Student Recital: Wanyi Cui, Voice

GIUSEPPE VERDI: Sei Romanze
I. In solitaria stanza
II. Non t'accostar all'urna

FRANZ LISZT: Three Songs on Poems by Victor Hugo
I. Comment, disaient-ils
II. Oh! Quand je dors
III. S’il est un charmant gazon

JOSEPH MARX: Selige Nacht

MARX: Der Bescheidene Schäfer

MARX: Marienlied

ENRIQUE GRANADOS: “La maja y el Ruiseñor” from Goyescas

CHARLES GRIFFES: Three Poems of Fiona Macleod             
I. The Lament of Ian the Proud
II. Thy Dark Eyes to Mine
III. The Rose of the Night

HUAN LIU: Buddhist Dancers (Pu Sa Man)

YINGHAI LI: Maple Bridge at Night (Feng Qiao Ye Bo)

GIUSEPPE VERDI: Sei Romanze
“Non t’accostare all’urna” is the first song in the song set Sei Romanze, Giuseppe Verdi’s first published work. The six songs in Sei Romanze do not tell a story but rather share a common theme of romance. Written when he was only 25, the songs’ characteristics reflect the bel canto style, in contrast to his later works. In this piece, the narrator is deceased, and he condemns a visitor for coming to visit his grave after betraying him during his life. 

Another work from Sei Romanze, "In solitaria stanza" (In a solitary room) was composed in 1838. The song offers a stately melody in easy, flowing 6/8. Apparently intended for a salon performance, the vocal range is not particularly extended. But in the brief and brilliant ascent and descent of the vocal line, the music foreshadows the first aria of Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore (1853). Here, the singer bemoans a young woman lying in a lonely room in great distress, thus crying out, "O merciful God, save this heavenly beauty."

FRANZ LISZT: Three Songs on Poems by Victor Hugo
Liszt was a Hungarian composer who loved French Romantic literature and was attracted to the poetry of Victor Hugo. Liszt's Hugo songs were composed between 1842 and 1844. One of them, "Oh! Quand je dors," depicts the relationship between Petrarch and Laura, which likely reflects the poet's relationship with Juliette Drouot and, by extension, Liszt's relationship with Marie Daguerre.

The lyrics of “S’il est un charmant gazon”describe a beautiful meadow where the singer wishes to rest with his beloved. The melody is delicate and flowing, with rich harmonies and an expressive piano accompaniment that complements the romantic and dreamy quality of the text.

The speaker in “Comment, disaient-ils” describes a group of men and women discussing what they are thinking about in terms of escape, survival, and emotions. The poem is structured around the men's repetition of the rhetorical question "Comment, disaient-ils" (Comment, what did they say) and ends with the women's response.

JOSEPH MARX: Three Songs
Joseph Marx was an Austrian composer and pianist who lived from 1882 to 1964. He is best known for his art songs, which are considered some of the most beautiful and expressive in the German-language repertoire. His work "Selige Nacht" tells of a peaceful and serene night in which the speaker feels a deep sense of happiness and contentment. The song begins and ends with a lilting, dreamy quality that perfectly evokes the peaceful mood of the poem.

“Marienlied” is a meditation on the Virgin Mary and her role as a symbol of purity, beauty, and compassion. The poem describes Mary as a source of comfort and inspiration, and praises her for her selflessness and devotion.

The poem “Der Bescheidene Schäfer” speaks of the shepherd's desire for a woman, but also of his shyness in the face of her beauty—so much so that the shepherd is content to admire her from a distance and does not dare to approach. The work is sung from the woman's point of view, which reinforces her frustration about the shepherd's shyness.

ENRIQUE GRANADOS: “La Maja y el Ruiseñor” from Goyescas
The scene of “La Maja y el Ruiseñor” is set at night in a garden, where Rosario waits on a stone bench for her lover, Fernando. A nightingale sings near Rosario, and she responds to a nightingale with a song of her own. The monothematic piece is based on a folk song that Granados heard sung by a girl in the Valencia countryside, and he transforms the haunting melody into five variations. The variations start in F-sharp minor, move to B minor and back to F-sharp minor, which follows with the nightingale responding in a beautiful cadenza of elaborate figuration. Although there are five variations of the folk song, the piece is written in an improvisational manner where the variations flow directly into the next.

