Student Recital: Madison Hablas, Voice, with Brian Moll and Marco Chen

FRANZ SCHUBERT: Der Hirt auf Dem Felsen

Marco Chen, clarinet

JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios
I. ¿Con qué la lavaré?
II. Vos me matásteis.
III. ¿De dónde venís, amore?
IV. De los álamos vengo, madre.

LILI BOULANGER: Clairières dan le Ciel
I. Un poète disait
II. Vous m'avez regardé avec toute votre âme
III. Deux ancolies

VINCENZO BELLINI: Composizioni da Camera
I. L’abbandono
II. Sogno d’infanzia

RICHARD FAITH: Selections from Remember Me
I. Firefly
II. The Blackbird
III. It was a lover and his lass

AARON COPLAND: “Laurie’s Song” from The Tender Land

FRANZ SCHUBERT: Der Hirt auf Dem Felsen

In the last year of his life, 1828, Viennese composer Franz Schubert managed to produce pieces in every musical medium, aside from opera, that he had written in throughout his life. Notably, he finished his famous Grand Symphony in C, the Schwanengesang Lieder (complete with 13 songs), three more piano sonatas, the String Quintet in C, and the small chamber work Der Hirt auf Dem Felsen. Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock), is a lied and small chamber work, written for clarinet, piano, and soprano soloist. The piece is divided into three sections with individual texts, separated by musical interlude. In the first section of the piece, the text describes a shepherd standing on a tall rock singing and calling to the sweetheart he loves. The key is B-flat Major; the vocal melody begins with long phrases and a slow tempo, with many measures of instrumental interlude. The major tonality and drawn-out phrases evoke a feeling of hopeful longing. In the second section the key moves to G minor, shifting the mood to hopelessness. The melody is characterized by sustained and repeated phrases, reflecting the grief the shepherd feels. In the last section the key shifts back to B-flat Major, bringing back the hopeful sound heard in the first section. The vocal melody becomes quick and melismatic with constant ascension, once again evoking hope and joy.

Wenn auf dem höchsten Fels ich steh', 
When I stand on the highest rock,

In's tiefe Tal hernieder seh', 
Look down into the deep valley

Und singe:
And sing:

Fern aus dem tiefen dunkeln
From far away in the deep dark valley

Schwingt sich empor der Widerhall 
The echo from the ravines

Der Klüfte.
Rises up.

Je weiter meine Stimme dringt,
The further my voice carries, 

Je heller sie mir wieder klingt 
The clearer it echoes back to me

Von unten
From below.

Mein Liebchen wohnt so weit von mir, 
My sweetheart lives so far from me, 

Drum sehn' ich mich so heiß nach ihr 
Therefore I long so to be with her

Hinüber.
Over there.

In tiefem Gram verzehr ich mich, 
Deep grief consumes me,

Mir ist die Freude hin,
My joy has fled,

Auf Erden mir die Hoffnung wich, 
All earthly hope has vanished,

Ich hier so einsam bin.
I am so lonely here.

So sehnend klang im Wald das Lied,
The song rang out so longingly through the wood, 

So sehnend klang es durch die Nacht,
rang out so longingly through the night,

Die Herzen es zum Himmel zieht 
that it draws hearts to heaven 

Mit wunderbarer Macht
With wondrous power.

Der Frühling will kommen,
Spring is coming, 

Der Frühling, meine Freud',
Spring, my joy, 

Nun mach' ich mich fertig zum Wandern bereit.
I shall now make ready to journey.

—Translation by Karl August Varnhagen von Ense

JOAQUÍN RODRIGO: Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios

Joaquín Rodrigo was a Spanish composer most known for his contributions to the classical guitar repertoire, but also for his song repertoire that carried distinct nationalistic characteristics of Spain. One of his major influences was Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, whom he met while studying in Paris; he urged him to embrace the dance rhythms and folk melodies of Spain, and the sound of the guitar. The song cycle Cuatros Madrigales Amatorios (Four Madrigals of Love) was composed in 1947 and orchestrated the following year. Rodrigo wrote the songs after hearing an earlier setting of them played on the vihuela, a historic classical guitar instrument. Each song derives its dramatic impulse from the emotional states of love, unrequited love, flirtation, and infatuation.

