Gypsies & Storytellers

1. Ziguenerleben (Schumann, Robert)
2. Tambur (Bárdos, Lajos )
3. Himmel strahlt so helle - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 112 (Brahms, Johannes)
4. Rote Rosenknospen künden - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 112 (Brahms, Johannes)
5. Brennessel steht an Weges Rand - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 112 (Brahms, Johannes)
6. Liebe Schwalbe, kleine Schwalbe - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 112 (Brahms, Johannes)
7. He, Zigeuner, greife in die Saiten - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
8. Hochgetürmte Rimaflut - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
9. Wiβt ihr, wann mein Kindchen - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
10. Lieber Gott, du weiβt - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
11. Brauner Bursche führt zum Tanze - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
12. Kommt dir manchmal in den Sinn - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
13. Weit und breit schaut niemand mich an - Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103 (Brahms, Johannes)
14. Lobster Quadrille, The - Choral settings from "Alice in Wonderland" (Fine, Irving)
15. Father William - Choral settings from "Alice in Wonderland" (Fine, Irving)
16. Jabberwocky (Pottle, Sam)
17. Christopher Robin is Saying His Prayers (Fraser-Simson, H. )
18. Cindy (Wilberg, Mack)

Legend holds that Gypsies are among the world’s great storytellers (especially fortune tellers).   Gypsies are also often the subjects of stories told about them and their ways of life. In many cases such stories reflect stereotypes, some based in truth and others romanticized.

Despite the dangers of such stereotyping, however, there is little denying the unique reality of Gypsy music. Ethnically, Roma are likely to have originated in India, where they were often employed as Hindu temple musicians and dancers. While Romani people eventually migrated nearly everywhere in the world and developed “folk music” flavored by their particular local cultures, many of the root sounds of Gypsy music trace to the folk music of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, to which Romani migration had arrived by the end of the first millennium. So appealing were these sounds and styles that direct imitators have included major composers such as Haydn, Schumann. Liszt, Brahms, Dvořák, and Bartók. The first half of tonight’s concert focuses directly on this Gypsy music tradition, as translated by Schumann and Brahms and heard even more directly in the exuberant “Tambur.”

The child in each of us knows the deep pleasure of having stories told to us. Thus, it is no mere coincidence that the second half of tonight’s program features musical settings of exceptionally witty children’s tales. Three pieces interpret famous lyrics from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland: “The Lobster Quadrille” and “Father William,” by Irving Fine, and “Jabberwocky,” by Sam Pottle. The concert then concludes with a musical tribute to the Winnie the Pooh stories of A. A. Milne (“Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers”) and, finally, a rambunctious setting of the well-known American folk story-tune “Cindy.”

 

Zigeunerleben (Op. 29, Nr. 3)                        Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Schumann’s title means “Gypsy Life.” The dramatic rise of urban middle-class life in nineteenth century Europe heightened the “romantic” appeal of the closeness to nature experienced by the nomadic Romani peoples. Both in its text and in its rhythms and sororities, Schumann’s piece may well be the quintessential musical statement of this Romantic stereotype of Gypsy life as wild, natural, nomadic, and sensual—the life of the “natural” Bohemian. (Indeed, the term “Bohemian” reflects the French name for Romani immigrants from Bohemia—today’s Czech Republic).

Also in typical Romantic fashion, Schumann’s own life reflects this idealization. Of delicate mental health throughout his life, Schumann famously imagined himself as having two identities, which he named Florestan (the “romantic,” impetuous side of his nature) and Eusebius (his more deliberative side).   This divided vision parallels the urban fascination with the more “pastoral” world seen as the domain of Gypsy life. Moreover, his 1840 marriage to Clara Wieck (herself a famous pianist and composer), in one of the great love stories in nineteenth century music history, led to Schumann’s virtual flood of songs and song cycles composed almost immediately upon that marriage, including “Zigeunerleben,” with its compelling “marriage” of the passionate with the musical. In this song, Schumann doubtless imagines himself as one of the young Gypsy swains and Clara as his own “dark-eyed lady.”

Schumann’s text comes from Emmanuel Geibel (1815-1844), the German Romantic poet most responsible for popularizing the literary Gypsy theme. The energetic drive of this piece makes Gypsy life irresistibly appealing, at least for the magical Romantic moment.

A woods filled with shadows of beech trees and pine,

with whispering branches and leaves on the vine.

Where magical flames always flicker and shine,

while dancing with rainbows of every design.

