Program
A Green Lowland of Pianos, Op.45, No.2 – Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
•
Das Veilchen, K. 476 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Das Traumbild, K. 530 – Mozart
Abendempfindung, K. 523 – Mozart
•
Let us garlands bring, Op. 18 – Gerald Finzi (1901–1956)
Come away, come away, death
Who is Sylvia?
Fear no more the heat o' the sun
O Mistress Mine
It was a lover and his lass
Translations
Das Veilchen
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Ein Veilchen auf der Wiese stand,
Gebückt in sich und unbekannt;
Es war ein herzigs Veilchen.
Da kam ein’ junge Schäferin
Mit leichtem Schritt und muntrem Sinn
Daher, daher,
Die Wiese her, und sang.
Ach! denkt das Veilchen, wär ich nur
Die schönste Blume der Natur,
Ach, nur ein kleines Weilchen,
Bis mich das Liebchen abgepflückt
Und an dem Busen matt gedrückt!
Ach nur, ach nur
Ein Viertelstündchen lang!
Ach! aber ach! das Mädchen kam
Und nicht in Acht das Veilchen nahm,
Ertrat das arme Veilchen.
Es sank und starb und freut’ sich noch:
Und sterb’ ich denn, so sterb’ ich doch
Durch sie, durch sie,
Zu ihren Füßen doch.
Das arme Veilchen
Es war ein herzigs Veilchen!
The Violet
English Translation © Richard Stokes
A violet was growing in the meadow,
Unnoticed and with bowed head;
It was a dear sweet violet.
Along came a young shepherdess,
Light of step and happy of heart,
Along, along
Through the meadow, and sang.
Ah! thinks the violet, if I were only
The loveliest flower in all Nature,
Ah! for only a little while,
Till my darling had picked me
And crushed me against her bosom!
Ah only, ah only
For a single quarter hour!
But alas, alas, the girl drew near
And took no heed of the violet,
Trampled the poor violet.
It sank and died, yet still rejoiced:
And if I die, at least I die
Through her, through her
And at her feet.
The poor violet!
It was a dear sweet violet!
Das Traumbild
Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty
Wo bist du, Bild, das vor mir stand,
Als ich im Garten träumte,
In’s Haar den Rosmarin mir wand,
Der um mein Lager keimte?
Wo bist du, Bild, das vor mir stand,
Mir in die Seele blickte,
Und eine warme Mädchenhand
Mir an die Wangen drückte?
Nun such’ ich dich, mit Harm erfüllt,
Bald bei des Dorfes Linden,
Bald in der Stadt, geliebtes Bild,
Und kann dich nirgends finden.
Nach jedem Fenster blick’ ich hin,
Wo nur ein Schleier wehet,
Und habe meine Lieblingin
Noch nirgends ausgespähet.
Dein großes blaues Augenpaar,
Woraus ein Engel blickte;
Die Stirne, die so freundlich war,
Und guten Abend nickte;
Den Mund, der Liebe Paradies,
Die kleinen Wangengrübchen,
Wo sich der Himmel offen wies:
Bring’ alles mit, mein Liebchen!
Dream vision
English Translation © Richard Stokes 2019
Where are you, vision that stood before me,
As I dreamed in the garden,
And twined in my hair the rosemary
That grew around my couch?
Where are you, vision that stood before me,
Looked into my soul
And pressed your warm girl’s hand
Against my cheek?
I seek you, filled with grief,
Now by the village lime trees,
Now in the town, O lovely image,
And can find you nowhere.
I gaze in at every window,
Wherever a veil is blowing,
And have never yet
Espied my darling.
Your two great blue eyes,
From which an angel gazed,
The brow that nodded
Such a cheerful good evening;
The mouth, love’s paradise,
The little dimples on your cheek,
Those open gates of heaven:
Bring them all, my sweetest!
Abendempfindung
Joachim Heinrich Campe
Abend ist’s, die Sonne ist verschwunden,
Und der Mond strahlt Silberglanz;
So entflieh’n des Lebens schönste Stunden,
Flieh’n vorüber wie im Tanz!
Bald entflieht des Lebens bunte Szene,
Und der Vorhang rollt herab.
Aus ist unser Spiel! Des Freundes Träne
Fließet schon auf unser Grab.
Bald vielleicht mir weht, wie Westwind leise,
Eine stille Ahnung zu –
Schließ’ ich dieses Lebens Pilgerreise,
Fliege in das Land der Ruh’.
