Forgotten Dreams is a labor of love – a love of music that is seldom heard in 21st century America. While we are happily undergoing a renaissance of sorts in professional choral music in the United States (of which Skylark is so pleased to be a part), I have found that many groups focus on a few specific genres: early music, new music, and masterworks of the choral canon. While I certainly celebrate these genres, I am particularly passionate about music of the mid-to-late romantic period. I love rich, harmonically dense textures, I believe in the expressive power of a large range of vocal colors and dynamics, and (perhaps most of all), I thrive on compositions that are inextricably connected to the text being sung. I chose the four works we sang in a magical week in November 2013 because I love them. Composed between 1860 and 1920 by four master composers not necessarily known for their a cappella vocal music, these 18 secular partsongs are diverse gems from an era when live chamber music was the only radio, TV, or digital playlist available. Brahms’ Siebenlieder, Op. 62 takes us on a dream-like walk through the many stages of romance. It opens with a retrospective view of a stunning tragedy in Rosmarin —a tragedy which then unfolds before us…we take a youthful, lustful romp through the garden in Von Alten Liebesliedern…followed by a retreat to the woods to reflect on loneliness and the consoling power of nature in Waldesnacht…a breath of promise of new love that could be in Dein Herzlein mild…a heartfelt promise from divided lovers who believe they will be reunited in All meine Herzgedanken…a manic hurricane of emotion in Es geht ein Wehen when those lovers start to believe that they might not be reunited after all…and finally a stirring and tormented lament when the tragedy unfolds as presaged in Vergangen ist mir Glück und Heil. The work ends with “Tu mir mein troste Geben”—“O give me hope.” Choosing not to insert the minor third, Brahms ends on a hollow open fifth, leaving open the slim possibility of a happy ending that perhaps still could be. Saint-Saens’ Two Choruses, Op. 68 starts on the same pitch where we left the Brahms. We hear a solitary D, but it soon transforms to a major sonority in Calmes des nuits, a sublimely meditative piece that celebrates the inspirational power of quiet spaces and reflection. After this retreat to beautiful silence and solitude, we then become newly invigorated by the beauty of the natural world in Les fleurs et les arbres. Perhaps my favorite text of the album completes this piece, illustrating our reason for being together: “and art reigns over us, its flame illuminates the laughter and the tears.” Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans tackles similar themes of love, loneliness, and nature, but with a sense of whimsy and a slinky harmonic complexity that clearly brings us into the twentieth century. We are breathless at the beauty of a new love in Dieu! qu’il la fait bon regarder! In Quant j’ai ouy le tabourin, a shy woman resists the urge to go carousing with a rowdy group of May Day partiers who pass by her window. In Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain, we playfully scorn the simplest but often most frustrating of things: the winter weather! Our recording concludes with Holst’s Six Choral Folk Songs, Op. 36B. Composed during the height of the First World War, Holst’s set of Hampshire Folk Songs displays a fascinating mix of nostalgia, nationalism, fear, and hope. I sowed the seeds of love opens with classic imagery of flower gathering as a metaphor for love, but with a melancholy air of regret, offering a warning against looking for the unattainable. There was a tree playfully reflects on the beauty of simple things in the countryside, with a lilting sense of wonder that is decidedly English. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John is the only overtly religious text we perform, but Holst suggests at least a wander into wartime agnosticism with a stark and disturbing setting of what on its surface is a simple bedtime prayer. In The Song of the Blacksmith, we are transported into the noisy and perhaps steamy shop of a blacksmith who seems to have a way with the ladies. In I love my love, Holst’s sweeping setting hauntingly and beautifully illustrates the arc of an epic fairy tale of love lost and found. Finally, in Swansea Town, a piece dedicated at the commissioning of a new British Destroyer, we end with a raucous celebration of the life of a British sailor. After a trip into a frightful storm, we end in a pub, drinking at least one too many, spending too much money, and singing entirely too loudly for those in close proximity! As you listen to this, our debut recording, we hope that the music will move you – that we can reveal something true. We hope this can be accomplished through just listening alone. But, we would also urge you to follow along with the texts and translations provided – before reading the poetry, most of these pieces are beautiful; after reading and understanding the poetry, many are thrilling and profound. Taken together, they are a pastiche of fleeting images – honest expressions of heartfelt emotions from a different time – beautiful today as they ever were. They are Forgotten Dreams, and I’m so glad you are joining us in remembering them. -Matthew Guard, Artistic Director The Skylark Vocal Ensemble is a professional chamber choir of world-class vocalists and musicians with a passion for small ensemble performance. Our mission is threefold: • Be a unifying and enriching force in our community through performing profound a cappella choral music at the highest level. • Ensure the future of choral music in society through supporting charities for music education. • Provide a forum for professional musicians to practice their art. As Atlanta’s only chamber choir featuring world-class artists flying to Atlanta from around the United States to make music together, Skylark creates some of the best live choral music in America in inspiring performances spanning musical genres. The Skylark Vocal Ensemble Soprano: Estelí Gomez, Sarah Moyer, Jessica Petrus, Wanda Yang Temko Alto: Carrie Cheron, Douglas Dodson, Emily Lau, Margaret Lias, Clare McNamara Tenor: Jonas Budris, George Case, John Cox, Alexander Nishibun Bass: Shaun Amos, Glenn Billingsley, Sam Kreidenweis, John Proft, Peter Walker Matthew Guard, Artistic Director Producers: Matthew Guard and David Liang Production assistance provided by Margaret Lias and Sarah Moyer Engineered, Edited, and Mastered: Andy Carballeira, Driftwood Audio