CHARLES GRIFFES: Three Poems of Fiona Macleod
The first piece, "The Lament of Ian the Proud," begins with sustained column chords accompanied by a succession of triplets, depicting the sound of moaning in the wind, then the story unfolds with Ian's desperate question, "What is this crying?" The mood shifts to animated and agitated in the second part of the song, with a number of chromatic harmonies and dissonances that fit the curiosity and nervousness of an old man discovering a gravestone. 

The second piece, "Thy Dark Eyes to Mine," is a contrast to the first one in terms of content. It is a love song that expresses the speaker's admiration for the beauty of his beloved's dark eyes. It demonstrates Griffes's dazzling technique of contrapuntal passagework for the piano. 

The final piece, "The Rose of the Night," represents the darker and more perverse side of Griffes's composition and can be considered another of his experiments in depicting unusual emotional moods. In the opening measures of the song, the piano accompaniment features descending chromatic lines that create a sense of unease and uncertainty, evoking a dreamlike atmosphere of old mystical legend.

HUAN LIU: Buddhist Dancers (Pu Sa Man)
The poem of “Pu Sa Man” is a representative work of Wen Ting Yun, a writer of the Chinese Tang dynasty. The lyric describes the woman's appearance as beautiful, her dress as luxurious, and her physique as delicate, as if depicting a picture of a Tang dynasty lady. The whole lyric successfully uses the technique of contrast to reveal the inner world of the characters in a subtle way. The two pairs of partridges contrast the loneliness of the characters; the description of their looks and costumes contrast the loneliness and emptiness of their hearts.

YINGHAI LI: Maple Bridge at Night (Feng Qiao Ye Bo)
“Maple Bridge at Night" is a poem by Zhang Ji, a poet of the Tang dynasty. After the An-Shi Rebellion of the Tang dynasty, Zhang Ji wrote this poem while passing through the Hanshan Temple. The poem is a precise and delicate description of the observations and feelings of a night moorer on the late-autumn night scene in the south of the Yangtze River, depicting the moonset, the frosty cold night, the fishing fire of the river maple and the lonely boat.

GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813-1901): Two songs from Sei Romanze

In solitaria stanza

In solitaria stanza
In a lonely room

Langue per doglia atroce:
She languishes in terrible pain;

Il labbro è senza voce,
The lips without voice,

Senza respiro il sen.
Without breath her breast,

Come in deserta aiuola,
As in a deserted flower bed,

Che di rugiade è priva,
By dew abandoned,

Sotto alla vampa estiva
Beneath the summer's blaze

Molle narcisso svien.
A weak narcissus fades.

Io, dall'affanno oppresso,
I, from anxiety oppressed,

Corro per vie rimote,
Race through remote paths

E grido in suon che puote
And scream with cries that could

Le rupi intenerir:
Stir the cliffs

Salvate, o Dei pietosi,
Save, O merciful gods,

Quella beltà celeste:
This celestial beauty:

Voi forse non sapreste
Perhaps you would not know

Un'altra Irene ordir.
How to create another Irene.


Non t'accostar all'urna

Non t'accostare all'Urna,
Do not approach the urn 

Che il cener mio rinserra,
which contains my bones; 

Questa pietosa terra
this compassionate earth 

È sacra al mio dolor.
is sacred to my sorrow.

Odio gli affanni tuoi;
I refuse your flowers,

Ricuso i tuoi giacinti,
I do not want your weeping;

Che giovano agli estinti
what use to the dead

Due lagrime, o due fior?
are a few tears and a few flowers?

Empia! Dovevi allora
Cruel one! You should have come 

Porgermi un fil d'aita,
to help me

Quando traea la vita
when my life was ebbing away 

Nell'ansia e nei sospir.
in slight and suffering.

A che d'inutil pianto
With what futile weeping 

Assordi la foresta?
do you assail the woods? 

Rispetta un'Ombra mesta,
Respect a sad shade, 

E lasciala dormir.
and let it sleep.


FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886): Three Songs on Poems by Victor Hugo

Comment, disaient-ils

Comment, disaient-ils,
How, said the men,

Avec nos nacelles,
in our small craft

Fuir les alguazils?
can we flee the alguazils?

– Ramez, disaient-elles.
– Row, said the women.

Comment, disaient-ils,
How, said the men,

Oublier querelles,
can we forget feuds,

Misère et périls?
poverty and peril?

– Dormez, disaient-elles.
– Sleep, said the women.

Comment, disaient-ils,
How, said the men,

Enchanter les belles
can we bewitch the fair

Sans philtres subtils?
without rare potions?

