Garrett Prall, Tenor

Assisted by
Norma Roozeboom, Piano

Oh Fair to See | Gerald Finzi (1901-1956)

Born in London, Finzi was educated privately, beginning his musical studies in 1914. The deaths
of his three brothers and his music teacher in World War I caused Finzi to withdraw into an introspective
lifestyle, collecting books, cultivating rare apple trees, and composing with great urgency. He moved
among a prominent circle of London musicians, including Holst and Vaughn Williams. A devoted
pacifist, Finzi reluctantly recognized the necessity of the second world war, working for the duration in
the London Ministry of War Transport, while continuing to compose. He felt that art played a vital role in
representing civilization. In 1951, Finzi was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and as a result began to
compose some of his most impassioned works. On an outing with Vaughn Williams in 1956 he contracted
chickenpox and in his weakened state succumbed to the illness.
Oh Fair To See is both the name of this set of songs as well as the second song in the set. The
song set was published in 1966 for high voice and piano by Boosey and Hawkes as opus 13b. Oh Fair To
See was assembled and edited after Finzi's death by Howard Ferguson (pianist, composer and friend of
Gerald's), Joyce Finzi (Gerald's wife) and Christopher Finzi (Gerald's son). The Editor's note from the
1966 score reads: "Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) planned several volumes of songs in addition to those
already published during his lifetime. There were to be at least two more Hardy sets, as well as groups of
songs to words by various other poets. Each of these sets was to be made up, as was his habit, from songs
written throughout his life. During his last year Finzi had a remarkable burst of song writing, and though,
at the time of his death, none of the sets was completed, some two dozen songs were left ready for
publication.
Only the Wanderer Oh Fair to See To Joy
Only the wanderer Oh, fair to see Is not this enough for moan
Knows England’s Bloom-laden cherry tree, To see this babe all motherless
graces, Arrayed in sunny white; A babe beloved - thrust out alone
Or can anew see clear An April day’s delight, Upon death’s wilderness?
Familiar faces. Oh, fair to see! Our tears fall
And who loves joy as he Oh, fair to see I would weep My blood away to
That dwells in shadows? Fruit-laden cherry tree, make her warm
Do not forget my quite, With balls of shining red Who never went on earth one step,
O Severn meadows. Decking a leafy head, Nor heard the breath of the storm
Oh, fair to see! How shall you go, my little child,
Alone on that most wintry wild?
O Del Mio Amato Ben | Stefano Donaudy (1879-1925)
Stefano Donaudy was a minor though significant composer, active in the 1890s and early
twentieth century. He wrote mostly vocal music, dividing his efforts between opera and song, though he
did produce some chamber and orchestral music. Donaudy was born in Palermo, Sicily, on February 21,
1879. Little information is available about his life, though it is known that he studied with composer
Guglielmo Zuelli, a rival of Puccini in the latter's early years. It seems that Donaudy was precocious,
composing songs in his early teens.
Although Donaudy was a lesser known Italian composer of the 20th century, his music has been
gaining popularity within the last 20 years. Much of his operatic and art song compositions were usually
performed by his brother Alberto Donaudy. “O Del Mio Amato Ben” comes from his best-known work,
the art song collection 36 Arie di Stile Antico (1918). The collection is a series of arias composed in the
operatic style but were never part of an opera. The text for “O Del Mio Amato Ben” was written by his
brother and speaks of the all-encompassing sorrow from losing a lover.
O del mio amato ben perduto incanto! Oh, lost enchantment of my dearly beloved!
Lungi è dagli occhi miei Far from my eyes is he
chi m'era gloria e vanto! who was, to me, glory and pride!
Or per le mute stanze Now through the empty rooms
sempre lo cerco e chiamo I always seek him and call him
con pieno il cor di speranze? with a heart full of hopes?
Ma cerco invan, chiamo invan! But I seek in vain, I call in vain!
E il pianger m'è sì caro, And the weeping is so dear to me,
che di pianto sol nutro il cor. that with weeping alone I nourish my heart.

