A
Garyth Nair, Music Director and Conductor
Jason Asbury, Assistant Conductor and Accompanist
Large Print Supplement
Summit Chorale is Chorus in Residence at Drew University
St. John’s Lutheran Church, Summit, NJ
Saturday, March 10, 2001, 8:00PM
Romance Is In the Air
Maya Daniels, soprano
Alan GaNun, tenor
Elaine F. Gennaro, soprano
Candus Hedberg, soprano
Ellis Hilton, bass
M. Beth Lohner, alto
Josephine Mescallado, soprano
Margaret Sherman, alto
Linda Eriksen, accompanist
Matrthew Henning, piano
Jason Asbury, conductor
SUMMIT CHORALE
PROGRAM
I
Mendelssohn and Schubert
Lerchengesang, Op. 48, No. 4
Der Tanz, D. 826
Geist der Liebe, D. 747
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Franz Schubert
Men of Summit Chorale
Ständchen, D. 920a
Franz Schubert
solo: Ms. Daniels
Men of Summit Chorale
II
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
from Spanisches Liederspiel, Op. 74
No. 5 Es ist verrathen
No. 2 Intermezzo
Men of the Camerata
No. 8 Botschaft
Women of the Camerata
No. 9 Ich bin geliebt
The Camerata
III
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)
Schweigend sinkt die Nacht
Waldeinsam
soli: Ms. Mescallado, Ms. Sherman, Mr. GaNun, Mr. Hilton
IV
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Der Feuerreiter
— INTERMISSION —
(15 Minutes)
V
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
from Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65
No. 14 Flammenauge
soli: Ms. Gennaro, Ms. Lohner
No. 5 Wahre
solo: Ms. Hedberg
No. 13 Nein, Geliebter
Women of Summit Chorale
No. 8 Weiche Gräser
No. 7 Vom Gebirge
VI
More Brahms
from Waltzes, Op. 39 (for piano with four hands)
No. 1
No. 7
No. 4
No. 15
No. 14
Ms. Eriksen and Mr. Henning, piano
VII
Still More Brahms
Fragen, Op. 64, No. 3
An die Heimat, Op. 64, No. 1
Tafellied, Op. 93b
Kleine Hochzeits-Kantate
Funding has been made possible in part by the
New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Department of State,
through a grant administered by the Union County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs.
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•••
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TEXTS & TRANSLATIONS
Lerchengesang (Lark’s Song)
Wie lieblicher Klang, O Lerche, dein Sang!
er hebt sich, er schwingt sich in Wonne.
Du nimmst mich von hier, ich singe mit dir,
wir steigen durch Wolken zur Sonne.
How lovely a sound, oh lark, is your song!
It soars, it rises in bliss.
You take me away, I sing with you,
we climb through clouds toward the sun.
Der Tanz (The Dance)
Es redet und träumet die Jugend so viel,
von Tanzen, Galloppen, Gelagen,
auf einmal erreicht sie ein trügliches Ziel,
da hört man sie seufzen und klagen.
Youth all too often talk and dream
about dancing, galloping, and drinking.
when suddenly, they reach a deceptive goal
as one hears them sighing, complaining;
Bald schmerzet der Hals,
und bald schmerzet die Brust,
verschwunden ist alle die himmlische Lust.
Now acheth the neck,
and now acheth the chest,
vanished is all that heavenly joy.
„Nur diesmal noch kehr’mir Gesundheit zurück!“
so flehet vom Himmel der hoffende Blick!
“Restore good health to me only this once,”
their hopeful glance beseeches Heaven.
Geist der Liebe (Spirit of Love)
Der Abend schleiert Flur und Hain
in traulich holde Dämm’rung ein,
hell flimmt, wo gold’ne Wölkchen zieh’n,
der Stern der Liebeskönigin.
Evening veils meadow and bush
with intimate, lovely dusk,
brightly shines, where golden clouds float,
the star of love’s queen.
Die Wogenfluth hallt Schlummerklang,
die Bäume lispeln Abendsang,
der Wiese Gras umgaukelt lind
mit Sylphenkuß der Frühlingswind.
The surf reflects a sleepy sound,
trees whisper an evening song,
a spring breeze gently flutters about
the meadow’s grass, like a sylph’s kiss.
Der Geist der Liebe wirkt und strebt,
wo nur ein Puls der Schöpfung bebt,
im Strom, wo Wog’ in Woge fließt,
im Hain, wo Blatt an Blatt sich schließt.
The spirit of love works and strives,
wherever creation’s pulse trembles,
in the river, where wave flows upon wave,
in the bush, where leaf is close to leaf.
O Geist der Liebe, führe du
dem Jüngling die Erkor’ne zu,
ein Minneblick der Trauten hellt
mit Himmelsglanz die Erdenwelt.
O spirit of love, may you guide
the chosen one to the young man,
a loving glance of the beloved
brightens the earth with heaven’s gleam.
Ständchen (Serenade)
Zögernd, leise,
in des Dunkels nächt’ger Hülle
sind wir hier.
Und der Finger sanft gekrümmt,
leise, pochen wir
an des Liebchens Kammertür.
Hesitant, quiet,
in the night’s dark stillness
we are here.
And with gently crooked finger,
softly, we knock
on our sweetheart’s chamber door.
Doch nun steigend, schwellend,
hebend mit vereinter Stimme laut,
rufen aus wir hochvertraut:
schlaf’ du nicht,
wenn der Neigung Stimme spricht!
But now, rising, swelling,
our united voices raising,
we call, loudly, confidently:
“Do not sleep
when the voice of love speaks!”
