Tuesday 25 May Jess Dandy, contralto Malcom Martineau, piano Presented by Ian Skelly “Shall I Strive with words to move?” voicing the sixteenth century Words moved heaven and earth in the sixteenth century. Wordsmith became artist, and writers such as Shakespeare, Marlowe, Wyatt, and Sidney revelled in the rich tapestry of the English language, immortalising themselves and their loves in Petrarchan sonnet form. It was the time of the English Renaissance, and over the Channel, a group of poets called The Pleiads – Ronsard, Du Bellay, De Baïf, were no less industrious, serenading their readers with Homeric odes; muses and mythology abounding. Real life was textbook history in the making. We all know it, chapter and verse: the dissolution of the monasteries, the six wives, Bloody Mary, the Spanish Armada, Mary, Queen of Scots. The French Kings returned to Paris, then the largest city in the world: their glory the Louvre; their shame the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre. We follow the thread of this extraordinary century, charting its lasting and far-reaching musical influence. John Dowland, the Elizabethan melancholic musician-poet par excellence, and a famous favourite of Sting, acts as our contemporary guide, but we quickly fall down the rabbit hole of history into Ravel, Poulenc, and Berlioz settings of Clément Marot, Pierre de Ronsard and Shakespeare. The intimate letters of Mary, Queen of Scots are heartbreakingly brought to life by Robert Schumann, and Joseph Horovitz meets Lady Macbeth and her crimes with chilling musical incision. Argento and Korngold provide some much needed relief, setting Jonson, Constable and Shakespeare as they celebrate the delicious naivety of May time merriments, complete with young loves, singing birds, and that infamous greenwood tree, before we come full circle back to Dowland. Jess Dandy Programme Shall I Strive with Words To Move? From Book of Songs, Book 4 ‘A Pilgrimes Solace’ Music & words by John Dowland (1563-1626) D’Anne jouant de l’espinette No 2 from Epigrammes de Clément Marot M.10 Music by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937); words by Clément Marot (1496-1544) Anne par jeu me jecta de la neige Anne in fun threw snow at me Que je cuidoys froide certainement: which I found cold for certain: Mais c’estoit feu, l’expérience en ay-je but it was fire, the experience I had Car embrasé je fuz soubdainement for suddenly I was caressed Puisque le feu loge secretement So, as fire secretly dwells Dedans la neige, où trouveray-je place within the snow, where can I find a place that Pour n’ardre point? Anne, ta seule grâce does not burn? Anne, only your kindness can Estaindre peut le feu que je sens bien extinguish the fire which consumes me Non point par eau, par neige, ne par glace, not with water, snow, or ice, Mais par sentir ung feu pareil au mien. But with a fire like unto my own Ballet No 3 from Poèmes de Ronsard Music by Francis Poulenc (1899-1963); words by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Le soir qu’Amour vous fit en la salle descendre The night that Eros in the Ballet Room Pour danser d’artifice un beau ballet d’amour, had you perform an artful dance of love, Vos yeux, bien qu’il fût nuit, ramenèrent le jour, your eyes seemed to bring back the sun above, Tant ils surent d’éclairs par la place répandre. so well did their bright rays dispel all gloom. Le ballet fut divin, qui se soulait reprendre, It was divine: I watched the dance resume Se rompre, se refaire et, tour dessus retour, and break off and re-form and turn upon turn Se mêler, s’écarter, se tourner à l’entour, diverge and then remerge and wind in curves in Contre-imitant le cours du fleuve de Méandre. imitation of Meander’s stream. Ores il était rond, ores long, or’ étroit, Now it was long, now narrow, sometimes round Or en pointe, en triangle, en la façon qu’on voit and sometimes pointed in the V formation of L’escadron de la grue évitant la froidure. cranes in flight escaping Winter’s coldness. Je faux, tu ne dansais, mais ton pied voletait I’m wrong, you did not dance: above the ground Sur le haut de la terre; aussi ton corps s’était your body flew - for once mortal creation Transformé pour ce soir en divine nature. attained the airy nature of a goddess La Mort d’Ophélie, Ballade H.92A: Andantino con moto quasi allegretto Music by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869); words by Ernest Legouvé (1807-1903) based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Au bord d’un torrent, Ophélie Beside a stream, Ophelia, Cueillait tout en suivant le bord, Following along the bank, gathered, Dans sa douce et tendre folie, In her soft and gentle lunacy, Des pervenches, des boutons d’or, Periwinkles, buttercups, Des iris aux