Tonight we welcome you to a special Halloween concert which explores the various aspects of "Departed Spirits" and celebrates the spirit of Halloween with masks and disguises, weird creatures and scary stories. We will also commemorate the departure of spirits, by performing music of composers who died 100 and 150 years ago. Not only will we hear music about departure, separation, revenge, murder, and death, but also the laments of loving spirits left behind or abandoned. We will be tempted by evil elves, lured by the Rhine maiden named Lorelei, and hypnotized by the famous masked Phantom of the Opera.
During a masked ball, Don Ottavio enters in disguise in hopes of secretly discovering who murdered his fiancée’s father. He soon determines that it is Don Giovanni, who having beguiled the ladies of two continents, manages with ruse and disguise to escape the law. Don Ottavio sends messengers to seek his departed beloved, Donna Anna, asking them to console her, and give her his pledge of vengeance against the murderer of her father. Later, her father’s departed spirit returns in the form of a statue, and by a stony handshake, ushers the evil Don Giovanni to his fiery doom.
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| Il mio tesoro intanto
Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1838) |
Meanwhile, to my Treasure
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) From Don Giovanni, K.527 |
| Il mio tesoro intanto
andate a consolar! e del bel ciglio il pianto cercate di asciugar. |
Meanwhile, to my Treasure
go, and console her! And seek to wipe away the tears from her beautiful eyes. |
| Ditele, che i suoi torti
a vendicar io vado. Che sol di stragi e morti nunzio vogl’io tornar! |
Tell her that I go
to avenge injuries done her, that I will return only as a messenger of slaughter and death. |
In 1996 we commemorated the centennial of the death of the premier female musician of the 19th century, Clara Schumann, a virtuoso pianist, composer, and wife of Robert Schumann. The year 1997 marks a century since the passing of Johannes Brahms, a fellow musician and dear friend.
No more ghastly a Halloween story is that of Robert Schumann, who heard voices and ghostly music in his head, who went insane and died in an asylum. But tonight we hear from the two loving spirits he left behind.
Johannes Brahms was a dashing twenty-year old when he met the Schumanns in 1853, just months before Robert’s suicide attempt and committal. When Robert died three years later, Johannes and Clara developed a deep love that remained platonic because of the commitment of Clara to the memory of her departed husband.
Tonight we contrast the passion and reassurance found in the songs Clara wrote during her first year of marriage, with songs of yearning and heart sickness by Brahms. We close with a lament by Clara for a departed loved one, and the consolation brought by the loving spirits of her dreams.
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| Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) |
He came in storm and rain (Op. 12 No. 2)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) |
| Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen,
ihm schlug beklommen mein Herz entgegen. Wie konnt’ ich ahnen, daß seine Bahnen sich einen sollten meinen Wegen. |
He came in storm and rain,
he boldly stole my heart. Did he steal mine? Did I steal his? Both came together. |
| Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen,
er hat genommen mein Herz verwegen. Nahm er das meine? Nahm ich das seine? Die beiden kamen sich entgegen. |
He came in storm and rain,
my anxious heart beat against his. how could I have known, that his path should unite itself with mine? |
| Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen,
Nun ist gekommen des Frühlings Segen. Der Freund zieht weiter, ich seh’ es heiter, denn er bleibt mein auf allen Wegen. |
He came in storm and rain,
Now has come the blessing of spring. My love travels abroad, I watch with cheer, for he remains mine, on any road. |
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| Erinnerung
Max von Schenkendorf (1783-1834) |
Remembrance (Op. 63 No. 2)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) |
| Ihr wunderschönen Augenblicke,
die Lieblichste der ganzen Welt hat euch mit ihrem ewgen Glücke, mit ihrem süßen Licht erhellt. |
You wonderfully beautiful moments,
the loveliest woman in the whole world has with her eternal fortune, with her sweet light, illumined you. |
| Ihr Stellen, ihr geweihten Plätze,
ihr trugt ja das geliebte Bild, was Wunder habt ihr, was für Schätze vor meinen Augen dort enthüllt! |
You places, you hallowed spots
you bore that beloved figure; what wonders, what treasures before mine eyes you have unveiled! |
| Ihr Gärten all, ihr grünen Haine,
du Weinberg in der süßen Zier, es nahte sich die Hehre, Reine, in Züchten gar zu freundlich mir. |
All you gardens, you green groves,
you vineyards so sweetly adorned, she approached - the lofty, pure one, with propriety much too friendly for me. |
| Ihr Worte, die sie da gesprochen,
