Sunday, 8 November
Vassar College and Community Wind Ensemble.
James Osborn, conductor.
3:00PM
Skinner Hall of Music
Saturday, 14 November
Senior Recital: Patrick Walker, organ.
Works for solo organ by Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn,
Messiaen, and Franck. Members of the Vassar Camerata
join for Handel’s Concerto for Organ No.13, “The Cuckoo and
the Nightingale.” The concert will begin in Skinner Hall and,
after a brief intermission, will conclude in the Chapel.
12:00PM
Skinner Hall of Music
Chapel
Sunday, 15 November
Gail Archer, organ.
An all-Russian program on the Vassar College Chapel’s
Gress Miles Organ.
3:00PM
Chapel
Saturday, 21 November
Senior Recital: Corinne Cotta, soprano.
Assisted by Richard Mogavero, piano. Works by J.S. Bach,
Brahms, Gounod, Mozart, Rossini and others.
4:00PM
Skinner Hall of Music
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e-newsletter, This Weekend in Skinner, please call the Concert Administrator’s office,
845-437-7294, or contact the music department through its website,
http://music.vassar.edu.
t h e d e pa rt m e n t o f m u s i c
VASSAR COLLEGE
Vassar College Choir
presents
Dido and Aeneas
by
Henry Purcell
Libretto by Nahum Tate
Christine Howlett, conductor
Drew Minter, stage director
Faculty and Student Orchestra
Saturday, 7 November 2015
8:00pm
Martel Recital Hall
Skinner Hall of Music
˜™
“Setting the Scene for Dido”
A pre-concert talk with Julie and Frans Muller, 7:00pm
Please silence all cell phones or other personal electronic devices and refrain from
texting. Use of these instruments will disturb other audience members and cause
interference with in-house recording and webcasting.
Program
Jauchzet dem Herren, SWV 36
Heinrich Schütz
(1585-1672)
Corinne Cotta ’16, soprano, Sarah Johnson ’16, alto,
Jonggeol Kim ’16, tenor, Logan Pitts ’17, bass
Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230
Johann Sebastian Bach
(1685-1750)
Short interval
Dido and Aeneas
Henry Purcell
(1659-1695)
˜™
Dido and Aeneas, (1680s) is loosely based on Book IV of Virgil’s
Aeneid. It is Henry Purcell’s only opera which is sung throughout. It is
a chamber opera, only an hour long, and one of his best-known and most
beloved works.
This is the story of the hero Aeneas who, after fleeing burning
Troy, is shipwrecked and washed ashore on the north coast of Africa.
There, he is received by Dido, founder and queen of Carthage, whom he
has to leave after a short but passionate love affair. He is made to think
by an evil sorceress that the gods demand his departure and both he and
Dido are broken-hearted, resulting in Dido’s death. – Julie Muller
Photography and videography is not permitted in Martel Recital Hall without prior
approval by the Concerts Administrator.
ORCHESTRA
Violin 1: Linda Quan (faculty)
Jaylin Remensperger ’17
Hayley Rothman ’16
Violin 2: Marka Young (faculty)
Kylie Prutisto-Chang ’16
Catherine Bellezza ’18
Viola: Elizabeth Handman
Isabel Morrison ’19
Cello: Susan Seligman
Bass: Henry Carroll ’16
Harpsichord: James Fitzwilliam
˜™
Frans and Julie Muller started out in totally different professions. Frans was an
interior architect, Julie taught English and American literature. By their forties,
their mutual love of early music and theatre had led them into byways: Frans
studying historical theatres and their scenery and effects, Julie doing her PhD
thesis on the linguistic aspects of Purcell’s opera, Dioclesian (1690). As both
their specializations cover little-known aspects of English baroque opera, they
found themselves writing articles for early music magazines and lecturing from
Seattle to Singapore, especially after retirement. As they achieved more leisure
time, they did more practical work in their chosen field as well: Frans has produced a number of historically informed animations of scenes from the Purcell
operas (see www.fransandjuliemuller.nl) and Julie coaches singers on the correct
pronunciation of Early Modern English. The Mullers live in Amsterdam, their
children and grandchildren live spread out across three continents. Frans and
Julie hope to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary in June.
˜™
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to Paul O’Connor of the Drama Department for his willingness to
loan props for this performance, to our wonderful orchestra made up of faculty,
members of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, and students, to Frans and Julie
Muller for offering a private lecture for the performers and the public, pre-concert talk, and finally, a huge thank you to Drew Minter for his stage direction and
never-ending enthusiasm.
