UMS Concert Program, November 21, 1961,: Galina Vishnevskaya -- Alexander Dedukhin

Concert: Seventh
Complete Series: 3336
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

1961 Eightythird Season 1962
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Charles A. Sink, President Gail W. Rector, Executive Director Lester McCoy, Conductor
Seventh Concert Eightythird Annual Choral Union Scries Complete Series 3336
GALINA VISHNEVSKAYA
Soprano ALEXANDER DEDUKHIN at the piano
Tuesday Evening, November 21, 1961, at 8:30 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Cantata No. 21, "Seufzer, Tranen, Kummer, Not" . . . Bach
Mein glaubiges Herze...........Bach
Leonora's aria, "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin"
from Fidelio..........Beethoven
Four Songs and Dances of Death......Moussorgsky
(text by GolenishchevKuyuzov) Lullaby Serenade
Trcpak (A Russian folk dance) The Commander
INTERMISSION
A Maiden Sang in a Church Choir.......Levitin
(text by Alexander Blok) What Fun! The Trumpets are Blowing......Levitin
(text by Alexander Blok) Romance..........Nicolas Miaskovsky
(text by Michael Lermontov) A Melody...........Rachmaninoff
(text by S. Nadson) I Wait for Thee.........Rachmaninoff
"Ritorna vincitor" from Aida.........Verdi
"Pace, pace, mio Dio" from La Forza del Destino .... Verdi
Artia and Monitor Records
The Sleinway is the official piano of the University Musical Society. A R S L O N G A VITA B R E V I S
PROGRAM NOTES
Cantata No. 21, "Seufzer, Tninen, Kummer, Not" . . J.S.Bach Sighing, weeping, trouble, want, Anguished longing, fear and death Gnaw at my oppressed heart. I am filled with grief and pain . . . Sighing, weeping, trouble, want.
Mein glaubiges Herze.........J. S. Bach
My heart, ever faithful, Sing praises, be joyful, My Jesus is near. Away with complaining, Faith ever maintaining, My Jesus is here.
Leonora's aria "Akscheulicher! Wo eilsl du hin" . L. vox BEETHOVEN
from Fidelio Leonora overhears a plot to kill her lover and exclaims in a highly dramatic recitative:
"Monster! Whither in thy haste What design breeds thy rage
Nor pity's call, nor humanity's voice naught moves thy tiger mind . . .
But a ray of hope on heaven's face I still perceive: it brings me calm,
restores my soul . . ."
Four Songs and Dances of Death . . . Modeste Moussorgsky (Text by GolenishchevKuyuzov)
1. Lullaby
A mother is spending a sleepless night over the crib of her sick child. Early in the
morning compassionate Death knocks at the door.
"Do not be afraid," he tells the mother. "You are weary. You were unable to quiet
your child. I can sing a sweeter song than you."
"Be quiet I" answers the Mother. "My child turns and tosses . . ."
"I shall sing him a sweet lullaby" says Death.
"He is turning pale, his breath weakens . . . Oh stop singing, I beg of you!"
"It is a good sign. His suffering will soon cease."
"Go away, you accursed one. Your kindness will kill my joy . . ."
"Oh no. I shall put it to sleep with my lullaby."
"Oh be merciful! Stop, if only for a moment. Stop singing your terrible song!"
"Do you see He is already asleep because of my lullaby . . ."
2. Serenade
At night Death sings this serenade to a sick girl. "Your youth is fading away in captivity. I, an unknown knight, shall free thee by my miraculous power. Get up and look at yourself, how beautiful you are with your blue eyes and rosy cheeks. I captured your imagination with my serenade. You were calling a knight with your whisper. Now the knight has come to receive a last reward. Your waist is tender. I shall strain you to my heart. Listen to my love song! Do not speak! You are MINE !"
3. Trepak (A Russian folk dance)
A snow storm is raging in a forest. It seems it is burying someone at night. Look! In the darkness Death is embracing a drunken peasant. He is dancing the Trepak with him, singing into his ear: "Oh, you poor old peasant, you got yourself drunk and were driven by a blizzard into this thick forest. Do lie down, make yourself comfortable and go to sleep. I shall warm you by soft snow; I shall entertain you with an unusual game. Hey, you blizzard, start singing a long fairy tale which will put the drunkard to sleep! Let me cover the old man with a snowsheet like a little baby! Do sleep well, my happy one. The Spring is here . . . the sun is shining . . . pigeons are flying ... a song is heard . . ."
4. The Commander
A battle is raging. Blood is flowing. The battle lasts all day long. At night Death is riding a battle horse, like a commander, surveying the battlefield. Death stops and smiles. His voice is heard: "The battle is over. I have conquered everyone. Now I shall stage a parade of the dead. Arise, you dead soldiers! I would like to count you! After the parade you may deposit your bones into the ground. It is good to rest in the ground! The time will pass. You will be forgotten by everyone but me. I shall come at midnight and celebrate. I shall dance and trample down the ground so that you will never be able to leave it."
INTERMISSION
A Maiden Sang in a Church Choir.......Levitin
(Text by Alexander Blok)
A maiden sang in a church choir
Of people who were tired of living in foreign lands,
Of ships, which were at sea,
Of everyone who had lost his joy . . .
