Program 1: A Diary of Our Times
Song: Mirror of the World Radio Series
Program 1: A Diary of Our Times
Composers and poets create a powerful diary through classic song—poetry set to music. Starting with Mozart and ending in the 21st century, a variety of intriguing songs open unique windows to particular moments in history. We hear a foretaste of the musicians, writers, and cultural currents that the next twelve programs will explore.
Listen to the full program:
Host & Artistic Director:
Thomas Hampson
Co-Produced by the Hampsong Foundation and The WFMT Radio Network
Production Team:
Executive Producers: Thomas Hampson & Steve Robinson (The WFMT Radio Network)
Audio Producer: Carolyn Paulin (The WFMT Radio Network)
Coordinating Producer: Miriam Lewin
Project Manager: Christie Finn
Writer for A Diary of Our Times: Christie Finn
Song listings with composer / poet, performers, CD label, and CD number are listed below.
Lieder: Ives, MacDowell, Griffes (1991)
Clip from “Feldeinsamkeit” (1900)
Composer: Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Text: Hermann Allmers (1821-1902)
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Armen Guzelimian, piano
Teldec: 9031721682
An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope (2014)
Clip from “Litany” (1987)
Composer: John Musto (b. 1954)
Text: Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Sasha Cooke, mezzo soprano
John Musto, piano
GPR Records: 12014
Wondrous Free: Song of America II (2009)
Clip from “Nelly was a Lady” (1849)
Composer: Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Text: Stephen Foster
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Craig Rutenberg, piano
Thomas Hampson Media (THM): 5432
Francis Poulenc: Oeuvres Complètes
Clip from “Marc Chagall” (1956)
Composer: Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)
Text: Paul Éluard (1895-1952)
Gérard Souzay, baritone
Dalton Baldwin, piano
EMI Classics: 972165
Icon: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
“Das Veilchen” (“The Violet”) (1785)
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Text: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, soprano
Walter Gieseking, piano
(“Das Veilchen” recorded April 1955)
EMI Classics: 18459
Nachtviolen – Schubert: Lieder (2014)
“Der Zwerg” d. 771 (“The Dwarf”) (1823)
Composer: Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Text: Matthäus von Collin (1779–1824)
Christian Gerhaher, baritone
Gerold Huber, piano
Sony: 2565057
Robert & Clara Schumann: Lieder (1997)
“Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen” (“He has come in storm and rain”), Op. 12, No. 1 (1841)
Composer: Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896)
Text: Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Barbara Bonney, soprano
Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano
Decca: 452898
Schumann: Liederkreis, Dichterliebe, etc. (1998)
“Die beiden Grenadiere” (“The Two Grenadiers”), Op. 49, No. 1 (1840)
Composer: Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Text: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Julius Drake, piano
EMI Classics: 56575
Wondrous Free: Song of America II (2009)
“Nelly was a Lady” (1849)
Composer: Stephen Foster (1826-1864)
Text: Stephen Foster
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Craig Rutenberg, piano
Thomas Hampson Media (THM): 5432
Grieg: Songs & Lieder (1993)
“Lok” (“Farmyard Song”), from Barnlige Sange (Children’s Songs), Op. 61, No. 3 (1894)
Composer: Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Text: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910)
Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo soprano
Bengt Forsberg, piano
Deutsche Grammophon: 437521
José van Dam et la Mélodie Française (2010)
“Chanson Triste” (“Sad Song”) (1868)
Composer: Henri Duparc (1848-1933)
Text: Henri Cazalis (1840-1909)
José van Dam, bass-baritone
Marciej Pikulski, piano
Forlane: 920637
Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn Original Piano Versions (1993)
Clip from “Lob des hohen Verstandes” (“Praise of Lofty Judgement”), from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (1896)
Composer: Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
Teldec: 174726
Marilyn Horne: The Complete Decca Recitals (2008)
Clip from “La Flûte de Pan” (“The Flute of Pan”), from Chansons de Bilitis (1899)
Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Text: Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925)
Marilyn Horne, mezzo soprano
Martin Katz, piano
Decca: 001089302
Ravel, Debussy, Duparc
“Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons” (“Christmas of the Homeless Children”) (1915)
Composer: Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Text: Claude Debussy
Victoria de los Ángeles, soprano
Gonzalo Soriano, piano
(“Noël…” recorded in 1966)
EMI Great Recordings of the Century: 45824
Charles Ives: An American Journey (2002)
“Tom Sails Away,” from Three Songs of the War (1917)
Charles Ives (1874-1954)
Text: Charles Ives
Thomas Hampson, baritone
Michael Tilson Thomas, piano
RCA Victor Red Seal: 63703
Ullmann, Mahler: Lieder (2006)
“Sonnenuntergang” (“Sunset”) (1943)
Composer: Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944)
Text: Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843)
Roman Trekel, baritone
Burkhard Kehring, piano
Berlin Classics: 1747
Magdalena Kožená: Songs (2004)
“The Descendants,” from Satirï (Satires), “Pictures of the Past” (1960)
Composer: Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Text: Alexander Glickberg, under the pseudonym Sasha Chorny (1880-1932)
Magdalena Kožená, mezzo soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano
Deutsche Grammophon: 471581
An AIDS Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope (2014)
“Litany” (1987)
Composer: John Musto (b. 1954)
Text: Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Sasha Cooke, mezzo soprano
John Musto, piano
GPR Records: 12014
Music @ Menlo: Voices of Our Time (2003)
“Then,” from Aftermath (2002)
Composer: Ned Rorem (b. 1923)
Text: Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980)
Nathaniel Webster, baritone
Ani Kavafian, violin
David Finckel, cello
Gilbert Kalish, piano
Music @ Menlo Recording Series: (no catalogue number)