I. ¿Con qué la lavaré? 

¿Con qué la lavaré la tez de la mi cara? 
With what shall I wash the skin of my face?

¿Con qué la lavaré? 
With what shall I wash it?

¿Que vivo mal penada? 
Who has made life so twisted?

Lávanse las casadas con agua de limones: 
Married women wash in lemon water:

lávome yo, cuitada, 
in my grief I wash, 

con penas y dolores.
with tears wrung from my sorrow.

¿Con qué la lavaré? 
With what shall I wash it?

¿Que vivo mal penada?
Who has made life so twisted?

II. Vos me matásteis

Vos me matásteis, 
You destroyed me, 

niña en cabello,
girl with hair hanging loose, 

vos me habéis muerto.
you have killed me. 

Riberas de un río ví moza vírgo,
By the river bank I saw a young maiden.

Niña en cabello,
Girl with hair hanging loose,

vos me habéis muerto.
you have killed me.

Niña en cabello 
Girl with hair hanging loose, 

vos me matásteis,
you have destroyed me,

vos me habéis muerto
you have killed me.

III. ¿De dónde venís, amore? 

¿De dónde venís, amore? 
Where hast thou been, my love?

Bien sé yo de dónde.
I know well where.

¿De dónde venís, amigo? 
Where hast thou been, my friend?

Fuere yo testigo! 
Were I a witness!

¡Ah! Bien sé yo de dónde.
Ah! I know well where.

IV. De los álamos vengo, madre.

De los álamos vengo, madre, 
I come from the poplars, mother,

de ver cómo los menea el aire. 
from seeing the breezes stir them.

De los álamos de Sevilla,
From the poplars of Seville, 

de ver a mi linda amiga,
from seeing my sweet love,

de ver cómo los menea el aire. 
from seeing the breezes stir them.

De los álamos vengo, madre,
I come from the poplars, mother,

der ver cómo los menea el aire.
from seeing the breezes stir them.

—Translations by Richard Stokes and Steuart Allin

LILI BOULANGER: Clairières dan le Ciel

French composer Lili Boulanger began her own musical studies at the age of two. In 1913 she submitted her cantata, Faust et Hélène (for contralto, tenor, baritone and large orchestra), to the Prix de Rome competition, becoming the first woman to win in the musical category. Her main musical output was between the years of 1913 and 1918; after winning the Prix de Rome she was offered a contract to compose with an annual income, allowing her to dedicate all of her efforts to her music. Boulanger composed the song cycle Clairières dan le ciel while living in Rome in 1914. The music is heard as a combination of both Lili herself and the text of the poems by French poet Francis Jammes. The vocal melodies in this cycle are challenging, yet Boulanger directs the singer with markings of “without rigor” and “with profound emotion,” guiding the vocalist to seemingly float above the busy piano accompaniment.

I. Un poète disait 

Un poète disait que lorsqu’il était jeune, 
A poet said that when he was young

il fleurissait des vers 
he blossomed with verse, 

comme un rosier des roses. 
like rose-trees with roses.

Lorsque je pense à elle, 
When I think of her,

il me semble que jase une fontaine intarissable dans mon cœur.
an endless spring seems to babble in my heart.

Comme sur le lys Dieu pose un parfum d’église, 
As God places a church-scent on the lily

comme il met du corail aux joues de la cerise,
and coral on the cheeks of the cherry,

je veux poser sur elle, 
I wish to place,

avec dévotion,
devotedly,

la couleur d’un parfum, qui n’aura pas de nom. 
on her the color of a scent that shall have no name.

II. Vous m'avez regardé avec toute votre âme

vous m’avez regardé avec toute votre âme.
You gazed at me with your soul.

Vous m’avez regardé longtemps comme un ciel bleu.
You gazed at me long like a blue sky.

