Program notes by

Gracie Hohlbauch

Qui sedes ad dextram (Mass in B minor), Johann Sebastian Bach (1865-1750)

Although Bach’s Mass in B Minor is revered for its overwhelming dramatic sweep and sense of unity, it was not
originally created as a single work. It is made up of music composed over a 25-year period, some of it adapted from his
previous cantatas, some of it new. Its manuscript is divided into four large sections with no overall title, and came to be
called the Mass in B Minor only by later generations. It was not performed complete until 1859, more than a century after
Bach’s death. Qui sedes ad dextram patris is part of the Gloria movement. It is an aria for alto with oboe d'amore solo.
With this movement, a new style makes its appearance in the Mass—dance music. The aria clearly comes from the same
source of inspiration as Bach's instrumental suite.

Qui sedes ad dextram Patris, You who sit at the right hand of the Father,
miserere nobis. have mercy upon us.

Die Nacht, Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Richard Georg Strauss was born in Munich on June 11, 1864. He was the first child of the Musician Franz. As
early as the age of six, Strauss was already composing his first pieces. By his 18th Birthday, he had composed 140 works.
He is well known for his tone poems and operas, but he also produced significant works of lieder. He was six years old
when he wrote his first song; nearly 80 years later he would compose Vier letzte Lieder (four last songs), his final
published work.
Die Nacht is one of eight songs set to music by the poetry of Hermann von Gilm zu Rosenegg. It is relatively lean
in texture as the night quietly encroaches upon the singer, enveloping the landscape and all within sight. It is not until the
final phrase that we learn it is not so much the darkness of night they fear, but uncertainty of their future with a loved one.
Through-composed, the harmonic structure grows slightly more complex with each stanza.

Die Nacht The Night

Aus dem Walde tritt die Nacht, From the forest enters the night,
Aus den Bäumen schleight sie leise, From the trees it steals so softly,
Schaut sich um im weitem Kreise, Spreads itself in a widened circle,
Nun gib acht! Now, take care!

Alle Lichter dieser Welt, All the brightness of the world,

Alle Blumen, alle Farben löscht sie aus, All the flowers and the colors are quenched,
Und stiehlt die Garben weg vom Feld. And sheaves are stolen from the field.

Alles nimmt sie, was nur hold, All is taken that is dear,
Nimmt da Silber weg des Stroms, Taken is the silver from the stream,
Nimmt vom Kupferdoch des Domes, Taken is the copper roof from the church,
Weg das Gold. Gone is the gold.

Ausgeplündert steht der Strauch, Trampled is the bush,

Rücke näher, Seele an Seele; Come closer, soul to soul;
O die Nacht, mir bangt, sie stehle, Oh the night, I fear, may steal
Dich mir auch. You also from me.
Mein Herz ist stumm, Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
The love song “Mein Herz ist stumm,” which is not as well-known as many of Strauss’s others, hints at the
“orchestral sound” soon to be common in the composer’s songs. It begins softly, with subtle emphases at the height of
phrases that allude to a more optimistic past. The poet’s icy heart warms to the rich murmurs of spring’s yearning, only to
eventually plunge into the emptiness of imagined happiness. Musical themes from the beginning recur before the song’s
end, underpinning the text, “the echo of a dying sound fades into the distance, and once again everything is frozen.”

Mein Herz ist stumm My heart is silent

Mein Herz ist stumm, mein Herz ist kalt, My heart is silent, my heart is cold,
Erstarrt in des Winters Eise; Frozen in the winter’s ice.
Bisweilen in seiner Tiefe nur wallt Sometimes, but only in its depths,
Und zittert und regt sich's leise. It trembles and stirs quietly.

Dann ist's, als ob ein mildes Tau'n Then, as if a gentle dew

Die Decke des Frostes breche; Breaks through the cover of frost,
Durch grünende Wälder, blühende Au'n Through green woods and blooming meadows,
Murmeln von neuem die Bäche. The brook murmers once again.

