Music of the Americas Mastersingers Ryan Kelly, director \
Sunday, February 17, 2019 Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Art Center 3:00 PM
PROGRAM
Music of Mexico Villancicos ........................................................................................... Gaspar Fernandes (1566-1629) Toquen as sonajas Matthew Ebersole, Taylor Koenigsberg, Mateo Rodriguez, Vittoria Rybak, Leetal Tusia, soloists
Andrés do queda el Ganado Richard Cross, Nicole Faiola, Casey Morris, Lauren Ralston, Michael Zelno, soloists
Jesós de mi goracón Emily Caplan, Andrew Cassell, Caleb Deutsch, Julie Perri, and Emily Salatti, soloists
Liam Thomas, guitar Kyla Ericka de Guia, violin; Kimberly Sulahian, flute Nathan Gittelman, Joshua Taylor and Luke Thurston, percussion
Though born in Portugal, Gaspar Fernandes spent much of his career in North and Central America. He served as the maestro di capella at the cathedral in Antigua, Guatemala from 1599-1606 before taking a similar post in Puebla, Mexico where he remained until his death. He is best known for composing over two hundred villancicos, a Spanish/Portuguese genre very popular in the colonialized New World. Fernandes composed the three villancicos performed today between 1609-10. The manuscripts show only vocal lines; however, instrumentalists typically played colla parte (with the parts), doubling vocal lines and improvising. Many of the villancicos’ poetry is in Mesoamerican dialects. Jesós de mi goracón is the first villancico of colonial America set to the language Nahuatl, a language that integrated Spanish words with the those of the indigenous peoples. Many of the poems are challenging to translate because of the mixtures of languages, vocabulary, and archaic spellings.
Toquen as sonajas Play the rattles, the rebecs sound, and the Portuguese rejoice. Andrés do queda el ganado André, where is the livestock? For sure, I do not know. I swear. Why? (don’t you know where the livestock is) A little angel flew by, singing beautifully, drifting along saying that Jesus Christ was born tonight. I swear! What?! A little angel flew by, singing so prettily and softly that Jesus Christ was born tonight! I swear! Jesós de mi goracón Jesus, from my heart: do not cry for my sake! Why are you crying? My pleasures? My affliction? Hallelujah!
Music of Argentina Indianas ............................................................................................... Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) Gala del día Quién fuera como el jazmín Chañarcito, chañarcito Viento norte Al tribunal de tu pecho Una da dos Sándor Kádár, piano
Argentinian Carlos Guastavino was one of the foremost Argentinian composers of the twentieth century. He composed hundreds of songs, many becoming popular in the mid-century, and he performed internationally as a concert pianist. He eschewed the dissonant compositional trends of the century and composed in a colorful, romantic style. He composed Indianas in 1967. The cycle reflects many rhythms of Latin American folk dances, including the Argentinian chacarera and zamba, the Cuban habanera, and the Chilean cueca. The cycle’s poets are all native Argentinians. Gala del día I love the light of dawn because it kisses you and makes you alive and fanciful. Straight tassel to the wind of noon, I love the sun that gilds you, ripe and mine. Ah, heart of the night, finery of the day! My life, I am longing for your happiness! When the afternoon cries for its lost light, I love the song you put in my life. I love so much the night that is infinite, as your sweet hour, dark and warm. Ah, heart of the night, finery of the day! My life, I am longing for your happiness! Quién fuera como el jazmín Who could be like the jasmine when it begins to bloom, giving fine perfume, to be in your possession. To be in your possession, my love, who could be a flower! Who could be as the rose, with its gracefulness, arising, red, with the light of the new day. To be in your possession, my love, who could be a flower! Who could be as the carnation, a variegated carnation, growing in blushes and sprinkled in white. To be in your possession, my love, who could be a flower!
Chañarcito, chañarcito Chañarcito, chañarcito, you have so many thorns; just like my heart, you are held up with thorns; let sprout, from among the thorns, your fine flowers. Chañarcito, chañarcito, of beautiful and green branches, just like my heart, overflows with love; let sprout, from among the thorns, your fine flowers. Chañarcito, chañarcito, of such joyful looking, just like my heart, don’t let it faint; let sprout, from among the thorns, your fine flowers. Viento norte Ripping through the wooded hills over the dunes the northern wind screams its cry in the quebracho woods. A heavy string of bamboo, of thorny bushes and chilcales, plays the agony of the fire in the red afternoon. Air like a forge, winds of fire burning miles and miles all through February. The wind blows, fire in its breath; cracked land, thirsty man. The earth is charred, my hope is wounded, northern wind, low is the river, dry are its banks. My poor tired land, my sweat will not be enough to see you grow again with the miracle of the flowering pampas. Air like a forge… Al tribunal de tu pecho To the court of your heart I come to appeal, should it want to listen to my passion and pleading. Gardens of love, gardens of love, those who love deserve only a slight penalty. To the court of your heart I come to prove my fidelity, the proof should be my sleeplessness and observance. Gardens of love… To the court of your heart I come to ask for clemency, if it is going to sentence me to prison and penitence. Gardens of love… Una da dos Water bends the willow stick. One stick up in the air, the other soaking. As water to the willow, your love turns me. Some saw me in your eyes, some in shadows. One or the other: they will find me crying or I will be with you. When he sees himself in the river, the sky falls, and the river rewards him, giving tenderness. As that mirror to the sky, I would like to watch you. The sky watches him, the mirror returns the sky. One or the other…
