02.10.2024 SNR Jones Program Notes

ABOUT THE ARTIST ELIZABETH JONES, flute Liz Jones is a senior Instrumental Performance major with a concentration in flute and voice minor at West Chester University. Her love of music began at a very young age, singing in the car with her family and learning her favorite songs by ear on piano. Thanks to her incredible mentors and family, her upbringing was filled with music from her experiences in marching band, musical theater, jazz bands, PMEA district through all-state honor ensembles, and being able to perform throughout Europe with American Music Abroad.

During her time in the Wells School of Music, Liz has been actively involved in a diverse array of organizations and ensembles. Most recently she served as principal flutist in the West Chester University Wind Ensemble and performed as the leading role “Beauty” in Vittorio Giannini’s radio opera Beauty and the Beast. Previously she has served as a student coordinator with the INCOMPARABLE Golden Rams Marching Band, Musicale Director/Editor for Sigma Alpha Iota professional women’s music fraternity, Assistant Music Director of Under A Rest A Cappella, vice president of Concert Choir, and Trilovati Flute Ensemble. In 2023 she was awarded first place in the NATS Regional Competition for her division in Saratoga Springs, New York, and continued to place as a semifinalist on the national scale. Liz currently teaches private music lessons from the studio at Earth Song Creative Arts in Spring City, PA, and her summers are spent teaching mixed-age choir and musical theater with the Upper Moreland Summer Arts Camp.

She can be found performing in the greater Philadelphia area in churches, pit orchestras, and chamber ensembles.

After graduation, Liz plans to work towards fulfilling her dream of opening a music studio and performing with a local opera company, and use her experiences to pursue a master’s degree in vocal performance. She would like to extend a very special thank you to all of her mentors throughout the years including her home teachers Miss Erica Bruner, Mr. Brian Stahl, and Mr. Glenn Cowen, her amazing professors Dr. Kimberly Reighley and Dr. InYoung Lee, and her friends and family for their endless support and encouragement.

TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS NUIT D'ÉTOILES

STARRY NIGHT

Nuit d’étoiles, Sous tes voiles, Sous ta brise et tes parfums, Triste lyre Qui soupire, Je rêve aux amours défunts.

Night of stars, Beneath your veils, beneath your breeze and fragrance, Sad lyre That sighs, I dream of bygone loves.

La sereine mélancolie Vient éclore au fond de mon cœur, Et j’entends l’âme de ma mie Tressaillir dans le bois rêveur.

Serene melancholy Now blooms deep in my heart, And I hear the soul of my love Quiver in the dreaming woods.

Nuit d’étoiles …

Night of stars...

Je revois à notre fontaine Tes regards bleus comme les cieux; Cette rose, c’est ton haleine, Et ces étoiles sont tes yeux.

Once more at our fountain I see Your eyes as blue as the sky; This rose is your breath And these stars are your eyes.

Nuit d’étoiles …

Night of stars...

PAYSAGE SENTIMENTAL

SENTIMENTAL LANDSCAPE

Le ciel d'hiver, si doux, si triste, si dormant, Où le soleil errait parmi des vapeurs blanches, Était pareil au doux, au profond sentiment Qui nous rendait heureux mélancoliquement, Par cet après-midi de baisers sous les branches.

The winter sky, so soft, so sad, so sleepy, through which the sun drifted in white mists, was like the soft, the profound sentiment which made us melancholically happy, on that afternoon of kisses beneath the branches.

Branches mortes qu'aucun souffle ne remuait, Branches noires avec quelque feuille fanée, Ah! que ta bouche s'est à ma bouche donnée Plus tendrement encor dans ce grand bois muet, Et dans cette langueur de la mort de l'année!

Lifeless branches which no breath stirred, black branches with, here and there a withered leaf.

Ah! How your mouth gave itself up to mine still more tenderly in that great silent wood, and in this languor of the year's death!

