Song list

Claire de lune – Gabriel Fauré 1887
Lyrics by Verlaine
Chansons d’amour – Gabriel Fauré 1882
Lyrics by Armand Silvestre
Les Berceaux – Gabriel Fauré 1879
Lyrics by Sully Prudhomme

野の羊 No no hitsuji, Sheep in the Field – 1941
待ちぼうけ Waiting in Vain (2:30)
小さな空 Small Sky (4:00)

Cantares – Joaquin Turina – 1928 (Joaquín Turina Pérez (9 December 1882 – 14 January 1949)
Lyrics: Ramón de Campoamor
El Caudillo de los Ciento – Antonio de la Cruz
El viaje definitivo “the definitive journey”- Ernesto Cordero (b. 1946)
Lyrics: Juan Ramón Jiménez Mantecón

La vie, l’amour – Graciane Finzi (b. 1945)
Lyrics, Le Matin.
L’inconstante – Isabelle Aboulker (b. 1938)
Lyrics: Charles Cros
Reflets (1911) – Lili Boulanger
Lyrics: Maurice Maeterlinck
Dansons la gigue – Poldowski (1:32)

さくら横丁 Sakura Ally (3:00)
九十九里浜 Kujyukuri Beach (2:30)
夢見たものはYume mita mono wa – What I dreamed of (3:00)

Si no fuera por ti – Jaime Leon Ferro (1921 – 2015) – Colombian composer
Triste – Alberto Ginastera – (3:56)
Lyrics: Anon

Script
Good afternoon everyone. Welcome. Bienvenue, Yokoso, Bienvenidos. Thank you for joining us. Thank you to Jane and Rudy for opening your home and for your lifetime support for the arts.

A salon like this is the perfect place for an Art Song performance. Unlike opera, here, we have a front-row seat as the artists explore the subtlety of story and music together.

And what better place to hear ‘Songs from the Homeland’ than in a home? The notion of ‘Homeland’ may surface different feelings or thoughts for each of us. Before we start, I’d like to open up the room today and invite you to get comfortable. We have this image of ‘classical’ music as untouchable or remote. So today, I will ask first that you interact freely with the singers as they move you. Laughing, moving, appreciating, it’s all ok. And to get us started, I’d like to ask anyone to share a word or two about what ‘homeland’ might mean to you.

Our singers, Theodora, Taka, and Luisamaria, generously offer these selections to connect with their homelands, whether actual or metaphysical. They allow us all a space to reflect on what it means to come home.

First, Theodora takes us to 1880s France for a set of compositions by Gabriel Fauré
In [Claire de lune] or “Moonlight,” the poetry of Paul Verlaine reads, “Your soul is a chosen landscape … Where charming masqueraders go … / … Dancing and almost sad beneath their fantastic disguises.” Perhaps a comment on how we all unknowingly reflect our pasts like the moon reflects the sun.

With [Chansons d’amour], “Love songs”. Armand Silvestre proclaims, “O my rebel, O my dear angel… My inferno and my paradise.” No matter what homeland we’re from, it seems love songs remain. Notice how the piano melody rarely predicts an exact pitch to Theodora before her highly exposed vocal lines.

In, [Les Berceaux] (le bersou) “Cradles”- poet, Sully Prudhomme writes of cradles and sailing ships. Notice a flowing melodic line in voice and piano that calls up the movements of both ships and cradles. The lyrics observe how men are cradled first by mothers than by sailing ships that promise adventure.

The words of Romain Bussine speak of waking from a dream in [Après un rêve], “You called me, and I departed the earth…To flee with you toward the light,”… “I summon you, O night, give me back your delusions;”

Next, Taka invites us on a journey to Japan for three pieces from the early 20th century.
A world away from Faure and the romantic tendencies of 1880s Europe, Japan was introducing democracy and expansion. The homeland was a new member of a global society and shared its distinct culture. Taka desires to bring the subtlety and beauty of Japanese culture and Art songs to new audiences through his exploration of these compositions.

In the first piece, [ No no Hitsuji ] or ‘Sheep in the Field’ from 1941, the poet observes a lone sheep in a field without anyone to take care of it. He marvels that he was born in the year of the sheep and feels an affinity with the animal as he wonders at its self-sufficiency and loneliness.

In the second piece, [ Machibouke ] “waiting in vain,” we hear the story of a farmer working in his field. A rabbit bound up, trips on a root and gets knocked out. The lucky farmer takes the evening meal home to his family. For the coming days he waits by the tree root for the miracle to happen again. Day after day it does not. His fields start to wither away. The poem is based on a Chinese moral story that advises us not to rely on blind luck, but to work for what we want.

In [Chisa na sora] “Small sky”, we jump forward to the 1960s. The poet looks up and remembers childhood. ‘Cotton clouds remind me of sadness. They recall an incident of being bad in childhood. But now, “At night small stars twinkle like tears and remind me I was a bad kid…but it’s a beautiful memory now.”

Luisamaria shares homeland through language rather than through location
It might be because the world of song among spanish composers is so diverse, or because Opera considers Italian, French, German, and English as primary languages… Spanish Art Songs are not often placed in standard classical repertoire. Luisamaria aims to help guide the rich traditions of storytelling, folk references, and popular influence in the Spanish cannon to be recognized in classical circles through her own discovery and performance.

In [Cantares] , “You will sing”, a 1928 composition by the Spanish Joaquin Turina, Poet: Ramón de Campoamor pleads, “Vuélveme lo a decir…..Pues embelesado ayer…. Te escuchaba sin oir…. Y te miraba sin ver.” “Tell me again, For yesterday I was spellbound: I heard you without listening…And I looked at you without seeing.”

