UMS Concert Program, April 28, 1990: The King's Singers --

Season: 111th
Concert: Forty-third
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
The King's Singers
David Hurley, Countertenor Bruce Russell, Baritone
Alastair Hume, Countertenor Simon Carrington, Baritone
Bob Chilcott, Tenor Stephen Connolly, Bass
Saturday Evening, April 28, 1990, at 8:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
The River That Never Runs Dry Folksongs of Canada, an. Robert Chilcott
A la Claire Fontaine L'habitant de Saint-Barbe She's Like the Swallow The Feller from Fortune
A Madrigal History Tour
Amor Vittorioso ........................................... Giovanni Gastoldi
The Three Ravens........................................ Thomas Ravenscroft
II est bel et bon .............................................. Pierre Passereau
Ein Guten Raht .............................................. Orlandus Lassus
Chi Chilichi ..........................................................Lassus
Nonsense Madrigals ............................................Gyorgy Ligeti
Two Dreams and Little Bat The Cuckoo in the Pear Tree The Alphabet Flying Robert Lobster Quadrille
INTERMISSION
The University Musical Society appreciates underwriting support from the Parke Davis Research Division of Warner Lambert Company for this presentation of The King's Singers, another demonstration of interest and commitment to the performing arts in our city. We salute the leadership of Ron Cresswell and Warner Lambert for their significant participation in making this offering possible.
The box office in the outer lobby will be open during intermission for May Festival tickets and placement of series orders for the Musical Society's new 1990-91 season.
The pre-concert carillon recital was performed by Laura Schulz, an undergraduate philosophy major and a carillon student ofMargo Halsted, University Carillonneur.
Cameras and recording devices are not allowed in the auditorium. Halls Cough Tablets, courtesy of Warner Lambert Company, are available in the lobby.
Forty-third Concert of the 11 lth Season Nineteenth Annual Choice Scries
My Spirit Sang AH Day Partsongs by British Composers of the Early Twentieth Century
My Spirit Sang All Day.......................................... Gerald Finzi
The Little Green Lane .................................. Trad,, arr. S. E. Lovatt
Blow Away the Morning Dew ........................ Trad., arr. R. O. Morris
To a Lady Seen from a Train ................................... Stanley Wilson
Rest ................................................ Ralph Vaughan Williams
Arrangements in Close Harmony Selections from the Lighter Side of the Repertoire
PROGRAM NOTES A Madrigal History Tour
The first publications of madrigals in the 1530s and 1540s were highly successful and revealed an avid market of literate and sophisticated people who relished the fashionable pastime of singing settings of poems about life and love. Each vocal line became equally important, so that no one with the necessary ability needed to feel left out at after-dinner entertainments.
Composers from Spain, Germany, and France traveled to Italy to learn, or obtained published music to study. They adopted the madrigalists' musical style and applied it to their own vernacular poetry. In Spain, the villancko thrived well into the sixteenth century and was gradually developed polyphonically by Juan Vasquez and others. In Germany, many composers set Italian texts as well as German (and sometimes a mixture of the two) and delighted in folksong settings and satirical parodies. The French chanson composers specialized in "courtly love" songs and in lighter settings of the more frivolous aspects of love. In England, the madrigal enjoyed a remarkable Indian summer during the last years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, mainly due to the influence of one man, Thomas Morley. In his much-quoted book, A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke, he outlined the qualities appropriate to both composers and performers of madrigals: They should be of "an amorous humour . . . sometimes wanton, sometimes drooping, sometimes grave and staid . . . and the more variety (they) show the better (they) shall please!"
My Spirit Sang All Day
Partsongs by British Composers of the Early Twentieth Century, or Music of the Second English Renaissance
By 1920 England was no longer (if it ever had been) "Das Land ohne Musik," for composers such as Elgar and Vaughan Williams had put her firmly on the musical map again. Much of the success of their generation was due to the teaching of the pioneers, Parry and Stanford. While the orchestral music of the latter may not be so popular nowadays, their reputations as choral composers seem safe for posterity, and each had a sensitivity to words, rare in any generation, and a cultural background far wider than that of the Victorians they succeeded.