La mort de Tout sinon de Toi que j'aime tant, Et sinon du bonheur dont mon Âme est comblée, Bonheur qui dort au fond de cette Âme isolée, Mystérieux, paisible et frais comme l'étang Qui pâlissait au fond de la pâle vallée…

The death of All if not You whom I love so much, and if not the happiness with which my Soul is fulfilled, happiness which sleeps in the depth of this lonely Soul, mysterious, peaceful and fresh like the pond which grew pale at the bottom of the pale valley…

LES FILLES DE CADIX

THE GIRLS OF CADIX

Nous venions de voir le taureau, Trois garçons, trois fillettes.

Sur la pelouse il faisait beau, Et nous dansions un boléro Au son des castagnettes: Dites-moi, voisin, Si j’ai bonne mine, Et si ma basquine Va bien ce matin.

Vous me trouvez la taille fine?

Ah! ah!

Les filles de Cadix aiment assez cela.

We’d just left the bullfight, Three boys three girls The sun shone on the grass And we danced a bolero To the sound of castanets: “Tell me neighbor, Do I look pretty, and does my skirt suit me this morning?

Have I a slender waist?

Ah! ah!

The girls of Cadix are fond of that”

Et nous dansions un boléro Un soir c’était dimanche Vers nous s’en vient un hidalgo Cousu d’or, la plume au chapeau, Et le poing sur la hanche: “Si tu veux de moi, Brune au doux sourire, Tu n’as qu’à le dire, Cet or est à toi.

Passez votre chemin, beau sire….

Ah! ah!

Les filles de Cadix n’entendent pas cela

And we were dancing a bolero One evening on a Sunday A hidalgo came towards us Glittering in gold, feather on his cap, And hand on hip: “If you want me, Dark beauty with sweet smile, You’ve only to say so and these riches are yours!”

Pass on your way good sir…

Ah! ah!

The girls of Cadix don’t listen to that

PROGRAM NOTES Curves, Ian Clarke (b. 1964)

Curves for flute trio and piano is an imaginative contemporary work highlighting the extended techniques of the flute, a hallmark of Ian Clarke’s unique compositional style. Its title was inspired by the microtonal pitch-bending techniques used as a motif throughout its first movement, “Mystical and Woven”. The musical lines throughout the three flute parts appear to move in a sequence of curves down the flute’s tessitura over a passionate underlay within the piano.

Curves was originally premiered in 2011 at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama by Ian Clarke himself, as well as colleagues Phillippa Davies and Sarah Newbold with pianist Jan Willem Nelleke. The first movement experiments with quarter tone pitch bending techniques in close harmony achieved by alternative “color fingerings”. Interlocking curves in close harmonies provide a unique textural experience that ultimately ebb and flow into a thrilling culmination and a haunting melodic flute line in the upper register.

Fantaisie, Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941)

Phillippe Gaubert, former student and later flute professor at the Conservatoire de Paris, was at the artistic center of Romantic flute music in the early 20th century through his time at the conservatory and the prestigious annual Prix de Rome. His Fantaisie was selected as the featured solo work in the competitive Prix de Rome festival in 1920.

Gaubert was inspired through his time as principal flutist in the Paris Opera, and was inspired by arias to create equally fluid and “singing” melodic lines for the flute itself in his works. The Fantaisie opens with an enchanting flute melody that establishes the lyrical character of the piece. Gaubert's use of chromaticism and lush harmonies adds a touch of impressionistic color to the work. The central section features a more animated and virtuosic flute line, showcasing the technical prowess of the performer. Throughout the composition, the piano provides a rich harmonic foundation and engages in a dynamic interplay with the flute, creating a balanced and cohesive musical narrative.

Air for Flute and Organ, Op. 106, Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961)

Lowell Liebermann is a renowned American pianist composer with over one hundred and thirty works spanned over numerous genres. His newest work for flute and organ was commissioned by The Society for the Promotion of Sacred Music at St. Bernard Church in Hamburg, Germany and premiered there in April, 2008. Air for Flute and Organ, Op. 106 is a contemplative and evocative work that beautifully combines the distinct timbres of the flute and the organ.

