UMS Concert Program, July 15, 1985: Ann Arbor Summer '85 Festival -- The Northwood Orchestra

Power Center For The Performing Arts, Ann Arbor, Michigan

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THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
presents
The Northwood Orchestra
DON TH. JAEGER
Music Director and Conductor
MAUREEN FORRESTER, Contralto BRIAN GLOW, Magician
Monday Evening, July 15, 1985, at 8:00 Power Center for the Performing Arts, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Overture to La Cenerentola..........................................Rossini
Les Nuits d 'ete', Op. 7..............................................Berlioz
Villanelle Absence
Le Spectre de la Rose Au Cimetiere -Clair de Lune
Sur les Lagunes -Lamento L'lle inconnue
Maureen Forrester, Contralto
Three Metis Songs from Saskatchewan....................arr. Malcolm Forsyth
Chanson du Petit Cordonnier Adieu de la Marie'e Chanson de la Grenouillere
Miss Forrester INTERMISSION
Classical Magic with Brian Glow
Assisted by Leonard Turton, Lezlie Waker, Alexis Brown, Kim Wood, Donna Buck
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BWV 1049......................Bach
Allegro Andante Presto
?William Preucil, Jr., Violinist Jacqueline Hofto and Laura Paulu, Flutists
?Concertmaster, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
This concert is made possible in part by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Northwood Institute.
Les Nuits d'ete, Op. 7 by Hector Berlioz
Villanelle -When the season changes and the cold weather has gone, my love, we will go together to pick lilyofthevalley in the woods. Our feet scattering the glittering pearls of morning dew, we will go and hear the blackbirds sing.
The spring has come, my love, it is the blessed season for lovers; and the bird, preening its wings, sings songs from the edge of its nest. Oh come and sit on this mossy bank and talk of our happy love, and say to me in your soft voice; for ever!
Far, far away, our footsteps wandering, we'll startle the rabbit from its hiding, and the deer watching its great antlers mirrored in the stream; then back home in complete happiness and con?tentment, our fingers entwined, return, carrying baskets of wild strawberries.
Le Spectre de la Rose -Lift up your eyelids that glow with a maiden dream. 1 am the ghost of a rose which you wore last night at the ball. You took me still moist and glistening from the gardener's spray, and through the sparkling scene you walked me with you all evening.
Oh you who was cause of my death; without your being able to escape it, night after night my fragrant ghost will come to dance at your pillow. But do not be afraid, I exact no mass or De Profundis. This faint perfume is my soul, and it is from paradise that I come.
My destiny was one to be coveted; many would give their lives to have a fate as beautiful as mine. For my tomb is on your breast, and on the marbled whiteness where I rest a poet wrote with his kiss, "Here lies a rose that kings will envy."
Sur les Lagunes -Lamento -My fair one is dead. I will weep always. She has taken with her into the tomb my whole being and all my love. She did not wait but returned to heaven. The angel that drew her back would not take me with her. How bitter is my fate. Ah, without love to depart on the sea!
Her white body sleeps in the grave; and now all nature seems to me in mourning. The forsaken dove mourns and broods on the departed; my soul mourns and feels as if cut in two. How bitter is my fate. Ah, without love to depart on the sea!
The vast night spreads over me like a shroud. 1 sing my song, and only the sky hears it. Ah, how beautiful she was and how I loved her; never will I love a woman as I have loved her. How bitter is my fate. Ah, without love to depart on the sea!
Absence -Come back, come back my beloved. Like a flower away from the sun, the flower of my life is closed up away from your warm smile.
What distance lies between our hearts; so great a gulf between our kisses; Oh bitter fate, oh cruel absence, mighty desires unsatisfied.
Come back, come back my beloved. Like a flower away from the sun, the flower of my life is closed up away from your warm smile.
From here to there what plains lie between, what towns and villages, what valleys and hills, to tire the horse's hooves.
Come back, come back my beloved. Like a flower away from the sun, the flower of my life is closed up away from your warm smile.
Au Cimetiere -Clairde Lune -Do you know the white gravestone which the shade of a yewtree touches like a sigh On the yew a solitary white dove as the sun goes down sings its sad song.
A sickly sweet air at once enchanting and full of doom, which affects you unpleasantly and which one would like to listen to forever; like a song sighed out to heaven by a lovelorn angel.
One would think the awakened soul wept under the earth in tune with the song, and from grief at being forgotten complained in a soft murmur like the moaning of a dove.
