. This extremes (day and night, melancholy and vocal line underscores his poignant exclamation is underpinned by a quotation joy, death and life), and the rousing expression of grief. of the motive of death from Haas’s pre-war conclusion do not necessarily bring opera Charlatan, premiered in 1938. the resolution of the fundamental conflict. The clouds of sorrow disperse temporarily Nonetheless the cyclic alternation between in the playful and witty second song, The last song stands out for its prominent the extreme opposites in Haas’s last song characterised by a dance-like ostinato tone-painting depiction of landscape, cycle could be interpreted as life-affirming, and a light-hearted melody in a major key, which in turn reflects the protagonist’s when regarded from the yin-yang which imitates protagonist’s carefree subjective mood. The opening ‘waves’ in perspective of Chinese philosophy. ‘whistling’. One of the explanations for such the piano part depict not only the ‘swaying Transcending the individual being, death is a surprising change of mood could be the of bamboo in the wind’, but also the inextricably linked with rebirth in a cosmic secretive child-like joy protagonist feels, protagonist sleeplessly drifting in and out cycle of perpetual transformation. Seen in having found some privacy in his hiding of slumber. The musical shift from chromatic this light, Haas’s Four Songs on Chinese place. But eventually one starts to to diatonic mode indicates the transition Poetry communicate the fundamental question if this new upbeat mode is from night to day, in parallel with the questions of human existence, manifesting genuine, as the contrast is too stark. Haas protagonist’s change of mood from the despair of the ‘death amidst life’, and was preoccupied throughout his life with melancholy to joy. The fatigued somnolent the joy of ‘life amidst death’. irony and the grotesque, and typically movement undergoes transformation, interspersed his works with ironic pieces. bringing back the energised dance-like © 2017 Martin Čurda pattern previously heard in the witty In the third song, the ominous four-note second song. The ‘whistling’ tune returns, Previously a graduate from Masaryk University ostinato motif returns together with the sounding now strongly and defiantly, as the (Brno, Czech Republic), Martin Čurda is a melancholy and longing for home. The protagonists greets the new day with the final-year PhD candidate of musicology at Cardiff University, School of Music and a sudden reversal of mood reflects the change spirited singing. part-time lecturer in musicology at the of day to night, announced by the image University of Ostrava (Czech Republic). His Sedm písní v lidovém tónu, Op. 18 (1940) Seven Songs in Folk Style, Op. 18 (1940) František Ladislav Čelakovský, František Ladislav Čelakovský, Ohlas písní českých 2 Collection of Czech Songs 1. Což je víc! 1. It’s Your Affair 5 3 Když mě nechceš, což je víc! If you don’t want me, never mind! Nedělám si z toho nic. It’s not a big deal for me. 13 Však pro tebe oči moje Rest assured: my eyes hořem nerozplynou; Will not dissolve in grief for you; vylezu si na kopeček, I’ll climb up the little hill, 1 12 vyhlídnu si jinou! I’ll look up another girl!

2. Dárek z lásky 2. A Lover’s Gift Když jsem šel přes lávky, When I was crossing a wooden bridge, 7 našel jsem korálky I found some little beads na pěti šňůrečkách navlečené, Strung together on five strings, 11 dal-li je děvčátku If a young lad in love milý na památku, Gave them to his lass as a keep-sake, bude mít srdéčko zarmoucené. 9 Her little heart will be sorrowful. Každý to dobře ví, Everyone knows this well: 8 že i ten nejmenší Even the smallest of gifts, 4 dáreček z lásky je nejmilejší. When given in love, is the dearest one. Přijde-li k ztracení, If it ever gets lost, 6 nikdy potom není Never again can it be replaced, stříbrem ani zlatem k zaplacení. Or bought back with silver or gold.

