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St. Patrick’s Music – January 29, 1989 | Walter Hall, Toronto
St. Patrick’s Music – January 29, 1989 | Walter Hall, Toronto
Music by Irish composers and arrangements of Irish folksongs
date: January 29, 1989
The programme ranged over the past two centuries to present a variety of Irish literature and the music it inspired. We included a number of wellknown arrangements of folksongs by Herbert Hughes and Benjamin Britten, and also a varied number of those arranged with piano trio by Beethoven. John Beckwith’s arrangements, utilising both piano and harp, were less familiar but well worth hearing. (A 36-string Irish harp was played by Janice Lindskoog). Songs by Schumann, Berlioz, Barber and others provided great contrast. The afternoon was tremendously enhanced by the presence of our Honorary Patron, Christopher Newton, who read extracts from Irish writers, the most substantial being from the works of James Joyce. Mr Newton’s reading of the Christmas dinner scene from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was a never-to-be-forgotten tour de force.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Lake Isle of Innisfree | Tony Boutté, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Willan, Healey | Yeats, William Butler |
| St. Ita’s Vision, Op.29/3 (Hermit Songs) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Barber, Samuel | Saint Ita, trans. Kallman, Chester |
| The Star of the County Down (Irish Country Songs) | Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | anon. |
| The Last Rose of Summer | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin | Moore, Thomas |
| The Lover’s Curse (Irish Country Songs) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | Donegal ballad |
| Venetianisches Lied I, Op.25/17 (Myrthen) | Tony Boutté, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| Venetianisches Lied II, Op.25/18 (Myrthen) | Tony Boutté, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| La Belle voyageuse: Légende irlandaise, Op.2/4 (Irlande) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Berlioz, Hector | Moore, Thomas, trans. Gounet, Thomas |
| Widow Machree | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Lover, Samuel | Lover, Samuel |
| Capriccio (The Beauty Stone) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Sullivan, Sir Arthur | n/a |
| Down by the salley gardens | Tony Boutté, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Gurney, Ivor | Yeats, William Butler |
| I hear an army, Op.10/3 (Three Songs) | Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Barber, Samuel | Joyce, James |
| Nuvoletta, Op.25 | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Barber, Samuel | Joyce, James |
| The Red-Haired Man’s Wife (Irish Country Songs) | Tony Boutté, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | Tynan, Katharine |
| The Bard of Armagh (Irish Country Songs) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | anon. |
| Sing, sing, music was given | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Tony Boutté, tenor; Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |
| Since greybeards inform us that youth will decay | Tony Boutté, tenor; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Toms, T. |
| Sweet power of song | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Baillie, Joanna |
| Let brain-spinning swains | Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Boswell, Alexander |
| Dermot and Shelagh | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Tony Boutté, tenor; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Toms, T. |
| The Wandering Minstrel | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Tony Boutté, tenor; Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Smyth, William |
| The pulse of an Irishman | Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Sitarski, Stephen, violin; Widner, Paul, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Boswell, Alexander |
| The harp that once through Tara’s halls | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Tony Boutté, tenor; Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |
| Erin! Oh Erin! | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Tony Boutté, tenor; Kelly, Bruce, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |