the program for this concert

A riose
Michael McGushin, Director
with guest artist
Sheila Willey, soprano
in her image
Anatomy of a Self-Portrait by Ann Thiermann
a celebration of women composers
Friday, June 14, 2013
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church
2402 Cabrillo College Drive, Soquel
The Episcopal Church
of St. John the Baptist
125 Canterbury Drive, Aptos
DAriose SingersD
Michael McGushin, Director
Jaeleen Bennis
John Seales
Kathleen Caton
Hilary Seamans
Don Dailey
Andy Shatney
Cassandra Dobrin
Michael Vojvoda
Sara Hancock
Susana Wessling
Steven Guire Knight
Mary Ann Wieland
Dan Landry
Darlene Aimee Wilcox
Robert Marshall
Les Wright
Thanks!
Thank you to Ann Thiermann, Hyo-shin Na, Sheila
Willey, Printsmith, Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church,
Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, and First
Congregational Church and staff for your support.
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A
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2
Join Ariose Singers!
Ariose occasionally has openings for
skilled choral singers. Contact Michael
McGushin at [email protected]
if you are interested in auditioning.
Upcoming Local Concerts
Cabrillo Music Festival, August 2-11
Music Director Marin Alsop presents a program of works by thirteen composers whose
voices reflect a broad spectrum of the human
experience and the times in which we live.
www.cabrillomusic.org
Cabrillo Stage
This summer: La Cage aux Folles, Escaping
Queens, Oklahoma!, and Lunch. More information and tickets at www.cabrillostage.com.
DProgramD
Astronaut Anthem
Meredith Monk (b. 1942)
Lockung Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)
Songs of Clara Schumann Sheila Willey, soprano
Ihr Bildnis
Lorelei
Volkslied
O Lust, o Lust
(1819-1896)
Illumiunare, Jerusalem
Judith Weir (b. 1954)
The Queen and the Soldier
Suzanne Vega (b.1959)
arranged by Michael McGushin (b. 1961)
Ich sagte nicht Sheila Willey, soprano
Mrs. H.H.A. [Amy] Beach (1867-1944)
Le Retour Sheila Willey, soprano
Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
Three Madrigals
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927)
DIntermission D
Three Pieces for mixed choir Hyo-shin Na (b.1959)
Songs of Clara Schumann
Sheila Willey, soprano
Das Veilchen
Liebst du um Schönheit
Walzer
Schöne Fremde Virgo Mater Creatrix
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
Barbara Kolb (b. 1939)
Songs of Lili Boulanger
Sheila Willey, soprano
Elle était descendue au bas de la prairie
Elle est gravement gaie
a blue true dream of sky
Sheila Willey, soprano
Hilary Seamans and Susana Wessling, alti
Judith Weir (b.1954)
Meredith Monk
Astronaut Anthem
Fanny Hensel DTextsD
D
(b. 1942, USA)
from The Games: a science fiction opera
(1805-1847, Germany)
Lockung, op. 3, no. 1
Hörst du nicht die Bäume rauschen
Draußen durch die stille Rund?
Lockts dich nicht, hinabzulauschen
Von dem Söller in den Grund,
Wo die vielen Bäche gehen
Wunderbar im Mondenschein
Und die stillen Burgen sehen
In den Fluß vom hohen Stein?
Can’t you hear the forest rustle
outside through the quiet round?
Aren’t you tempted to listen
down from the balcony to the ground
where the many brooks flow
wondrously in moonlight—
and the silent castles look
into the river from the high rock?
Kennst du noch die irren Lieder
Aus der alten, schönen Zeit?
Sie erwachen alle wieder
Nachts in Waldeseinsamkeit,
Wenn die Bäume träumend lauschen
Und der Flieder duftet schwül
Und im Fluß die Nixen rauschen—
Komm herab, hier ist’s so kühl.
Do you remember the mad songs
from former, beautiful times?
They all awake again at night,
in the loneliness of the forest,
when the dreaming trees are listening
and the lilac has a sultry scent
and in the river the mermaids murmur:
come down, here it is so cool.
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788-1857, Germany)
Songs of Clara Schumann Sheila Willey, soprano
(1819-1896, Germany)
Ihr Bildnis
4
Ich stand in dunklen Träumen
und starrte ihr Bildnis an,
und das geliebte Antlitz
Heimlich zu leben begann.
