Sunday, March 5, 2017 7:00 p.m Erik Dohner Senior Recital DePaul Recital Hall 804 West Belden Avenue Chicago
Sunday, March 5, 2017 7:00 p.m. DePaul Recital Hall Erik Dohner, baritone Senior Recital PROGRAM Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Selections from Myrthen (1840) Widmung Aus den östlichen Rosen Du bist wie eine Blume Die Lotosblume Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) A Chloris (1913) Offrande (1891) Infidélité (1891) Intermission Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) 7 Canciones populares Españolas (1914-15) El paño moruno Seguidilla murciana Asturiana Jota Nana Canción Polo
Program Kurt Weill (1900-1950) Selections from Love Life (1948) Here I ll Stay Love Song This is the Life Erik Dohner is from the studio of Julia Faulkner. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Bachelor of Music. As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you.
PROGRAM NOTES Robert Schumann (1874-1947) Selections from Myrthen (1840) Duration: 8 minutes 1840 was a year of particular importance for Robert Schumann. It consisted of such a high output of composition for Schumann that it is now referred to as The Year of Song. In the end, the year s efforts would total over 150 songs, in addition to Schumann s attempts to tackle larger works, such as major orchestral and operatic endeavors. Yet, of the most momentous for Schumann was his marriage to Clara Wieck, a long-awaited victory for the lovers following four years of legal battles with Clara s father, who opposed their union. For this occasion, Schumann dedicated a collection of his songs to Clara in expression of his affection for his beloved. This cycle, titled Myrthen, attempts to encapsulate the twists and turns of Clara and Robert s tumultuous history, and remarks on the emotions of marriage, such as devotion, maternity, and tenacity. The four selections performed today are taken out of the context of the whole set. While some may argue that this defeats the larger poetic intent of the set, some scholars such as Renee Gaarder argue that because Schumann was often changing his mind so many times, it makes [it] clear how mutable the order and contents of his songs cycles are. Furthermore, Gaarder and her peers have argued that four central themes run through the song cycle, complementing the central narrative. The songs performed today focus on one of those four themes: the worship-like devotion Schumann harbored for Clara.
Program Notes Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) A Chloris (1913) Offrande (1891) Infidélité (1891) Duration: 8 minutes Each of Reynaldo Hahn s works performed today are similar, in that each of them encapsulates a specific stage in the journey of romance. Infidélité, with text by the French poet Théophile Gautier, explores the blissful but deceptive nature of love. The majority of the text focuses on the romanticized pleasantries of love the perfumes of ebonies and lilacs, indulgent strolls in nature, sweet caresses, and the imagination s fantasies. Yet, the narrator twists reality after the lavish scene, claiming all described never ceases except the love previously shared. Thus, Infidélité captures the sudden severity of heartbreak. Offrande, like Infidélité, paints a picture of a fierce love built upon an unsteady foundation. However, rather than shining a light on the conclusion of love, Offrande forecasts the perilousness of the relationship to come. Yet, this melancholy subtext is hard to detect, as Fauré and Debussy presented this text in much livelier and confident tone, compared to Hahn s vulnerable setting capturing the true sensitivities of the narrator s anxieties in his inability to unabashedly express his love without risk of being ostracised. A Chloris stands in firm poetic contrast to the previous two songs yet still maintains the common theme. Here, the narrator revels in the glory of affirming love. Backed by the regality of a musical setting based on the striding bass line from Bach s Air on the G-string, the text displays the same lavishness and ornate descriptions of love from the Baroque era. Yet, amidst the bliss, Hahn s perceptive sensitivity shows through, as he embeds the setting with an undertone of sadness possibly as a warning of events to come.
Program Notes Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) 7 Canciones populares Españolas (1914-15) Duration: 15 minutes Born in Cádiz, Spain in 1876, Manuel de Falla would go on to become one of the most distinguished Spanish comperes of the 20 th century. Under the influence of Felipe Pedrell, a composer and music historian at Madrid Royal Conservatory, Falla honed his compositional interest on capturing the folk sounds of his nation. Through this, Falla created his own unique articulation of his homeland through his music. By infusing his native folk songs and dance idioms into his musical creations, Falla took up the mantle of his mentor by becoming one of Spain s most notable and internationally recognized nationalistic composers. These voices of Falla s country are easily recognizable throughout all seven of his Siete Canciones populares Españolas, each capturing an area of Spain, distilled through beautiful Spanish melodies, dynamic rhythms, and rich harmonies. The set begins with El Pano Moruno, which establishes the dance-like tone found throughout Siete Canciones populares Españolas. This first song conveys the bitterness of a woman who has lost her innocence. The text of the second, Seguidilla Murciana, with its roots in Hispanic improvised oral poetry, suggests a fiery duel of words between two lovers. To contrast, the third is a lament, followed by Jota, a dance taken from the Aragon region of Spain. Nana showcases the eastern influences in Falla s writing, such as melismatic ornamentation. Returning to love s follies, Canción portrays the humor of love-sickness. In an opposing tone, the concluding song, Polo, explores the genuine pain of being wronged in love. Kurt Weill (1900-1950) Selections from Love Life (1948) Duration: 13 minutes The three Kurt Weill selections performed today are taken from his lesser known musical Love Life. At its premier in 1948, Kurt Weill and Alan Jay Lerner s Love Life was slated to be a hit with the
Program Notes Broadway audiences. To a certain extent, this was true; the production gained critical acclaim. Love Life was lauded at its premiere by the esteemed German drama critic Friedrich Loft as the most beautiful and powerful evening of theater that he had yet experienced. Similarly, it has been praised as a vastly important artifact of the American musical theater, indeed the missing link in the evolution of the modern concept musical. Yet, following its first successful run, the production disappeared. This was especially rare in an age where almost every score to grace the stage was recorded. To this day, a full recording does not exist. However, despite Love Life s mysterious disappearance, its story is increasingly relevant as it captures key tenets of the American ideal. Topics such as the trials of marriage, the tensions of economic change, and the cost of progress are all addressed in this highly relevant musical. The selections today focus on a more domestic theme, the logistics of love. Notes by Erik Dohner.
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