J’ai mis votre regard à l’ombre de mes yeux… 
I set your gaze in the shade of my eyes…

Que ce regard était passionné et calme…
How this was passionate and calm…

III. Deux ancolies 

Deux ancolies se balançaient sur la colline 
Two columbines swayed on the hill 

et l’ancolie disait à la sœur l’ancolie: 
and one columbine said to its sister columbine:

Je tremble devant toi et demeure confuse. 
I tremble before you and am abashed

Et l’autre répondait: Si dans la roche qu’use
And the other replied: if in the rock, worn

l’eau, goutte à goutte, si je me mire, je vois
away drop by drop with water, I observe

que je tremble, et je suis confuse comme toi. 
myself, I see that I tremble, and feel, like you abashed.

Le vent de plus en plus les berçait toutes deux, 
The wind rocked both of them with increasing might,

les emplissait d’amour et mêlait leurs cœurs bleus.
filled them with love and mingled their blue hearts

—Translations by Richard Stokes

VINCENZO BELLINI: Composizioni da Camera

In his short life, Vincezno Bellini composed almost 11 operas, 15 songs, eight symphonies, seven piano works, 40 sacred works, an oboe concerto, and an organ sonata. In his vocal music, Bellini had mastered the art of bel canto melodies, which are melodies that emphasize the beauty of the voice. He paid close attention to text and its relationship with melody; his songs and arias were highly emotional and expressive. “Sogno d’infanzia” and “L’abbandono” are part of Bellini’s collection Composizioni da Camera, which was published 100 years after his death.

I. L’abbandono

Solitario zeffiretto, 
Lonely breeze 

a che movi i tuoi sospiri? 
why do you sigh? 

Il sospiro a me sol lice, 
Sighs are meant for me alone,

ché, dolente ed infelice, 
grieving and unhappy, 

chiamo [Dafne]1 che non ode 
I call on Daphnis who does not hear 

l'insoffribil mio martir.
my unbearable torment.

Langue invan la mammoletta 
The sweet-smelling violet, 

e la rosa e il gelsomino; 
the rose and the jasmine languish in vain; 

lunge son da lui che adoro, 
I am far from him whom I adore, 

non conosco alcun ristoro
and I have no relief unless he comes

se non viene a consolarmi 
and console me 

col bel guardo cilestrino.
with his beautiful blue gaze.

Ape industre, 
Industrious bee, 

che vagando sempre vai di fior in fiore,
who always flit from flower to flower,

ascolta, ascolta.
listen, listen:

Se lo scorgi ov'ei dimora,
If you find him where he is,

di' che rieda a chi l'adora, 
tell him to come back to the one who adores him,

come riedi tu nel seno
as you come back to the bosom 

delle rose al primo albor.
of the roses at the first light of dawn.

II. Sogno d’infanzia

Soave sogno de' miei primi anni, 
Sweet dreams of my first years

di tue memorie m'inebbria il cor; 
my heart intoxicates me with your memory;

solo in te spero nel mio dolor.
in my torment, I hope in you only.

Nulla bandirti può dalla mente, 
Nothing can banish you from my mind,

ignoto oggetto de' miei desir; 
unknown object of my desires;

qual m'eri allora, t'ho ancor presente 
as you were for me then, I remember you

col tuo sorriso, col tuo languor.
with your smile, with your languor.

Rapido lampo tua debil vita 
A quick flash swept your weak life away

seco travolse dove si muor,
and took it where one dies,  

ed io ti chiamo ancor.
and I still call you.

Pera l'istante quand'io ti vidi 
I curse the moment when I saw you

pura qual giglio sulle prim'ore: 
as pure as a lily at dawn:

tu ti slanciasti verso i tuoi lidi, 
you flew to your shores,

e di te privo muore il mio cor.
and without you my heart dies.

