PROGRAM:
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904): Gypsy Songs, op. 55 (excerpts)
Rebecca Clarke (1886-1979):
_The Salley Gardens_
_The Cloths of Heaven_
Cecilia Livingston: _Penelope_
_\*intermission_
Fernando Obradors (1897-1945): Canciones Clásicas Españolas
Percy Grainger (1882-1961): Ramble on the final love duet from _Der Rosenkavalier_
Richard Strauss (1864-1949), arr. Carson Becke:_ Four Last Songs_
_Frühling (Spring)_
_September_
_Beim schlafengehen (Going to Sleep)_
_Im Abendrot (At Sunset)_
PROGRAM NOTE:
Meghan and I have been working together for a few years now, and this program takes a long and winding road through some of our favourite creators of art song. Dvorak’s _Gypsy Songs _are whimsical, folkloristic pieces that evoke the Slovak countryside. Rebecca Clarke is one of my favourite twentieth-century composers, and I think the considerable number of songs she wrote through her long career are her crowning achievement. The two presented here are extremely tender: _The Salley Gardens _is a melancholy arrangement of an old British folksong that tells a poignant story of heartbreak. _The Cloths of Heaven _is a setting of William Butler Yates’ most famous poem - the poem is a declaration of love, but the way Clarke sets it presents the text in an eerie, ominous light. Cecilia Livingston is one of Canada’s preeminent young vocal composers: her works have been performed in some of the world’s most prestigious settings, including opera premieres at the Glyndebourne Festival in the UK, and recordings on Deutsche Grammophon. _Penelope - _as in the character from Homer’s Odyssey - is a haunting portrait of a woman who is waiting for the return of her love, long after hope has vanished. On a lighter note, Obradors’ _Cancionas Clásicas _are lighthearted, sometimes nonsensical folk-inspired Spanish art songs. The final part of the program is dedicated to the music of Richard Strauss. First, Percy Grainger’s shimmering re-imagination of the end of Strauss’s _Der Rosenkavalier. _To end the evening, the four transcendent songs that Strauss penned in the last year of his life. The cycle ends with a musical sunset in _Im Abendrot: _