Her voice rang and rose to the dome,
And a ray shimmered on her white shoulder,
And everyone out of the darkness looked and listened
And saw and heard her white dress sing in the ray of light . . .
And everyone believed that a joy would come,
That all the ships were safe in peaceful harbors,
That all the weary in exile did start a new life in foreign lands.
Her voice was sweet, and the ray of light was narrow,
And only high above the altar
A child, partaking of all the mysteries, cried
That there would be no return for anyone.
What Fun! The Trumpets are Blowing......Levitin
(Text by Alexander Blok)
What fun! The trumpets are blowing.
What fun! The trumpets are blowing and a passerby may
see a huge inscription upon a flag which reads: "FATE."
A fortuneteller is murmuring while looking at the cards:
"Words which sound sweeter than Mozart's music . . ."
Her darkcomplexioned hands are manipulating quickly.
Fortunetelling! A moment! A dream !
And again trumpets are blaring, and one is reminded of quick
gestures, of hands and of shoulders and of an inscription: "FATE."
Romance..........Nicolas Miaskovsky
(Text by Michael Lermontov)
They loved each other passionately and tenderly, but they avoided meeting and confession. Cold and empty were their conversations. They parted amidst silent and proud suffering and saw each other's images only in their dreams. They died and met again after their death but did not recognize each other in the new world.
A Melody.........Sergei Rachmaninoff
(Text by S. Nadson)
I would like to die while halfasleep, without meditations and without tearful leavetaking from the earth. I would like to die in the spring, while listening to a mur?muring brook and to a message of eternity and of paradise coming from the sky. While dying I would not like to pray or to cry, but would rather fall into a slumber and dream of taking leave by silent waves . . .
I Wait for Thee.......Sergei Rachmaninoff
The day has departed. The night is approaching. I wait for thee. I count every moment. I am full of longing, of love, of impatience, of torment ... I wait for thee . . .
"Ritorna vincitor," from Aida......Giuseppe Verdi
Aida has so far forgotten her native country that under the spell of her love she has joined with the multitude in crying to Rhadames, "Return victorious," but now, left alone, she realizes the full significance of the words. In a remarkable aria, she expresses her dismay that she has wished him to be victor over her father. She is appalled that the unavoidable workings of circumstances should have brought her to be so torn between love of homeland and such an overpowering love for Rhadames. Her conflicting emotions are admirably expressed in the varied melody and harmonic changes. In her distress she implores:
Love, fatal pow'r mystic and dread,
Break thou my heart,
Now let me die!
Oh, hear, ye gods on high!
"Pace, pace, mio Dio," from La Forza del Destino . Giuseppe Verdi Leonora, pale and worn, yet beautiful, has issued from her desolate cavern to pray, still tormented by memories of her illfated love. "Peace, oh my Lord, grant me peace" she implores, to a melody of haunting loveliness that rises more and more poignantly as memories of Alvaro come crowding back.
1961 UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY CONCERTS 1962 Rackham Auditorium
Chamber Music Festival
The Juilliard Quartet.....Friday, February 23, 8:30 p.m.
Quartet in Bflat major, Op. 103.........Haydn
Quartet No. 5.............Bartok
Quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden," Op. posth. . . Schubert
The Eger Players......Saturday, February 24, 8:30 p.m.
Horn Trio, Op. 40, in Eflat major........Braiims
Variations on "Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu," Op. 121a . Beethoven
Elegy...............Poulenc
Elegy for Mippy I.........Leonard Bernstein
Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34.....ProkofieffEger
Beaux Arts Trio......Sunday, February 25, 2:30 p.m.
Trio in Eflat major, Op. 1, No. 1.......Beethoven
Trio in A minor.............Ravel
Trio in C major, Op. 87..........Brahms
Series Tickets: $5.00 and $4.00 Single Concerts: $2.50 and $2.00
Special Chamber Music Concert
Richard DyeeBennet, Classical Folk Singer--Saturday, January 13, 8:30 p.m.
Tickets: $2.50 and S2.00
Kill Auditorium
All concerts begin at 8:30 unless otherwise indicated.
Rudolf Serkin, Pianist.......Monday, November 27
Emil Gilels, Pianist........Tuesday, February 13
Boston Pops Tour Orchestra . . . . 2:30, Sunday, February 18 Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra . . . 2:30, Sunday, March 4
Leontyne Price, Soprano.......Monday, March 12
American Ballet Theatre......Saturday, March 24
Tickets: $4.00--$3.50--$3.00--$2.2 5--$ 1.50
Annual Christmas Concerts
Messiah (Handel).......8:30, Saturday, December 2
2:30, Sunday, December 3
Ilona Kombrink, soprano Ara Berberian, bass
Elaine Bonazzi, contralto Mary McCall Stubbins, organist
Richard Miller, tenor Lester McCoy, conductor
University Choral Union and University Symphony Orchestra
Ann Arbor May Festival
The Philadelphia Orchestra.......May 3, 4, 5, 6
Eugene Ormandy, Conductor; guest conductors and soloists. Orders for series tickets accepted, and filed in sequence, beginning December 1.
For tickets and information, address: University Musical Society, Burton Memorial Tower