Date of Defense

12-4-2011

Date of Graduation

12-2011

Department

Music

First Advisor

Alice Obery Pierce

Second Advisor

David Little

Third Advisor

Matthew Steel

Abstract

My Senior Voice Recital/Honors Thesis is called "The Whimsy and Woe of Youth." Each song in the repertoire can fit into this theme. The voice recital counted as both a Senior Voice Program requirement and the Honors College Thesis requirement.

The recital began with "Ei! Wie schmeckt der Coffee suBe" from Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Coffee Cantata) written by Johann Sebastian Bach, represented the Baroque era. Next, two lieder composed by Hugo Wolf were performed. They both tell cute little stories that can be enjoyed by a child's mind. The recital continued with two arias sung by Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's opera for children, Hansel und Gretel. All of the previous pieces were performed in German.

Next, I performed a set of 5 songs written by Erik Satie called Ludions. The text is in French. The songs, in order, are; "Air du rat", "Spleen", "La grenouille americaine", "Air du Poete", and "Chanson du chat." Following Satie, 2 Italian arias were sung. The first was "Volta la terrea" from Un ballo in Maschera by Verdi and the second was "L'ho perduta, me meschina" from Ie Nozze di Figaro by W. A. Mozart.Both represent the Romantic era.

A contemporary concert piece was performed next. This song cycle is called I never saw another butterfly by Lori Laitman. The cycle is performed by soprano and alto saxophone. The text comes from poetry found to be written by child prisoners in Theresienstadt during WWII. The recital ended with a French Romantic aria called "Les oiseaux dans la charmille" or "The Doll Aria" from Les Contes d'Hoffman by Offenbach and "I know things now" from Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

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