Department of Music College of Fine Arts

presents a

Doctoral Recital Pei Ning Ku, soprano Karen J. McCann, piano, harpsichord Allison McSwain, trumpet Mauricio Villazon, cello Emilee Wong, flute

PROGRAM George Frideric Handel (1685 -1759)

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683- 1764)

Benjamin Britten (1913- 1976)

W. A. Mozart (1756- 1791)

Joaquin Rodrigo (1901- 1999)

H. Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959)

W. A. Mozart (1756 - 1791)

INTERMISSION

Gregory Konig, guitar Kanade Oi, clarinet Crystal Yuan, violin

Let the Bright Seraphim in Burning Row

Rossignols Amoureux

Songs from the Chinese I. The Big Chariot 2. The Old Lute 3. The Autumn Wind 4. The Herd-Boy 5. Depression 6. Dance Song

Schon Jacht der holde Frilling

Primavera

Suite pour Chant et Violon 1. A Men ina E A Can9ao 2. Quero Ser Alegre 3. Sertaneja

Variations on a Theme "Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman"

Pei-Ning Ku is a student ofTod Fitzpatrick.

This recital is offered in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts.

Saturday, April23, 2011 3:30p.m. Dr. Arturo Rando-Grillot Recital Hall Lee and Thomas Beam Music Center University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Let the Bright Seraphim in Burning Row

This well-known aria "Let the Bright Seraphim" for soprano appears in the final act of Samson, a three-act oratorio by George Frederic Handel. The aria summons the celestial hosts of Seraphim and Cherubim to hail the dead hero, with trumpet figures responding to the singer.

Rossignols Amoureux

"Rossignols Amoureux" is the shepherdess' aria from act five of Hippolyte et Aricie by Jean-Philippe Rameau. This aria is an elegant model of the old French style. In addition to the basso continuo performed on the harpsichord, it is performed with a flute and violin concertante.

Songs from the Chinese

The English orientalist Arthur Waley is considered one of the world's great Asian scholars. The Chinese Poems is a collection of texts selected by the author from his earlier volumes of translations. Britten selected six short pieces from this collection: the poems he chose are not only magnificent in themselves, but they are also arranged with delicacy in relation to one another. "The Big Chariot" has three verses, of which the second and the third do little more than the repeat the first in slightly different words. "The Old Lute" gives a melancholy mood with its nostalgic reminiscence of the instrument's "ancient melody" no longer in fashion. "The Autumn Wind" expresses Emperor Wu-Ti's regret at having to go on an official journey leaving his mistress. In "The Herd-Boy", the gently swaying rhythms depict the ox journey. The melancholy guitar glides over the sound through "Depression" to cover the meditation on age and decay. The exhilarating and gay final "Dance Song" brings the cycle to a rousing conclusion.

Primavera

Joaquin Rodrigo was one of the leading Spanish composer of the Twentieth Century. Although blind from age three, Rodrigo began music studies at early age and later became a pupil of Paul Dukas. While in France he made the acquaintance of composer Manuel de Falla, who became his mentor. Primavera was composed by Rodrigo in 1953 for light soprano, flute and piano, and the text was written by Guillermo Fernandez Shaw.

Suite pour chant et violon

The Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos was educated in Brazil but was self-taught in composition. He developed an interest in Brazilian folk music, which became the strongest influence on his works. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works which were all animated by his passionate devotion to his native land. The Suite is for voice and violin written in 1923. The Suite is somewhat like a triptych, multi­sectional poem a. The text in the first section is by Mario de Andrade. In the second section the soprano merely hums and the third section is based on songs of the Cabacio, Brazilian peasants.

Variation on a Theme (Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman)

Many songs in various languages have been based on the melody from the folk song, Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman. In English, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star shares its melody with the Alphabet Song from 1834, and a variant of it is used for Baa, Baa, Black Sheep. In these versions a girl confides a secret to her mother: she has been seduced by "Silvandre." For a time this Variation was thought to have been composed in 1778, while Mozart stayed in Paris from April to September in that year, the assumption being that the melody of a French song could only have been picked up by Mozart while residing in France. The rhythm is modified in different ways for each variation.