Faculty Recital: Jean Anderson, Piano, and David Small, Baritone—A Few of Our Favorite Things

HENRI DUPARC: Chanson triste (Sad Song) (1868)

Dans ton cœur dort un clair de lune,
In your heart moonlight sleeps

Un doux clair de lune d'été,
A sweet summer moonlight,

Et pour fuir la vie importune,
And to flee the troubles of life,

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

J'oublierai les douleurs passées,
I will forget past griefs,

Mon amour, quand tu berceras
My love, when you rock

Mon triste cœur et mes pensées
My unhappy 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 lay my anxious head,

Oh ! quelques foi sur tes genoux,
Oh! sometimes upon your lap.

Et lui diras une ballade
And you will utter to it a ballad

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

Et dans tes yeux pleins de tristesse,
And from your eyes so full of sadness

Dans tes yeux alors je boirai
From your eyes I will then drink

Tant de baisers et de tendresses.
So many kisses and so much tenderness.

Que peut-être je guérirai.
That perhaps I will be healed.

REYNALDO HAHN: A Chloris (To Chloris) (1913)

S'il est vrai, Chloris, que tu m'aimes,
If it’s true, Chloris, that you love me

Mais j'entends, que tu m'aimes bien,
And I’m told you love me dearly,

Je ne crois point que les rois mêmes
I do not believe that even kings

Aient un bonheur pareil au mien.
Can match the happiness I know.

Que la mort serait importune.
Even death would be powerless

De venir changer ma fortune
to alter my fortune

A la félicité des cieux!
with the promise of heaven!

Tout ce qu'on dit de l'ambroisie
All that is said of ambrosia

Ne touche point ma fantaisie
Does not stir my fantasy

Au prix des grâces de tes yeux.
like the favor of your eyes!

GABRIEL FAURE: Automne (Autumn) (1878)

Automne au ciel brumeux, aux horizons navrants,
Autumn of misty skies and heartbreaking horizons,

Aux rapides couchants, aux aurores pâlies,
Of swift sunsets and pale dawns,

Je regarde couler, comme l’eau du torrent,
I watch flow by, like torrential water,

Tes jours faits de mélancolie.
Your days made of melancholy.

Sur l’aile des regrets mes esprits emportés,
My thoughts, borne away on the wings of regret,

– Comme s’il se pouvait que notre âge renaisse!
As though our time could come around again!

Parcourent, en rêvant, les coteaux enchantés
Roam in reverie the enchanted hills,

Où jadis sourit ma jeunesse.
Where long ago my youth once smiled.

Je sens, au clair soleil du souvenir vainqueur.
I feel, in the bright sun of triumphant memory

Refleurir en bouquet les roses déliées
Untied roses re-flower in bouquets,

Et monter à mes yeux des larmes, qu’en mon cœur,
And tears rise to my eyes, which my heart

Mes vingt ans avaient oubliées!
At twenty had forgotten!

CARLOS GUASTAVINO: La rosa y el sauce (The Rose and the Willow) (1942)

La rosa se iba abriendo
The rose began to bloom

Abrazada al sauce,
Embracing the willow tree

El árbol apasionado,
The impassioned tree

La amaba tanto!
Loved the rose completely!

Pero una niña, una niña coqueta
But a coquettish little girl

Se la ha robado
Stole the rose.

Y el sauce desconsolado
And the disconsolate willow tree

La está llorando.
Remained there weeping.

CARLOS GUASTAVINO: Cita (Date) (1943)

Te espero en el mediodía, amiga.
I’ll wait for you at noon, friend,

el camino del río,
Along the river path

A la sombra de la encina
In the shade of the oak tree.

Llámame si estoy dormido, amiga.
Call to me if I’m asleep, friend.

Que hace mucho que no cierro
It’s been a long time since I closed

Los ojos por verte, niña.
My eyes to see you, girl.

Y es muy traidora esta sombra soleada de la encina.
And it’s very treacherous, this sunny shade of the oak.

Y al otro lado del río
And on the other side of the river

Duerme el ganado entre brisas
The cattle sleep in the breezes

De los trigales y olivos, niña.
Of the wheat fields and olive trees.

Y ya sueño tu pañuelo
And now I dream of your handkerchief

Sobre mi frente dormida.
On my sleeping forehead.

Y las cigarras ensayan
And the cicadas rehearse

Sus coros en las encinas.
Their choruses in the oaks trees.

Te espero en el mediodía, amiga.
I’ll wait for you at noon, friend.

Dile a tu madre que vas
Tell your mother that you’re going

A lavarte la camisa,
To wash your blouse.

Y que el río está impaciente
And that the river is impatient

Esperándote en la orilla.
Waiting for you on the shore.

CARLOS GUASTAVINO: Pampamapa (Map of Pampa) (1968)

Yo no soy de estos pagos pero es lo mismo
I’m not from here but it doesn’t matter

He robado la magia de los caminos.
I have stolen the magic of the paths.

Esta cruz que me mata, me da la vida
This cross which kills me, gives me life

Una copla sangra en mí y canta herida.
A copla bleeds from me and sings in pain.

