Poets in Love
(2009) for tenor, baritone and piano 4-hands
Duration: circa 30 minutes
Commissioned by Dickinson College in 2008 for The Florestan Recital Project, Musical Artists in Residence

World Premiere:  March 4, 2010, Dickinson College, PA

Publisher:  Novello & Co Ltd

Composer's Note:

The seventeen poems selected for this work span many centuries and languages and give very varied views on the subject of love. There is a mixture of solos and duets to give variety, and the two singers are characterized differently: the tenor is more romantic, and the baritone more realistic and cynical. In the penultimate poem by Tyutchev this difference is emphasized in the words О мы, последняя любовь / Ты и блаженство и Безнадежность. (O love of my last years you are both rapture and desperation). However both singers recognize the power of love.

The work should be sung without a break between the songs, and indeed several of the poems overlap. To emphasize the continuity there are several recurring musical motives: in particular the theme associated with the words from the Shakespeare poem in Twelfth Night “What is love?”

Texts:

                           I.

Я пришëл к тебе с приветом, [duet]
I have come to you with greetings,
Рассказать, что солнце встало,
to tell you the sun has risen
Что оно горячим светом
and with a warming light
По листам затрeпетало;
is flickering through all the foliage;

Рассказать что лес проснулся,
To tell you the forest is awake
Весъ проснулся, веткой каждой,
completely awake, every branch,
Каждой птицeй встрепенулся
every bird is suddenly alert
И весенней полон жаждой;
and all are a-thirst for spring;

Рассказатъ, что с той же страстъю
To tell you I come with passion,
Как вчера, пришëл я снова,
once again I come to you,
Что душа всë так же счастью
for my soul craves happiness
И тебе служитъ готова;
and is ready to serve you.

Рассказатъ, что отовсюду
To tell you that all around
На меня веселъем веет,
I sense a breath of joy,
Что не знаю сам, что буду
I do not know what I shall sing
Петъ – но толъко цесня зреет
but I know a song is waiting to be born.

Afanasy Fet [1820-1892]
 

                                    II

O mistress mine, where are you roaming? [duet]
O stay and hear, your true love is coming
          That can sing both high and low.
Trip no further, pretty sweeting;
Journeys end in lovers meeting,
          Every wise man’s son doth know.

What is love? ‘Tis not hereafter:
Present mirth hath present laughter,
          What’s to come is still unsure.
In delay there lies no plenty,
Then come kiss me, sweet and twenty;
          Youth’s a stuff will not endure.

Shakespeare [1564-1616]: Song from Twelfth Night
 

                                  III

Westron wynde when wyll thow blow [tenor solo]
the smalle rayne downe can rayne
Chryst yf my love wer in my armys
and I yn my bed agayne.

Anonymous: First published 16th Century
 

                                  IV

Wenn ihr Freunde vergesst, wenn ihr Künstler höhnt, [baritone solo]
If you forget your friends, if you mock the artist,
   Und den tieferen Geist klein und gemein versteht,
   And then shallowly explain abstruse meanings,
      Gott vergibt es, doch stört nur
      God forgives it, but does not disturb
         Nie den Frieden der Liebenden,
         The peace and joy of lovers.

Das Unverzeihliche. Hölderlin [1770-1843]
 

                             V

La peregrina voz y el claro acento [tenor solo]
I hear that strange voice with crystal clear words
por la dulce garganta despedido
coming from that throat, so sweet,
con el suave efecto del oído
it falls so gently on the ear
bien pueden suspender cualquier tormento.
it could alleviate any torment.

Mas el nuevo accidente que yo siento
But there’s a new discomfort that I sense:
otro misterio tiene no entendido,
another mystery: unexplained.
pues en la mayor gloria del sentido,
since when the glorious feeling is at its height
halla causa de pena el sentimiento.
it finds a reason for dark thoughts of grief.