3. Krotká holubička 3. Doves Are Courting Holubička z dubu Turtle dove from the oak tree 10 letěla k holubu: Flew to her mate: milý nad rybníčky My darling boy is by the lake, pase tam koníčky Tending to his horses a já za ním půjdu, And I’ll go and join him, za ním půjdu. Go and join him. Holubička krotká Timid little dove is s holoubkem se zobká: Billing and cooing with her mate. Proč bysme taky tak Why shouldn’t also we neměli se zobkat, Pet and peck like they do, když jsme mladí oba, When we’re both young, mladí oba! We are both young! 4. Zrušení slibu 4. Broken Promise U kapličky stává, She often stands by the roadside chapel bez slzí plakává, Crying without tears, (such a sorry sight to see) až srdce bolet musí: That it makes one’s heart ache; ach, kdo té lásky sliby zruší, Ah, the one who breaks love’s promise: běda, běda, běda jeho duši! Woe, woe, woe be upon his soul! Kdo je ta dívčina, Who is that maiden, jaká to bylina What kind of potion smysly jí pomámila? Has unhinged her senses? Někdy to děvčátko sličné bylo, That sweet girl used to be so lovely, hoře mu srdéčko vymořilo. Now the grief has ravaged her heart.

5. Přípověď 5. A Promise Bylo to z večera na neděli, It was on Saturday evening, pustil jsem koníčky po jeteli, I left my horses grazing in the clover, koníčky v jeteli, Horses are in clover, modré oči, spíte-li? Blue eyes, are you sleeping? Co jste mně slíbily u lesíčku, You’ve promised me something, there by the grove, již si jdu k vám pro to při měsíčku. Now I am coming to claim it, in the moonshine.

6. Slzy a vzdychání 6. Tears and Sighs Kdyby všecky slzičky If all the tears pohromadě byly, Were gathered together, co jsou, milý, pro tebe, That, my dear boy, for you oči moje lily: My eyes have shed, věru by se louky naše, Surely all our meadows věru by se louky naše, Surely all our meadows všechny zatopily. Would get completely flooded. Ach, kdyby to vzdychání Ah, if all that sighing pohromadě bylo, Was added up together, co mé srdce pro tebe Which my heart for you, milá vypustilo: My beloved girl, has spent, věru by na věži naší, Surely on our church tower, věru by na věži naší Surely on our church tower zvony rozzvonilo. It would swing and toll all the bells. 7. Statečný jonák 7. Her Hero 10. Mé srdce pták houštin 10. My heart, the bird of the thickets Nejčko mám ženicha, Now I’ve got my man, Mé srdce pták houštin My heart, the bird of the thickets, matko na mou milou! And what a man is he! našlo si své nebe v tvých očích. has found its sky in your eyes. Jak se ho dotknete, As soon as you touch him Jsou kolébkou jitra, They are the cradle of the morning, hned z něho jiskry jdou. Sparks fly out straight away. jsou královstvím hvězd. they are the kingdom of the stars. Přijde do hospody, When he enters the pub, Mé písně jsou ztraceny v jejich hlubinách. My songs are lost in their depths. všecko ustupuje, Everyone backs off, Nech ať vzlétnu do toho nebe, May I soar into that sky, jakou on zazpívá, Which-ever tune he sings, v jeho osamělou nezměrnost. into its solitary vastness. ta se hned tancuje. All join in, and dance. Nechť proniknu jeho oblaky, Let me pierce its clouds ať rozepnu křídla v jeho záři sluneční. Let me spread my wings in its sunshine.

Fata Morgana, Op. 6 (1923) Fata Morgana, Op. 6 (1923) Part II Part II Rabíndranáth Thákur, Zahradník Rabindranath Tagore: The Gardener 11. Má milá, srdce mé touží den a noc 11. My beloved, my heart yearns day and night Part I Part I Má milá, srdce mé touží den a noc po setkání s My beloved, my heart yearns day and night for the 8. Když šla kolem mě rychlými kroky 8. When she passed me by with swift footsteps tebou – po setkání jež je jako meeting with you – for the meeting which is like all- Když šla kolem mě rychlými kroky, When she passed me by with swift footsteps, všechvátící smrt! consuming death! dotkl se mě lem jejího roucha. the hem of her robe touched me. Smeť mne jako bouře, Crush me like a storm, Z neznámého ostrova srdce přišel nenadálý From the unknown island of the heart arose vezmi si vše, co mám, take everything I have; teplý dech jara. unexpectedly a warm breath of spring. otevři můj spánek a vypleň mé sny, crack open my sleep and loot my dreams, Záchvěv letmého doteku o mne zavadil a zmizel A quiver of a fleeting touch brushed me by, and olup mne o můj svět. rob me of my world. zas jak utržený lupen květu, disappeared again, like a torn flower petal, carried V té spoušti, In that devastation, unášený větrem. away by a breeze. v té holé nahotě