– Aimez, disaient-elles.
– Love, said the women.


Oh! Quand je dors

Oh! quand je dors, viens auprès de ma couche,
Ah, while I sleep, come close to where I lie,

Comme à Pétrarque apparaissait Laura,
As Laura once appeared to Petrarch,

Et qu’en passant ton haleine me touche …
And let your breath in passing touch me …

Soudain ma bouche
At once my lips

S’entr’ouvrira!
Will part!

Sur mon front morne où peut-être s’achève
On my somber brow, where a dismal dream

Un songe noir qui trop longtemps dura,
That lasted too long now perhaps is ending,

Que ton regard comme un astre se lève …
Let your countenance rise like a star …

Et soudain mon rêve
At once my dream

Rayonnera!
Will shine!

Puis sur ma lèvre où voltige une flamme,
Then on my lips, where a flame flickers,

Éclair d’amour que Dieu même épura,
A flash of love which God himself has purified,

Pose un baiser, et d’ange deviens femme …
Place a kiss and be transformed from angel into woman …

Soudain mon âme
At once my soul

S’éveillera!
Will wake!


S'il est un charmant gazon…

S'il est un charmant gazon
Should there be a charming lawn

Que le ciel arrose,
which is watered by heaven,

Où brule toute saison
where all season

Quelque fleur éclose,
some opened flower burns,

Où l'on cueille à pleine main
where one gathers lily, honeysuckle

Lys, chèvrefeuille et jasmin,
and jasmine, in full bunches,

J'en veux faire le chemin
I wish to make of it the path

Où ton pied se pose!
where your foot treads!

S'il est un rêve d'amour
Should there be a dream of love

Parfumé de rose,
perfumed with rose,

Où l'on trouve chaque jour
where one finds each day

Quelque douce chose,
some gentle thing,

Un rêve que Dieu bénit,
a dream blessed by God,

Où l'âme à l'âme s'unit,
where souls unite,

Oh! j'en veux faire le nid
oh, I wish to make of it the nest

Où ton cœur se pose!
where your heart settles!


JOSEPH MARX(1882-1964): Selige Nacht; Der Bescheidene Schäfer; Marienlied

Selige Nacht
Blissful Night

Im Arm der Liebe schliefen wir selig ein.
In love’s arms we fell blissfully asleep.

Am offnen Fenster lauschte der Sommerwind,
The summer wind listened at the open window,

und unsrer Atemzüge Frieden
and carried the peace of our breathing

trug er hinaus in die helle Mondnacht. –
out into the moon-bright night. –

Und aus dem Garten tastete zagend sich
And from the garden a scent of roses

Ein Rosenduft an unserer Liebe Bett
came timidly to our bed of love

Und gab uns wundervolle Träume,
and gave us wonderful dreams,

Träume des Rausches – so reich an Sehnsucht!
ecstatic dreams – so rich in longing!


Der bescheidene Schäfer
The Humble Shepherd

Mein Schäfer, ach! der ist bescheiden!
My shepherd, ah! he is humble!

Er liebt mich, zärtlich liebt er mich;
He loves me, tenderly he loves me;

Der Inbegriff von seinen Freuden,
The epitome of his joys,

Sagt er mir öfters, sei nur ich.
He tells me often, is only me.

Doch ist er allezeit bescheiden.
Yet he is always modest.

Jüngst ließ die Mutter uns alleine:
Lately the mother left us alone:

Was denkst du, ist alsdann geschehn?
What do you think happened then?

Da stand er starr gleich einem Steine,
There he stood rigid like a stone,

Guckt in den Hut und wollte gehn;
Looking into his hat and wanted to go;

Und ach, wir waren ganz alleine!
And oh, we were all alone!


Ich sehe dich in tausend Bildern

Ich sehe dich in tausend Bildern,
In a thousand images I see you,

Maria, lieblich ausgedrückt,
Mary, lovingly depicted.

Doch keins von allen kann dich schildern,
But none of them can portray you

Wie meine Seele dich erblickt.
Quite like my soul beholds you.  

Ich weiß nur, daß der Welt Getümmel
I only know that, ever since that time,

Seitdem mir wie ein Traum verweht,
The turmoils of this world have drifted away like a dream,

Und ein unnennbar süßer Himmel
And that a sweet and unnameable heaven

Remains forever in my thoughts.


