MY FAVORITE THINGS

Ein Kleine detusche Kantate | W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
        Recitative: Die ihr des unermeßlichen Weltalls Schöpfer ehrt
        Andante: Liebt mich in meinen Werken
        Allegro: Zerbrechet dieses Wahnes Bande!
        Andante: Wähnt nicht, daß wahres Unglück sei auf meiner Erde!
        Allegro: Dann ist's erreicht, des Lebens wahres Glück!

Three Poems of Fiona Macleod | Charles Griffes (1884-1920)
        The Lament of Ian the Proud
        Thy Dark Eyes to Mine
        The Rose of the Night

Italienisches Liederbuch | Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
        Wer rief dich denn?   
        Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen
        Mein Liebster ist so klein
        Schweig’ einmal still
        Ich hab’ in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen

~~INTERMISSION~~

Cameos | Juliana Hall (b. 1958)
        Sarah Albritton
        Kay WalkingStick
        Nellie Mae Rowe
        Alice Dalton Brown
        Agnes Pelton
        Corita Kent

Sand from Singing Out Loud | Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021)
What More do I Need? from Saturday Night

TRANSLATIONS

A “Little” German Cantata

Recitative

You that revere the Creator of the immeasurable universe,
That call him Jehovah, God, Fu or Brahma,
Listen and hear the words of the Sovereign of all things.
On the loud trumpet hear them resound in all eternity
Throughout the Earth, the Moon and Sun!
Hear them, People! Hear them, you, as well!

Andante

Love me in my works,
Love order, proportion, harmony!
Love yourselves and your brothers!
Strength and beauty shall be your ornament
And clarity of understanding your nobility.
Hold out the brotherly hand of everlasting friendship;
It was delusion, not truth, that withheld it for so long.

Allegro

Break the bonds of this delusion,
Tear the veil of prejudice,
Strip off the garment
That clothes mankind in factions!
Forge sickles from the iron that hitherto
Shed the blood of men, of brothers!
Blow up rocks with the black dust that oft would speed
the murderous lead into the hearts of brothers!

Andante

Do not imagine it is misfortune that holds sway upon my Earth -
It is enlightenment alone that heals
When it spurs you on to better deeds -
People, you that roam the world in misery,
When, in blind folly, you back onto the thorn
That should have urged you ever onward.
Be wise, be strong in brotherhood!
Then will my contentment rest on you,
Then only tears of joy will wet my cheeks,
Then your cries will be shouts of joy,
Then you will make vales of Eden out of deserts,
Then the whole of Nature will be laughing in your eyes,

Allegro

Then it has been achieved; the true happiness of life!

Three Poems of Fiona Macleod

The Lament of Ian the Proud

What is this crying that I hear in the wind?
Is it the old sorrow and the old grief?
Or is it a new thing coming, a whirling leaf
About the gray hair of me who am weary and blind?
I know not what it is, but on the moor above the shore
There is a stone which the purple nets of heather bind,
And thereon is writ: She will return no more.
O blown, whirling leaf, and the old grief,
And wind crying to me who am old and blind!

Thy Dark Eyes to Mine

Thy dark eyes to mine, Eilidh,
Lamps of desire!
O how my soul leaps
Leaps to their fire!
Sure, now, if I in heaven,
Dreaming in bliss,
Heard but a whisper,
But the lost echo even
Of one such kiss --
All of the Soul of me
Would leap afar --
If that called me to thee
Aye, I would leap afar a falling star!

The Rose in the Night

The dark rose of thy mouth
Draw nigher, draw nigher!
Thy breath is the wind of the south, a wind of fire,
The wind and the rose and darkness,
O Rose of my Desire!
Deep silence of the night,
Husht like a breathless lyre,
Save the sea's thunderous might, dim, menacing, dire,
Silence and wind and sea, they are thee,
O Rose of my Desire!
As a wind-eddying flame leaping higher and higher,
Thy soul, thy secret name,
Leaps thro' Death's blazing pyre,
Kiss me, Imperishable Fire, dark Rose,
O Rose of my Desire!

Italian Songbook

Wer rief dich denn?

Who called you, then? Who sent for you?
Who asked you to come, if it’s such a burden?
Go to the sweetheart you like better,
Go there – where your thoughts are.
Just go to her you dream and think of!
I’ll gladly spare you from seeing me.
Go to the sweetheart you like better!
Who called you, then? Who sent for you?

Du denkst mit einem Fädchen mich zu fangen

You think you can catch me with a thread,
Make me fall in love with a mere glance?
I’ve caught others who flew higher,
You can’t trust me if you see me laugh.
I’ve caught others, believe you me.
I am in love – but not with you.

Mein Liebster ist so klein

My sweetheart’s so small, that without bending down
He can sweep my room with his hair.
When he entered the garden to pick jasmine
He was terrified by a snail.
Then when he came indoors to recover,
A fly knocked him head over heels;
And when he stepped over to my window,
A horse-fly caved his head in.
A curse on all flies, gnats, and horseflies-
And anyone with a sweetheart from Maremma!
A curse on all flies, gnats and midges-
And all who have to stoop so low for a kiss!

Schweig’ einmal still

Shut up out there, you odious ranter!
Your cursed singing makes me sick.
And even if you kept it up till morning,
You’d still not manage a decent song.
Shut up for once and go to bed!
I’d sooner hear a donkey’s serenade!

Ich hab’ in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen

I have a lover living in Penna,
Another in the plain of Maremma,
One in the beautiful port of Ancona,
For the fourth I must go to Viterbo.
Another lives over in Casentino,
The next with me in my own town,
And I’ve yet another in Magione,
Four in La Fratta, Ten in Castiglione!

Cameos

Sarah Albritton

Born in Hell…. Grew up in Hell-
Quarters* (housing district in Ruston)
Yet also a stream
A girl in a pleated blue skirt and white blouse
Praying by the stream
And discovering talents worthy of many lifetimes
In one body of light.
Hang the welcome sign and string the Christmas lights!
Paint, Sarah! Cook, Can, Heal, Preach!
Mayhaw Jelly, and “Dump Method”
Hell is no Match for you.

Kay WalkingStick

Even the faceless announce a force palpable
The stroke, the lines, the contours
Strength of a woman, of a people, of a force
Enters the space ready to Breathe
Ready to Act, Ready to Dance
Own. Engage. Be. (Respected.)

Nellie Mae Rowe

Magic markers and crayons and pencils with
Boundless views into the future
Chewing gum sculptures,
Pig on Expressway
That which isn’t born yet
Given Cameo appearances through your hand.

Alice Dalton Brown

All of my homes are here in your gifts.
My porch, my windows, my chandelier, my curtains
Perfect welcome, temperature inviting,
Air- crisply clean
As real as any image of the agreed upon today-
and as worthy.

Agnes Pelton

One Foot- placed in the descriptive Now.
Enriching Beauty with Beauty
And presenting the eye with a taste that enhances
That which we perceive as our view.
The other Foot- no longer a Foot, but a Sense, a Knowing-
Placed in the realm of Beyond and you allow us to behold
That which is Elsewhere and Alive
Or is it that realm of beyond which is the Now.
And we simply do not have your Key.

Corita Kent

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K
Come sing again, Corita.
Come teach us how to unify sentiments
Take the Profound
and the Ridiculous and Mix it-
Magic!
Into a compact Jolt of Vivid Confident Confusion.
Sustain by Calm Fearlessness
To exclaim the diverse and Equal Truths-
We seldom have your eye to see
Come sing again, Teach- Sing!