First Baptist Church

Alpenlied Op. 167, No. 7
(1790-1876)
Andreas Spaeth
Chansons pour les oiseaux
I. La colombe poignardée
Louis Beydts
(1895-1953)
II. Le petit pigeon bleu
III. L’oiseau bleu
IV. Le petit serin en cage
Mi chiamano Mimì from La Bohème Giacomo Puccini
(1858-1924)
Intermission
Ich bin allein from Faust)
(recitative and aria)
Louis Spohr
(1784-1859)
Three Browning Songs Op. 44
Amy Marcy Cheney
Beach
(1867-1944)
I. The year’s at the spring
II. Ah, love, but a day!
III. I send my heart up to thee!
Tu, tu, tu from Madama Butterfly
A Word On My Ear
Giacomo Puccini
(1858-1924)
Michael Flanders &
Donald Swann
(1922-1975/1923-1994)
Louis Spohr:
Ich bin allein (from Faust) Text by Josef Karl Bernard
Ich bin allein, des Abends Nähe regt die Thätigkeit zu meinem Hochzeitsfeste;
beschäftigt ist mein Haus, und fern sind noch die Gäste. Wohlan, mein Herz!
so wunderbar bewegt, sprich, was ist dir? Woher die neue Regung, die dich so
plötzlich ungeahnte hebt? Und meines Businesssteigende Bewegung, die wie
geflügelt alle Pulse regt? Ha, wär’ das Liebe! und, was ich empfunden einst für
meinen Hugo, wär’ es Freundschaft nur? Hielt mir ein Wahn die Augen mir
verbunden, und jeOt erst spräche dein Gebot, Natur! Wie dich nennen,
seltsam neues Sehnen, das in mir so wundersüss erwacht? Diese Schwermuth,
diese leisen Thränen, des Gefühles nie gekannte Macht. Heisser glühen die
verschämten Wangen, mich er greift ein wunderbar Verlangen, das mich
forOieht, wie mit Geisterhand, und mit Freunden, die ich nie gekannt!
I am alone
I am alone, the nearby evening stirs of the activity of my wedding party; my
house is busy, and the guests are still far off. Well now, my heart! So
wonderfully excited, was it you that spoke? From where comes the new
impulse, that so unexpectedly arose? And my chest rose in motion, like how
the stirring pulse flies? Ah, but love! and what I once felt heavily for my Hugo,
was it only friendship? Naturally, my eyes hold a delusion as if blindfolded, and
your first speech is important! What do you call, strange new longings, that
awaken so wonderfully sweet in me? This melancholy, these soft tears, Never
before felt feelings so powerful. Hotter, glow the bashful cheeks, a wonderful
desire grabs me, that moves me, as with a magic hand, and my friends I know
no longer!
Giacomo Puccini: Tu, tu, tu, (from Madama Butterfly)
Text by: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Tu? Tu? Tu? Tu? Tu? Tu? Tu? Piccolo Iddio! Amore, amore mio, fior di giglio e
di rosa. Non saperlo mai per te, pei tuoi puri occhi, muor Butterfly. Perchè tu
posso andar di là del mare senza che ti rimorda ai dì maturi, il matterno
abbandono. O a me, sceso dal trono dell’alto Paradiso, guarda ben fiso, fino di
tua madre la faccia! Che te’n resti una traccia, guarda ben! Amore, addio!
Addio! Piccolo amor!
You, you, you You?
My little God! love, my love, flower of lily and rose. You must not know it but,
for you, for your pure eyes, Butterfly dies. Because you may then go beyond
oceans without bothering you when you grow up, that your mother
abandoned you. O to me, down from the throne of Paradise, look steadfast,
steadfast at your mother's face! So that a trace will remain, look close! Love,
goodbye! Goodbye! Little love!
