Student Recital: Callie Meikrantz, Voice

FRANCESCO SANTOLIQUIDO: I canti della sera

I. L'assiolo canta 
II. Alba di luna sul bosco
III. Tristezza crepuscolare 
IV. L'incontro 

HENRI DUPARC: Chanson triste 

L’invitation au voyage 
La vie antérieure 
Phidyle

W.A. MOZART: “Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia” from Il Burbero di buon cuore 

—INTERMISSION—

CHARLES GRIFFES: Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod

The Lament of Ian the Proud
Thy Dark Eyes to Mine
The Rose of the Night

RICHARD STRAUSS: Wiegenlied

Allerseelen
Morgen
Cäcilie

W.A. MOZART: “Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia” from Il Burbero di buon cuore 

Vicente Martín y Soler’s opera, Il Burbero di buon cuore, was the first of several collaborations with librettist Lorenzo da Pont. It debuted in 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, only a few months before Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro was debuted in the same theater. Three years later, the operas were revived at the Burgtheater, and both were to feature new arias. Martín y Soler, though, was not available to compose new arias for the revival, so Mozart stepped in and provided two new arias for the soprano role, Lucilla; “Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia,” in act one, and “Vado, ma dove?” in act one. 

In the act one aria, Lucilla, who has unknowingly squandered her husband’s wealth on glamorous parties and needless luxuries, sings, wondering to herself what the reason for her husband’s distress could be. Little does she know that the cause of his worry is their doomed financial state incurred by her reckless spending. Lucilla’s perplexed state is demonstrated in her melodic line, which is often clipped and punctuated by rests and dotted rhythms. She abruptly starts and stops her thoughts, often continuing on the half beat or the offbeat, giving the aria a fretful and breathless quality. Furthermore, throughout the aria, the runs in the vocal line spiral back and forth as Lucilla restlessly questions her husband’s agitation. The aria ends with Lucilla begging the gods to remove this doubt from her heart, “Voi che sapete, o Dei, i puri affetti miei, voi questo dubbio amaro toglietemi dal cor!” 

In the last scene of the opera, Lucilla is informed as to her role in her husband’s financial troubles, and she promptly faints. Upon seeing her shame and regret, Lucilla’s uncle, Ferramondo, takes pity on the couple and pays off their debts. 

CHARLES GRIFFES: “The Lament of Ian the Proud” from Three Poems of Fiona MacLeod

In 1893, author, critic, and poet William Sharp released his first work under the pseudonym Fiona MacLeod. This alias allowed Sharp to delve into a more romantic style of writing, as well as an opportunity to explore his fascination with Celtic folklore and his Scottish heritage. 

The three Fiona MacLeod poems set by Charles Griffes come from two different collections within MacLeod’s 1910 volume, Poems and Dramas. All three poems, though, have a similar theme of lost love.

The first Griffes song in the cycle is a setting of MacLeod’s “The Lament of Ian the Proud.” The piece begins with a drone in the left hand, and an ascending triplet in a diatonic chord; two elements that call back to the Irish folk music tradition. The poem is about an old man, who mourns the loss of a woman at her grave. Throughout the poem, MacLeod compares grief to the swirling wind that sweeps a leaf up with it, blowing all around the old man. This leaf blowing in the wind can be heard in the restless triplets and tremolos which accompany the singer throughout the piece, particularly in the most turbulent moments in the poem. The range of the vocal melody is also reminiscent of a blowing wind; at times, it is calm and almost motionless, but in an instant, Griffes sweeps it up with the accompaniment into a thrilling flurry. One instance of this occurs when the poem ominously summarizes the writing on the gravestone of the old man’s lover: “She will return no more.” The words are sung on notes descending stepwise, with the words, “return no more,” sung on a repeating F-sharp. The right hand’s rolling triplets also cease briefly, and for a moment, everything is still. Suddenly, the left hand begins a rapid ascent in sixteenth notes from middle C to a high G sharp as the singer begins to sing “O blow whirling leaf and the old grief.” The left hand then continues the triplets, as the right hand frantically plays sixteenth notes, triplets, and quintuplets over top, and Griffes dictates “piu mosso” as the singer begins again. The singer’s melody also ascends an octave, effectively raising their voice over the howling wind. 

