Robert Blocker, Dean

faculty artist series · october 7, 2009 · sprague memorial hall

Janna Batymezzo-soprano

with Karl Paulnack, piano

ludwig van beethoven1770-1827

An die Fierne Geliebte Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähendI. Wo die Berge so blauII.

Leichte Segler in den HöhenIII. Diese Wolken in den HöhenIV.

Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die AuV. Nimm sie hin denn, diese LiederVI.

maurice ravel1875-1937

Chansons MadécassesNahandoveI.

Aoua!II. Il est douxIII.

Laura Gilbert fluteJacques Wood cello

intermission

george crumbb. 1929

Apparition The Night in Silence under Many a Star I.

Vocalise 1: Summer Sounds When Lilacs Last in Dooryard Bloom’dII.

Dark Mother Always Gliding Near III. with Soft Feet Vocalise 2: Invocation

Approach Strong Deliveress! IV. Vocalise 3: Death Carol (“Song of the Nightbird”)

Come Lovely and Soothing DeathV. The Night in Silence Under VI.

Many a Star

fernando obradors1897-1945

Canciones clásicas españolas El vitoI.

La mi sola, LaureolaII. Al amorIII. ¿Corazón, porqué pasáis?IV.

Del cabello más sutilV. Chiquitita la noviaVI.

Praised by the Boston Globe for “a rich, viola-like tone and a rapturous, luminous lyricism,” mezzo-soprano Janna Baty has sung with the Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Hamburgische Staatsoper, L’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallahassee Symphony, Tuscaloosa Symphony, Longwood Symphony, Hartford Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Eugene Opera, Opera North, and Boston Lyric Opera.

Ms. Baty has sung under the batons of James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Michel Plasson, Carl Davis, Robert Spano, Steuart Bedford, Stephen Lord, Stefan Asbury, Christopher Lyndon Gee, Dean Williamson, Gil Rose, David Hoose, Shinik Hahm, and Edward Cumming. As a soloist, chamber musician, and recitalist, she has performed at festivals worldwide, including the Aldeburgh and Britten Festivals in England, the Varna Festival in Bulgaria, the Semanas Musicales de Frutillar Festival in Chile, and the Tanglewood, Norfolk, and Coastal Carolina festivals in the U.S.

A noted specialist in contemporary music, Ms. Baty has worked alongside many celebrated composers, including John Harbison, Bernard Rands, Yehudi Wyner, Sydney Hodkinson, Peter Child, Reza Vali, Paul Salerni, and Paul Moravec, on performances of their music. Ms. Baty has enjoyed a long collaboration with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and with them has recorded the critically lauded Vali: Flute Concert/Deylaman/Folk Songs (sung in Persian), Lukas Foss’ opera Grifflekin, and the world-premiere recording of Eric Sawyer’s Civil War-era opera Our American Cousin. Two additional recordings with BMOP, John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs, and more music by Reza Vali, are slated for release next year.

janna batymezzo-soprano

Hailed by the Boston Globe as “a firecracker of a pianist” and “master of his instrument,” Karl Paulnack has partnered vocal and instrumental soloists, chamber groups, orchestras, conductors, and opera companies in nearly a thousand concerts throughout North America, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Macedonia, Norway, Romania, and Russia. Recent engagements include the festivals of Bard College, Madeline Island, Round Top, Royaumont, Sonic Boom, and Tanglewood, as well as the Bridge, Noe Valley, Stillwater, Walker Museum, Williams College, UC Davis, UT Austin, and University of Oregon concert series. He has appeared at Alice Tully, CAMI, Carnegie, Merkin, and Weil recital halls, Tanglewood, the Library of Congress, and the Hollywood Bowl. Regular recital partners include violinist Jorja Fleezanis, soprano Lucy Shelton, and several chamber ensembles.

A frequent performer of new music, Dr. Paulnack has worked closely with composers such as John Adams, Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Karel Husa, Steve Reich, and Joan Tower. Dr. Paulnack has appeared as a featured guest on such public radio programs as St. Paul Sunday, Performance Today, and Morning Pro Musica, as well as on Minnesota Public Radio and BBC television. Recordings of his perfor- mances may be found on the Koch, Seamus, Innova and Capstone Labels.