Music of the United States Popular American Soldier Songs Chester............................................................................... William Billings (1746-1800) arr. Ryan Kelly Kimberly Sulahian, piccolo; Joshua Taylor, percussion
Soldier, Soldier, Won’t You Marry Me? ........ arr. Robert De Cormier (1922-2017) Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier........................................................... arr. De Cormier Taylor Koenigsberg and Kiana Rivera, soloists
Tenting on the Old Campground ................................Walter Kittredge (1834-1905) arr. René Clausen Terasa Pierontoni, clarinet; Liam Thomas, guitar
Pieces from the African-American Gospel and Spiritual Tradition If I Can Help Somebody ................................................ Alma Androzzo (1912-2001) arr. Nathan Carter Kyle Loedel, soloist
Good News .................................................................... arr. Stacey V. Gibbs (b. 1962) William Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was the first native composer of the United States. His song Chester was immensely popular among the colonists during the Revolutionary War, rivaled only by Yankee Doodle in popularity. Its stanzas typify many historical American battle songs, combining details of battles and troops alongside the appropriation of divine approval. Soldier, Soldier, Won’t You Marry Me and Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier are both English songs which became very popular in the United States, the second particularly during the Revolutionary War period. Paired together in De Cormier’s arrangements, they portray stark contrasts in emotions—the naiveté and enthusiasm of those leaving for war in its early stages, and the foreboding and heartbreak surrounding those leaving for war after months of conflict. Walter Kittredge, a native of New Hampshire, was a self-taught musician who composed over five hundred songs, many of them about the Civil War. He
composed his most famous song Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground in 1863 and sold over ten thousand copies in the first three months after publication. It was popular with citizens grieving over the increasing casualties, embraced by veterans’ organizations at reunions and sung at the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876, and re-popularized by Pete Seeger in the 1960s as a protest song. Today’s concert closes with two works from the African-American Spiritual and Gospel traditions. Tennessean songwriter Alma Androzzo composed the song If I Can Help Somebody in 1945 for the National Tuberculosis Society. After hearing the song performed at a church in Denver, Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged Mahalia Jackson to record the song. Jackson’s subsequent recording and King’s incorporation of the song’s lyrics in a 1968 sermon cemented the piece’s popularity. Nathan Carter, a native of Selma, Alabama, spent much of his career on faculty at Morgan State University in Maryland, one of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities. There he conducted the MSU Choir and composed numerous arrangements of Spirituals and Gospel songs. His arrangement of If I Can Help Somebody has traditionally been performed and recorded with a male soprano soloist. Stacey V. Gibbs is perhaps today’s most prolific choral arranger of the American Spiritual in the collegiate Spiritual traditions of Dawson, Hairston, and Hogan. Gibbs’ Good News is musically exuberant, reflecting the lyrics’ thesis that life’s trials on earth are insignificant compared to the glories and joy of life in heaven to come. Mastersingers Ryan Kelly, director Sandor Kadar, accompanist Maeve Bantra Kiernan Bouman Alexander Brandreth Benjamin Brubaker Alexandra Bruch * Ashlyn Bushey Emily Caplan Andrew Cassell Katherine Clark Richard Cross SL Kyla Eryka de Guia Caleb Deutsch Matthew Ebersole
Nicole Faiola Andrew Gifford Kyle Gombosi Aaron Hungerford Shane Hurley Steven Kendikian Brianna Kislak Sabrina Knapp Taylor Koenigsberg ^ SL Kyle Loedel Mateo Lopez Chad McKenrick Casey Morris *
president
^
vice president
Don Nyugen Julie Perri Lauren Ralston Mario Ramirez # Kevin Ramsey Kiana Rivera SL Hollie Roberts Madeleine Robinson Mateo Rodriguez Julian Romenek Cassandra Rosenfeld Vittoria Rybak Emily Salatti #
secretary
SL
section leader
William Shaw Kimberly Sulahian Christopher Swantek Sidney Szwarc Joshua Taylor Leetal Tusia Zachary Walter Jeremy Wolfberg Michael Zelno SL Ryan Zickafoose Ava Zinno
UPCOMING WELLS SCHOOL OF MUSIC EVENTS For full event details visit www.wcupa.edu/music or call (610) 436-2739 Monday, February 18, 2019, 4:00 PM Guest Artist Q&A: Jennifer Higdon, classical music composer Adam Silverman, faculty liaison Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building Tuesday, February 19, 2019, 8:15 PM Wind Ensemble & Wind Symphony Andrew Yozviak & M. Gregory Martin, directors Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre Performing Arts Center Friday, February 22, 2019, 4:00 PM Graduate Recital: Elena Bondareva, flute Kimberly Reighley, director Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building Friday, February 22, 2019, 6:00 PM Senior Recital: Logan Kennedy, trombone Daniel Cherry, director Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building Saturday, February 23, 2019, 12:00 PM Senior Recital: Alexander Sheetz, tuba Jonathan Fowler, director Ware Family Recital Hall Swope Music Building *Tickets required for this event.
Steinway & Sons Piano Technical, Tuning and Concert Preparations by Gerald P. Cousins, RPT A majority of performances are available to watch via live stream at Facebook.com/ArtsAtWCUPA and LiveStream.com/wcupa. Mr. Robert Rust, Audio & Visual Technician Events at the Wells School of Music are often supported by individual sponsors and organizations. Contributions to the Wells School of Music may be made out to: West Chester University Foundation 202 Carter Drive, West Chester, PA 19382
For further information, please call (610) 436-2868 or contact Dr. Christopher Hanning, Dean. If you do not intend to save your program, please recycle it in the baskets at the exit doors. The Wells School of Music | West Chester University of Pennsylvania Dr. Christopher Hanning, Dean