Efectos varios, porque el mismo canto
The results are contradictory, because the same song
deja en la suspensión con que enajema
which enraptures and leaves you spellbound
cuerdo el enloquecer, la razón loca
turns madness into reason, and reason into madness.

Y por nuevo milagro o nuevo encanto,
And with a new miracle or new enchantment:
cuando la voz más dulcemente suena,
when the voice sounds its very sweetest,
con ecos de dolor el alma toca.
it touches the soul with echoes of sadness.

A una señora que cantaba. Juan de Tasis: [1582-1622]
 

                                             VI

Eros, wie seh ich dich hier! In jeglichem Händchen die Sanduhr! [baritone solo]
Eros, what is this I see! In each of your tiny hands an hourglass!
          Wie? Leichtsinniger Gott, missest du doppelt die Zeit?
          What! Thoughtless God, are you measuring time twice over?
“Langsam rinnen aus einer die Stunden entfernter Geliebten;
Slowly run the sands through one hand when lovers are apart;
          Gegenwärtigen fliesst eilig die zweite herab.”
          through the other hand they rush quickly for those that are together.

Zeitmasse. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: [1749-1832]

 
                                        VII

Ich bin wie eine Fahne von Fernen umgeben. [tenor solo]
I fly like a flag in vast open spaces.
Ich ahne die Winde, die kommen, ich muss sie leben,
I sense the winds that will come, I must withstand them,
während die Dinge unten sich noch nicht rühren:
though below me everything is still quiet:
die Türen schliessen noch sanft, und in den Kaminen ist Stille;
the doors do not yet slam shut, there is no noise in the chimneys;
die Fenster zittern noch nicht, und der Staub ist noch schwer.
the windows do not yet rattle, the dust lies undisturbed.

Da weiss ich die Stürme schon und bin erregt wie das Meer.
I know about storms, I’ll be shaken up like the sea.
Und breite mich aus und falle in mich hinein
I’ll reach out, and then I will fall back,
und werfe mich ab und bin ganz allein
I’ll throw myself about, I‘ll be quite alone.
in dem grossen Sturm
in the enormous storm.

Vorgefühl. Rainer Maria Rilke: [1875-1926]
 

                         VIII

The night has a thousand eyes, [duet]
                 And the day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
                 With the dying sun.
The mind has a thousand eyes,
                 And the heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
                 When love is gone.

Francis William Bourdillon: [1852-1921]
 

                         IX
Beautiful is she, this woman, [tenor solo]
As the mountain flower;
But cold, cold, is she,
Like the snow bank
Behind which it blooms.

From 3 Songs from the Haida [Queen Charlotte Islands, BC]:
The Path on the Rainbow: 1918.
Translation by Constance Lindsay Skinner [1877- March 27, 1939]
 

                         X

Que no quiero amores [baritone solo]
I don’t want any lovers
en Inglaterra,
from England
pues otros mejores
because I have many that are better
tengo yo en mi tierra.
in my own country.

No quiero ni estimo
I don’t want, nor do I need
ser favorecido;
to be favoured;
de amores me eximo,
I renounce all lovers,
qu’es tiempo perdido
it’s a waste of time
seguir a Cupido
to follow Cupid
en Inglaterra,
to England,
pues otros mejores
because I have many better lovers
tengo yo en mi tierra.
in my own country.

Canción. Anonymous circa 1554
   

                                            XI

Crede ratem ventis, animum ne crede puellis; [baritone solo]
Trust your ship to the winds, never trust your heart to a young woman,
Namque est femina tutior unda fide.
For wild waves are safer than any woman.
Femina nulla bona est, vel, si bona contigit una,
Women are never good, or if one happens to come close,
Nescio quo fano est res mala facta bona.
I do not know by what miracle such badness can become good.

Pentadius. Circa 3rd century AD
 

                               XII

Lament him, Mauchline husbands a’, [duet]
               He aften did assist ye;
For had ye staid hale weeks awa,
               Your wives they ne’er had missed ye.