Dr. Paulnack has served as rehearsal pianist and musical assistant to conductors Sir Charles Groves, Christopher Hogwood, Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Otto Werner Mueller and Michael Tilson Thomas. With the Los Angeles Opera Theater, he was assistant/cover conductor for Henry Holt, and he served on the opera coaching and conducting staff of USC and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. His work in opera includes conducting and coaching positions at several universities as well as the Tanglewood Music Center.

Committed to a diverse, comprehensive practice of collaborative musicianship as an artist/teacher for more than two decades, Karl Paulnack has served as director of the Boston Conservatory’s music division since 2002. He is also music director and conductor of the Contemporary Opera Lab of Winnipeg and chef de chant of the Orchestra de Picardie. He co-chaired the accompanying and coaching department of the University of Minnesota and served on the faculties of the Tanglewood Music Center, University of Southern California, Ithaca College, and Music Academy of the West. He holds an undergraduate degree from Eastman and completed the mm and dma degrees at USC, where his teachers included Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Brooks Smith.

karl paulnackpiano

jacques woodcello

Laura Gilbert is artistic director and resident flutist at Monadnock Music. She has performed around the world as chamber musician, soloist, recitalist and guest lecturer. In addition to founding and performing with Aureole, a trio comprised of flute, viola and harp, Ms. Gilbert has appeared with Musicians from Marlboro, Alexander Schneider’s Brandenburg Ensemble, the Brentano and Saint Lawrence String Quartets, Chamber Music at the 92nd Street Y, Saint Luke’s Ensemble and Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and Speculum Musicae. Ms. Gilbert also performs frequently in a duo with the Greek guitarist Antigoni Goni. As advocates of folk-inspired classical music, the duo has commissioned numerous new works, many of which are included on their debut solo disc From the New Village, on Koch International Classics.

Ms. Gilbert’s extensive discography includes a Grammy award, as a member of the ensemble on Dawn Upshaw’s Girl wth the Orange Lips, and two solo recordings on Koch International: The Flute Music of Serge Prokofiev and The Flute Music of Toru Takemitsu. In addition to Gilbert’s solo recordings, Aureole has released nine discs on Koch International, the first of which was short-listed for numerous Grammy awards. Ms. Gilbert has served on the flute and chamber music faculties of Peabody Conservatory, Mannes College of Music, Harid Conservatory, Purchase College, The Aaron Copland School at Queens College, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, and Saint Ann’s School. Ms. Gilbert studied with Samuel Baron, Julius Baker and Thomas Nyfenger, and received her bachelor’s degrees from Sarah Lawrence College and New England Conservatory of Music, her diploma and master of music from Juilliard, and her doctorate from SUNY Stony Brook.

laura gilbertflute

Cellist Jacques Lee Wood has performed as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician throughout North America, Europe, and Asia in such prestigious venues as Boston’s Jordan Hall, Merkin Hall and LeFrak Hall in New York, Auditorium Marcel Landowski in Paris, and Youngsan Art Hall in Seoul, to name a few. He was a top prizewinner at the ARTS Competition and the Fischoff Chamber Music Competitions. He has served on the faculty at Atlantic Union College, as a cello instructor at the Yale School of Music, and as a faculty member in the depart- ment of music at the New Haven Cooperative Arts Magnet High School. Mr. Wood received a bm from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Laurence Lesser, and an mm from the Yale School of Music. He is currently completing his mma at Yale under Aldo Parisot. Jacques Wood is a frequent guest at several summer music festivals, including the Norfolk Festival, Banff Festival, and the International Arts Institute.

texts & translations

Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte Poems by Aloys Jeitteles (1794-1858)

Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähendIn das blaue Nebelland,Nach den fernen Triften sehend,Wo ich dich, Geliebte, fand. Weit bin ich von dir geschieden,Trennend liegen Berg und TalZwischen uns und unserm Frieden,Unserm Glück und unsrer Qual. Ach, den Blick kannst du nicht sehen,Der zu dir so glühend eilt,Und die Seufzer, sie verwehenIn dem Raume, der uns teilt. Will denn nichts mehr zu dir dringen,Nichts der Liebe Bote sein?Singen will ich, Lieder singen,Die dir klagen meine Pein! Denn vor Liebesklang entweichetJeder Raum und jede Zeit,Und ein liebend Herz erreichetWas ein liebend Herz geweiht!