Sucht’ ein Weiser nah’ und ferne
Menschen einst mit der Laterne.
Wie viel seltner dann als Gold
Menschen uns geneigt und hold.
Drum wenn Freundschaft Liebe spricht,
Freundin, Liebchen, schlaf’ du nicht!
If a sage once searched for humans
near and far with lantern shining.
How much rarer it is than gold
to find someone affectionate and gracious.
So when friendship speaks of love,
Dearest, Darling, do not sleep!
Aber was in allen Reichen
war dem Schlummer zu vergleichen?
Drum statt Worten und statt Gaben
sollst du nun auch Ruhe haben.
Noch ein Grüßchen, noch ein Wort,
es verstummt die frohe Weise.
Leise, schleichen wir uns wieder fort.
But what in all the world
can be compared to slumber?
So, instead of words and gifts,
you shall now have peace.
One more little greeting, one more word,
then the gay tune dies away.
Softly, we steal away again.
Es ist verrathen (It is revealed)
Daß ihr steht in Liebesgluth,
Schlaue, läßt sich leicht gewahren.
Refrain:
Und die Wangen offenbaren,
was geheim im Herzen ruht.
That you are burning with love’s glow,
clever one, is noticed easily.
Refrain:
And your cheeks disclose
what secretly rests in your heart.
Stets an Seufzern sich zu weiden,
stets zu weinen statt zu singen,
wach die Nächte hinzubringen
und den süßen Schlaf zu meiden;
das sind Zeichen jener Gluth,
die dein Antlitz läßt gewahren.
Refrain
Always to enjoy deep sighing,
always to cry instead of singing,
to spend your nights waking,
and to avoid sweet sleep;
these are signals of the glow
that your countenance reveals.
Refrain
Liebe, Geld und Kummer halt’ ich
für am schwersten zu verhehlen,
denn auch bei den strengsten Seelen
drängen sie sich vor gewaltig.
Jener unruhvolle Muth
läßt zu deutlich sie gewahren.
Refrain
I consider love, money, and sorrow,
as the most difficult to hide,
for even in the sternest souls
they strongly rush to the fore.
That restless spirit
betrays them all too openly.
Refrain
Intermezzo
Und schläfst du, mein Mädchen,
auf! öffne du mir,
denn die Stund’ is gekommen,
da wir wandern von hier,
Though you may be sleeping, my girl,
Awake, open the door for me,
For the hour has arrived,
When we walk away from here;
und bist ohne Sohlen, leg’ keine dir an,
durch reißende Wasser geht unsere Bahn,
durch die tief, tiefen Wasser des Guadalquivir,
denn die Stund’ ist gekommen,
da wir wandern von hier,
auf! öffne du mir!
if you are wearing no shoes, don’t put any on,
our path will lead through rapid waters,
through the deep, deep waters of the Guadalquivir,
for the hour has arrived,
when we walk away from here;
awake, open the door for me!
Botschaft (Message)
Nelken wind’ ich und Jasmin,
und es denkt mein Herz an ihn.
I’m twining carnations with jasmin
and my heart thinks of him.
Nelken all’, ihr flammenrothen,
die der Morgen mir beschert,
zu ihm send’ ich euch als Boten
jener Gluth, die mich verzehrt,
und ihr weißen Blüthen werth,
sanft mit Düften grüßet ihn,
sagt ihm, daß ich bleich vor Sehnen,
daß auf ihn ich harr’ in Thränen!
Oh, you fiery red carnations
which each morning gives to me,
I send you as messengers to him,
of the fire that consumes me,
and you precious blossoms, white,
with your fragrance gently greet him;
tell him that I’m pale with yearning,
that for him I’m waiting in tears.
Tausend Blumen thauumfloßen
find’ ich neu im Thal erwacht,
alle sind erst heut’ entsproßen,
aber hin ist ihre Pracht,
wenn der nächste Morgen lacht.
Sprich, du duftiger Jasmin, sprecht,
ihr flammenrothen Nelken, sprecht,
kann so schnell auch Liebe welken?
Ach, es denkt mein Herz an ihn!
A thousand blossoms, damp with dew,
I find newly awakened in the valley,
all of them blooming just today,
their splendor vanished
when another morning dawns.
Speak, fragrant jasmin, speak,
you flaming red carnations, speak
can love wither just as fast?
Ah, my heart thinks of him!
Ich bin geliebt (I am loved)
Mögen alle bösen Zungen
immer sprechen, was beliebt:
Refrain:
Wer mich liebt, den lieb’ ich wieder,
und ich weiß, ich bin geliebt!
Let all evil tongues
speak whatever they may want:
Refrain:
Him who loves me, I love in return,
and I know that I am loved!
Schlimme, schlimme Reden flüstern
eure Zungen schonungslos,
doch ich weiß es, sie sind lüstern
nach unschuld’gem Blute blos.
Nimmer soll es mich bekümmern,
schwatzt so viel es euch beliebt;
Refrain
Evil, evil gossip whisper
your tongues mercilessly,
but I know they only lust
after innocent blood.
Never shall it bother me,
babble to your hearts’ content;
Refrain
continued …
Zur Verläeumdung sich verstehet,
nur wem Lieb’ und Gunst gebach,
weil’s ihm selber elend gehet
und ihn niemand nimmt und mag,
darum denk’ ich, daß die Liebe,
drum sie schmäh’n, mir Ehre giebt;
Refrain
Only he is skilled in slander
who lacks being favored, loved,
since he himself is so wretched
and no one woos and wants him.