Mi sembra, senza lui, triste ogni loco. It seems to me, without him, sad everywhere.
Notte mi sembra il giorno; The day seems like night to me;
mi sembra gelo il foco. the fire seems cold to me.
Se pur talvolta spero If, however, I sometimes hope
di darmi ad altra cura, to give myself to another cure,
sol mi tormenta un pensiero: one thought alone torments me:
Ma, senza lui, che farò? But without him, what shall I do?
Mi par così la vita vana cosa To me, life seems a vain thing
senza il mio ben. without my beloved.

Ihr Bild | Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer. Despite dying at age thirty-one, Schubert was
extremely prolific. His output consists of over six hundred secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven
complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano
music. Appreciation of his music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in
Vienna, but interest in his work increased significantly in the decades following his death. Today,
Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers of the early Romantic era and, as such, is one of the
most frequently performed composers of the early nineteenth century.
Heinrich Heine is the poet responsible for six of the fourteen song cycle "“Schwanengesang." Ihr
Bild is about a dream the singer is having of a portrait coming to life for this love-stricken man, so love
stricken in fact, he has failed to realize he has gone "mad" staring at this image. Nevertheless, in the end,
he has lost his beloved. Heine, before dying in 1856 at the age of fifty-eight, wrote over fifty novels,
poems, prose travel work, and journals. Henrich Heine and Franz Schubert completed multiple large
musical works together like Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise.
Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen I stood in darkened daydreams
Und starrte ihr Bildniß an, and stared at her portrait long
Und das geliebte Antlitz as that beloved face was
Heimlich zu leben begann. secretly coming to life.

Um ihre Lippen zog sich Around her lips there blossomed

Ein Lächeln wunderbar, a wondrous laughing smile,
Und wie von Wehmuthsthränen and melancholy teardrops -
Erglänzte ihr Augenpaar. they glittered in her fair eyes.

Auch meine Thränen flossen Likewise my teardrops welled up

Mir von den Wangen herab - and flowed down mournful cheeks
Und ach, ich kann es nicht glauben, alas, I can't believe it,
Daß ich Dich verloren hab! that I am deprived of you!

El Tra la la y el Punteado | Enrique Granados (1867-1916)

Granados was born in Lérida, Spain. As a young man he studied piano in Barcelona, where his
teachers included Francisco Jurnet and Joan Baptista Pujol. In 1887 he went to Paris to study, returning to
Barcelona in 1889. In 1911 Granados premiered his suite for piano Goyescas, which became his most
famous work. It is a set of six pieces based on paintings of Goya. Such was the success of this work that
he was encouraged to expand it; he wrote an opera based on the subject in 1914, but unfortunately the
outbreak of World War I forced the European premiere to be canceled: it was performed for the first time
instead in New York City on January 26, 1916 and was a huge success for the composer. Shortly
afterward he was invited to perform a piano recital for President Wilson. Unfortunately the delay incurred
by accepting the recital invitation caused him to miss his boat back to Spain. Instead, he took a ship to
Liverpool, where he boarded the Sussex for Dieppe. On the way across the English Channel, the Sussex
was torpedoed by a German submarine, as part of the German unrestricted submarine warfare policy
during World War I. In a failed attempt to save his wife Amparo, who he saw flailing in the water some
distance away, Granados jumped out of his lifeboat, and drowned. Ironically, he had had a morbid fear of
water for his entire life, and he was returning from his first-ever series of ocean voyages at the time of his
death.
This song comes from Granados’ Tonadillas. The word tonadilla derives from tonada, which is a
theatrical song type. Tonadillas were used as intermission entertainment in the 18th century. Over time
the tonadilla became a sort of mini-opera. In his Tonadillas, we hear Granados musically representing
Spain with guitar-like piano accompaniment. We also find him sonically “painting” the artistic
sensibilities of the time - primarily his admiration of the works of Goya the great painter. The Tonadillas
were composed between 1896 and 1900 and first premiered in Paris in 1916.
 Es en balde, majo mío, que sigas hablando It is in vain, my love, that you go on talking,
porque hay cosas que contesto yo siempre For there are things to which I ever answer in
cantando: song.
Tra la la... Tra la la...
Por más que preguntes tanto: No matter how many times you ask:
tra la la... Tra la la...
En mí no causas quebranto You cause me no grief
ni yo he de salir de mi canto: And I will not cease to sing.
tra la la... tra la la...

Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’ from Oklahoma! | Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)

Rodgers was born June 28, 1902 in Queens, NYC, and he died on December 30, 1979. He studied
music at the Institute of Musical Arts (what is now Julliard). He married Dorothy Feiner and they had
three children, though tragically one of whom died at birth. His eldest daughter Mary composed the
musical 'Once Upon a Mattress' and Mary's son Adam Guettel won a Tony award for his compositions for
'The Light in the Plazza.' His youngest daughter, Linda, had a son, Peter Melnick, who is the composer
for the musical 'Adrift In Macao'. Talk about the family trade!
The other half of the duo, Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II also came from a theatrical
family. However, Oscar's father would not allow his son to follow in his footsteps. Instead he pursued a
law degree at Columbia University and Columbia Law School. He took part in his first play at 19 after his
father died, and subsequently dropped out of law school to pursue the theatre. He married twice and had
three children. His eldest son, William, was a talented stage manager and director. Hammerstein died of
stomach cancer on August 23, 1960.
In the story, “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin” is sung by Curly, a handsome ranch hand whose
brimming optimism is perfectly captured by Rodgers' ebullient music and Hammerstein's buoyant
pastoral lyrics. The famous melody comes in the refrain, which begins with the title lyrics, "Oh, what a
beautiful mornin'." The contour of Rodgers' melody here, while not without some angularity, seems ever
on the rise, and Hammerstein's lyrics match the effervescence of its mostly ascending character with
joyous images of sun-soaked meadows and tall rows of corn -- and with Curly's sense that "Ev'rything's
goin' my way." This was a most fitting song to launch the careers of the most successful composer/lyricist
team in the history of Broadway musical theater
There's a bright golden haze on All the cattle are standin' like All the sounds of the earth are
the meadow, statues, like music
There's a bright golden haze on All the cattle are standin' like All the sounds of the earth are
the meadow, statues, like music
The corn is as high as an They don't turn their heads as The breeze is so busy it don't
elephant’s eye, they see me ride by, miss a tree
An' it looks like it's climbing But a little brown mav'rick is And an old weepin' willer is
clear up in the sky. winkin' her eye. laughin' at me
Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful mornin', Oh, what a beautiful mornin',
Oh, what a beautiful day. Oh, what a beautiful day. Oh, what a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin' I got a beautiful feelin' I got a beautiful feelin'
Ev'erything's goin' my way. Ev'erything's goin' my way. Ev'erything's goin' my way.
Oh, what a beautiful day!
Something’s Coming from West Side Story | Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)
Leonard Bernstein was a Renaissance man of the 20th century: composer, conductor, educator,
performer, and public personality in nearly equal parts, none of which he was willing to give up for the
others. In 1943 he made his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic; he was the first
American-born conductor to be appointed its musical director. As a composer, Bernstein worked in a
wide range of genres, including orchestral and vocal works (or, more frequently, combinations of the
two), ballet, opera, musical theater, and chamber works. Following his Symphony no. 1: Jeremiah (1942),
he turned to collaborative works with the ballet Fancy Free (1944) and the musical comedy On the Town
(1944). Bernstein’s compositional style featured an ecumenical approach to classical and vernacular
styles, often identified as eclecticism. Not only did he challenge the distinction between “high” and “low”
musical styles, but he often did so within the confines of a single composition. As a music educator,
Bernstein also reached across the gap between the regular audience at the symphony or opera and the
general public, as well as across generations with his televised Young People’s Concerts and Omnibus
programs. Bernstein remained a skilled pianist, frequently performing the piano parts for his own works
and for George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Bernstein could not be confined to any one genre, style, or
profession, and the single quality that distinguishes his musical life as a whole is the crossing, blurring, or
disintegration of boundaries.
The song is sung by Tony, a tenor, the counterpart to Romeo in this updated musical version of
the famous Shakespeare tragedy. His words express optimism over his feeling that "something great is
coming...." The music is busy and energetic from its opening, with short phrases ending on the ascent that
alternate with ones concluding on the descent. The anxious main line is halted for occasional sustained