Songs for the birds
The stabbed dove
If God hadn’t made the sun and the world, There wouldn't have been sadness,
nor my blonde-haired love, Nor blows or red blood nor my beloved. There
wouldn't have been a stabbed dove on earth. If God hadn't made the moon
and the storms, There wouldn't have been tears on sweet faces, Neither fierce
blades nor my beloved, There wouldn't have been a stabbed dove on earth. If
God hadn’t made the days after the day, There wouldn't have been any love!
There wouldn’t have been a stabbed dove on earth, and nor Lord, my beloved!
Le petit pigeon bleu
Je voudrais être petit pigeon bleu sur le toit de ta chaumière pour t’écouter
remuer les assietes et metre des pommes de pin au feu. J’écouterais aussi la
belle histoire que tes enfants écoutent chaque soir. C’est toi qui la contes, je
se rais heureux tout comme un ange écoutant le bon Dieu. Oui la belle histoire
du paradis, Quand les oiseaux s’aimaient entre eux, Les arbres aussi, les
poissons aussi, les chênes, les carpes, les hochequeues, les pins parasols, les
écureuils, les zéphyrs, les roseaux, les roses, les arcs en ciel sur les eaux, les
gouQes de rosée, et deux personnes, Sur le toit de ta chaumière, je voudrais
être petit pigeon bleu. J’écouterais entre les pailles, heureux, tout comme un
ange écoutant le bon Dieu
The little blue pigeon
I want to be a little blue pigeon on the roof of the cog to listen to the moving
of the dishes and putting pinecones on the fire. I would listen also to the
beautiful story that your children listen to each evening. It is you that tells it, I
would be happy like an angel listening to the good Lord. Yes the beautiful
story of paradise, when the birds love each other, the trees too, the fish too,
the oak trees, the carp, the wagtails, the pine trees, the squirrels, the breezes,
the reeds, the roses, the rainbow over the water, the drops of dew, and two
people, On the roof of the cottage, I would like to be a little blue pigeon. I
would listen between the thatches, happy, like an angel listening to the good
Lord.
L’oiseau bleu
Aliénor, Eléonor, Genièvre, Ilse, Nausicaa, Viviane, Eve, Blancheflor, Urgèle et
Gwendoloéna, Carotte, Céphise, Amalthée, Rosalys, Rosalinde, rose, Eunice,
Eione, Galatée, Sylphes, nymphes, apothéose, Muses, MuseQe, Mélusine,
Musidora, Muse adorée, Germaine Tourangelle, Ondine, Calliope, clio dorée,
Vénus Anadyomède, Irène, Roxane, Io, reines, impératrices, fées, voix
heureuses d’être fé(es), Ah, Nourdjebane, Badroulboudour, la Sulamite et la
Sultane, Yseut, Isoline, Peu d’Ane, Amour, amour, amour, amour!
The blue bird
The third song of the set is the most abstract of the group. The listener is
presented with a litany of feminine figures (queens, Goddesses, mythical
figures) and a few other nouns thrown in (rose, apotheosis). Beydts, was
familiar with a playwright named Maeterlinck who wrote a play called "The
Bluebird." The play (1908) inspired an opera (1919) as well as this song (1935).
In the play, two children are instructed to go into a dream world and find a
"Bluebird of Happiness." They aren't successful...until they wake up!
Happiness wasn't as far away as they thought! The women in the song, as well
as some of the concepts, represent a seemingly unattainable beauty, power
and perfection. But at the end of the song the word “love” is repeated 4 times.
Just as the children in Maeterlinck’s play realized that the happiness they
sought was really in reality, Beydt’s wants listeners to realize that the power of
beauty and perfection is already among each and every one of us. It exists as
love.