I stood in darkened daydreams
and stared at her portrait long
as that beloved face was
secretly coming to life.
Um ihre Lippen zog sich
Ein Lächeln wunderbar,
Und wie von Wehmutstränen
Erglänzte ihr Augenpaar.
Around her lips there blossomed
a wondrous laughing smile,
and melancholy teardrops they glittered in her fair eyes.
Auch meine Tränen flossen
Mir von den Wangen herab—
Und ach, ich kann’s nicht glauben,
Daß ich dich verloren hab!
Likewise my teardrops welled up
and flowed down mournful cheeks
alas, I can’t believe it,
that I am deprived of you!
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856, Germany)
Lorelei
Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten
Daß ich so traurig bin;
Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten
Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn.
I’m looking in vain for the reason
That I am so sad and distressed;
A tale known for many a season
Will not allow me to rest.
Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein;
Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt
Im Abendsonnenschein.
Cool is the air in the twilight
And quietly flows the Rhine;
The mountain top glows with a highlight
From the evening sun’s last shine.
Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar,
Ihr goldnes Geschmeide blitzet
Sie kämmt ihr goldenes Haar.
The fairest of maiden’s reposing
So wondrously up there.
Her golden treasure disclosing;
She’s combing her golden hair.
Sie kämmt es mit goldenem Kamme
Und singt ein Lied dabei;
Das hat eine wundersame
Gewaltige Melodei.
She combs it with comb of gold
And meanwhile sings a song
With melody strangely bold
And overpoweringly strong.
Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
Ergreift es mit wildem Weh,
Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe,
Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh.
The boatman in his small craft
Is seized with longings, and sighs.
He sees not the rocks fore and aft;
He looks only up towards the skies.
Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn;
Und das hat mit ihrem Singen
Die Lorelei getan.
I fear that the waves shall be flinging
Both vessel and man to their end;
That must have been what with her singing
The Lorelei did intend.
Heinrich Heine
Volkslied
Es fiel ein Reif in der Frühlingsnacht,
Er fiel auf die zarten Blaublümelein:
Sie sind verwelket, verdorrt.
There fell a frost on a night of Spring,
it fell on the delicate blossoms blue:
the blossoms withered, and drooped.
Ein Jüngling hatte ein Mädchen lieb;
Sie flohen heimlich von Hause fort,
Es wußt’ weder Vater noch Mutter.
A young man once loved a maiden fair;
in secret they ran away from home,
unknown to their father or mother.
Sie sind gewandert hin und her,
Sie haben gehabt weder Glück noch Stern,
Sie sind gestorben, verdorben.
They wandered aimless here and there,
they had neither luck nor aiding star,
they met their ruin, they perished.
Heinrich Heine, after a German folksong
O Lust, o Lust
O Lust, o Lust, vom Berg ein Lied
in’s Land hinab zu singen!
Der kleinste Ton hinunter zieht,
so wie auf Riesenschwingen!
O joy, o joy, from mountain top
through all the land I’m singing!
The smallest tone dives ever down,
like giant eagles winging!
Der stillste Hauch aus lauter Brust,
in Leid und Lust entrungen,
er wird zum Klange, unbewußt
für alle Welt gesungen.
The softest breath from singing breast,
when born in joy and grieving,
is turned to song and unbeknownst
to all the world is sung forth.
Es schwingt sich erd- und himmelwärts
der Seele klingend Sehnen
und fällt der ganzen Welt an’s Herz ob freudig, ob in Tränen.
It wings on earth- and heavenward
this ringing spirit pining
and moves the whole world at its heart to laughter or to crying.
Was still sonst nur die Brust durchzieht,
fliegt aus auf lauten Schwingen
o Lust, o Lust, vom Berg ein Lied
in’s Land hinab zu singen.
What only in the heart is known,
flies out on wings a-ringing
O joy, o joy, from mountain top
through all the land I’m singing!
Hermann Rollett (1819-1904, Austria)
5
Judith Weir
(b. 1954, England)
Illuminare, Jerusalem
Jerusalem rejos for joy:
Jesus, the sterne of most bewte
in thee is rissin as richtous roy,
fro dirkness to illumyne thee.
