Tara Erraught, mezzo-soprano & John O'Conor, piano

NCH International Concert Series 2018/2019

Tara Erraught mezzo-soprano John O’Conor piano Friday 26 April 2019

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International Concert Series 2018/2019

Welcome/Fáilte Described as ‘creating moments of wonder’ and having ‘high wattage charisma’, Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught, has garnered great praise for her recent opera and recital performances internationally. We are delighted to welcome her home this evening to perform her International Concert Series debut with celebrated pianist John O’Conor.

Whilst both Tara and John have performed separately on the NCH stage many times previously, tonight’s recital is made all the more special in having two leading Irish performers, who have made their mark on the international stage, join together for this recital of works by Strauss, Rossini and Mahler.

Tara’s schedule for 2019/20 sees her return to Austria’s Schubertiade Schwarzenberg in summer 2019, to London’s Wigmore Hall in late 2019, and to the Metropolitan Opera in the title role in Rossini's La Cenerentola in spring 2020. She also performs on the closing concert of The Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg's Mozart Week 2020.

"A pianist of unbounding sensitivity" (Gramophone) John O’Conor has already achieved the highest accolades at home and abroad, including the NCH Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. He continues to mix his highly successful performing and recording career with his equally successful roles as teacher, competition jury member and Artistic Director of the Dublin International Piano Competition.

Our thanks to The Irish Times for its continued support as print media partner for the NCH International Concert Series. The next concert in the season sees the return of the dazzling virtuoso pianist Marc-André Hamelin for a solo recital on 9th May to perform a rich and varied programme of works by Chopin, Schumann and more.

We look forward to welcoming you back to the Hall over the coming season.

Simon Taylor Chief Executive

Maura McGrath Chairperson

Board Of Directors Maura McGrath Chair • James Cavanagh • Rebecca Gageby Gerard Gillen • Eleanor McEvoy • Máire O’Connor Michael O’Donovan • John Reynolds • Don Thornhill Patron Michael D. Higgins President of Ireland 1

International Concert Series 2018/2019

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International Concert Series 2018/2019

Programme Liszt

Enfant, si j'étais roi Oh! quand j’ador Die Lorelei

Mahler Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht

Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld

Ich hab' ein glühend Messer

Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz Strauss Allerseelen

Die Nacht Morgen!

Ständchen INTERVAL Rossini

Cantata: Giovanna d’Arco

Copland American Folk songs

At the River Shenandoah

Simple Gifts Ivor Novello

My Dearest Dear Waltz of My Heart We’ll Gather Lilacs

REMINDERS Mobile Devices Please ensure all mobile devices are switched off during the performance.

Camera, Video and Recording Equipment Camera, video and recording equipment are NOT permitted in the auditorium.

Intervals and Timings Interval will be 20 minutes. Latecomers will not be admitted until there is a suitable break in the performance.

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International Concert Series 2018/2019

Marc-André Hamelin piano

Thursday 9 May 8pm Castelnuovo-Tedesco Cipressi Op. 17 Schumann Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 Weissenberg Six arrangements of songs sung by Charles Trenet (Coin de rue, Vous oubliez votre cheval, En avril à Paris, Boum!, Vous qui passez sans me voir, Ménilmontant) Fauré Nocturne No. 6 in D flat, Op. 63 Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie No. 7 in A flat, Op. 61 Chopin Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54

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TARA ERRAUGHT mezzo soprano

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©Kristin Speed

A rich, radiant voice, expansive range and dynamic stage presence are the hallmarks of Irish mezzo-soprano Tara Erraught. With a wide repertoire that includes Bellini, Dvořák, Gounod, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini, Strauss and Verdi, as well as contemporary composers, she enjoys an ever-growing international career on the opera, orchestra and recital stages.

International Concert Series 2018/2019

In recent seasons Ms. Erraught has sung world premieres, made numerous role debuts, and appeared in recitals and concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Denmark, France, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Following summer engagements that include Parsifal (Zweiter Knappe) with Bayerische Staatsoper and Orlando Paladino (Alcina) at Munich’s Prinzregententheater, and the July 6, 2018 release of Deutsche Gramophone’s live recording of two concert performances of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito in Baden-Baden in which she made her role debut as Annio, 2018-19 season highlights include singing the role of Angelina in La Cenerentola in an eight-city tour of the United Kingdom with Welsh National Opera; Despina in Cosi fan tutte and Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel with Bayerische Staatsoper; and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Staatsoper Berlin.

Miss Erraught also makes her debut with the symphony orchestras of Indianapolis and Milwaukee and can be heard in recital on the UK’s Oxford Lieder Festival and the Sir Arthur Bliss International Song Series at Cambridge University, and Drogheda Classical Music Series.

Recent opera highlights include company debuts with Gran Teatre del Liceu (Stéphano, Roméo et Juliette); The Metropolitan Opera (Nicklausse/The Muse, Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel and Gretel); Irish National Opera’s first season (Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro); Staatsoper Berlin (Rosina, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia); Bayerische Staatsoper (reprise of Angelina, La Cenerentola; Carlotta, Die Schwiegsame Frau); Ireland’s Opera Theater Company (Dona Elvira in the world premiere of Roddy Doyle’s new translation of Mozart’s Don Giovanni) and Wide Open Opera (Rosina in a new production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia). Role debuts include Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito with Joyce DiDonato as Sesto and Rolando Villazon as Tito under Yannick Nézet-Séguin in Baden-Baden; as The Composer in Strauss’s Ariadne auf

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"... vocally and dramatically her performance was flawless ..." ©Clodagh Kilcoyne

Seen and Heard International

Naxos for Bayerische Staatsoper; at the Salzburg Festival singing Siebel in a new production of Gounod’s Faust with the Vienna Philharmonic; as Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and creating the role of Kathleen Scott in the commissioned world premiere of Czech composer Miroslav Srnka’s opera South Pole, both for Bayerische Staatsoper.

