Senior Recital Gabriela Gonzalez, Contralto Jessica Myers, piano Nicholas Wynn, viola March 27th, 2021 5:00 pm
Notes and Translations
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Antonio Vivaldi (1687-1741) Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy. He is considered one of the most prominent composers of the Baroque period. Vivaldi’s influence became widespread throughout Europe and his music was significant to the development of emerging, notable musicians, one of which being Johannes Sebastian Bach. He composed both instrumental and vocal music. Vivaldi is well known for his concertos, sacred choral music, and operas. Though he died in the middle of a declining career and in significant poverty, a revival of some of Vivaldi’s works occurred in the 1920s which led to a resurgence in the study and popularity of his works. “Nel profondo cieco mondo” is one of the arias in Vivaldi’s famous opera, Orlando furioso. This piece is sung by Orlando, who is overwhelmed by a jealous fury because the woman he loves is in love with someone else. Nel profondo cieco mondo, from Orlando furioso
In This Profoundly Blind World
Nel profondo cieco mondo si precipiti la sorte già spieta a questo cor. Vincera l’amor piu forte coll’aita del valor.
In this profoundly blind world You are thrown by a merciless fate At this heart. The strongest love will succeed With the help of bravery. Translation from www.IPAsource.com
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Johannes Brahms was a German composer who lived during the Romantic period. His musical talents were discovered early on in his life through lessons in piano and composition. As he matured, he developed a unique compositional style that blended aspects of both traditional and Romantic music. Brahms wrote for various music genres including Lieder, choral works, and symphonies. He formed close relationships with various musicians and composers, the most outstanding of these being with Clara Schumann, who was the muse of a significant number of his works. After a successful musical career, Brahms died of cancer at the age of 64. He is now regarded as one of the most important composers of the nineteenth century. The set below was written for alto, piano, and viola. The first song is set to a poem by Friedrich Rückert (17881866) and describes someone whose heart is disturbed by their longing and desire. The second piece portrays Mary attempting to put her baby, Jesus, to sleep.
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Zwei Gesänge, op.91 Gestillte Sehnsucht
Stilled Longing
In goldnen Abendschein getauchet, Wie feierlich die Wälder stehn! In leise Stimmen der Vöglein hauchet Des Abendwindes leises Wehn. Was lispeln die Winde, die Vögelein? Sie lispeln die Welt in Schlummer ein.
Immersed in the golden light of evening, How solemnly the woods stand! The gentle blowing of the evening breezes Mingles with the soft voices of the little birds. What do the winds and little birds whisper? They whisper the word to sleep.
Ihr Wünsche, die ihr stets euch reget Im Herzen sonder Rast und Ruh! Du Sehnen, das die Brust beweget, Wann ruhest du, wann schlummerst du? Beim Lispeln der Winde, der Vögelein, Ihr sehnenden Wünsche, wann schlaft ihr ein?
You desires, that are always stirring In my heart without rest or peace! You longings that disturb my heart, When will you rest, when will you sleep? To the whispering of the wind and little birds, When will you, longing desires, fall asleep?
Ach, wenn nicht mehr in goldne Fernen Mein Geist auf Traumgefieder eilt, Nicht mehr an ewig fernen Sternen Mit sehnendem Blick mein Auge weilt; Dann lispeln die Winde, die Vögelein Mit meinem Sehnen mein Leben ein.
Ah, when no longer into the golden distance My spirit on wings of dreams hurries, When my eyes no longer linger yearningly On eternally distant stars; Then the wind and little birds will whisper My life and my longing to sleep. Translations © Richard Stokes
Geistliches Wiegenlied
Sacred Lullaby
Die ihr schwebet Um diese Palmen In Nacht und Wind, Ihr heil’gen Engel, Stillet die Wipfel! Es schlummert mein Kind.
You who hover about these palms In night and wind, You holy angels, Silence the treetops! Here sleeps my child.