With glorious sound of angell gle
thy prince is borne in Baithlem
quhilk sall thee mak of thraldome fre.
Illuminare, Jerusalem.
With angellis licht in legionis
thou art illumynit all about.
Thre kingis of strenge regionis
to thee ar cumin with lusty rout,
The regeand tirrant that in thee rang,
Herod, is exilit and his ofspring,
The land of Juda that josit wrang,
and rissin is now thy richtous king.
So he so mychtie is and ding,
quhen men his glorius name dois nem,
hevin erd and hell makis inclyning.
Illuminare, Jerusalem.
Anonymous, from a 15th century Scottish manuscript
(with minor alterations by the composer)
Suzanne Vega
The Queen and the Soldier
The soldier came knocking upon the queen’s door
He said, “I am not fighting for you any more”
The queen knew she’d seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside
He said, “I’ve watched your palace up here on the hill
And I’ve wondered who’s the woman for whom we all kill
But I am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will
Only first I am asking you why
Down in the long narrow hall he was led
Into her rooms with her tapestries red
And she never once took the crown from her head
She asked him there to sit down
He said, “I see you now, and you are so very young
But I’ve seen more battles lost than I have battles won
And I’ve got this intuition, says it’s all for your fun
And now will you tell me why?”
The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye
She said, “You won’t understand and you may as well not try”
But her face was a child’s, and he thought she would cry
But she closed herself up like a fan
And she said, “I’ve swallowed a secret burning thread.
It cuts me inside, and often I’ve bled.”
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground
6
all drest with dyamantis but dout,
reverst with gold in every hem,
sounding attonis with a schout,
Illuminare, Jerusalem.
(b. 1959, USA)
arr. by Michael McGushin (b. 1961, USA)
“Tell me how hungry are you? How weak you must feel.
As you are living here alone, and you are never revealed.
But I won’t march again on your battlefield”
And he took her to the window to see
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was gray
And she wanted more than she ever could say
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again
And he said, “I want to live as an honest man.
To get all I deserve and to give all I can.
And to love a young woman who I don’t understand.
Your highness, your ways are very strange.”
But the crown, it had fallen, and she thought she would break
And she stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait
She would only be a moment inside
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on
Morning Etude by Ann Thiermann
7
Mrs. H.H.A. [Amy] Beach
Sheila Willey, soprano
(1867-1944, USA)
Ich sagte nicht
Ich sagte nicht: “ich liebe Dich,”
Doch eine Rose brach ich scheu,
Und bot sie Dir
Zur Busenzier
Und sah Dir in die Augen treu.
I dared not say “I love but thee,”
I only cull’d a rosebud fair
At thy behest,
To deck thy breast,
And silent gaz’d upon it there!
Du sagtest nicht: “ich liebe Dich,”
Doch lächelnd gabst Du mir die Hand;
Und einen Kuss
Zum Überfluss
Als selig machendes Unterpfand!
Thou too, of love, wert silent aye;
But smiling laid’st thy hand in mine;
Then soft a kiss
As pledge of bliss,
A seal set on our joy divine!
Wir sagten nicht: “Ich liebe Dich,”
Doch uns’re Herzen riefen’s laut,
Als lenzumlauscht
Und duftberauscht
Wir still und träumend uns angeschaut.
Our lips of love ne’er spoke a word,
Yet sang each throbbing pulse the song,
When ‘neath the veil
Of moonlight pale,
Our dreamy eyes gaz’d deep and long.
Eduard Wissman (1824-1899, national origin unknown)
Lili Boulanger
Sheila Willey, soprano
(1893-1918, France)
Le Retour
8
Ulysse part la voile au vent,
Vers Ithaque aux ondes chéries,
Avec des bercements la vague roule et plie.
Au large de son coeur la mer aux vastes eaux
Où son oeil suit les blancs oiseaux
Egrène au loin des pierreries.
Ulysses leaves with wind in his sails,
Towards the cherished waves of Ithaca,
With rocking motions the billow rolls and folds.
To the offing of his heart the sea of vast waters,
Where his eye follows the white birds,
Drops away in the distance into faraway jewels.
Ulysse part la voile au vent,
Vers Ithaque aux ondes chéries!