Sharp kept Fiona MacLeod’s identity a secret until his death in 1905. He went to great lengths to do so, even employing his sister’s feminine handwriting for letters written by Macleod. Many suspected the poet to be Sharp, but he always denied the insinuations. The true identity of MacLeod was released by Sharp’s wife, Elizabeth, who divulged his secret in a two-volume biography about her husband. 

RICHARD STRAUSS: “Allerseelen” from Wiegenlied

In 1885, 21-year-old Richard Strauss (1864–1949) published his first collection of songs, which he titled, Acht Lieder aus Letzte Blätter (Eight Songs from Last Pages), a setting of Austrian poet, Hermann von Gilm’s eight last poems, titled Letzte Blätter. 

“Allerseelen” is the final poem in the Gilm collection, which was published in 1864, the year of the poet’s death, as well as the composer’s birth. “Allerseelen” (all soul’s day) is a traditional Catholic holiday where the lives of past loved ones are commemorated. In the poem, the speaker calls to mind a lover who is gone. Rather than despairing in grief over their lost love, the speaker imagines the lover there with them and beckons them closer, revealing at the end of the poem, that the speaker only allows themselves one day per year (Allerseelen) to remember this loved one as they once were, “wie einst im Mai.” The heartbreaking words of the poem are more poignant considering Gilm, at the time of writing Letzte Blätter, knew he was dying. Many of the poems from the collection allude to death and the passage of time, often comparing life to springtime and death to winter or night. 

Strauss’ setting captures the bittersweet atmosphere of the poem. While there are moments of hope and joy, it ultimately ends with a resigned and somber farewell. Throughout the song, chord changes in the accompaniment are often anticipated in the offbeat, with the reinforcement of the new chord immediately following. This motif gives the song a sense of hesitancy. Like the poet, the melody is reluctant to move forward, as if it needs more time to dwell on the past chord of the tune before fully moving on to the new one. 

In addition to this, the vocal melody is very speech-like, with a predominantly syllabic text-setting, where the melody either moves statically stepwise or with several syllables on a repeated pitch. Strauss evokes a sense of closeness and intimacy with the words by employing this recitative-like melody; there’s a warm comfortability in the words of the speaker to the listener. It is not a prepared speech, but rather an informal conversation between two close friends. The music swells to the only fortissimo marking in the piece with the words, “Komm am mein Herz, daß ich dich wieder habe,” before a decrescendo to piano as the singer once more repeats the refrain, “Wie einst im Mai.”

L’assiolo canta
The Horned Owl Sings

Vieni! Sul bosco splende serena
O come! The summer night shines so serene

la note dell’estate e l’assiolo canta
above the woods and the horned owl sings.

Vieni, che voglio dir quel che non dissi mai.
So come, I wish to tell you what I’ve never said before.

E sul sentiero fioriscono le stelle, magici fiori.
Above our path the stars bloom, like magic flowers.

Inoltriamoci insieme e là nel folto ti dirò
We’ll enter together and there in the thicket I’ll tell you

perchè piansi una triste sera che non c'eri.
Why I cried one sad twilight when you were gone.

Inoltriamoci insieme. Un mistero c'invita,
So let’s enter together. A mystery invites us—

Odi: l'assiolo canta.
O hear: the horned owl sings.

---

Alba di luna sul bosco
Moonrise Over the Woods

Guarda, la luna nasce tutta rossa
Look, the moon appears all red

come una fiamma congelata nel cielo,
like a frozen flame in the heavens,

Lo stagno la riflette e l’acqua
reflected on the pond

mossa dal vento
where the water shimmers in the wind

par rabbrividire al gelo.
as if shimmering from the cold.

Che pace inmensa! il bosco addormentato,
Such immense peace, the sleeping wood,

si riflette nello stagno.
itself reflected in the pool.

Quanto silenzio intorno!
Such great silence surrounds us!

Dimmi: È un tramonto o un'alba per l'amor?
Tell me: is this the twilight or the dawning of love?

---

Tristezza crepuscolare
Twilight Gloom

È la sera.
It’s the evening.