The next generation -Vaughan Williams, Hoist, Grainger -were in the vanguard of the folksong revival, often out in the shires collecting the songs themselves. With the parallel surge of interest in madrigals and other Elizabethan music also influencing composers, English music between the wars was often tagged pastoral. While this could easily descend to the twee, at its best, in the music of Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Howells, for example, it brought forth music of hcartaching loveliness.
-Richard Barnes
About the Artists
The King's Singers, England's phenomenally successful six-man vocal ensemble, have performed everything from Renaissance to Rock for audiences all over the world. Last season they celebrated their 20th Anniversary Year with a full schedule of performances, recordings, and major television appearances, and last summer they were honored to act as artistic directors as well as performers for London's renowned "Summer in the City" Festival at the Barbican Centre. The Festival hosted world class artists such as the acclaimed pianist George Shearing, and The King's Singers performed a number of world premieres by some of this century's most noted composers.
Formed in 1968 at King's College, Cambridge, The King's Singers have developed the most diverse repertoire of any vocal group in the world. They are masters of Renaissance madrigals, sacred and secular choral masterpieces, folk music of various languages, and their trademark, "Arrangements in Close Harmony," consisting of a wealth of pop music. Moreover, they have continually and substantially added to the vocal repertoire by commissioning new works by such outstanding composers as Ned Rorem, Richard Rodney Bennett, Gunthcr Schuller, and Krysztof Pcndcrecki. New works written for them within the past year include pieces by William Mathias, Gyorgy Ligeti, Gordon Crosse, and Carl Davis. In the recording field, the ensemble has over 50 recordings to its credit, a Grammy nomination, and new CDs and cassettes appearing regularly on the EMIAngel label. Among their recent releases are a Christmas album with Kiri Tc Kanawa, "America," featuring the music of Paul Simon, and their Billboard best-selling CD, "The Beatles Connection."
THE KING'S SINGERS
REVISED PROGRAM
Saturday Evening, April 28, 1990, at 8:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Due to illness, Simon Carrington is unable to sing in tonight's concert. The five remaining Singers -David Hurley, Alastair Hume, Bob Chilcott, Bruce Russell, and Stephen Connolly -will perform this revised program.
A Madrigal History Tour
Now Is the Month of Maying............... Thomas Morley
The Three Ravens .................. Thomas Ravenscroft
Ich Hab1 Dich Lieb...................Orlandus Lassus
Toutes les Nuits .................... Orlandus Lassus
Amor Vittorioso ................... Giovanni Gastoldi
Spanish Music of the Sixteenth Century
Pasame por Dios, Barquero ................... Escobar
La Bomba ............................ Flecha
Lalela Zulu Music: Stanley Glasser Words: Lewis Nkosi
Ilihubo (Chant) Uhambo Ngesitimela (Train Journey)
Mambabo! (Wow!) Egoli (Johannesburg)
Lala Mntwana (Sleep, Child) Umdanso Wasegoli (Jo'burg Dance)
INTERMISSION
My Spirit Sang All Day Partsongs of British Composers of the Early 20th Century
My Spirit Sang All Day..................Gerald Finzi
I Have Loved Thee.....................Gerald Finzi
Blow Away the Morning Dew...........Trad. arr. R.O. Morris
Rest ...................... Ralph Vaughan Williams
Quick: We Have But a Second.........Trad.3 arr. C.V. Stanford
Arrangements in Close Harmony Selections from the Lighter Side of the Repertoire
PROGRAM NOTES
Please see the printed program for notes on "A Madrigal History Tour" and "My Spirit Sang All Day."
Spanish Music of the Sixteenth Century
Spanish Renaissance music is sometimes presented nowadays as if it were peculiarly Spanish and exclusively patriotic. Though the pieces in this group show some characteristically Spanish qualities, they may also serve to show that Spanish composers were as keen to look abroad as were musi?cians in other countries. One of the main collections of songs was the Canoionero Musical de Palacio, put together from about 1500 to 1520, representing in the main the repertoire of songs performed by the court musicians of the day. Of the major forms of composition, perhaps the most popular was the "villancico," a refrain song. Other forms were the "romance," drawing on folk legends of the time, and the "ensalada," a dramatic medley of popular and courtly tunes.
