Program

Ralph Vaughan William: Along the Field (1925)
1. We'll to the woods no more
2. Along the field
3. The half-moon westers low
4. In the morning
5. The sigh that heaves the grasses
6. Good-bye
7. Fancy's Knell
8. With rue my heart is laden

Aaron Copland: Duo for flute and piano (1971)
1. Flowing
2. Poetic, somewhat mournful
3. Lively, with bounce

Angélica Negrón: The Violinist (2022)

Nino Rota: Trio for Violin, Flute, Piano (1958)
1. Allegro non troppo
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Allegro vivace con spirito

PERFORMERS

Tenor: Louis Hurley
Violin: Natalia Harvey
Piano: Lee Dionne
Flute: Rosie Gallagher

Listening Guide

Nature, folk songs and poetry were among the influences that breathed life into the prolific body of work from Englishman Ralph Vaughan Williams. A national treasure, Vaughan Williams was forever changed after serving as a private in World War One. When living and teaching in London, he composed the song cycle Along the Field in 1927, setting the text of contemporary poet Alfred Housman.

Meanwhile in America, a young Aaron Copland, was busy writing music self described as “his gold nuggets”. Copland’s compositional voice would later be regarded as informing a wave of ‘American sound.’ His Duo for flute and pianoarrived when Copland was in his seventies, living in New York and professing to be struggling to feel anew with ideas. The duo brims with melodies and counterpoint that call back to the Shaker tunes and rodeo dances heard in his popular ballet Appalachian Spring.

Puerto-Rican composer Angélica Negrón’s work The Violinist spins a short story written by Ana Fabrega detailing a non-musicians nightmare waking up to find herself on Carnegie Hall’s stage into life through the use of electronics and solo violin. Such drama and theatrics spill into the essence of Italian film composer and pianist Nino Rota, best known for his score to The Godfather, and whose Trio for flute, violin and piano was written in 1958 for a popular touring group at the time.