du schönstes halbverhauchtes Wort, dein Zauberbann wird nie gebrochen, du klingst und wirkest fort und fort. |
You words that she spoke there,
you fairest, half-whispered word, your magic spell will never be broken, you resound and affect me on and on. |
| Ihr wunderschönen Augenblicke,
ihr lacht und lockt in ewgem Reiz. Ich schaue sehnsuchtsvoll zurücke voll Schmerz und Lust und Liebesgeiz. |
You wonderfully beautiful moments,
you laugh and lure with eternal charm. I gaze back full of longing, full of sorrow and desire and love-pining. |
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| Liebst du um Schönheit
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) |
If you love for beauty (Op. 12 No. 4)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) |
| Liebst du um Schönheit,
o nicht mich liebe! Liebe die Sonne, sie trägt ein gold’nes Haar! |
If you love for beauty,
oh, do not love me! Love the sun, she has golden hair! |
| Liebst du um Jugend,
o nicht mich liebe! Liebe der Frühling, der jung ist jedes Jahr! |
If you love for youth,
oh, do not love me! Love the spring, it is young every year! |
| Liebst du um Schätze,
o nicht mich liebe. Liebe die Meerfrau, sie hat viel Perlen klar. |
If you love for treasure,
oh, do not love me! Love the mermaid, she has many clear pearls! |
| Liebst du um Liebe,
o ja, mich liebe! Liebe mich immer, dich lieb’ ich immerdar. |
If you love for love,
oh yes, do love me! love me ever, I’ll love you evermore! |
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| Warum willst du and’re fragen
Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) |
Why will you question others (Op. 12 No. 11)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) |
| Warum willst du and’re fragen,
die’s nicht meinen treu mit dir? Glaube nicht, als was dir sagen diese beiden Augen hier! |
Why will you question others,
who are not faithful to you? Believe nothing but what both these eyes say! |
| Glaube nicht dem fremden Leuten,
glaube nicht dem eignen Wahn; nicht mein Tun auch sollst du deuten, sondern sieh die Augen an! |
Believe not strange people,
believe not peculiar fancies; even my actions you shouldn’t interpret, but look in these eyes! |
| Schweigt die Lippe deinen Fragen,
oder zeugt sie gegen mich? Was auch meine Lippen sagen, sieh mein Aug’, ich liebe dich! |
Will lips silence your questions,
or turn them against me? Whatever my lips may say, see my eyes: I love you! |
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| Heimweh II:
O wüßt ich doch den Weg zurück Klaus Groth (1819-1899) |
Homesickness II:
Oh if I knew the way to go (Op. 63 No. 8) Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) |
| O wüßt ich doch den Weg zurück,
den lieben Weg zum Kinderland! O warum sucht ich nach dem Glück und ließ der Mutter Hand? |
Oh if I knew the way to go,
the lovely way to my childhood land! Oh why did I seek for happiness, and leave my mother’s hand? |
| O wie mich sehnet auszuruhn,
von keinem Streben aufgeweckt, die müden Augen zuzutun, von Liebe sanft bedeckt! |
Oh how I yearn for peaceful rest,
awakened by no strivings, my weary eyelids now to close, by love so soft secured! |
| Und nichts zu forschen, nichts zu spähn,
und nur zu träumen leicht und lind, der Zeiten Wandel nicht zu sehn, zum zweiten Mal ein Kind! |
And not to search, and not to spy,
and just to dream so light and mild, the changing times no more to see, a second time - a child. |
| O zeigt mir doch den Weg zurück,
den lieben Weg zum Kinderland! Vergebens such’ ich nach dem Glück, ringsum ist öder Strand! |
Oh show me then the way to go,
the lovely way to my childhood land! In vain I seek for happiness, but all is barren shore. |
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| Am Strande
Robert Burns (1759-1796); German version by Wilhelm Gerhard |
On the shore (1840)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) |
| Traurig schau ich von der Klippe
auf die Flut, die uns getrennt, und mit Inbrunst fleht die Lippe, schone seiner, Element! |
Sadly I gaze from the cliff
on the tide which separated us, and with ardor my lips implore, "Spare him, Elements!" |
| Furcht ist meiner Seele Meister,
ach, und Hoffnung schwindet schier; nur im Traume bringen Geister vom Geliebten Kunde mir. |
Fear is my soul’s master,
alas, and hope shrinks away; only in dreams do spirits bring tidings from my Beloved to me. |
| Die ihr, fröhliche Genossen,
gold’ner Tag’ in Lust und Schmerz, Kummertränen nie vergossen, ach, ihr kennt nicht meinen Schmerz! |
Which you, happy companions -
golden days of joy and pain, tears of grief never forgotten, alas - you know not my pain! |
| Sei mir mild, o nächt’ge Stunde,
auf das Auge senke Ruh, holde Geister, flüstert Kunde vom Geliebten dann mir zu. |
Be kind to me, oh nightly hours,
may rest descend upon my eyes, gracious spirits, whisper tidings from my Beloved then to me. |
INTERMISSION
Felix Mendelssohn is another musical spirit whose passing 150 years ago we commemorate this year. Because of his conversion to Christianity, we find among his works music whose themes are the antithesis of the horror of Halloween: the assurance of resurrection, and the eternal reward of the faithful.