Miss Erraught has made 41 role debuts with the Bayerische Staatsoper alone; among them Kathy in a new production of Poul Rouders’s Selma Jezkova; Carlotta in Strauss’s Die Schweigsame Frau, Op. 80, Christa in Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair, Despina (having previously sung the role of Dorabella) in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Prince Orlovsky in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Sesto in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, as well as singing Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and Sifare in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto. She made her acclaimed American debut with Washington National Opera singing Angelina in La Cenerentola. With Staatsoper Hamburg she has sung Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Angelina in La Cenerentola. Miss Erraught also created the role of Kitty in the world premiere of Iain Bell’s A Harlot’s Progress at the Theater an der Wien; and made her role debut as Oktavian in Der Rosenkavalier at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at the BBC Proms. With the Wiener Staatsoper she sang Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, as well as the premiere

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performances of a new production of La Cenerentola, earning accolades from the Frankfurter Allgemeine as the “New Queen of Belcanto”. In 2011, she won worldwide acclaim when she stepped in on five-days’ notice, learning the role of Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi for the Bayerische Staatsoper.

Past recital and orchestral performances include, in North America: New York’s Carnegie Hall, Weill Hall, Celebrity Series of Boston, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theater, Vocal Arts DC, Kansas City’s Harriman-Jewell Series, Ann Arbor’s University Musical Society, Sonoma’s Green Music Center, Santa Monica’s The Broad Stage, Georgia’s Spiky Hall and Savannah Music Festival in the United States; Canada’s Vancouver Recital Society, and the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Mexico. International appearances include Austria’s Schubertiade, Schwarzenberg; Wigmore Hall’s Rosenblatt Recital Series, the BBC Proms, and Welsh National Opera’s International Concert Series in the UK; France’s Le Grand Foyer Series, Opera de Lille; Japan’s Tokyo Opera Nomori; Ireland’s National Concert Hall (Dublin), Music for Galway Series, Drogheda International Classic Music Series, Wexford Festival, serving as one of 11 honorary ambassadors for Ireland’s Culture Night 2015, and special performances celebrating Irish Culture during the Irish Centennial in London and in Washington, DC, as well as solo opera gala concerts with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra; The South Denmark Philharmonic, Germany’s Heidelberger Frühling, Munich’s Nymphenburg Sommer and Bayerische Festspiele.

In addition to the Deutsche Gramophone La Clemenza di Tito recording, Ms. Erraught can be seen on DVD in the title role of Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier on the Opus Arte label.

Amongst Tara Erraught’s awards and honors are a prestigious Promeritis scientiae et litterarum (2013) from the Bavarian government in recognition for outstanding contribution to the arts (she is the fifth musician to be honored with the annual award since its inception in 2000); a 2010 Dublin’s National 8

©Kristin Hoebermann

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Concert Hall’s Rising Star Award, and a 2007 Dermott Troy Award for the Best Irish Singer. Other honors include First Prize in the Jakub Pustina International Singing Competition in the Czech Republic, along with the Zdar nad Sazavou Audience Prize in 2008. In that same year she was awarded both the Houston Grand Opera Prize and the Washington National Opera Prize at the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Vienna. This summer 2018, RTÉ selected Miss Erraught as one of 25“movers and shakers who define Irish culture in 2018.”

A native of Dundalk, Ireland, Tara Erraught is a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, where she studied, and continues to study, with the acclaimed Royal Opera soprano Veronica Dunne. A resident principal soloist with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich from 2010 – 2018 (she was a member of the company’s opera studio from 2008 – 2010), Ms. Erraught also works with famed German mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender, expanding her lieder and opera repertoire.

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JOHN O’CONOR piano

"He represents a vanishing tradition that favors inner expression and atmosphere over showmanship and bravura" Chicago Tribune

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The Irish pianist John O'Conor has been gathering wonderful reviews for his masterly playing for over forty years. Having studied in his native Dublin, in Vienna with Dieter Weber and been tutored by the legendary Wilhelm Kempff his unanimous 1st Prize at the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna in 1973 opened the door to a career that has brought him all around the world.

He has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, l'Orchestre National de France, the NHK Orchestra in Japan and the Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco, Dallas, Montreal and Detroit Symphonies in North America. He has given concerts in many of the world's most famous halls including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, the Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, the DvorĚŒĂĄk Hall in Prague, the Seoul Arts Centre, and the Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo. He enjoys collaborating in Lieder recitals and performing chamber music with many instrumentalists and ensembles such as the Cleveland, Tokyo, Vanbrugh, Vermeer, Takacs, Vogler and Ying Quartets.

John O'Conor first gained widespread attention in the USA in 1986 with the release of his first volume of Beethoven Sonatas on the Telarc label. He went on to record the complete Sonatas and these were issued as a box set in 1994. CD Review described Mr. O'Conor's performances as "recordings of the highest calibre and Beethoven playing at its best". Mr. O'Conor has made more than 20 recordings for Telarc, including the complete Beethoven Bagatelles (cited by the New York Times as the best recordings of these works) and Mozart Concertos with Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He has also recorded the complete Nocturnes, Sonatas and Concertos of the Irish Composer John Field.

In 2007 and 2008 he recorded the complete Piano Concertos of Beethoven with the London Symphony Orchestra

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conducted by Andreas Delfs and these have been greeted with great acclaim. In the past year he has released two new CDs on the Steinway label, one of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and the other of five Haydn Sonatas.

Prof. O'Conor is regarded as one of the most important piano teachers in the world today. He is Distinguished Artist in Residence, Professor of Music and Chair of the Piano Division at Shenandoah Conservatory in Virginia, Professor of Piano at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, International Visiting Artist at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and Visiting Professor at Showa University in Japan.

His students have won many international prizes and he is in great demand for masterclasses and as a juror at the most prestigious International Piano Competitions worldwide.

For his services to music he has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by the National University of Ireland, by Trinity College Dublin, by the Dublin Institute of Technology and by Shenandoah University, the title "Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Government, the "Ehrenkreuz fĂźr Wissenschaft und Kunst" by the Austrian Government, the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan, and has received many other awards. In 2015 he was made an Honorary Life Member of the Royal Dublin Society. In October he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland and in November 2017 he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the National Concert Hall in Dublin by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.

John O'Conor is a Steinway Artist.

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BARRY DOUGLAS & CAMERATA IRELAND Celebrating 20 years of Camerata Ireland and launching an annual concert series at the National Concert Hall.

WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 8PM Mendelssohn The Hebrides Overture (‘Fingal’s Cave’) Op. 26 Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54 Schumann Mozart Symphony No. 41 in C Major ‘Jupiter’

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Programme Notes Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Franz Liszt composed about six-dozen original songs with piano accompaniment. Mostly, the lyrics were in German or French, but he also tried out Italian and Hungarian.

