PROGRAM
Franz SCHUBERT (1797–1828) | Im Frühling, D. 882 Dass sie hier gewesen, D. 775 Herbst, D. 945 Der Unglückliche, D. 713 |
Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949) | Nichts, Op. 10, No. 2 Gefunden, Op. 56, No. 1 Das Rosenband, Op. 36, No. 1 |
Margaret BONDS (1913–1972) | Songs of the Seasons
Poème d’automne |
INTERMISSION
Claude DEBUSSY (1862–1918) | Ariettes oubliées, L. 60
C’est l’extase langoureuse |
Nikolai MEDTNER (1880–1951) | Twilight, Op. 24, No. 4 Sleeplessness, Op. 37, No. 1 |
Nicolas SLONIMSKY (1894–1995) | Advertising Songs
Utica Sheets and Pillowcases |
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
Franz Schubert (1797–1828) | |
Im Frühling D. 882 [Ernst Schulze (1789–1817)] |
In Spring [trans. © Richard Wigmore] |
Still sitz’ ich an des Hügels Hang Der Himmel ist so klar Das Lüftchen spielt im grünen Tal Wo ich beim ersten Frühlingsstrahl Einst, ach so glücklich war Wo ich an ihrer Seite ging Sieh, wie der bunte Frühling schön Denn alles ist wie damals noch Es wandeln nur sich Will und Wahn O wär ich doch ein Vöglein nur |
I sit silently on the hillside. The sky is so clear, the breezes play in the green valley where once, in the first rays of spring, I was, oh, so happy. Where I walked by her side, See how the colorful spring For all is still as it was then, Only will and delusion change, Oh, if only I were a bird, |
Dass sie hier gewesen, D. 775 [Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866)] |
That she has been here [trans. © Richard Wigmore] |
Dass der Ostwind Düfte Hauchet in die Lüfte, Dadurch tut er kund, Dass du hier gewesen. Dass hier Tränen rinnen, Schönheit oder Liebe, |
The east wind breathes fragrance into the air, and so doing it makes known that you have been here! Since tears flow here Beauty or love: |
Herbst, D. 945 [Ludwig Rellstab (1799–1860)] |
Autumn [trans. © Richard Wigmore] |
Es rauschen die Winde So herbstlich und kalt; Verödet die Fluren, Entblättert der Wald. Ihr blumigen Auen! Du sonniges Grün! So welken die Blüten Des Lebens dahin. Es ziehen die Wolken Ihr Tage des Lenzes |
The wind blows with an autumnal chill; the meadows are bare, the woods leafless. Flowering meadows; sunlit green! Thus do life’s blossoms Wilt. The clouds drift by, You days of spring, |
Der Unglückliche D. 713 [Caroline Pichler (17691843)] |
The Unhappy One [trans. © Richard Wigmore] |
Die Nacht bricht an, mit leisen Lüften sinket Sie auf die müden Sterblichen herab; Der sanfte Schlaf, des Todes Bruder, winket, Und legt sie freundlich in ihr täglich Grab. Jetzt wachet auf der lichtberaubten Erde Versenke dich in deines Kummers Tiefen, Berechne die verlornen Seligkeiten, Du hast geliebt, du hast das Glück empfunden, Da stürzte dich ein grausam Machtwort nieder, Zerrissen sind nun alle süssen Bande, |
Night falls, descending with light breezes upon weary mortals; gentle sleep, death’s brother, beckons, and lays them fondly in their daily graves. Now only malice and pain Plunge to the depths of your grief, Consider your lost happiness, You have loved, you have experienced a happiness Then the cruel decree of authority dashed you down Now all the sweet bonds are torn asunder; |
Richard Strauss (1864–1949) | |
Nichts, Op. 10, No. 2 [Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg (1812–1864)] |
Nothing [trans. © Richard Stokes] |
Nennen soll ich, sagt ihr, meine Königin im Liederreich! Toren, die ihr seid, ich kenne Sie am wenigsten von euch. Fragt mich nach der Augen Farbe, Ist die Sonne nicht die Quelle |
You say I should name My queen in the realm of song! Fools that you are, I know Her least of all of you. Ask me the coleur of her eyes, Is not the sun the source |
Gefunden, Op. 56, No. 1 [Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)] |
Found [trans. © Richard Stokes] |
Ich ging im Walde So für mich hin, Und nichts zu suchen, Das war mein Sinn. Im Schatten sah ich Ich wollt es brechen, Ich grub’s mit allen Und pflanzt es wieder |
I was walking In the wood alone, And intended To look for nothing. In the shade I saw I was going to pick it, I dug it out And planted it again |
Das Rosenband, Op. 36, No. 1 [Friedrich Klopstock (1724 –1803)] |
The rose garland [trans. © Richard Stokes] |
Im Frühlingsschatten fand ich sie; Da band ich Sie mit Rosenbändern: Sie fühlt’ es nicht und schlummerte. Ich sah sie an; mein Leben hing Doch lispelt’ ich ihr sprachlos zu, Sie sah mich an; ihr Leben hing |
