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The Princess and the Sewing Machine – May 11, 1986 | Walter Hall, Toronto
The Princess and the Sewing Machine – May 11, 1986 | Walter Hall, Toronto
Music in the life of the Princesse de Polignac (1865-1943)
date: May 11, 1986
Winnaretta Singer was the daughter of the American inventor of the sewing machine; she married into the French aristocracy. Her inherited wealth enabled her to become the greatest individual patron of the arts in France during the early 20th century. Our concert told her life story with the aid of her memoirs, published posthumously in Horizon magazine. The music included some of her commissions and other pieces by composers whom she befriended, several of whom she supported financially in a significant way. Fauré’s Cinq Mélodies de Venise, Op.58, begun in the Princess’s Venetian palazzo and dedicated to her, formed the centrepiece. We were delighted to discover The Merry Singer, a jingle advertising the sewing machine, as an appropriate preface to the afternoon. This concert was repeated in Walter Hall in January 1996.
| Song | Artist | Composer | Poet |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Merry Singer | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Boutté, Tony, tenor; Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Leverne, Henry | Leverne, Henry |
| Couplets des deux hommes d’armes (Geneviève de Brabant) | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Offenbach, Jacques | Crémieux, Hector / Tréfeu, Etienne |
| Adagio ma non troppo e molto espressivo (String Quartet in C# minor, Op.131) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Beethoven, Ludwig van | n/a |
| Larmes, Op.51/1 | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Richepin, Jean |
| Tendresse, Op.56/5 (Dolly) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | n/a |
| Villanelle des petits canards | Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | Gérard, Rosemonde |
| Souvenirs de Munich (excerpt) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Chabrier, Emmanuel | n/a |
| Mandoline, Op.58/1 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| En sourdine, Op.58/2 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| Green, Op.58/3 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| Entr’acte, Op.57/2 (Shylock) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | n/a |
| A Clymène, Op.58/4 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| C’est l’extase, Op.58/5 (Cinq Mélodies de Venise) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Fauré, Gabriel | Verlaine, Paul |
| La barcheta (Venezia) | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Hahn, Reynaldo | Buratti, Pietro |
| March of the Women | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Smyth, Dame Ethel | anon. |
| Brutal – modéré (Trois Morceaux en forme de poire) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Satie, Erik | n/a |
| Asturiana (Siete canciones populares españolas) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Falla, Manuel de | anon. |
| Jota (Siete canciones populares españolas) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Falla, Manuel de | anon. |
| Voyage à Paris (Banalités) | Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Poulenc, Francis | Apollinaire, Guillaume |
| La Grenouillère | Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Poulenc, Francis | Apollinaire, Guillaume |
| Bleuet | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Ralls, Stephen, piano | Poulenc, Francis | Apollinaire, Guillaume |
| March (à Alfredo Casella) (Three Easy Pieces) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Stravinsky, Igor | n/a |
| Waltz (à Erik Satie) (Three Easy Pieces ) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Stravinsky, Igor | n/a |
| Polka (à Sergei Diaghilev) (Three Easy Pieces) | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Stravinsky, Igor | n/a |
| Quel sguardo sdegnosetto (Scherzi musicali) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Monteverdi, Claudio | Magni, Bartholomeo |
| Duet (Le Diable boiteux) | Boutté, Tony, tenor; Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Françaix, Jean | Françaix, Jean |
| Pavane pour une infante défunte | Ralls, Stephen / Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Ravel, Maurice | n/a |
| Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Bizet, Georges | Hugo, Victor |
| La primavera (Venezia) | Robbin, Catherine, mezzo; Boutté, Tony, tenor; Neff, Daniel, baritone; Ubukata, Bruce, piano | Hahn, Reynaldo | Cicogna, Alvise |