A real problem for Liszt, who enjoyed rock-star adulation in his time, was that his style did not seem to fit into any of the major vocal categories and he constantly came in for severe criticism from purists.

In fact, some critics disparaged his early songs as being "too wide and sweeping for the lyric form."

They claimed that songs he composed based on French texts or poems tended to be French in style only, but directly influenced by German lieder, particularly Schubert and Schumann.

Nor was he averse to self-criticism when he wrote: "My own early songs are mostly too swelled out, sentimental and frequently too much crammed in the accompaniment."

As a consequence, during his later post-1848 Weimar years, Liszt not only revised most of his early songs, but rewrote them into a less pretentious style.

The most important and enduring of his French songs are his setting of texts by Victor Hugo. These are now his most recorded.

As a rule his post 1870 songs take on a darker hue and are often despairing with a certain amount of dissonance and less virtuosic.

In his last couple of years, Liszt composed and published literally hundreds of works. In 1885, he completed a Salve Regina (Hail Queen of Heaven) and was working on a third oratorio when he died in 1886. He never produced an extended song cycle.

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Today, Liszt’s songs have been almost squeezed out of his list of achievements as a musician. This, despite the fact that he was one of the most influential and entertaining showmen of the 19th century.

Enfant, si j’etais roi / Child, if I were King The voice-piano version of this song was composed in 1844 and published the same year. Using a Victor Hugo poem, the style of this song is of a ballad directed to the poet’s love interest. It exemplifies the romantic ethos of the era with references to wide spaces such as empire, seas, eternity and the universe. Liszt musically portrays these themes with compositional devices such as texture and harmony.

This opening song can be challenging as the dense piano textures require total concentration by the singer.

Enfant, si j'étais roi Text by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Enfant, si j’étais roi, je donnerais l’empire, Et mon char, et mon sceptre, et mon peuple à genoux, Et ma couronne d’or, et mes bains de porphyre, Et mes flottes à qui la mer ne peut suffire, Pour un regard de vous!

Child, if I were king, I would give the empire, and my chariot, and my scepter, and my kneeling people, and my golden crown, and my porphyry baths, and my fleets that the sea could not hold, for one of your glances!

Si j’étais Dieu, la terre et l’air avec les ondes, Les anges, les démons courbés devant ma loi, Et le profond chaos aux entrailles fécondes, L’éternité, l’espace et les cieux et les mondes Pour un baiser de toi!

If I were God, the earth and the air with the waves, the angels, the demons bent before my law, and the chaos of the fertile depths, eternity, space and the firmament and the worlds for a kiss from you!

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Oh! quand je dors / Oh! When I Sleep This song was published in 1842 but it was amended in 1859 and this is by far the more popular version. The text is drawn from an extremely personal Victor Hugo collection of lyric verses in which he invites his lover to bed, with allusions to the 14th century Italian poet Petrarch and his lover Laura. Liszt adapted this text to reflect his own relationship with Marie d’Agoult, a French author and historian also known by the pen name Daniel Stern.

Again, this is very testing for singers, such is the density of the accompaniment.

Oh! quand je dors Text by Victor Hugo (1802-1885) Oh! Quand je dors, viens auprès de ma couche, Comme à Pétrarque apparaissait Laura, Et qu’en passant ton haleine me touche...

Soudain ma bouche S’entr’ouvrira!

Oh! When I sleep, come to my bed, As to Petrarch appeared Laura, And as you pass, your breath touches me…

At once my mouth Draws open!

Sur mon front morne où peut-être s’achève Un songe noir qui trop longtemps dura, Que ton regard comme un astre se lève...

Soudain mon rêve Rayonnera!

Rayonnera!

On my weary forehead where perhaps A black dream has too long lasted, Let your gaze like a star rise...

Suddenly my dream Radiantly shining!

Radiantly shining!

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Puis sur ma lèvre où voltige une flamme, Éclair d’amour que Dieu même épura, Pose un baiser, et d’ange deviens femme...

Soudain mon âme S’éveillera!

S’éveillera!

Then on my lips where flutters a flame, Lightning of love that God even purifies, Pose a kiss, and an angel became a woman…

Suddenly my soul Awakens!

Awakens!

Oh viens, comme à Pétrarque apparaissait Laura!

Oh come, as to Petrarch appeared Laura!

Die Lorelei / The Lorelei The Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) text describes a female figure that resembles a Siren, a mythical creature from Greek mythology. The figure is said to sit on the cliff above the Rhine while combing her golden hair. She inadvertently distracts seamen with her beauty and voice, causing them to crash on the rocks. This is a long Ballad of six stanzas, each with the same structure and it is only natural to take a dramatic interpretation of the poem.

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Die Lorelei Text by Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) Ich weiss nicht, was soll es bedeuten, Dass ich so traurig bin; Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten, Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.

I do not know, what should it mean, That I am so sad; A fairytale known from old times, That does not escape my mind.

Die Luft ist kühl, und es dunkelt, Und ruhig fliesst der Rhein; Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt Im Abendsonnenschein.

Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet Dort oben wunderbar, Ihr goldenes Geschmeide blitzet, Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.

The air is cool, and darkens, And quietly flows the Rhine; The peak of the mountain sparkles In the evening sunlight.

The most beautiful maidens sit There wonderfully above.

Her golden jewelry flashes, She combs her golden hair.

Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme Und singt ein Lied dabei; Das hat eine wundersame, Gewaltige Melodei.

She combs it with a golden comb And sings a song there; That has a miraculous, Powerful melody.

Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe Ergreift es mit wildem Weh; Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe, Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.

Ich glaube, die Welllen verschlingen Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn; Und das hat mit ihrem Singen Die Lorelei getan.

The boatman in his small ship Is taken with a wild pain; He looks not at the reefs, He looks only up to the heights.

I think, the waves devour In the end skipper and boat; And this was with the singing The Lorelei had done.

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Gustav Mahler (1860 -1911) “The symphony is a world," proclaimed Mahler to Sibelius," and with good reason, for few, if any, crammed so much into their symphonies, from funeral marches to vast images of nature and from popular folk tunes to great outbursts of romanticism. He composed ten symphonies, each massive undertakings, and together almost overwhelming his other talents – particularly in the field of art song.