I found her in the spring shade, And bound her fast with a rose garland: Oblivious, she slumbered on. I gazed on her; with that gaze I murmured wordlessly to her She gazed on me; with that gaze |
Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) [Langston Hughes (1901–1967)] |
|
Poème d’Automne |
Winter Moon |
The autumn leaves Are too heavy with color. The slender trees On the Vulcan Road Are dressed in scarlet and gold Like young courtesans Waiting for their lovers. But soon The winter winds Will strip their bodies bare And then The sharp, sleet-stung Caresses of the cold Will be their only Love. |
How thin and sharp is the moon tonight! How thin and sharp and ghostly white Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight! |
Young Love in Spring |
Summer Storm |
When the March winds roar like a lion and the last little snowflakes drift down from a half-dreary, half-happy April sky and then lovely May rolls around and I walk with you down a country lane, we know that spring has come again. When the rising sun laughs at the dawn When I look at you in the haze |
Thunder July thunder and the wonder of lightning in the sky and a sudden gale that shakes the blossoms down in performed splendor to the grassy ground. Thunder with the wonder There We run down the road in the dust of July Thunder |
Claude Debussy (1862–1918) Ariettes Oubliées, L. 60 [Paul Verlaine (1844–1896)] |
[trans. © Richard Stokes] |
C’est l’extase langoureuse |
It is languorous rapture |
C’est l’extase langoureuse, C’est la fatigue amoureuse, C’est tous les frissons des bois Parmi l’étreinte des brises, C’est, vers les ramures grises, Le chœur des petites voix. Ô le frêle et frais murmure! Cette âme qui se lamente |
It is languorous rapture, It is amorous fatigue, It is all the tremors of the forest In the breezes’ embrace, It is, around the grey branches, The choir of tiny voices. O the delicate, fresh murmuring! This soul which grieves |
Il pleure dans mon coeur |
Tears fall in my heart |
Il pleure dans mon cœur Comme il pleut sur la ville; Quelle est cette langueur Qui pénètre mon cœur? Ô bruit doux de la pluie Il pleure sans raison C’est bien la pire peine |
Tears fall in my heart As rain falls on the town; What is this torpor Pervading my heart? Ah, the soft sound of rain Tears fall without reason And the worst pain of all |
L’ombre des arbres |
The shadow of trees |
L’ombre des arbres dans la rivière embrumée Meurt comme de la fumée Tandis qu’en l’air, parmi les ramures réelles, Se plaignent les tourterelles. Combien, ô voyageur, ce paysage blême |
The shadow of trees in the misty stream Dies like smoke, While up above, in the real branches, The turtle-doves lament. How this faded landscape, O traveller, |
Chevaux de bois |
Merry-go-round |
Tournez, tournez, bons chevaux de bois, Tournez cent tours, tournez mille tours, Tournez souvent et tournez toujours, Tournez, tournez au son des hautbois. L’enfant tout rouge et la mère blanche, Tournez, tournez, chevaux de leur cœur, C’est étonnant comme ça vous soûle Tournez, dadas, sans qu’il soit besoin Et dépêchez, chevaux de leur âme, Tournez, tournez! Le ciel en velours |
Turn, turn, you fine wooden horses, Turn a hundred, turn a thousand times, Turn often and turn for evermore Turn and turn to the oboe’s sound. The red-faced child and the pale mother, Turn, turn, horses of their hearts, Astonishing how drunk it makes you, Gee-gees, turn, you’ll never need And hurry on, horses of their souls: Turn, turn! The velvet sky |
Green (Aquarelle I) |
Green |
Voici des fruits, des fleurs, des feuilles et des branches Et puis voici mon cœur qui ne bat que pour vous. Ne le déchirez pas avec vos deux mains blanches Et qu’à vos yeux si beaux l’humble présent soit doux. J’arrive tout couvert encore de rosée Sur votre jeune sein laissez rouler ma tête |
Here are flowers, branches, fruit, and fronds, And here too is my heart that beats just for you. Do not tear it with your two white hands And may the humble gift please your lovely eyes. I come all covered still with the dew On your young breast let me cradle my head |
Spleen (Aquarelle II) |
Spleen |
Les roses étaient toutes rouges Et les lierres étaient tout noirs. Chère, pour peu que tu te bouges Le ciel était [trop bleu, trop tendre,] La mer trop [verte et l’air trop doux.] Je crains toujours, — ce qu’est d’attendre Du houx à la feuille vernie Et de la campagne infinie |