Le petit serin en cage
Il était un petit jaune tout habillé de gris, canari, Qui demandait l’aumône aux
chats et aux souris, canari, toto canaro, canari. Compère Mistigri, le lairras tu,
le laissa tu souffri? Le chat d’la Mèr Michel, canari, ses moutach’s comme un
gril, canari, A fait la courte échelle aux rats et aux souris, canari, toto, canaro,
canari! Ah! père Mistrigri, me lairras tu, me lairras tu mouri? Tu t’en iras au
ciel, canari, croqué par les sourris, canari, les rats, (c’est rationnel) te
croqueront bien aussi, canari, toto canaro, canari. Et Mistigri chéri croqu’ra le
tout, miaou, Le chato, qui l’eût cru? C’est le père Lustucru, ce vieux monstre
malotru, qui l’a croquée tout cru.
The little canary in a cage
He was a little yellow all dressed of gray, canary, that begged for mercy from
cats and from mice, canary, Comrade Mistigri, will you let him suffer? The cat
of Mrs. Michel, canary, its whiskers like a grill, canary, gave a leg up to the rats
and mice, canary, Ah! Mr. Mistigri, will you let me die? You will go to heaven,
canary, chewed up by mice canary, the rats (it’s rational) will chew you well
also, canary. And dear Mistigri will chew them all, meow. The kitten, was that
raw? It is the father Lustucru, old, cad monster, which chewed him up all raw.
Giacomo Puccini: Mi chiamano Mimì (from La Bohème)
Text by: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica
Sì, mi chiamano Mimì, ma il mio nome è Lucia. La storia mia è breve: A tela o a
seta ricamo in casa e fuori… Son tranquilla e lieta ed è mio svago far gigli e
rose. Mi piaccion quelle cose che han sì dolce malia, che parlano d’amor, di
primavere, che parlano di sogni e di chimere, quelle cose che han nome
poesia. Lei m’intende? Mi chiamano Mimì , il perchè, non so. Sola, mi fo il
pranzo da me stessa. Non vado sempre a messa ma prego assai il Signor. Vivo
sola, soleQa, Là in una bianca camerata: guardo sui teQi e in cielo, Ma quando
vien lo sgelo il primo sole è mio, il primo bacio dell’aprile è mio! Germoglia in
un vaso una rosa… Foglia a foglia la spio! Così gentil il profumo d’un fior! Ma i
fior ch’io faccio, ahimè! I fior ch’io faccio, ahimè, non hanno odore! Altro di me
non le saprei narrare: sono la sua vicina che la vien fuori d’ora a importunar
I am called Mimì
Yes, I am called Mimì but my name is Lucia. My story is short: on canvas or on
silk I embroider at home and outside… I am quiet and happy and my hobby is
making lilies and roses. My delight are those things that have such sweet
charm, that speak of love, of springtime, that speak of dreams and fantasies,
those things that are named poetry. Do you understand me? My name is
Mimì, why, I don’t know. Alone, I make lunch on my own. I don't always go to
mass but I pray a lot to the Lord. I live alone, inside, there is a white small
bedroom: I look out on the roof and the sky, But when the thaw comes the
first sun is mine, the first kiss of April is mine! One rosebud in a vase… leaf by
leaf I watch! How gentle the scent of a flower! But the flowers that I make,
goodness, the flower that I make, goodness, don’t have a fragrance! I wouldn't
be able to recount other things of me, I am your neighbor who comes out of
nowhere this hour to disturb you.
INTERMISSION
Andreas Spaeth: Alpenlied Text by Anonymous
Froh, durch blüthenvolle Gründe, ziehn wir mit der LämmerSchar; Kühlung
spendend wehn die Winde, Duft steigt auf vom Bergaltar! Wenn die
Silberglöckchen klingen laut der Echo Ton verhallt, Heerden hin und wider
springen, o wie herrlich ist die Welt! Seht, die Quellen rieseln weiter und wir
ziehn mit ihnen fort; lichte Sterne sinde uns Leiter, führen uns von Ort zu Ort.
Jede Blume winkt uns leise selbst wenn sie der Mond erhellt, Jauchzend sing
ich diese Weise: O wie herrlich ist die Welt! Schwelgt in euren goldnen
SchäOen, Mächtige der grossen Welt! die Natur soll uns ergöOen wenn der
FliQer euch entfällt. Sie nur lohnt mit reicher Gabe, Sie allein uns nur gefällt,
Sie nur trägt des Füllhorns Habe, O wie herrlich ist die Welt!
