Soprano Moira Docherty is joined by mezzo-soprano Barbara Scott, accompanied by pianist Robert Duncan, to perform duets and solos, including music by Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi and Mendelssohn.
Programme
Duets
Esurientes from ‘Magnificat’ RV 610 - Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Laudamus Te from ‘Gloria’ RV 589
La Pesca (Fishing) Notturno S424 Lyrics Pietro Metastasio - Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)
Barbara (solo)
Nuit d’Espagne - Jules Massenet (1842 -1912)
Zueignung - Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Duets
Gruss Op. 63. No 3 - Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Ich wollt’ mein lieb’ Op. 63. No 1
O’ Wert Thou in the Cauld Blast
Skye Boat Song - Anne Campbell McLeod (1855-1921), Lyrics Sir Harold Boulton, descant, Evelyn Sharpe
Moira (solo)
Ah Chloris - Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)
Fetes galantes
Duets
‘Tis Evening’ duet from ‘Queen of Spades’ - Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)
Flower Duet ‘Lakme’ - Leo Delibes (1836-1891
Esurientes
Esurientes implevit bonis.
Et divites dimisit inanes
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty
Laudamus te
Laudamus te, Benedicimus te.
Adoramus te. Glorificamus te.
We praise you; we bless you,
we adore you; we glorify you.
La Pesca
Già la notte s'avvicina, vieni, o Nice, amato bene, della placida marina le fresch' aure a respirar.
Non sa dir che sia diletto ,chi non posa in queste arene or che un lento zefiretto dolcemente in crespa il mar.
Fishing
Already night is approaching, come o Nice, my beloved, from the calm seascape let us breathe the fresh zephyrs.
No one can say that he is loved unless he stands on these sands now that a slow little breeze gently ripples the sea.
Nuit d'Espagne
L’air est embaumé, la nuit est sereine
Et mon âme est pleine de pensers joyeux;
Ô bien-aimée, viens! Ô bien-aimée,
Voici l’instant de l’amour!
Dans le bois profond où les fleurs s’endorment,
Où chantent des sources,
Vite, enfuyons-nous, enfuyons-nous!
Vois, la lune est claire et nous sourit dans le ciel.
Les yeux indiscrets ne sont plus à craindre,
Viens, ô bien-aimée, la nuit protège ton front rougissant!
La nuit est sereine, apaise mon cœur;
C’est l’heure d’amour! C’est l’heure!
Dans le sombre azur les blondes étoiles
Écartent leurs voiles pour te voir passer,
Ô bien-aimée, viens! Ô bien-aimée
Voici l’instant de l’amour!
J’ai vu s’entr’ouvrir ton rideau de gaze,
Tu m’entends cruelle,
Et tu ne viens pas, tu ne viens pas!
Vois, la route est sombre sous les rameaux enlaces!
Cueille en leur splendeur tes jeunes années,
Viens! Car l’heure est brève,
Un jour effeuille les fleurs du printemps!
La nuit est sereine, apaise mon cœur!
Spanish Night Translation © Richard Stokes
The air is perfumed, the night serene
And my soul is filled with joyful thoughts.
O my beloved, come! my beloved,
Now is the moment of love!
Into the deep woods, where flowers slumber
And where the streams sing,
Quickly, let us flee, let us flee!
Look, the bright moon smiles at us from the sky.
Prying eyes need no longer be feared,
Come, my beloved, night conceals your blushing brow!
The night is serene, soothe my heart!
It is the hour of love! The hour!
In the dark blue sky the pale stars
Draw aside their veils to see you pass,
O my beloved, come! my beloved,
Now is the moment of love!
I saw your muslin curtains move,
You can hear me, cruel one,
And you do not come, do not come!
Look, the path is dark beneath entwined branches!
Gather your youthful years in their splendour,
Come, for time is short!
A single day scatters the flowers of spring!
The night is serene, soothe my heart!
Zueignung words by Hermann Von Gilm
Ja, du weißt es, teure Seele,
Daß ich fern von dir mich quäle, Liebe macht die Herzen krank,
Habe Dank.
Einst hielt ich, der Freiheit Zecher,
Hoch den Amethysten-Becher,
Und du segnetest den Trank,
Habe Dank.
Und beschworst darin die Bösen,
Bis ich, was ich nie gewesen,
Heilig, heilig an’s Herz dir sank,
Habe Dank!
Dedication Translation © Richard Stokes
Yes, dear soul, you know
That I’m in torment far from you,
Love makes hearts sick –
Be thanked.
Once, revelling in freedom,
I held the amethyst cup aloft
And you blessed that draught –
Be thanked.
And you banished the evil spirits,
Till I, as never before,
Holy, sank holy upon your heart –
Be thanked.
Gruß words by Joseph von Eichendorff
Wohin ich geh’ und schaue,
In Feld und Wald und Tal,
Vom Hügel hin auf die Aue,
Vom Berg aufwärts weit in’s Blaue:
Grüss’ ich dich tausend mal.
