date: January 19, 2002
Our 20th anniversary celebrations consisted of a celebrity recital, a gala afternoon – and this marathon. In the course of one day, we presented 23 singers, ranging from some of Canada’s leading international stars to young performers just emerging from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, many of them graduates of our Young Artists Recitals. In all, they performed 81 songs. Our choices were, necessarily, personal; but we also sought to give a hearing to all of the major periods and schools of artsong writing for voice and piano, including genuine, undisputed masterpieces from each. The three sessions focussed on the three different times of day. Beginning at 7:30 pm, we included songs of the evening and of winter, and also songs involving measured reflection, either rueful or fulfilled, at love’s conclusion. The programme book quoted a line of warning from Schumann’s Eichendorff-Liederkreis: “Sei wach und munter!” Two songs of expectation of the morrow, by Richard Strauss and Ernest Seitz, concluded our marathon.
Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
---|---|---|---|
An die Nacht, Op.68/1 (Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) | MacDonald, Lorna, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Brentano, Clemens von |
Ich wollt ein Sträusslein binden, Op.68/2 (Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) | MacDonald, Lorna, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Brentano, Clemens von |
Säusle, liebe Myrthe, Op.68/3 (Sechs Lieder nach Gedichten von Clemens Brentano) | MacDonald, Lorna, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Strauss, Richard | Brentano, Clemens von |
La Flûte de Pan (Chansons de Bilitis) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Debussy, Claude | Louÿs, Pierre |
La Chevelure (Chansons de Bilitis) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Debussy, Claude | Louÿs, Pierre |
Le Tombeau des Naïades (Chansons de Bilitis) | Burgess, Norine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Debussy, Claude | Louÿs, Pierre |
Waldesgespräch, Op.39/3 (Eichendorff-Liederkreis) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Schumann, Robert | Eichendorff, Joseph Freiherr von |
Zwielicht, Op.39/10 (Eichendorff-Liederkreis) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Schumann, Robert | Eichendorff, Joseph Freiherr von |
Frühlingsnacht, Op.39/12 (Eichendorff-Liederkreis) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Schumann, Robert | Eichendorff, Joseph Freiherr von |
Wie bin ich froh, Op.25/1 (Drei Lieder nach Hildegard Jone) | Anderson, Valdine, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Webern, Anton | Jone, Hildegard |
Des Herzens Purpurvogel, Op.25/2 (Drei Lieder nach Hildegard Jone) | Anderson, Valdine, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Webern, Anton | Jone, Hildegard |
Sterne, Ihr silbernen Bienen, Op.25/3 (Drei Lieder nach Hildegard Jone) | Anderson, Valdine, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Webern, Anton | Jone, Hildegard |
Lullaby | Tomkins, Giles, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Warlock, Peter | Dekker, Thomas |
Sleep | Tomkins, Giles, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Warlock, Peter | Fletcher, John |
The Fox | Tomkins, Giles, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Warlock, Peter | Blunt, Bruce |
Yarmouth Fair | Tomkins, Giles, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Norfolk folksong, arr. Warlock, Peter | Collins, Hal |
Sonetto XXX, Op.22/3 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Michelangelo Buonarotti |
Sonetto XXXVIII, Op.22/5 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Michelangelo Buonarotti |
Sonetto XXXII, Op.22/6 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Michelangelo Buonarotti |
Sonetto XXIV, Op.22/7 (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo) | Ainsworth, Colin, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Britten, Benjamin | Michelangelo Buonarotti |
I’ve been to a marvellous party (Set to Music) | Ubukata, Bruce, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Coward, Noël | Coward, Noël |
A Man and his Flute (A Toronto Songbook) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Beckwith, John | Waddington, Miriam |
My lute, awake! | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Russell, Welford | Wyatt, Sir Thomas |
Abschied (Mörike-Lieder) | Whicher, Monica, soprano; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wolf, Hugo | Mörike, Eduard |
Morgen! Op.27/4 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Strauss, Richard | Mackay, John Henry |
The World is Waiting for the Sunrise – ENCORE | Fallis, Mary Lou, soprano; The Company; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Seitz, Ernest | Lockhart, Eugene |