Lalela Zulu Music: Stanley Glasser Words: Lewis Nkosi
The condition of "exile" is an all too common feature in our world today. The poet Adolf Wood has written:
Who would willingly go the exile 's way knowing today the bleakness of unbelonging
Some years ago, The King's Singers commissioned a work from two South African exiles living in London -the writer Lewis Nkosi and the composer Stanley Glasser. Lalela Zulu -translated colloquially as "listen to things Zulu" -is a set of six impressions of African life in the city of Johannesburg. The will to live drives its way through the most difficult of conditions, so that suffering and high spirits will often stand along?side one another.
The first song, Ilihubo3 is like a chant from a Zulu dance team surging into a dance arena; Mambdbol is an exclamation of pleasure from a young man who enjoys the sight of a buxom girl; Lala Mntwana is a lullaby from a mother to her baby -the father has left that evening by train to seek work in Johannesburg and may never return; Uhambo Ngesitimela urges on a train that is running late; Egoli describes Johannesburg as a city of sorrows; and, to end, Umdanso Wasegoli captures the exuberance, gaiety, and hilarity at a dance hall on a Saturday night.
In addition to the hundreds of a cappeUa recitals they have given for American audiences, the Singers have also collaborated with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the symphony orchestras of Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Washington, D.C. During this 1989-90 season, The King's Singers have performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Their present U.S. tour is taking them to 21 states, culminating on May 6 with a return engagement in Lincoln Center's "Great Perfomers" Series in New York. Tonight's concert also marks the Singers' return to Ann Arbor, after their debut here in 1986.
David Hurley, countertenor, began his musical training at the age of eight as a chorister in Winchester Cathedral. He sang alto at Winchester College and then went to New College Oxford as a Choral Scholar. With a degree in geography, he found his way back to Winchester and rejoined the Cathedral Choir, combining it with a career as a freelance singer. When not singing, David enjoys riding other people's horses and sailing other people's boats. The newest member of the group, hejoined The King's Singers in February 1990.
Alastair Hume, countertenor and founding member of The King's Singers along with Simon Carrington, joined the choir as an alto at Tonbridge School and later was accepted at King's College, Cambridge, in 1962 after taking the alto trial. An accomplished double bass player, he was a member of both the National Youth Orchestra and the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra. In addition to being an expert (if sporadic) squash player, Alastair enjoys sailing and antique cars and has an interest in Westholme Restaurant, Pilton, Somerset.
Bob Chilcott, tenor, was both a chorister and Choral Scholar at King's College, Cambridge. His main interest as a boy was cricket, and this prepared him for an amateur career in the game, playing for such teams as the Royal College of Music XI, the English Music Theatre XI, and the BBC 3rd XI. After Cambridge, he studied singing and composition with Alan Ridout at the Royal College of Music. Hejoined The King's Singers in 1986 and continues to arrange and compose when time permits. Bob lives outside of Oxford with his wife and two children, and his least favorite hobby is taking his old Alfa Romeo car to the garage to be fixed!
Bruce Russell, baritone, was a chorister at King's College, Cambridge, and continued his education at the Shrewsbury School. He studied music on a choral scholarship at Christ Church, Oxford, and, after three years in London, returned to Oxford as a lay-clerk, combining this with teaching the flute and freelance singing. Until joining The King's Singers full-time in January 1988, Bruce had been singing in the choir at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, while teaching at Radley College. Married, he enjoys walking and exploring historic buildings.
Simon Carrington, baritone, has been a co-director and creative force with The King's Singers since the group's inception over 20 years ago. Educated at Christ Church Cathedral School, King's School, Canterbury, and King's College, Cambridge, he drifted into a career in music as a double bass player, first with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, then as principal with the Monteverdi Orchestra, and other London chamber orchestras. He lives in an old thatched house in the Vale of Pewsey with his wife and two children -all musicians. He teaches singing at Marlborough College, conducts choirs when he can, and in between, enjoys the Wiltshire countryside, inland waterways, gardening, and vintage cars, an interest he shares with Alastair Hume, a friend and colleague for over 30 years.
Stephen Connolly, bass, was a chorister and, at the age of six, a lay-clerk at Leeds Parish Church. He was also baritone soloist with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain and performed as soloist and ensemble singer with many choral societies. He studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and made his operatic debut in Nicholas Maw's The Rising of the Moon. A King's Singer since 1988, Stephen now makes his home in Gloucestershire, but still relishes a trip back to his native Yorkshire, which enables him to indulge his passion for Real Ales, good Indian cuisine, and authentic Yorkshire pudding!