Ulysses leaves with wind in his sails,
Towards the cherished waves of Ithaca!
Penché oeil grave et coeur battant
Sur le bec d’or de sa galère
Il se rit, quand le flot est noir, de sa colère
Car là-bas son cher fils pieux et fier attend
Après les combats éclatants,
La victoire aux bras de son père.
Il songe, oeil grave et coeur battant
Sur le bec d’or de sa galère.
Leaned over with a solemn eye and beating heart
On the golden bill of his galley
He laughs, when the surging tide is black, at his anger
Because over there his dear son, pious and proud, waits
After the clamoring battles,
For victory at the arm of his father.
He dreams, with a solemn eye and beating heart,
On the golden bill of his galley.
Ulysse part la voile au vent,
Vers Ithaque aux ondes chéries.
Ulysses leaves with wind in his sails,
Towards the cherished waves of Ithaca.
Georges Delaquys (1880-?, France[?])
Emma Lou Diemer (b. 1927, USA)
Three Madrigals
1. O Mistress mine, where are you roaming?
O mistress mine, where are you roaming?
Oh, stay and hear! Your true love’s coming,
That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
Ev’ry wise man’s son doth know.
What is love? ‘Tis not here after;
Present mirth hath present laughter;
What’s to come is still unsure:
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty!
Youth’s a stuff will not endure.
–Twelfth Night
2. Take, oh, take those lips away
Take, oh, take those lips away
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn.
But my kisses bring again;
Seals of love, but sealed in vain.
–Measure for Measure
3. Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more!
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more!
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore;
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting your sounds of woe
Into hey nonny nonny!
Sing no more ditties, sing no moe,
Of dumps so dull and heavy!
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leavy.
–Much Ado About Nothing
all lyrics by William Shakespeare
Colin Hannon, piano
DIntermission D
9
Hyo-shin Na Three Pieces for mixed choir—World Premiere
(b. 1958, USA)
Spring of Tears
Come, heavy sleep the image of true death,
And close up these my weary weeping eyes,
Whose spring of tears doth stop my vital breath.
Come, and possess my tired thought-worn soul,
That in living dies till thou on me be stole.
Come, shadow of my end, and shape of rest,
Allied to death, child to his black-faced night,
Come thou, and charm these rebels in my breast,
Whose waking fancies do my mind affright.
Come sweet sleep, come, or I die forever,
Come ere my last sleep comes, or come never.
Anonymous
The Debt (1903)
This is the debt I pay
Just for one riotous day,
Years of regret and grief,
Sorrow without relief.
Pay it I will to the end Until the grave, my friend,
Gives me a true release Gives me the clasp of peace.
Slight was the thing I bought,
Small was the debt I thought,
Poor was the loan at best God! But the interest!
Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906, USA)
Dust of This World
When I was young
I was different
But I fell into the dust of this world
Fifty years flew by.
Now I’ve got a garden for myself
A house with five rooms
Lots of grass, elm and willow to shade the roof
Peach and plum outside the windows.
Smoke from the distant village
Barking dogs in the spring air
The dust in my courtyard settles
My rooms are empty.
original Chinese poem by T’ao Chien (365-427 AD)
English version by Thomas Schultz
10
Songs of Clara Schumann
Sheila Willey, soprano
Das Veilchen
Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand,
Gebückt in sich und unbekannt;
Es war ein herzigs Veilchen.
Da kam eine junge Schäferin
Mit leichtem Schritt und munterm Sinn
Daher, daher,
Die Wiese her, und sang.
Alone upon the meadow green
All good of heart but seldom seen,
There stood a shy, sweet violet.
A youthful shepherdess came near,
So light of step and glad of cheer,
Unto, unto,
The meadow true, and sang.
Ach! denkt das Veilchen, wär ich nur
Die schönste Blume der Natur,
Ach, nur ein kleines Weilchen,
Bis mich das Liebchen abgepflückt
Und an dem Busen matt gedrückt!
Ach nur, ach nur
Ein Viertelstündchen lang!
“Oh!” thought the violet, “could I be
The finest flower people see,
For just the briefest while yet,
Until my loved one gathered me
Unto her bosom, blissfully!
Oh for, oh for
A quarter hour long.”