Wo die Berge so blauAus dem nebligen GrauSchauen herein,Wo die Sonne verglüht,Wo die Wolke umzieht,Möchte ich sein! Dort im ruhigen TalSchweigen Schmerzen und Qual.Wo im GesteinStill die Primel dort sinnt,Weht so leise der Wind,Möchte ich sein! Hin zum sinnigen WaldDrängt mich Liebesgewalt,Innere Pein.Ach, mich zög’s nicht von hier,Könnt ich, Traute, bei dirEwiglich sein!

To the Distant Beloved

On the hill I sit gazingat the azure cloudscape,looking for the distant meadowWhere, my love, I first came to know you.

I am parted from you, at such a vast distance;hill and valley, dividing, liebetween us and our peaceOur happiness and our anguish.

Ah, you cannot see the lookthat flies so ardently towards you,and sighs, they are scatteredin the space that separates us.

Will nothing else, then, speed towards you,Will nothing be love’s messenger?I shall sing, sing songsthat lament my anguish to you!

For at the sound of singingall time and space vanish,and a loving heart may attainThat which a loving heart holds sacred.

Where the mountains so blueout of the misty greylook down,Where the sun glows its last,where the coulds gather,I long to be!

There in the quiet valleySorrows and anguish are silent.There, where among the rocksthe primrose muses quietlyand the wind wafts so gently,I long to be!

Off to the pensive forstlove’s power urges me,Inner pain.Ah, nothing would draw me from here,If my darling, I could remain beside youForever!

Leichte Segler in den Höhen,Und du, Bächlein klein und schmal,Könnt mein Liebchen ihr erspähen,Grüßt sie mir viel tausendmal. Seht ihr, Wolken, sie dann gehenSinnend in dem stillen Tal,Laßt mein Bild vor ihr entstehenIn dem luft’gen Himmelssaal. Wird sie an den Büschen stehen,Die nun herbstlich falb und kahl.Klagt ihr, wie mir ist geschehen,Klagt ihr, Vöglein, meine Qual. Stille Weste, bringt im WehenHin zu meiner HerzenswahlMeine Seufzer, die vergehenWie der Sonne letzter Strahl. Flüstr’ ihr zu mein Liebesflehen,Laß sie, Bächlein klein und schmal,Treu in deinen Wogen sehenMeine Tränen ohne Zahl!

Diese Wolken in den Höhen,Dieser Vöglein muntrer Zug,Werden dich, o Huldin, sehen.Nehmt mich mit im leichten Flug! Diese Weste werden spielenScherzend dir um Wang’ und Brust,In den seidnen Locken wühlen.Teilt ich mit euch diese Lust! Hin zu dir von jenen HügelnEmsig dieses Bächlein eilt.Wird ihr Bild sich in dir spiegeln,Fließ zurück dann unverweilt!

Light, wispy clouds in the heavens,and you, slender little brook,should you glimpse my beloved,Greet her many thousand times for me.

Watch her go then, clouds,to muse in the quiet valley,let my image rise up before herIn the airy heavens.

Should she linger in the woods,now faded and leafless in autumn,Lament to her what has befallen me,Lament my anguish, you birds.

Tranquil western winds, carry on your breezesto my heart’s chosen onemy sighs, which are fading away,Like the sun’s last rays.

Whisper to her my love’s entreaty,slender little brook,Let her clearly see among your ripples my countless tears.

These clouds in the heights,this gay flock of birds,will see you, my precioius one—“Bring me along on your weightless flight!”

