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Northern Lights – June 14, 1988 | Black Heath Mansion, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England
Music from northern lands

date:  June 14, 1988

This concert was significant as being our first appearance at the Aldeburgh Festival.  We were fortunate that, of our fine Canadian soloists, three were at the time living in England.  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.  An earlier version of this programme was performed in our Sunday Series in January 1988.

Song Artist Composer Poet
Where are you, little star? Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Mussorgsky, Modest Grekov, Nikolai
In the silent night, Op.4/3 MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Rachmaninov, Sergei Fet, Afanasy
Night MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich
Song of the Volga Boatmen Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Russian folksong, arr. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich n/a
Dawn, Op.46/6 MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Surikov, Ivan
Under the green apple tree Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Russian folksong, arr. Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich n/a
In the orchard, by the brook, Op.46/4 MacKenzie, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Shevchenko, Taras, trans. Surikov, Ivan
Valse (Serenade for Strings, Op.48) Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich n/a
Amid the din of the ball, Op.38/3 Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tolstoy, Alexey
Les Larmes, Op.65/5 Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Blanchecotte, Augustine-Malvina Souville
Spring Waters, Op.14/11 MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Rachmaninov, Sergei Tyuchev, Fyodor
Demanten på marssnön, Op.36/6 Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Sibelius, Jean Wecksell, Josef Julius
Svarta rosor, Op.36/1 Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Sibelius, Jean Josephson, Ernst
Faeroe Island Dance – Folksong (Let’s dance gay in green meadow) Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Faeroe Island folksong, arr. Grainger, Percy n/a
Med en vandlilje, Op.25/4 Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Grieg, Edvard Ibsen, Henrik
The Power of Love Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Danish folksong, arr. Grainger, Percy anon.
INTERMISSION
Our old Canadian home MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Woodlawn, C.P. anon.
The Canadian Sleigh Song Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Russell, Henry Mackay, Charles
Now fades the last long streak of snow (The Centred Passion) Finley Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Holman, Derek Tennyson, Alfred, Lord
She’s like the swallow Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Newfoundland folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin anon.
The Role of Canada in the World Today Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano Freedman, Harry Mullin, Dave
Sonnet MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano MacMillan, Sir Ernest Browning, Elizabeth Barrett
Jimmie’s got a goil (Six Songs to Poems by e.e.cummings) Finley Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Beckwith, John cummings, e.e.
Brilliant Contredanse and Polka Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Strathy, George n/a
When the ice worms nest again (All Around the Circle) MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Folksong from the Arctic, arr. Greer, John anon.
The Alberta Homestead (All Around the Circle) MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Alberta folksong, arr. Greer, John anon.
Old Grandma (All Around the Circle) MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Prairie folksong, arr. Greer, John anon.
Rattle on the Stovepipe (All Around the Circle) MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Ontario folksong, arr. Greer, John anon.
Do you see that there bird? (All Around the Circle) Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Nova Scotia folksong, arr. Greer, John anon.
The Morning Dew (All Around the Circle) Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Newfoundland folksong, arr. Greer, John anon.
Quodlibet (All Around the Circle) MacKenzie, Jane, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Butterfield, Peter, tenor; Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Newfoundland folksongs, arr. Greer, John anon.