ducha, in that stark nakedness of spirit, Zasáhl srdce mé jak vzdech jejího těla It hit my heart like a sigh of her body buďme jedno v kráse. let us be ‘one’ in beauty. a šepot jejího srdce. and whisper of her heart. Žel, marná touha má! Kde se nadíti takového Alas, my desire is in vain! Where else can one hope for splynutí, kromě v tobě, lásko má! such merging, except in you, my love? 9. Noc je noc plného máje 9. The night is the night of the ripe May Noc je noc plného máje, The night is the night of the ripe May, 12. Jsi oblak večerní 12. You are the evening cloud vítr je vítr jižní. the wind is the southerly wind. Jsi oblak večerní, plynoucí You are the evening cloud floating Běžím jak běží kabor pižmový, ve stínu lesa šílený I run as a musk-deer runs, in the shadow of the forest, po nebi mých snů, over the sky of my dreams. vlastní svou vůní. driven insane by his own scent. Maluji si tě a zpodobuji se tě podle tužeb lásky své. I paint you and I envisage you guided by Scházím z cesty a chodím, hledám, čeho nemohu I veer off my path and I wander, seeking what I cannot Jsi má, jsi má, the desires of my love. nalézti, nalézám, čeho nehledám. find, and finding what I do not seek. ty obyvatelko mých nekonečných snů. You are mine, mine, Z mého srdce vychází a tančí From my heart arises and dances Tvé nohy jsou růžové You Dweller of my infinite dreams. obraz mé touhy. the image of my desire. žárem touhy srdce mého, Your legs are glowing pink Světlá vidina se míhá. Chci ji pevně uchopit, uniká The bright vision keeps flashing by. I want to grasp it ty sběratelko žatvy mých písní západu! with the ardour of my heart’s desire, mi a svádí mne z cesty. firmly, but it escapes me and leads me off my path. Tvé rty jsou hořce sladké You Reaper of the harvest of my sunset songs! Chodím, běžím a hledám. Hledám, čeho nemohu I walk, I run, I seek. I seek what I cannot find, I find chutí mého vína bolesti. Your lips are bitterly sweet nalézti, nalézám, čeho nehledám. what I do not seek. with the taste of my wine of pain.

Stínem vášně své The shadow of my passion jenž zjara pomáhat vždy přichází, It always comes with the spring to help ztemnil jsem oči tvé, has darkened your eyes, by nový život zas se rozvíjel. All life sprout and blossom anew ty tajemný hoste hlubiny You, mysterious guest of the depth Noc sobě vyhledal,by tiše přikrad se k nám It used the cover of night to sneak in žasnoucího zraku mého! of my mesmerised gaze! z dálky s větrem příznivým From afar with favourable wind Chytil jsem tě, má milá, I have captured you, my beloved, a ovlažil vše jemně tak a úzkostlivě. And refreshed everything gently and scrupulously. a zahalil sítí hudby své! and cloaked you in the net of my music. Jak temný mrak visel včera nad stezičkou, As a dark cloud, it hovered yesterday over the path Jsi má, jsi má, You are mine, you are mine, jež k mému domovu vine se, Which winds towards my home, ty obyvatelko mých snů. You Dweller of my dreams! jen ohně lodic bylo v temnu ještě zřít..., One could not see but the lanterns of boats…, Jsi má, jsi má, jsi má! You are mine, you are mine, you are mine’ na řece body zářící. Beads glittering on the river. Dnes ráno svěží barvy svítí do daleka, This morning fresh colours glow wide and far; kloní se krásné květy, Beautiful blossoms on bending stems, Čínské písně, Op. 4 (1921) Chinese Songs, Op. 4 (1921) rozseté v sadech císařských jak vyšíváné. Embellish the imperial gardens like embroidery. 13. Smutek 13. Sadness By Tu Fu Žil v Liangu král kdys, vznešený a mocný, Once there was a king in Liang, noble and mighty, palác jeho býval otevřen vždy hostům..., His palace was always open to guests…, u dvora pak velcí kvetli básníkové. Great poets flourished at his court. Čtyři písně na slova čínské poezie (1944) Four Songs on Chinese Poetry (1944) Minulo již tisíc roků, ba snad více, A thousand years have passed, and perhaps more, 16. Zaslech jsem divoké husy... 16. I Heard Wild Geese... jedna věž tam zbývá jenom v zříceninách, A single tower is left standing amidst the ruins, Domov je tam, Home is there, jako stopa teskná dávné velikosti. As a mournful trace of past glory. daleko tam, Far away, there, Ticho vládne kolem, rostliny tam bují, Silence reigns all around, vegetation abounds, mělo bys domů, You should head home, smutku dech tam vstává, tisíc mil se šíří v dál. A breath of sadness spreads a thousand miles away. zbloudilé srdce! Long lost wandering heart! By Gao Shi Daleko tam, domov, domov. Far away there, my home, my