Ihr Palmen von Bethlehem Im Windesbrausen, Wie mögt ihr heute So zornig sausen! O rauscht nicht also! Schweiget, neiget Euch leis’ und lind; Stillet die Wipfel! Es schlummert mein Kind. Der Himmelsknabe
You palms of Bethlehem In the roaring wind, Why do you whistle so angrily today! Oh roar no longer! Be still, bow down softly and gently; Silence the treetops! Here sleeps my child. The heavenly boy 3
Duldet Beschwerde, Ach, wie so müd’ er ward Vom Leid der Erde. Ach nun im Schlaf ihm Leise gesänftigt Die Qual zerrinnt, Stillet die Wipfel! Es schlummert mein Kind.
Suffers burdens, Ah, how very tired he became from the pain of the earth. Ah, now in sleep gently soothed The pain melts away, Silence the treetops! Here sleeps my child.
Grimmige Kälte Sauset hernieder, Womit nur deck’ ich Des Kindleins Glieder? O all ihr Engel, Die ihr geflügelt Wandelt im Wind, Stillet die Wipfel! Es schlummert mein kind.
Fierce cold winds Rush down on us, With what can I cover The little child’s limbs? Oh, all you angels You who on wings Are wandering in the wind, Silence the treetops! Here sleeps my child. Translation © Richard Stokes
Richard Hundley (1931-2018) Richard Hundley was an American composer and pianist. He was born in Cincinnati and raised in Kentucky. Hundley’s higher education consisted of studying piano at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and taking private lessons in composition in New York. Though he wrote music for various genres of music, such as choral works, piano sonatas, and chamber music, his main compositional output consisted of art songs. His music was well-received during his lifetime and he was deemed as one of twelve standard American composers for vocalists by the International Music Competition. The song below contains text based off of an epitaph in Allegheny, Pennsylvania and is dedicated to Hundley’s grandmother. The Astronomers Susan Campbell eighteen sixty-three Nineteen ten Brian Campbell Eighteen sixty-two Nineteen nine Astronomers We have loved the stars too deeply To be afraid of the night. 4
Samuel Barber (1910-1981) American composer Samuel Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He received piano lessons at an early age and began dabbling in writing his own music soon after. Barber began studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia in 1924 and took lessons in piano, composition, singing, and conducting. After he graduated in 1934, he turned his focus primarily to composition. Barber produced a variety of music, including opera, orchestral music, piano music, and many songs for solo voice and piano. His works were met with positive acclaim and brought him considerate fame throughout the entirety of his life. O Boundless, Boundless Evening is set to an English translation of a German poem by George Heym (1887-1912). Sure on This Shining Night is set to a poem by James Agee (1909-1955).
O Boundless, Boundless Evening
Sure on This Shining Night
O boundless, boundless evening. Soon the glow of long hills on the skyline will be gone, Like clear dream country now, rich-hued by sun. O boundless evening, where the cornfields throw the scattered daylight back in an aureole. Swallows high up are singing, very small. On every meadow glitters their swift flight, In woods of rushes and where tall masts stand in brilliant bays. Yet in ravines beyond between the hills already nests the night.
Sure on this shining night Of star-made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground. The late year lies down the north. All is healed, all is health. High summer holds the earth. Hearts all whole. Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder Wandering far alone Of shadows on the stars.
John Duke (1899-1984) John Duke was an American composer and pianist. He grew up in a large, music-oriented family. Duke’s early music education mainly consisted of piano lessons. When he was sixteen, Duke began to study piano and composition at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore on a scholarship. He graduated in 1918 during World War I. After the war he stayed in New York where he furthered his studies. In 1920 he held his debut concert as a concert pianist. His first songs were published in 1923 and he continued to write songs until his death in 1984. Duke composed more than 260 songs in his lifetime. His large compositional output was a major contribution to the song repertory of the 20th century. The song below is set to a poem by Frederic Prokosch (1906-1989) and depicts the singer’s whirl of emotions during a seemingly calm evening.