notes while the rhythm drives insistently on. Soon Tony bursts into a new rhythmic theme, singing his
words rapid-fire as he can barely contain his excitement. These two thematic ideas dominate thereafter
and the mood throughout imaginatively captures Tony's sense of expectation, his yearning for that special
something: "There's something due any day; I will know right away...." Of course, he will shortly meet
Maria and the two will fall madly in love. "Something's coming" is undoubtedly one of the more
effervescent and colorful songs from this classic Bernstein musical.
Could be, who knows? Could it be? Yes it could. Around the corner,
There's something due any day; Something's coming, something Or whistlin' down the river.
I will know right away, good, If I can wait! Come on, deliver to me.
Soon as it shows. Something's coming, I don't Will it be? Yes it will.
It may come cannonballing know what it is, Maybe just by holding still,
down through the sky, gleam in But it is gonna be great! It'll be there!
its eye, bright as rose! With a click, with a shock Come on, something, come on in,
Who knows? Phone'll jingle, door will knock, Don't be shy, meet a guy, pull up a
It's only just out of reach, Open the latch! chair!
Down the block, on a beach Something's coming, The air is humming,
under a tree. don't know when, But it's soon; And something great is coming!
I got a feeling there's a miracle catch the moon, one handed Who knows?
due, gonna come true, comin' to catch! It's only just out of reach,
me! Down the block, on a beach,
Maybe tonight.
The Devil You Know from Side Show | Henry Krieger (b. 1945)
Henry Krieger was born in New York City on February 9th, 1945. Throughout his career he
composed music for three Broadway shows including Dreamgirls (1981), Tap Dance Kid (1983) and Side
Show (1998). Krieger had previously received a nomination for Best Original Musical Score for
Dreamgirls in 1981. Although he did not win that award, the original cast recording of that show won a
Tony in 1982. The film adaptation of Dreamgirls had three of his songs nominated for Best Original Song
at the Academy Awards in 2006.
Sideshow is based on the true story of conjoined twins and famed entertainers Violet and Daisy
Hilton, Side Show is a remarkable musical about acceptance, love, and embracing one’s uniqueness. As
the starring act of a sideshow, helmed by an abusive ringmaster called The Boss, Violet and Daisy Hilton
are eager to accept an offer of fame, fortune, and potential romance proffered by Terry, a talent scout, and
Buddy, a budding musician. As stars on the Orpheum Circuit, it seems that Violet and Daisy have
everything they ever wanted. The one thing they lack, however, is the fulfillment of their hearts’ desires.
Different as they are, when it comes to matters of the heart, Daisy and Violet have the same burning
questions: “Who could proudly stand beside me? Who will love me as I am?” Nearly entirely sung-
through, Side Show features soulful music, stunningly beautiful lyrics, and powerhouse show-stoppers,
particularly the famous duets “Who Will Love Me as I Am” and “I Will Never Leave You.” A stunning
reminder of the importance of accepting and celebrating what makes us unique, Side Show is a true story
that will touch audience’s hearts.
“The Devil You Know” comes in the first act when a character named Jake attempts to persuade
the twins to stay in the sideshow, instead of chasing stardom with Terry and Buddy. The line that Jake
repeats in the song is “The devil you know, beats the devil you don’t.” Jake believes that although living
under the oppressive thumb of The Boss may be bad, it may be better than something unknown and
potentially worse. Ultimately his attempts are deemed futile, however he does divide the rest of the
performers into two groups: those who support the twins exploring new options, and those that think it
would be smarter to stay in the sideshow.
I'm not gonna tell you Now we have learned Now we could argue all night,
You're making a mistake, To work around the situation. Because we care about you two.
Tell you not to go, Learned to hide Maybe you will go
No I won't. Till the heat has passed. Or maybe you won't.
I'll only say You will learn a promise of But I hope you will remember
What I've learned along my way. salvation That that mean old,
The devil you know Can mask another inferno's blast. Money-grubbin',
Beats the devil you don't. The devil you know Gin-guzzlin',
We don't work Beats the devil you don't. Name-callin',
In the best of situations. That promised land Devil you know.
We don't live very well. Could turn out to be dry Might be better than
We don't live in the neighborhood Once you're gone That smooth talkin',
of heaven. You might ask yourselves why. Fine-lookin',
We live somewhere closer to hell. Maybe you will Dream-spinnin',
Or maybe you won't. Promise makin'
But the devil you know Devil you don't.
Beats the devil you don't.