His contribution to German lied is an important part of Mahler’s heritage – following in the path of Schubert, Wolf and Strauss. Like Schubert, Mahler had a supreme melodic gift, with a vocal style that was honed by setting various folk texts in his early songs – and this talent remained central to his vocal works throughout his career.

Virtually all his songs exist in versions accompanied by piano or orchestra. It has been pointed out that even his masterpiece, Das Lied von der Erde, has an authentic piano version. The text of his first song cycle, Songs of a Wayfarer, is his own and written in the style of the poetry from the immensely popular collection of folk texts titled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn).

The four songs all deal with a rejected lover’s attempts to find solace in nature and, ultimately, in death. The second song became the main theme in the opening movement of his first symphony.

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Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen / Songs of a Wayfarer This is a song-cycle by Mahler, using his own texts. The four songs for medium voice (often performed by women as well as men) was written around 1884, but not premiered until 1896, in the wake of the composer’s unhappy love for soprano Johanna Richter, whom he met while conductor of the opera house at Kassel, Germany.

Though written by Mahler, the work was influenced by one of his favourite books, Das Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn), a collection of German folk poetry. However, the compositional history has always been in some doubt, but scholars see strong connections with the opening movement of his first symphony.

1: Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit Macht (When my sweetheart is married) The text discusses the Wayfarer’s grief at losing his love to another. He remarks on the beauty of the surrounding world, but how even that cannot keep him from having sad and disturbing dreams.

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Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht from

When my darling has her wedding-day

Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht, Fröhliche Hochzeit macht, Hab’ ich meinen traurigen Tag! Geh’ ich in mein Kämmerlein,

When my sweetheart has her wedding-day, Her happy wedding-day, I have may sad day!

I go into my little room,

Dunkles Kämmerlein, Weine, wein’ um meinen Schatz, Um meinen lieben Schatz!

My dark little room, I cry, cry for my love, My lovely treasure!

Blümlein blau! Verdorre nicht!

Vöglein süß!

Du singst auf grüner Heide.

Ach, wie ist die Welt so schön!

Ziküth! Ziküth!

Little bluebell! Do not dry up!

Sweet little bird!

You sing on the green heath!

Ah, how beautiful is the world!

Chirp! Chirp!

Singet nicht! Blühet nicht!

Lenz ist ja vorbei!

Alles Singen ist nun aus!

Des Abends, wenn ich schlafen geh’, Denk’ ich an mein Leide!

An mein Leide!

Do not sing! Do not bloom!

Spring is over!

All singing is now done!

At night, when I go to sleep, I think of my suffering!

My suffering!!

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2: Ging heut morgen uber’s Feld (I went this morning over the field) The second movement contains the happiest music of the cycle – a song of joy and wonder at the beauty of nature in simple situations like birdsong and dew on the grass. The Wayfarer is reminded at the end that despite this beauty, his happiness will not blossom anymore now that his love is gone.

Ging heut morgen übers Feld

Went this morning over the field

Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld, Tau noch auf den Gräsern hing; Sprach zu mir der lust’ge Fink: “Ei du! Gelt? Guten Morgen!

Ei gelt?

Du! Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Zink! Zink! Schön und flink!

Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!”

Went this morning over the field, Dew still hanging on the grasses;.

The happy finch said to me: “Hey you! Isn’t it a good morning? Isn’t it?

You! Won’t it be a beautiful world?

Chirp! Chirp! Beautiful and brisk!

How I like the world!”

Auch die Glockenblum’ am Feld Hat mir lustig, guter Ding’, Mit den Glöckchen, klinge, kling, Ihren Morgengruß geschellt: “Wird’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Kling, kling! Schönes Ding!

Wie mir doch die Welt gefällt!

Heia!”

Also, the blooming bells in the field Are merry, good thing, With the bells, ring, ring, Her morning greeting rang: “Won’t it be a beautiful world?

Ring, ring! Beautiful thing!

How I like the world!

Bye-bye!”

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Und da fing im Sonnenschein Gleich die Welt zu funkeln an; Alles Ton und Farbe gewann Im Sonnenschein!

Blum’ und Vogel, groß und Klein!

“Guten Tag, ist’s nicht eine schöne Welt?

Ei du, gelt? Schöne Welt!”

And then in the sunshine, The world began to twinkle; All tones and color win In the sunshine!

Flower and bird, great and small!

“Good day, is it not a beautiful world?

Hey you, isn’t it? Beautiful world?”

Nun fängt auch mein Glück wohl an?

Nein, nein, das ich mein’, Mir nimmer blühen kann!

Now does my happiness also begin?

No, no - that I mean I can never bloom!

3: Ich hab’ ein gluhend Messer (I have a scorching hot knife) Despair sets in as the Wayfarer likens his agony of lost love to having an actual metal blade piercing his heart. He obsesses to the point where everything in the environment reminds him of some aspect of his love and he wishes he actually had the knife.

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Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer

I have a scorching hot knife

Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer, Ein Messer in meiner Brust, O weh! Das schneid’t so tief in jede Freud’ und jede Lust.

Ach, was ist das für ein böser Gast!

Nimmer hält er Ruh’, nimmer hält er Rast, Nicht bei Tag, noch bei Nacht, wenn ich schlief!

O weh!

I have a scorching hot knife, a knife in my chest.

Oh pain! It cuts so deep into every joy and desire.

Ah, what a bad guest it is!

Never it will keep calm, never will it rest, Not by day, nor by night, when I sleep!

Oh pain!

Wenn ich den Himmel seh’, Seh’ ich zwei blaue Augen stehn!

O weh! Wenn ich im gelben Felde geh’, Seh’ ich von fern das blonde Haar Im Winde weh’n!

O weh!

When I looks to the heavens, I see two blue eyes there!

Oh pain! When I walk in the yellow fields, I see from far away her blond hair In the wind blowing!

Oh pain!

Wenn ich aus dem Traum auffahr’ Und höre klingen ihr silbern Lachen, O weh!

Ich wollt’, ich läg’ auf der Schwarzen Bahr’, Könnt’ nimmer die Augen aufmachen!

When from the dream I wake and hear the sound of her silvery laugh, Oh pain!

I want, laying on the black bier, to never again open my eyes!