—Translations by Paolo Montanari

RICHARD FAITH: Selections from Remember Me

Richard Faith is remembered as a successful and talented teacher, performer, and composer. He debuted as a young concert pianist with the Evansville Indiana Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 14, and seven years later he made his professional debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1947. In 1956 he began his professional teaching career at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, and eventually as assistant professor of piano at University of Arizona, where he taught until 1988. Faith’s career in composition began early in his life, but his work “Legend for Piano” was his first published piece, published in 1967. In the following years, Faith composed orchestral and chamber works, piano music, piano pedagogical literature, and most notably song. His song style was characterized by sophisticated piano accompaniments, holding their own melody just as much as the vocal line. Faith enjoyed experimenting with harmony, texture, and rhythm in his songs; in doing so he brought out a new sound and feeling to the popular poems of poets such as William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, and Edgar Allen Poe.

I. Firefly

Darting swiftly, star of night, 
Exciting little firefly, 
You will be a sweet delight when I see you in springtime. 

Firefly, light your lantern, 
Glowing in the night. 
You enhance the spring and summer, glowing, firefly

II. The Blackbird

The nightingale has a lyre of gold, 
The lark’s is a clarion call, 
And the blackbird plays but a boxwood flute, 
But I love him best of all. 

For his song is all of the joy of life, 
and we in the mad spring weather, 
We two have listened 
Till he sang our hearts and lips together.

III. It was a lover and his lass

It was a lover and his lass, 
With a hey, and a ho, 
and a hey nonino, 
That o’er the green cornfield did pass, 
In the springtime, the only pretty ring time, 
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; 
Sweet lovers love the spring. 

Between the acres of the rye, 
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, 
Those pretty country folks would lie, 
In springtime, the only pretty ring time, 
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; 
Sweet lovers love the spring. 

This carol they began that hour, 
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, 
How that a life was but a flower In the springtime, 
the only pretty ring time, 
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; 
Sweet lovers love the spring. 

And therefore take the present time, 
With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, 
For love is crownèd with the prime 
In the springtime, the only pretty ring time, 
When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding; 
Sweet lovers love the spring.

AARON COPLAND: “Laurie’s Song” from The Tender Land

Vivina Perlis, faculty member of the Yale School of Music and 20th-century American music historian, describes Aaron Copland’s compositions as “a sound that became synonymous with the finest values of America to the world.” Copland began composing his opera The Tender Land in 1952, alongside librettist Erik Johns. The opera premiered at the City Center Theater in New York City in the spring of 1954, and unfortunately received harsh reviews. Copland composed this opera with the framework of traditional opera, yet pursued accessibility and the American vernacular more heavily than had been done in opera before. The soprano aria, “Laurie’s Song,” showcases the accessible and youthful nature of The Tender Land. Laurie sings her aria near the beginning of Act I, foreshadowing many of the events that are to come later in the opera. The tessitura mainly falls in the middle voice, a comfortable range for sopranos. The lower tessitura adds to the feeling of accessibility because it is more similar to speaking-pitch, thus evoking the feeling of conversation, a key trait in Copland’s vocal compositional style. The instrumental accompaniment is rhythmically simple, and melodically open at many parts; this gives the singer more freedom in their musical choices and phrasing. Although the text evokes yearning and a hope for newness and independence, the instrumental melody is characterized by many descending arpeggios, emphasizing the tension between the young girl’s dreams and the reality of them.

Once I thought I’d never grow tall as this fence 
Time dragged heavy and slow 
But April came and August went 
Before I knew just what they meant 
And little by little I grew 
And as I grew I came to know 
How fast the time could go

Once I thought I’d never go outside this fence 
This space was plenty for me 
But I walked down the road one day 
And just happened I can’t say 
But little by little it came to be 
That line between the earth and sky 
Came beckoning to me 

Now the time has grown short 
The world has grown so wide
I’ll be graduated soon 
Why am I strange inside? 
What makes me think I’d like to try 
To go down all those roads beyond that line 
Above the earth and ‘neath the sky? 

Tomorrow when I sit upon 
The graduation platform stand I know my hand will shake 
When I reach out to take that paper 
With the ribboned band 

Now that all the learning’s done 
O who knows what will now begin? 
O it’s so strange I’m strange inside 
The time has grown so short 
The world so wide

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