You feel that a memory is ebbing back, recalled by the music. A shade, a shimmering form brushes past you, shrouded in white.
Round you, from the half open amaryllis flowers comes a faint perfume, and the phantom whispers to you, softly stretching out its arms: You will come back.
Oh never again, when the evening comes darkly down, will I go and stand near the grave and hear the pale dove from the top of the yewtree sing its plaintive song!
L'lle inconnue -Tell me, young beauty, where do you want to go The sails are set, the breeze is getting up. The oar is ivory, the flag of silk, the helm of fine gold. For ballast I have an orange, for sail, an angel's wing, for ship's boy a seraph.
Tell me, young beauty, where do you want to go The sails are set, the breeze is getting up. Is it to the Baltic To the Pacific Ocean To the Island of Java Or is it to Norway, to pick the snowflowers, or the flowers of Angsoka Tell me, young beauty, where do you want to go Take me, the fair one replies, to the faithful shore where love lasts forever. That shore, my dear, is little known in the country of love. Where do you want to go The breeze is getting up.
Three Metis Songs from Saskatchewan Arranged by Malcolm Forsyth
Text and melodies from "Seven Metis Songs of Saskatchewan," collected and annotated by Barbara CassBeggs.
Chanson du Petit Cordonnier (Song of the Little Shoemaker) -This folk song exists in many variants in Canada, Belgium, and France, and is known also as Lisette o ma Lisette and Galant retirez vous. It relates the tale of an impetuous young man who falls in love and goes to his sweetheart's father for permission to marry her. As he is penniless, he is accused of trying to marry her for her wealth, and his suit is refused. The young woman's brother, hearing the story, pleads the lovers' case, but to no avail. The lovers are griefstricken; tears are shed, for which a handkerchief is found in the young girl's bedside table, but only the farewell remains. The final stanza finds the little shoemaker on horseback, composing his song.
Adieu de la Mariee (The Farewell of a Bride) -This wellloved folk song exists in many con?siderably differing versions in Canada (Quebec alone has 52 versions), the United States, Belgium, and France. A sad, haunting melody conveys the story of a young woman about to enter an ar?ranged marriage (perhaps, as suggested by Malcolm Forsyth, precipitated by her less than circumspect behavior on the banks of the creek she loved so much). She bids farewell not only to her parents, sisters, and brothers, but also to her youth, personal possessions, and dreams of the future. She will put on her white dress and, poignantly, her "hat of care" and a "necklace of sighs." The future husband is not mentioned. Marriage is the inevitable lot of women, their religious duty. The rest of her life is clear: alter dans la misere (to be in misery).
Chanson de la Grenouillere (Song of the Frog Plain) -Indigenously Canadian, this song's derivation can be traced to the evening of June 19, 1816. It expresses the Metis' pride in their vic?tory over the English at La Grenouillere that day. Its composer was Pierre Falcon, "singer of the Plains," son of a NorthWest Company clerk and an Indian woman. Born in the Swan Lake district but educated in Quebec, he returned to become a clerk for the NorthWest Company. He was the only person of that time and place to describe everything he saw in his airs and verses. These were carried to and from Montreal by voyageurs passing through his trading post. This version was sung to Margaret Compline of Regina by the greatgrandson of Pierre Falcon. (Other variants are extant -it is also known as The Battle of Seven Oaks, or as Falcon's Song.) It tells of a band of Metis known as BoisBrules, who, having previously captured three prisoners, surprise and surround a troop of English grenadiers at La Grenouillere. Although the Metis were prepared to discuss terms with the governor, he was adamant and refused to negotiate, instructing his troops to fire. In the ensuing battle, the English perished.
One of the leading contraltos of our time, Maureen Forrester has been heard by audiences on five continents as soloist with virtually every major orchestra in the world. She is recognized worldwide as one of the great interpreters of Gustav Mahler and has made numerous recent ap?pearances as soloist in his Second and Third Symphonies and Songs of a Wayfarer. Her scheduled engagements for 198586 include an appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra, multiple perform?ances with the Toronto Symphony, performances of Mahler's Second Symphony with the Cincin?nati Symphony, and other orchestral and recital engagements throughout the United States and Canada.
Born in Montreal, Miss Forrester made her debut at the Montreal YWCA and was immediately engaged to sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Montreal Symphony under the baton of Otto Klemperer. Word of her talent soon spread, and in 1957 she made her first Carnegie Hall appear?ance in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. She has since become a favorite of many of the world's greatest conductors, performing under Eugene Ormandy, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Zubin Mehta, and James Levine, among others.