The western winds will play,teasing your cheeks and bosom, and will nestle into you silken locks—“If I could only share this joy with you!”

Down from the faraway hill towards youthis little brook hurries busily—“If her image is reflected in you,then flow back to me as quickly as you can!”

texts & translations

Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au,Die Lüfte, sie wehen so milde, so lau,Geschwätzig die Bäche nun rinnen. Die Schwalbe, die kehret zum wirtlichen Dach,Sie baut sich so emsig ihr bräutlich Gemach,Die Liebe soll wohnen da drinnen. Sie bringt sich geschäftig von kreuz und von querManch weicheres Stück zu dem Brautbett hieher,Manch wärmendes Stück für die Kleinen. Nun wohnen die Gatten beisammen so treu,Was Winter geschieden, verband nun der Mai,Was liebet, das weiß er zu einen. Es kehret der Maien, es blühet die Au.Die Lüfte, sie wehen so milde, so lau.Nur ich kann nicht ziehen von hinnen. Wenn alles, was liebet, der Frühling vereint,Nur unserer Liebe kein Frühling erscheint,Und Tränen sind all ihr Gewinnen.

Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder,Die ich dir, Geliebte, sang,Singe sie dann abends wiederZu der Laute süßem Klang. Wenn das Dämmrungsrot dann ziehtNach dem stillen blauen See,Und sein letzter Strahl verglühetHinter jener Bergeshöh; Und du singst, was ich gesungen,Was mir aus der vollen Brustohne Kunstgepräng erklungen,Nur der Sehnsucht sich bewußt: Dann vor diesen Liedern weichetWas geschieden uns so weit,Und ein liebend Herz erreichetWas ein liebend Herz geweiht.

May is returning, the meadow is in bloom,the breezes are flowing so gently, so warm,The books now chatter garrulously.

The swallow returns to the roof where she nests,She busily builds her bridal chamber,Love shall dwell within there.

From far and near, the swallow swiftly bringsSoft fluff for for her bridal bed,Cozy tufts to cradle her little ones.

Couples now live so faithfully together;those whom winter parted, May now unites.The springtime knows how to unite all who are in love.May is returning, the meadow is in bloom,The breezes are blowing so gently, so warm,But I cannot move from this spot.

At a time when every thing that loves is united,For our love alone there is no springtime,and tears are its only yield.

Take them, then, these songsthat I have sung to you, my beloved;Sing them again in the eveningto the sweet strains of the lute.

Then, when the crimson sunset draws toward the quiet blue lake,and its last rays die awaybehind the distant mountain heights; And you sing what I have sung,that which sprang from my full heartwithout the self-consciousness of art,aware only of its own longing:

Then, with these songs,let that which separates us melt away,and a loving heart may attainthat which a loving heart holds sacred!

Translations by William Mann, Lynn Thomson, and Janna Baty, with thanks to Richard Cross

Ravel: Chansons madécassesPoems by Évariste Désirée de Forges de Parny

Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove! L’oiseau nocturne acommencé ses cris, la pleine lune brille sur ma tête, et la rosée naissante humecte mes cheveux. Voici l’heure: qui peut t’arrêter, Nahahndove, ô belle Nahandove!

Le lit de feuilles est préparé; je l’ai parsemé de fleurs et d’herbes odoriférantes; il est digne de tes charmes. Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove! Reprends haleine, ma jeune amie; repose-toi sur mes genoux. Que ton regard est enchanteur! Que le mouvement de ton sein est vif et délicieux sousla main qui le presse! Tu souris, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

Tes baisers pénètrent jusqu’à l’âme; tes caressesbrûlent tous mes sens; arrête, ou je vais mourir. Meurt-on devolupté, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove?

Le plaisir passe comme un éclair. Ta douce haleine s’affaiblit,Tes yeux humides se referment, ta tête se penche mollement, et tes transports s’éteignent dans la langueur.Jamais tu ne fus si belle, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove! Tu pars, et je vais languir dans les regrets et les désirs. Je languirai jusqu’au soir. Tu reviendras ce soir, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

Madegascan Songs

Nahandove, oh beautiful Nahandove, the night bird hasbegun its cries, the full moon shines down upon my headand the first drops of dew are dampening my hair.Now is the time: Who can be delaying you, Nahandove,Oh beautiful Nahandove!