home. Za cizí noci, In the foreign night, 14. Na řece Jo-Yeh (Chui Hao) 14. On the River Jo-Yeh v podzimním dešti, In the autumn rain, Kterak prchá naše lehká lodice, How smoothly runs our light boat, když nejvíc studil When at its most chilling jsme již v zemi kouzelné, mlh bílých. Here we are in the magic land of white fogs. smutku chladný van: Was the cold gust of the grief, Putujem a odpočíváme We travel and we rest ve vysokém domě svém zaslech jsem In my tall house I’ve heard prostřed ptactva a obláčků. Amidst birds and clouds. křik divokých husí: The cry of the wild geese: Zatím chvějný obraz horstev Meanwhile the quivering reflection of mountains právě přilétly. They’ve just flown back in. sleduje pohyby, jež činí naše loď. Copies the movements of our boat. Domov je daleko tam. Home is far away, there. Brzy echo odpovídá z hlubokých skalisek, Now an echo comes back from deep rocks, By Wej Jing-wu brzy zve nás údol poklidný svou tišinou. Now a serene valley lures us with a silent meadow. Prosím, nechte v klidu vesla na chvíli, Please, drop the oars for a moment, 17. V bambusovém háji 17. In a Bamboo Grove abych potěšil se krajem líbezným, To let me take delight in this adorable land, V bambusech nejsou lidé, In the bamboo grove, there are no people, jehož krásy dosud sotva zahlédl jsem. The beauties of which I have but glimpsed so far. v bambusech sedím sám, Amidst the bamboos I sit alone, tu na loutnu zahraju tiše, Sometimes I play softly my lute, 15. Jarní déšť 15. Spring Rain tu sobě zahvízdám. Other times I whistle to myself. Oh, dobrý deštíček, jenž vždy tak dobře ví, Oh, the good rain always knows full well Kdo, řekněte, lidé, kdo ví, Who, tell me, people, who knows kdy nám ho nejvíc třeba jest, When we more than ever have need of it; že v bambusech sedím sám? That I am sitting in the bamboos all alone? . . Že v bambusech sedím sám That in the bamboos I sit all alone, a na východ srpečku luny And watch the rising crescent of the moon through of this album would not be Yehuda Shapiro bambusem pozírám? the bamboo trees? possible without the generous support of Max Sussman By Wang Wej a number of organisations and individuals. Marian Werner

18. Daleko měsíc je od domova 18. Far Away the Moon is from Home Z temného moře From the dark sea We would like to express our thanks to: And special thanks to: Vyrůstá měsíc. The moon is emerging. V daleké, daleké zemi In the far, far away land The John S Cohen Foundation Bob and Elisabeth Boas teď rozkvétá též. It is also blossoming now. The Dvořák Society for Czech and Slovak Evelyn Friedlander Láska svůj truchlí Love is mourning Music, for the sponsorship towards the Lance Moir Daremný sen – Its futile dream. world premiere recording of the chamber Valerie Rees Čeká , čeká It is waiting, and waiting na vzdálený večer. For that far-off evening. piece Fata Morgana Renee and Thomas Salamon Jasněji měsíc The moon, ever brighter, Fidelio Trust David Sulkin Svítí v mé hoře. Sheds light into my grief. The Nicholas Boas Charitable Trust Professor Barry Ife, and the staff at the Oblékám noční šat– I put on my night robes – Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Chladné je jíní. Hoarfrost is so chilling. Martin Bowen Ruce mé, ruce, My hands, my hands, Dorothy Connell Kterak jste prázdné How empty you are Říci to všechno! To express all of it! Gino Chiappetta Spánku, sen dej mi Sleep, give me a dream, Serena Fenwick O návratu domů! About my return home! Siri Fischer Hansen Spánku, sen nemůžeš dát: Sleep, you can’t give me a dream: Jacqueline Gestetner Mé toužení stále mě budí. My yearning constantly wakes me up. David Gladstone By Čchang Ťiou-lin Annie Grice 19. Probděná noc 19. Sleepless Night Terry Heard Větrem se bambus houpá, Bamboo is swaying in the wind, Deborah and Jolyon Hudson na kámen měsíc sed. The moon is perched on the stone. Sandra Inett Do chvění Mléčné dráhy, Across the flickering of the Milky Way Ann Kodicek-Gilbert Stín divoké kachny vzlét . The shadow of the wild goose has flown. Cynthia Landes Na naše shledání myslím, I am thinking of our meeting, Charlotte Morgan Na naše shledání, shledání myslím. Of our meeting, of our meeting I keep thinking. Víčka má míjí sen. The sleep passes my eyelids by. Martin Pasteiner Zatím co radostí zpívám, Meanwhile, as I am singing for joy, Annette Percy strak repot vzbouzí už den! The clamouring chatter of the magpies Chris Rees La, la, la, la, ... Already awakes the new day! Maxim Rowlands By Chan I La, la, la, la, ...

