Vassar College Orchestra - Music Department

t h e d e pa rt m e n t o f m u s i c
VASSAR COLLEGE
Vassar College Orchestra
Eduardo Navega, conductor
Regina Krawiec ’15, soprano
Benjamin Liu ’15, tenor
Friday, 2 May 2014
8:00 PM
Martel Recital Hall
Skinner Hall of Music
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Program
Elegy-Fantasy (for Tiger)
Brown Hagood
(b. 1932)
From Rigoletto
Questa o quella
La donna é mobile
Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901)
Program Note
Elegy-Fantasy (for Tiger)
Tiger was an extremely perceptive cat. “My” cat. When he was dying
and couldn’t move, for his “final ride” I simply put him in a cardboard box next
to me on the front seat. Incredibly, he climbed out to sit on my lap. He knew.
Though “Elegy....” was inspired by Tiger, it’s also about mourning the loss of
humans -- from the anguish we feel -- to the total peace and joy reported by
those who have had the “after-life” experience -- to the final acceptance by those
left behind. Yet, death will always remain an enigma.
My deepest appreciation to Todd Crow who made this possible, Eduardo Navega for his valuable input on the orchestration, and Richard Wilson for
his wonderful, humorous classes on harmony and counterpoint.
B.H.
˜™
Benjamin Liu ’15, tenor
Texts and Translations
From Les nuits d’été, Op. 7
Absence
L’île inconnue
Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)
Regina Krawiec ’15, soprano
INTERMISSION
Symphony in E Minor, Op. 32 (“Gaelic”)
Allegro con fuoco
Alla Siciliana
Lento con molto espressione
Allegro di molto
Amy Beach
(1867-1944)
Building Safety: Please be aware of the fire exits at the front and rear of the Recital Hall.
In the event of an emergency, Vassar College fire watch personnel will direct you.
Questa o quella
Questa o quella per me pari sono
This girl or that girl are just the same to me,
a quant’ altre d’ intorno mi vedo,
to all the others around me
del mio core l’ impero non cedo I won’t give away my heart
meglio ad una che ad altre beltà
to this beauty nor to the others.
La costoro avvenenza è qual dono Their charm is a gift
di che il fato ne infiora la vita
Given by destiny to embellish their lives
s’ oggi questa mi torna gradita If today I love this one
forse un’ altra doman lo sarà. I’ll probably love someone else tomorrow.
La costanza tiranna delcore We hate constancy, the heart’s tyrant,
detestiamo qual morbo crudele, as if it were a cruel plague,
sol chi vuole si serbi fedele;
Let those who wish to be faithful
keep their fidelity alive;
Non v’ha amor se non v’è libertà.
There is no love without freedom.
De’ i mariti il geloso furore, The rage of jealous husbands
degli amanti le smanie derido, and lovers’ woes I despise,
anco d’ Argo i cent’occhi disfido
I can defy Argo’s hundred eyes
se mi punge una qualche beltà.
If I fancy a beautiful girl.
La donna è mobile
La donna è mobile, qual piùma al
vento,
muta d’accento, e di pensiero.
Sempre un amabile, leggiadro viso,
in pianto o in riso, è menzognero.
La donna è mobile, qual piùma al
vento,
muta d’accento, e di pensier
e di pensier, e di pensier
È sempre misero, chi a lei s’affida,
chi le confida, mal cauto il core!
Pur mai non sentesi felice appieno
chi su quel seno non liba amore!
La donna è mobil, qual piùma al vento,
muta d’accento e di pensier,
e di pensier, e e di pensier!
Woman is fickle, like a feather in the
wind,
she changes the tone of her voice, and
her thoughts.
Always a sweet, pretty face,
in tears or in laughter, is lying
Woman is fickle, like a feather in the
wind,
she changes her accents, and her
thoughts
and her thoughts, and her thoughts
It is always miserable, he that trusts in
her
who to her confides, his unwary heart!
Yet nobody feels happy fully
who on that bosom doesn’t drink love,
Woman is fickle, like a feather in the
wind,
she changes the tone of her voice and
her thoughts
and her thoughts, and her thoughts!
