presents a
Senior Recital
Connor Wheeler, tenor
featuring
Caroline Heading, piano
Sunday, November 1, 2020
3:00 p.m.
Muskingum University
Muskingum University’s proud heritage began in 1837, when Ohio was an infant state
and covered wagons were bringing adventurous settlers westward over the newly
completed National Road through New Concord. The University’s Native American
name, sometimes mispronounced and often misspelled, is a source of pride and an
enduring link to the history of frontier America “beyond the Alleghenies.”
The university is proud of its alumni—affectionately known as the “long magenta line”—
including such outstanding individuals as William Rainey Harper, the first president of
the University of Chicago, and U. S. Senator John H. Glenn, the first American to orbit
the earth, and now the oldest person to have gone into space.
Muskingum University is committed to offering quality academic programs in the liberal
arts and sciences in the setting of a residential, coeducational, church-related university
and in the context of a caring community where individual fulfillment is encouraged and
human dignity is respected. Its primary purpose is to develop whole persons—
intellectually, spiritually, socially and physically—by fostering critical thinking, positive
action, ethical sensitivity and spiritual growth, so that they may lead vocationally
productive, personally satisfying and socially responsible lives.
The Department of Music
Muskingum University’s Department of Music offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in
music and music education, as well as minors in music and musical theatre. An
accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music since
1935, the Department is also accredited through the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools and the Ohio Department of Education. The Department of Music
is housed in Otto and Fran Walter Hall, the newest academic building at Muskingum,
which boasts acoustically-designed classrooms and rehearsal facilities, a state-of-the-art
music technology lab, and spacious studios and practice rooms.
With its five full-time and fourteen adjunct faculty, the Department is large enough to
offer a variety of study and performance opportunities, yet small enough to ensure that
the needs of individual students are consistently addressed. Students from across the
campus participate in numerous vocal and instrumental ensembles; the Southeastern
Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Muskingum Valley Symphonic Winds, and Muskingum
Choral Society include members from the community and region.
Scholarships for music majors, minors, and participants are available to students by
audition. For audition information or other inquiries, contact the Department of Music at
(740) 826-8095, by email at music@muskingum.edu, or visit our web page at
www.muskingum.edu/dept/music.
Program
Please refrain from applause until after each set.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Vous aimerez demain
Jules Massenet
Il pleuvait
(1842-1912)
* * *
A Man Could Go Quite Mad
Rupert Holmes
from the Mystery of Edwin Drood
(b. 1947)
* * *
O del mio amato ben
Stefano Donaudy
Spirate pur spirate
(1879-1925)
Vaghissima sembianza
~ Intermission ~
from Die schöne Müllerin
Franz Schubert
Das Wandern
(1779-1828)
Mein!
* * *
from On Wenlock Edge
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Is my Team Ploughing?
(1872-1958)
Oh When I Was in Love with You
Bredon Hill
* * *
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The Department of Music acknowledges Sigma Alpha Iota
(Alpha Gamma chapter) Phi Mu Alpha
(Beta Lambda chapter) for providing ushers and stage assistance
for Department of Music events.
Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet was a French composer of great regard in the world of opera, penning more than forty operatic works, several of which are still performed today. Manon and Werther are two of his most well-known. Vous aimerez demain and Il pleuvait are two of his mélodies (art songs) and settings of the texts of 19th
century French poet Armand Silvestre. These compositions portray a gentleness and simplicity that suits the texts’ reverence for nature.
Vous aimerez demain
Le doux printemps a bu, dans le creux de sa main, Le premier pleur qu'au bois laissa tomber l'aurore; Vous aimerez demain, vous qui n'aimiez encore, Et vous qui n'aimiez plus, vous aimerez demain! Le doux printemps a bu dans le creux de sa main.
Sweet Springtime has drunk from the hollow of his hand the first tear which dawn let fall in the woods.
Tomorrow you will love, you who've not yet been lovers; and you whose love was over, tomorrow you will love! Sweet Springtime has drunk from the hollow of his hand. Le printemps a cueilli, dans l'air, des fils de soie
Pour lier sa chaussure et courir par les bois; Vous aimerez demain pour la première fois, Vous qui ne saviez pas cette immmortelle joie ! Le printemps a cueilli, dans l'air, des fils de soie.
From the air Spring has gathered threads of silk so as to lace his shoes and run through the woods. Tomorrow you will love for the very first time, you who did not know this immortal joy. From the air Spring has gathered threads of silk. Le printemps a jeté des fleurs sur le chemin
Que Mignonne remplit de son rire sonore; Vous aimerez demain, vous qui n'aimiez encore, Et vous qui n'aimiez plus, vous aimerez demain! Le printemps a jeté des fleurs sur le chemin.
Spring has strewn flowers along the path which my darling fills with her sonorous laugh.
Tomorrow you will love, you who've not yet been lovers; and you whose love was over, tomorrow you will love! Spring has strewn flowers along the path.