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4: Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz (The two blue eyes of my beloved) The final movement finds a resolution. The theme deals with how the image of those eyes has caused the Wayfarer so much grief that he can no longer stand to be in the environment. He describes lying down under a tree, finding rest for the first time and allowing flowers to fall on him. And suddenly -- beyond his own comprehension -- everything is well again!

Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz

The two blue eyes of my sweetheart

Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz, Die haben mich in die weite Welt geschickt.

Da mußt ich Abschied nehmen vom allerliebsten Platz!

O Augen blau, warum habt ihr mich angeblickt?

Nun hab’ ich ewig Leid und Grämen!

The two blue eyes of my sweetheart, They have sent me into the wide world.

I have to say farewell to this well-beloved place!

Oh blue eyes, why have you looked at me?

Now I have sorrow and grief forever!

Ich bin ausgegangen in stiller Nacht wohl über die dunkle Heide.

Hat mir niemand Ade gesagt Ade! Mein Gesell’ war Lieb und Leide!

I am going out into the still night probably over the dark heath.

No one has bid me Farewell Farewell!

My companions were love and suffering!

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On the road there stands a linden tree, There for the first time rested in sleep!

Under the linden tree whose flowers over me have snowed, I do not understand, how life went on, Everything was good!

Everything! Everything, love and suffering and world and dream!

Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum, Da hab’ ich zum ersten Mal im Schlaf geruht!

Unter dem Lindenbaum, Der hat seine Blüten über mich geschneit, Da wußt’ ich nicht, wie das Leben tut, War alles, alles wieder gut!

Alles! Alles, Lieb und Leid Und Welt und Traum!

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) Born in Munich, Richard Strauss was the only son of Franz Strauss, a brilliant principal horn player in the Bavarian Court Opera, who instructed him in music’s fundamentals.

He began composing at four years of age, requiring no formal training. Strauss junior’s greatest early influence was undoubtedly Mozart. His father was an arch-conservative who detested Wagner and brought up his son to revere Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. It has been said of Richard Strauss that although he produced passages of superficial note-spinning, he was "constitutionally incapable of writing anything slipshod".

Eventually, Strauss changed tack and produced amazing modern operas such as Salome and Elektra and, because of these, is now regarded as a prophet of the postmodern age. His work is regarded as superficial in some quarters but, whatever the truth, he became one of the two most popular composers of the 20th century -- Puccini being the other.

Strauss married soprano Pauline de Ahna in 1894. She was eccentric and erratic, but the marriage was happy and she was a great source of inspiration to her husband.

Strauss was a prolific composer of art song and he often composed them with Pauline’s voice in mind. However, many of these have fallen by the wayside as far as concert performances are concerned. The reason, it is claimed, is that most of his songs were set to mediocre poetry while the songs that have survived were set to the works of masters 26

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such as Goethe, Ruckert and Heine. His defenders claim, however, that he did this deliberately so as to concentrate more specifically on the music and avoiding comparison with legendary figures.

Die Nacht (The Night) This is an art song composed in 1885, setting a poem by the Austrian poet Hermann von Gilm. It was included in Letze Blatter (Last Pages), the first collection of songs Strauss ever published.

Die Nacht from Letzte Blätter, Op. 10 Text by Hermann von Gilm (1812-1864)

The Night

Aus dem Walde tritt die Nacht, Aus den Bäumen schleicht sie leise, Schaut sich um im weitem Kreise, Nun gib acht.

From the forest enters Night, From the trees she sneaks quietly, Look around in a wide circle, Now be careful.

Alle Lichter dieser Welt, Alle Blumen, alle Farben Löscht sie aus und stiehlt die Garben Weg vom Feld.

All the lights of this world, All flowers, all colors She destroys and steals the sheaves From the field.

Alles nimmt sie, was nur hold, Nimmt das Silber weg des Stroms, Nimmt vom Kupferdach des Doms Weg das Gold.

Everything you hold dear, she takes, She takes the silver away from the stream, She takes the copper roof of the cathedral, Takes the gold.

Ausgeplündert steht der Strauch, Rücke näher, Seel an Seele; O die Nacht, mir bangt, sie stehle Dich mir auch.

Plundered stand the bushes, Draw closer, soul to soul; Oh the Night, I fear, will steal You also from me.

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Allerseelen (All Souls’ Day) A song from Strauss’s first collection, All Soul’s Day (November 2), is a time when people commemorate and recall those dear to them who have died. There is some confusion about the underlying message here. Some experts believe the song is about the singer’s character trying to take advantage of the day to revive an old romance; others see it more as a supernatural encounter with the dead lover being the communicator.

Allerseelen from Acht Lieder aus Letzte Blätter Text by Hermann von Gilm (1812-1864)

All Souls’ Day

Stell auf den Tisch die duftenden Reseden, Die letzten roten Astern trag herbei, Und laß uns wieder von der Liebe reden, Wie einst im Mai.

Put on the table the fragrant Reseda, The last blushing Asters come here, And let us talk about love again, Like once in May.

Gib mir die Hand, daß ich sie heimlich drücke Und wenn man’s sieht, mir ist es einerlei, Gib mir nur einen deiner süßen Blicke, Wie einst im Mai.

Give me your hand, then I can secretly press it And if someone sees, I do not care.

Give me one of your sweetest looks, Like once in May.

Es blüht und duftet heut auf jedem Grabe, Ein Tag im Jahre ist ja den Toten frei, Komm an mein Herz, daß ich dich wieder habe, Wie einst im Mai.

It blooms and smells today on every grave, One day in the year when the dead are free, Come to my heart, that I have you again, Like once in May. 28

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Standchen (Serenade) This is undoubtedly one of Strauss’s most beautiful songs, which is from his second collection, Six Songs for High Voice (1886) using works by Friedrich von Schack, a German poet, diplomat and art collector. So often is it heard in its orchestral form that it is easy to forget that the instrumentation is not by Strauss at all, but Felix Motti, a celebrated Austrian conductor. The song’s feathery accompaniment combines with a beautiful melody to produces surges of lyricism that are regarded as Strauss’s art at its very best.

Ständchen from Sechs Lieder, Op. 17 Text by Adolf Friedrich von Schack (1815-1894)

Serenade

Mach auf, mach auf, doch leise mein Kind, Um keinen vom Schlummer zu wecken.

Kaum murmelt der Bach, kaum zittert im Wind Ein Blatt an den Büschen und Hecken.

Drum leise, mein Mädchen, daß nichts sich regt, Nur leise die Hand auf die Klinke gelegt.

Open up, open up, but quiet my child, As to not wake anyone from slumber.

Hardly murmurs the brook,the wind hardly shudders A leaf on the bushes and hedges.

So softly, my maiden, that nothing stirs, Now lay your hand softly on the latch.

Mit Tritten, wie Tritte der Elfen so sacht, Um über die Blumen zu hüpfen, Flieg leicht hinaus in die Mondscheinnacht, Zu mir in den Garten zu schlüpfen.

Rings schlummern die Blüten am rieselnden Bach Und duften im Schlaf, nur die Liebe ist wach.

With steps, as soft as the footsteps of elves, over the flowers skipping, Fly lightly out in the moonlit night, To slip into the garden with me.

Slumbering flowers around the trickling creek, Fragrant in sleep, only love is awake.

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Sit down, dusk is falling mysteriously Under the linden trees, The nightingale should be at our heads Dreaming of our kisses, And the rose, when she awakes in the morning, Highly glowing the showering bliss of the night.

Sitz nieder, hier dämmert’s geheimnisvoll Unter den Lindenbäumen, Die Nachtigall uns zu Häupten soll Von unseren Küssen träumen, Und die Rose, wenn sie am Morgen erwacht, Hoch glühn von den Wonnenschauern der Nacht.

Morgen (Tomorrow) This is one of Strauss’s ’s best-known and loved songs. It was set to text by John Henry Mackay, who was of Scottish descent but brought up in Germany. Strauss had met Mackay in Berlin, and was so impressed by the poem that he translated it to song and presented it as a wedding present to his wife Pauline. Strauss himself recorded it in 1919, accompanying the tenor Robert Hutt on piano, and again in 1941 and 1947, conducting orchestral versions

Morgen! from Vier Lieder, Op. 27 Text by John Henry Mackay (1864-1933)

Tomorrow!

Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde, wird uns, die Glücklichen sie wieder einen inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde…

And tomorrow the sun will shine again, and on the way that I will go, she will again unite us in happiness, in the middle of this sun-breathing earth...

und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen, werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen, stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen, und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes Schweigen.

And to the seashore, the wide. billowing blue waves, we will quietly and slowly descend; silently we will look into each other’s eyes, and the happy silence falls upon us.

INTERVAL 30

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Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) It was only when Verdi reached maturity in the late 1850s that Rossini was replaced at the centre of Italian operatic life. His impact had been immense. For example, he was the first to do away with unaccompanied recitative, thus making the opera a continuous musical fabric, and he was the first to write out all the embellishments for his singers, not leaving anything to chance.

But the key to his success had always been the tunefulness of his music, his arias and songs. "Give me a shopping list and I’ll set it to music," he famously said. And not without reason.

Born in Pesaro, his mother a singer, his father a trumpeter, Rossini began composing by the age of 12 and his first opera was performed in Venice at 18. Success followed swiftly and by 1815 he was contracted to write operas and manage theatres in Naples. Just eight years after that in 1823 he had clocked up 34 operas for the Italian stage, including perpetual favourites The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola.

What happened next still remains one of the great mysteries in the history of opera. He gave up, moved to France and stopped composing opera altogether. He did, however, compose an operatic-style Stabat Mater, but even huge success with that did not entice him back into full-time composition.

Unsurprisingly, Rossini’s best songs show off his best qualities -- wit, panache and drama. But, best of all, was his seemingly effortless ability to shape a melody in a heart-touching manner.

After his retirement Rossini lived a self-indulgent life for nearly 40 years, grew fat and prone to scandal. On his return to Paris in 1955, he became renowned for his Saturday music salons, 31

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regularly attended by the artistic and fashionable sections of the city – not least, Liszt, Rubinstein, Verdi and Meyerbeer.

Perhaps Rossini, realising his operatic powers had been exhausted and his style outdated, saw the arrival of Verdi and Wagner as too big a challenge to face and so quit while he was ahead. He died in Paris in 1868.

Giovanna d’Arco / Joan of Arc In 1829, Rossini pondered and rejected the idea of writing an opera about Joan of Arc – the historic Maid of Orleans.

However, he contented himself with a 15-minute cantata for soprano and piano in which full-scale drama is distilled into private soliloquy in a manner favoured by poets when theatrical forms were unavailable.

Rossini’s Joan is bold and unadorned. In the opening recitation she is seen waiting in the night, nothing stirring but ruffled waters. It is her country’s hour of need and "an all-powerful force has called the shepherdess from her flocks".

In the central lyric O mia madre e tu frattanto she imagines her mother’s sorrow and sense of loss and, in the stormier recitation that follows her vision returns which will inspire her to victory in the king’s name.

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Giovanna d’Arco Text Anonymous È notte, e tutto addormentato

Eppur piange. Ah! repente

è il mondo.

Qual luce balenò nell’oriente,

Sola io veglio, ed aspetto

Non è il sole che s’alza,

Che un destrier passi,

Sei la mia vision, io ti conosco.

Che una tromba chiami.

Più grande che non suole

Ascolto, e nulla sento

Empie il ciel fulminando e mi fa

Se non son l’acque

segno:

E il mormorar del vento.

Angiol di morte, tu mi chiami,

Muta ogni cosa e afflitta

io vegno.

Come l’ora che segue alla Ah, la fiamma che t’esce dal

sconfitta.

guardo O patria! O Re!

Già m’ha toccà, m’investe, già

Novella un’aita verrà.

m’arde.

L’Onnipossente dal gregge

Presto un brando, marciamo

Suscitò la pastorella.

pugnando.

Vadasi. O dolce mio loco

Viva il Re, la vittoria è con me.

natìo,

Guida i forti la vergine al

Dolce famiglia, o campi, o

campo,

selve, addio.

Tra i leoni l’agnello s’avventa.

Non han scampo, il Signor li

O mia madre, e tu frattanto

spaventa.

La tua figlia cercherai,

Viva il Re, la vittoria è con me.

Affannata chiamerai E nessun risponderà.

Corre la gioia di core in core.

Ma fra poco d’alte imprese

Ma, queta e timida fra lo

Verrà un suon conforto al

stupore,

pianto:

Chi se’ domandano, che il Re

Ogni madre, ogni francese

salvò?

La mia madre invidierà.