Werdet ihr dann an meinem Grabe weinen,
Trauernd meine Asche seh’n,
Dann, o Freunde, will ich euch erscheinen
Und will Himmel auf euch weh’n.
Schenk’ auch du ein Tränchen mir
Und pflücke mir ein Veilchen auf mein Grab;
Und mit deinem seelenvollen Blicke
Sieh’ dann sanft auf mich herab.
Weih mir eine Träne, und ach!
Schäme dich nur nicht, sie mir zu weih’n,
Oh, sie wird in meinem Diademe
Dann die schönste Perle sein.
Evening Thoughts
English Translation © Richard Stokes
It is evening, the sun has vanished,
And the moon sheds its silver light;
So life’s sweetest hours speed by,
Flit by as in a dance!
Soon life’s bright pageant will be over,
And the curtain will fall.
Our play is ended! Tears wept by a friend
Flow already on our grave.
Soon perhaps, like a gentle zephyr,
A silent presentiment will reach me,
And I shall end this earthly pilgrimage,
Fly to the land of rest.
If you then weep by my grave
And gaze mourning on my ashes,
Then, dear friends, I shall appear to you
Bringing a breath of heaven.
May you too shed a tear for me
And pluck a violet for my grave;
And let your compassionate gaze
Look tenderly down on me.
Consecrate a tear to me and ah!
Be not ashamed to do so;
In my diadem it shall become
The fairest pearl of all.
Translations © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder, published by Faber, provided courtesy of Oxford Lieder (www.oxfordlieder.co.uk)
About the Artists
Andrew Brown
Andrew Bearden Brown is a new resident of Baltimore and recent graduate of the Royal College of Music, where he was awarded a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Justin Lavender. His studies were further supported by the Their Serene Highnesses Dr Prince Donatus and Princess Heidi Von Hohenzollern Scholarship and the Mason Scholarship. Lauded by The Washington Post for his “pure” and “poignant” sound, he began his singing career as a treble in the Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys under the direction of Michael McCarthy. At the Cathedral he sang for services of national importance, including the state funerals of President Ronald Reagan, President Gerald Ford, and most recently John McCain. During this time he also soloed at the Kennedy Center and with Leonard Slatkin in acclaimed performances of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.
Following his undergraduate years at Brown University, Andrew Bearden Brown returned to Washington, where he developed a career as a Baroque soloist, specializing in Handel (Messiah – Providence Baroque/Brown University) and Bach (St. John Passion (solo) – Academy of Ancient Music & Voces8, Mass in B Minor – American Bach Soloists Academy, St. Matthew Passion – Providence/Brown (solo) & Buckingham Choral Society (Evangelist), Christmas Oratorio – Providence/Brown).
Andrew Bearden Brown’s operatic roles include Ernesto in Brown Opera Production’s Don Pasquale, Torquemada in RCM International Opera Studio’s L’heure espagnole, Ferrando in Felici Opera’s Così fan tutte, and Adolfo Pirelli in RCM’s Sweeney Todd.
Christian Lane
Winner of the 2011 Canadian International Organ Competition and director of Boston Organ Studio, Christian Lane is one of North America’s most accomplished, respected and dynamic concert organists and teachers. Noted for his "gratifying musical maturity, demonstrated through playing that is suave, elegant, and exciting (The American Organist),” he is a frequent recitalist in North America, Europe, and Asia. As founding director of Boston Organ Studio, Christian Lane cultivates the largest private organ studio in the United States. In doing so, he teaches students from all of Boston’s major universities — including Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology — and leads them in group learning experiences, including annual international study tours. A proponent of new music, he has commissioned and premiered many new works for organ, including significant contributions to the repertoire by Nico Muhly, Carson Cooman, and Graham Gordon Ramsay. Committed to supporting his profession, Mr. Lane has served in several leadership roles within the American Guild of Organists, most notably as national vice-president from 2014–16. Christian Lane holds degrees from Yale University and the Eastman School of Music, and has served in many notable positions, including at Harvard University and Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue (New York). In 2018–19, he served as Visiting Professor of Organ at McGill University in Montréal, Canada. Mr. Lane currently serves as Interim Director of Music at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore and is represented by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. For more information, please visit: www.ChristianLane.com and www.BostonOrganStudio.com