~ MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND

M.U.N. Little Theatre Monday., March 2., 1981

at 8:30 P.m.

CATHERINE ROBBIN., Mezzo-Soprano ROGER VIGNOLES., Piano

I Old English Lyrics

Fine Knacks for Ladies

Sweet., Stay Awhile The Bayly Bearith the Bell Away

Sweet Content

Im Fruh1 ing Erlafsee Die abgebluhte Linde Fischerwei se

Die l~acht

Meinem Kinde Befrei t

I I

I I I

Wie so1lten wir geheim sie ha1ten

Intermission

J. Dowland (1562-1626)

J. Dowland P. Warlock

(1894-1930) P. Warlock

F.P. Schubert (1797-1828)

R. Strauss (1864-1949)

Saluste du Bartos Le ~~eau du Bar~as Tou~ le long de la Batse Le Depar~ La Promenade Nerac en Fe~e Duo

' " ... Trois Poemes de Rene Chalupt Coeur en Peri l Sa:Pabande Le Bachelier de Salamanque

IV

v

VI

A Song of Enchantment <Tit for Tat)

Highland Balou <A Charm of Lullabies> The Trees They Grow so High Sweet PollY Oliver

A. Honegger ( 1892-1955)

A. Roussel ( 1869-1937)

B. Britten ( 1913-1976)

B I Britten Arr I Britten Arr. Britten

TEXT TRANSLATIONS

II

Im Fruhling (In Spring}

On hillside•s slope 1•m sitting still, The sky is so clear,

A breeze blows in the green vale, Where I at Spring•s first sunray warm

Once was, oh, so happy.

When I by her side was walking, So friendly and so close,

Beholding in the rocky well The sky, so blue and bright.

See, how the sparkling Spring just now Already looks out from bough and bud

Not all blooms are the same to me, I best like breaking from the branch

Of which she picked her sprig!

For all is as it used to be, The flowers, and the fields;

Nor does the sun shine any less, Nor does the friendly well reflect

The blue of heaven above. _

What changes only, is will and whim, And joys with quarrels change,

Past flies the happiness of love, And love alone is left,

Love, and, alas, torment.

Oh, were I but a little bird, There, on the meadows slope,

I would then on these twigs remain And sing a song so sweet of her,

Right through the Summer long.

Erl afsee- (Lake Erl af}

I am so glad, so sad On the quiet Erlaflake:

Holy stillness In the pines,

Motionless the blue depth Only- clovd shadows gli-de

Across the-dark mirrors Of 'the lake,

Cool W:i nds Gent-ly ru:ffl_e

The waters And the sun•s golden rays

Grow pale. I am so glad, so sad

On the quiet Erlaflake.

Die abgebluhte Linde (The Linden Tree Having Lost Her Blooms) Will you hold to what you vowed

When time has whitened my hair? The way you left me

Will not make a reunion easy. Change is the child of time

With which separation threatens us And what the future brings

Is a paler colour of life. See, the linden tree is blooming still

As you go from her today You will find her again

But the west wind steals her blooms. Then she stands alone.

One passes coldly by Hardly noticing her.

Only the gardener remains true to her For he loves the tree in her.

Fischer weise (Fisherman's Song)

The fisherman isn't bothered With worries, grief and pain;

He loosens in the early morning. With lightest heart his boat.

Peace all around still reigning, On wood and field and brook,

He calls forth with his singing The golden sun himself t9 wake.

He sings while he is working, From his full, freshened heart,

The toil provided his strength And strength a joy of life.

Soon starts a varied traffic In all the depths around

And ranges up to ·Heaven Which in the waves reflects.

Yet he who wants to throw his net Needs eyes quite clear and sharp,

Must cheerful be quite like the waves And free like water's flood.

There on Lhe bridge is angling The shepherdess. Sly friend,

Give up your tricks of fishing, This fish you'll never catch.

III

Die Nacht (The Night)

Out of the forest comes the night, it creeps quietly from the trees,

takes a wide circling look about it; now beware!

All the light of the world, all the flowers, all the colours,

it snuffs out, and steals the sheaves from out of the field.

It takes everything that is lovely, takes the silver from the stream,

from the copper roof of the cathedral takes the gold away.

The bushes stand despoiled, Come closer, soul to soul;

0 the night, I fear, will steal you too from me .

