Senior Recital Program

Birds, Bees, and Butterflies

Santa Clara University Department of Music

Siobhan Ortolano, soprano
Daniel Lockert, piano

May 29, 2021
12pm

Recital Hall

___Program___

from Le Nozze di Figaro (1786) W.A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Deh vieni, non tardar
Fanny Hensel (1805-1847)
Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen (1838)
Beharre (1846) Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
Das Veilchen (1846) Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

Les Papillons (1880) Charles Koechlin (1867-1950)
L’âme des Oiseaux (1895)
Si tu le veux (1894) Kurt Weill (1900-1950)
Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964)
from Knickerbocker Holiday (1938)
It Never Was You Kurt Weill

from Juno (1959)
I Wish It So

from One Touch of Venus (1944)
I’m a Stranger Here

___Program Notes___

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was a child prodigy and influential
Classical composer. He was born in Salzburg and had been composing since the
age of five. At twenty-five, after having played as a court musician in Salzburg, he
moved to Vienna, where he composed a large number of operas, symphonies,
concertos, and portions of his Requiem mass. His piece “Deh vieni, non tardar”
comes from one of his comic operas, Le Nozze di Figaro, or The Marriage of Figaro. The
play on which the opera was based was originally banned in Vienna by Emperor
Joseph II, as the play mocked the nobility. “Deh vieni, non tardar” is a love song
that Susanna, the Countess’s maid, sings to her beloved, Figaro, the Count’s valet.

Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) was a German composer and the older
sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn. Though she wrote hundreds of lieder
(German art songs), several cantatas, music for solo piano, and an orchestral work,
many of her compositions were credited to her brother, due to social conventions
of the time. Most of her compositions were for solo piano and voice, having not
had the same experience with strings or orchestra as her brother. Despite this,
musicologists have deemed her lieder more experimental and harmonically dense
than those of her brother. Her lieder “Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen” and
“Beharre” are set to poems by Heinrich Heine and Wilhelmine von Chézy,
respectively. “Das Veilchen” is set to a poem by an anonymous author, though its
connection between a dying violet and a disappointment in love is similar to
Goethe’s “Das Veilchen” poem, which Mozart turned into a lied.

Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) was a French composer born into an affluent
family. To please his father, he studied law and became a barrister for the Court of
Appeals, but his passion was for music. At twenty-four, he started taking
composition classes from Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire. His
composition style is divided into three periods: the first was highly influenced by
Massenet, the second was far more dramatic, owing to his connections with his
new artistic peers, while the third was heavily inspired by Russian literature,
especially that of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. He died suddenly at forty-four as a
result of a bicycling accident, just as his works were becoming popular. “Les

Papillons” is one of his opus-numbered pieces set to the poem with the same name
by Théophile Gautier.

Jules Massenet (1842-1912) was a French composer known for his operas,
oratorios, ballets, incidental music, orchestral works, and more. His two most
popular operas were Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). In his youth, he studied at
the Paris Conservatoire, before eventually becoming a professor there like so many
other significant French composers of the time. Both Ernest Chausson and Charles
Koechlin were among his students at the Paris Conservatoire. By the end of his life,
many critics had called his composition style “old-fashioned” and
“unadventurous,” though by the mid-20th century, his works had regained
popularity. “L’âme des Oiseaux” is one of his art songs set to the poem of the same
name by Hélène Vacaresco.

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) was a French composer and teacher. Over the
course of his life, he had composed many symphonies, choral works, art works,
and much more. He entered the Paris Conservatoire at twenty-three, eventually
studying composition under Jules Massenet and assisting Fauré as a teacher.
Throughout his life, Koechlin was politically radical, and especially fond of
socialism. He was concerned with the idea of “Music for the People” and
subscribed to many beliefs held by the Communist party, though he was never an
official member. His art song “Si tu le veux” is set to the poem of the same name by
Maurice de Marsan.

Kurt Weill (1900-1950) was a German composer who wrote for both classical
and musical theater styles. At age twelve, Weill began taking piano lessons and
composing; by age eighteen, he wrote his first string quartet. His most famous
work was the satirical The Threepenny Opera (1928), which he wrote with Bertolt
Brecht. As a very outspoken Jewish composer, Weill fled Germany in 1933 to
escape Nazi occupation. At first, he went to Paris to collaborate once more with
Brecht before settling in New York. Once he started working on Broadway, his
compositional style changed from classical to fit that of popular stage music,
though he has stated that he did not think one style was better than the other. “It
Never Was You” was from his 1938 musical Knickerbocker Holiday, a romantic

comedy which conflates F. D. Roosevelt’s New Deal with fascism. “I’m a Stranger
Here” originates from his 1943 musical One Touch of Venus, a collaboration with
Ogden Nash. The musical references the Pygmalion myth whilst also satirizing
American suburbia, artistic fads, and romantic customs.