ENRIQUE GRANADOS (1867-1916): “La maja y el Ruiseñor” from Goyescas

La maja y el ruiseñor
The girl and the nightingale

¿Por qué entre sombras el ruiseñor
Why in the shadows does the nightingale 

entona su armonioso cantar?
Sing its harmonious song?

¿ Acaso al rey del día guarda rencor ?
Perhaps it bears a grudge against the Sun, King of the Day?

¿ Y de él quiere algún agravio vengar?
Or wants to avenge some grievance?

Guarda quizás su pecho oculto tal dolor,
Perhaps she keeps hidden in her breast such grief

que en la sombra espera alivio hallar,
That she hopes to find relief in the shadows,

triste entonando cantos de amor. ¡Ay!
Sadly singing her songs of love.

¡Y tal vez alguna flor temblorosa del pudor de amor,
Or maybe some flower, trembling with the blushes of love,

es la esclava enamorada de su cantor!...
Is the lovelorn slave of her song.

¡Misterio es el cantar
Mysterious is the song

que entona envuelto en sombra el ruiseñor!
Which the nightingale chants, wrapped in the shadows!

¡Ah! Son los amores como flor
Ah! Love is like a flower  

a merced de la mar.
At the mercy of the sea.

¡Amor! ¡Amor!
Love! Love!

¡Ah, no hay cantar sin amor!
Ah, there is no singing without love!

¡Ah! ruiseñor: es tu cantar
Ah! Nightingale: this your singing is

himno de amor.
A hymn of love.


CHARLES GRIFFES(1884-1920): Three Poems of Fiona Macleod 

The Lament of Ian the Proud
What is this crying that I hear in the wind?
Is it the old sorrow and the old grief?
Or is it a new thing coming, a whirling leaf
About the gray hair of me who am weary and blind?
I know not what it is, but on the moor above the shore
There is a stone which the purple nets of heather bind,
And thereon is writ: She will return no more.
O blown, whirling leaf, and the old grief,
And wind crying to me who am old and blind!

Thy dark eyes to mine 
Thy dark eyes to mine, Eilidh,
Lamps of desire!
O how my soul leaps
Leaps to their fire!

Sure, now, if I in heaven,
Dreaming in bliss,
Heard but a whisper,
But the lost echo even
Of one such kiss— 

All of the Soul of me
Would leap afar—
If that called me to thee
Aye, I would leap afar
A falling star!

The Rose of the Night
The dark rose of thy mouth
Draw nigher, draw nigher!
Thy breath is the wind of the south,
A wind of fire,
The wind and the rose and darkness,
O Rose of my Desire!

Deep silence of the night,
Husht like a breathless lyre,
Save the sea's thunderous might,
Dim, menacing, dire,
Silence and wind and sea, they are thee,
O Rose of my Desire!

As a wind-eddying flame
Leaping higher and higher,
Thy soul, thy secret name,
Leaps thro' Death's blazing pyre,
Kiss me, Imperishable Fire, dark Rose,
O Rose of my Desire!


HUAN LIU (b. 1987): Buddhist Dancers (Pu Sa Man) 
菩萨蛮
Púsà mán

小山重叠金明灭
The paneled foldable screens resemble overlapping miniature truncated spurs [their] gilding is flickering [in the morning light]

鬓云欲度香腮雪
Hair on the sides (by the temples and cheeks) are like [rain] clouds [that] want to cover up the delicate cheeks [pale] as snow

懒起画蛾眉
[Still too] sluggish to rise to paint [her] brows

弄妆梳洗迟
Tardily [she] washes and grooms [herself] and meticulously puts on make-up

照花前后镜
[With] mirrors in front and behind [she examines] flowers [inserted into her hair]

花面交相映
Reflections of [her] face and flowers mingle [beautifully]

新帖绣罗襦
[She puts on a] freshly ironed short silk embroidered garment

双双金鹧鸪
[On it is] a pair of partridges in gold [threads]

新帖绣罗襦
[She puts on a] freshly ironed short silk embroidered garment

双双金鹧鸪
[On it is] a pair of partridges in gold [threads]


YINGHAI LI (1927-2007): Maple Bridge at Night (Feng Qiao Ye Bo) 
枫桥夜泊
Maple Bridge at Night

月落乌啼霜满天
Moon's down, crows cry and the frost fills all the sky

江风渔火对愁眠
By maples and boat lights. I sleepless lie

姑苏城外寒山寺
Outside SuZhou HanShan Temple is in sight

夜半钟声到客船
It's ringing bells reach my boat at midnight.

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