Last updated: 11 June 2009
The schedule of performances in the first Song Prize recital.
View a photo gallery from recital one.
Anna Stephany - England
Accompanist: Simon Lepper
Lied der Anne Lyle (Op 85 No 1) - Schubert
The text is Annot Lyle's Song, from the comedy Love and Loyalty by Andrew McDonald, quoted in The Legend of Montrose by Sir Walter Scott. It is not clear whose German translation Schubert used. The girl is hopelessly in love and sings of her sadness because she is not considered a suitable match.
A Hymne to God the Father - Pelham Humphrey
'Wilt thou forgive that sin' begins John Donne's text, set in 1688, in which the author recalls sins that he has committed or caused others to commit. He longs for penance but he believes that, at his death, God the Father will be with him.
The Cloths of Heaven (Op 30 No 3) - Thomas Dunhill
This setting was made in 1911 as part of Dunhill's song cycle of WB Yeats' poems, The Wind among the Reeds. The poet wishes for heaven's embroidered cloths of gold, silver and blue to spread beneath his lover's feet. Instead, he only has his dreams - and he asks the loved one to tread softly on his dreams.
Fêtes galantes - Reynaldo Hahn
Verlaine's poem was set by Hahn in 1892. The term Fêtes galantes (gallant party) refers to the scenes played out by the French aristocracy in the 18th century, when they put on tableaux from the Italian commedia dell'arte. The poem describes those who serenade beautiful women, beneath the moon and with the help of the mandolin.
Le printemps - Reynaldo Hahn
This poem, by Théodore Faullin de Banville, celebrates the coming of spring, the blossoming of the lilacs and the awakening of hope in the hearts of lovers.
Kennst du das Land (Goethe Lieder, Book 1 No 9) - Wolf
The child, Mignon, tells her protector of her ordeals when forced to leave her homeland of Italy. First, she recalls the lemon groves and myrtle. The second verse describes the house she once lived in and in the third verse she tells of the journey to reach it, through terrifying ravines and torrents. At the end of each verse, she speaks of her wish to return, with her protector.
Dawid Kimberg - South Africa
Accompanist: Michael Hampton
Was für ein Lied soll dir gesungen werden (Italienisches Liederbuch No 23) - Wolf
Wolf's Italian Songbook contains German translations by Paul Heyse of popular Tuscan songs. In this song, the poet cannot find the words to praise his subject enough. No mortal has been able to find a fitting song, but he will go to the ends of the earth to find words adequate to his task.
Und willst du deinen Liebsten sterben sehen (Italienisches Liederbuch No 17) - Wolf
The poet tells his beloved that she must always wear her lovely hair loose - streaming like threads of pure gold over her shoulders. If she tied it back, he would die.
Lass sie nur gehn (Italienisches Liederbuch No 30) - Wolf
The poet describes a woman, comparing her to the river Arno. She attracts lovers in the way the river attracts different mountain streams in winter - for her, each day brings a different man. Like the Arno when the streams have disappeared, she will soon be alone.
Ein Ständchen Euch zu bringen kam ich her (Italienisches Liederbuch No 22) - Wolf
The poet asks his love's father if he may sing a serenade to his daughter. If she has already gone to sleep, he asks that the message should be passed on that her true love has visited. He thinks of her night and day, and misses her at all times.
King David - Herbert Howells
The poem, by Walter de la Mare, tells of King David's sorrow. The music of a hundred harps could not ease his pain, so he walked in his garden in the moonlight where he heard the sound of a nightingale. This seemed to mirror his own sadness and he listened until all his own melancholy had gone.
Befreit (Op 39 No 4) - Richard Strauss
In Befreit ('Freed'), one partner of a married couple is dying, leaving the other to care for their children. The couple will part happily, having built their life together, and will meet again only in dreams. They have released each other from sorrow. The poem is by Richard Dehmel.
Claire Meghnagi - Israel
Accompanist: LlÅ·r Williams
Auf flugeln des gesanges (Op 34 No 2) - Mendelssohn
One of Mendelssohn's best known compositions, this lyrical song is a setting of a poem by Heinrich Heine. The poet longs for he and his beloved to be carried on the wings of song to a beautiful garden on the banks of the Ganges. There, full of love and dreams, they will lie down together under a palm tree.
Neue Liebe (Op 19 No 4) - Mendelssohn
In Heine's poem 'New love', the poet tells of watching the elves flying through the moonlit forest, riding on white horses with golden antlers. The elf queen smiles at him - was it because of the poet's new love, or did it mean death?
Lied der Mignon (Op 62 No 4) - Schubert
This is the sad song of Mignon, from Goethe's book Wilhelm Meister which inspired many settings - Schubert himself used the text several times - and this also formed the basis of settings by composers as diverse as Ambroise Thomas, Wolf and Tchaikovsky. Mignon sings of her longings, far away from the one she loves. She feels alone, and very sad.
