Vassar College Choir

Transcription

1 T H E D E P A R T M E N T O F M U S I C V A S S A R C O L L E G E Vassar College Choir Christine Howlett, conductor James Fitzwilliam, organ & piano Saturday, April 7, :00 PM Skinner Recital Hall

2 PROGRAM Rejoice in the Lamb (1943) Benjamin Britten ( ) Poetry by Christopher Smart ( ) Emily Drossell 19, soprano, Allison Breeze 19, alto George Luton 19, tenor, William Yuze Li 20, bass James Fitzwilliam, organ Sure on this Shining Night (1938, rev. 1968) Samuel Barber ( ) Poetry by James Agee ( ) James Fitzwilliam, piano To be sung on the water, Op. 42, No. 2 (1968) Samuel Barber ( ) Poetry by Louise Bogan ( ) make peace (2016) David Lang (b. 1957) Adaptation of the Kaddish prayer With a Lily in Your Hand (1992) Eric Whitacre (b. 1971) Poetry by Federico Lorca ( ) Translated by Jerome Rothenberg

3 Only in Sleep (2010) Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) Poetry by Sara Teasdale ( ) Kira Peterson 20, mezzo soprano, Anisa Threlkeld 18, soprano A Jubilant Song (1946) Norman Dello Joio ( ) Poetry by Walt Whitman ( ) Adapted by the composer Emily Drossell 19, soprano James Fitzwilliam, piano Please silence all cell phones or other personal electronic devices and refrain from texting. Use of these instruments will disturb other audience members and cause interference with in house recording and webcasting.

4 TEXT AND TRANSLATIONS Rejoice in the Lamb Excerpts from Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart ( ) Chorus Rejoice in God, O ye Tongues; give the glory to the Lord, and the Lamb. Nations, and languages, and every Creature in which is the breath of Life. Let man and beast appear before him, and magnify his name together. Let Nimrod, the mighty hunter, bind a Leopard to the altar and consecrate his spear to the Lord. Let Ishmail dedicate a Tyger, and give praise for the liberty in which the Lord has let him at large. Let Balaam appear with an Ass, and bless the Lord his people and his creatures for a reward eternal. Let Daniel come forth with a Lion, and praise God with all his might through faith in Christ Jesus. Let Ithamar minister with a Chamois, and bless the name of Him that cloatheth the naked. Let Jakim with the Satyr bless God in the dance. Let David bless with the Bear The beginning of victory to the Lord to the Lord the perfection of excellence. Hallelujah from the heart of God, and from the hand of the artist inimitable, and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty. Treble solo For I will consider my cat Jeoffry. For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him. For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way. For this is done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness. For he knows that God is his Saviour. For God has bless d him in the variety of his movements. For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.

5 For I am possessed of a cat, surpassing in beauty, from whom I take occasion to bless Almighty God. Alto solo For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour. For this is a true case: Cat takes female mouse; male mouse will not depart, but stands threat ning and daring. If you will let her go, I will engage you, as prodigious a creature as you are. For the Mouse is a creature of great personal valour. For the Mouse is of an hospitable disposition. Tenor solo For the flowers are great blessings. For the flowers have their angels even the words of God s Creation. For the flower glorifies God and the root parries the adversary. For there is a language of flowers. For the flowers are peculiarly the poetry of Christ. Chorus For I am under the same accusation with my Saviour, for they said, he is besides himself. For the officers of the peace are at variance with me, and the watchman smites me with his staff. For Silly fellow! Silly fellow! is against me, and belongeth neither to me nor to my family. For I am in twelve Hardships, but he that was born of a virgin shall deliver me out of all. Bass solo and chorus For H is a spirit and therefore he is God. For K is king and therefore he is God. For L is love and therefore he is God. For M is musick and therefore he is God. For the instruments are by their rhimes. For the Shawm rhimes are lawn fawn moon boon and the like.

6 For the harp rhimes are sing ring string and the like. For the cymbal rhimes are bell well toll soul and the like. For the flute rhimes are tooth youth suit mute and the like. For the Bassoon rhimes are pass class and the like. For the dulcimer rhimes are grace place beat heat and the like. For the Clarinet rhimes are clean seen and the like. For the trumpet rhimes are sound bound soar more and the like. For the Trumpet of God is a blessed intelligence and so are all the instruments in Heaven. For God the Father Almighty plays upon the Harp of stupendous magnitude and melody. For at that time malignity ceases and the devils themselves are at peace. For this time is perceptible to man by a remarkable stillness and serenity of soul. Chorus Hallelujah from the heart of God, and from the hand of the artist inimitable, and from the echo of the heavenly harp in sweetness magnifical and mighty. Sure on this shining night From Permit Me Voyage by James Agee Sure on this shining night Of star made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground. The late year lies down the north. All is healed, all is health. High summer holds the earth. Hearts all whole. Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand'ring far alone Of shadows on the stars.