Meinem Kinde (To My Child)

You sleep, and softly I bend over your little bed And bless you. Every -cautio-us breath is a roving f1 i ght to heaven, Is a searching afar for some 1 i ttl e star Where of pure splendour and light Love might snatch a magic flower And fly back down here To place it on your white coverlet.

Befreit (Released}

You wi 11 not weep, -Gently, gently You will smile, and as if before a journey

I return you a glance and a kiss. Our four dear walls! You made them ready,

And through me they became your whole world -0 fortune!

Then you will fervently grasp my hands~ And will bequeath your soul to me~

And me~ the survivor~ to our children. You made over your whole life to me;

From me, it will pass in turn to them -0 fortune!

It will come very soon now~ as we both know. Thanks to each other, we are safe from harm.

And so I give you back to the world. Henceforward you will appear to me only in dream,

To bless me and weep with me -0 fortune!

Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten (How Should We Keep it Secret)

How should we keep it secret~ the bliss with which we're filled?

No, to their deepest places~ let be to all our hearts revealed.

When~ in 1 ove, two find each other~ nature's filled with jubilation,

and in longer hours of bliss the day descends on wood and field.

Even from the oak's rotted trunk~ surviving for a thousand years,

the leaves' green flame ascends anew~ rustling, thrilling to youth's zest.

To heightened scent and gleam, buds burst at the happiness of the two,

and brooks murmur more sweetly, and May shines and blossoms more richly.

How should we keep it secret, the bliss with which we're filled?

No, to their deepest places, let be to all our hearts revealed.

IV

Saluste Du Bartas

Le Chateau du Bartas (The Bartas Chateau)

A Gascon Gentleman with a proud air Wrote fine pompous verses

In this manor house. He looks like a Monluc friar, illustrious, gallant.

The young poet hopes to return famous some day To this manor house.

Glory! Descend to the earth to chose above the gods

A Gascon with a proud air In this manor house.

Tout l e long de la Baise (All along the Baise)

All along the Baise It is Saluste du Bartas

Who Constantly makes poetry. He dreams of his .. Ci da lyse 11

Walking along with tiny steps. All along the Baise

It is the exquisite sovereign, Margeurite of the sweet charms

Who is constantly making poetry. Queen! Someone is courting you ... .

Won • t you love him? All along the Baise

Who is constantly making poetry.

Le Depart (The Departure)

With ·his fine bearing, red lip and black look, What a model of elegance he is!

He sets forth to seek his chance Far from the towers of the old manor house

With his fine bearing. On his hat a feather balances in the evening breeze.

What a model of elegance! Everyone! Admire his dashing appearance!

Come quickly, come see! With his fine bearing

What a model of elegance he is.

La Promenade (The Wa 1 k) Margeurite of Navarre~ on a burning summer day

Is preparing to go for a walk. Her 11 toiletteu is of the most rare!

She loves her beauty so, Margeurite of Navarre, In Nerac, what a commotion!

The princess, truly, is preparing to go for a walk! Page, leave your guitar

For in her enchanted park Margeurite of Navarre is preparing to go for a walk.

, -Nerac en Fete (Festivity in Nerac) What's this on the rabbit warren?

The people are gaily dancing. Everyone runs to gaze at the queen.

But what's this? It's like a lovely mirage. Hundreds of couples tightly crushed together

Everyone hurries to catch a glimpse of the queen! Love! It is you who draws them.

But hush! She's really coming -Everyone runs to gaze at the queen.

Love, to which everything invites, Will, in the end, write the poet and Margeurite.

How she throbs in her dream Captive of a beautiful destiny

Love, to which everything invites. With the fervour of a rite

They take each other by the hand, The poet and Margeurite.

Eros, who makes everything easy Lights in their breasts

Love, to which everything invites The poet and Margeurite.

v Coeur en Peril (Heart in Peril)

What does it matter to me That the Infanta of Portugal

Has a round face -or an oval one And a scar under her right breast,

That she has the air of a king's daughter Or that of a goose-girl.

What does it matter to me?

It is of little importance to me That the Princess of Trebizonde

Is red-haired~ brunette or blonde~ That she has a quick temper and a sharp tongue~

It is of little importance to me.

What do I care That the Marquise of Carabas

Is a widow~ and wants to remarry To create here on earth her paradise!

