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St Patrick’s Music – March 14, 2004 | Walter Hall, Toronto
St Patrick’s Music – March 14, 2004 | Walter Hall, Toronto
Music by Irish composers and arrangements of Irish folksongs
date: March 14, 2004
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 | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Willan, Healey | Yeats, William Butler |
| St. Ita’s Vision, Op.29/3 (Hermit Songs) | Krause, Anita, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Barber, Samuel | Saint Ita, trans. Kallman, Chester |
| The Star of the County Down (Irish Country Songs) | Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | anon. |
| The last rose of summer | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin | Moore, Thomas |
| The Lover’s Curse (Irish Country Songs) | Krause, Anita, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | Donegal ballad |
| Venetianisches Lied I, Op.25/17 (Myrthen) | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| Venetianisches Lied II, Op.25/18 (Myrthen) | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Schumann, Robert | Moore, Thomas, trans. Freiligrath, Ferdinand |
| La Belle voyageuse: Légende irlandaise, Op.2/4 (Irlande) | Krause, Anita, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Berlioz, Hector | Moore, Thomas, trans. Gounet, Thomas |
| Widow Machree | Hatfield, Virginia, 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 | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Gurney, Ivor | Yeats, William Butler |
| I hear an army, Op.10/3 (Three Songs) | Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Barber, Samuel | Joyce, James |
| Nuvoletta, Op.25 | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Barber, Samuel | Joyce, James |
| The Red-Haired Man’s Wife (Irish Country Songs) | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | Tynan, Katharine |
| The Bard of Armagh (Irish Country Songs) | Krause, Anita, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Hughes, Herbert | anon. |
| Sing, sing, music was given | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Krause, Anita, mezzo; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |
| Since greybeards inform us that youth will decay | Colvin, Michael, tenor; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Toms, T. |
| Sweet power of song | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Krause, Anita, mezzo; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Baillie, Joanna |
| Let brain-spinning swains | Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Boswell, Alexander |
| Dermot and Shelagh | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Toms, T. |
| The Wandering Minstrel | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Smyth, William |
| The pulse of an Irishman | Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Fewer, Mark, violin; Fryer, Simon, cello; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beethoven, Ludwig van | Boswell, Alexander |
| The harp that once through Tara’s halls | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Krause, Anita, mezzo; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |
| Erin! Oh Erin! | Hatfield, Virginia, soprano; Krause, Anita, mezzo; Colvin, Michael, tenor; Dobson, Alexander, baritone; Lindskoog, Janice, harp; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Irish folksong, arr. Beckwith, John | Moore, Thomas |