Ah! vinse la vergine che in Dio

La mia madre, e tu frattanto

sperò.

La tua figlia cercherai,

Presto un brando, marciamo

Affannata chiamerai

pugnando.

E nessun risponderà.

Viva il Re, la vittoria è con me.

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Joan of Arc

It is night, and all the world is

And yet it weeps. Ah! suddenly

asleep.

What light flashed in the East,

Alone I watch, and wait,

It is not the sun rising,

For a passing war horse,

You’re my vision, I know you.

For a trumpet call.

More grand than usual

I listen, and hear nothing

Blasting out of the sky and

If not the sound of the waters

sending a signal:

And the whisper of the wind.

Angel of Death, you call me, I

Change everything and be

come..

afflicted Ah, the flame that burns in your

As the hour that follows defeat.

gaze O homeland! O King!

Touches me, assails me, burns

New support will come.

me.

The Almighty has called

Quickly a sword, we furiously

the shepherdess away from her

march.

flock.

Long live the King, victory is with

Let her go. Oh, my sweet native

me.

land,

The virgin leads the warriors to

My sweet family, fields, forests,

the field,

goodbye.

Among the lambs the lion rushes.

They cannot escape, the Lord

Oh my mother, you in the

scares them..

meantime

Long live the King, victory is with

Will search out your daughter,

me..

You will call And no one will respond.

Joy is running from heart to heart.

But soon, the high undertakings

But, they stand quiet and timid in

Will sound a comfort to your

amazement,

tears:

Who will ask, is the king saved?

Every mother, every Frenchman

Ah! Victorious is the virgin that

My mother will be envied.

had faith in God.

My mother, you in the meantime

Quickly a sword, we furiously

Will search out your daughter,

march.

You will call

Long live the King, victory is with

And no one will respond.

me.

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American folk At the River written and composed by Robert Lowry (1826-1899) Arranged by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Shall We Gather at the River? or simply At the River -- are the popular names for the traditional Christian hymn titled `Hanson Place,’ written in 1864 by American poet and gospel music composer Robert Lowry. The title Hanson Place is a reference to the original church in Brooklyn where Lowry sometimes served as a Baptist minister.

Tonight’s version is included in Aaron Copland's Old American Songs (1952).

It has been used extensively in Hollywood films, particularly in Westerns such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956) and Cat Balou (1965).

Shall we gather by the river, Where bright angel’s feet have trod, With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God? Yes, we’ll gather by the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river, Gather with the saints by the river That flows by the throne of God. Ere we reach the shining river Lay we every burden down, Praise our spirits will deliver And provide our robe and crown.

Yes, we’ll gather at the river.

The beautiful, the beautiful, river.

Gather with the saints at the river, That flows by the throne of God.

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Soon we’ll reach the shining river, Soon our pilgrimage will cease, Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace.

Yes, we’ll gather by the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river, Gather with the saints by the river That flows by the throne of God.

Simple Gifts Elder Joseph Brackett (1797-1882) Originating in England, the religious sect known as the Shakers arrived in the U.S. in 1774, led by “Mother Ann” Lee. Called Shakers by outsiders, due to their agitated movements during worship, they created a musical legacy of thousands of songs, some original, some adapted from outside sources.

One of their songs, Simple Gifts (The Gift to Be Simple), accredited to Elder Joseph Brackett has become widely known through composer Aaron Copeland’s having incorporated it into his ballet Appalachian Spring.

The tune has been borrowed by other musical genres, the most familiar being `Lord of the Dance’.

Today the Shakers are best known for their furniture and home style. Yet their music played a longer and more important role in the sect’s history, from the 1780s to 1950s. They have probably composed more music than any other religious community in the United States - well over 10,000 tunes.

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Simple Gifts from Old American Songs Shaker song written and composed by Elder Joseph Brackett (1797-1882) Arranged by Aaron Copland (1900-1990) ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free ‘tis the gift to come down where you ought to be And when we find ourselves in the place just right ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed To turn, turn will be our delight ‘Till by turning, turning we come round right.

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ‘tis the gift to be free ‘tis the gift to come down where you ought to be And when we find ourselves in the place just right ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

Shenandoah Folk song: composer unknown Shenandoah is a much-loved folk song that is deep in the psyche of the American people, though nobody has yet explained definitively where it came from. Even a whole section in a book failed to settle matters, and it has been more or less decided that Shenandoah is a spiritual experience, rather than a mere song or ballad.

Speculation has mentioned it as a sea shanty, a logging song or a fur trader’s ballad, but it has also been described as "an enigma, inside a mystery, wrapped in a gorgeous mystery". A common belief now, however, points to a possible Afro-American background as eyewitnesses record it having been sung by black workers loading and unloading wool and

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cotton from ships on the Mississippi in the late 19th century.

But even that has its problem, other scholars suggesting that the popular reference to "the wide Missouri" was originally "this world of misery".

No matter, this is a much-loved and respected piece of music and generations of American children have grown up singing it while some of the world’s greatest folk singers have been seduced by its mystique. This trend began with the great bass Paul Robeson in the 1930s and it seems to have seduced every great civil rights singer ever since – Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen among them.

Female interpreters such as Aretha Franklin, Leontyne Price and Emmylou Harris have also done it proud, though the most unlikely version must be by the gravel-voiced Tom Waites with Keith Richard on guitar.

Tonight’s accompanist John O’Conor may be able to cast some modern light on the matter. He has been a distinguished artist-in-residence and chair of the keyboard division at Shenandoah University in Virginia for nearly a decade.

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Shenandoah 19th Century American Folk Tune Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Away, you rolling river Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Away, I’m bound away ‘cross the wide Missouri.

‘Tis sev’n long years Since I last saw you Away you rolling river.

‘Tis sev’n long years Since I last saw you I’m bound away ‘cross the wide Missouri.

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Away, you rolling river Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you Away, I’m bound away ‘cross the wide Missouri.

Shenandoah, Shenandoah, Shenandoah…

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British musical Ivor Novello (1893-1951) Ivor Novello was a Welsh-born composer of musicals in the style of operetta who made an enormous impact on the London entertainment scene for nearly 40 years at the beginning of the last century.

His first big hit, Keep the Home Fires Burning, in 1914 was a genuine wartime favourite and its very title resonated with troops at the warfront. After the war, Novello had established a reputation for his song-writing ability and contributed to several successful musical comedies and variety concerts.