Marc Blitzstein (1905-1964) was an American composer, librettist, and lyricist.
Born into an affluent family, Blitzstein studied music at an early age, making his
professional concerto debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age twenty-one.
Early in his career, he considered himself an artistic snob, stating that art ought to
be made for the intellectual and critiqued artists such as Maurice Ravel and Kurt
Weill for lowering their standards for the sake of a larger audience. His pro-union
musical The Cradle Will Rock garnered him fame when it was shut down by the
Works Progress Administration in 1937, though the cast and crew still performed
the work, albeit illegally. “I Wish It So” was one of the numbers from Blitzstein’s
1959 musical Juno, the story of a dissolved Irish family during the Irish War of
Independence. The musical itself was met harshly by critics, who were
disappointed at the lack of comedy within the musical.

___Texts and Translations___

Deh vieni, non tardar The moment finally arrives
When I’ll experience joy without haste
Giunse alfin il momento in the arms of my beloved,
Che godrò senza affanno Fearful anxieties, get out of my heart!
in braccio all’idol mio. Do not come to disturb my delight.
Timide cure! Uscite dal mio petto; Oh, how it seems that to amorous fires
A turbar non venite il mio diletto! The comfort of the place,
Oh come par che all’amoroso foco earth and heaven respond,
L’amenità del loco, As the night responds to my ruses.
la terra e il ciel risponda,
Come la lam I furti miei seconda! Oh, come, don’t be late, my beautiful joy
Come where love calls you to enjoyment
Deh vieni, non tardar, o gioja bella. Until night’s torches no longer shine in the
Vieni ove amore per goder
sky
t’appella As long as the air is still dark
Finchè non splende in ciel and the world quiet.

notturna face Here the river murmurs and the light plays
Finchè l’aria e ancor bruna, That restores the heart with sweet ripples
e il mondo tace. Here, little flowers laugh and the grass is

Qui mormora il ruscel, qui lames fresh.
l’aura, Here, everything entices one to love’s

Che col dolce susurro ‘il cor pleasures.
ristaura, Come, my dear,
among these hidden plants,
Qui ridono I fioretti e l’erba è Come, come!
fresca. I want to crown you with roses.

Ai piaceri d’amor qui tutto adesca.
Vieni, ben mio,
tra queste piante ascose,
Vieni, vieni!
Ti vo’la fronte incoronar di rose,
Ti vo’la fronte incoronar,
Incoronar di rose.

Translation by Naomi Gurt Lind

Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen I wandered among the trees,
Alone with my own grief,
Ich wandelte unter den Bäumen But then old dreams returned once more
Mit meinem Gram allein; And stole into my heart.
Da kam das alte Träumen
Und schlich ins Herz mir hinen, Who taught you this little word,
Und schlich ins Herz mir hinen, You birds up there in the breeze?
Und schlich ins Herz mir, Be silent! If my heart hears it,
Ins Herz hinein. My pain will return once more.

Wer hat euch dies Wörtlein “A young woman once passed by,
gelehret, Who sang it again and again,
And so we birds snatched it up,
Ihr Vöglein in luftiger Höh? That lovely golden word. ‘
Schweight still! Wenn mein Herz
You should not tell me such things,
es höret, You little cunning birds,
Dann tut es noch einmal so weh, You thought to steal my grief from me,
Dann tut es noch einmal so weh. But I trust no one now.

“Es kam ein Jungfräulein gegangen,
Die sang es immerfort,
Da haben wir Vöglein, wir Vöglein

gefangen
Das süße Wort, das goldne Wort,
Das süße, goldne Wort,
Das süße Wort, das goldne Wort!”

Das sollt ihr mir nicht mehr
erzählen,

Ihr Vöglein wunderschlau;
Ihr wollt meinen Kummer mir

stehlen,
Ich aber niemandem trau,
Ich aber niemandem trau,
Ich aber niemandem, niemandem

trau,
Ihr Vöglein wunderschlau, ah!
Ihr Vöglein wunderschlau!

Translation by Richard Stokes

Beharre Take leave, yes
but not from love.
Scheide, ach scheide Even if love blooms into sorrow,
Doch nur von Liebe nicht; it is still the light of life.
Blüht Liebe gleich im Leide,
Ist sie doch Lebenslicht. Take leave, yes
Blüht Liebe gleich im Leide, but not from hope.
Ist sie doch Lebenslicht. It is a star in our sorrow,
Scheide, ach scheide a forget-me-not from God.
Doch nur von Liebe nicht;
Take leave, yes
Scheide, ach scheide but not from faith.
Doch nur von Hoffnung nicht; It says to you, “love, suffer,
Sie ist ein Stern in Leide, and hope in my light.”
Ein Gottvergßimeinnicht.
Sie ist ein Stern in Leide, Take leave, yes
Ein Gottvergßimeinnicht. but not from sorrow.
Scheide, ach scheide One who does not know love in sorrow,
Doch nur von Hoffnung nicht; also does not know love in light.