Ye Mauchline bairns, as on ye pass
               To school in bands thegither,
O tread ye lightly on his grass;
               Perhaps he was your father.

On a Wag in Mauchline. Robert Burns [1759-1796]
 

                                  XIII

Vrai Dieu, qu’amoureux ont de peine! [tenor solo]
Good Lord, how lovers can suffer!
Je sai bien à quoi m’en tenir:
I know well what that means:
Au cuer me vient un souvenir
I keep a picture in my mind
De la belle que mon cuer aime.
Of a beauty that I once did love.

Je la fus veoir l’autre semaine:
I saw her about a week ago:
“Belle, comment vous portez vous?”
“My love, how are you?”
“Je me porte tres bien sans vous;
“I manage quite well without you;
A bref parler, point ne vous aime.”
to put it briefly, I do not love you”.

Tous les bateaux qui sont sur Seine
All the boats that sail the Seine
Ne sont pas tous à un seigneur;
Don’t belong to one man;
Aussi ne suis je pas à vous;
Neither do I belong to you.
Qui bien vous aime y pert sa peine”.
Whoever loves you is wasting his time”.

Adieu la blanche marjolaine,
Goodbye white marjoram
Aussi la fleur de romarin,
Also to the rosemary flower,
Que j’ai cueilli soir et matin
Which I often gathered both morning and evening
En attendant celle que j’aime.
While waiting for the one that I did love.

Chanson Populaire, second half of 15th Century.
 

                         XIV

In the blithe days of honeymoon, [tenor solo]
With Kate’s allurements smitten,
I lov’d her late, I lov’d her soon,
And call’d her dearest kitten.

But now my kitten’s grown a cat,
And cross like other wives,
O! by my soul, my honest Matt,
I fear she has nine lives.

A Matrimonial Thought. James Boswell [1740-95]
 

                         XV

Fummo un tempo felici [baritone solo]
There once was a blessed time
io amante ed amato,
when I loved and was loved,
voi amata ed amante in dolce stato.
you loved me and you were loved so sweetly.
Poi d’amante nemica
Then you became the enemy
voi diveniste, ed io
of love, and I,
volsi in disdegno il giovanil desio.
I changed my youthful passion into scorn.
Sdegno vuol ch’io ve’l dica,
Scorn: it forces me to tell you,
sdegno che nel mio petto
scorn: it keeps the shame
tien viva l’onta del mio don negletto;
of the gift you spurned alive in my heart;
e le fronde ne svelle
and so it tears the leaves
del vostro lauro; or secche e già sì belle.
from your laurel; now all dried up but once so beautiful.

Torquato Tasso [1544-1595]
 

                           XVI

O, кaк нa cклoнe нaшиx лeт (duet)
O how tenderly yet with apprehension
Нeҗней мы любим и сyeверней...
We can love in our closing years…
Сияй, сияй, прощальный свет
Shine, shine oh dimming light
Любви последней, зари вечерней!
On the sunset of our last years of love.

Полнеба обхватила тень,
The shadows begin to cover the sky,
Лишь там, на западе, бродит сиянье, -
But still in the West a roving gleam;
Помедли, помедли, вечерний день,
O linger, linger thou evening light,
Продлись, продлись, очарованье.
Wrap me, wrap me with enchantment.

Пускай, скудеет в жилах кровь,
The blood runs thinner in the veins,
Но в сердце не скудеет нежность…
The heart still understands tenderness…
О ты, последняя любовь!
O thou, the love of my last years
Ты и блаженство и Безнадежность.
Thou art both rapture and desperation.

Последняя Любовъ (The Last Love). Fedor Tyutchev [1803-73]
 

                     XVII

Music, when soft voices die, [duet]
Vibrates in the memory –
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on.

To……. Percy Bysshe Shelley [1792-1822]

Top of Page   |   Home   |   Compositions   |   Chester Novello   |   G. Schirmer

Webmaster