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| Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
From Lobgesang, Symphony No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 52 (1840) Hymn of Praise: "A Symphony-Cantata with words from the Holy Scriptures" |
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| The Sorrows of Death | |
| The sorrows of death had closed all around me,
And Hell’s dark terrors had got hold upon me, with trouble and deep heaviness. |
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| But said the Lord,
"Come arise from the dead, and awake, thou that sleepest! I bring thee salvation." |
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| Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
From Elijah: An Oratorio, Op. 70 (1846) Julius Schubring (1806-1889), libretto, primarily after I Kings 17-19. English version by William Bartholomew. |
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| Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth | |
| Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in their heavenly Father’s realm. |
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| Joy on their head shall be for everlasting,
and all sorrow and mourning shall flee away forever. |
Few pieces of music better portray the spirit of Halloween than Schubert’s Erlkönig, a song about an evil elf king who steals away the spirit of a boy whose father is carrying him home on a galloping horse. Tonight we present the songs closest to the spirit of Erlkönig from the work of Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, the first concerning the dangers of meeting beguiling elf queens on moonlit nights in the forest, and the second about the perils of the siren song of the Rhine maiden Lorelei.
We contrast those songs with two by Mendelssohn‘s sister Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, songs about the death of a swan, and the horror of abandonment. Fanny preceded her brother in death by six months, when she collapsed and died in the middle of a choral rehearsal she conducted of his scary Halloween piece, Die Erste Walpurgisnacht. The poet of all four songs is Heinrich Heine, who is famous for his bizarre texts and surprise endings. . .
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| Neue Liebe
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) |
New Love (Op. 19 No. 4)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) |
| In dem Mondenschein im Walde
sah ich jüngst die Elfen reiten, ihre Hörner hört’ ich klingen, ihre Glöcklein hört’ ich läuten. |
In the moonlight in the forest
lately I saw elves go riding, I heard their horns sounding, their little bells I heard jingling. |
| Ihre weissen Rösslein trugen
gold’nes Hirschgeweih’ und flogen rasch dahin; wie wilde Schwäne kam es durch die Luft gezogen. |
Their little white horses wore
golden antlers and flew quickly away; like wild swans through the air they sped. |
| Lächelnd nickte mir die Kön’gin,
lächelnd im Vorüberreiten. Galt das meiner neuen Liebe? Oder soll es Tod bedeuten? |
Smiling, the queen nodded at me,
smiling as she rode by. Does that mean new love for me? Or might it portend death? |
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| Schwanenlied
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) |
Swan Song (Op. 1 No. 1)
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) |
| Es fällt ein Stern herunter
aus seiner funkelnden Höh, das ist der Stern der Liebe, den ich dort fallen seh. |
There falls a star downward
out of its twinkling height, that is the star of love, which I see falling. |
| Es fallen von Apfelbäume
der weissen Blätter so viel, es kommen die neckenden Lüfte und treiben damit ihr Spiel. |
There fall from apple trees
so many white petals, there come the teasing breezes which play their game with them. |
| Es singt der Schwan im Weiher,
und rudert auf und ab, und immer leiser singend, taucht er ins Fluthengrab. |
There sings the swan upon the pond,
which paddles up and down, and ever softly singing, plunges into a watery grave. |
| Es ist so still und dunkel,
verweht ist Blatt und Blüth’, der Stern ist knisternd zerstoben, verklungen das Schwanenlied. |
It is so still and dark,
scattered are petal and blossom, the star has shattered to dust, faded is the swan’s song. |
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| Warum sind denn die Rosen so blass?