Translations by Lada Valešová and Martin Čurda James Platt (bass) Slatkin, Dvořák’s with the BBC Nicky Spence (tenor) created and premiered many new pieces and Symphony Orchestra and Jiří Bělohlávek, most notably, works by Jonathan Dove and British bass James Platt was educated at Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the Hallé Hailed by as ‘a voice of the lead role in ’s opera Chetham’s School of Music and went on Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth, Rossini’s real distinction,’ Nicky Spence is fast for ENO and The . to study at the Petite Messe Solennelle at the BBC Proms emerging as ‘one of our brightest young and on the Opera Course of the Guildhall with the BBC Singers/David Hill and Nino’s tenors.’ An artist of great integrity, Nicky On the recital platform, Nicky enjoys School of Music and Drama. Ghost in Rossini’s Semiramide at the BBC Spence’s unique skills as a singing actor collaboration with leading artists of art song Proms with the OAE and Sir . and the rare honesty in his musicianship such as Malcolm Martineau, Julius Drake, A member of the Jette Parker Young are steadfastly earning him a place at the Roger Vignoles, Iain Burnside, William Vann, Artist Programme at Other recordings include Notary (Don top of the profession. Having trained at Simon Lepper and . His House, Covent Garden from 2014-2016 Pasquale) (Opus Arte DVD), Handel’s Messiah the Guildhall School and the National Opera discography includes a recital disc of his roles in the house included Gremin (Resonus) and Semiramide (). Studio, he took his place as an inaugural French Melodié, Shakespeare Settings (Eugene Onegin), Caronte (Orfeo), Dr Harewood Artist at the ENO in 2011. (both with Maritineau) and works by Grenvil (La traviata), Frontier Guard (Boris Leoncavallo, Schumann, Britten and Godunov) and Blansac (Rossini’s La scala Nicky has enjoyed great operatic success in premieres of Jonathan Dove, Pavel Haas, di seta). the UK which has led to important Alun Hoddinott and Mark-Anthony International debuts in houses such as Opera Turnage. He made his debut with the Welsh National de Paris, La Monnaie, Opera Frankfurt, De Opera as High priest of Baal (Nabucco) and, Nederlandse Opera and The Metropolitan In 2015, Nicky was nominated for Young as a Jerwood Young Artist at the Opera, New York. He works regularly with Singer of the Year by the International Opera Glyndebourne Festival he sang the role conductors such as Edward Gardner, Sir Awards and The Times Breakthrough Artist of Notary (Don Pasquale). Other roles Mark Elder, Phillipe Jordan, Carlo Rizzi, Andris Award at the South Bank Sky Arts Awards. include Dr Grenvil for Scottish Opera, Nelsons, Maurizio Benini, Donald Runnicles Il Commendatore (Don Giovanni) for Opera and Mark Wigglesworth in roles which www.nickyspence.com North, First Soldier (Salome) for the Dutch include David (Die Meistersingers von National Opera and Ortel (Die Meistersinger Nürnberg), Števa (Jenůfa), Alwa (), Andres von Nurnberg) at La Scala, Milan. (Wozzeck), Janek (The Makropoulos Case), Steuermann (Der Fliegender Holländer), Concert appearances include Polyphemus Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don (Acis & Galatea) with La Nuova Musica and Giovanni), Iago (Otello – Rossini), Baron David Bates, Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra Lummer (Intermezzo), Chevalier de la Force (Les and , Verdi’s Requiem with Carmélites), Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress) the Orchestre National de Lyon and Leonard and Quint (The Turn of the Screw). He has Anna Starushkevych (mezzo soprano) Anna has performed the role of Anita Watson (soprano) Landestheater. In 2011 she returned to La Ofelia (La grotta di Trofonio) for the Fenice in the role of Donna Anna, followed by Ukrainian-born mezzo soprano Anna Bampton Classical Opera 2015, Orlofsky Australian/British Soprano Anita Watson grew her Opera Australia debut in the same role. Starushkevych graduated from the (Die Fledermaus) for the Celebrate Voice Festival up in Sydney and studied at the Sydney International Opera Course at the Guildhall 2014, as well as the role of Erato (Il parnaso Conservatorium of Music and the Australian Recent engagements include First Lady (Die School of Music and Drama (). confuso) and Orfeo in Bertoni’s Orfeo for the Opera Studio. Anita’s career has been Zauberflöte) for the Royal Opera House, Before her studies