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In October 1995, the second ever issue of this magazine (then known as Pulse), we ran a cover image, not a photograph but a kind of abcdedarius — a stylized alphabetical list consisting for the most part of presenters, performers or composers featured in the issue’s concert listings. The Penderecki Quartet came to our rescue for both P and Q. For Z we resorted to jazZ (where were you that month, Winona?), which was a bit lame, and A was as problematic as Z, but for the opposite reason — too many candidates rather than too few.

Aradia Ensemble, Academy Concert Series, Amadeus Ensemble, Autumn Leaf Performance and the Amadeus Choir (worthy candidates all) had concerts, but were the five we didn’t choose. Stephen Ralls’ and Bruce Ubukata’s Aldeburgh Connection was the one we did.

When I sat and chatted with pianists Ralls and Ubukata, in preparation for this story, it’s not surprising that they could not remember who their guests had been on October 10, 1995. After all, The Aldeburgh Connection had been going strong for 13 years before this magazine came into existence. In those 13 years prior and the 17 since, and astonishing 187 singers have appeared in their series, many of them more than once. A “starry constellation” as Ubukata describes them. Even more astonishing is that Ralls and Ubukata over and over again spotted these stars while they were still in the making.

Now on February 19, 2012, 16 “starry” Aldeburgh vocal alumnae will join Ubukata and Ralls at Koerner Hall for a gala concert celebrating the series’ 30th anniversary. It’s a bigger venue than their norm, as befits what promises to be a fittingly grand and heartfelt occasion. Don’t be surprised, though, if tickets turn out to be in short supply. No two individuals in this city have played a more important role in ensuring the place of art song in this country’s musical life, and the audience can expect the hosts for the evening, mezzo Catherine Robbin and actor/director Christopher Newton, to weave a significant and personal storyline through the event.

Robbin, for one, can trace her own Aldeburgh connection almost all the way back to the time of Ralls’ and Ubukata’s own first meeting — at Benjamin Britten’s and Peter Pears’ Aldeburgh Festival in Suffolk, England, in 1977. And Newton, best known as artistic director of the Shaw Festival, has been a long time Aldeburgh collaborator, repeatedly helping to give voice to the meticulously crafted, always evocative storylines that are one hallmark of an Aldeburgh Connection event.

The best news is that after February 19′s Koerner Hall fireworks, there will still be two, more typical Aldeburgh events this season, in the somewhat cosier confines of Walter Hall, their usual venue. March 18th’s programme is titled “Schubert and the Esterhazys”; April 29 brings “A Country House Weekend.”

The first of these carries forward what has been an Aldeburgh Connection tradition since 1997 (the 200th anniversary of Schubert’s birth) — namely some kind of Schubertiad. That first Aldeburgh Schubertiad honoured harpishordist/pianist Greta Kraus, a great champion of Schubert’s work and peerless art song collaborator and teacher. This year’s event, as always, will be rededicated to her memory.

As for the April 29 “Country House” concert, it points two ways. For one thing, it harkens back to the bucolic Suffolk surrounds of Ralls’ and Ubukata’s own first “Aldeburgh connection.” For another, it also, perhaps, gives a little nod to the future, namely Ralls’ and Ubukata’s now annual June Bayfield festival near their country home on the shores of Lake Huron. But that, as the saying goes, is a story for another day.

For now, readers interested in hearing (and viewing) more of my recent visit with Ralls and Ubukata will find the full 20 minute conversation at www.thewholenote.com.

(And, for the record, that particular concert in October 1995, almost 17 years ago, featured a couple of relative young ‘uns, Michael Schade and Norine Burgess, in a recital of songs and duets by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schubert, Debussy and Chabrier.)