The bed of leaves is ready;I have strewn it with flowers and fragrant grasses;It is worthy of your charms, Nahandove,Oh beautiful Nahandove!

Catch your breath, my young lover; rest yourself uponmy knees. How captivating is your gaze! How alive anddelicious is the movement of your breasts, beneath the pressureof a hand! You smile, Nahandove,Oh beautiful Nahandove!

Your kisses penetrate my very soul; your caressesburn all my senses; stop, or I will die. Can one die of ecstasy, Nahandove, oh beautiful Nahandove?

Pleasure passes like a flash of lightning. Your sweet breathcalms, your moist eyes close again, your head lolls, andyour ecstasy fades into languor.Never have you been so beautiful, Nahandove, Oh beautiful Nahandove!

Now you are leaving and I will languish in regret and desire. I will languish until evening. You’ll return tonight, Nahandove,Oh beautiful Nahandove!

texts & translations

Aoua! Aoua! Méfiez-vous des Blancs,habitants du rivage.

Du temps de nos pères,des Blancs descendirent dans cette île. On leur dit: Voilà des terres, que vos femmes les cultivent; soyez justes, soyez bons, et devenez nos frères.

Les Blancs promirent, et cependant ils faisaient des retranchements Un fort menaçant s’éleva; le tonnerre fut renfermé dans des bouches d’airain; leurs prêtres voulurent nous donner un Dieu que nous ne connaissons pas, ils parlèrent enfin d’obéissance et d’esclavage.

Plutôt la mort. Le carnage fut long et terrible; mais malgré la foudre qu’ils vomissaient,et qui écrasait des armées entières, ils furent tous exterminés.

Aoua! Aoua! Méfiez-vous des Blancs! Nous avons vu de nouveaux tyrans, plus forts et plus nombreaux, planter leur pavillon sur le rivage: le ciel a combattu pour nous; il a fait tomber sur eux les pluies, les tempêtes et les vents empoisonnes. Ils ne sont plus, et nous vivons, et nous vivons libres. Aoua! Aoua! Méfiez-vous des Blancs,habitants du rivage.

Aoua! Aoua! Beware the white man,O shore-dwellers.

In the time of our fathers,White men landed upon this island.Our forefathers told them “Here is some land,for your women to cultivate;be honorable, be kind,And become our brothers.”

The Whites promised, and meanwhilethey began to encroach upon us.A menacing fort went upand thunder was enclosedwithin the brass cannons;Their priests tried to give usa God that we didn’t know,they finally spokeof submission and of slavery.

Better to die.

The carnage was long and terrible;But in spite of the thunder they vomited, which crushed entire armies,they were all exterminated.

Aoua! Aoua! Beware the white man.

We have since seen new tyrants,Stronger and more numerous,plant their encampments upon our shores:the heavens fought with us;they made rain fall upon them,Storms, and poisonous winds.They are no more, and we are alive,And we are free.

Aoua! Aoua! Beware the white man,O shore-dwellers.

Il est doux de se coucher, durant la chaleur, sous un arbre touffu,Et d’attendre que le vent du soir amème la fraîcheur.

Femmes, approchez. Tandis que je me repose ici sous un arbre touffu,Occupez mon oreille par vos accents prolongés Répétez la chanson de la jeune fille lorsque ses doigts tressent la natte ou lorsqu’assise auprès du riz, elle chasse les oiseaux avides.

Le chant plaît à mon âme. La danse est pour moi presque aussi douce qu’un baiser. Que vos pas soient lents; qu’ils imitent lesattitudes du plaisir et l’abandon de la volupté.

Le vent du soir se lève; la lune commence à briller au travers des arbres de la montagne.

Allez, et préparez le repas.

It is delightful to repose, during the heat of day,beneath a tufu tree,And to wait for the evening breezes to bring coolness.