No me pidas que deje mis pensamientos
Do not ask me to leave my thoughts behind

No encontrarás la forma de atar al viento.
You won’t find a way to tie down the wind.

Si mi nombre te duele, échalo al agua
If my name hurts you, throw it in the water

No quiero que tu boca se ponga amarga.
I don’t want your mouth to become bitter.

A la huella, mi tierra, tan trasnochada.
On the trail, my land, so sleepless

Yo te daré mis sueños, dame tu calma.
I will give you my dreams, give me your calm.

Como el pájaro antiguo conozco el rastro,
Like the old bird I know the trail,

Sé cuando el trigo es verde, cuando hay que amarlo.
I know when the corn is green, when it must be loved.

Por eso es que, mi vida, no te confundas,
That is why, my life, do not be mistaken,

El agua que yo busco es más profunda.
The water I am looking for is much deeper.

Para que fueras cierto te alcé en un canto,
For you to be real I lifted you up in a song,

Ahora te dejo solo, me voy llorando.
Now I leave you alone, I go away crying.

Pero nunca, mi cielo, de pena muero
But never, my heaven, will I die of sadness

Junto a la luz del día nazco de nuevo.
By the light of day I am born again.

A la huella, mi tierra, tan trasnochada.
On the trail, my land, so sleepless

Yo te daré mis sueños, dame tu calma.
I will give you my dreams, give me your calm.

—INTERMISSION—

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Wie Melodien zieht es mir (It moves me like melodies) (1886)

Wie Melodien zieht es
As a melody it moves

Mir leise durch den Sinn,
Gently through my mind:

Wie Frühlingsblumen blüht es
As spring flowers it blooms

Und schwebt wie Duft dahin.
And drifts away like fragrance.

Doch kommt das Wort und faßt es
Then comes the word and captures it

Und führt es vor das Aug’,
And places it before the eye,

Wie Nebelgrau erblaßt es
As grey mist it turns pale

Und schwindet wie ein Hauch.
And disappears like a breath.

Und dennoch ruht im Reime
And yet, resting in rhymes,

Verborgen wohl ein Duft,
There hides still a fragrance,

Den mild aus stillem Keime
Called forth by moist eyes

Ein feuchtes Auge ruft.
From the silent seed.

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Die Mainacht (The Night of the Main) (1866)

Wann der silberne Mond durch die Gesträuche blinkt,
When the silvery moon twinkles through the bushes,

Und die Nachtigall flötet,
And the nightingale pipes like a flute,

Wandl' ich traurig von Busch zu Busch.
I wander sadly from bush to bush.

Überhüllet von Laub, girret ein Taubenpaar.
Surrounded with leaves, a pair of doves coos

Sein Entzücken mir vor; aber ich wende mich,
Their delight to me, but I turn away,

Suche dunklere Schatten
Seeking darker shadows,

Und die einsame Thräne rinnt.
And a solitary tear flows.

Wann, o lächelndes Bild, welches wie Morgenroth
When, o smiling image, which like the red light of morning

Durch die Seele mir stralt, find' ich auf Erden dich?
shines through my soul, will I find you on earth?

Und die einsame Thräne bebt mir heisser
And a solitary tear trembles hotter,

Heisser die Wang’ herab.
Hotter on my cheek.

GUSTAV MAHLER: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (I have been lost to the world) (1901)

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,
I have been lost to the world

Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,
with which I used to waste so much time

Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,
it has for so long heard nothing from me,

Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!
It may well believe that I am dead.

Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,
It means absolutely nothing to me

Ob sie mich für gestorben hält,
If it should think that I am dead.

Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,
Nor can I say anything against it

Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.
For, truly, I am dead to the world.

Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel,
I am dead to the world’s tumult

Und ruh’ in einem stillen Gebiet!
And rest in a quiet realm!

Ich leb’ allein in meinem Himmel,
I live alone in my heaven,

In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied!
In my love, in my song!

JOHANNES BRAHMS: Von ewiger Liebe (Of eternal love) (1866)

Dunkel, wie dunkel in Wald und in Feld!
Dark, how dark in forest and field!

Abend schon ist es, nun schweiget die Welt.
Evening already, and the world is silent.

Nirgend noch Licht und nirgend noch Rauch,
Nowhere a light and nowhere smoke,

Ja, und die Lerche sie schweiget nun auch.
Yes, and even the lark is silent now too.

Kommt aus dem Dorfe der Bursche heraus,
Out of the village comes a lad,

Gibt das Geleit der Geliebten nach Haus,
Escorting his sweetheart home,

Führt sie am Weidengebüsche vorbei,
He leads her past the willow trees,

Redet so viel und so mancherlei:
Talking so much and of so many things:

„Leidest du Schmach und betrübest du dich,
“If you suffer sorrow and suffer shame,

Leidest du Schmach von andern um mich,
If you suffer shame for what others think of me,

Werde die Liebe getrennt so geschwind,
Then let our love be severed as swiftly,

Schnell wie wir früher vereiniget sind.
As swiftly as we were united.

