Download Doctoral Recital - Digital Scholarship @UNLV

Department of Music
College of Fine Arts
presents a
Doctoral Recital
Pei Ning Ku, soprano
Karen J. McCann, piano, harpsichord
Allison McSwain, trumpet
Mauricio Villazon, cello
Emilee Wong, flute
Gregory Konig, guitar
Kanade Oi, clarinet
Crystal Yuan, violin
PROGRAM
George Frideric Handel
(1685 -1759)
Let the Bright Seraphim in Burning Row
Jean-Philippe Rameau
(1683- 1764)
Rossignols Amoureux
Benjamin Britten
(1913- 1976)
Songs from the Chinese
I. The Big Chariot
2. The Old Lute
3. The Autumn Wind
4. The Herd-Boy
5. Depression
6. Dance Song
W. A. Mozart
(1756- 1791)
Schon Jacht der holde Frilling
INTERMISSION
Joaquin Rodrigo
(1901- 1999)
Primavera
H. Villa-Lobos
(1887 - 1959)
Suite pour Chant et Violon
1. A Men ina E A Can9ao
2. Quero Ser Alegre
3. Sertaneja
W. A. Mozart
(1756 - 1791)
Variations on a Theme
"Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman"
Pei-Ning Ku is a student ofTod Fitzpatrick.
This recital is offered in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Musical Arts.
Saturday, April23, 2011
3:30p.m.
Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall
Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Let the Bright Seraphim in Burning Row
This well-known aria "Let the Bright Seraphim" for soprano appears in the final act of Samson, a three-act oratorio
by George Frederic Handel. The aria summons the celestial hosts of Seraphim and Cherubim to hail the dead hero,
with trumpet figures responding to the singer.
Rossignols Amoureux
"Rossignols Amoureux" is the shepherdess' aria from act five of Hippolyte et Aricie by Jean-Philippe Rameau. This
aria is an elegant model of the old French style. In addition to the basso continuo performed on the harpsichord, it is
performed with a flute and violin concertante.
Songs from the Chinese
The English orientalist Arthur Waley is considered one of the world's great Asian scholars. The Chinese Poems is a
collection of texts selected by the author from his earlier volumes of translations. Britten selected six short pieces
from this collection: the poems he chose are not only magnificent in themselves, but they are also arranged with
delicacy in relation to one another. "The Big Chariot" has three verses, of which the second and the third do little
more than the repeat the first in slightly different words. "The Old Lute" gives a melancholy mood with its nostalgic
reminiscence of the instrument's "ancient melody" no longer in fashion. "The Autumn Wind" expresses Emperor
Wu-Ti's regret at having to go on an official journey leaving his mistress. In "The Herd-Boy", the gently swaying
rhythms depict the ox journey. The melancholy guitar glides over the sound through "Depression" to cover the
meditation on age and decay. The exhilarating and gay final "Dance Song" brings the cycle to a rousing conclusion.
Primavera
Joaquin Rodrigo was one of the leading Spanish composer of the Twentieth Century. Although blind from age three,
Rodrigo began music studies at early age and later became a pupil of Paul Dukas. While in France he made the
acquaintance of composer Manuel de Falla, who became his mentor. Primavera was composed by Rodrigo in 1953
for light soprano, flute and piano, and the text was written by Guillermo Fernandez Shaw.
Suite pour chant et violon
The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos was educated in Brazil but was self-taught in composition. He
developed an interest in Brazilian folk music, which became the strongest influence on his works. He wrote
numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works which were all animated by his passionate devotion to
his native land. The Suite is for voice and violin written in 1923. The Suite is somewhat like a triptych, multisectional poem a. The text in the first section is by Mario de Andrade. In the second section the soprano merely hums
and the third section is based on songs of the Cabacio, Brazilian peasants.
Variation on a Theme (Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman)
Many songs in various languages have been based on the melody from the folk song, Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman. In
English, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star shares its melody with the Alphabet Song from 1834, and a variant of it is used
for Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. In these versions a girl confides a secret to her mother: she has been seduced by
"Silvandre." For a time this Variation was thought to have been composed in 1778, while Mozart stayed in Paris
from April to September in that year, the assumption being that the melody of a French song could only have been
picked up by Mozart while residing in France. The rhythm is modified in different ways for each variation.