In 1857 and 1858 as Richard Wagner had come to the completion of Die Walkure the second installment in his epic opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen he took time out to write a series of lieder for (and based on poems by)Mathilde Wesendonck with whom Wagner was believed to have been at the very least extremely infatuated. Whatever the truth might have been behind their relationship it is known that Wagner had met Mathilde's husband Otto inZurich and his ensuing friendship with the couple led to this beautiful set of lieder.Wagner himself called two of the set's songs (Im Treibhaus and Traume) ?studies? for his magnificent opera Tristan andIsolde and though originally intended for female voice with piano all of these songs were eventually orchestrated either by Wagner (in the case of Traume) or by other composers. When they were first performed in 1862 they weretitled Five Songs for a Female Voice. In the 20th century they also became very popular songs for some of the greatest tenors.Much earlier in 1839 Wagner had composed a three-song cycle called Trois Melodies. The firstpiece entitled Dors mon enfant was a lullaby that Wagner ascribed to an unnamed young poet of his publisher's acquaintance and of which he wrote that his wife had called ?heavenly for sending one to sleep?. He thenset Ronsard's song Mignonne and Victor Hugo's L'attente (from that author's Orientales) to round out the set. Wagner offered L'attente to the reigning diva of the time Pauline Viardot who is said to have flatly refused it.Wagner wrote in his memoirs My Life ?I have no reason to be ashamed of these small pieces.?Listen to brilliant tenor Jon Robert Cart perform these lieder. Then he steps aside and you take center stage with yourvirtuoso accompanist Narciso Solero at the piano.

The style of the Habanera was born in Cuba a century ago as a descendant rhythm of the european country-dance known in the island since the XVII centuary. The country-dance was an English dance from England in the XVI century. Cuban musicians adapted new rhythmic fomulae in the original melodic structure influenciated by negro caribean tradition.Their songs were of varied styles but the nostalgia of many sailors that were in Cuba made of the Habanera the most popular rhythm. The songs were learnt using only ears and the lyrics using only memory. This is the reason why there are so many versions. The tavern’s song was a way to understand the long winter nights specially in small villages of difficult access like the ones in the Costa Brava.This book contains 20 of these songs for two part vocals.

Cecil Armstrong Gibbs was a prolific and versatile English composer of the 20th century. Gibbs is best known for his output of songs but he also wrote a considerable amount of music for the amateur choirsthat he conducted. His reputation as a song-writer largely lies in his natural gift for text setting he insisted on giving priority to the words over the music and had very clear musical ideas on what a song should be. Theseprinciples prevailed when he set William Watson’s poem about a splendid city which stood by a lake and which vanished without trace to music. The Ballad Of Semmerwater is arranged here for Voice with Pianoaccompaniment.

Mater Ora Filium is an Irish folk song arranged as a carol to anonymous 15th-century words by Charles Wood. This version has been re-arranged for treble voices (two-part with optional solo) and organ by Harrison Oxley.

A Brown Bird Singing (published in 1922) is second only to the Roses of Picardy in popularity among Wood’s vast oeuvre. With lyrics by composer Royden Barrie the romantic words are well matched to the touching melody. The songhas been recorded many times since it appeared including a version by jazz songstress Peggy Lee and one arranged for zither.Haydn Wood earned his reputation as a giant of British light music in the twentieth century through aprolific career that encompassed performance as Violin soloist and conductor and as well as composer of some of the nation’s favourite melodies. Wood was not only was a gifted and popular creator of Orchestral works and musicaltheatre but also the composer more than 200 songs in his lifetime -- perhaps inspired by his long and happy marriage to singer Dorothy Court -- many of them the greatest hits of their era. This sheet music presents A Brown BirdSinging arranged in A Flat for Vocal Duet SA or TB and Piano.

Par DUBOIS THEODORE. Treatise of Harmony & Bass and Voices is an absolute must-have volume on harmonies by Theodore Dubois. Written in the last century (1921), this book includes the two parts of the treatise: Part 1 & Basses and Part 2 & Voices. This volume is quite complex, requires some strong theory knowledge and would be playable by upper-advanced players and professionals. It also features numerous examples. The two parts contains the following sub-sections: Part 1 & Basses: - Consonant harmonies - Dissonant harmonies - Alterations - Delays - Pedals - Appendix Part 2 & Voices: - Consonant harmonies - Dissonant harmonies - Alterations - Delays, Pedals… - Appendix/ Répertoire / Voix

Par MC NEFF STEPHEN. My research for Banished began with a small group of students during a Trinity Laban co-lab period in 2013, though the idea goes back over 30 years when I first saw Steve Gooch’s Female Transport and stored the idea of adapting it as an opera until the right opportunity arose. I have been involved in opera for a long time and it has always been a frustration for me that while there is an abundance of female talent (particularly so in conservatories and colleges) there is a noticeable lack of challenging roles available for young women. The roles most often undertaken are maids or innocent girls, compliant wives or tomboys. Not that the problem is necessarily confined exclusively to young women, but where good roles exist, the women are all too often merely passive or victims. Things happen to them rather than them making things happen. They are unable to influence their circumstances and are usually resigned to their fate. Worse still, they are often judged in some way responsible for what happens to them, culpable even because of their looks, their way of life or a streak of independence. Just think about Mimi, Carmen and Violetta (to name only three on a long list). All these characters die, and their attempts at individuality contribute to their demise in some way that they have no control over. With some exceptions female characters in opera are too often sad, mad or bad. Redressing this balance and taking advantage of the richness in vocal talent is only one reason to write an opera reflecting the reality of a group of strong women who work things out for themselves. The transportation of people to Australia at the beginning of the nineteenth century is not a particularly well understood part of history beyond a sort of folk myth. What were the circumstances, who were the people and what happened to them? Opera does not exist to completely answer these questions, but it can focus on the women as individuals and help tell their story. (All the women named in the opera actually existed.) My approach has to been to put the women’s narrative centre stage and, in the confines of an oppressive, dangerous environment go with them on their journey as they survive or sink. The demands on the women are huge. At every turn they are oppressed by their jailers, the system that brought them here and their own low expectations. They have to work out ways to overcome these odds. We discover them through their music in solos and ensembles, sometimes reflective, at other times boasting about their lives a petty criminals and trying to establish status and pecking order. Alongside this I have used references to music of the time to create another reality built on larger ensembles and choruses. This is a sort of collective consciousness aware of loss, longing and context – even of a broad political dimension to the realities of Transportation. Despite the acute awareness of their circumstances in these ensembles, there is also a resilience and strength that transcends the individual stories. Stephen McNeff / Instrumental Music / Répertoire / Voix