What do I care!

But it needs no more~ young scatterbrain Than one glance from your mocking eyes

With their iridescent light~ To make my poor heart

Beat hard enough to break.

Sarabande (Sarabande) Fountain spray dances a sarabande;

With fragrant scents wafted from dewy lawns Comes a faint sound of rustling silk on garden paths

As from presences unseen~ mysterious. On the rosy marble of a bird fountain

Three turtle doves have descended Light as kisses three upon your lips;

They shed their white feathers in the pool. Freshly opened chestnut flowers

Drift soft as snow upon your breast~ And shuddering~ find rest upon your bosom

That gleams beneath your silken cloak. It is for you yon silver jets dance

Slip and graceful sarabandes~ That the park seems full of strange v1s1ons~

And turtle doves come hovering round you Like living~ fluttering garlands

Breaking into bloom over the fount.

Le Bachelier de Salamangue (The Bachelor of Salamanca) Passer-by~ whither go you so late

Through the empty streets of Salamanca~ With your black beaver cap and your guitar

Hidden in the folds of your dark mantle? 'Tis long since the curfew rang

And for half the night~ Within their peaceful abodes~

Honest burghers have been sound asleep. And you are not aware the Alcade

Commands that all be cast in jail Who dare break night's peace by serenading?

Know you not that thieves Lurk to steal your golden chain?

Nor that the daughter of the Almirante For whom vainly~ vainly~ now you languish~

Is mocking you behind her mi-rador?

PROGRAMME NOTES

I.

FINE KNACKS FOR LADIES from Dowland's · second Book of Ayres (1600) is a pedlar's song reminiscent of Autolycus in The Winter's Tale. The charming and buoyant melody could belong to a country-dance, but the suave lyrics, with their wise saws and abstruse classical reference, show the pedlar to be a courtier. Dowland,s darkly passionate nature is revealed in Sweet stay awhile where a supple vocal line rises and falls in response to the subtly erotic poem.

Peter Warlock was in the vanguard of those who in this century rekindled an interest in Elizabethan music and verse. He delved as well into earlier mediaeval lyrics such as The Bayly Bearith the Bell Away, the song of a girl too young to wed. Warlock finds the right sinuous line, and a gently archaic harmony which sounds both old and new. The song is one of his earliest, composed in Ireland in 1918. More extrovert is 0 Sweet Content, a setting of a lyric by Thomas Dekker, one of the most amiable of the Elizabethans. It appears in the play Patient ·Grissil (1600) the heroine of which, like Dekker himself, triumphs above humili­ation and hardship.

II

Ernst Schulze's tragically brief life (1789-1817) was overshadowed by a disastrous love affair. Schubert's setting of his Im FrUhling (1825) takes less notice of the poet's sentimental laments and depicts, instead. the serenity of a spring morning. The song is a graceful set of vari­ations, finely delineated, which grow in complexity and poignancy.

Mayrhofer•s lyric Erlafsee is a charming sketch of a lake near the shrine of Maria-Zeu. This limpid pastoral was the first of Schubert's songs to be published, appearing in 1818 as a supplement to the Picturesque Album for Admirers of the most interesting Sites and most noteworthy works of Nature and of Art in the Austrian Monarchy.

One of Schubert's aristocratic connections, Count Louis Szechanyi, a scion of the great Hungarian family, was the author of Die abgeblUthe Linde. Recitative gives way to an arioso where the loving details of Schubert's setting indicate the importance he attached to this adjurat­ion to cherish all true friendships.

Fischerweise (1826) is a humorous trifle by a friend of Schubert's youth. Baron Schlecta. The vocal cadences are echoed by the piano in typicallY Schubertian fashion, but this time the imitation is so charmingly con­trived that it can convey both the fisherman's joy in his pursuits and his lightly cynical comments on the wiles of womanKin~.

III

Strauss, throughout his long life as a composer, never lost allegiance to the song-form. · Die Nacht (1883) with verses by von Gilm dates from near the beginning of his career. This dreamy evocation, despite echoes of Walther•s Preislied and the Love Duet from Faust, suggests even more the oboe solo in Strauss• own "Don Juan .. to be composed five years later.

Meinem Kinde with words by Gustav Falke is a tender cradle-song that unfolds above a fluid accompaniment. Its composition (in February 1897) may well have been with the Strauss• expected new baby in mind.