Dalla terra bagnata sale l'odore
Out of the damp earth rises the smell of dead leaves.

delle foglie morte.
It’s the hour of pealing bells,

È l'ora delle campane,
it’s a time to breathe

è l'ora in cui respiro il vano profumo
the faded perfume

d'un amore passato.
of a bygone love.

E sogno e piango.
And I dream and I weep.

È la sera.
It’s the evening.

È la sera, una sera piena di campane,
It’s the evening, an evening full of bells,

una sera piena di profumi,
an evening full of perfumes,

una sera piena di ricordi
an evening full of memories

e di tristezze morte.
And death’s own sadness.

Piangete, piangete campane della sera,
Weep, O weep you bells of the evening,

empite tutto il Cielo di malinconia.
Fill the vastness of heaven with melancholy.

Ah! Piangete ancor…
Ah! Weep again…

Questa è l’ora dei ricordi,
This is the hour of remembrance,

È l’ora in cui l’antica fiamma s’accende
it’s the time when the old flame engulfs

Nel cuore disperatamente e lo brucia.
my desperate heart and ignites it.

Campane.
Pealing bells.

Odore di foglie morte
The smell of dead leaves.

Triztezze dissepolte!
Sorrows unearthed!

---

L’incontro
The Encounter

Non mi ricordo più quando noi c'incontrammo
I no longer remember when it was that we met,

la prima volta ma fu certo una lontana sera
but surely the first time was a bygone dusk

tutta soffusa di pallide tristezze
perfused with faded sadness

lungo un benigno mar!
along a friendly sea!

A noi giungevano di lontano suoni
From afar came the sound

di campane e di greggi
of bells and birds

ed una pace strana ci veniva dal mare.
and a strange peace washed over us from the sea.

Questo rammento!
I do remember that!

Cosa dicemmo quel giorno, lo rammentate?
Do you remember what I said that day?

Io non ricordo più.
I no longer recall.

Ma che importa?
But who cares?

Oggi mi fiorisce in cuore
Today my heart blooms

la dolcezza appassita di quell'ora lontana.
with sweet passion from that time long past.

E m'è dolce stringere nella mia
It’s so sweet for me to clasp

la vostra mano bianca
your white hand in mine

e parlarvi d'amor,
and speak to you of love,

anch'oggi vengono di lontano
for today, just as then, there comes from afar

suoni di campane e di greggi
the sound of bells and birds,

e anch'oggi il mar come allora
with the sea, just as then,

ci sorride lontano.
smiling at us in the distance.

Ma oggi forse m'amate un poco,
But maybe today you love me a little--

non sorridete più.
you’re not smiling now…

Ah! La vostra mano trema.
Ah! Your hand trembles.

Se oggi le belle labbra voi mi darete
If you give me your beautiful lips today

non scorderemo più questa dolce ora d'amor!
we will never forget this sweet moment of love!

---

Chanson triste
Song of Sadness

Dans ton cœur dort un clair de lune,
Moonlight slumbers in your heart,

Un doux clair de lune d’été,
a gentle summer moonlight,

Et pour fuir la vie importune,
and to escape the cares of life

Je me noierai dans ta clarté.
I shall drown myself in your light.

J’oublierai les douleurs passées,
I shall forget past sorrows,

Mon amour, quand tu berceras
my sweet, when you cradle

Mon triste cœur et mes pensées
my sad heart and my thoughts

Dans le calme aimant de tes bras.
In the loving calm of your arms.

Tu prendras ma tête malade,
You will rest my poor head,

Oh! quelquefois sur tes genoux,
ah! Sometimes on your lap,

Et lui diras une ballade
and recite to it a ballad

Qui semblera parler de nous;
that will seem to speak of us;

Et dans tes yeux pleins de tristesses,
And from your eyes full of sorrow

Dans tes yeux alors je boirai
from your eyes I shall then drink

Tant de baisers et de tendresses
so many kisses and so much love

Que peut-être je guérirai.
that perhaps I shall be healed.

---

L’invitation au voyage
Invitation to journey

Mon enfant, ma sœur,
My child, my sister,

Songe à la douceur
think how sweet

D’aller là-bas vivre ensemble!
to journey and live together!

Aimer à loisir,
To love as we please,

Aimer et mourir
to love and die

Au pays qui te ressemble!
in the land that is like you!
 

