Text and Translations

Collaborators 

Mai-Linh Pham, piano

Program

Hugo Wolf (1860–1903)
Selections from Mörike-Lieder
    "Er ist’s" 
    "Das verlassene Mägdlein"

Henri Duparc (1848–1933)
Chanson triste
L’invitation au voyage

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
The Sally Gardens
     from Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 1, “British Isles” 
How Sweet the Answer
     from Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 4, “Moore’s Irish Melodies”
Selections from Folk Song Arrangements, Vol. 3, “British Isles”
     There’s None to Soothe
     Come you not from Newcastle?

William Bolcom (b. 1938)
Toothbrush Time

Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)
100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man
     from Wonderful Town 

Text and Translations

"Er ist’s" (Spring is here / It’s Him)

Frühling lässt sein blaues Band
Wieder flattern durch die Lüfte;
Süsse, wohlbekannte Düfte
Streifen ahnungsvoll das Land.
Veilchen träumen schon,
Wollen balde kommen.
– Horch, von fern ein leiser
Harfenton!
Frühling, ja du bists!
Dich hab ich vernommen!

Spring is floating its blue banner
On the breezes again;
Sweet, well-remembered scents
Drift portentously across the land.
Violets, already dreaming,
Will soon begin to bloom.
Listen, the sound of a harp!
Spring, that must be you!
It’s you I’ve heard!

Poem by Eduard Mörike (1804-1875)

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright© by Richard Stokes, from oxfordlieder.co.uk

"Das verlassene Mägdlein" (The Forsaken Maiden)

Früh, wann die Hähne krähn,
Eh’ die Sternlein schwinden,
Muss ich am Herde stehn,
Muss Feuer zünden.

Schön ist der Flammen Schein,
Es springen die Funken;
Ich schaue so darein,
In Leid versunken.

Plötzlich, da kommt es mir,
Treuloser Knabe,
Dass ich die Nacht von dir
Geträumet habe.

Träne auf Träne dann
Stürzet hernieder;
So kommt der Tag heran—
O ging’ er wieder!

Early, when the cocks crow,
Before the tiny stars recede,
I must be at the hearth,
I must light the fire.

The flames are beautiful,
The sparks fly;
I gaze at them,
Sunk in sorrow.

Suddenly I realise,
[Unfaithful] boy,
That in the night
I dreamt of you.

Tear after tear
Then tumbles down;
So the day dawns –
O would it were gone again!

Poem by Eduard Mörike (1804-1875)

Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright© by Richard Stokes, from oxfordlieder.co.uk

"Chanson triste" (Song of Sadness)

Dans ton cœur dort un clair de lune,
Un doux clair de lune d’été,
Et pour fuir la vie importune,
Je me noierai dans ta clarté.

J’oublierai les douleurs passées,
Mon amour, quand tu berceras
Mon triste cœur et mes pensées
Dans le calme aimant de tes bras.

Tu prendras ma tête malade,
Oh! quelquefois sur tes genoux,
Et lui diras une ballade
Qui semblera parler de nous;

Et dans tes yeux pleins de tristesses,
Dans tes yeux alors je boirai
Tant de baisers et de tendresses
Que peut-être je guérirai.

In your heart moonlight slumbers,
The gentle moonlight of summer,
And to escape this troublesome life
I shall drown myself in your light.

I shall forget past sorrows,
My love, when you cradle
My sad heart and my thoughts
In the loving calm of your arms.

You will place my weary head,
Oh! sometimes on your lap,
And recite to it a ballad
That will seem to speak of us;

And from your eyes full of sorrow,
From your eyes then I shall drink
So many kisses and so much tenderness
That perhaps I shall be healed.

Poem by Jean Lahor (1840-1909)

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Bard Suverkrop, from ipasource.com

"L’invitation au voyage" (Invitation to the Voyage)

Mon enfant, ma sœur,
Songe a la douceur
D’aller là-bas vivre ensemble,
Aimer à loisir,
Aimer et mourir
Au pays qui te ressemble!

Les soleils mouillés
de ces siels brouillés
Pour mon esprit ont les charmes
Si mystérieux
De tes traîtres yeux,
Brillant à travers leurs larmes.

Là, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté,
Luxe, calme et volupté.

Vois sur ces canaux
Dormir ces vaisseaux
Dont l’humeur est vagabonde;
C’est pour assouvir
Ton moindre désir
Qu’ils viennent du bout du monde.

Les soleils couchants
Revéntent les champs,
Les canaux, la ville entiére,
D’hyacinthe et d’or;
Le monde s’endort
Dans une chaude lumiére!

Lá, tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté.
Luxe, calme et volupté!

My child, my sister,
Imagine how sweet it would be
To go there and live together,
To love at leisure,
To love and to die
In a country that is like you!

The watery suns
Of those hazy skies,
For my spirit, have the charms,
As mysterious,
As your traitorous eyes,
Shining through their tears.

There, we find nothing but order and
beauty,
Abundance, calm and sensual delight.

See on those canals
Sleeping those vessels
Whose nature it is to roam;
It is to fulfill
Your slightest desire
They have come from the ends of the earth.

The suns setting
cover the fields,
The canals, the town entirely,
With hyacinth and gold;
The world falls asleep
In a warm light!

There, we find nothing but order and
beauty,
Abundance, calm and sensual delight.