Ach! aber ach! das Mädchen kam
Und nicht in Acht das Veilchen nahm,
Ertrat das arme Veilchen.
Es sank und starb und freut’ sich noch:
Und sterb’ ich denn, so sterb’ ich doch
Durch sie, durch sie,
Zu ihren Füßen doch.
Ah but alas! The maid came near
But noted not her violet dear
She crushed the loving violet.
It sank and died, believing still
“If I must die, then die I will
Through her, through her,
And at her very feet.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832, Germany)
Liebst du um Schönheit
Liebst du um Schönheit,
O nicht mich liebe!
Liebe die Sonne,
Sie trägt ein gold’nes Haar!
If you love for beauty,
Oh, do not love me!
Love the sun,
She has golden hair!
Liebst du um Jugend,
O nicht mich liebe!
Liebe den Frühling,
Der jung ist jedes Jahr!
If you love for youth,
Oh, do not love me!
Love the spring;
It is young every year!
Liebst du um Schätze,
O nicht mich liebe.
Liebe die Meerfrau,
Sie hat viel Perlen klar.
If you love for treasure,
Oh, do not love me!
Love the mermaid;
She has many clear pearls!
Liebst du um Liebe,
O ja, mich liebe!
Liebe mich immer,
Dich lieb’ ich immerdar!
If you love for love,
Oh yes, do love me!
Love me ever,
I’ll love you evermore!
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866, Germany)
11
Walzer
Horch! Welch' ein süßes harmonisches Klingen:
Flüstern erhebt sich zum jubelnden Laut.
Laß mich dich, reizendes Mädchen, umschlingen,
Wie ein Geliebter die liebende Braut.
Hark! How sweet ringing, harmonious, the sounds be:
Whispers expand into cheers far and wide.
Let me, fair maid, with embraces surround thee,
Like a beloved his amorous bride.
Komm! Laß mit den wogenden Tönen uns schweben,
Die uns wie Stimmen der Liebe umweh’n:
So uns der seligsten Täuschung ergeben,
Glücklich es wähnen, was nie kann gescheh’n.
Oh come! Let us rise with the tones that are surging,
Winding about us like love’s voices dear:
And with the blessed deception be merging,
Fancying gaily what ne’er shall be here.
Auge in Auge mit glühenden Wangen,
Bebende Seufzer verlangender Lust!
Ach! Wenn die Stunden der Freude vergangen,
Füllet nur trauernde Sehnsucht die Brust,
Eye matching eye, and with cheeks that are glowing,
Quivering whimpers of long sought for thrills!
Ah! When those hours of delight will be going,
Longing, most mournful, my poor bosom fills,
Nimmer erblüht, was einmal verblüht,
Nie wird die rosige Jugend uns neu,
o drum, eh’ das Feuer der Herzen verglüht,
Liebe um Liebe, noch lächelt der Mai.
Ne’er more shall flow’r what once has decayed,
We hear rosy youth only once sing its song,
Wherefore, ere our hearts’ burning fire shall fade,
Love for love’s sake, for May’s smile won’t last long.
Horch! Welch' ein süßes harmonisches Klingen:
Flüstern erhebt sich zum jubelnden Laut.
Laß mich dich, reizendes Mädchen, umschlingen,
wie ein Geliebter die liebende Braut.
Hark! How sweet-ringing, harmonious the sounds be:
Whispers expand into cheers far and wide.
Let me, fair maid, with embraces surround thee,
Like a beloved his amorous bride.
Ludwig Peter August Burmeister (1804-1870, Germany) ,
under the pseudonym Johann Peter Lyser
Fanny Hensel
Schöne Fremde, op. 3, no. 2
Es rauschen die Wipfel und schauern,
Als machten zu dieser Stund
Um die halbverfallenen Mauern
Die alten Götter die Rund.
The treetops rustle and shiver
as if at this hour
about the half-fallen walls
the old gods are making their rounds.
Hier unter den Myrtenbäumen
In heimlich dämmernder Pracht,
Was sprichst du wirr wie in Träumen
Zu mir, phantastische Nacht?
Here, under the myrtle trees,
in secretly darkening splendor,
what do you say so murmuringly, as if in a dream,
to me, fantastic night?