in the UK, Anna Bampton Classical Opera 2014 season. varied with opera, recitals and concerts Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) for Scottish studied at the Lviv National Academy of Music and she has won prizes in many prestigious Opera, Mimì (La Bohème) for Opera North, and the Lviv State Music College in Ukraine Anna has given solo recitals and performed international competitions. These include the Governess (The Turn of the Screw) for Théâtre with a renowned Ukrainian bass, Vasyl Dudar. in concerts in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Australian Singing Competition, the Queen du Capitole Toulouse, Pamina (The Magic Italy and Ukraine. In the UK she has performed Sonja International Music Competition in Flute) for , Anne In June 2015 Anna was nominated for at the Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Oslo, Neue Stimmen in Germany and the Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) for Teatro the Best Female Supporting Role in an opera St George’s Hanover Square, St Martin-in-the Plácido Domingo Operalia competition. Municipal de Santiago and Fiordiligi at the Helpmann Awards (Sydney, Australia) Fields, Milton Court Concert Hall and LSO St In 2009 she was awarded the first prize and (Così fan tutte) for Diva Opera. for her performance of the role of Rosimonda Luke’s. Anna also performs regularly in oratorio, the Audience Award at the international in Handel’s Faramondo at the Brisbane including Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s ARD Music Competition in Munich and the Concert highlights include Beethoven’s Ninth Baroque Festival 2015. Eliah, Mozart’s Requiem and Stabat Mater by 2010 SWR Emmerich-Smola Prize. Symphony with Sir Antonio Pappano and both Haydn and Pergolesi. the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Anna is the first mezzo soprano to win the As a Jette Parker Young Artist at the Royal Strauss Vier letzte Lieder with the Rheinische Handel Singing Competition in London, taking Anna’s recordings include Rosimonda in Opera House (2007-9), she performed the Philharmonie in Koblenz and the Mariinsky the first prize (the Adair Prize), the Audience Handel’s opera Faramondo for Accent Records title role in Donizetti’s Rita, Naiad (Ariadne Orchestra in St Petersburg, Mahler’s Eighth Prize and the York Early Music Prize. This live from the Gottingen International Handel auf Naxos), Gretel and Dewfairy (Hänsel und Symphony and Parsifal at the Proms with Sir followed winning the Susan Longfield Award Festival 2014, as well as a solo performance Gretel), First Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra. and third prize in the Jackdaws Vocal Award on BBC Four’s DVD Maestro or Mephisto – Flowermaiden (Parsifal) and Second at the Wigmore Hall in 2010. She returned to the real . Woman (Dido and Aeneas). www.anitawatson.net the Wigmore Hall to perform the role of St Mary Cleophas in Handel’s La Resurrezione Anna is grateful for the generous support of In 2010 Anita made her house debuts at for the Handel Festival 2013. Success in her studies to Andrian Mostovyi (Split Lviv) Teatro La Fenice in Venice as Governess competitions also includes winning the and Serena Fenwick. (The Turn of the Screw) and at the Salzburg Bampton Classical Opera Young Singers’ Festival as Fifth Maid (Elektra). This was Competition 2013 and becoming a finalist www.annastarushkevych.com followed by Mimì (La Bohème) for the in the Competition 2013. Nationale Reisopera in the Netherlands and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) for the Salzburg Lada Valešová (piano) best performance of Romantic music. She Navarra Quartet Highly-acclaimed recordings include a disc of has earned recognition from eminent artists Pēteris Vasks’ first three String Quartets for Pianist Lada Valešová continues to make such as Sir George Solti and Sir Charles Since its formation in 2002, the Navarra Challenge Records, which they recorded whilst an indelible mark with her original artistry, Mackerras. Quartet has built an international reputation working closely with the composer himself. imaginative music exploration and as one of the most dynamic and poetic The recording was described by critics as dramaturgy. Her album of Czech Piano As both a solo and collaborative concert string quartets of today. Selected for “stunning”, “sensational” and “compelling”, Music Intimate Studies, followed by her pianist