
date: January 31, 1988
Our first half included music from Russia and Scandinavia (Percy Grainger being considered an honorary Scandinavian); our second half was entirely Canadian. The poetry of many of the songs was concerned with winter and our responses to it. Folksong elements often recurred and were summed up in a new work, John Greer’s “All Around the Circle”. This was our very first commission and proved to be one of the most successful, particularly as regards the number of subsequent performances by ourselves and other organizations. Spoken extracts were taken mostly from the memoirs of Lord Frederic Hamilton, a 19th century British diplomat who writes engagingly about his times in St. Petersburg and in Canada. A revised version of this programme was performed at the Aldeburgh Festival, England, in June 1988.
Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
---|---|---|---|
Where are you, little star? | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Mussorgsky, Modest | Grekov, Nikolai |
In the silent night, Op.4/3 | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rachmaninov, Sergei | Fet, Afanasy |
Lullaby, Op.31/5 | Collins, Martha, soprano; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Gretchaninov, Alexander | anon. |
Ai dudu, Op.31/1 | Collins, Martha, soprano; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Gretchaninov, Alexander | Pleshcheyev, Alexey |
Trepak (Songs and Dances of Death) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Mussorgsky, Modest | Goleshnichev-Kutusov, Arseniy |
Polonaise (Suite No.1 in C, Op.15) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Arensky, Anton | n/a |
Spring Waters, Op.14/11 | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Rachmaninov, Sergei | Tyuchev, Fyodor |
Demanten på marssnön, Op.36/6 | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Sibelius, Jean | Wecksell, Josef Julius |
Svarta rosor, Op.36/1 | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Sibelius, Jean | Josephson, Ernst |
Flickan kam ifran sin älsklings möte, Op.37/5 | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Sibelius, Jean | Runeberg, Johan Ludvig |
Faeroe Island Dance – Folksong (Let’s dance gay in green meadow) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Faeroe Island folksong, arr. Grainger, Percy | n/a |
En svane, Op.25/2 | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Grieg, Edvard | Ibsen, Henrik |
Jeg elsker dig! Op.5/3 | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Grieg, Edvard | Andersen, Hans Christian |
Hermundur Illi (Two Musical Relics of my Mother) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Faeroe Island folksong, arr. Grainger, Percy | n/a |
As Sally sat a-weeping (Two Musical Relics of my Mother) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Dorset folksong, arr. Grainger, Percy | n/a |
Our old Canadian home | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Woodlawn, C.P. | anon. |
The Canadian Sleigh Song | Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Russell, Henry | Mackay, Charles |
Now fades the last long streak of snow (The Centred Passion) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Holman, Derek | Tennyson, Alfred, Lord |
After the dazzle of day (Three Songs) | Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Somers, Harry | Whitman, Walt |
The Role of Canada in the World Today | Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Freedman, Harry | Mullin, Dave |
Sonnet | Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | MacMillan, Sir Ernest | Browning, Elizabeth Barrett |
Jimmie’s got a goil (Six Songs to Poems by e.e.cummings) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Beckwith, John | cummings, e.e. |
Brilliant Contredanse and Polka | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strathy, George | n/a |
Song for Fine Weather (Songs of the Haida Indians) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Coulthard, Jean | anon. Haida Indian, trans. Skinner, Constance |
When the ice worms nest again (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Folksong from the Arctic, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
The Alberta Homestead (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Alberta folksong, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
Old Grandma (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Prairie folksong, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
Rattle on the Stovepipe (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Ontario folksong, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
Do you see that there bird? (All Around the Circle) | Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Nova Scotia folksong, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
The Morning Dew (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Newfoundland folksong, arr. Greer, John | anon. |
Quodlibet (All Around the Circle) | Collins, Martha, soprano; Prata, Gabrielle, mezzo; Giesbrecht, Dennis, tenor; Pedrotti, Mark, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos | Newfoundland folksongs, arr. Greer, John | anon. |