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Catherine Robbin and Friends | Walter Hall, Toronto
Catherine Robbin and Friends | Walter Hall, Toronto
A concert to mark the retirement of one of the Aldeburgh Connection's original singers (at its concert in February 1982): mezzo Catherine Robbin
date: April 27, 2003
Our ‘First Lady of Song’, mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin, was joined by three of her favourite singing colleagues to celebrate her career and to mark her retirement from the concert stage. The singers chose music which reflected their own careers and also their relationship with Catherine; a number of duets and other ensembles featured in the programme. The linking narration was taken largely from the diary which Bruce Ubukata wrote when on tour with Catherine in southern France in the early ’80s. Sadly, illness prevented Bruce from taking part himself in the performance.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet was the song the Virgin sang | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Attey, John | anon. |
| Wir eilen mit schwachen, doch emsigen Schritten (Cantata 78: Jesu, der du meine Seele) | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bach, Johann Sebastian | anon. |
| I attempt from love’s sickness to fly (The Indian Queen) | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Purcell, Henry | Howard, Robert |
| Sound the trumpet (Come, ye sons of art) | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Purcell, Henry | Tate, Nahum ? |
| The Lent Lily (The Land of Lost Content) | Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ireland, John | Housman, Alfred Edward |
| The Encounter (The Land of Lost Content) | Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ireland, John | Housman, Alfred Edward |
| Epilogue (The Land of Lost Content) | Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ireland, John | Housman, Alfred Edward |
| Mandoline, Op.58/1 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| Dans le forêt de septembre, Op.85/1 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Mendès, Catulle |
| Pavane pour une infante défunte | Ralls, Stephen, piano | Ravel, Maurice | n/a |
| Es rauschet das Wasser, Op.28/3 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Brahms, Johannes | Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von |
| Der Jäger und sein Liebchen, Op.28/4 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Brahms, Johannes | Fallersleben, Hoffmann von |
| Sabbath Morning at Sea, Op.37/3 (Sea Pictures) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Elgar, Sir Edward | Browning, Elizabeth Barrett |
| The Vagabond (Songs of Travel) | Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Vaughan Williams, Ralph | Stevenson, Robert Louis |
| Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, Op. 51 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Chester Miracle Play |
| Seligkeit, D433 | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schubert, Franz | Hölty, Ludwig |
| Ellens Gesang III: Ave Maria, D839 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schubert, Franz | Scott, Sir Walter, trans. Storck, Adam |
| Da unten im Tale (Deutsche Volkslieder) | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | German folksong, arr. Brahms, Johannes | anon. |
| Die Schwestern, Op.61/1 | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Brahms, Johannes | Mörike, Eduard |
| A Quiet Girl (Wonderful Town) | Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bernstein, Leonard | Comden, Betty / Green, Adolph |
| Breit über mein Haupt, Op.19/2 | Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Schack, Adolf Friedrich von |
| Have some Madeira, m’dear | Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Swann, Donald | Flanders, Michael |
| Dear old Donegal | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo | Irish song | anon. |
| Let’s call the whole thing off (Shall we dance?) – ENCORE | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Gershwin, George | Gershwin, Ira |
| Sisters (White Christmas) – ENCORE | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Berlin, Irving | Berlin, Irving |
| Hôtel (Banalités) – ENCORE | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Poulenc, Francis | Apollinaire, Guillaume |
| Ein kleiner, hübscher Vogel, Op.52/6 (Liebeslieder-Walzer) – ENCORE | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Brahms, Johannes | Daumer, Georg Friedrich |
| I’ll see you again (Bitter Sweet) – ENCORE | Argenta, Nancy, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Lichti, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Coward, Sir Noël | Coward, Sir Noël |