Song of the Alps
Through full blooming ground we wander gladly with flocks of lambs; The
winds waft cooling, giving fragrance up the mountain's altar! When the silver
bells ring loud the echo sound dies away, Herds here and again springing O
how glorious is the world! See the springs babble on and we wander with their
flow; Bright stars are lighting us, leading us from place to place. Every flower
winks softly to us when the moon illuminates them, Cheerfully I sing this
melody: O how glorious is the world! Wallow in your golden treasure,
powerful men in the big world! Nature should delight us when the glitter
escapes you, She alone whose worth is like rich gifts, She alone pleases us, She
alone bears possessions, O how glorious is the world!
Louis Beydts: Chansons pour les oiseaux
Text by Paul Fort
La colombe poignardée
Si Dieu n’avait pas fait le soleil et les mondes, Il n’y aurait pas eu les douleurs,
ni ma blonde, Pas de coups, de sang rouge et ni ma bienaimée. Il n’y aurait sur
terre colombe poignardée. Si Dieu n’avait pas fait la lune et les orages, Il n’y
aurait pas eu de pleurs aux doux visages, Ni de couteau farouche et ni ma
bienaimée, Il n’y aurait sur terre colombe poignardée. Si Dieu n’avait pas fait
les jour après le jour, Il n’y aurait pas eu d’amour, ni mon amour! Il n’y aurait
sur terre colombe poignardée, et ni, Seigneur! ma bienaimée!
ABOUT THE INSTRUMENTALISTS
Richard Auvil currently serves as Director of Music at St. Paul the Apostle
Catholic Church in Greensboro. He remains active as an accompanist,
performer and teacher on a limited basis. A firm believer that fundamental
principles gleaned from his musical training are applicable to other facets of
life, Richard brings a unique perspective to investing (stocks and real estate) in
his spare time. Richard enjoys traveling and has performed in various
capacities in Australia, Austria, Croatia, and Italy. Richard received his
Doctorate in collaborative piano at the UNC Greensboro where he was a
recipient of a Hayes Fellowship. His past education includes a Masters in piano
performance, also from UNCG, and a B.F.A. in piano performance through the
Robert E. Cook Honors College at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In
addition to this degree-related study, he spent nearly a year at the University
of Zagreb, Croatia. As a former staff pianist at University of North Carolina
School of the Arts and as a freelance musician, Richard’s experience
encompasses countless recitals, performances and masterclasses with every
major instrument and voice type.
Multi-instrumentalist, Trevor Davis, has performed in nearly 110 cities across
the United States as a member of two national touring shows. Trevor has
performed on clarinet with the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra and the
Winston-Salem Symphony and saxophone with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic
(Fort Wayne, IN) and the Lafayette Symphony (Lafayette, IN). He also has
performed in several of the saxophone seats in a jazz ensemble with the Tony
Gairo – Gary Rissmiller Jazz Orchestra, the Al Cobine Big Band, and the Buselli
– Wallarab Jazz Orchestra and was the featured soloist as Benny Goodman
with the Russell Wilson Orchestra. As a doubler on clarinets, flute, piccolo, and
all the saxophones, he has played in pits for numerous productions such as A
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, West Side Story, and the
national tours of The Wizard of Oz and A Chorus Line. Originally from
Delaware, Trevor has a BA from Kuatown University, a MM in Jazz Studies
from Indiana University, and a MM in Multiple Woodwinds from UNC
Greensboro. He continued at UNCG and is currently pursuing a DMA in clarinet
performance where he studies with Dr. Anthony Taylor and Dr. Kelly Burk
Joann Martinson
soprano
Richard Auvil, piano
Trevor Davis, clarinet Voice Recital
First Baptist Church
Kernersville, NC
July 31, 2015
7:30pm