In meinem Garten find’ ich
Viel Blumen schön und fein;
Viel Kränze wohl d’raus wind’ ich,
Und tausend Gedanken bind’ ich,
Und Grüsse mit darein.
Dir darf ich keinen reichen,
Du bist zu hoch und schön,
Sie müssen zu bald verbleichen,
Die Liebe ohne Gleichen
Bleibt ewig im Herzen steh’n
Greeting
Wherever I walk and gaze,
Through valley, wood and field,
From mountaintop to meadow,
I, lovely gracious lady,
Greet you a thousand times.
I seek out in my garden
Many fine and lovely flowers,
Weaving many garlands,
Binding a thousand thoughts
And greetings with them too.
I cannot give a garland
To her, so high and fine,
Which means that all must perish,
Only love without compare
Stays in the heart forever
Ich wollt' meine Lieb' ergösse - Op63 No 1
Heinrich Heine Felix Mendelssohn
Ich wollt, meine Lieb ergösse
Sich all in ein einzig Wort,
Das gäb ich den luft’gen Winden,
Die trügen es lustig fort.
Sie tragen zu dir, Geliebte,
Das lieberfüllte Wort;
Du hörst es zu jeder Stunde,
Du hörst es an jedem Ort.
Und hast du zum nächtlichen Schlummer
Geschlossen die Augen kaum,
So wird mein Bild dich verfolgen
Bis in den tiefsten Traum.
I wish that I could pour my love
Into a single word,
I’d give it to the merry winds,
Who’d bear it merrily away.
They’d bear it to you, beloved,
This word so full of love,
You’d hear it at every moment,
You’d hear it in every place.
And when for your nightly slumber
You’ve scarcely closed your eyes,
My image will then pursue you
Into your deepest dream
O’ Wert Thou in the Cauld blast
O wert thou in the cauld blast
On yonder lea, on yonder lea,
My plaidie to the angry airt,
I'd shelter thee, I'd shelter thee.
Or did Misfortune's bitter storms
Around thee blaw, around thee blaw,
Thy (bield)1 should be my bosom
To share it a', to share it a'.
Or were I in the wildest waste,
Sae black and bare, sae black and bare,
The desert were a Paradise
If thou wert there, if thou wert there.
Or were I monarch of the globe,
Wi' thee to reign, wi' thee to reign,
The brightest jewel in my crown
Wad be my queen, wad be my queen.
1 Bield = shelter
Skye Boat Song
Chorus
Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing.
Onward, the sailors cry.
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye.
Loud the winds howl, loud the waves roar.
Thunderclaps rend the air,
Baffled, our foes stand by the shore,
Follow they will not dare.
Chorus
Though the waves leap, soft shall ye sleep,
Ocean's a royal bed.
Rocked in the deep Flora will keep
Watch by your weary head.
Chorus
Many's the lad fought on that day
Well the claymore could wield
When the night came silently lay
Dead on Culloden's field.
Chorus
Burned are our homes, exile and death
Scatter the loyal men;
Yet, ere the sword cool in the sheath,
Charlie will come again.
A Chloris words by Théophile de Viau
S'il est vrai, Chloris, que tu m'aimes,
(Mais j'entends, que tu m'aimes bien,)
Je ne crois point que les rois mêmes
Aient un bonheur pareil au mien.
Que la mort serait importune
A venir changer ma fortune
Pour la félicité des cieux!
Tout ce qu'on dit de l'ambroisie
Ne touche point ma fantaisie
Au prix des grâces de tes yeux
To Chloris
If it be true, Chloris, that you love me,
(And I'm told you love me dearly),
I do not believe that even kings
Can match the happiness I know.
Even death would be powerless
To alter my fortune
With the promise of heavenly bliss!
All that they say of ambrosia
Does not stir my imagination
Like the favour of your eyes!
Fetes Galantes words by Paul Verlaine
Les donneurs de sérénades
Et les belles écouteuses
Échangent des propos fades
Sous les ramures chanteuses.
C'est Tircis et c'est Aminte,
Et c'est l'éternel Clitandre,
Et c'est Damis qui pour mainte
Cruelle fit maint vers tendre.
Leurs courtes vestes de soie,
Leurs longues robes à queues,
Leur élégance, leur joie
Et leurs molles ombres bleues,
Tourbillonnent dans l'extase
D'une lune rose et grise,
Et la mandoline jase
Parmi les frissons de brise.
The givers of serenades
The givers of serenades
And the lovely women who listen
Exchange insipid words
Under the singing branches.
There is Thyrsis and Amyntas
And there's the eternal Clytander,
And there's Damis who, for many a
Heartless woman, wrote many a tender verse.
Their short silk coats,
Their long dresses with trains,
Their elegance, their joy
And their soft blue shadows,
Whirl around in the ecstasy
Of a pink and grey moon,
And the mandolin prattles
Among the shivers from the breeze.