Es funkeln mir zu alle Sterne
Mit glühendem Liebesblick,
Es redet trunken die Ferne
Von künftigem, großem Glück.
The stars glitter down on me
with glowing, loving gazes,
and the distance speaks tipsily,
it seems, of great future happiness.
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788-1857, Germany)
12
Barbara Kolb (b. 1939, USA)
Virgo Mater Creatrix
I.
1.) Oh, woman, oh women…
1.) O Femina, feminae…
Sweet and blessed.
Dulcissima et beata.
The form of the feminine,
Feminae forma,
A heavenly [or profound] harmony,
Profunda symphonia.
Oh Mary,
O Maria:
Oh eternal vision,
O vis aeternitatis,
Pray for us.
Ora pro nobis.
2.) Femina forma, profunda symphonia
3.) Ora pro nobis
***
1.) The form of the feminine:
1.) O Feminae forma:
The mercy [or charity/nurturance] which
Caritas habundat in omnia.
lives in all things
Viridissima virga,
Verdant/fertile
branch
[of
the “tree of life,”
Suavissima virga.
or all things]
O Maria:
Sweetest
branch.
O vis aeternitatis,
Oh Mary,
Ora pro nobis.
Oh eternal vision,
2.) Viridissima virga, suavissima virga
Pray for us.
3.) Ora pro nobis.
***
1.) Hail Mary, Creatrix,
1.) Ave Maria—Creatrix.
Hail, eternal vision.
Ave vis aeternitas.
[Growing redder, an idea of flowering into flame]
Rubes, ardes, flammis:
Bright flower, Mary
Clarus flos Maria.
The form of the feminine,
Feminae forma,
A heavenly harmony.
Profunda symphonia.
Oh Mary,
O Maria,
Oh [incarnated figure of] Charity/Mercy,
O Caritas,
Oh eternal vision,
O vis aeternitatis:
Pray for us.
Ora pro nobis.
2.) Feminae forma, profunda symphonia; clarus flos Maria
3.) Ora pro nobis.
Sharon Mesmer (b. 1960, USA)
English translation by the poet
II.
Vessel of prophets, vessel of oracles,
Vessel of universal devotion.
Stone of Philosphers, Rose of Sharon,
Morning star, ev’ning star, star of the sea.
Virgin most powerful, mother most chaste,
Virgin renowned, mother undefiled,
Crone whose light is Venus and Lucifer,
Queen whose throne is the trees.
Virgin who conceived out of love for all be’ngs,
Mother who reigns from the deep heart of the forest,
Crone who proceeds from the transit of Venus,
Queen who conceives the universe ev’ry day.
13
Songs of Lili Boulanger
Sheila Willey, soprano
Elle était descendue au bas de la prairie
Elle était descendue au bas de la prairie
et, comme la prairie était toute fleurie
de plantes dont la tige aime à pousser dans l’eau,
ces plantes inondées je les avais cueillies.
Bientôt, s’étant mouillée, elle gagna le haut
de cette prairie-là qui était toute fleurie.
Elle riait et s’ébrouait avec la grâce
dégingandée qu’ont les jeunes filles trop grandes.
Elle avait le regard qu’ont les fleurs de lavande.
She had gone down to the bottom of the meadow,
and because the meadow was full of flowers
that like to grow in the water,
I had gathered the drowned plants.
Soon, because she was wet, she came back to the top
of that flowery meadow.
She laughed and moved with the lanky grace
of girls who are too tall.
She looked the way lavender flowers do.
Francis Jammes (1868-1938, France)
Elle est gravement gaie
Elle est gravement gaie. Par moments son regard
se levait comme pour surprendre ma pensée.
Elle était douce alors comme quand il est tard
le velours jaune et bleu d’une allée de pensées.
She is solemnly gay. Sometimes she looked up
as if to see what I was thinking.
She was as soft as the yellow and blue velvet
of a lane of pansies late at night.
Francis Jammes
Judith Weir
a blue true dream of sky
Sheila Willey, soprano
Hilary Seamans and Susana Wessling, alti
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes
(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and of wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)
how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any – lifted from the no
of all nothing – human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
14
e.e. cummings (1894-1962, USA)
Michael McGushin, director
Michael McGushin is a professor of music at Cabrillo College and the coach/accompanist for the Music Department at
the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the conductor of the chamber choir Ariose and of Cabrillo’s Westside Choir.