Und Hörnerklang, von Blatt zu Blatt And the sound of horns, carried from leaf to leaf
[Im]1 Frühlingswinde getragen, By the spring wind,
Dringt aus den Schluchten ans Ohr mir matt, Echoes from the gulches faintly in my ears,
Wie ein Ruf aus seligen Tagen. Like a call from happier days.

Doch das alternde Herz wird jung nicht mehr, Yet the aging heart grows young no more,
Das Echo sterbenden Schalles The echo of a dying sound
Tönt ferner, immer ferner her, Fades into the distance,
Und wieder erstarrt liegt alles. And once again everything is frozen.

Mein Herz ist stumm. Mein Herz ist kalt. My heart is silent. My heart is cold.

Pietà Signore, Allesandro Stradella (1645-1682)

Orphaned at the age of eleven, Alessandro Stradella went on to lead a colorful life. He was attacked by assassins
three times throughout his life, had an infamous reputation for womanizing, and was eventually murdered by the brothers
of a women he had seduced. In between all this he found time to compose. Unfortunately, the only piece by Stradella that
has his name attached to it, and that has any degree of circulation today, “Pietà, Signore”, was actually written by
someone else, likely Niedermeyer or Rossini.

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 Pietà Signore is a heart-rending plea to the Lord for mercy in suffering.

Pietà Signore Have Pity on me, Lord

Pietà, Signore Have pity on me, Lord,
Di me dolente! In my remorse,
Signor, pietà Lord, have mercy.
Se a te giunge il mio pregar; If my prayer rises to you;
Non mi punisca Do not chastise me
Il tuo rigor in your severity,
Meno severi Less harshly,
Clementi ognora Always mercifully,
Volgi i tuoi sguardi Turn your eyes
Sopra di me, sopra di me down on me, down on me.
Non fia mai Never condemn me to hell,
Che nell'inferno sia dannato Do not damn me
Nel fuoco eterno To eternal fire
Dal tuo rigor By your severity
Gran Dio, giammai Great lord, never
Sia dannato Condemn me
Nel fuoco eterno To eternal fire
Dal tuo rigor By your severity.

Rain has Fallen, Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

The nephew of legendary Metropolitan Opera contralto Louise Homer and art song composer Sidney Homer,
Samuel Barber attended the Curtis Institute, where he trained as a pianist, singer, and composer. The musical pedigree and
elite atmosphere in which he was raised made almost inevitable his role as one of America's finest art song composers.
Composed between 1935 and 1937, the Three Songs, Op. 10, share the economy and eloquence of Barber's early
stylistic period. The James Joyce poems assembled by the composer share the feeling of varying states of love. Each song
culminates in an episode marked by a significant musical departure in which the singer addresses her heart, or that of her
beloved.
A chromatic vocal line against a harmonically wandering ostinato in the right hand of the piano conjures the melancholy
character of "Rain has fallen." The second of the two brief strophes is diverted to a passionate outburst as the attentions of
the beloved are summoned. The accompaniment is laden with arpeggios, intended to mimic the patter of rain.

Après un Rêve, Gabriel Fauré (1879-1925)

At the age of nine, Gabriel Fauré was sent to a music college in Paris, where he was trained to be a church
organist and choirmaster. After graduating from the college in 1865, Fauré earned a modest living as an organist and
teacher, leaving him little time for composition. When he became successful in his middle age, he retreated to the
countryside in the summer holidays to concentrate on composition. By his last years, Fauré was recognized in France as

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the leading French composer of his day. An unprecedented national musical tribute was held for him in Paris in 1922,
headed by the president of the French Republic. Outside France, Fauré's music took decades to become widely accepted,
except in Britain, where he had many admirers during his lifetime.