Sérénade (Op 13 No 2) - Chausson
The poet serenades his lover's eyes which are like islands in an azure lake. He dreams of losing himself in their peace. He serenades his lover's young body, come from paradise. The text is by Henri Cazalis, under the pseudonym Jean Lahor.
L'heure exquise (Chansons grises No 5) - Reynaldo Hahn
Here is the white moon, the reflections of the willow on the water, the calm descending from the sky. It is a time for lovers - the exquisite hour. The poem is by Verlaine.
Si mes vers avaient des ailes! - Reynaldo Hahn
The poet declares that his verses would fly to his lover's garden, to her hearth, to her side, if only they had wings. The text is by Victor Hugo.
My mother says that babies come in bottles, I hate music! - Bernstein
Bernstein wrote this 'Cycle of Five Kid Songs for Soprano' to his own words. In the first, the child is confused about where babies come from. Do they come in bottles? Or do they grow on bushes? Or does the stork bring them?
I hate music! (I hate music!) - Bernstein
The child hates music - meaning men in tail suits in symphony orchestras, making lots of noise - in silent dark concert halls where nobody wants to be. But she loves to sing.
Ji-Min Park - Republic of Korea
Accompanist: David Gowland
Ma rendi pur contento (Composizioni da Camera No 15) - Bellini
The poet calls on love to make his beloved happy. He lives so much through her that her troubles mean more to him than his own. The text is by Metastasio, originally set by Hasse in his opera Ipermestra. Metastasio was the most successful of poets in the Baroque era, and his texts were set and re-set by many composers.
Sonetto XVI: Sì come nella penna e nell'inchiostro (Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo Op 22 No 1) - Britten
Britten set these sonnets, by the Renaissance artist, Michelangelo, for Peter Pears in 1940. This is the first in the set, and describes three styles in art - high, medium and low - according to how the piece is fashioned. Similarly, there are three conditions for love - and these are pride, sorrow and grief.
Oh! mountain - Dong-soo Shin
This setting of a Korean poem tells of the traveller's sorrow at leaving his home town by the mountain. He begs the mountain to care for his town, and hopes to be buried nearby even if he should die far from home.
Heimliche Aufforderung (Op 27 No 3) - Richard Strauss
In 'Secret Invitation', a setting of a poem by John Henry Mackay, the poet longs to find a suitable moment to quietly arrange with his lover to slip away from the party. Whilst all their friends are still revelling, they will meet and make love under the rose bushes in the garden.
Ich trage meine Minne (Op 32 No 1) - Richard Strauss
The poet carries his love in his heart and in his mind everywhere he goes - and it makes him joyful every day. When the sky is grey, or he is made heavy-hearted by the sins of the world, the innocence of the beloved makes all seem splendid. The text is by Karl Henckell.
Zueignung (Op 10 No 1) - Richard Strauss
Zueignung (Dedication) is a love song, written by Strauss when he was in his late teens, to a text by Hermann von Gilm. In this passionate song, the lover is in anguish, separated from his beloved. His heart is aching, as he remembers when he was first in love. He gives thanks.
Vira Slywotzky - USA
Accompanist: Phillip Thomas
La danza (Tarantella Napoletana) (Serate Musicali) - Rossini
The singer is alone in the moonlight, waiting for a partner to join him to dance the tarantella. He is a handsome fellow, happy to dance with all the ladies and he loves dancing more than anything. The text is by Count Carlo Pepoli.
L'orgia (Serate Musicali) - Rossini
In another text by Count Carlo Pepoli, the poet proposes an orgy of women and wine. Wine affects his head and love his heart. By dancing and singing, loving and drinking, he will forget his pain and sorrow.
Oni otvechali (Op 21 No 4) - Rakhmaninov
In this dialogue, he asks: How will we escape? She answers: By rowing the boat. How will we forget our sorrow? By sleeping, she says. And how to win beauty? By loving, comes the reply. This song, 'How then, asked he', sets Russian words by Lev Aleksandrovich Mey, based on a French text by Victor Hugo.
Ne poy, krasavitsa, pri mne (Op 4 No 4) - Rakhmaninov
The poet does not want to be reminded of the sad songs of Georgia. He recalls the Steppes, and a girl, far away. The poem is by Pushkin.
Son (Op 8 No 5) - Rakhmaninov
The poet dreams of Germany - his fatherland - where the oak grew high and the violets nodded. He was kissed, and told "I love you". It sounded so good in German! The text is translated from the Heinrich Heine poem.
Vesenniye vodi (Op 14 No 11) - Rakhmaninov
The fields are still covered with snow, but the thaw has started. The streams are running, announcing themselves as the messengers of spring, bringing the warm days of May. The text is by Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev.