That’s why I think that love,
which they revile, gives me honor;
Refrain
Wenn ich wär’aus Stein und Eisen,
möchtet ihr darauf besteh’n,
daß ich sollte von mir weisen
Liebesgruß und Liebesfleh’n;
doch mein Herzlein ist nun leider
weich, wie’s Gott uns Menschen giebt.
Refrain
If I were made of stone and iron,
you might insist
that I should reject
love’s greeting and love’s pleas.
But, unfortunately, my little heart is soft,
as God gives it to us humans.
Refrain
Schweigend sinkt die Nacht (Silently Descends the Night)
Schweigend sinkt die Nacht hernieder,
still verglimmt des Abends Pracht,
leis’ verklingen unsre Lieder,
leiser klingt die Welle wieder,
unsre Fahrt, sie ist vollbracht,
leise, leise, gute Nacht.
Silently descends the night,
silently evening’s splendor dies out,
softly our songs ebb away,
softer yet, the waves retreat,
our journey, it is ended,
softly, softly, good night.
Waldeinsam (Forest Solitude)
Wie hoffnungsgrün ist rings die Welt,
ein strahlend’ Blühn, ein Glanz und Glühn,
vom Boden bis zum Himmelszelt.
How green with hope the world around,
radiant blooming, splendor, glow,
from forest depth to heaven’s heights.
Allmächtig schallt durch Blüth’ und Baum,
und wieder wallt und widerhallt
der Liebe goldner Morgentraum
Love’s golden morning dream
sounds mightily through bloom and tree,
resounds again, reverberates.
Waldeinsamkeit so rings und rund,
so ruhend weit, vertraut, befreit,
ertöne Lied von meinem Mund.
Forest solitude surrounding me,
so deeply restful, intimate, set free,
break forth, song, from my mouth.
Thanks to Heinz D. Roth and Robin Taylor Roth
for their invaluable assistance with the translation
Der Feuerreiter (The Fire-Rider)
Sehet ihr am Fensterlein
dort die rote Mütze wieder?
nicht geheuer muß es sein,
denn er geht schon auf und nieder,
Und auf einmal welch Gewühle
bei der Brücke, nach dem Feld!
Horch! das Feuerglöcklein gellt:
hinter’m Berg, hinter’m Berg,
brennt es in der Mühle!
Do you see at the window
the red cap there again?
There must be something wrong,
for it’s moving up and down.
And suddenly what an uproar
near the bridge, beyond the field!
Listen! the fire bell shrills
Behind the mountain, behind the mountain,
there’s a fire in the mill!
Schaut! da sprengt er wütendh schier
durch das Thor, der Feuerreiter,
auf dem rippendürren Thier,
als auf einer Feuerleiter!
Querfeldein! durch Qualm und Schwüle
rennt er schon und ist am Ort!
Drüben schallt es fort und fort:
hinter’m Berg, hinter’m Berg,
brennt es in der Mühle!
Look! there he gallops furiously
through the gate, the fire-rider,
on his beast, thin as a lath,
as if on a fire-ladder.
Across the field, through smoke and heat,
he hurries and reaches the spot.
Beyond, the noise goes on and on:
Behind the mountain, behind the mountain,
there’s a fire in the mill!
Der so oft den roten Hahn
meilenweit von fern gerochen,
mit des heil’gen Kreuzes Spahn
freventlich die Gluth besprochen —
Weh! Dir grinst vom Dachgestühle
dort der Feind im Höllenschein.
Gnade Gott der Seele dein!
hinter’m Berg, hinter’m Berg,
rast er in der Mühle!
He who often smelt the fire,
from afar, from miles away,
and with a splinter of the Holy Cross,
blasphemously conjured up the blaze –
Woe to you! from the rafters grins
the fiend at you in light infernal.
May God have mercy on your soul!
Behind the mountain, behind the mountain,
he’s raging in the mill!
Keine Stunde hielt es an,
bis die Mühle borst in Trümmer;
doch den kecken Reitersmann
sah man von der Stunde nimmer.
Volk und Wagen im Gewühle
kehren heim von all dem Graus;
auch das Glöcklein klinget aus:
hinter’m Berg, hinter’m Berg,
brennt’s! —
It didn’t take an hour
before the mill burst into ruins;
but the daring horseman
was not seen again from that hour on.
People and wagons in confusion
return home from all the horror;
the bell dies away, too:
Behind the mountain, behind the mountain,
there’s a fire! –
Nach der Zeit ein Müller fand
ein Gerippe sammt der Mützen
aufrecht an der Kellerwand
auf der beiner’n Mähre sitzen:
Feuerreiter, wie so kühle
reitest du in deinem Grab!
Husch! da fällt’s in Asche ab.
Ruhe wohl, ruhe wohl
drunten in der Mühle!
Afterwards a miller found
a skeleton with its cap
upright on the cellar wall
sitting on the bones of a mare.
Fire-rider, how coolly
you ride in your grave!
Sh! it collapses into ashes.
Rest in peace, rest in peace
down there in the mill!
Flammenauge (Fiery Eye)
Flammenauge, dunkles Haar,
Knabe wonnig und verwogen.
Kummer ist durch dich hinein,
in mein armes Herz gezogen!
Fiery eye, dark hair,
lovely and bold youth,
grief has entered, due to you,
into my poor heart.
Kann in Eis der Sonne Brand?
Sich in Nacht der Tag verkehren?
Kann die heiße Menschenbrust
athmen ohne Glut begehren?
Can the sun’s fire turn to ice?
Can day change into night?
Can the ardent human breast
breathe without glowing desire?