Here gather the gypsies who roam everywhere,

the dashing young gypsies with long, silky hair,

Whose bodies are warmed by the Nile’s blessed flow,

and tanned by the brilliance of Spain’s sunny glow.

The warm blazing campfire is lighting the trees.

The men strong and handsome are taking their ease,

The women assemble preparing the food,

and all fill their goblets to brighten the mood.

Now stories and songs form an unending chain,

as bright as the colorful gardens of Spain,

The queen of the gypsies now chants loud and clear,

her magical words fight off danger and fear.

Now dark-eyed ladies begin with their dance,

while flaming red torches bring sparkling romance,

With pulsating cymbal and luring guitars,

the dance grows wilder beneath gypsy stars.

 

“Tambur”                                                                      arr. Lajos Bárdos (1899-1986)

(Old Hungarian Dancing Song)       Folk tune from J. Paix’s Organ Book (1583)

The fun (both in the hearing and in the singing) of this musical depiction of a Hungarian dance arises from the use of both musical sound and the written word to imitate the instruments imagined to be playing the lively dance tune: the tambur (a long-necked lute from Asia and Asia Minor, also referred to as the pandur or the tamburitza), the string bass, and the cimbalom (a hammered dulcimer, whose pronunciation—“tzimbalom”—is itself onomatopoetic). These are all stringed instruments, not only common to Gypsy bands but especially well-chosen by the singer in “Tambur,” who hopes to pluck the heartstrings of his fair young maiden to join him in the dance.

 

Zigeunerlieder (Op 112/103)                                     Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Despite the focus of Schumann’s Zigeunerleben upon Gypsy life, his musical treatment does not directly use Gypsy language, poetry, or indeed even music (except for unprinted optional parts for the common Gypsy-band instruments, the triangle and the tambourine). In the words of famous scholar-performer of German Romantic song Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, “This would change with the arrival of Brahms.”

Despite his lifelong passion for Gypsy music, Brahms’s first expression of this interest occurs relatively late in his life, at age 55, with the 1888 publication of the first set of these Zigeunerlieder. Brahms locates these song collections near the “Rimaflut”—now known as the Rimava River, in south central Slovakia. Brahms also directly invokes a Gypsy storyteller: the song often chosen to open the selection of these “Gypsy Songs” begins in the words given to Brahms by his librettist Hugo Conrat (who had adapted prose versions of Hungarian folk poems by a Fräulein Witzl): “He, Zigeuner . . . Ho there, Gypsy, strike each string and sing of [my] faithless maiden!” In this collection of songs, Brahms explores romantic love and the life close to nature from a rich variety of perspectives, producing some of the highlights of the entire German lieder tradition.

The influence of Schumann’s lieder is evident in Brahms.   Like his esteemed patron Schumann, Brahms sets his songs to piano accompaniment, not only because both Brahms and Schumann were pianists but, more importantly, because this instrument represented the “domestication” of music in the rise of middle-class life in the nineteenth century. Only in the twentieth century do the radio and the television become the focal point of family “living rooms.” In the nineteenth century, the piano was the main item of “furniture” in middle-class homes. Indeed, Brahms originally titled these “Gypsy Songs” as “Quartets,” reflecting his intent that the pieces be available for performance by a small group of family members or friends as home entertainment.

 

Op. 112

1. The sky is beaming, so bright and clear;

even more brightly do your eyes beam at me.

You, my rose, gaze into my eyes,

so that I bless you in my happiness.

The little bird’s song resounds with such loveliness,

yet my darling sings a much sweeter song.

You, my rose, gaze into my eyes,

so that I bless you in my happiness.

The sun kisses the entire world,

yet your rosy lips kiss me even more warmly.

You, my rose, gaze into my eyes,

so that I bless you in my happiness.

2. Red rosebuds

herald the arrival of Spring.

Rose-red cheeks

mean a maiden’s first love.

Little red bird,

fly off to the red rose!

The lad is going to the rosy

maiden to woo her!

 

3. Stinging nettles stand at the side of the road:

envious and hate-filled people surround me, in town and country.

I am envied, hated, slandered – and yet it brings me no sorrow,

so long as my sweet darling remains true till death.

 

4. Dear swallow, little swallow,

carry forth my little message!

Fly up into the heavens, fly away quickly,

fly off to my darling’s house!

If someone asks you from whom you come,

whose messenger you are –

say that you come from a faithful heart

that is almost dying from the pain of separation.