In 1983 Maureen Forrester was elected Chairman of the Canada Council. Among her many honors are the Companion of the Order of Canada, which she received in 1967, the year it was created. She is also the recipient of no less than fifteen honorary doctorates.
An accomplished purveyor of illusion and comedy, Brian Glow is the master of Canada's largest touring magic company. Within the format of a symphony concert, he has developed "Classical Magic," a production which blends the beauty of classical music and the mysteries of magic. The show was developed and produced in Winnipeg in 1983, with choreography designed by Sandra Neels of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
Brian Glow's performances have taken him thoughout Canada and the United States, and to Western Europe, Greece, Africa, and the Middle East, and future tours will take him to Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and China. His ten years in magic theatre have brought recognition in magicians' circles as an innovator and creator of new illusions. He also uses his talents to design illusions for businesses, trade shows, rock bands, and television. He has created special theatre ef?fects and has hosted several children's shows and made special films for television. He also serves as a magic consultant and teacher for the National Film Board of Canada. As a university graduate with a degree in physiological psychology, Brian's contact with academic circles has led to several lectures in which he has dealt with everything from schizophrenia to perception, illustrating his points with magic.
The Northwood Orchestra was established in 1979 as the resident orchestra for the Northwood Institute's Festival of the Lakes. Under Don Jaeger's leadership, the ensemble has expanded its scope to include performances in major cities with celebrated guest artists. In 1981 the Orchestra performed a concert of twentieth century music with The Canadian Brass in New York's Avery Fisher Hall, and in 1983 it performed in Carnegie Hall at the presentation of the Albert Schweitzer Music Award to Van Clibum. Soloists for that performance included Leontyne Price, Ralph Votapek, and Steven de Groote. The Orchestra continues to be the resident ensemble of the Festival of the Lakes, an annual summer event founded in the Little Traverse Bay area, now expanded to bring outstanding musical fare to several Northern Michigan communities.
Northwood Institute was founded in 1959 and is an accredited, private, nonprofit, coeduca?tional business and management college with campuses in Midland (Michigan), Texas, Florida, and a facility for international study in Paris. Northwood balances its pragmatic business curriculum with activities that foster student and community appreciation for the arts. The creation and spon?sorship of the Northwood Orchestra is one of the many ways Northwood Institute demonstrates its active dedication to the arts.
Before helping to found the Northwood Orchestra in 1979, Don Jaeger held posts at Interlochen Arts Academy (teacher and director) and was music director of the Northwestern Michigan and the Midland Symphony Orchestras. While in Midland, he was responsible for commissioning new works from such composers as Lukas Foss, Dave Brubeck, Alec Wilder, and Leslie Bassett. Mr. Jaeger has guest conducted in major cities and halls on three continents, and, in 1981, he was in?vited to lecture, teach, and conduct at the Tianjin and Bejing conservatories of music.
Running concurrently with his Northwood post is Mr. Jaeger's new position (since 1984) as music director of the Inland Empire Symphony, serving the city of San Bernardino, California. He is the founder and music director of the new Arrowhead Bach Festival, which will make its debut in October at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. This will be the first major Bach festival serving Southern California. Mr. Jaeger also founded and continues to serve as music direc?tor for two other Bach festivals -the Village Bach Festival in Cass City, Michigan, and the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado.
The Northwood Orchestra
First iolins
Norman Paulu
Concertmasler Philip Mason
Associate Concertmaster Catherine White Allison Guest Rod Hither Amy Shevrin
Second violins
Joel Levin Melanic Levin Julia Kurtyka Diana Dyer
Violas
?Kenneth Kwo Reed Anderson John Madison Belinda Reuning
Cellos
?Peter Sleffens Elizabeth Chryst Eric Edberg Allen Whear
Basses
Rip Pretat Duane Rosengard
Flutes
?Jacqueline Hofto Laura Paulu
Oboes
Catherine Paulu Nancy Brammer
Clarinets
?Frank Kowalsky Mark Gallagher
Bassoons
Betty Johnson Mary Minnis
Horns
Douglas Hill John Jacobson
Trumpets
?Dennis Horton Larry Herman
Trombone David Sporny
Percussion
David Wiles Eric Schweikcrt
Harp Anne Preucil
PianoHarpsichord Karen Hill
Personal Manager and Librarian
Julia Kurtyka
Stage Manager Eric Paulu
Technician Chris Paulu
Assistant Manager Diane Page
'Principal