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) |
Why then are the roses so pale? (Op. 1 No. 3)
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) |
| Warum sind denn die Rosen so blass?
o sprich mein Lieb warum? warum sind denn im grünen Gras die blauen Veilchen so stumm? |
Why then are the roses so pale?
Oh speak, my Love, why? Why then in the green grass are the blue violets so mute? |
| Warum singt denn mit so kläglichem Laut,
die Lerche in der Luft warum steigt denn aus dem Balsamkraut verwelkter Blüthen Duft? |
Why does the lark in the sky
sing such lamenting tones, why does the smell of a withered bloom arise from the balsam herb? |
| Warum scheint denn die Sonn’ auf die Au,
so kalt und verdriesslich herab? warum ist denn die Erde so grau, und öde wie ein Grab, |
Why does the sun shine down on the field
so bitter and cold? Why is the earth then so gray and desolate as a grave? |
| Warum bin ich selbst so krank und so trüb?
mein liebes Liebchen sprich? o sprich mein herzallerliebstes Lieb, warum verliessest du mich? |
Why am I so sick and sad?
Will my beloved Love speak? Oh speak, my heart’s ever beloved Love, why did you abandon me? |
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| Lorelei
Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) |
Lorelei (1834)
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) |
| Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten
Daß ich so traurig bin; Ein Märchen aus alten Zeiten Das kommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn. |
I know not, what it is portending
that I am so depressed; a legend from olden days past will not leave my mind alone. |
| Die Luft ist kühl und es dunkelt,
Und ruhig fließt der Rhein; Der Gipfel des Berges funkelt Im Abendsonnenschein. |
The breeze is cool and it darkens,
and peaceful flows the Rhine; the peak of the mountain sparkles with evening’s setting sun. |
| Die schönste Jungfrau sitzet
Dort oben wunderbar, Ihr gold’nes Geschmeide blitzet Sie kämmt ihr gold’nes Haar. |
The fairest maiden sits perched
right up there wondrously, her golden jewelry flashes she combs her golden hair. |
| Sie kämmt es mit gold’nem Kamme
Und singt ein Lied dabei; Das hat eine wundersame Gewaltige Melodei. |
She combs with a comb all golden
and thus she sings a song; that has a mysteriously tyrannical melody. |
| Den Schiffer im kleinen Schiffe
ergreift es mit wildem Weh, Er schaut nicht die Felsenriffe, Er schaut nur hinauf in die Höh. |
The sailor in tiny vessel
is seized with a savage woe, he sees not the rocky reef edge, he looks only up toward the height. |
| Ich glaube, die Wellen verschlingen
Am Ende Schiffer und Kahn; Und das hat mit ihrem Singen Die Lorelei getan. |
I think that the waves have devoured
at last the sailor and boat; and that’s the deed, by her singing the Lorelei has done. |
All preceding translations Copyright © 1996, David Kenneth Smith. Use may be made of these translations only for non-profit functions without permission; in all cases, citation of the copyright and source is required.
The Phantom of the Opera is a shadowy figure who manipulates an opera company from behind the scenes by threats and mysterious accidents. To his underground lair he has lured Christine, a young singer he has tutored from the shadows to be the next prima donna, and for whom he writes music. Torn between loyalty, fear, and fascination, Christine wonders what disfigurement is hidden behind his mysterious mask.
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| Andrew Lloyd Webber (b. 1948)
From The Phantom of the Opera, 1986 Charles Hart (b. 1961), libretto |
| The Music of the Night |
| Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation;
darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defences. |
| Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendour;
grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from the garish light of day turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night. |
| Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams!
Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before! Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar and you’ll live as you’ve never lived before. |
| Softly, deftly, music shall surround you.
Hear it, feel it, closing in around you. Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind in this darkness which you know you cannot fight, the darkness of the music of the night. |
| Let your mind start a journey through a strange, new world;
leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be! Only then can you belong to me. |
| Floating, falling, sweet intoxication.
Touch me, trust me, savour each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in to the power of the music that I write, the power of the music of the night. |
| You alone can make my song take flight,
help me make the music of the night. |