 

Op. 103

1. Ho there, Gypsy! Strike resoundingly each string!

And the song of false and faithless maiden sing!

Let the strings all moan lamenting, sorrow weeping,

‘Til the burning tears these cheeks so hot are steeping!

 

2. High and towering river Rima,

thou art so drear,

On thy shore I mourn

aloud for thee, my dear!

Waves are fleeing, waves are streaming,

Rolling o’er the shore afar to me;

On the riverbank of Rima let me

weep for her eternally!

 

3. Know ye, when my loved one is fairest of all this?

If her sweet mouth rosy, jest and laugh and kiss.

Maiden heart, mine thou art. Tenderly I kiss thee.

Thee a loving heaven hath created just for me!

 

 

Know ye, when my lover dearest is to me?

When in his fond arms, he enfolds me lovingly.

Dear sweetheart, mine thou art. Tenderly I kiss thee.

Thee a loving heaven hath created just for me!

 

4. Dear God, Thou know’st how oft I’ve rued this:

That I gave my lover once a little kiss.

Heart’s command I kiss him, how dismiss?

And long as I live I’ll think of that first kiss.

Dear God, Thou know’st how oft in still of night,

How in joy and pain on him my thoughts delight.

Love is sweet, though bitter oft to rue;

My poor heart is his and ever, ever true.

 

5. Brown the lad, blue-eyed the lassie –

Led by him to dance is she.

Clashing spurs he strikes together:

Start the Czardas melody!

Kisses fondly his sweet dove, and

spins her, whirls her, shouts and springs!

Throws three shining silver gulden

On the cymbal so it rings!

 

7. Art thou thinking often now, sweetheart, my love,

What thou once with holy vow to me hast sworn?

Leave me not, deceive me not,

Thou know’st not how dear thou art to me;

Love’st thou me as I thee,

Then God’s smile shall crown thee graciously.

 

9. Far and wide no one looks at me,

And if they hate me, why do I care?

Only my darling, he should love me forever,

Should kiss me, embrace me and hold me forever.

No star shines in the dark night,

No flower blooms for me in fragrant loveliness.

Your eyes are my flowers, are my starlight,

That shine on me so kindly, that bloom for me alone.

 

 

 

 

 

“The Lobster Quadrille” and “Father William”                         Irving Fine (1914-1962)

(from Three Choral Settings from “Alice in Wonderland”)

Composed in 1942, these selections delightfully convey the sublime silliness of these famous poems from scenes in Alice in Wonderland (1864), by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson).   Indeed, both of these poems parody moralistic, sentimental favorites of Dodgson’s time: Mary Howitt’s “’Will You Walk into My Parlour?’ Said the Spider to the Fly” and Robert Southey’s “The Old Man’s Comforts and How He Gained Them.”

Irving Fine studied piano in pursuit of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University, also studying composition with Walter Piston. He was a member of a congenial group of influential twentieth century composers known as the “Boston Six,” whose most famous members included Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Lukas Foss.

 

Lobster Quadrille

“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail,

“There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.

See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!

They are waiting on the shingle – will you come and join the dance?

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?

“You can really have no notion how delightful it would be

When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters out to sea!”

But the snail replied “Too far, too far!”, and gave a look askance –

Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.

“What matters it how far we go?” his scaly friend replied.

“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.

The farther off from England the nearer is to France –

Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.

Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance?

 

Father William

“You are old, father William,” the young man said,

“And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head

Do you think, at your age, it is right?

“In my youth,” father William replied to his son,

“I feared it might injure the brain;

But, now that I’m perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again.”

 

“You are old,” said the youth, “and your jaws are too weak

For anything tougher than suet;

Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak

Pray, how did you manage to do it?”

“In my youth,” said his father, “I took to the law,

And argued each case with my wife;

And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,

Has lasted the rest of my life.”

 

 

“Jabberwocky”                                                                           Sam Pottle (1934-1978)

Perhaps no poem from Alice in Wonderland captures the unique blend of adult humor with potential childlike terror better than this famous excerpt.

The well-schooled Charles Dodgson knew his ancient Anglo-Saxon literature well, echoing the patterns of Anglo-Saxon epic verse and imparting full Beowulf-like

mock-heroism into the adventures of this “beamish boy” who defeats the fearsome Jabberwock.