Après un Rêve is the first of three songs in Fauré’s Trios melodies, Op. 7. It describes a dream of romantic flight
with a lover, away from the earth, and "towards the light". However, on waking to the truth the dreamer longs to return to
the "mysterious night" and the blissful illusion of his dream.

Après un Rêve After a Dream

Dans un sommeil que charmait ton image
Je rêvais le bonheur, ardent mirage,
Tes yeux étaient plus doux, ta voix pure et
sonore,
Tu rayonnais comme un ciel éclairé par
l'aurore;
In a sleep that charmed your image
I dreamed happiness, passionate mirage,
Your eyes were softer, your voice pure and
sonorous,
You radiated like a sky enlightened by the
dawn;

Tu m'appelais et je quittais la terre You called me and I left the earth

Pour m'enfuir avec toi vers la lumière, To run away with you to the light,
Les cieux pour nous entr'ouvraient leurs nues, The heavens for us opened their clouds,
Splendeurs inconnues, lueurs divines Unknown Splendors, Gleaming divine
entrevues, meetings,

Hélas! Hélas! triste réveil des songes Alas! Alas! sad awakening of dreams
Je t'appelle, ô nuit, rends-moi tes mensonges, I call you, O night, give me your lies,

Reviens, reviens radieuse, Come back, come back radiant,

Reviens ô nuit mystérieuse! Come back oh mysterious night!

Nell, Gabriel Fauré (1879-1925)

Like many of his other vocal works, Fauré explores the realm of emotions through verse and melody in “Nell”.
Filled with charm and sweet sentiment, Fauré uses not only the words as a way to convey emotions, but expressive
harmonies from the piano in unison with the melody as well. Fauré’s talent for relating text and music earned him the
name, “Master of Charms” according to Debussy and other French composers.

Nell Nell
Ta rose de pourpre à ton clair soleil, Under your bright sun, oh summer,
Ô Juin, étincelle enivrée, Your red, red rose sparkles ecstatically.
Penche aussi vers moi ta coupe dorée: Lean over me too with your golden cup -

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 Mon coeur à ta rose est pareil. My heart resembles your rose.

Sous le mol abri de la feuille ombreuse Under the shady, sheltering leaves
Monte un soupir de volupté: There rises a sigh of delight.
Plus d'un ramier chante au bois écarté. In the grove there are doves cooing,
Ô mon coeur, sa plainte amoureuse. Singing their love-songs, oh my heart!

Que ta perle est douce au ciel enflammé. How sweet in the flame-red sky is the pearl,
Étoile de la nuit pensive! The star of pensive night!
Mais combien plus douce est la clarté vive But how much sweeter is the vivid glow
Qui rayonne en mon coeur charmé! That shines in my enchanted heart!

La chantante mer. Le long du rivage, The singing sea all along its shores
Taira son murmure éternel, Will end its eternal murmuring
Avant qu'en mon coeur, chère amour. Before your image, oh Nell, my love,
Ô Nell, ne fleurisse plus ton image! Ceases to bloom in my heart.

Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better (Annie Get Your Gun), Irving Berlin (1888-1989)
Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin) was an American composer and lyricist, widely considered one of the greatest
songwriters in American history. His music forms a great part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russia,
Berlin arrived in the United States at the age of five. He was an owner of the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, and wrote
hundreds of songs, many becoming major hits, which made him a legend before he turned thirty. During his 60-year
career he wrote an estimated 1,500 songs, including the scores for 20 original Broadway shows and 15
original Hollywood films, with his songs nominated eight times for Academy Awards.
Annie Get Your Gun is a musical about a fictionalized version of the life of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter who
starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West, and her romance with sharpshooter Frank E. Butler. It encompasses many themes that
are still relevant today: the transformative nature of show business, chauvinism and racism, and the power of love to
change it all. The “rags to riches” rise to stardom may change Annie’s exterior, but her character remains unapologetically
loyal, honest, and loving. In the duet “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,” one male singer and one female singer
attempt to outdo each other in increasingly complex tasks.