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 Sunday, April 30, 2017 •​ 3:00 p.m Emma WitbolsFeugen
Graduate Recital DePaul Concert Hall 800 West Belden Avenue • Chicago Sunday, April 30, 2017 •​ 3:00 p.m. DePaul Concert Hall Emma WitbolsFeugen, mezzo-soprano Graduate Recital Lisa Zilberman, piano PROGRAM George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “Dopo Notte” from ​Ariodante ​(1735)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Trois Chansons de Bilitis (1900)
Le flute de pan La Chevelure Le tombeau des Naïades Alban Berg (1885-1935) Sieben frühe lieder (1907)
I.
Nacht II.
Schilflied III.
Die Nachtigall IV.
Im Zimmer V.
Traumgekrönt VI.
Liebesode VII.
Sommertage Emma WitbolsFeugen • April 30, 2017 Program Lee Hoiby (1926-2011) “A Letter” from ​The Shining Place Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson
IV. The world feels dusty V. Heart, we will forget him III. Why do they shut me out of heaven? Emma WitbolsFeugen is from the studio of Julia Faulkner. This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the degree Master of Music. As a courtesy to those around you, please silence all cell phones and other electronic devices. Flash photography is not permitted. Thank you. Emma WitbolsFeugen • April 30, 2017 PROGRAM NOTES George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) “Dopo Notte” from ​Ariodante Duration: 8 minutes In 1735, Handel wrote ​Ariodante​ for the London opera-going audience. The opera’s plot is based on a work by Antonio Salvi which in turn was based on canti 5 and 6 from the Italian epic poem ​Orlando Furioso. ​ The opera’s plot follows the young Ginevra, who is in love with Prince Ariodante, and whom she has permission to marry. The jealous Duke Polinesso, however, is in love with her. The duke plots to destroy Ginevra’s integrity by spreading rumors that she has been unfaithful to Ariodante, and that she instead prefers the duke instead of the prince. Ariodante buys into the lie that Ginevra has been unfaithful to him and vows to kill himself, but is prevented from doing so by his brother, Lurcanio. This aria, “Dopo Notte” comes at the end of the opera in Act III when the truth is revealed and Polinesso’s plottings are foiled. Ariodante sings the aria full of joy that Ginevra will be his wife, and that all is well. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Trois Chansons de Bilitis Duration: 10 minutes The poet Pierre Louÿs was heavily influenced by ancient Greek form and poetry. Debussy selected three of Louys’ 155 poems on the subject of Bilitis’ life to set to music. Louÿs claimed to have discovered these poems written by Bilitis herself, and translated them from their original Greek into French. This claim was later found to be false. No such poet named Bilitis is likely to have existed. ​Even though they were found to have been faked, the Bilitis poems acquired cultural significance for lesbians for their purported connection to the poet Sappho. In fact, one of the earliest organizations of lesbians in the United States was called the “Daughters of Bilitis,” a reference that would elude most people. ​Debussy wrote music to just three of Louÿs’s “Chansons of Bilitis,” all of them from the first section of poems that Louÿs titled “Bucoliques en pamphylie.” Debussy evades traditional tonality/harmony in many of the musical ideas in his Bilitis songs. Debussy’s use of the B-Lydian scale in ​Le flute de Pan​ as well as the whole tone scale in​ Le tombeau des Naïades​ were distinct to the impressionist age of composition. Emma WitbolsFeugen • April 30, 2017 Program Notes Alban Berg (1885-1935) Sieben frühe lieder Duration: 13 minutes Berg’s ​Sieben frühe lieder ​(Seven early songs) were written during his apprenticeship with the well-known composer Arnold Schoenberg. The ​Seven Early Songs​ were inspired by the composer’s love for his wife, Helene, written before their marriage in 1911. Each song is set to a text by a major German poet, reflecting his love of literature. The premiere of the songs occurred in Vienna on November 6, 1928. They were first set for piano and voice and later for orchestra. During the years in which he composed this collection of “Early songs,” (1905-1908) the young Berg also began to work seriously on his first opera ​Lulu​. He continued in the spirit of 19th century German lieder, by conveying in his compositions, diverse poetical musings that expressed various emotions and psychological states. Lee Hoiby (1926-2011) “A Letter” from ​The Shining Place Duration: 10 minutes The Shining Place​ is a song set by Lee Hoiby that was published in 2002. This piece is the second of five songs that Hoiby included in ​The Shining Place​,​ ​all of which are set to text by Emily Dickinson. “A Letter” draws excerpted text from a letter Dickinson wrote in 1862 to one Mr. Higginson, a man whom she later addressed as “dearest friend,” to tell him about herself. Her letters were very much like her poems—enigmatic, yet vividly descriptive and expressive. Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Excerpts from ​Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson was a nineteenth century poet from Amherst Massachusetts. She was a prolific writer, yet scarcely a dozen of her 1,800 poems were published during her lifetime. Aaron Copland composed ​Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson​ for voice and piano in 1949 and 1950. They were first performed on May 18, 1950. These selected poems reflect her feelings of love and loss, but also her personal struggles with faith and religion. Notes by Emma WitbolsFeugen. 804 West Belden Avenue
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