7 To be sung on the water Poetry by Louise Bogan ( ) To be sung on the water Beautiful, my delight, Pass, as we pass the wave, Pass, as the mottled night Leaves what it cannot save, Scattering dark and bright. Beautiful, pass and be Less than the guiltless shade To which our vows were said; Less than the sound of an oar To which our vows were made, Less than the sound of its blade Dipping the stream once more. make peace if you can make peace make peace in the heavens in us in all the world make peace words by david lang (after the mourner s kaddish) music by david lang. The text for make peace is a rewriting of the last section of the Kaddish, the prayer that Jews say in memory of the dead. It is dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Herbert Eugene Lang. david lang

8 With a Lily in Your Hand By Federico Garcia Lorca ( ) Translated by Jerome Rothenberg With a lily in your hand I leave you, o my night love! Little widow of my single star I find you. Tamer of dark butterflies! I keep along my way. After a thousand years are gone you ll see me, o my night love! By the blue footpath, tamer of dark stars, I ll make my way. Until the universe can fit inside my heart. Only in Sleep Sara Teasdale ( ) Only in sleep I see their faces, Children I played with when I was a child, Louise comes back with her brown hair braided, Annie with ringlets warm and wild. Only in sleep Time is forgotten What may have come to them, who can know? Yet we played last night as long ago,

9 And the doll house stood at the turn of the stair. The years had not sharpened their smooth round faces, I met their eyes and found them mild Do they, too, dream of me, I wonder, And for them am I too a child? A Jubilant Song Adapted by Norman Dello Joio from Walt Whitman s A Song of Joys O! O! O! O! Listen to a jubilant song, O! Listen to a jubilant song The joy of our spirit is uncaged it darts like lightning! My soul, it darts like lightning! Listen to a jubilant song, For we sing to the joys of youth, and the joy of a glad light beaming day. Listen to a jubilant song, For we sing to the joys of life and youth, and the joy of a glad light beaming day. O! Our spirit sings a jubilant song that is to life full of music, a life full of concord, of music, a life full of harmony, We sing prophetic joys of lofty ideals. We sing universal love awaking in the hearts of men. O! To have life a poem of new joys! To shout! To dance, exult, to shout and leap. O! To realize space and flying clouds. O! To realize space, the sun and moon.

10 O! To be rulers of life, O! To be rulers of destiny. O! Listen to a song, a jubilant song! Listen our song! The joy of our spirit is uncaged. We dance, exult, we dance and leap! O! Listen to our song! O!

11 Vassar College Choir Soprano Catherine Bither 21 Drew Canning 21 Chloe Catoya 20 Emily Drossell 19 Cailley Gerald Yamasaki 21 Georgia Hahn 21 Gillian Redstone 21 Hannah Soucy 20 Sophie Stephenson 20 Kaiqing (Annabel) Su 21 Anisa Threlkeld 18 Tenor Zach Brashear 18 George Luton 19 Daniel Rosen 19 Jacob Ettkin 21 Pedro Lima 21 Nick Ruggeri 18 Alto Anna Abrams 18 Allison Breeze 19 Sarah Chapman 20 Jennifer Gee 20 Christina Houde 21 Helen Johnson 21 Anna Lockhart 20 Kira Peterson 20 Emma Rys 21 Stephanie Saint Germain 18 Bass Aidan Anderson 20 Pietro Geraci 18 William Yuze Li 20 Sam Lovell 21 Robert Lynn Green 21 Dong Min Jhang 20 Jingkai Jake Zhang 21 If you would like to receive the music department s Calendar of Musical Events or its e newsletter, This Weekend in Skinner, please call the Concert Administrator s office at Visit online: music.vassar.edu Follow us on

12 Upcoming Skinner Concert Events Saturday, April 14 at 1:30 pm Senior Recital: Yanjie Zheng, piano Music of Bach, Schubert, Chopin and Mendelssohn. Featuring Phoebe Lippe '21, violin, and Bronwyn Pappas Byers '21, cello. Saturday, April 14 at 4 pm Senior Recital: Sarah Dolan, soprano & Victoria Abut, mezzo soprano Music of Mozart, Granados, Fauré, Puccini, Bernstein, and more. Assisted by Richard Mogavero, piano. Saturday, April 14 at 8 pm Vassar College Women s Chorus Anne Frank: A Living Voice by Linda Tutas Haugen, with string quartet. Also featuring contemporary music by Joan Szymko, Joanne Metcalf, Andrea Clearfield, and Caroline Shaw. Christine Howlett, conductor Saturday, April 21 at 1:30 pm Senior Recital: Alexander Koo, piano An afternoon featuring works by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Brahms, and Koo. Featuring Noah Kayser Hirsch '19, horn, and Timothy Yoo '18, violin ; Yoon Yoo '20, violin. Saturday, April 21 at 4 pm Senior Recital: Pietro S. Geraci, bass clarinet and clarinet An afternoon of music, featuring Jonathan Russell's bass clarinet concerto, short works for B flat clarinet, and Mozart's concerto for A clarinet. Assisted by Susan Brown, piano. Saturday, April 21 at 8 pm Faculty and Guest Recital: She Wears The Pants Mary Nessinger, mezzo soprano, and Alissa Leiser, piano. Works written for men by Ravel, Schoenberg, Hyla and others.