Les soleils mouillés
The watery suns

De ces ciels brouillés
of those hazy skies

Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
hold my spirit

Si mystérieux
the same mysterious charms

De tes traîtres yeux,
as your treacherous eyes

Brillant à travers leurs larmes.
shining through their tears

Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté,
There—nothing but order and beauty dwell,

Luxe, calme et volupté!
abundance, calm, and sensuous delight.

Vois sur ces canaux
See on those canals

Dormir ces vaisseaux
those vessels sleeping,

Dont l’humeur est vagabonde;
vessels with a restless soul;

C’est pour assouvir
To satisfy

Ton moindre désir
your slightest desire

Qu’ils viennent du bout du monde.
they come from the ends of the earth.

Les soleils couchants
The setting suns

Revêtent les champs,
clothe the fields,

Les canaux, la ville entière,
canals and all the town

D’hyacinthe et d’or;
with hyacinth and gold;

Le monde s’endort
the world falls asleep

Dans une chaude lumière.
in a warm light.

---

La vie antérieure
A previous life

J'ai longtemps habité sous de vastes portiques
For long I lived beneath vast colonnades

Que les soleils marins teignaient de mille feux,
tinged with a thousand fires by ocean suns,

Et que leurs grands piliers, droits et majestueux,
whose giant pillars, straight and majestic,

Rendaient pareils, le soir, aux grottes basaltiques.
made them look, at evening, like basalt caves.

Les houles, en roulant les images des cieux,
The sea-swells, mingling the mirrored skies,

Mêlaient d'une façon solennelle et mystique
solemnly and mystically interwove

Les tout-puissants accords de leur riche musique
the mighty chords of their mellow music

Aux couleurs du couchant reflété par mes yeux.
with the colors of sunset reflected in my eyes.
 

C'est là que j'ai vécu dans les voluptés calmes
It is there that I have lived in sensuous repos,

Au milieu de l'azur,
with blue sky about me

des vagues, des splendeurs,
and brightness and waves

Et des esclaves nus, tout imprégnés d'odeurs,
and naked slaves all drenched in perfume.

Qui me rafraîchissaient le front avec des palmes,
Who fanned my brow with fronds of palm,

Et dont l'unique soin était d'approfondir
and whose only care was to fathom

Le secret douloureux qui me faisait languir.
the secret grief which made me languish

---

Phidylé
Phidylé

L'herbe est molle au sommeil
The grass is soft for sleep

sous les frais peupliers,
beneath the cool poplars,

Aux pentes des sources moussues,
on the banks of the mossy springs

Qui, dans les prés en fleur germant
that flow in flowering meadows

par mille issues,
from a thousand sources,

Se perdent sous les noirs halliers.
And vanish beneath dark thickest.

Repose, ô Phidylé! Midi sur les feuillages
Rest, O Phidylé! Noon on the leaves

Rayonne, et t'invite au sommeil.
is gleaming, inviting you to sleep.

Par le trèfle et le thym,
By the clover and thyme,

seules, en plein soleil,
alone, in the bright sunlight,

Chantent les abeilles volages.
the fickle bees are humming.

Un chaud parfum circule au détour des sentiers,
A warm fragrance floats about the winding paths,

La rouge fleur des blés s'incline,
the red flowers of the cornfield droop;

Et les oiseaux, rasant de l'aile la colline,
and the birds, skimming the hillside with their wings,

Cherchent l'ombre des églantiers.
seek the shade of the eglantine.

Mais, quand l'Astre, incliné sur sa courbe éclatante,
But when the sun, low on its dazzling curve,

Verra ses ardeurs s'apaiser,
sees its brilliance wane,

Que ton plus beau sourire et ton meilleur baiser
let your loveliest smile and finest kiss

Me récompensent de l'attente!
Reward me to for my waiting!

---

Chi sà, chi sà, qual sia
Who knows, who knows what it is

Chi sa, chi sa, qual sia
Who knows, who knows what it is

l’affanno del mio bene,

that torments my beloved,

se sdegno, gelosia,
is it anger, jealousy,

timor, sospetto, amor.
fear, suspicion, or love?