The flute’s expressive and hymnlike melody floats gently over the lush harmonic backdrop in the organ, meeting in moments of beautiful tension and respite. Liebermann skillfully uses each instrument’s timbral palette and capabilities to craft an emotionally resonant and meditative soundscape leading to a powerful and sonorous climax.

Nuit d'Étoiles – Eight Early Songs, Claude Debussy (1862-1918), ed. Mimi Stillman

This collection of art song transcriptions by Philadelphia-based flute virtuoso Mimi Stillman celebrates the indelible life and works of Claude Debussy, leading French composer of the Impressionist movement. Originally composed in 1880 when he was only eighteen, "Nuit d'Étoiles" stands as a testament to Debussy's early abilities to weave together poetry and music, and showcases his mastery of nuance, sensitivity, and evocative expression.

“Nuit d'Étoiles,” Debussy’s very first art song, paints a shimmering soundscape of the starry night and compares its celestial beauty to bygone lovers. The piano's shimmering textures and the singer's floating lines create an ethereal atmosphere, capturing the magic and mystery of the stars. "Mandoline" (1882) is a delightful art song that draws inspiration from the tradition of the serenade. Debussy's use of pizzicato-like piano accompaniment creates a delightful plucking effect, mimicking the gentle sounds of the mandolin. The vocal line, graceful and buoyant, dances above the accompaniment, weaving a whimsical melody that mirrors the flirtatious nature of a serenade. "Voici que le Printemps" (1884) sets to music a poem by symbolist poet Paul Verlaine. The text paints a vivid picture of the arrival of spring, celebrating the rebirth of nature with its blossoming flowers, fragrant breezes, and the joyful awakening of life. In "Paysage Sentimental," Debussy invites us to embark on a journey through the landscape of sentiment—a place where the boundaries between memory and imagination blur, and the evocative power of music reveals the richness of our inner emotional worlds.

Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen, François Borne (1840-1920)

Produced in 1875, French composer George Bizet’s opera Carmen transcended the traditional opera-comique style, and became an immortal opera with thousands of stage, screen, and scoring renditions. The narrative follows Carmen, a fiery and seductive gypsy smuggler in southern Spain, and her whirlwind love triangle with the corporal Don Jose and the showy toreador, Escamillo. The striking and passionate colors and themes of the opera served as virtuosic inspiration for composers including French flute virtuoso, Francois Borne. After his studies at the Toulouse Conservatory and his contributions to the development of the modern Boehm flute, Borne was inspired to write a rhapsodic fantasy combining the colorful themes of Bizet’s opera.

François Borne’s Fantaisie Brillante sur Carmen is a masterful composition that transforms themes from Bizet's Carmen into a dazzling showcase for the flute. Originally written for flute and piano, this virtuosic piece has become a staple in the flute repertoire, admired for its brilliant technical demands and the ability to transport the listener to the passionate world of the opera. After a fluttering introduction, the flute enters a broad low register showcasing the fate motive, a recurring omen of death. The piece revolves around the sultry “Habañera” aria with two virtuosic variations.

The piece expands further with the teasing and playful character of the “Dance Bohème” and grows to a rousing finale on the triumphant “Chanson des Toreadors”.

“Les Filles de Cadix,” Leo Délibes (1836-1891) Leo Délibes, contemporary of Bizet, was an esteemed French composer in the romantic period specializing in operas and ballets. Arias such as “Flower Song” from Lakmé are so widely received that non-musicians can easily recall its serene melodies. While “Les Filles de Cadix” is but an art song, its acrobatics, and its colorful and dramatic nature reflect Délibes’ great operatic influence. The text, written by Alfred de Musset, depicts a playful and exotic scene in Cádiz, an island in southern Spain near the setting of Bizet’s Carmen. The scene following a bullfight shows a flirtatious exchange between the women of Cádiz and their male pursuers, finding satisfaction in rejecting these suitors to savor their femininity and freedom. Colorful, exotic settings such as “Les Filles de Cadix” were composed during the height of the Exoticism movement within the Romantic period as composers and artists found great inspiration and fascination in other lands.