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Evening Pears from the boughs hung golden, The street lay still and cool, Children with books and satchels Came sauntering home from school. The dusk fled softly inward Across each darkening sill, The whole sweet autumn slumbered, The street lay cool and still. The children moved through twilight The village steeple gleamed Pears from their boughs hung trembling. And suddenly it seemed Shaken with such a wildness Of terror and desire My heart burst into music And my body into fire.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Maurice Ravel was a French composer and pianist. At a young age he attended the Paris Conservatoire. Ravel was regarded as being a Neo-classicist and an Impressionist. Unfortunately, the conservative nature of the school did not match his own beliefs and ideas, which caused him to leave the conservatory at a later date. Ravel ended up establishing himself as a composer while sticking to his ideas of music-making. He was internationally renowned for being one of the most important French composers during his lifetime, particularly in the 1920s and 30s. One interesting aspect of many of Ravel’s compositions is that he liked to explore in musical characteristics from various other cultures and tie them into his own music. The first piece in the set below is written in Aramaic. The text is a liturgical chant of mourning from a Jewish prayer book. The second song is in Yiddish and ponders the question of existence.
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Deux mélodies hébraïques Kaddish
Kaddish
Yithgaddal weyithkaddash scheméh rabba be'olmâ diverâ 'khire'outhé veyamli'kh mal'khouté behayyé'khôn, ouveyome'khôn ouve'hayyé de'khol beth yisraël ba'agalâ ouvizman qariw weimrou, Amen. Yithbara'kh Weyischtaba'h weyithpaêr weyithromam, weyithnassé weyithhaddar, weyith'allé weyithhallal scheméh dequoudschâ beri'kh hou, le'êlà ule'êlà minkol bir'khatha weschiratha touschbehatha wene'hamathâ daamirân ah! Be' olma ah! Ah! Ah! We ïmrou. Amen.
Magnified and sanctified be His great name Throughout the world Which He has created according to His will. May He establish His kingdom during the days of our life And the life of all Speedily and soon and let us say: Amen.
L’énigme éternelle
The Eternal Enigma
Frägt die Welt die alte Casche Tra la tra la la la la… Entfernt men Tra la tra la la la la… Un as men will kennen sagen Tra la tra la la la la… Frägt die Welt die alte Casche Tra la tra la la la la…
If the world asks the old question Tra la tra la la la la… One answers: Tra la tra la la la la… And if one wishes, one can say: Tra la la la Tra la la la If the world asks the old question Tra la tra la la la la…
Translations © David Small
Translations © David Small
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Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) Alberto Ginastera was a prolific composer born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His father was Catalan, and his mother was Italian. Ginastera began taking private music lessons at a young age and afterwards began to study at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires. From here he began composing, in which he used various elements of his Argentine background in a substantial amount of his music. Ginastera is regarded as one of the most important Latin American composers of his time. The first song, Canción al Arbol del Olvido, depicts a heartbroken narrator who tries and fails to forget about the person they love. The set below, Cinco canciones populares argentinas, was written in 1943 and is a good example of how Ginastera included Argentinian harmonies, dance rhythms, and lyrical themes into his songwriting. Canción al Árbol del Olvido
Song to the Tree of Forgetfulness
En mis pagos hay un árbol Que del olvido se llama, Al que van a despenarse, Vidalitay, Los moribundos del alma.
In my land there is a tree, And it is called the tree of forgetfulness, They go to it to console themselves, Vidalitay, Those whose souls are dying.
Para no pensar en vos Bajo el árbol del olvido Me acosté una nochecita, Vidalitay, Y me quedé bien dormido.
So I would not think of you, Underneath the forgetfulness tree I lay down one little night, Vidalitay, And I fell into a deep sleep.
Al despertar de aquel sueño Pensaba en vos otra vez, Pues me olvidé de olvidarte, Vidalitay, En cuantito me acosté.