Il pleuvait
Il pleuvait... l'épaisseur des mousses It was raining… from the thickness of the moss Fil trait une tiède vapeur que montait, There rose a soft mist that climbed
que montait sous les feuilles rousses That climbed through the reddened leaves
Il pleuvait la chère mignonne avait peur It was raining and my beautiful darling was afraid Elle avait peur... pour ses pieds frêles She was afraid for her fragile feet
Chaussés de satin virginal In shoes of purest satin Et comme un oiseau matinal And like a morning bird Avec des frémissements d'ailes With quivering wings Il pleuvait It was raining
Comme un cygne sous le duvet Like a swan folded well J'enfermais ses blanches épaules I held on to her shoulders
Et je l’emportais vers les saules, vers les saules And to the willows I bore her safely Je l'emportais dans mes bras tremblants. I bore her safely in my trembling arms Il pleuvait... It was raining
Rupert Holmes
Charles Dickens’s original novel, the mystery of Edwin Drood, was left unfinished upon his death in 1870; however, Rupert Holmes allowed the audience to finish the story with his musical adaptation. First debuting in 1985, the show follows the mystery of the titular character’s murder, ultimately showing different endings depending on who the audience decides is guilty. In A Man Could Go Quite Mad, the character of Jasper sings in incredibly vague terms of his emotional and moral situation in life, showing some clear mental instability underneath his normally calm demeanor. His very apparent lust for Rosa Bud, who was already promised to marry Drood, raises a chilling question. Is this a man capable of murder?
A Man Could Go Quite Mad
Another trifling day, one more soul-stifling day of blinding pain: Boredom grinds my brain down to the grain
A man could go quite mad and not be all that bad Consider each superb, disturbing urge you've ever had To curse aloud in church or choke each bloke who Throws a smile your way...
Be that as it may
A man could have bad dreams and not be all he seems Yet not be far-removed from all the noblest of extremes Sometimes I think that sanity is just a passing fad A man could go quite mad
Unblessed are the dull. One ceaseless, peaceless lull One wondrous night
Storm-struck thund'rous light Will cast me right
A sculptor lacking arms, a sorc'ror lacking charms
A fiend who frightens no one for there's no one that he harms Whose clutches clutch at only desp'rate respite
From this dim tableau!
Knowing this is so, I hide myself in thought Where one cannot be caught
And feed on dreams that contradicts each Edict I've been taught
And if someday I lose my way and mind You'll find me glad -
A man could go quite, man could go quite Man could go quite mad!
Stefano Donaudy
Stefano Donaudy was an Italian composer of the late 19th and early 20th century. Though he penned
several operas and some chamber and orchestra works, he is mostly known for his solo vocal music (arie), specifically the 36 Arie di Stile Antico. “Stile Antico” means “old style”, referring to the fact that these songs are unapologetically indulgent in romantic harmonies and melodic lines. First published in 1918, many singers have kept them relevant because of the incredibly natural way the melodic lines fit the vocal instrument. The three songs represented in this set, as well as most of Donaudy’s other arie, have texts penned by his brother Alberto Donaudy. Dripping with emotion, these texts are congruent with the sweeping lines and dramatic flair of their musical counterpart.
Spirate pur spirate
Spirate pur, spirate attorno a lo mio bene, aurette, e v'accertate
s'ella nel cor mi tiene. Spirate, spirate pur, aurette! Se nel suo cor mi tiene, v'accertate, aure beate, aure lievi e beate!
Breathe, still breathe around my beloved, Little breezes, and find out
If she holds me in her heart, If she holds me in her heart. Find out, blessed breezes, Breezes light and blessed.
O del mio amato ben
O del mio amato ben perduto incanto! Lungi è dagli occhi miei
chi m'era gloria e vanto! Or per le mute stanze
sempre la cerco e chiamo con pieno il cor di speranze?
Ma cerco invan, chiamo invan! E il pianger m'è sì caro, che di pianto sol nutro il cor.
Oh, lost enchantment of my dearly beloved! Far from my eyes is he
who was, to me, glory and pride! Now through the empty rooms
I always seek him and call him with a heart full of hopes?
But I seek in vain, I call in vain! And the weeping is so dear to me,
that with weeping alone I nourish my heart. Mi sembra, senza lei, triste ogni loco.
Notte mi sembra il giorno; mi sembra gelo il foco. Se pur talvolta spero di darmi ad altra cura, sol mi tormenta un pensiero: Ma, senza lui, che farò? Mi par così la vita vana cosa senza il mio ben.
It seems to me, without him, sad everywhere. The day seems like night to me;
the fire seems cold to me. If, however, I sometimes hope to give myself to another cure, one thought alone torments me: But without him, what shall I do? To me, life seems a vain thing without my beloved.
Vaghissima sembianza
Vaghissima sembianza d'antica donna amata, chi, dunque, v'ha ritratta contanta simiglianza ch'io guardo, e parlo, e credo d'avervi a me davanti come ai bei dì d'amor?
Very charming image of a woman formerly loved, who, then, has portrayed you with so much similarity
that I look, and I speak, and I believe to have you before me as in the beautiful days of love?
La cara rimembranza che in cor mi s'è destata si ardente v'ha già fatta rinascer la speranza, che un bacio, un voto, un grido d'amore più non chiedo che a lei che muta è ognor.