With [El viaje definitivo] “the definitive journey”- Puerto Rican composer Ernesto Cordero sets poetry into motion, to talk about the final journey that we all will take. “And I will go. And the birds will stay Singing. Every afternoon the sky will be blue and placid, and the bells on the bell tower will play, as they are playing this afternoon.”

The piece [El Caudillo de los Ciento], “thiento” “The leader of the hundred” by Antonio de la Cruz is a romanza that depicts lost love. From Grenada, Spain, this prolific composer was forever influenced by harmonies, melodies, and dances. This piece concludes with a fila la voce, literally meaning, “spinning voice” crescendo, decrescendo over 13 measures.

Interlude
You may notice in your program a menu of concerts. The selections from today are samples from several of these programs that Balcony Series artists generously bring to share. We have a reception following, please chat with me or any of the artists to learn about how to bring this work home with you. You are always welcomed to follow any of us on social media and to donate money, space, or in kind services to the Balcony Series as we grow.

I would like to thank Scott Koljonen, our collaborative pianist. He works extensively in musical theater and actively collaborates with musicians of all kinds. I know you have gone out of your way to make rehearsals, so thank you for being here.

As we move to the second half I would like to invite a few minutes of sharing. Have any of these pieces reminded you of a story? Something from your homeland? Your past? That you would like to share? I believe we’re all artists and storytellers of a kind in our own small ways, so if you feel moved to share. By all means.

Something you may or may not notice about classical music is that most composers are male.
We’re fortunate to have Theodora as a contributor today. Next she shares the following rarely heard pieces, all by female composers, some who are living. Part of her [Voies (x) de Femmes] Project and forthcoming album.

This set starts with [La vie, l’amour], “Life, love” composed by Graciane Finzi. This is a sumptuous adaptation of Hymne du Matin. The repeating text combines with Finzi’s rich harmonies and colors to allow us a glimpse into a sunlit day in the mountains. We can imagine infinite possibilities, and expansive hopes.

With [L’inconstante], “The Inconstant Woman”, Isabelle Aboulker sets the 19th century poem ‘Sidonie’, into four stanzas. In the first we hear the poet’s joy at telling us this story, “Sidonie has more than one lover”, the second stanza is seductive. “It is because for her, being nude Is her most charming attire.” in the supple third stanza we hear how Sidonie hypnotizes her prey, and finally we return to the joy of the first stanza to celebrate this truly free woman.

In [Reflets], “Reflections” – our composer Lili Boulanger at 16 years old, cleverly evokes a subtle fear of being in an underwater dream. She uses unstable harmony and melody to frighten us, while still inspiring us with calm, “And the Moon glistens in my heart…Deep in the spring of dreams!” Lili was a child prodigy from a family of musicians. Her sister Nadia Boulanger was a well-known composer and instructor at Longy School of Music just down the road here.

Finally with, [Dansons la gigue] “Dance the jig”- by Poldowski, I encourage you to move your body. We return to thinking of a lost love, but… so what! Let’s dance the jig!

We return to Japan for three of my favorite pieces from the mid 20th century
In [Sakura Yokocho] or Sakura Alley…. While seeing the spectacle of a small city street lined with blossoming cherry, The poet laments that he will never be able to again say, “It’s been so long” or, “So nice to see you again.” As you listen to Taka, you may be able to feel the delicacy of the cherry blossoms. The Sakura opens for a short time. It’s ephemeral. A single moment that can give insight into something eternal.

Who here has experienced a kind of forbidden love? [Kujyukurihama] or Kujyukuri Beach
In 1935 Shihoko Kitami wrote a poem about her lover who had been sent away to France to study, because he was 12 years younger than she was. The verse is about rough waves as they crash on Kujyukuri beach in Chiba. The poet is far from home, viewing the longest beach in Japan, facing the Pacific. She sees the sunrise and feels powerless facing cultural forces bigger than she. But, in the final stanza, we hear that there might be an unexpected ending to the story.

[Yume mita mono wa] – “What I dreamed of”. I would like to ask you to close your eyes for a moment. Travel back in time 100 years. We are in the highlands of central Japan. Mountain towns and freshwater lakes. A young architect and poet calls up scenes of young country maidens holding parasols singing together in a great ring. Even as the poet himself arrives too early at the end of his own life because of tuberculosis…he uses the scene to express his own feeling of completeness. See if you can hear these lines. “What I dreamed of is one love, What I wished for is one joy. They are all here indeed.”

For our final set we journey to homelands in south america.
In researching today’s program, I came to realize that music and art are both personal and political. However transitory or slight our small gathering…we all have great fortune and have made the effort to gather together with curiosity and openness. I hope we will all leave feeling a bit more connected and cushioned from the uncertainty in the world.

With the title [Triste] ‘unhappy’- Alberto Ginastera (Jinastera) sets an Argentine folk poem to haunting music. “Beneath a lime tree, where no water flowed, I gave up my heart to one who did not deserve it.” Part of Ginastera’s self-proclaimed ‘objective nationalism’ period, the composer integrates folk themes that clearly reference his homeland.

In Bachianas Brasileiras, Heitor Villa-lobos skillfully brings Baroque effects to Brazilian music. With number five, the aria brings us a vision of a rising moon that silences the birds of the forest as it rises. Combined with the pink clouds of dusk as they recede, we are left with Brazil’s most famous feeling called “Saudade” … In the words of poet Ruth Corrêa, “Suave a luz da lua desperta agora,,,, A cruel saudade que ri e chora!” … “Gentle moonlight awakens now
The cruel longing that laughs and cries!”