It is also fitting that the composer of this setting knows his “adult children’s” music well. Sam Pottle co-wrote (with Jim Henson) the theme song for The Muppet Show and also served as music director for Sesame Street for seasons six through nine, co-writing the music for many of this TV show’s famous songs. His setting of “Jabberwocky” has become a comic favorite of choruses worldwide (and, à propos tonight’s theme, even employs a number of toy “gypsy band” instruments!)

 

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun the frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand: long time the manxome foe he sought —

So rested he by the Tumtum tree, and stood awhile in thought

And as in uffish thought he stood, the Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, and burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head he went galumphing back.

“And has thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” he chortled in his joy.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.

 

“Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers”                     H. Fraser-Simson (1872-1944)

The famous children’s fiction character Christopher Robin is based on the like-named son of author A. A. Milne (1882-1956). Born in 1920, Christopher Robin Milne, like many upper- and upper-middle-class children of the time, was raised by a nanny, with whom he had more intimate daily contact than with his parents, except just after breakfast, at tea time, and at bedtime. Indeed, Christopher Robin Milne’s parents spent little time with each other, forcing their son into divided time even with his parents. An especially painful irony of son Christopher Robin Milne’s life is that his father’s poem “Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers” (alternately titled “Vespers”) was a special target for the mockery of Christopher’s schoolmates.   In late Victorian/Edwardian context, however, the implicit sadness of this family context did not discourage public vision of A. A. Milne’s works through rose-colored lenses.

Even though his recent biographers reveal that A. A. Milne felt trapped by his fame, this sentimental vision of the world of the fictional Christopher Robin remained the preferred stereotype, and is fully reflected by the lush yet tender choral treatment given by H. Fraser-Simson, who gained fame not only for his theater music but also for his numerous settings of poems from Milne’s children’s books, including his 1929 collection The Hums of Pooh.

 

Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,

Droops on his little hands, little gold head.

Hush, hush! whisper. Who dares?

Christopher Robin is saying his prayers:

“God bless Mummy, I know that’s right,

Wasn’t it fun in the bath tonight?

The cold’s so cold and the hot’s so hot.

Oh! God bless Daddy, I quite forgot.

If I open my fingers a little bit more

I can see Nanny’s dressing-gown on the door;

It’s a beautiful blue but it hasn’t a hood,

God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood and I lie in bed

And I pull the hood right over my head,

And I shut my eyes and I curl up small

And nobody knows that I’m there at all.

Thank you God, for a lovely day,

And what was the other I had to say?

I said, `Bless Daddy’, so what could it be?

Now I remember: God bless me”.

 

“Cindy”                             American folksong, arranged by Mack Wilberg (b. 1955)

This exuberant setting of the frontier “frolic tune” was composed in 1989 for the Brigham Young University Concert Choir by highly-regarded choral composer Mack Wilberg, named in March 2008 as the music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The “bustin’ at its seams” style of the piece is reflected in its sheer size: double SATB choirs and four-hand piano accompaniment, plus additional “percussion” and other appropriate effects.

 

 

Cindy

I wish I were an apple a-hangin’ on a tree

An’ every time my sweetheart passed she’d take a bite of me.

 

I wish I had a nickel, I wish I had a dime

I wish I had a pretty girl to love me all the time.

 

I wish I had a needle as fine as I could sew

I’d sew that gal to my coat tail and down the road I’d go.

 

You ought to see my Cindy, she lives away down south

She’s so sweet the honeybees all swarm around her mouth.

 

Get along home, little Cindy,

I’ll marry you some time.

 

The first time I saw Cindy she was standing in the door.

Her shoes and stockings in her hand, her feet all o’er the floor.

 

She took me to the parlor, she cooled me with her fan

She swore that I’ze the prettiest thing In shape of mortal man.

 

Now Cindy hugged and kissed him, she wrung her hands and cried,

She swore he was the purtiest thing that ever lived or died.

 

She told him that she loved him, she called him Sugarplum

She throwed her arms around him, he thought his time had come.

 

Now Cindy went to the preachin’, she swung around and round,

She got so full of glory, she knocked the preacher down.

 

My Cindy in the springtime, my Cindy in the fall

If I can’t have my Cindy, I’ll have no girl at all.

 

When Cindy  got religion,she thought her time had come;

She walked right up to the preacher and chawed her chewin’ gum.

 

Now Cindy got religion, she’d had it once before

When she heared my banjo, she’s the first one on the floor.

 

Program Notes by Bill Pasch

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