Come, women.While I rest here under a tufu tree, fill my ears with your leisurely songs. Sing again the song that the young girl sings while her fingers plait her hair, or while she sits by the rice, shooing away greedy birds.

Song pleases my soul. Dance for me is nearly as sweet as a kiss.Let your movements be languid, that they mayemulate erotic poses and the abandon of ecstasy.

The evening breeze rises;the moon begins to gleam through the trees on the mountain.

Go forth, and prepare the evening meal.

Translation by Janna Baty

Crumb: ApparitionPoem by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)(Texts excerpted from When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d)

I. The night in silence under many a star, The ocean shore and the husky whispering wave whose voice I know, And the soul turning to thee O vast and well-veil’d death, And the body gratefully nestling close to thee.

II. When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.

III. Dark mother always gliding near with soft feet, Have none chanted for thee a chant of fullest welcome? Then I chant it for thee, I glorify thee above all, I bring thee a song that when thou must indeed come, come unfalteringly.

IV. Approach strong deliveress! When it is so, when thou hast taken them I joyously sing the dead, Lost in the loving floating ocean of thee, Laved in the flood of thy bliss O death.

texts & translations

Obradors: Canciones Clásicas Españolas

El Vito(Folk poem)

Una vieja vale un real y una muchacha dos cuartos, Y yo, como soy tan pobre me voy a lo más barato. Con el vito, vito, vito, con el vito, vito, va. No me jaga usté cosquillas, que me pongo colorá.

La mi sola Laureola (Juan Ponce)

La mi sola, Laureola La mi sola, sola, sola.

Yo el cautivo Leriano Aunque mucho estoy ufano Herido de aquella mano Que en el mundo es una sola.

La mi sola, Laureola La mi sola, sola, sola.

Classic Spanish Songs

The Vito

An old woman is worth a realAnd a girl, two cuartos.And, being so poor,I go for the cheaper one.

On with the dancing, the vito,On with the dance!Stop with your teasing, sir,Or else I’ll blush.

My only Laureola

My only LaureolaMy only, only, only one.

I, the captive Leriano,Even though I am terribly haughty,I am wounded by the handThat is the only one in the world.

My only LaureolaMy only, only, only one.

V. Come lovely and soothing death, Undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving, In the day, in the night, to all, to each, Sooner or later delicate death.

VI. The night in silence under many a star, The ocean shore and the husky whispering wave whose voice I know, And the soul turning to thee O vast and well-veil’d death, And the body gratefully nestling close to thee.

Al Amor (Cristobal de Castillejo)

Dame, Amor, besos sin cuento Asido de mis cabellosY mil y ciento tras ellos Y tras ellos mil y ciento Y después... De muchos millares, tres!

Y porque nadie lo sienta Desbaratemos la cuenta Y... contemos al revés.

Corazón, porqué pasáis?(Folk poem) ¿Corazón, porqué pasáis?Las noches de amor despiertoSi vuestro dueño descansaEn los brazos de otro dueño?

Del cabello más sutil (Folk poem)

Del cabello más sutil Que tienes en tu trenzado He de hacer una cadena Para traerte a mi lado.

Una alcarraza en tu casa, Chiquilla, quisiera ser, Para besarte en la boca, Cuando fueras a beber.

Chiquitita la novia (Folk poem)

Chiquitita la novia Chiquitito el novio Chiquitita la sala Y er dormitorio.

Por eso yo quiero Chiquitita la cama Y er mosquitero.

To Love

Give me, my love, countless kissesAs many as there are hairs on my headAnd a thousand and a hundred after thatAnd a hundred and a thousand after thatAnd afterwards…Many thousands, and three more still!

And so that nobody feels bad,Let’s tear up the score sheetAnd… begin counting backwards!

My heart, why do you keep awake?

My heart, why do you keep awakeDuring the nights of love,If your master restsIn the arms of another heart’s master?

Of the softest hair

Of the softest hairOf which your braid is plaitedI would like to make a chainTo pull you to my side.