-CH
Alto
Anna Abrams ’18 (International Studies, French & Francophone
Studies correlate)
Lily Carruthers ’19 (Undeclared)
Corinne Cotta ’16 (Physics and Astronomy)
Eileen Doyle-Samay ’19 (Undeclared)
Alex Gittens ’17 (Biochemistry)
Sara Goldberg ’18 (Women’s Studies, Art History correlate)
Jackie Hwang ’19 (Undeclared)
Sarah Johnson ’16 (Music and Medieval & Renaissance Studies)
Allegra Kaufman ’19 (Undeclared)
Jay Leichtman ’18 (Biology, Creative Writing correlate)
Kataura Ross ’17 (Political Science, International Studies correlate)
Stephanie Saint Germain ’18 (Psychology, Anthropology correlate)
Karla Zabala ’19 (Neuroscience & Behavior)
Tenor
James Boyd ’19 (Undeclared)
Zack Brashear ’18 (Economics and Russian)
Joshua Bruce ’16 (Biology, German Studies correlate)
Nick Ginsburg ’18 (Music and Geography)
Jonggeol Kim ’16 (Biology, Mathematics & Statistics correlate)
Jordan Peyer ’18 (Neuroscience and Biology, Spanish correlate)
Nick Ruggeri ’18 (Music)
Joseph Sopchak ’16 (Music)
Daniel Young ’17 (Music)
Spencer Virtue ’16 (Music)
George Luton ’19 (Undeclared)
Bass
Alex Bartholomew ’19 (Undeclared)
Remy Beauregard ’19 (Undeclared)
Ari Bell ’18 (Music and Drama)
Phil Chen ’16 (Economics, History & Computer Science correlates)
Conor Chinitz ’18 (Music)
Dylan Fruh ’17 (Studio Art)
Pietro Geraci ’18 (Physics and Astronomy)
Jason Goldman ’18 (Sociology)
Jeremy Middleman ’18 (Undeclared)
Michael Oosterhout ’18 (Music and Greek & Roman Studies)
Logan Pitts ’17 (Drama)
Seamus Taylor ’17 (Political Science)
Patrick Walker ’16 (Music)
THE ACTION
OVERTURE
Act 1, in which Dido fears her amorous feelings for Aeneas. Persuaded
by her confidante, Belinda, and the rest of her court, Dido accepts Aeneas
as her love and a Triumphing Dance ends the act.
“Shake the cloud from off your Brow”
Belinda
“Ah! Belinda, I am pressed with torment”
Dido
“When monarchs unite”
Chorus
“Fear no danger to ensue”
Belinda and Second Woman, Chorus
“Cupid only throws the dart”
Chorus
“Pursue thy conquest, Love”
Belinda
“To the hills and the vales”
Chorus
Triumphing Dance
Act 2, Scene 1, in which the Sorceress and her train of witches plot the
downfall of Dido in a Cave.
“Wayward sisters”
Sorceress
“Harm’s our delight”
Chorus
“Ho, ho, ho”
Chorus
“But ere we this perform”
First and Second Witches
“In our deep vaulted cell”
Chorus
Echo Dance of Furies
Act 2, Scene 2, in which Dido and her train picnic upon a mountain.
The Second Woman tells the story of Actaeon’s fateful meeting with the
goddess Diana, and the courtiers act it out. Aeneas enters from his successful hunt, and the court is forced to disband by the arrival of a storm.
Aeneas is detained by the Sorceress’s Spirit, in the form of Mercury, who
commands Aeneas to continue his mission to Italy, and Aeneas sings a
sad ballad.
“Thanks to these lonesome vales”
Belinda, Chorus
“Oft she visits this lone mountain”
Second Woman
“Haste, haste to town”
Belinda, Chorus
“Stay, Prince, and hear great Jove’s command”
Spirit, Aeneas
Act 3, Scene 1, in which Sailors prepare to leave Carthage for the sea.
The Sorceress and her witches approve the scene.
“Come away, fellow sailors”
Sailor, Chorus
The Sailors’ Dance
“See, the flags and streamers curling”
Sorceress and Witches
“Our next motion must be to storm her lover”
Sorceress
“Destruction’s our delight”
Chorus
The Witches’ Dance
Act 3, Scene 2, in which Dido, wounded at Aeneas’s decision to leave
Carthage, dies of a broken heart.
“Your counsel all is urg’d in vain”
Dido, Belinda, Aeneas
“Great minds against themselves conspire”
Chorus
“When I am laid in earth”
Dido
“With drooping wings ye Cupids come”
Chorus
PERFORMERS
CAST OF DIDO AND AENEAS
DidoRachel Fuerstman ’16
AeneasSeamus Taylor ’17
BelindaRuby Pierce ’16
Second Woman
Elisabeth Boyce-Jacino ’18
SorceressGileann Tan ’17
First Witch
Alyssa Caplan ’16
Second Witch
Camilla Hippee ’17
SpiritDaniel Young ’17
SailorJoshua Bruce ’16
˜™
VASSAR COLLEGE CHOIR
Soprano
Elisabeth Boyce-Jacino ’18 (Cognitive Science, Chemistry and Music & Culture
double correlate)
Alyssa Caplan ’16 (Biology)
Avery Dove ’19 (Undeclared)
Emily Drossell ’19 (Undeclared)
Camilla Hippee ’17 (Biology, Mathematics & Statistics correlate)
Emma Mertens ’19 (Undeclared)
Ruby Pierce ’16 (Music, Victorian Studies correlate)
Sarah Rodeo ’17 (Music)
Gileann Tan ’17 (Music, Computer Science correlate)
Nora Telford ’18 (Math, Music Theory correlate)
Anisa Threlkeld ’18 (Drama and Psychology)
Mira Villesvik ’17 (Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Greek & Roman Studies
correlate)