Poem by Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867)

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © by Bard Suverkrop, from ipasource.com

"The Sally Gardens" 

Down by the Sally gardens my love and I
did meet;
She passed the Sally gardens with little
snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves
grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her
did not agree.

In a field by the river my love and I did
stand,And on my leaning shoulder she laid her
snow-white hand;
She bid me take life easy, as the grass
grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am
full of tears.

Poem by W. B. Yeats (1865-1939)
 

"How Sweet the Answer"

How sweet the answer Echo makes
To music at night,
When, rous'd by lute or horn, she wakes,
And far away, o'er lawns and lakes,
Goes answering light.

Yet love hath echoes truer far,
And far more sweet,
Than e'er beneath the moonlight's star,
Of horn, or lute, or soft guitar,
The songs repeat.
'Tis when the sigh, in youth sincere,
And only then --
The sigh, that's breath'd for one to hear,
Is by that one, that only dear,
Breath'd back again.

Poem by Thomas Moore (1779-1852)

"There’s None to Soothe"

There's none to soothe my soul
to rest,
There's none my load of grief
to share,
Or wake to joy this lonely
breast,
Or light the gloom of dark
despair.

The voice of joy no more can
cheer,
The look of love no more can
warm
Since mute for aye's that voice
so dear,
And closed that eye alone
could charm.

"Come you not from Newcastle?"

Come you not from Newcastle?
Come you not there away?
Oh, met you not my true love,
Riding on a bonny bay?

Why should I not love my
love?
Why should not my love love
me?
Why should I not speed after
him,
Since love to all is free?

"Toothbrush Time"

It's toothbrush time,
Ten a.m. again and toothbrush
time.
Last night at half past nine it
seemed O.K.
But in the light of day not so
fine at toothbrush time.

Now he's crashing ‘round my
bathroom,
Now he's reading my degree,
Perusing all my pills,
Reviewing all my ills
And he comes out smelling
like me.

Now he advances on my
kitchen,
Now he raids every shelf
Till from the pots and pans and
puddles and debris
Emerges three eggs all for
himself.

Oh, how I'd be ahead if I'd
stood out of bed;
I wouldn't sit here grieving
Waiting for the wonderful
moment of his leaving
At toothbrush time, toothbrush
time
Ten a.m. again and toothbrush
time.

I know it's sad to be alone,
It's so bad to be alone,
Still I should've known
That I'd be glad to be alone,
I should've known, I should've
known!
Never should have picked up
the phone and called him.

Hey, uh, listen, uhm,
I’ve got to, uh --
Oh, you gotta go too?
So glad you understand.
And ...
By the way, did you say
Nine tonight again?
See you then.
Toothbrush time!

"100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man"

Chapter One.
Now the first way to lose a
man:
You’ve met a charming fellow
and you’re out for a spin.
The motor fails and he just
wears a helpless grin.
Don’t bat your eyes and say,
“What a romantic spot we’re
in.”

Just leap out, crawl under the
car, say it’s the gasket, and fix
it in two seconds flat with a
bobby pin.
That’s a good way to lose a
man.

He takes you to a baseball
game,
You sit knee to knee.
He says, “The next man up at
bat will bunt, you’ll see.”
Don’t say, “Oooh, what’s a
bunt? This game’s too hard for
little me.”

Just say, “Bunt? Are you nuts?!
With no outs, two men on base,
and a left-handed batter coming
up,
He’ll walk right into a triple
play, just like it happened in
the fifth game of the World
Series in 1923.”
That’s a sure way to lose a
man.

A sure, sure, sure, sure way to
lose a man,
A splendid way to lose a man.
Just throw your knowledge in
his face,
He’ll never try for second base.
Ninety-eight ways to go.

The third way to lose a man:
The life-guard at the beach that
all the girlies adore
Swims bravely out to save you
through the ocean’s roar,
Don’t say, “Oh, thanks, I would
have drowned in just one
second more.”

Just push his head under water
and yell,
“Last one in is a rotten egg”
And race him back to shore.
That’s a swell way to lose a
man.

You’ve found your perfect mate
and it’s been love from the
start.
He whispers, “You’re the one
to who I give my heart.”
Don’t say, “I love you, too, my
dear, let’s never, never part.”

Just say, “I’m afraid you’ve
made a grammatical error.
It’s not “To who I give my
heart,” it's “To whom I give my
heart.”
You see, with the use of the
preposition “to,” “who”
becomes the indirect object,
Making the use of “whom”
Imperative; which
I can easily show you by
drawing a simple chart.”
That’s a fine way to lose a man.

A fine, fine, fine, fine way to
lose a man.
A dandy way to lose a man.
Just be more well-informed
than he,
You’ll never hear “Oh, promise
me.”
Just show him where his
grammar errs,
Then mark your towels “Hers”
and “Hers.”
Yes, girls, you too can lose
your man,
If you will use Ruth
Sherwood’s plan:
One Hundred Easy Ways to
Lose a Man!

About SFCM’s Voice Department

Find your voice—and your community. A tight-knit group, voice students work closely with all-star faculty who have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Paris Opera, Milan’s La Scala, and many others. As a student at SFCM, you'll have the opportunity to regularly attend dress rehearsals at the San Francisco Opera and take advantage of performance opportunities around the Bay Area.