Virtual Concert Series: Music for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano 5/5

Music for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano

Liz Lang, soprano
Agnes Marchione, clarinet
Steve Beck, piano

Opera News has applauded American soprano Liz Lang for her "comedic timing and clear resonant tone." Relying on her crossover abilities throughout multiple genres, Liz has continued to work during the 2020-2021 season, expanding her skillset to virtual performance, filming, editing, and directing. After a series of classical and music theatre concerts in Georgia with the Savannah VOICE Festival in February 2020, Liz was asked to join them as a Festival Artist for a series of virtual concerts, shows, and festival performances throughout the year. This summer, Liz will be performing in Le roi Arthus at Bard Summerscape and will return to Savannah for the August 2021 VOICE Festival. Ms. Lang has been a recitalist and soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, with Voices of Ascension, The Riverside Church Choir and Orchestra, with Grammy® award winners Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, The New American Songbook Orchestra, the Salzburg Festival in Austria, and throughout the Tuscan region of Italy. Liz holds a MM in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a BM in Vocal Performance and Music Theatre from Oklahoma City University.

Clarinetist Agnes Marchione is currently a freelance musician who enjoys an extensive playing career, focusing her time on the East Coast. Her orchestral playing includes groups such as The Knights Chamber Orchestra, Delaware Symphony, Iris Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and The Philadelphia Orchestra.  Agnes has attended numerous festivals that include Sunflower Music Festival, Bellingham Festival of Music, Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, and Tanglewood Music Festival.  Her training includes a Bachelor of Music from the Curtis Institute of Music having studied with Donald Montanaro and graduate studies with Yehuda Gilad at the University of Southern California.

A recent New York concert by pianist Steven Beck was described as “exemplary” and “deeply satisfying” by Anthony Tommasini in the New York Times.

This season he performs “Carnival of the Animals” with the New York Philharmonic and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Princeton Symphony, and repeats his annual Christmas Eve performance of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” at Bargemusic. Mr. Beck is an experienced performer of new music, having worked with Elliott Carter, Pierre Boulez, Henri Dutilleux, Charles Wuorinen, George Crumb, George Perle, and Fred Lerdahl. He is a member of the Knights, the Talea Ensemble, Quattro Mani, and the Da Capo Chamber Players. As an orchestral musician he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the New York City Ballet Orchestra, and Orpheus. Mr. Beck’s discography includes Peter Lieberson's third piano concerto (for Bridge Records) and  Elliott Carter’s “Double Concerto” on Albany Records. He is a Steinway Artist.

*PROGRAM*

Parto, parto, ma tu ben mio (from La Clemenza di Tito)            W. A. Mozart
(I go, but, my dearest)

Frauenliebe und -leben                                                                                             Franz Lachner
(A Woman’s love and life)                           

            • 'Seit ich ihn gesehen' ("Since I saw him")

            • 'Er, der Herrlichste von allen' ("He, the noblest of all")

            • 'Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben' ("I cannot grasp or believe it")

            • 'Du Ring an meinem Finger' ("You ring upon my finger")

            • 'Helft mir, ihr Schwestern' ("Help me, sisters")

            • 'Süßer Freund, du blickest mich verwundert an' ("Sweet friend, you gaze")

            • 'An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust' ("At my heart, at my breast")

            • 'Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan' ("Now you have caused me pain for the first time")

            • 'Traum der eignen Tage' ("Dream of my own days”)

Der Hirt auf dem Felsen                                                                                           Franz Schubert
(The Shepherd on the Rock)

***

Parto, parto, ma tu ben mio

(I go, but, my dearest)
I go, but, my dearest,
make peace again with me.
I will be what you would most
have me be, do whatever you wish.

Look at me, and I will forget all
and fly to avenge you;
I will think only
of that glance at me.
Ah, ye gods, what power
you have given beauty!

Frauenliebe und -leben 

(A Woman’s love and life)
Seit ich ihn gesehen
(Since I set eyes on him)
Since I set eyes on him
I think that I’ve gone blind;
Wherever it is I look
It’s only him I find;
As in a waking dream
His image, there before me,
Stands out against the darkness,
Bright, and oh, so clearly.
There is no light or colour
Now in my surroundings,
I have no wish to join
My sisters with their playthings;
I would far rather go and weep
Quietly in my room –
I think that I’ve gone blind
Since I set eyes on him.

Er, der Herrlichste von allen
(He must be the best of all)
He must be the best of all,
So gentle and so kind –
A noble mouth, an eye that’s clear.
Determined, with a brilliant mind.
He moves, as in the heavens
Does yon star so bright,
Across my field of vision,
Remote, a wonderful, majestic sight!
Continue on your destined course –
To gaze upon your light’s enough,
To watch from where I stand’s enough
To experience utter bliss and sadness, too.
For you shall not hear the silent prayer
I devote to your happiness,
An ordinary girl, nothing to you,
You star of all that’s marvellous!
Only she who’s truly worthy
Shall be favoured by your choice.
I will bless the noble creature,
I will bless her and rejoice.
I’ll rejoice and I will weep,
Happy, happy, happy I will be,
And even if my heart should break,
Then let it break, what’s that to me!