All the roses were red And the ivy was all black. Dear, at your slightest move, The sky was too blue, too tender, I always fear—oh to wait and wonder!— I am weary of the glossy holly, And the boundless countryside |
Nikolai Medtner (1880–1951) [Fyodor Tyutchev (1803–1873)] |
[trans. © 2018 DelphianvRecords Ltd] |
Twilight, Op. 24, No. 4
|
Twilight |
Тени сизые смесились, Цвет поблекнул, звук уснул— Жизнь, движенье разрешились В сумрак зыбкий, в дальний гул … Мотылька полет незримый Слышен в воздухе ночном … Час тоски невыразимой! … Всё во мне, и я во всем! … Сумрак тихий, сумрак сонный, Лейся в глубь моей души, Тихий, томный, благовонный, Все залей и утиши – Чувства мглой самозабвенья Переполни через край! … Дай вкусить уничтоженья, С миром дремлющим смешай! |
The blue-grey shadows have blended together, Color has faded, sound has fallen asleep— Life, movement, in the unsteady twilight, Have dissolved into a distant rumble … A moth flies past, invisible Heard in the night air … Hour of ineffable longing! … Everything in me, and I in everything! … Quiet twilight, sleepy twilight, Pour into the depths of my soul, Quiet, dark, fragrant, All flood in and calm me – Feelings of the haze of self-forgetting Fill me to overflowing! … Let me taste of oblivion, Blend me with the slumbering world! |
Sleeplessness, Op. 37, No. 1 |
Sleeplessness |
Часов однообразный бой, Томительная ночи повесть! Язык для всех равно чужой И внятный каждому, как совесть! Кто без тоски внимал из нас, Нам мнится: мир. осиротелый И наша жизнь стоит пред нами, И новое, младое племя Лишь изредка, обряд печальный |
The monotonous striking of the clock – The story of the weary night! A language equally foreign to everyone And distinct for everyone, like conscience! Which of us has heard without melancholy, It seems to us the orphan world And our life stands before us, And a new, young generation But occasionally, completing its sad ritual |
Nicolas Slonimsky (1894–1995) Advertising Songs Original Texts from Advertisements (Authors Unknown) |
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Utica Sheets and Pillowcases |
Pillsbury Bran Muffins |
So soft, so smooth, so snowy white, Utica sheets and pillowcases. Spread them upon the bed, and see there isn’t even a wrinkle. Launder them and you will feel How soft is their fabric. Enjoy this sturdy quality, smoothness, reliability And sleep and dream in comfort and in peace. So soft, so smooth so snowy white These linens from Utica. |
And then her doctor told her… For sometime she had not been herself… She was run down, languid, tired, each day before her work began… One day she called her doctor He advised to eat bran muffins Made according to Pillsbury’s recipe, Pillsbury’s marvelous natural laxative… He knew the underlying cause of her trouble. It was a case of faulty elimination Eat bran muffins! There is health and delight in every bite… And this her doctor told her… |
Vauv Nose Powder |
Children Cry for Castoria |
No more shiny nose! Something to keep your nose from getting shiny! Something to rid you of this oiliness of skin. No more shiny nose! VAUV is the name of our new magic powder. Spelt V-A-U-V, pronounced VUV. VAUV is on sale in ev’ry good drug store. VAUV keeps the shine off, and the powder on! |
Children cry for Castoria! Yes, they cry for Castoria…. Mother! Relieve your constipated child! Hurry, mother…. Even a fretful, feverish, bilious child Loves the pleasant taste of Castoria…. O gentle harmless laxative Which never fails to sweeten the stomach and open the bowels! A teaspoonful today may prevent a sick child tomorrow. It doesn’t cramp or overact. Contains no narcotics or soothing drugs. Ask your druggist for genuine Castoria which has directions for babies and children of all ages printed on the bottle. |
Make This a Day of Pepsodent |
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Make this a day you never will regret it Here is your chance. So take it now! A perfect toothpaste has been created. The name of it is Pepsodent! It brings to you new beauty, new emotion. It means to you new safety, new delight, Do not reflect, ask for a ten days’ portion Make this a day of Pepsodent! Film on your teeth ferments and forms acid, That vicious film that clings to teeth. Use Pepsodent, the dentists all advise it. And watch its wondrous natural effect. See how your teeth become so white and shiny. See how your mouth enjoys a new delight. Make this a day, you never will regret it! Make this a day of Pepsodent! |