The dear remembrance which has been awakened in my heart so ardently has revived my hopes, so that a kiss, a vow, a cry of love?
more I do not ask of her who is silent forever.
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert was an incredibly prolific composer of German lieder, with over 600 such works of poetry brought to life with music. Schubert became the model for quality in this genre for years to come. Becoming gravely ill in the later portion of his life, he remained an active composer through these difficulties and penned at least part of his song cycle Die Schöne Müllerin while bedridden. Containing settings of poems by Wilhelm Müller, the songs tell the story of a miller’s apprentice with an unrequited love for his employer’s daughter.
Das Wandern
Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust, Das Wandern!
Das muss ein schlechter Müller sein, Dem niemals fiel das Wandern ein, Das Wandern
To wander is the miller’s delight; to wander!
A poor miller he must be
who never thought of wandering, of wandering
Vom Wasser haben wir’s gelernt, Vom Wasser!
Das hat nicht Rast bei Tag und Nacht, Ist stets auf Wanderschaft bedacht, Das Wasser.
We have learnt it from the water, from the water!
It never rests, by day or night, but is always intent on wandering, the water.
O Wandern, Wandern, meine Lust, O Wandern!
Herr Meister und Frau Meisterin, Lasst mich in Frieden weiter ziehn Und wandern.
O wandering, my delight, O wandering!
Master and mistress, let me go my way in peace, and wander.
Mein
Bächlein, lass dein Rauschen sein! Räder, stellt eur Brausen ein! All’ ihr muntern Waldvögeln, Gross und klein,
Endet eure Melodein! Durch den Hain Aus und ein
Schalle heut’ ein Reim allein: Die geliebte Müllerin ist mein! Mein!
Brook, cease your babbling! Wheels, stop your roaring! All you merry wood-birds great and small,
end your warbling! Throughout the wood, within it and beyond,
let one rhyme alone ring out today: my beloved, the maid of the mill, is mine! Mine!
Frühling, sind das alle deine Blümelein? Sonne, hast du keinen hellern Schein? Ach, so muss ich ganz allein,
Mit dem seligen Worte mein,
Unverstanden in der weiten Schöpfung sein.
Spring, are these all of your flowers? Sun, do you have no brighter light? Ah, then I must remain all alone with that blissful word of mine,
understood nowhere in the whole of creation.
Ralph Vaughan Williams
A prolific composer of many genres throughout his life, Ralph Vaughan Williams is a celebrated part of English music in the 20th century. Dissatisfied with the state of music in England, but desiring the
solution to come from native factors, rather than foreign styles, he began collecting and studying English folksongs. In 1904, he was appointed to select and edit the compositions that would be in the English
Hymnal, a project that would unify the multitude of hymnals existing at the time into one quality volume. On Wenlock Edge was written in 1909 and represents both these influences as well as his personal
creativity. Modal harmonies and simple vocal lines are juxtaposed with chromaticism, dramatic accompaniment, and more demanding, disjunct vocal lines. Several texts from A. E. Housman’s A
Shropshire Lad are woven into this song cycle, three of which will be performed. In Is My Team Ploughing, a
dialogue takes place between a dead man and one still living, serving as an examination of the
attachments we may have to the world. Oh When I was in Love with You is a much needed reprieve from heavier themes, telling the short tale of a man’s short love. Bredon Hill follows a man’s grief over his partner’s untimely death. Bells are present in words and music throughout, representing the constant passage of time, and the inevitability of some events.
Is My Team Ploughing
Is my team ploughing, That I was used to drive And hear the harness jingle When I was man alive? Ay, the horses trample, The harness jingles now;
No change though you lie under The land you used to plough.
Is my girl happy,
That I thought hard to leave, And has she tired of weeping As she lies down at eve? Ay, she lies down lightly, She lies not down to weep: Your girl is well contented. Be still, my lad, and sleep.
Is my friend hearty, Now I am thin and pine, And has he found to sleep in A better bed than mine?
Yes, lad, I lie easy,
I lie as lads would choose; I cheer a dead man’s sweetheart, Never ask me whose.
Oh, When I was in Love with You
Oh, when I was in love with you, Then I was clean and brave,
And miles around the wonder grew How well did I behave.
And now the fancy passes by, And nothing will remain,
And miles around they ’ll say that I Am quite myself again.
Bredon Hill
In summertime on Bredon The bells they sound so clear;
Round both the shires they ring them In steeples far and near,
A happy noise to hear.
But when the snows at Christmas On Bredon top were strown, My love rose up so early And stole out unbeknown And went to church alone Here of a Sunday morning
My love and I would lie, And see the coloured counties, And hear the larks so high About us in the sky.
They tolled the one bell only, Groom there was none to see, The mourners followed after, And so to church went she, And would not wait for me. The bells would ring to call her
In valleys miles away;
"Come all to church, good people; Good people come and pray." But here my love would stay.
The bells they sound on Bredon, And still the steeples hum,
"Come all to church, good people," -- Oh, noisy bells, be dumb;
I hear you, I will come. And I would turn and answer
Among the springing thyme, "Oh, peal upon our wedding, And we will hear the chime, And come to church in time."
