Degree Name
Master of Music
Graduate Program
Music
Advisor
Dillard, David A.
Abstract
This document presents the extended program notes for the graduate voice recital of Mr. Seth A. Tanner which took place on March 1, 2025 in the Old Baptist Foundation recital hall at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. These extended program notes also contain the program of repertoire performed at the recital in addition to the texts of all pieces with translations for those non-English songs.
The repertoire list includes operatic arias from the Baroque and late Romantic periods, and art songs from the late Romantic period, early 20th century, and mid 20th century. The repertoire is representative of a diverse sampling of composers from many nations, including Germany, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom. Program notes for each piece include a brief biography of the composer and their style, background details of the piece, and a musical or poetic analysis of each song with examples from the score.
The recital’s theme is “Songs of Love & Loss.” These two emotions hold sway over all of humanity, and each song bears a connection to that theme.
The first set on the program is comprised of two Italian-language pieces: the aria “Tu sei il cor” from Handel’s Giulio Cesare, and Nebbie by Ottorino Respighi. Second is a set of two pieces from Gustav Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn: “Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt” and “Lob des hohen Verstands.” This is immediately followed by a set of two songs on the theme of sleep, one in Russian (“Come, let us rest!” By Sergei Rachmaninoff), one in Ukrainian (“Dark Dreams” by Nestor Nyzhankivsky).
A brief pause separates the two halves of the recital, followed by “Votre toast” (the Toreador’s Song) from Georges Bizet’s Carmen and Francis Poulenc’s Le Bestiare. To conclude the recital is a presentation of Gerald Finzi’s Let Us Garlands Bring