couleurs d’opale, Irises the colour of opal, Et de ces fleurs d’un rose pâle, And those pale, rose-coloured flowers Qu’on appelle des doigts de mort. They call Dead Men’s Fingers. Puis élevant sur ses mains blanches Then, lifting in her white hands Les riants trésors du matin, The happy treasure of the morning, Elle les suspendait aux branches, She hung them from the branches, Aux branches d’un saule voisin; From the branches of a nearby weeping willow; Mais, trop faible, le rameau plie, But too weak, the branch bends, Se brise, et la pauvre Ophélie Then breaks, and poor Ophelia Tombe, sa guirlande à la main. Falls, her garland in her hand. Quelques instants, sa robe enflée For a while, her swollen dress La tint encor sur le courant, Bore her on the current, Et comme une voile gonflée, And like a full sail, Elle flottait toujours, chantant, She kept floating, singing, Chantant quelque vieille ballade, Singing some ancient ballad, Chantant ainsi qu’une naïade Singing like a water-sprite Née au milieu de ce torrent. Born in this stream’s domain. Mais cette étrange mélodie But this strange song Passa rapide comme un son; Faded, as rapidly as a sound, Par les flots la robe alourdie For the waves soon made her dress heavy Bientôt dans l’abîme profond; And down into the depths Entraïna la pauvre insensée, Dragged the poor senseless girl, Laissant à peine commencée Leaving her melodious song Sa mélodieuse chanson. Hardly yet begun. *********************************************************************************************************** My True Love Hath My Heart Music by Charles Gounod (1818-1893); words by Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586) Fünf Gedichte der Königin Maria Stuart Music by Robert Schumann (1810-1856); words by Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) Abschied von Frankreich Departure from France Ich zieh’ dahin! I travel away! Ade, mein fröhlich Frankenland, Adieu, my joyful France, Wo ich die liebste Heimath fand, Where I found the dearest home, Du meiner Kindheit Pflegerin. Thou, who tended to me in childhood. Ade, du Land, du schöne Zeit Adieu, thou land, thou lovely time Mich trennt das Boot vom Glück so weit! The boat is carrying me so far away from Doch trägt’s die Hälfte nur von mir: happiness! Ein Theil für immer bleibet dein, But it bears only half of me: Mein fröhlich Land, der sage dir, One part shall ever remain thine, Des Andern eingedenk zu sein! My joyful land -- and may that part urge thee To remember the other part! Nach der Geburt ihres Sohnes After the birth of her son Herr Jesu Christ, den sie gekrönt mit Dornen, Lord Jesus Christ, whom they crowned with Beschütze die Geburt des hier Gebor’nen. thorns, Und sei’s dein Will’, lass sein Geschlecht Guard the birth of the child born here. zugleich And if it be Thy will, let his line Lang herrschen noch in diesem Königreich. Long reign [yet in] this kingdom, Und alles, was geschieht in seinem Namen, And may everything that comes to pass in his Sei dir zu Ruhm und Preis und Ehre, Amen. name Be to Thy glory and praise and honour, Amen! An die Königin Elisabeth To Queen Elizabeth Nur ein Gedanke, der mich freut und quält, One thought alone that gladdens and tortures me Hält ewigwechselnd mir den Sinn gefangen, Holds my spirit captive in eternal fluctuation Sodaß der Furcht und Hoffnung Stimmen klangen, So that the voices of both dread and hope rang out Als ich die Stunden ruhelos gezählt. While restlessly I counted the hours. Und wenn mein Herz dieß Blatt zum Boten wählt, And when my heart chooses this leaf of paper as Und kündet, Euch zu sehen, mein Verlangen, its messenger, Dann, theure Schwester, fasst mich neues And tells of my longing to see you, Bangen, Then, valued sister, I am gripped by new anxiety, Weil ihm die Macht, es zu beweisen fehlt. Because [this leaf of paper] lacks the power to give evidence thereof. Ich [sah] den Kahn, im Hafen fast geborgen, Vom Sturm [im] Kampf der Wogen I [saw] the barque, almost safe in harbour, festgehalten, Held fast by the storm [in] the battle of the waves, Des Himmels heit’res Antlitz nachtumgraut. The bright visage of the heavens shrouded by night. So bin auch ich bewegt von [bangen] Sorgen, Vor Euch nicht, Schwester! Doch des Thus, I too, am beset by [anxious] cares, Schicksals Walten Not [fear of] you, sister! But the machinations Zerreißt das Segel oft, dem wir vertraut. of fate Often tear the sail that we trusted. Abschied von der Welt Farewell from the world Was nützt die mir noch zugemess’ne Zeit? Of what use is the time still allotted to me? Mein Herz erstarb für irdisches Begehren, My heart is dead to all earthly desires, Nur Leiden soll mein Schatten nicht entbehren, My spirit is replete with suffering, Mir blieb allein die Todesfreudigkeit.