Ist die Flur so voller Licht,
daß die Blum im Dunkel stehe?
Ist die Welt so voller Lust,
daß das Herz in Qual vergehe?
Is the field so full of light
that the flower stands in darkness?
Is the world so full of mirth,
that the heart in torment perishes?
Wahre (Guard)
Wahre, wahre deinen Sohn,
Nachbarin, vor Wehe.
Weil ich ihn mit schwarzem Aug’
zu bezaubern gehe.
Guard, oh guard your son
oh neighbor, from harm,
for I will, with my dark eyes,
bewitch him.
O wie brennt das Auge mir,
das zu zünden fordert!
Flammet ihm die Seele nicht
deine Hütte lodert.
Oh, how my eye burns
demanding to enflame him!
If his soul is not kindled,
your hut shall catch fire.
Nein, Geliebter (No, Beloved)
Nein, Geliebter, setze dich mir so nahe nicht!
Starre nicht so brünstiglich mir in’s Angesicht.
No, Beloved, do not sit so close to me!
Do not stare so fervently into my face.
Wie es auch im Busen brennt,
dämpfe, dämpfe deinen Trieb,
daß es nicht die Welt erkennt
wie wir uns so lieb, so lieb.
Even though your bosom may burn,
Subdue, subdue your longings,
lest the world shall recognize
how dear we are to each other.
Weiche Gräser (Soft Grasses)
Weiche Gräser im Revier,
schöne stille Plätzchen!
O wie linde ruht es hier
sich mit einem Schätzchen!
Soft grasses in the woods,
lovely quiet little places!
Oh, how gently one can rest
with a sweetheart, here!
Vom Gebirge (From the Mountains)
Vom Gebirge Well’ auf Well’
kommen Regengüße.
Und ich gäbe dir so gern
hundert, tausend Küße.
From the mountains, wave on wave,
rush torrents of rain
and I’d love to shower you
with a hundred thousand kisses.
Fragen (Questions)
Mein liebes Herz, was ist dir?
Ich bin verliebt, das ist mir.
Wie ist dir denn zu Mut?
Ich brenn in Höllenglut.
Erquicket dich kein Schlummer?
Den litte Qual und Kummer?
Gelingt kein Widerstand?
Wie doch bei solchem Band?
Ich hoffe, Zeit wirds wenden,
Es wirds der Tod nur enden.
Was gäbst du, sie zu sehn?
Mich, dich, Welt, Himmelshöhn.
Du redest ohne Sinn!
Weil ich in Liebe bin.
Du mußt vernünftig sein,
Das heißt, so kalt wie Stein.
Du wirst zu Grunde gehen!
Ach, möcht es bald geschehen!
My dearest heart, what ails thee?
I am in love, that ails me.
How is your spirit then?
Hell’s flames burn in my heart.
Will slumber soothe your sorrows?
Do pain and sorrow allow slumber?
Why can you not resist?
How could I, with these ties?
I hope that time will change it.
There’s naught but death can end it.
What would you give to see her?
Me, you, earth, heaven’s heights.
You’re speaking without sense!
Because I am in love.
You must be rational!
That is, as cold as stone.
You’ll surely go to ruin!
If only it happened soon!
An die Heimat (To My Homeland)
Heimat! Wunderbar tönendes Wort!
Wie auf befiederten Schwingen
ziehst du mein Herz zu dir fort.
Jubelnd, als müßt ich den Gruß
jeglicher Seele dir bringen,
trag ich zu dir meinen Fuß,
freundliche Heimat!
Homeland! Wonderful sounding word!
As on the wings of a bird
you draw my heart close to you.
Joyful, as though I must bring
greetings from everyone,
I turn my steps now to you,
welcoming homeland!
Bei dem sanft klingenden Ton
wecken mich alte Gesänge,
die in der Ferne mich flohn;
rufen mir freudenvoll zu
heimatlich lockende Klänge:
du nur allein bist die Ruh,
schützende Heimat!
With gentle, melodious tone
old songs awaken me
that vanished in lands far away;
joyfully they call out to me
native alluring sounds:
you, only you offer calm,
protecting homeland!
Gib mir den Frieden zurück,
den ich im Weiten verloren,
gib mir dein blühendes Glück!
Unter den Bäumen am Bach,
wo ich vor Zeiten geboren,
gib mir ein schützendes Dach,
liebende Heimat!
Grant me once more the peace
that I had lost far away,
grant me your blossoming joy!
Under the trees by the brook,
where I was born ages ago,
grant me a safe dwelling place,
loving homeland!
Tafellied (Table Song)
Die Frauen
Gleich wie Echo frohen Liedern
fröhlich Antwort geben muß,
so auch nah’n wir und erwiedern
dankend den galanten Gruß.
The Ladies
Just as Echo always answers
cheerfully to cheerful songs,
so we come and reply
with thanks to the gallant greeting.
Die Männer
O, ihr Güt’gen und Charmanten!
Für des Echos holden Schwung
nehmt der lust’gen Musikanten
ganz ergeb’ne Huldigung.
The Gentlemen
O you fair and charming ladies!
For Echo’s lovely ardor
accept the merry musicians’
fully devoted reverence.
Die Frauen
Doch ihr huldigt, will’s uns dünken,
andern Göttern nebenbei!
Roth und golden seh’n wir’s blinken
sagt, wie das zu nehmen sei?
The Ladies
But it seems to us that other
gods enjoy your homage too.
Red and gold we see it gleaming,
speak, how shall we deal with this?