Voi che sapete, o Dei,
O gods, ye who know

I puri affetti miei,
the purity of my affection

Voi questo dubbio amaro
dispel this bitter doubt

Toglietemi dal cor.
from my heart.

---

Wiegenlied
Cradle song

Träume, träume, du mein süßes Leben,
Dream, dream, my sweet, my life,

von dem Himmel, der die Blumen bringt.
of heaven that brings the flowers;

Blüten schimmern da, die beben
blossoms shimmer there, they live

von dem Lied, das deine Mutter singt.
from the song your mother sings.
 

Träume, träume, Knospe meiner Sorgen,
Dream, dream, bud born of my anxiety,

von dem Tage, da die Blume sproß;
of the day the flower unfolded;

von dem hellen Blütenmorgen,
of that morning bright with blossom,

da dein Seelchen sich der Welt erschloß.
when your soul opened to the world.
 

Träume, träume, Blüte meiner Liebe,
Dream, dream, blossom of my love,

von der stillen, von der heilgen Nacht,
of the silent, of the sacred night,

da die Blume seiner Liebe
when the flower of his love

diese Welt zum Himmel mir gemacht.
made this world my heaven.

---

Allerseelen
All Souls’ Day

Stell auf den Tisch die duftenden Reseden,
Set of the table the fragrant mignonettes,

Die letzten roten Astern trag herbei,
bring in the last red asters,

Und laß uns wieder von der Liebe reden,
and let us talk of love again

Wie einst im Mai.
as once in May.
 

Gib mir die Hand, daß ich sie heimlich drücke,
Give me your hand to press in secret,

Und wenn man’s sieht, mir ist es einerlei,
and if people see, I do not care,

Gib mir nur einen deiner süßen Blicke,
give me but one of your sweet glances

Wie einst im Mai.
as once in May.
 

Es blüht und duftet heut auf jedem Grabe,
Each grave today has flowers and is fragrant,

Ein Tag im Jahr ist ja den Toten frei,
one day each year is devoted to the dead;

Komm am mein Herz, daß ich dich wieder habe,
come to my heart and so be mine again,

Wie einst im Mai.
as once in May.

---

Morgen
Tomorrow

Und morgen wird die Sonne wieder scheinen
And tomorrow the sun will shine again

Und auf dem Wege, den ich gehen werde,
and on the path that I shall take,

Wird uns, die Glücklichen, sie wieder einen
it will unite us, happy ones, again,

Inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde …
amid this same sun-breathing earth …
 

Und zu dem Strand, dem weiten, wogenblauen,
And to the shore, broad, blue-waved,

Werden wir still und langsam niedersteigen,
we shall quietly and slowly descend,

Stumm werden wir uns in die Augen schauen,
speechless we shall gaze into each other’s eyes,

Und auf uns sinkt des Glückes stummes Schweigen.
and the speechless silence of bliss shall fall on us.

---

Cäcilie
Cecily 

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
If you knew

Was träumen heißt
what it is to dream

Von brennenden Küssen,
of burning kisses,

Vom Wandern und Ruhen
of walking and resting

Mit der Geliebten,
with one’s love,

Aug’ in Auge,
gazing at each other

Und kosend und plaudernd –
and caressing and talking --

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
if you knew,

Du neigtest Dein Herz!
your heart would turn to me.

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
If you knew

Was bangen heißt
what it is to worry

In einsamen Nächten,
on lonely nights

Umschauert vom Sturm,
in the frightening storm,

Da Niemand tröstet
with no soft voice

Milden Mundes
to comfort

Die kampfmüde Seele –
the struggle-weary soul --

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
if you knew,

Du kämest zu mir.
you would come to me.

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
If you knew

Was leben heißt,
what it is to live

Umhaucht von der Gottheit
enveloped in God’s

Weltschaffendem Atem,
world-creating breath,

Zu schweben empor,
to soar upwards,

Lichtgetragen,
borne on light

Zu seligen Höh’en,
to blessed heights,

Wenn Du es wüßtest,
if you knew,

Du lebtest mit mir.
you would live with me.

Senior Manager of Concert Services – Luis Herrera 
Concert Production Coordinator – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Senior Manager of Performance Technology – Wes Fowler
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov

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