From 2002-2004 he served as the director of the Full Spectrum Chorus of Santa Cruz. He has served as music director for a
number of theater and opera productions in the Santa Cruz area. Some of these include Shakespeare Santa Cruz’s productions of Princess and the Pea, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty; Cabrillo Stage’s productions of Anything Goes and The Last Five
Years; The Threepenny Opera and The Who’s Tommy for the Cabrillo College Drama Department; Berlin to Broadway with Kurt
Weill and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro (assistant Music Director) for UCSC Opera Theater; Angels in America (composer and music director), A...My Name is Alice, and Oh Coward! for Santa Cruz Actors’ Theater. As a pianist, Michael is a
long-time member of the New Music Works Ensemble for which he also serves as an artistic advisor, and has appeared
with many performing groups in the Santa Cruz and Monterey County areas. He is a featured performer on recordings of
chamber music by Paul Bowles, Lou Harrison and Germaine Tailleferre.
Sheila Willey, soprano
Soprano Sheila Willey has recently performed with the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Opera Paralléle, Berkeley Opera, the
Worn Chamber Ensemble, Cinnabar Opera Theatre, New Music Works, the Santa Cruz Guitar Orchestra, the Santa Cruz
Chamber Players, and the newly formed Driftwood Consort among others. In opera, she has sung various leading roles
throughout the Bay Area including Cundgonde in Candide, Constanza in Abduction from the Seraglio, and Cornelia in
Young Ceasar. Willey holds an MA from UC Santa Cruz and undergraduate degrees from the Peabody Conservatory. She
maintains a private voice studio in Santa Cruz and directs three local choirs.
Hyo-shin Na, composer
After studying piano and composition in her native Korea, Hyo-shin Na came to the
U.S. in 1983 to do graduate work at the Manhattan School of Music and the University
of Colorado, where she received her doctorate. After moving to San Francisco in 1988,
she met Cage, Rzewski, Wolff and Takahashi, and encountered the music of Nancarrow.
She made return trips to Korea to hear and study traditional Korean music while also
taking a broad interest in the music of other regions of Asia.
Hyo-shin Na has written for western instruments, for traditional Korean instruments
and has written music that combines western and Asian instruments and ways of
playing. Her music for traditional Korean instruments is recognized by both composers
and performers in Korea as being uniquely innovative. Her writing for combinations of
western and eastern instruments is unusual in its refusal to compromise the integrity
of differing sounds and ideas; she prefers to let them interact, coexist and conflict in the
music.
She is the author of the bilingual book Conversations with Kayageum Master Byung-ki
Hwang (Pulbit Press, 2001). Her music has been recorded on the Fontec (Japan), Top Arts
(Korea), Seoul (Korea) and New World Records (US) labels and has been published in
Korea and Australia. Since 2006 her music has been published exclusively by Lantro
Music (Belgium).
15
Thank you!
This year Ariose Singers completed our first ever fundraising campaign. Using Kickstarter.com, we
asked our supporters for $800 to support our commission fund for the new work you will be hearing
tonight. Not only did we make our goal, but we surpassed it by fifty percent! We greatly appreciate
the support our community has shown.
Special thanks to all who donated to our campaign:
Michael & Lesley Tierra
Steven Knight
Josh Wagner
Carolyn Dille
Sandra L. Cohen
8047 Soquel Dr.
Aptos, CA 95003
831-688-1538
Irene & Alan Seales
Fax 831-688-5602
Mark King
www.aptosprint.com
Kumiko Uyeda
Nancy Dahl
Diana & Don Rothman
Priscilla Shaw
Howard Hersh
Herb Jellinek & Susana Wessling
Stewart Tartan Pipes and Drums
www.stewarttartan.com
Pipes and Drums for all occasions
Burr and Susan Nissen
408 356-5406
Gary Gangnes
Maryam Aghamirzadeh
Wooden Fish Ensemble
Annie Sprinkle
Heidi Joy Clark, CMT
Pauline Seales
Burr Nissen
Linda Hill
Ed Miner
Advertise in our next concert program! Reach a dedicated audience and support our local arts.
Contact [email protected]