I would like to be a water jug in your houseMy little one,So I could kiss you on your mouthEach time you came to drink.

The bride was teeny-tiny

The bride was teeny-tinyThe groom was teeny-tinyThe parlor was teeny-tinyAnd the bedroom, too.

And that’s why I wantA teeny-tiny bedAnd a mosquito net.

texts & translations

Ludwig van BeethovenAn die ferne Geliebte

An die ferne Geliebte is widely acknowledged to be the first song cycle. Written in 1816, it is through-composed, bears clear thematic and key relationships throughout, and above all is a clear departure both from Beethoven’s earlier song output and from the era’s compositional convention of writing individual, one-off songs. Beethoven composed a good number of songs that, while structurally sound and pleasant enough, did not exert enough influence to alter his reputation as being chiefly an instrumental and orchestral composer. Indeed, when considered individually, the songs of An die ferne Geliebte do not appear to contain any particularly original musical or textual ideas. The song cycle is decidedly greater than the sum of its parts, and it carries both the central character and the audience along the emotional arc of a relation- ship suspended by separation, either literal or metaphorical. The speaker’s longing—in German, Sehnsucht—is keenly felt, in spite of the rather stolid, ordinary poetry of Alois Isidor Jeitteles, a man better known for his accomplishments as a doctor and politician than as a poet.

The idea of a ferne Geliebte (a distant lover) had clear resonance with Beethoven, who since at least 1812 had been deeply and unrequitedly in love with a woman (variously thought to be Antonie Brentano, Bettina Brentano, or Josephine Brunswick), to whom he wrote his now-famous “Immortal Beloved” letter. Interestingly, An die ferne Geliebte does not conclude with the reuniting of the lovers, but instead with a near- exultant sense of resolution that they shall remain true in heart and soul, even though the distance between them—physical or emotional—is insurmountable. Was this outpouring in song reflective of Beethoven’s own resolution to set aside his great passion? Some scholars are

of the opinion that his being granted custody of a nephew following a long and bitter court battle with his sister-in-law marked the advent of a period of more contented domestic life for Beethoven, and if so perhaps that change did enable him to set aside his ardent longing more easily. But there is also evidence to support the theory that his deafness, that same legal battle (which continued with several more grueling chapters following his winning custody), and other unhappy circumstances might have left him feeling bereft instead of contented at the time he wrote An die ferne Geliebte. Ultimately, the mere creation of An die ferne Geliebte is of greater importance than the circumstances of its composition. By introducing an entirely new genre of song composition, Beethoven has had a profound influence on many of the greatest writers of Lieder and song of the last 193 years.

Maruice RavelChansons madécasses

Together with her mother, arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge provided the funds to build Yale’s first building dedicated to music. Sprague Hall is a fitting venue, then, in which to hear Ravel’s Chansons madécasses, commissioned by Mrs. Coolidge through her self-named foun- dation, which operated under the aegis of the Library of Congress. The stated intention of the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation was to “make possible…the composition and performance of music in ways which might otherwise be considered too unique or too expensive to be ordinarily undertaken.” Ravel had been intrigued by a collection of poems written in 1787 by Évariste de Parny, a French aristocrat who lived for the first ten years of his life on the Île Bourbon (later known as Réunion), located off the coast of Madagascar.

program notes

George CrumbApparition

Written in 1979 for mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani and pianist Gilbert Kalish, Apparition is George Crumb’s first significant work for solo voice and piano. In keeping with many of his later vocal compositions, Apparition employs extended techniques for both the singer and the pianist. The vocal part ranges from low F to a high D and incorporates birdcalls, ululations, whispers, and even pantomimed speech.

Meanwhile, the piano part calls for the strum- ming and plucking of piano strings, the use of harmonics, tapping the wooden sound board, and knocking the metal structural beams. The resultant range of timbres recalls everything from an Indian raga to nighttime forest sounds, to a distant passing thunderstorm.

