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The Old Wizard of Bayreuth – January 25, 1990 | Château Laurier Hotel, Ottawa
Songs by Richard Wagner and his French adherents
date: January 25, 1990
This began its life as one of our earliest concerts, presented first at Harbourfront in Toronto in February 1983, in our Walter Hall Sunday Series in March 1987 and for the Wagner Society of New York that May (the latter under a different title, “A Wagnerian Salon”); the repertoire was slightly revised over the years. It was repeated now in Ottawa and finally, again in Walter Hall, in March 1998. We included a few of Wagner’s little-known early songs, particularly those in French, and a complete performance of the Wesendonck-Lieder. Our second half returned to France with music by some of that country’s enthusiasts for Wagner’s music: Fauré, Messager, Chausson and Berlioz – the latter a rather more equivocal supporter. Light relief was provided by the sets of quadrilles on Wagnerian themes by Fauré and Messager, and by Chabrier, an excerpt from which provided our encore with vocal lines added from a French translation of Tristan. Spoken narration was taken from the diaries and memoirs of the composer himself (delivered by Bruce Ubukata) and of his wife, Cosima, with some fascinating extracts from the reminiscences of the English diplomat, Lord Frederic Hamilton.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polonaise in D, Op.2 | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | n/a |
| L’Attente | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Hugo, Victor |
| Les Deux grenadiers | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Heine, Heinrich, trans. Loeve-Veimar, François-Adolphe |
| Dors, mon enfant | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | anon. |
| Der Engel (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Stehe still (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Im Treibhaus (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Schmerzen (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Träume (Wesendonck-Lieder) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Wagner, Richard | Wesendonck, Mathilde |
| Souvenirs de Bayreuth | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel / Messager, André | n/a |
| Cantique à l’épouse, Op.36/1 | Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Chausson, Ernest | Jounet, Albert |
| Souvenirs de Munich | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | n/a |
| La Lugubre gondola II | Ralls, Stephen, piano | Liszt, Franz | n/a |
| Sur les lagunes – Lamento, Op.7/3 (Nuits d’été) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Berlioz, Hector | Gautier, Théophile |
| Souvenirs de Munich (excerpt) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | n/a |
| Souvenirs de Munich (excerpt) – ENCORE | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Korjus, Ingemar, bass-baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | anon. |