Eventually, he was commissioned to write the scores of complete musicals.

In the 1920s he turned to acting, first in films and then on stage, with considerable success in both.

Novello starred in two British silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock and then went to Hollywood for a period before returning home to appear in his own lavish West End musical productions. Two of the best known were Glamorous Night (1935) and The Dancing Years (1939). Three songs from the latter are included in this evening’s concert.

Novello is considered one of the pioneers of the British-style musical and the Ivor Novello Awards were founded in 1955, four years after he had died suddenly of a heart attack in 1951 at the age of 58. Novello is still considered the most consistently successful composer of British musicals until the arrival of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

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The Dancing Years (1939) I Can Give You the Starlight My Dearest Dear Waltz of My Heart The musical The Dancing Years had words and music by Ivor Novello and opened in London’s West End in 1939, starring Novello. Like many of his productions, it was large scale and expensive with several scene changes and a large cast. The story takes place in Vienna, from 1911 until 1938 and follows the life of a penniless Jewish composer and his love for two women of different social classes. The setting is against a background of Nazi persecution.

The musical was first produced at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 23 March 1939. It became a huge success and had a run of 187 performances. After a three-year provincial tour, the show reopened in London after the war and ran for 969 performances, earning an estimated £1,000,000.

The librettist for the songs in The Dancing Years – all schmaltzy by today’s tastes – was Christopher Vernon Hassall (1912 – 1963), an English actor, lyricist and poet, who found his greatest fame in a memorable musical partnership with Novello. They had served together in a touring company.

Programme Notes by Dick O’Riordan, Classical Music columnist with The Sunday Business Post

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Ivor Novello (1893-1951) from The Dancing Years Text by Christopher Hassall (1912-1963) I Can Give You the Starlight I can give you the starlight Love unchanging and true I can give you the ocean Deep and tender devotion I can give you the mountains Pools all shimmering and blue Call and I shall be All you ask of me Music in spring Flowers for a king All these I bring to you I can give you the mountains Pools all shimmering and blue Call and I shall be All you ask of me Music in spring Flowers for a king All these I bring to you My Dearest Dear from The Dancing Years My dearest dear, If I could say to you In words as clear As when I play to you, You’d understand How slight the shadow that is holding us apart.

So take my hand, I’ll lead the way for you.

A little waiting and you’ll reach my heart.

Your lonely hours will spread their wings and fly; The passing show’rs will only pass you by.

If you can trust me, trust the secret in my song.

When love is true The road is never long.

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My dearest dear, If I could say to you In words as clear As when I play to you, You’d understand How slight the shadow that is holding us apart.

So take my hand, I’ll lead the way for you.

A little waiting and you’ll reach my hear Waltz of My Heart from The Dancing Years The lark is singing on high The Sun’s ashine in the blue The Winter is driven away And Spring is returning anew Who cares what sorrow may bring What storms may tear us apart No sadness can kill the wonder and thrill Of that waltz in my heart Waltz of my heart haunting and gay Calling enthrallingly, waltzing away Ring out your bells for me, ivory keys Weave out your spell for me, orchestra please Chorus of wings, thrilling the sky While you’re inspiring me, time hurries by Joy finds a fire in me, soon as you start Sweeping your strings, waltz of my heart The lark is singing on high The Sun’s ashine in the blue The Winter is driven away And Spring is returning anew Who cares what sorrow may bring What storms may tear us apart No sadness can kill the wonder and thrill Of that waltz in my heart

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Anna Huntley

Dean Power

Sir Thomas Allen

DUBLIN SONG SERIES SUNDAY 12 MAY, 3PM Anna Huntley mezzo-soprano Dearbhla Collins piano Programme includes Rossini La regata veneziana and Schumann Frauen-liebe und Leben SUNDAY 19 MAY, 3PM Dean Power tenor Dearbhla Collins piano Schumann Myrthen Op. 25 SUNDAY 26 MAY, 3PM Sir Thomas Allen baritone Dearbhla Collins piano Programme includes Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Butterworth, Quilter and Warlock

Tickets â‚Ź15

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A Stylish and Relaxed Start to your Evening PRE THEATRE

Tuesday - Saturday 6.00 - 7:00pm Glass of Prosecco Two courses €35 Three courses €45 COMPLIMENTARY CAR PARKING

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Text and Translations Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Enfant, si j'étais roi Text by Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

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Brackaville Investments Ltd Frank Glennon Ltd Frank Keane (Naas Road) Green Property

LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION PARTNERS Lauritzson Foundation, HPRA, Grant Thornton, Science Foundation Ireland, Dublin Port, Dublin City Council, Michael & Loret O’Brien, Brackaville Investments Ltd., Community Foundation for Ireland, Creative Ireland

PATRONS AND JOHN FIELD SOCIETY Frank & Ivy Bannister, Tony Brown, Tom Bryant & family, Sharon Burke, Tom Carey, Denis & Gráinne Cremins, Veronica Dunne, Sir James & Lady Jeanne Galway, Matthew King, Brian Kingham, Mary MacAodha, Brian McElroy, Don & Gina Menzies, Deirdre O’Grady, Rachel Patton, Richie Ryan, Simon Taylor, Kieran Tobin, Stephen Vernon We also gratefully acknowledge those patrons who have requested to remain anonymous.

Make a Difference Today For further information contact Matthew King on 01 417 0072 or email matthew.king@nch.ie

International Concert Series 2018/2019 Marc-André Hamelin piano Thursday 9 May 2019, 8pm Programme includes Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Schumann, Weissenberg, Fauré and Chopin Tickets from €27.50

Boston Symphony Chamber Players Tuesday 21 May 2019, 8pm Françaix Dixtuor for wind quintet and string quintet Mozart Quartet for oboe and strings in F major, K. 370 Michael Gandolfi Plain Song, Fantastic Dances for strings and winds Beethoven Septet for strings and winds in E flat, Op. 20 Tickets from €19.50

nch.ie 01 417 0000

London Symphony Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda conductor Daniil Trifonov piano Philip Cobb trumpet Antoine Tamestit viola Friday 14 June 2019, 8pm Beethoven Egmont Overture in F minor, Op. 84 Shostakovich Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35 for piano, trumpet and strings Berlioz Harold in Italy Op. 16 Tickets from €45