The score for the first and last movements of Apparition (pictured at left) is laid out in cir- cular form, echoing the cyclical structure of the music and the theme of life’s cycle in the poetry. The text, consisting of excerpts from Walt Whitman’s “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard

program notes

Parny claimed his poems were translations of native Madagascan songs, although many believe them to be original compositions. Ravel was allegedly reading Chansons madécasses at the moment the telegram announcing Mrs. Coolidge’s commission arrived, and he ultimately chose to set the fifth, eighth, and twelfth of Parny’s poems.

Those familiar with Ravel’s writing both pre- and post-1920 will recognize the hallmarks of his later compositional style in Chansons madécasses. While undeniably sensual, the settings also possess a distinct rigor and economy. The second of the three songs, Aoua!, with its polytonal writing, chillingly underscores the grinding tension and anguish of Parny’s poem, which describes the ill effects and aftermath of colonialism from the point of view of a native Madagascan. Aoua! was actually given a premiere nearly a year before the other two songs com-prising the song cycle, in October of 1925. France at the time was embroiled in a brutal military conflict with its protectorate states in Morocco, which were ruled by a French resident-general named Louis Lyautey (a former military officer who, curiously, had once served in Madagascar). The frank anti-colonialism expressed in Aoua! deeply offended some in the audience, who raucously voiced their anger over Ravel’s supposed lack of patriotism. This uproar, of course, served merely to increase Ravel’s popularity and the fame of Chansons madécasses.

Bloom’d,” is part of a set of poems grouped under the title Memories of President Lincoln, written in the weeks following Lincoln’s assassination. Although the poem overall speaks directly of the President’s death, Crumb chose to set parts of the poem less specific to the event, in which death is not viewed as final and dark, but rather as a natural, reassuring, and even welcome part of life. Crumb’s lush, atmospheric compositional style began to go out of vogue with the advent of minimalism. Yet to hear it now, thirty years after its composition and 200 years after Lincoln’s birth, Apparition resonates as an exceptionally sensual and fresh take on Whitman’s elegiac poetry, on a country mourning an irreplaceable leader, and on song cycles generally.

Fernando OrbradorsSelected Songs

Catalan composer Fernando Obradors is chiefly remembered for his songs, specifically his four volumes of Canciones clásicas españolas, arrangements of traditional Spanish songs and dances. Obradors was primarily self-taught and rose to some prominence as a teacher and conductor, eventually becoming director the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra. He ardently sought fame as a composer of zarzuela, but few of his works for the theatre have stood the test of time. The immense charm, beauty, and simplicity of his Canciones clàsicas españolas belie Obradors’ relative obscurity as a composer. The songs have become a mainstay of the Spanish song repertoire and, ironically, have posthumously granted Obradors the enduring fame he sought elsewhere during his lifetime.

October 8 new music new haven

8 pm, Morse Recital Hall, FreeFeaturing the music of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands. With Janna Baty, mezzo-soprano, and Alexandra Detyniecki, oboe.

October 14 wei-yi yang, piano

8 pm, Morse Recital Hall, $11-$20/students $6The Horowitz Piano Series presents a recital of music by Chopin and Scriabin.

October 16 saxophone summit

8 pm, Sprague Hall, $20-$30/students $12Featuring Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Antonio Hart, Todd Bashore, Frank Basile, and Scott Robinson on saxes from soprano to the rare contrabass. With a stellar rhythm section including Tootie Heath, drums; David Wong, bass; and Michael Weiss, piano.

October 18 dame emma kirkby, soprano

8 pm, Morse Recital HallFree, but tickets required.Music at Twilight: songs and solos from early 17th-century Europe. With Jakob Lundberg, lute.

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box office 203 432-4158

concerts & mediaVincent OneppoDana AstmannMonica Ong ReedDanielle HellerElizabeth Fleming

operationsTara DemingChristopher Melillo

piano curatorsBrian DaleyWilliam Harold

recording studioEugene KimballJason Robins

acknowledgementsRichard CrossDaniel Hobbs Sarita KwokLaura GilbertRichard LalliKarl PaulnackJack VeesJacques Wood

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