When I woke from that sleep I thought of you again, Because I forgot to forget you, Vidalitay, As soon as I lay down. Translation © Lorena Paz Nieto; adapted by Gabriela Gonzalez
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Cinco canciones populares argentinas Chacarera
Chacarera
A mí me gustan las ñatas y una ñata me ha tocado. Ñato será el casamiento y más ñato el resultado. Cuando canto chacareras Me dan ganas de llorar Porque se me representa Catamarca y Tucumán.
I love girls with little snub noses and a snub-nose girl has caught my eye. Ours will be a snub-nose wedding and snub-nosed our children. Whenever I sing a chacarera it makes me want to cry, because it reminds me of Catamarca and Tucumán. Translation © Jacqueline Cockburn
Triste
Sad
¡Ah! Debajo de un limón verde donde el agua no corría Entregué mi corazón A quien no lo merecía. ¡Ah! Triste es el día sin sol. Triste es la noche sin luna. Pero más triste es querer Sin esperanza ninguna. ¡Ah!
Ah! Beneath a lime tree where no water flowed I gave up my heart to one who did not deserve it. Ah! Sad is the day without sun. Sad is the night without moon. But sadder still is to love with no hope at all. Ah! Translation © Jacqueline Cockburn; adapted by Gabriela Gonzalez
Zamba
Zamba
Hasta las piedras del cerro y las arenas del mar Me dicen que no te quiera y no te puedo olvidar. Si el corazón me has robado el tuyo me lo has de dar El que lleva cosa ajena Con lo suyo ha de pagar. ¡Ay!
Even the stones on the hillside and the sand in the sea tell me not to love you. But I cannot forget you. If you have stolen my heart then you must give me yours. He who takes what is not his must return it in kind. Ay! Translation © Jacqueline Cockburn 9
Arrorró
Lullaby
Arrorró mi nene, Arrorró mi sol, Arrorró pedazo de mi corazón. Este nene lindo se quiere dormir y el pícaro sueno no quiere venir.
Lullaby my baby, lullaby my sunshine, lullaby piece of my heart. This pretty baby wants to sleep and that fickle sleep will not come. Translation © Jacqueline Cockburn
Gato
Cat
El gato de mi casa es muy gauchito Pero cuando lo bailan zapateadito. Guitarra de pino, cuerdas de alambre Tanto quiero a las chicas, digo, como a las grandes. Esa moza que baila mucho la quiero Pero no para hermana que hermana tengo. Que hermana tengo, sí, ponete al frente Aunque no sea tu dueño, digo, me gusta verte.
The cat of the house is most mischievous, but when they dance, they stamp their feet. Pine guitar and wire strings. I like the small girls as much as the big ones. That girl dancing is the one for me. Not as a sister I have one already. I have a sister. Yes, come to the front. I may not be your master, but I like to see you. Translation © Jacqueline Cockburn
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Bibliography
Geiringer, Karl. “Johannes Brahms.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Oct. 2006, www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Brahms. Kimball, Carol. Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature. Hal Leonard, 2006. Knapp, Raymond L. “Antonio Vivaldi.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Nov. 2000, www.britannica.com/biography/Antonio-Vivaldi. “Maurice Ravel (1875–1937).” Classic FM, Classic FM Digital Radio, 2020, www.classicfm.com/composers/ravel/. Nichols, Roger. “Deux Mélodies Hébraïques.” Hyperion, 2009, www.hyperionrecords.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W12461_67728. Oron, Aryeh. “Alberto Ginastera (Composer).” Bach Cantatas, Bach Cantatas Website, May 2013, www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Ginastera-Alberto.htm. “Samuel Barber.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Oct. 2006, www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Barber. Wells, David Atkinson. "Hundley, Richard." Grove Music Online. May 28, 2015. Oxford University Press. Date of access 12 Mar. 2021, https://www-oxfordmusiconlinecom.ezproxy.lib.uh.edu/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo9781561592630-e-1002283305
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