The King's Singers gratefiilly acknowledge assistance from Ford Motor Company in international transport arrangements.
The King's Singers are represented by IMC Artists, Neti' York. Recording Distributor for American concerts: DJ Records, P.O. Box 95, McMinnville, OR 97128.
97th Annual May Festival -May 9-12, 1990 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, 8:00 p.m.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Andre Previn, Guest Conductor and Pianist
The Festival Chorus
Hei-Kyung Hong, Soprano Richard Stilwell, Baritone Wednesday -Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F; Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 Tlmrsday -John Harbison: Concerto for Brass Choir and Orchestra; Mahler: Symphony No. 4,
with Hei-Kyung Hong
Friday -Beethoven: Symphony No. 4; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 4 Saturday --All-Brahms: "Tragic" Overture; "A German Requiem," for Chorus, Orchestra, and Soloists
This activity is supported by the Michigan Council for the Arts. The University Musical Society is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or handicap.
1990-91 -A "Finely Tuned" Season
112th Annual Choral Union Series
Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra ......................................Fri. Oct. 19
Mariss Jansons, Conductor; Dmitri Alexeev, Pianist
London Classical PlayersRoger Norrington...........................Thurs. Oct. 25
Itzhak Perlman & Pinchas Zukerman, Violinists ......................... Tues. Oct. 30
Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pianist..........................................Thurs. Dec. 6
Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist ................................................. Thurs. Jan. 10
Leontyne Price, Soprano.............................................. Mon. Jan. 14
Detroit Symphony Orchestra.......................................... Sun. Feb. 10
Neemejarvi, Conductor; Nadja Salerno-Sonncnberg, Violinist
The Houston Symphony............................................ Thurs. Mar. 7
Christoph Eschcnbach, ConductorPianist
Israel Philharmonic OrchcstraZubin Mehta .......................... Thurs. Mar. 21
New World SymphonyMichael Tilson Thomas ......................... Wed. Apr. 3
28th Annual Chamber Arts Series
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center .............................. Mon. Oct. 1
Chilingirian String Quartet...........................................Tues. Oct. 16
The Prism Quartet and Chester String Quartet ........................ Wed. Nov. 14
Camerata Musica of the DDR .........................................Wed. Jan. 30
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet ................................... Mon. Feb. 11
The Hilliard Ensemble............................................... Tues. Mar. 5
An die Musik..................................................... Thurs. Mar. 14
Elly Ameling, Soprano ................................................ Sat. Apr. 13
20th Annual Choice Series
Any five or more comprise a series.
Klezmer Conservatory Band ........................................... Sat. Oct. 6
Ballet Franqais de Nancy.......................................Fri., Sat. Oct. 26, 27
Shanghai Acrobats and Imperial Warriors of Peking Opera................ Sun. Oct. 28
Billy Taylor Trio ....................................................Sat. Nov. 17
Royal Winnipeg Ballet, "Anne of Green Gables" ...................... Mon. Nov. 19
Handel's "Messiah" ............................................Sat., Sun. Dec. 1, 2
Little Singers of Paris...............................................Thurs. Dec. 13
New York City Opera National Company............. Wed., Fri., Sat. Feb. 13, 15, 16
Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"
Mummenschanz, MaskMime ..............................Wed., Thurs. Feb. 20, 21
Nexus, Percussion Ensemble ........................................... Fri. Mar. 8
"Pirin," Bulgarian State Folk Ensemble................................. Sat. Mar. 16
American Indian Dance Theatre ..................................... Mon. Mar. 25
Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre .........................................Tues. Apr. 2
Butch Thompson Trio and
James Dapogny, Pianist; Peter "Madcat" Ruth, Harmonica................. Sat. Apr. 20
Plus, 7 new series drawn from the above offerings:
Family Affair, Jazz Introspection, Chorco-Motive Forces, Cheers Sampler Series, Cantata Brilliante, Concert Adventure Series, Marathon Series
And, add these dates to your calendar: April 30 -A Very Special Concert May 1-4 -98th Annual May Festival
For complete information, call or write for new brochure.
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, Ml 48109-1270 Telephones: (313) 764-2538, 763-TKTS