Die Männer
Theure! zierlich mit drei Fingern,
sich’rer mit der ganzen Hand
und so füllt man aus den Dingern’s
Glas nicht halb, nein, bis zum Rand.
The Gentlemen
Dearest, with three graceful fingers,
with the whole hand more secure,
that is how you fill the glasses
not half full, but to the rim.
Die Frauen
Nun, wir sehen, ihr seid Meister;
doch wir sind heut’ liberal;
hoffentlich, als schöne Geister,
treibt ihr’s etwas ideal.
The Ladies
Well, we see that you are experts;
but we’re tolerant today;
hopefully, as handsome spirits,
you’ll strive for noble goals.
Die Männer
Jeder nippt und denkt die Seine;
und wer nichts Besond’res weiß:
Nun, der trinkt in’s Allgemeine
frisch zu aller Schönen Preis!
The Gentlemen
Each one sips to his fair lady,
and who lacks that special one,
well, he’ll drink more generally,
to the praise of all ladies fair!
Alle
Recht so! Klingt denn in die Runde
an zu Dank und Gegendank!
Sänger, Frau’n, wo die im Bunde,
da giebt’s einen hellen Klang!
Everyone
Well done! Let's join in a round
of thanks and counter-thanks!
Singers, ladies, joined together
raise a truly pleasing sound!
Kleine Hochzeits-Kantate (Little Wedding Music)
Zwei Geliebte, treu verbunden
gehen durch die Welt spazoren.
Jedes hat sein Herz verloren,
doch das Andre hats gefunden.
Two lovers, truly joined,
promenade throughout the world.
Each of them has lost his heart,
but the other one has found it.
Jeder trägt die leichte Last
wie die Uhr am Kettchen fast.
Also gehts auf Steg und Wegen
ruhig fort mit gleichen Schlägen.
Each one bears an easy load,
fastened as the watch to the chain.
Thus ‘t goes forth, through path and byways,
silently on even keel.
„Schau, die könnens!“ sagen ferne
an der Himmelshöh’ die Sterne,
„Wer sind sie?“
Gleich schrein wir da:
Sigmund und Emilia!
“Look, they know how!” the stars
say in the distant firmament,
“Who are they?”
Right away, at that we yell:
Sigmund and Emilia!
NOTES ON THE PROGRAM
by Mary W. Helms
Romance is in the Air features music about
love, but also celebrates the Romantic
Movement that swept over Europe in the 19th
century. Particularly in German-speaking
lands, a literary revival attracted the interest
of composers who began using these texts to
express emotional states in music, developing
new ways of conveying feelings in song on
such subjects as nature, death, fear, friendship
and, of course, the many manifestations of
love. Whether passionate and dramatic,
poignant and meditative, or genial and
cheerful, they offer some of the most tuneful
and heartfelt music ever written.
I
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) was among
the most gifted musicians of the 19th century
and one of the most remarkable child
prodigies of any era. He wrote successfully
in every genre but opera. In addition to
composing, however, he was among the
busiest musicians in Europe: conducting,
teaching, performing on the piano and organ,
organizing and directing music festivals and
other concerts. He never completely
recovered from the sudden death of his
beloved sister Fanny (see below) and outlived
her by less than six months.
In addition to his sacred oratorios, cantatas
and hymns, Mendelssohn composed a variety
of lighter works for the voice. Part-songs like
Lerchengesang are typical products of the
Romantic Era’s fondness for amateur singing
societies and for music in the home.
Sometimes they were sung “in the open air”
as the singers took walks together after
performing more serious works.
According to his biographer George Marek,
Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828) was a
man “haunted, plagued, pushed by his talent.”
His rate of composition was phenomenal; in
his short life he wrote symphonies, chamber
music, and a vast quantity of piano music.
He was also a man in love with the human
voice, to whom “song was the fundamental
and natural medium of musical expression.”
In Schubert’s Vienna as in Mendelssohn’s
Leipzig and Berlin, a few hostesses were
famous for their musical salons, but even in
ordinary middle-class homes, friends
gathered informally around the pianoforte to
try out the latest compositions. Schubert was
a frequent participant as accompanist and
singer; in fact, those evenings devoted
exclusively to his music came to be known as
Schubertiads. Irene von Kiesewetter, young
daughter of the vice-president of the
Philharmonic Society, occasionally
accompanied Schubert at such gatherings.
The delightfully rollicking Der Tanz, also
called “Cantata für Irene Kiesewetter,” was
probably commissioned by her father with the
intent of combating her passion for dancing
(although it must have had the opposite
effect). Its original text, by Kolumban
Schnitzer, included a direct reference to Irene
in a second verse omitted when the piece was
first published in 1892.
Works for male voices represent a
considerable body of Schubert’s choral music
and, as musicologist Alfred Einstein noted, he
“struck the keynote for the male-voice chorus
for the hundred years that followed.”
Composed in January 1822, the lovely Geist
der Liebe sets four voice parts accompanied
by piano or guitar to a text by Friedrich von
Matthisson (1761-1831) typical of the
Romantic connection of love with nature.
In Ständchen the would-be lover first tries to
waken his beloved with a gift of song then,
recognizing that sleep is also a gift, steals
away. As the supporting voices softly
accompany the pleas of the lover, the piano
illustrates the tiptoed steps of the serenaders.
This is an “occasional” composition
commissioned by Anna Fröhlich in the
summer of 1827 to mark the birthday of her
pupil Louise Gosmar. Within three days of
her request Schubert presented her with a
setting for mezzo-soprano and four male
voices of the poem by Franz Grillparzer
(1791-1872) but, since it was intended for
Fräulein Gosmar’s female friends to sing,
Schubert had to rewrite the piece. Summit
Chorale presents the original version.
