date: October 21, 2007
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were two of the occupants of 7 Middagh Street, Brooklyn, New York in 1940 and 1941. Other inhabitants included W.H.Auden, Carson McCullers, George Davis, Chester Kallman, Gypsy Rose Lee, Paul and Jane Bowles, Golo Mann, etc. etc. The artistic output in those few months was lively and varied – including the completion of several of Britten’s earliest masterpieces (Les Illuminations, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, other songs and folksong settings) as well as Paul Bunyan, the initially unsuccessful operetta he and Auden wrote together. We included examples of all of these, together with songs by American composers. At the centre was an authentic performance by a gamelan quartet: Britten was introduced to Balinese music by the Canadian, Colin McPhee, who frequently visited Middagh St., and aspects of this style became increasingly important in the Englishman’s music. The concert ended with our own commission (2002) from John Greer, his Liebesleid-Lieder, which highlight the verses of Dorothy Parker, whose wit epitomises New York at its most mordant and paranoid. Much useful background information was gleaned from Sherill Tippins’s February House.
Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
---|---|---|---|
Song | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Copland, Aaron | cummings, e.e. |
Les Ecrevisses (La Valse grégorienne) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Thompson, Virgil | Hugnet, Georges |
Grenadine (La Valse grégorienne) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Thompson, Virgil | Hugnet, Georges |
La Rosée (La Valse grégorienne) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Thompson, Virgil | Hugnet, Georges |
La Wagon immobile (La Valse grégorienne) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Thompson, Virgil | Hugnet, Georges |
April Fool Baby | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bowles, Paul | Stein, Gertrude |
Funeral Blues (Cabaret Songs) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Auden, Wystan Hugh |
Friendship (Dubarry was a Lady) | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Pedrotti, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Porter, Cole | Porter, Cole |
Villes (Les Illuminations, Op.18) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Rimbaud, Arthur |
A little closer, please (Love’s Old Sweet Song) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bowles, Paul | Saroyan, William |
Bewitched (Pal Joey) | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Rodgers, Richard | Hart, Lorenz |
Zip (Pal Joey) | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Rodgers, Richard | Hart, Lorenz |
Sonetto XXX, Op.22/3 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Michelangelo Buonarotti |
Farther from the heart | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Bowles, Paul | Bowles, Jane |
Lonesome Man (Blue Mountain Ballads) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Bowles, Paul | Williams, Tennessee |
Cradle Song | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | MacNeice, Louis |
A Quiet Girl | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Blitzstein, Marc | Blitzstein, Marc |
Overture: Paul Bunyan, Op.17 | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Britten, Benjamin | n/a |
Sekar Sungsang (Hanging Lily) | Seka Rat Nadi (gamelan ensemble): Carnes, John; Kippen, Jim; Sanger, Annette; Wong, Albert | anon. | n/a |
As one who strives to create beauty (Death in Venice, Op.88) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Piper, Myfanwy |
The trees they grow so high | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Somerset folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin | anon. |
Dink’s Song | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | American folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin | anon. |
Life and Love: Waltz (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
Miss Twye: Ragtime (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Ewart, Gavin |
A Lady with Technique & Frustrated Male: Foxtrot and Charleston (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Mearns, William Hughes |
Monogamy: Pavane (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
The Good Girl: Minuet (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
The Garter: Schottische (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | anon. |
Chastity: Tango (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Prior, Matthew |
To the Moon: Bolero (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | anon. |
The Sex Situation: Polonaise (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
Anecdote: Gavotte (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
Unfortunate Coincidence: Rumba (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
Superfluous Advice: Can-Can (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
Superfluous Response: Tarantella (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | anon. |
A Very Short Song: Sarabande (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | Parker, Dorothy |
The Dance of Love and Romance: Ländler (Liebesleid-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Greer, John | anon. |
Look at the moon! It’s turning blue (Paul Bunyan, Op.17) – ENCORE | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Turnbull, Elizabeth, mezzo; Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Auden, Wystan Hugh |