To Sit and Watch the World Pass By: An Evening of Song

Program Description 

This program is designed as an exploration of eclectic musical selections, drawing a parallel between the progression of a single day and the arc of a full life. By arranging the music thematically rather than by traditional set structure, the audience will be guided on a narrative journey from dawn to nightfall, with the program notes and song texts highlighting the connections between the stages of a day and the seasons of life. 

Musically, the program unfolds from a state of stillness. Audience members will be encouraged to sit in quiet reflection before the performance opens with Richard Strauss’s “Morgen!” and Gabriel Fauré’s “Paradis” from his La chanson d'Ève. As the program progresses, the music, spanning several eras of art song alongside selections from musical theatre and interludes for solo piano, gains momentum and energy, moving through an energetic day before turning inward toward a peaceful nightfall.