Ich kann's nicht fassen, nicht glauben
(I can't believe it)
I can’t believe it,
Dreaming’s affected my brain!
With so many to choose from,
Why pick me? I’m so plain!
I think he said:
"I’m yours for ever!”
A dream, I think,
Not real life …. Never!
So while still dreaming, let me die
Here cradled on his breast,
Embracing death with happiness,
By endless tears of joy possessed.

Du Ring an meinem Finger
(Ring upon my Finger)
Ring upon my finger.
Little golden band,
I press you to my lips and heart;
You’ve helped me understand.
The dreams of tranquil childhood
Now lay in the past
And I was in a barren landscape,
Immeasurably vast,
Till, ring upon my finger,
That I do so revere,
You showed to me the values
Of life together here.
I want to serve and live for him,
To be his own by right,
Freely give myself to him,
Transfigured by his light.

Helft mir, ihr Schwestern
(In Friendship, Sisters, help me)
In friendship, Sisters, help me
Put on my finery.
Be servants to the happy bride
Who this day will take her vow
And place the crown
Of flowering myrtle on my brow.
When lying in my beloved’s arms
Content, with joyous heart,
He, desirous even then, cried out
Impatient for this day to start.
Help me, Sisters, help me
Put aside a foolish fear,
That with unclouded eye
I may receive him,
Source of all that I hold dear.
When, like the sun, my beloved,
You stand before me,
Shall I reflect your radiance?
Then, let me bow my head
In all humility
And, Sir, with due reverence.
Sisters, strew flowers at his feet.
Offer him roses in bud ……….
Whilst I, meanwhile, bless you all sadly,
As, from your dear company,
I take my leave gladly!

Süsser Freund, du blickest
(Dear Friend, you look at me)
My dear friend,
You look at me in some surprise,
As if you do not understand
The tears that I have in my eyes;
These salty pearls
That now adorn my face
Like some rare jewels, 
Total, utter contentment trace.
I feel anxious in my heart,
Yet my heart is full of bliss;
Oh, if I only had the words
With which I could express all this!
Come hide your face
Here on my breast
And let me whisper in your ear
The joy with which I’m blessed.
Now that you know
The tears I shed,
Should you not see them,
Dearest man to whom I’m wed?
Stay here at my heart
And feel its beat
So that I can hug you.
Now my joy’s complete!
Here at my bedside
For a crib there’s space;
It conceals the sweetest dream
That I could ever face:
The day will come,
That dream will be,
And there your image
Will laugh up at me!

An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust
(In my Heart, at my Breast)
In my heart, at my breast,
You, my joy and all that’s best;
To be happy is to love
And love is happiness –
I said that and believe it. Yes.
I thought myself the happiest on earth,
But I am happier now;
For she alone who feeds
The child to whom she’s given birth,
Only she knows what the words
Love and happiness are worth.
So, I am sorry for all men who
Cannot feel as mothers do.
My dearest angel, smiling as you rest,
In my heart and at my breast,
You my joy and all that’s best.

Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan
(Now, you've hurt me for the first time)
Now, you’ve hurt me
for the first time in my life
And made me catch my breath!
You sleep, with no consideration
for your wife;
It is the sleep of death.
She, whom you have abandoned
Looks on a world that is bare.
I have loved and I have lived;
That world’s no longer there.
So I withdraw into myself,
Quietly draw down the veil;
There I will find the joy I’ve lost,
You, my whole world, without fail.

Traum der eignen Tage
(Dream of my own days)
Dream of my own days
That now are distant,
Daughter of my daughter,
You sweet child of mine.
Take, before the weary one
Is covered by a shroud,
Take into your young life
My own blessing.
You see me grey-haired,
Emaciated and pale.
Once I was like you,
Young and blissful.
I loved, as you now love,
Became, like you, a bride,
And you too will grow old,
Like my hair has turned grey.
Let time fly
On and on,
But preserve for ever
The treasure of your heart;
What I once said
I shall not take back:
Happiness alone is love,
Love alone is happiness.
When I buried
The man I loved,
I cherished my love
In my faithful heart:
Though my heart was broken,
My courage stood firm,
And the ashes of old age
Preserve the sacred glow.
Take, before the weary one
Is covered by a shroud,
Take into your young life
My own blessing:
If your heart must break,
May your courage stand firm,
May love’s sorrow then be
Your dearest possession.

Der Hirt auf dem Felsen
(The Shepherd on the Rock)
When, from the highest rock up here,
I look deep down into the valley, and sing,
Far from the valley dark and deep
Echoes rush through, upward and back to me,
The chasm.
The farther that my voice resounds,
So much the brighter it echoes
From under.
My sweetheart dwells so far from me,
I long hotly to be with her
Over there.

I am consumed in misery,
Happiness is far from me,
Hope has on earth eluded me,
I am so lonesome here.
So longingly did sound the song,
So longingly through wood and night,
Towards heaven it draws all hearts
With amazing strength.

The Springtime will come,
The Springtime, my happiness,
Now must I make ready
To wander forth.

***