Scheide, ach scheide
Doch nur von Glauben nicht;
Der sagt dir, liebe, leide,
Und hoff’ in meinem Licht.
Der sagt dir, liebe, leide,
Und hoff’ in meinem Licht.
Scheide, ach scheide
Doch nur von Glauben nicht;

Scheide, ach scheide
Doch nur von Leide nicht!
Scheide, ach scheide
Doch nur von Leide nicht!
Wer nicht kennt Lieb’ im Leide,
Der kennt nicht Lieb’ im Licht.
Scheide, ach scheide
Doch nur von Leide nicht!

Translation by John Glenn Paton (ed.)

Das Veilchen O poor violet,
how did you bloom out of the snow?
Ach Veilchen, armes Veilchen, In a short sunny period,
Wie blühst du aus dem Schnee? then long winter sorrow.
Im kurzen Sonnenweilchen, You cannot go back into the earth
Dann langem Winterweh. and rest in warmth;
Zurück nicht in die Erde earth spoke its deceitful “Grow!”
Kannst du nun, warm zu ruh’n and now it is closed up in ice.
Sie sprach ihr täuschend “werde”
Und schließt sich eisig nun. My soul also was awakened
by a false spring.
Auch meiner Seele Blüthe Now blowing through my mind
Rief falscher Frühling wach, is a cold winter.
Nun zieht durch mein Gemüthe Love’s remnant of mercy
Der kalte Winter nach. comes to your aid, violet:
Der Liebe letzt Erbarmen you may warm up here with me,
Galt, Veilchen, deiner Noth, warm up, alas, to die!
Du sollst bei mir erwarmen,
Erwarmen, ach, zum Tod! Snow-colored butterflies
swarm over the sea;
Translation by John Glenn Paton (ed.) beautiful white butterflies, when might I
take to the azure path of the air?
Les Papillons
Do you know, oh beauty of beauties,
Les papillons couleur de neige my jet-eyed bayadère
Volent par essaims sur la mer; were they to lend me their wings,
Beaux papillons blancs, quand Do you know where I would go?

pourrai-je Without kissing a single rose,
Prendre le bleu chemin de l’air? across valleys and forests
I’d fly to your half-closed lips,
Savez vous, ò belle des belles, flower of my soul, and there would die.
Ma bayadère aux yeux des jais,
S’ils me voulaient prêter leurs ailes,
Dites, savez vous, où j’irais?

Sans prendre un seul baiser aux
roses,

À travers vallons et forêts,
J’irais à vos lèvres mi closes,
Fleur de mon âme, et j’y mourrais.

Translation by Richard Stokes

L’âme des Oiseaux Spring is full of the sounds of music
In the willows and in the reeds.
Le printemps a jeté sa lyre You great trees, you can surely tell me
Sous les saules et les roseaux. Where birds’ souls go to when they die?
O grands bois, pouvez vous me
Birds give April its grace and beauty!
dire I had one once, but he is dead…
Que devient l’âme des oiseaux? And since then the air all around feels

Tout l’avril est fait de leur grâce! Empty
J’en avais un, mais il est mort... Of all melody and of flight.
Et depuis je trouve l’espace Vide
De concert et d’essor. Souls are lighter than feathered wings are,
Or than the down inside the nest,
Plus légère lames que leurs ailes, Where do they go and who looks after
Que le duvet au bord des nids, The souls of poor little birds?
Qui les reprend, où s’en vont lam
Les âmes des pauvres petits? Your rising sap gives life renewal
You flowers, you willows, and you reeds,
Vous que la sève emplit de Then pray with all your hearts,
lames, Oh pray, for the bright souls of the little

O fleurs, ô saules, ô roseaux, birds
Priez avec vos âmes,
Priez pour l’âme des petits

oiseaux.

Translation by United Music Publishers
Ltd.

Si tu le veux If you want to, o my love,
Tonight as soon as the end of the day will
Si tu le veux, ò mon amour,
Ce soir dès que la fin du jour Sera have come,
When the stars appear,
venue, And place golden pins
Quand les étoiles surgiront, on the blue sky
Et mettront des clous d’or au fond
Bleu de la nue We will go off alone, the two of us
Through the dark night all in love,
Nous partirons seuls tous les deux Nobody watching us,
Dans la nuit brune en amoureux And tenderly I will sing you
Sans qu’on nous voie a love song in which I will lay
Et tendrement je te dirai all my joy
Un chant d’amour où je mettrai
Toute ma joie But when you go home,
if they ask you why,
Mais quand tu rentreras chez toi, Pretty fairy,
Si l’on te demande pourquoi, Your hair is more in disarray than before,
Mignonne fée you will answer that only the wind
Tes cheveux sont plus fous qu’avant tousled your hair
Tu répondras que seul le vent If you want to, o my love.
T’a décoiffée
Si tu le veux, ò mon amour.

Translation by Philipp Vogler

__Special Thanks__

Edwina Olga Cruz
Christopher Graham
Carolyn Guggemos

Scot Hanna-Weir
Debra Lambert
Daniel Lockert
Joan Ortolano

Ralph J. Ortolano Jr.
Avery Rissling
Thien-Kim Tran
Katie Williams