II
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) not only
composed successfully for piano, orchestra,
and voice, but also founded the influential
music journal Neue Zeitschrift für Musik,
serving as its editor and leading writer for
nearly ten years. Schumann’s long courtship
of Clara Wieck is a familiar romantic story.
An enormously gifted performer and a
composer in her own right, Clara became
Robert’s wife only after a protracted legal
struggle with her father. Marriage provided
Robert with the impetus for great creative
activity and Clara premiered many of his
works. Most of Schumann’s adult life was
marked by periods of recurring depressive
illness leading to creative lapses, followed by
periods of hectic activity. Eventually his
illness forced him into an asylum where he
died two years later.
In general, Schumann’s song writing carries
the genre a step beyond Schubert. In
Schumann’s songs, the piano becomes a true
equal of the voice, not only complementing
the text, but also commenting on what is
unsaid or referred to by allusion.
The Spanisches Liederspiel is one of
Schumann’s most important song cycles.
Composed during 1849, its first completed
portions were premiered at one of Clara’s
recitals on April 29 of that year. The texts
come from Emanuel Geibel (1815-1844), a
poet whose translations and paraphrases of
Spanish poetry attracted not only Schumann,
but other composers, notably Hugo Wolf. As
lieder specialist Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
comments, Schumann imbued these songs
with a “richness of color and a fiery
temperament that express well their southern
European flavor.” The cycle describes a love
story, from the first bashful encounter to
assured happiness. In Es ist verrathen, a
quartet teases the girl who cannot hide her
feelings of unrequited love; her sorrow
contrasts with the mirth of the others.
Intermezzo is a duet for male voices in which
the lover urges his beloved to awaken and run
away with him. In Botschaft, a soprano/alto
duet in bolero rhythm, the girl sends her lover
a message of flowers. Finally, in Ich bin
geliebt, the girl happily recognizes her love is
reciprocated in spite of the “evil tongues” of
gossipers.
III
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847)
was four years older than her brother Felix,
but the two were educated together through
their adolescence and developed the kind of
closeness commonly associated with twins.
Nevertheless, the family’s attitude toward
Fanny’s musical ambitions was epitomized in
a letter written by her father on her 23rd
birthday: “…You must … prepare more
earnestly and eagerly for your real calling, the
only calling of a young woman―I mean the
state of a housewife….” Although Felix
concurred in his family’s view, he did
appreciate Fanny’s talent, always discussing
his musical ideas with her, and even
publishing several of her early works under
his own name. After her parents’ deaths, and
with the encouragement of her husband, the
Prussian court painter Wilhelm Hensel, Fanny
began to perform in public and also took over
organizing the acclaimed Sunday musicales at
the Mendelssohn home; she died unexpectedly
after collapsing while rehearsing the choir for
one of these concerts. Fanny Mendelssohn
Hensel left some 400 compositions, including
cantatas and oratorios, only a few of which
were published.
Most of the poems Fanny Mendelssohn chose
to set to music are filled with references to
nature―but they do not describe nature so
much as compare natural phenomena with
human emotions or express feelings inspired
by nature. Such is the case with both
Schweigend sinkt die Nacht and
Waldeinsam, set to poems by the composer’s
husband, Wilhelm Hensel. In the former, one
four-part chorus uses long melodic lines to
compare the sense of completion at journey’s
end with the calm of evening while a second
chorus serves as quiet accompaniment. In the
latter, a solo quartet provides contrast
between two nearly identical tutti verses.
IV
The work of Schubert, Schumann and others
in exploring the emotional content of text and
expanding the role of the piano as a partner in
illustrating and intensifying the meaning of
the poetry achieved near perfection in Hugo
Wolf (1860-1903). Like Schumann, Wolf
was an unstable manic-depressive who died
in an asylum; his period of productive
composition spanned just nine years during
which, in addition to composing in other
forms, he wrote about 250 songs, sometimes
at the rate of two or three a day. Acutely
sensitive to the literary quality of his texts,
Wolf concentrated on the work of one poet at
a time. Over fifty of his songs were settings
of poems by Eduard Mörike (1804-1875), a
Swabian pastor and author of some of the
most subtle and exquisitely crafted verse in
the German language.
Der Feuerreiter is among the most famous of
Wolf’s “Mörike Songs;” it even received
favorable comment from Johannes Brahms
who was not normally an admirer of Wolf’s
music (nor was Wolf of his). Wolf composed
this ballad of the supernatural as a solo on
October 10, 1888 and adapted it for chorus
and full orchestra four years later.
The text of Der Feuerreiter is “famously
enigmatic”—for example the Fire-Rider
himself is never clearly identified—however,
some scholars suggest a political subtext. As
a conservative who detested political unrest,
Mörike was distressed by a group of student
radicals called “Feuerreiter” who constituted
a disruptive influence during his university
days at Tübigen. The Rider’s red cap is also
a revolutionary emblem. In this analysis, the
mill of the poem serves as a symbol of
stability and continuity, the Fire-Rider as a
radical activist; the inferno of revolution
dooms both. Wolf ’s music at first
concentrates on the excitement of the scene,
with the piano vividly portraying the
galloping horse as well as the fire itself. A
long pause introduces a hymn-like passage of
deceptive detachment and calm after the fire
has been extinguished, but the fire-bell
echoes as a death knell and, as the piece ends,
Wolf avoids tonic closure in the vocal line
while the piano softly reminds us that fire
might break out again.
