Petit Papa Noël
December 25th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Petit Papa Noël – Sung by Tino Rossi
C’est la belle nuit de Noël
La neige étend son manteau blanc
Et les yeux levés vers le ciel
À genoux, les petits enfants
Avant de fermer les paupières
Font une dernière prière
Petit papa Noël
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N’oublie pas mon petit soulier
Mais avant de partir
Il faudra bien te couvrir
Dehors tu vas avoir si froid
C’est un peu à cause de moi.
Il me tarde tant que le jour se lève
Pour voir si tu m’as apporté
Tous les beaux joujoux que je vois en rêve
Et que je t’ai commandés
Petit papa Noël
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N’oublie pas mon petit soulier
Le marchand de sable est passé
Les enfants vont faire dodo
Et tu vas pouvoir commencer
Avec ta hotte sur le dos
Au son des cloches des églises
Ta distribution de surprises
Et quand tu seras sur ton beau nuage
Viens d’abord sur notre maison
Je n’ai pas été tous les jours très sage
Mais j’en demande pardon.
Petit papa Noël
Quand tu descendras du ciel
Avec des jouets par milliers
N’oublie pas mon petit soulier
Petit papa Noël
(English translation)
It’s a beautiful Christmas night
Snow spreads its white coat
And eyes lift toward the sky
On their knees, small children
Before closing their eyes
Say a last prayer.
(Chorus)Little Santa Claus
When you come down from the sky
With thousands of toys
Don’t forget my little stocking.
But before you leave
You should dress well
Outside you will be so cold
And it’s kind of my fault
I can’t wait for sunrise
To see if you brought me
All the lovely toys that I see in my dreams
And that I ordered from you
(Chorus)Little Santa Claus etc
The sandman has passed
The children are going to sleep
And you will be able to begin,
With your sack on your back,
To the sound of church bells,
Your distribution of surprises.
And when you are on your beautiful cloud
Come first to our house
I wasn’t always very good
But I ask for your forgiveness.
(Chorus)Little Santa Claus etc
Merry Christmas
December 23rd, 2009 § Leave a Comment
My Canadian uncle sent me an ecard for Christmas so I searched youtube for an appropriate response.
Found these little gems on a channel called “The Omniscient Mussel” Many thanks Miss Mussel!
An Australian Christmas Carol – The Three Drovers. (1948 by John Wheeler and William G. James)
Sydney Philharmonia Motet Choir.
Photographs from Flickr.
Across the plains one Christmas night
Three drovers riding blithe and gay,
Looked up and saw a starry light
More radiant than the Milky Way;
And on their hearts such wonder fell,
They sang with joy. ‘Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!’
The air was dry with summer heat,
And smoke was on the yellow moon;
But from the heavens, faint and sweet,
Came floating down a wond’rous turn;
And as they heard, they sang full well
Those drovers three. ‘Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!’
The black swans flew across the sky,
The wild dog called across the plain,
The starry lustre blazed on high,
Still echoed on the heavenly strain;
And still they sang, ‘Noel! Noel!’
Those drovers three. ‘Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel! Noel!’
The other Canadian carol on this channel is exquisite!
‘Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled
That mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead;
Before their light the stars grew dim and wondering hunters heard the hymn,
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
Within a lodge of broken bark the tender babe was found;
A ragged robe of rabbit skin enwrapped his beauty round
But as the hunter braves drew nigh the angel song rang loud and high
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
O children of the forest free, O seed of Manitou
The holy Child of earth and heaven is born today for you.
Come kneel before the radiant boy who brings you beauty peace and joy.
Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria.
A Canadian Christmas Carol – The Huron Carol or ‘Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime. Photographs from Flickr. Choir is the Elora Festival Singers. Text composed in 1643 by Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf and set to a French folk tune called Une Jeune Pucelle.
Brébeuf wrote the text in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people.
It was translated into English in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton
Brahms clarinet quintet
December 22nd, 2009 § Leave a Comment
Grove Classics Concert Series
ANAM graduate and Yale postgraduate student, Perth expat Ashley Smith performs Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet this Sunday 5th of June at The Grove Library from 4.30 pm. In the same programme Irina Vasil’eva-Thoo performs Schumann’s piano Quintet.
For further details of this and other concerts in the Grove Classics series, visit http://www.cappuccino-concerts.com.au/node/75
Johannes Brahms
The quintet was written in the summer of 1891, when Brahms had officially retired from major composition. He was so inspired by the playing of the Meiningen orchestra’s clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld that he wrote the Clarinet Trio in A minor op 114, Clarinet quintet opus 115 and two sonatas opus 120.
Profoundly autumnal, nostalgic and dark it expresses Brahms acceptance of his own mortality interspersed with nostalgic looks at the bohemian gypsy music that informs much of his oeuvre.
This is probably one of the greatest gifts by Brahms to the clarinet repertoire. All clarinettists owe a debt of gratitude to Richard Mühlfeld, who Brahms himself dubbed “Fraulein Klarinette”.
“Without craftsmanship, inspiration is a mere reed shaken in the wind.” – Johannes Brahms
Tragedy for us all
December 21st, 2009 § Leave a Comment
The tragic death of a young West Australian musician while on tour in Hong Kong has affected the WA music community very deeply. How could such a devastating thing happen to one of our most gifted and brightest young stars?
What remains is that we all learn from this experience without recrimination yet still try to minimize the chances of such a terrible thing ever happening again. This can only be done through individual and community awareness, not necessarily by increased vigilance on the parts of authorities and governments.
The extended musical family extends its profoundest sympathies and shares the grief of all WAYO members, staff and their families.
WASO Symphony in the City 2009
December 14th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
What a great view from the stage to see so many folks in attendance on a perfect, balmy windstill night on the Perth Esplanade.
The perfectly timed guns in the 1812 overture were a blast at the end!
The program, conducted by Guy Noble was
Glinka, Mikhail Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Suite from Swan Lake, Opus 20a – No. Scene, Dance of the Swans, Spanish Dance
Mussorgsky, Modest A Night on Bald Mountain
Rachmaninoff, Sergei Vocalise, Opus 34, No. 14 – Rod McGrath, cello
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op.36: Finale
Shostakovich, Dmitri Tahiti Trot (Tea for Two)
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Eugene Onegin: Tatiana’s Letter Scene Katja Webb, soprano
Stravinsky, Igor The Firebird Suite (1919 revision): Infernal Dance
Shostakovich, Dmitri The Gadfly: Romance – Semra Lee, violin
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich 1812, Overture solonelle, Opus 49
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich The Nutcracker: Trepak