Lada is in high demand with recitals representation by the Young Classical and was nominated for the prestigious second album Dumka (Avie Records), and creative projects in UK and Europe, and Artists Trust (YCAT) from 2006 to 2010, German Schallplattenkritik Award. have received universal international as far overseas as New Zealand. Her debut they have been awarded the MIDEM critical acclaim. Inspired by her Czech at the Wigmore Hall earned her the claim Classique Young Artist Award, a Recent highlights include performances at and Russian heritage, and having lived that she is “one of the most gifted Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, a the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, and worked in London for the last twenty accompanists of all” (Musical Opinion). She Musica Viva tour, Second Prize at the ’s Bridgewater Hall, the years, Lada enjoys exploring and presenting has performed at St John’s Smith Square, Melbourne International Competition Laeiszhalle in Hamburg and the to the public lesser known repertoire at the Royal Opera House, and continues to and First Prize in the Florence International Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the with Slavic and middle European links. appear in festivals and concerts in the Czech Chamber Music Competition. Utzon Music Series at the Sydney Opera Republic in venues such as Dvořák Hall in House and Four Winds Festival, New South Lada graduated from the Prague Prague as well as in prestigious concert They have appeared at major venues Wales; at the Bergen International, Conservatoire and Prague Music Academy, series such as Czech Philharmonics Chamber throughout the world including the Aix-en-Provence, Aldeburgh, Harrogate followed by London’s Guildhall School of Music Society. In the UK, she has performed Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Chamber Music Festivals; as well as the Music and Drama where she is now a at festivals including the Three Choirs Luxembourg Philharmonie, Berlin quartet’s China debut in Shanghai. professor. She has been taught, amongst Festival, the Oxford Lieder Festival and the Konzerthaus, and international festivals others, by late pedagogue Valentina St Endellion Music Festival. such as Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, The Navarra Quartet launched its own Kameníkova, one of the most prominent Aix-en-Provence and the BBC Proms. chamber music festival in 2014 at the pianists in former Czechoslovakia, and She has been featured on BBC Radio 3 Further afield they have given concerts beautifully renovated Van Houten Church, Eugene Indjic, a pupil of Arthur Rubinstein. and Classic FM, as well as on European, in Russia, the USA and the Middle East in the picturesque town of Weesp, close Her playing has been further refined by New Zealand and US radio stations. and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, to Amsterdam. her studies with James Gibb and Paul RAI 3 (Italy), Radio 4 (Holland), SWR Hamburger at the Guildhall School. In 2017 she will perform in a highly (Germany), Radio Luxembourg and ABC The Quartet plays on a variety of fine anticipated production of Janáček’s Diary of Classic FM (Australia). The Quartet has instruments which include a Hieronymus Lada has won several honours including One who Disappeared under the direction of collaborated with artists such as Anthony II Amati and Fendt violins, an unknown, two awards at the International Smetana Ivo van Hoven, world renown director, and Marwood, , Mark Padmore, old English viola and a Ruggieri cello. Piano Competition, Best Piano Duo, and founder of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam Allan Clayton and the National Youth the Alexander Wise Memorial Prize for the Theatre Company. Orchestra of Great Britain. More titles from Resonus Classics Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Shakespeare Sonnets Ashley Riches (baritone) & Emma Abbate (piano) RES10141

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© 2017 Resonus Limited è 2017 Resonus Limited Recorded in Milton Court, London on 15-16 December 2015 and in Menuhin Hall, Stoke d’Abernon on 28 August 2016. Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks Czech language coaching: Lada Valešová Session photography © Resonus Limited Recorded at 24-bit/96kHz resolution (DDD) Cover image: Radoslav Valeš, MA Art

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