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The 30th Anniversary Gala | Koerner Hall, Toronto
A celebration of the anniversary of the Aldeburgh Connection's first concert, on Sunday, February 21, 1982, at Hart House, University of Toronto

date: February 19, 2012

A panorama of the repertoire of the Aldeburgh Connection over three decades was performed by 16 vocal soloists.  The first half climaxed with Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music in a version with 2 pianos and violin solo, the second half with the final fugue from Verdi’s Falstaff, similarly accompanied on 2 pianos.  Introductions throughout the concert were provided by two of our Honorary Patrons, Christopher Newton, C.M., and Catherine Robbin, O.C.  The performance, before a sell-out audience in the superb Koerner Hall, was broadcast by CBC, who also videoed the occasion.  After the concert, a dazzling reception was given at 88 Elm Avenue by Vern and Frieda Heinrichs.

SONG ARTIST COMPOSER POET
A Song of Enchantment (Tit for Tat) Polegato, Brett, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Britten, Benjamin Mare, Walter de la
A Man and his Flute Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Beckwith, John Waddington, Miriam
Yarmouth Fair Tomkins, Giles, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Norfolk folksong, arr. Warlock, Peter Collins, Hal
Der Hochzeitsbraten, D930 Keith, Gillian, soprano; Wiliford, Lawrence, tenor; Duncan, Tyler, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Schubert, Franz Schober, Franz von
Palm Court Waltz Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Berkeley, Lennox n/a
Sonetto XVI, Op.22/1 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Britten, Benjamin Michelangelo Buonarotti
The Salley Gardens Colvin, Michael, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Irish folksong, arr. Britten, Benjamin Yeats, William Butler
At the round earth’s imagin’d corners, Op.35/7 (The Holy Sonnets of John Donne) Wiliford, Lawrence, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Britten, Benjamin Donne, John
The Choirmaster’s Burial (or The Tenor Man’s Story), Op.52/5 (Winter Words) Butterfield, Benjamin, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Britten, Benjamin Hardy, Thomas
Blithe Bells Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Bach, Johann Sebastian, arr. Grainger, Percy n/a
Whither must I wander? (Songs of Travel) Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Vaughan Williams, Ralph Stevenson, Robert Louis
Bright is the ring of words (Songs of Travel) Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Vaughan Williams, Ralph Stevenson, Robert Louis
Serenade to Music Keith, Gillian / Mercer, Shannon / Paulin, Nathalie / Whicher, Monica, sopranos; Platts, Susan / Robbin, Catherine / Segal, Lauren / Szabó, Krisztina, mezzos; Ainsworth, Colin / Butterfield, Benjamin / Colvin, Michael /   Wiliford, Lawrence, tenors; Duncan, Tyler / Finley, Gerald / Polegato, Brett / Tomkins, Giles, baritones; Raum, Erika, violin; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Vaughan Williams, Ralph Shakespeare, William
INTERMISSION
Valse romantique III (Trois valses romantiques) Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Chabrier, Emmanuel n/a
Amid the din of the ball, Op.38/3 Segal, Lauren, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tolstoy, Alexey
La regata veneziana (Soirées musicales) Mercer, Shannon, soprano; Szabó, Krisztina, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano Rossini, Gioachino Pepoli, Carlo
Sonnet (The Heart Mislaid) Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano Holman, Derek LePan, Douglas
Dans le forêt de septembre, Op. 85/1 Polegato, Brett, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Fauré, Gabriel Mendès, Catulle
Blaue Augen hat das Mädchen, Op.138/9 (Spanische Liebeslieder) Colvin, Michael, tenor; Duncan, Tyler, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano Schumann, Robert anon. Spanish, trans. Geibel, Emanuel
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Platts, Susan, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Mahler, Gustav Rückert, Friedrich
Der Schiffer, D536 Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano Schubert, Franz Mayrhofer, Johann
Nymphes et sylvains (Valse chantée) Paulin, Nathalie, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano Bemberg, Herman Ocampo, Armand
Qui vive! (Grand galop de concert) Ralls, Stephen; Ubukata, Bruce, piano Ganz, Wilhelm n/a
Tutto nel mondo è burla (Falstaff) Keith, Gillian / Mercer, Shannon / Paulin, Nathalie / Whicher, Monica, sopranos; Platts, Susan / Robbin, Catherine / Segal, Lauren / Szabó, Krisztina, mezzos; Ainsworth, Colin / Butterfield, Benjamin / Colvin, Michael /   Wiliford, Lawrence, tenors; Duncan, Tyler / Finley, Gerald / Polegato, Brett / Tomkins, Giles, baritones; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Verdi, Giuseppe Boito, Arrigo
Do you see that there bird? (All Around the Circle)   – ENCORE Finley, Gerald, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Greer, John anon.
The Morning Dew (All Around the Circle)   – ENCORE Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Greer, John anon.
Quodlibet (All Around the Circle) – ENCORE Keith, Gillian / Mercer, Shannon / Paulin, Nathalie / Whicher, Monica, sopranos; Platts, Susan / Robbin, Catherine / Segal, Lauren / Szabó, Krisztina, mezzos; Ainsworth, Colin / Butterfield, Benjamin / Colvin, Michael /   Wiliford, Lawrence, tenors; Duncan, Tyler / Finley, Gerald / Polegato, Brett / Tomkins, Giles, baritones; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, 2 pianos Newfoundland folksongs, arr. Greer, John anon.