Corporate Season Sponsor: Ben Bliss, tenor Lachlan Glen, piano Sat, Nov 5 / 3 PM / Hahn Hall Program Strauss: John Gruen: Selections from Sechs Lieder von Adolf Friedrich Graf Spring is Like a Perhaps Hand von Schack, op. 17 from Three by E.E. Cummings Ständchen Lady will You Come with Me Into Nur Mut! from Three by E.E. Cummings Barkarole Lowell Liebermann: Ver Lieder, op. 27 The Arrow and the Song Morgen! from Six Songs on Poems of Henry W. Longfellow Boulanger: Theodore Chanler: Clairières dans le ciel I Rise When You Enter No. 4 - Un poète disait No. 7 - Nous nous aimerons tant Ned Rorem: No. 8 - Vous m’avez regardé avec toute votre âme Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening No. 9 - Les lilas qui avaient fleuri Eden Ahbez: Tosti: Nature Boy (Nat King Cole) Marechiare Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer: - Intermission - One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) Britten: Ray Charles: The Children and Sir Nameless Hallelujah I Love Her So The Last Rose of Summer John Gruen’s works are provided courtesy of his daughter, Julia Gruen, The Choirmaster’s Burial (from Winter Words) to whom his Cummings cycle is dedicated. About the Program On today’s concert, our recitalists present a distinctly modern program spanning three languages, two hemispheres, and multiple genres, yet what differences we find in language and musical idiom are bridged by time: every compos- er featured in this recital lived and composed in the twentieth century. While the Strauss and Tosti selections were both written in the waning years of the nineteenth century, both composers bridged the gap between the two centu- ries, ushering in a new era of composition. Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Selections from Sechs Lieder von Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack, op. 17 “Ständchen,” a tale of two young lovers’ late-night rendezvous beneath the town linden tree, begins with the gentle tinkling of piano keys, perhaps the soft twinkling of stars through the leaves. The near-constant flurry of undulating figures in the piano and the frequent leaps in the vocal line capture the excitement of the couple. Von Schack’s poetry is laden with symbolism: linden, nightingale, and rose, all evocative of young love, leave little to the imagination. In this song, one of Strauss’ earliest numbered works, we see already his mastery of building tension and portraying unbridled joy. The boldness of the first song stands in sharp contrast to the winding, chromatic melodies and melancholy which open “Nur Mut!,” yet here too we find deeply emotional writing. In the second and third stanzas the music and text become most impassioned, ascending to the words “glorious blue heaven.” “Barkarole” takes its name from the style of folk songs sung by Venetian gondoliers. The rocking rhythm evokes a boat moving “from wave to wave in a dance.” Another impassioned love song, here Strauss uses increasingly wide leaps to illustrate the narrator’s mounting impatience as he approaches the balcony of his beloved. In von Schack’s poetry we again find frequent evocation of the natural world, a central fascination among Romantic artists. No. 2 - Ständchen Serenade Mach auf, mach auf, doch leise mein Kind, Open up, open up, but softly, my child, Um keinen vom Schlummer zu wecken. so as to rouse no one from slumber. Kaum murmelt der Bach, kaum zittert im Wind The brook scarcely murmurs, the breeze scarcely Ein Blatt an den Büschen und Hecken. trembles Drum leise, mein Mädchen, daß nichts sich regt, a leaf on bush or hedge. Nur leise die Hand auf die Klinke gelegt. So softly, my maiden, so nothing shall stir, just lay your hand soft on the doorlatch. Mit Tritten, wie Tritte der Elfen so sacht, Um über die Blumen zu hüpfen, With footsteps as light as the footsteps of elves, Flieg leicht hinaus in die Mondscheinnacht, Hop your way over the flowers, Zu mir in den Garten zu schlüpfen. fly lightly out into the moonlit night, Rings schlummern die Blüten am rieselnden Bach and slip to me in the garden. Und duften im Schlaf, nur die Liebe ist wach. By the rippling brook the flowers slumber, fragrant in sleep; only love is awake. Sitz nieder, hier dämmert’s geheimnisvoll Unter den Lindenbäumen, Sit--here the dark is full of mystery, Die Nachtigall uns zu Häupten soll under the linden trees, Von unseren Küssen träumen, the nightingale above our heads should Und die Rose, wenn sie am Morgen erwacht, dream of our kisses, Hoch glühn von den Wonnenschauern der Nacht. and the rose, when in the morning it wakes, brightly glows from this bliss drenched night. No. 5 - Nur Mut! Take Courage! Laß das Zagen, trage mutig Leave your hesitating, bear bravely Deine Sorgen, deine Qual, Your worries, your torment! Sei die Wunde noch so blutig, Be the wound, ever so bloody, Heilen wird sie doch einmal. It shall one day heal. Unter tiefer Eisesdecke Beneath a deep blanket of ice Träumt die junge Knospe schon, The young bud already dreams Dass der Frühling sie erwecke That spring awakens it Mit der Lieder holdem Ton. With the lovely sound of song. Nur empor den Blick gewendet, Only turn your gaze aloft, Und durch düst’res Wolkengrau And through the grey of gloomy clouds Brich zuletzt, dass es dich blendet, Breaks at last, to dazzle you, Glorreich noch des Himmels Blau. the glorious blue heavens! Aber auch die trüben Stunden But also in the dim hours, Und die Tränen, die du weinst, And the tears that you weep— laub’, wie Freuden, die entschwunden, Believe, the joys which disappeared, Süßer scheinen sie dir einst. will one day seem sweeter to you than before. Und mit Wehmut, halb nur heiter, And with melancholy, only half-cheerful, Scheidest du für immerdar Forever say goodbye Von dem Leiden, dem Begleiter, To sorrow, your companion, Der so lange treu dir war. Who for so long was faithful to you. No. 6 - Barkarole Barcarole Um der fallenden Ruder Spitzen Around the tips of the falling oars Zittert und leuchtet ein schimmernder Glanz, A gleaming radiance trembles and shines, Flieht bei jedem Schlage mit Blitzen it flies at every stroke with flashes, Hin von Wellen zu Wellen im Tanz. From wave to wave in a dance. Mir im Busen von Liebeswonnen With love’s rapture in my breast, Zittert und leuchtet das Herz wie die Flut, My heart trembles and shines like the flood, Jubelt hinauf zu den Sternen und Sonnen, Rejoices to the stars and suns above, Bebt zu vergeh’n in der wogenden Glut. Quivers and fades away in the surging glow. Schon auf dem Felsen durch’s Grün der Platane Now on the cliffs through the green of the sycamore Seh’ ich das säulengetragene Dach, I see the column-supported roof, Und das flimmernde Licht am Altane And the shimmering light on the balcony Kündet mir, dass die Geliebte noch wach. Tells me my beloved is still awake. Fliege, mein Kahn, und birg uns verschwiegen, Fly, my boat, and hide us discreetly, Birg uns, selige Nacht des August; Hide us, blissful August night! Süß wohl ist’s, auf den Wellen sich wiegen, Although it is sweet to sway on the waves, Aber süßer, süßer an ihrer Brust. It is sweeter still upon her breast. “Morgen!,” No. 4 from Vier Lieder, op. 27 1894 saw the unsuccessful premiere of Strauss’ first opera, Guntram; Pauline de Ahna, then Strauss’ fiancée, sang the soprano role. Later that year, the two would be married, and it was for this occasion that Strauss wrote the four songs of opus 27 as a present to Pauline (“Cäcilie,” the second song in the set, the night before the wedding!). Both text and vocal line begin and end mid-thought, the lack of finality suggesting a moment in time stretched into eternity. No. 4 - Morgen Tomorrow Text: John Henry Mackay (1864 -1933) And tomorrow the sun will shine again, Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen and on the path that I shall take, Und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde, We will, we happy ones, again be made one Wird uns, die Glücklichen, sie wieder einen upon this sun-breathing earth . Inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde. And to the shore, broad, blue-waved, Und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen, we shall, quiet and slow, descend, Werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen, silently, into each other’s eyes we’ll gaze, Stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen, and on us will fall joy’s speechless silence . Und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes Schweigen . Lili Boulanger (1893-1918): Selections from Clairières dans le ciel (Clearing in the Sky) Though illness tragically cut short her life at the age of twenty-four, French composer Lili Boulanger accomplished as much as many of her older counterparts. Born into a highly musical family including celebrated teacher Nadia Bou- langer (her older sister), Lili was surrounded by music. A child prodigy and first female winner of the prestigious Prix de Rome at age nineteen, Lili composed a significant volume of works. Clairières dans le ciel, a thirteen-song cycle, stands among her finest achievements. Taken from Francis Jammes’ Tristesses, the cycle ruminates at length on a failed romance. On the first page of an early draft, Lili wrote that the music should be sung as if the relationship were “still fresh in the mind.” “Un poète disait” captures the moment of new love. Harmonies turn on a dime à la Fauré: the effect is pleasantly intoxicating, like the fragrance of spring flowers. In “Nous nous aimerons tant,” the couple is rendered speechless; the text and languorous piano accompaniment share a similar lack of motion.