V
Like Schubert, whom he greatly admired,
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) loved the
human voice. In addition to composing
symphonies, concertos, chamber and piano
music, he was one of the great masters of
choral writing, attributable largely to his long
and careful study of the great choral
composers of the Renaissance and Baroque
eras. Over his lifetime, Brahms produced
more than 380 songs for one, two and four
voices, accompanied and a cappella choral
works, solo vocal canons, and more than 100
folk-song arrangements for solo voice or
chorus.
Among the best loved of Brahms’s works are
the two sets of Liebeslieder Waltzer
composed for voices and piano duet after his
move to Vienna―the native soil of the waltz.
Both employ texts from Polydora, an
anthology of Slavic folk poetry translated into
German by Georg Friedrich Daumer (18001875). The original Liebeslieder, published
in 1869, are characterized by light-hearted
freshness, but the Neue Liebeslieder,
composed during a summer holiday on Lake
Zurich five years later, explore the sweet
agonies and bitterness of love as well. They
achieve their aims through color, timbre and
harmonic structure, and in spite of the
insistent three-quarter time, Brahms creates
variety with two-against-three rhythms,
variation in performing forces, and abrupt
mood shifts.
VI
In April, 1866, Brahms wrote to his friend,
the critic Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904),
asking permission to dedicate some newly
composed four-hand piano Waltzes to him. “I
thought of Vienna, of the pretty girls you play
duets with, of you yourself―the connoisseur
of such things…they are two volumes of
little, innocent waltzes in Schubertian
form….” While his remark about
“Schubertian form” is accurate enough,
Brahms’s description of these waltzes as
“innocent” could only have been made
tongue-in-cheek since they display many of
the sophisticated compositional techniques of
his larger works. In 1868 Brahms and Clara
Schumann performed the waltzes together in
concerts in Bremen, Oldenburg and Vienna.
VII
Based on one of Daumer’s many translations
of Turkish texts, Fragen exploits Brahms’s
talent for evoking irony. In an amusing
dialogue with well-intentioned friends, the
tenor claims that his mad behavior cannot be
controlled―because he is in love.
In 1863 Brahms spent the whole winter in
Vienna, largely because he could no longer
hope for any musical future in his native
Hamburg. During this time he composed the
vocal quartet An die Heimat to a text by Otto
Inkermann, better known by his penname,
Sternau. It is one of Brahms’s most
passionate works, pervaded with “longing for
a home that was no longer home.”
Throughout his life Brahms declined
invitations to write “occasional pieces”―with
these two notable exceptions.
In 1884 Brahms composed Tafellied for sixpart mixed chorus to a text by Joseph
Eichendorff (1788-1857) as a gift for his
friends in the Krefeld Singing Society on the
occasion of their 50th anniversary. Set in a
gracious fluid tempo, this appealing drinking
song is structured as a lively dialogue
between women’s and men’s voices which
eventually unite in the final verse for mutual
praise and thanks. Conductor and scholar
Leon Botstein observes that, “In this work we
encounter Brahms at his most sociable,
cheerful and lighthearted, celebrating without
irony or pretension the accepted rituals of
socializing…that he enjoyed until the end of
his life.”
Ten years earlier, the charming Kleine
Hochzeits-Kantate was written somewhat
reluctantly at the request of Brahms’s Swiss
friend, the poet Gottfried Keller (1819-1890).
It was intended as a wedding gift, but we can
no longer identify the “Sigmund and Emilia”
who were fortunate enough to be so honored.
The piece is without opus number, having
been discovered in 1927, thirty years after
Brahms’s death.
WHO’S WHO
Jason Asbury, conductor, is now enjoying his third year with SUMMIT CHORALE as Assistant
Conductor and Accompanist. Mr. Asbury received his Bachelor of Music from DePauw University of
Greencastle, IN, and his Master of Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. In 1994,
he received a grant from DePauw University to attend the North German Organ Academy where he
spent the summer before continuing studies in Vienna the following semester.
Mr. Asbury is currently Organist and Choir Director at Prospect Presbyterian Church, Maplewood,
NJ, where he directs adult and children’s choirs as well as their bell choirs. He also serves on the
faculty of St. Ann’s School, Brooklyn Heights, NY, and the choral faculty of Brooklyn Music School.
Mr. Asbury keeps an active performance schedule in the New York area as a concert organist and
choral accompanist. Recent recitals and tours include concerts at Carnegie Hall and St. Patrick’s
Cathedral, both in New York, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Honolulu, and a Christmas tour with the
American Boychoir.
Mr. Asbury also coordinated a joint concert involving the Prospect Presbyterian Church Festival Choir
and the DePauw University Concert Choir held at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 1998. He played a
key role in developing SUMMIT CHORALE’S first Children’s Choir Festival in the spring of 2000, and
has been a faithful supporter of our Outriggers outreach organization.
Linda Eriksen, accompanist, joined SUMMIT CHORALE in 1995. She holds a Bachelor of Music
degree from Wittenberg University and a Master of Music degree from Boston University, both in
piano performance. She has served churches in Berkeley Heights, Cranford, Chatham, and Stirling,
and is now the Director of Music at Wyoming Presbyterian Church in Millburn, where she is organist
and director of the Chancel and Youth Choirs. She was an organ student of Trudy Fabor and Kathleen
Healy-Wedsworth.
Ms. Eriksen has accompanied many vocalists and instrumentalists in studio and recital. She has
played for the last three Corson Studios/Ridge Light Opera productions of “September Song”, the
Summit Centennial production of “George M.”, and she has been guest accompanist for many
ensembles including the Calvary Chorale, Choral Arts Society of Westfield, the Concord Singers, and
the Camerata Chamber Singers of New Brunswick.