‘Tis Evening
Already, shades of night the distant fields enfold
From yonder tower, the last bright shafts of day have faded
The running brook reflects one gleam of sunset gold;
Now day departs by gloom invaded, gloom invaded.
Silent, lies the garden, wrapp’d as in a dream
While far away, between the ranks of weeping willows,
My ear can catch the whisper’d secret of the stream,
Sung low by tiny crystal billows, crystal billows.
How sweet to breathe the warm and per-fume laden breeze,
How clear and musical the ripple of the river
How softly moves the wind among the slumb’ring trees,
The weeping willows wake and shiver,
Wake and shiver.
Sous le Dôme épais
Sous le dôme épais Où le blanc jasmin
À la rose s’assemble
Sur la rive en fleurs
Riant au matin
Viens, descendons ensemble.
Doucement glissons de son flot charmant
Suivons le courant fuyant
Dans l’onde frémissante
D’une main nonchalante
Viens, gagnons le bord,
Où la source dort et
L’oiseau, l’oiseau chante.
Sous le dôme épais Où le blanc jasmin,
Ah! descendons
Ensemble!
Sous le dôme épais Où le blanc jasmin
À la rose s’assemble
Sur la rive en fleurs,
Riant au matin
Viens, descendons ensemble.
Mais, je ne sais quelle crainte subite
S’empare de moi, quand mon pere va
Seul a leur ville maudite,
Je tremble, je tremble deffroi
Pour que le Dieu Ganeca le protégé
Jusqu’a letang ou s’ebattent joxeux
Les cygnes aux ailes de neige, allons
cueillir les lotus bleus
Oui, pres des cygnes aux ailes de neige,
Allons cueillir les lotus blues
Flower Duet
Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the riverbank covered with flowers
laughing in the morning
Let us descend together!
Gently floating on its charming risings,
On the river’s current
On the shining waves,
One hand reaches,
Reaches for the bank,
Where the spring sleeps,
And the bird, the bird sings.
Under the thick dome where the white jasmine
Ah! calling us
Together!
Under the thick dome where white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On the river bank covered with flowers
laughing in the morning
Let us descend together!
But, I am frightened when we are alone
And no one is near, when my father goes down to their horrible town I tremble,
I tremble with fear!
You leave his God Ganeca to protect him,
Come with me down to the lakes for an hour
The swans are trying their wings, let’s go and find the blue lotus flowr’s
Yes, where the swans are trying their wings,
Come on and find the lotus flowr’s
Our Artists
Moira Docherty is versatile soprano, classically trained at the North East of Scotland Music School in Aberdeen, where she has studied under Raimund Herincx, Alison McDonald, Lisa Milne & most recently with Judith Howarth. She has been a principal soprano for Tayside Opera since 2008 singing the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, The Merry Widow and Tosca, Abigaille (Nabucco), Mimi (La Bohème), Violetta (La Traviata) in 2012 and 2018, Adina (L’elisir d’amore,) Oscar (A Masked Ball), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus) & 2022 Lady Macbeth (Macbeth). She also sang Violetta (La Traviata) for Fife Opera in 2019 and will reprise her role as Adina L’elisir d’amore in Dundee in June 2023
Moira sings throughout Scotland with Choral Societies, at Corporate Events, Burns suppers and Viennese nights and is much in demand for concerts, oratorio and recital work. Further info. at www.moiradocherty.com & www.taysideopera.com
Barbara Scott is a mezzo soprano based in the Scottish Highlands. She has been a stalwart of the amateur opera stage, performing with many Scottish companies including Fife Opera, Tayside Opera, Opera Camerata, Clyde Opera Group and Edinburgh Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Role highlights include Carmen, Olga (Eugene Onegin), Maddalena (Rigoletto) and Fenena (Nabucco). Barbara is also sought after on the concert stage, with oratorio solo performances including Rossini's Petite Messe Solonelle for Edinburgh Bach Choir, Verdi's Requiem for Angus Choral Society, Bach St John Passion for the Stonehaven Chorus, and Mozart's Requiem for Arbroath Choral Society. Later this year she has been invited to perform a selection of art song and arias with The St Andrew Orchestra in Edinburgh. She is delighted to be performing, for the first time in Aberdeen, with her friends Moira and Robert in such a fabulous venue.
Robert Duncan grew up in Methlick in Aberdeenshire. From the age of four, he was involved in choirs at Haddo House and then, encouraged by June Gordon, Lady Aberdeen went on to study piano and organ at the Royal College of Music. He was awarded the Raymond Fennell prize in 1979, the same award that June Gordon received in 1929. He also won the accompanist’s prize in 1981. Robert taught music in Ashford, Kent for many years. He is now based near Perth and he has been the accompanist for Tayside Opera for 12 years. As well as teaching private pupils and accompanying recitals across the East of Scotland, Robert has recently joined the music department of George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh as a piano teacher and accompanist. During lockdown, Robert recorded two solo CDs, Keys of Shalom, which is soothing and serene, and an upbeat Gershwin and Korngold album called Old Vienna New York.