Scheide mit Regen und scheide mit Wind,
Let us depart in rain and depart in wind,

Schnell wie wir früher vereiniget sind.
As swiftly as we were united.”

Spricht das Mägdelein, Mägdelein spricht:
The girl speaks and says;

„Unsere Liebe sie trennet sich nicht!
“Our love cannot be severed!

Fest ist der Stahl und das Eisen gar sehr,
Strong is steel and iron even more so

Unsere Liebe ist fester noch mehr.
Our love is still stronger.

Eisen und Stahl, man schmiedet sie um,
Iron and steel can both be reforged,

Unsere Liebe, wer wandelt sie um?
But our love, who shall change it?

Eisen und Stahl, sie können zergehn,
Iron and steel can be melted down,

Unsere Liebe muß ewig bestehn!
Our love must endure forever.”

JOHN JACOB NILES: Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair (between 1916 & 1921)

Black is the color of my true loves hair
Her lips are something rosy fair
The pertest face and the daintiest hands
I love the grass where on she stands

I love my Love and well she knows
I love the grass where on she goes
If she no more on earth I see
My life would quickly leave me

I go to Troublesome to mourn, to weep
But satisfied I ne’er can sleep
I’ll write her a note in a few little lines
I’ll suffer death ten thousand times

Black is the color of my true loves hair
Her lips are something rosy fair
The pertest face and the daintiest hands
I love the grass where on she stands.

GERALD FINZI: To Lizzie Browne (1936)

Dear Lizbie Browne,
Where are you now?
In sun, in rain? —
Or is your brow
Past joy, past pain,
Dear Lizbie Browne?

Sweet Lizbie Browne
How you could smile,
How you could sing! —
How archly wile
In glance-giving,
Sweet Lizbie Browne!

And, Lizbie Browne,
Who else had hair
Bay-red as yours,
Or flesh so fair
Bred out of doors,
Sweet Lizbie Browne?

When, Lizbie Browne,
You had just begun
To be endeared
By stealth to one,
You disappeared
My Lizbie Browne!

Ay, Lizbie Browne,
So swift your life,
And mine so slow,
You were a wife
Ere I could show
Love, Lizbie Browne.

Still, Lizbie Browne,
You won, they said,
The best of men
When you were wed...
Where went you then,
O Lizbie Browne?

Dear Lizbie Browne,
I should have thought,
"Girls ripen fast,"
And coaxed and caught
You ere you passed,
Dear Lizbie Browne!

But, Lizbie Browne,
I let you slip;
Shaped not a sign;
Touched never your lip
With lip of mine,
Lost Lizbie Browne!

So, Lizbie Browne,
When on a day
Men speak of me
As not, you'll say,
"And who was he?" —
Yes, Lizbie Browne!

CHRIS DEBLASIO: Walt Whitman in 1989, from The AIDS Quilt Songbook (1990)

Walt Whitman has come down
today to the hospital room;
he rocks back and forth in the crisis;
he says it’s good we haven’t lost
our closeness, and cries
as each one is taken.

He has written many lines
about these years: the disfigurement
of young men and the wars
of hard tongues and closed minds.

The body in pain will bear such nobility,
but words have the edge
of poison when spoken bitterly.

Now he takes a dying man
in his arms and tells him
how deeply flows the River
that takes the old man and his friends
this evening. It is the River
of dusk and lamentation.
“Flow.” Walt says. “dear River,
I will carry this young man
to your bank. I’ll put him myself
on one of your strong, flat boats,
and we’ll sail together all the way
through evening.”

BEN MOORE: Lake Isle of Innisfree (2006)

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee;
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

STEVEN MARK KOHN: The Farmer’s Curs’d Wife, traditional English Folksong (arranged 2000)

There was an old man at the foot of the hill, If he ain’t moved away he’s a-livin there still
The Devil he come to his house one day, says one of your fam’ly I’m a-gonna take away.
“Take her my wife, with all o’ my heart, and I hope by golly you never part!”
The devil he put her up on his back and off to Hell he went clickety-clack.

When he got her down to the gates of Hell he says “Punch up the fire, we’ll scorch her well!”
In come a little devil dragging a chain…she upped with a hatchet and split his brain.
Now nine little devils went a-climbing the wall…saying “Take her back, Daddy! She’ll murder us all!”

The old man was a peepin out of a crack…and he saw the old Devil come dragging her back.

Now there’s one advantage women have over men…

They can all go to hell….

And come back again!

BILLY JOEL: Lullaby (1993)

Goodnight, my angel, time to close your eyes and save these questions for another day.
I think I know what you’ve been asking me..I think you know what I’ve been trying to say.
I promised I would never leave you…and you should always know…
Wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away.

Goodnight, my angel, now it’s time to sleep…and still so many things I want to say.
Remember all the songs you sang for me when we went sailing on an emerald bay.
And like a boat out on the ocean, I’m rocking you to sleep…the water’s dark and deep within this ancient heart you’ll always be a part of me.

Goodnight, my angel, now it’s time to dream…and dream how wonderful your life will be.
Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby…then in your heart there will always be a part of me.
Someday we’ll all be gone But lullabies go on and onThey never die…that’s how you and I will be.