Ms. Eriksen has directed several benefit performances, including John Rutter’s Requiem for the
Interfaith Council for the Homeless of Union County. In November, she directed the cantata, a new
Creation, by René Clausen, with chorus, soloists and chamber orchestra, as a benefit for the
Thanksgiving Day feeding program at Bethel Presbyterian Church, East Orange.
Ms. Eriksen is an active member of the Metropolitan NJ Chapter of the American Guild of
Organists, the Choristers Guild and the American Choral Directors Association, and is a Regional
Resource Representative for the Presbyterian Association of Musicians.
Matthew Henning, pianist, was born in Quincy, IL and received degrees in composition from
DePauw University and Northwestern University. He is an active composer for television, radio and
film, and has been nominated twice for Emmy awards for his documentary scores. Mr. Henning
currently lives in New York City.
Garyth Nair celebrates his thirty-first anniversary as Music Director and Conductor of
SUMMIT CHORALE with the 2000–2001 season. The themes of the Chorale’s motto, Tradition,
Innovation, Excellence, have been hallmarks of his tenure with the organization. With unrivaled skill,
Maestro Nair builds programs that combine under-appreciated works of past centuries, choral
masterpieces and groundbreaking new works. His striving for excellence has brought SUMMIT
CHORALE into the front rank of choral organizations in the New York–New Jersey metropolitan area.
Maestro Nair is an Associate Professor of Music at Drew University in Madison, NJ, where he
conducts Drew’s Chorale and Orchestra and supervises the Affiliate Artist voice faculty. He serves on
the faculty of Drew Summer Music and is Conductor of the Lakeland Youth Symphony Senior
Orchestra.
With the arrival of spectrogram technology in the Drew Music Department, Mr. Nair has devoted
considerable time to researching the use of this technology in the applied voice studio, resulting in the
1999 printing by Singular Publishing of a pioneering book in this field, Voice–Tradition and
Technology: A State-of-the-Art Studio. In support of this work, Mr. Nair has spoken at several
international symposia, including the twenty-ninth Annual Symposium: Care of the Professional Voice
(June, 2000, Philadelphia), the fourth International Symposium: Vocal Arts Medicine and Voice Care
(August, Salzburg, Austria), and the thirteenth annual Pacific Voice Conference (November, San
Francisco).
Garyth Nair began his vocal and conducting studies at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ.
There he was appointed Assistant Conductor of the famed Westminster Choir—the first student in the
College’s history to be so honored. He later studied at Tanglewood with the late Sir Adrian Boult and
completed an MA in Musicology at New York University. He is the former Music Director/Conductor
of the Chamber Symphony of New Jersey and former Assistant Conductor of the New Jersey
Symphony Orchestra.
SUMMIT CHORALE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Susan M. Blum, President
Robert Drury, Treasurer
Joanna Barouch
Maya Daniels
Elaine F. Gennaro
Carolyn McGee
Richard L. McKee, Vice President
Mary W. Helms, Secretary
Terry Perkins
William Stroker
Charles Tucker
Eleanor Winslow
MEMBERS OF SUMMIT CHORALE
SOPRANOS
2
Joyce S. Ariyan
Joanna Barouch *
Susan M. Blum *
Jennifer Bornstein
Jennifer Brader 1
Andi Campbell 2
Maya Daniels
Linda Eriksen
Elynn M. Finston
Elaine F. Gennaro *
Candus Hedberg
Mary Helms
Meredith Hutcheson
Kalina Jastrebowska
Maria Lopez
Josephine Mescallado
Kathy Ornstein 2
Janet Painter 2
Martha Reisner *
Jennifer Russell 1,2
Jessica E. Sockel
Amy Wilhelm 2
ALTOS
2
Leslie Ash
Renata Cichocka 2
Linda Cox *
Ruth Cresson
Kathleen Diffley
Maralyn Feige 2
Marcia Hall 2
Linda Langstaff *
M. Beth Lohner
Carolyn McGee
Carter Jones Meyer
Terry Perkins
Robin Taylor Roth
Debbie Ruocco-Howes
Beverly Scaramozzino
Margaret Sherman *
Barbara R. Tucker
Helen Winters 2
Terence Wood 2
Eleanor Winslow *
TENORS
Michael Baruffi *
Gill Diamond 2
Alan GaNun *
Jonathan Greene
Alfred Maragni
Edward McKelvey *
R. Allan Muller 2
Jack Paddon
John Pearson 3
Gretchen Royce
John Winslow 2
BASSES
2
Eric A. Campbell
Richard B. Cole *
Robert Drury
Robert J. Grubb
Edward B. Harris 2
1
Howard D. Helms
Ellis Hilton *
John F. Little
Richard L. McKee *
Bruce Meyer *
Summit Chorale Scholarship recipient
2
Member on Leave of Absence
Arthur Perkins
Marc Poirier 2
Heinz D. Roth 2
William D. Stroker
Charles Tucker
3
Associate Member
* Member of the Camerata
MEMBER EMERITUS OF SUMMIT CHORALE
Janice Haer
Mark your calendar now for this upcoming
SUMMIT CHORALE event!
Bach, Glorious Bach!: A selection
May 11, 2001 – 8:00PM
Drew University/Baldwin Gym, of motets, organ works and cantatas
Madison
by the master, with orchestra.
Garyth Nair, conductor.
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Summit Chorale History
Summit Chorale Mission Statement
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