Of greater weight is Befreit. The song occasioned much discussion when it first appeared in 1898, partially elucidated by the poet Dehmel •s revelation that his initial conception involved a man's farewell to his dying wife. This melodramatic situation inspired Strauss to create a splendid song with ample vocal lines and massive accompaniment.

The glittering Wie sollten wir geheim sie halten (1887) brings down the curtain. Strauss has matched von Schach's verses with a palpit­ating and exuberant setting.

IV Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) in his account of his attempt to bring a new vitality to his setting of French said, 11 I simple wanted to restore a native simplicity and ease to French singing." His success is abundantly clear in the fresh and carefree song cycle of 1941, Saluste ·du Bartas. Honegger chose for his text six villanelles by Pierre Dedat de Moulaur which describe the personality and an imaginary episode in the life of Saluste du Bartas, a Gascon gentle­man who, in 1556, after a studious youth, took up arms in the service of Henry of Navarre. The 1 ast song Duo gtves the 1 ie to Honegger• s own dictum: "Ask anyone to cite you--a-beautiful melody, and it will surely be marked a·dagio, and that is absurd... Perhaps, but beautiful just the same!

v Alb~rt Roussel (1869-1937) found a kindred spirit in the verses of Rene Chalupt whose stock poetic conventions and familiar imagery are glanced at with irony. Coeur en Peril (1934) commences full of brio, but ends in rueful self-mockery. Chalupt•s version of the 11 -Fe'te champetre" idiom, Sarabande (1919) is discreetly voluptuous. Roussel •s lovely setting communicates deep and intense emotion, despite its restrained utterance. The idealized "donneurs de serenades .. of Verlaine are ironically embodied in Le Bachelier de Salamangue (1919) as a ludicrous and furtive bourgois while the keyboard wittily imitates the jangling of a guitar.

Born in Toronto, CATHERINE ROBBIN has studied in Canada, England and France with some of the world•s most celebrated voice teachers. She has perfonned throughout Canada and -in · Europe, appearing with the finest orchestras and choral societies from Bordeaux to Vancouver, in styles ranging from baroque to avant-garde.

With her recent winning of the Benson and Hedges Gold Award for Concert Singers in Aldeburgh, England, Catherine Robbin has once again been internationally recognized as a singer of exceptional talent.

Her success at Aldeburgh follows awards in 1978 in the international competitions of both Paris and Geneva. On each of these occasions she overwhelmed audiences and critics, not only with the vibrant beauty of her voice, but with the warmth and sparkle of her personality.

In the 1979-1980 season Miss Robbin•s Canadian engagements include appearances with the Vancouver Cantata Singers, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Coop/Dodington/Robbin Trio, the Southern Alberta Opera Association, and Opera-In-Concert at Toronto•s St. Lawrence Centre. She will make her New York debut this season at Alice Tully Hall and retum to_ France for repeat concert engagements and an extended recital tour. As the winner of the Benson and Hedges Gold Award Catherine Robbin has been invited back to England to perform at the 1980 Aldeburgh Festival.

ROGER VIGNOLES was born in Cheltenham in 1945. His musical talents developed at an early age {he sang as a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral) but it was only while reading music at Cambridge that he decided on a career as an accompanist. With many singers and instru­mentalists and in a wide repertoire he has already achieved a repu­tation as one· of this country•s most outstanding exponents of the art.

He studied as a postgraduate at the RCM {where he was awarded the accompanist•s prize by Gerald Moore), and later privately with Paul Hamburger. He made his professional debut at the Purcell Room in 1967.

From 1969 to 1971 he gained valuable experience as a repetiteur at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Since 1971, Roger Vignoles has devoted himself more and more to recital work, playing in all the major cities of the British Isles, in Europe, Canada and the USA, and broad­casting frequently for the BBC. He has collaborated with such dis­tinguished international artists as Rita Streich, Elisabeth Soederstroem, Sir Peter Pears, and Pierre Fournier.

Roger Vignoles• European engagements in 1980 included recitals in Antwerp and Graz with John Shirley-Quirk; his recordings to date include albums of songs by Frank Bridge and Elgar, a highly acclaimed set of .. Shropshire Lad .. settings, and, {following their London recital last autumn) two Schumann song-cycles with the American soprano Evelyn Lear.