John Greer: All Around the Circle
A Canadian folksong suite for vocal quartet and two pianos

Robert Schumann: Spanische Liebeslieder,
Op. 138 Spanish Love Songs Johannes Brahms: Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52
Waltzes for 4 voices and piano duet ]]> http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/202/feed 0 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/200 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/200#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:37:18 +0000 admin http://aldeburghconnection.org/wordpress/archives/200 CD includes:

Benjamin Britten:
Canticle I: My beloved is mine
(Francis Quarles) Op. 40

Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac
(Chester Miracle Play) Op. 51

Canticle III: Still falls the Rain
(Edith Sitwell) Op. 55

Canticle IV: Jouney of the Magi
(T.S. Eliot) Op. 86

Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus
(T.S. Eliot) Op. 89 Henry Purcell:
Three Divine Hymns
realised by Benjamin Britten

Lord, what is man (William Fuller)

We sing to him (Nathaniel Ingelo)

Evening Hymn(William Fuller) ]]> http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/200/feed 0 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/198 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/198#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:35:40 +0000 admin http://aldeburghconnection.org/wordpress/archives/198 Disc 1:

If music be the food of love by Henry Purcell, real. Benjamin Britten
Catherine Robbin mezzo, Bruce Ubukata piano

Der Tanz D826 by Franz Schubert
Monica Whicher soprano, Norine Burgess mezzo, Michael Schade tenor, Mark Pedrotti baritone, Bruce Ubukata piano

Wohin? D795/2 by Schubert
Michael Schade tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Der Wanderer D493 by Schubert
Mark Pedrotti baritone, Bruce Ubukata piano

Liebhaber in allen Gestalten D558 by Schubert
Nancy Argenta soprano, Malcolm Bilson fortepiano

Das Fischermädchen D957/10 by Schubert
Russell Braun baritone, Bruce Ubukata piano

Der Jüngling an der Quelle D300 by Schubert
Michael Schade tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Erlkönig D328 by Schubert
Monica Whicher soprano, Michael Schade tenor, Gerald Finley baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Punschlied (im Norden zu singen) D253 by Schubert
Kathleen Brett soprano, Michael Schade and Jay Lambie tenors, Mark Pedrotti baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter by Hugo Wolf
Russell Braun baritone, Bruce Ubukata piano

Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen by Wolf
Monica Whicher soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Ach, des Knaben Augen by Wolf
Catherine Robbin mezzo, Bruce Ubukata piano

Epiphanias by Wolf
Monica Whicher soprano, Catherine Robbin mezzo, Russell Braun baritone, Stephen Ralls, piano

Do not believe it, my friend Op. 6/1 by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
Adrianne Pieczonka soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

O do not leave Op. 4/1 by Sergei Rachmaninov
James Westman baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Lilacs Op. 21/5 by Rachmaninov
Joanne Kolomyjec soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Fleur jetée Op. 39/2 by Gabriel Fauré
Michael Schade tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Lydia Op. 4/2 by Fauré
Russell Braun baritone, Bruce Ubukata piano

Mi-a-ou (Dolly) Op. 56/2 by Fauré
Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata, piano

Dans le forêt de septembre Op. 85/1 by Fauré
Catherine Robbin mezzo, Bruce Ubukata piano

C’est l’extase (Ariettes oubliées) by Claude Debussy
Donna Brown soprano, Bruce Ubukata piano

Apparition by Debussy
Nathalie Paulin soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Le Bal masqué — Préambule et Air de bravoure by Francis Poulenc
Brett Polegato baritone and ensemble,

C, Fêtes galantes (Deux Poèmes de Louis Aragon) by Poulenc
Rosemarie Landry, soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Cradle Song, When you’re feeling like expressing your affection by Benjamin Britten
Gerald Finley baritone, Stephen Ralls piano Disc 2:

Begone, dull care! arrangement from Jane Austen’s music books
Kathryn Domoney soprano, Daniel Neff baritone, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano

Der Nussbaum Op. 25/3 by Robert Schumann
Donna Brown soprano, Bruce Ubukata piano

Zwielicht Op. 39/10 by Schumann
Brett Polegato baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Herbstlied Op. 43/2 by Schumann
Donna Brown soprano, Catherine Robbin mezzo, Bruce Ubukata piano