L’île inconnue
Dites, la jeune belle,
Où voulez-vous aller?
La voile ouvre son aile,
La brise va souffler!
Say, young beauty,
Where do you wish to go?
The sail swells,
The breeze will blow.
L’aviron est d’ivoire,
Le pavillon de moire,
Le gouvernail d’or fin ;
J’ai pour lest une orange,
Pour voile une aile d’ange,
Pour mousse un séraphin.
The oar is made of ivory,
The flag is of silk,
The helm is of fine gold;
I have for ballast an orange,
For a sail, the wing of an angel,
For a deck boy, a seraph.
Dites, la jeune belle!
Où voulez-vous aller?
La voile ouvre son aile,
La brise va souffler!
Say, young beauty,
Where do you wish to go?
The sail swells,
The breeze will blow.
Est-ce dans la Baltique,
Sur la mer Pacifique,
Dans l’île de Java ?
Ou bien dans la Norwége,
Cueillir la fleur de neige,
Ou la fleur d’Angsoka?
Is it to the Baltic?
To the Pacific Ocean?
To the island of Java?
Or is it well to Norway,
To gather the flower of the snow,
Or the flower of Angsoka?
Dites, la jeune belle,
Où voulez-vous aller?
La voile ouvre son aile,
La brise va souffler!
Say, young beauty,
Where do you wish to go?
The sail swells,
The breeze will blow.
-- Menez-moi, dit la belle,
À la rive fidèle
Où l’on aime toujours.
-- Cette rive, ma chère,
On ne la connaît guère
Au pays des amours.
-- Lead me, says the beauty,
To the faithful shore
Where one loves always!
-- This shore, my darling,
We hardly know at all
In the land of Love.
Vassar College Orchestra
Absence
Reviens, reviens, ma bien-aimée!
Comme une fleur loin du soleil,
La fleur de ma vie est fermée,
Loin de ton sourire vermeil.
Return, return, my beloved
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life has faded,
far from the charm of your smile.
Entre nos coeurs tant de distance!
Tant d’espace entre nos baisers!
Ô sort amer! ô dure absenc!
Ô grands désirs inapaisés!
Between our hearts how long a distance!
What a wide space our kisses divide!
O bitter fate! O cruel absence!
O longing vain, unsatisfied!
D’ici là-bas que de campagnes,
Que de villes et de hameaux,
Que de vallons et de montagnes,
À lasser le pied des chevaux!
From thee to me how wide the country,
Town and hamlets in long array,
What winding valleys, rugged mountains,
What tir’d horses along the way!
Eduardo Navega, conductor
Violin I
Kevin Lee
Noah Boden
Hyun Alice Park
Kylie Prutisto-Chang
Joseph Louie
Hayley Rothman
Rebecca Casarez
Lucy Balcezak
John Sheehy
Adriano Rozental
Sophia Wallach
Violin II
Sofia Macht
Maria Ramsey
Maggie Jeffers
Alec Ferretti
Sophia Gonsalves-Brown
Margaret Port
Sarah King
Douglas Peters
Sarah Leonard
Fiona Abrams
Saskia Comess
Viola
Maria Ichizawa
Megan Lewis
Jonathan Nichols
Kimberly Carlson
Jaylin Remensperger
Joanna Plotkin
Cello
Zachary Lucero
David Toto
Cedric Chang
Benjamin Ramsey
Marcus Hausler
Cecil Carey
Emma Davis
Aurora Kenney
Alessio Caruso
Bass
Henry Carroll
Ethan Goldstein
William Leith
Flute
Madeline Grey
Isaiah Hale
Oboe
Maya Enriquez
Clayton Marr
Clarinet
Matthew Gabriele
Claire Grosel
Galen March
Bassoon
Gregory Cristina
Emily Sturdivant
Horn
Daniel Gu
Kelly Harrington
Elizabeth Ruiz
Robert Thomas
Trumpet
Rebecca Miller
Sean Sellers
Trombone
Rebeca Garcia
Razvan Stanescu
David Bodack
Tuba
Molly James
Timpani
Sherren Sodder
Percussion
Zachary Sherman