Wie froh und frisch (Die schõne Magelone) Op. 33/14 by Johannes Brahms
Russell Braun baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Rote Rosen by Richard Strauss
Susan Platts mezzo, Bruce Ubukata piano

Zueignung Op. 10/1 by Strauss
Adrianne Pieczonka soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Nachklang Op. 30/7 by Othmar Schoeck
Nathan Berg baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Drei Lieder nach Hildegard Jone Op. 25 by Anton Webern
Valdine Anderson soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Arie aus Dem Spiegel von Arcadien by Arnold Schoenberg
Linda Maguire mezzo, Stephen Ralls piano

Sur l’herbe by Maurice Ravel
Nathalie Paulin soprano, Bruce Ubukata piano

Le Rossignol des lilas by Reynaldo Hahn
Nathalie Paulin soprano, Bruce Ubukata piano

La barcheta by Hahn
Michael Schade tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Dear Lord and Father of mankind (Stacey) by John Beckwith
Monica Whicher soprano, Stephen Ralls piano

Cheerio! (I’m going to see the King and Queen) by Percy Faith
Monica Whicher soprano, Norine Burgess mezzo, Nils Brown tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Won’t you meet me at Murray’s? by Willie Eckstein
Monica Whicher soprano, Norine Burgess mezzo, Nils Brown tenor, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano

Four songs from Liebesleid-Lieder by John Greer
Monica Whicher soprano, Norine Burgess mezzo, Benjamin Butterfield tenor, Mark Pedrotti baritone, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano

Nightmare Song (Iolanthe) by Sir Arthur Sullivan
Daniel Neff baritone, Stephen Ralls piano

Two movements from Capriol by Peter Warlock
Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano

Soldier won’t you marry me? arr. Benjamin Britten
Catherine Robbin mezzo, Colin Ainsworth tenor, Stephen Ralls piano

Two Musical Relics of my Mother by Percy Grainger
Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano

Come on, Algernon by Lord Berners
Mary Lou Fallis soprano, Christopher Newton baritone, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata piano ]]> http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/198/feed 0 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/196 http://aldeburghconnection.org/archives/196#comments Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:33:08 +0000 admin http://aldeburghconnection.org/wordpress/archives/196 Dithyrambe (Friedrich von Schiller), D801– Finley/Ralls
Täglich zu singen (Matthias Claudius), D533 – Schade/Ubukata
Lachen und Weinen (Friedrich Rückert), D777 – Keith/Ralls
Der Wanderer an den Mond (Johann Gabriel Seidl), D870 – Finley/Ubukata
Die Sterne (Karl Gottfried von Leitner), D939 – Keith/Ralls
An eine Quelle (Claudius), D530 – Schade/Ralls
Nachtviolen (Johann Baptist Mayrhofer), D752 – Keith/Ubukata
Der Jüngling an der Quelle (Johann Gaudenz Freiherr von Salis-Seewis), D300 – Schade/Ubukata
Am Bach im Frühlinge (Franz von Schober), D361 – Finley/Ubukata
Der Schmetterling (Friedrich von Schlegel), D633 – Keith/Ralls
Das Lied im Grünen (Friedrich Reil), D917 – Schade/Ralls
Der Hochzeitsbraten (Schober), D930 – Keith/Ainsworth/Finley/Ralls
Rondo in A, D951 – Ralls/Ubukata
Mignon und der Harfner (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), D877/1 – Keith/Ainsworth/Ralls
Sehnsucht (Schiller), D636 – Finley/Ralls
Nähe des Geliebten (Goethe), D162 – Schade/Ubukata
Die abgeblühte Linde (Ludwig Graf von Széchényi), D514 – Keith/Ubukata
Am Tage Aller Seelen (Litanei) (Johann Georg Jacobi), D343 – Finley/Ubukata
Der Musensohn (Goethe), D764 – Schade/Ralls