Tri-angel
ExxonMobil Campus Concerts
17 October 2012, UCC Theatre
Tri-Angel is NUSPE's take on the love triangle that embroiled three famous German composers, Witness the inspiring works of Robert and Clara Schumann, as well as that of Johannes Brahms, as the story progresses from the Schumanns' joyous matrimony to the sombre romance between Brahm and Clara.
From Schumann's courtship and marraige to Clara Schumann, and his eventual admission into the asylum and Clara Schumann's embroiled relationship with Brahms, 14 years her junior, Tri-Angel is essentially a great love tragedy. A contemporary re-telling of the love story in a teatrical form, expect to see a dramatization of their relationship with the use of monologues and sihouette figures.
Beginning with the courtship and marriage of Robert and Clara Schumann, the first half of the concert is light-hearted and joyous. Then enters Brahms, putting a bright twist to the plot. As the tragedy gradually unfolds with the slow demise of Robert Schumann, a quiet resolution is reached as Brahms and Clara pursue the possibility of a relationship together.
'I can truly say, my children, that I have never loved a friend as I loved him; it is the most beautiful mutual understanding of two souls, I do not live him for his youthfulness, nor probably forany reason of flatted vanity. It is rather his elasticity of spirit, his fine gifted nature, his noble heart that I love...'
-Clara Schumann's diary
Programme
Prelude - A curious love story
Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Op. 15 (1838) by Robert Schumann
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples) &
Kuriose Geschichte (A Curious Story)
Part 1
I “ With this ring I thee wed”
Bilder Aus Osten (Pictures from the East), Op. 66 (1848) by Robert Schumann
Impromptu No. 4
Impromptu No. 5
March in E-flat major by Clara Schumann
II “Not for richer, but for poorer”
Liedekreis (Song Cycle), Op. 39 (1842) by Robert Schumann
In der Fremde (In Foreign Parts)
III Enter Brahms
Hungarian Dances, WoO 1 (1869) by Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dances No. 1 & 2
Hungarian Dances No. 5 & 7
IV Schumann goes mad
Waltzes, Op. 39 (1865) by Johannes Brahms
Waltzes No. 7 & 14
Part 2
V Schumann admits himself into asylum
Waltzes, Op. 39 (1865) by Johannes Brahms
Waltzes No. 2 & 15
VI Torn between love and propriety
Neue liebeslieder (New Love Songs), Op. 65 (1869) by Johannes Brahms
Weiche Gräser im Revier (Soft Grass All Around) &
Schwarzer Wald, dein Schatten (Dark Forest)
Zum Schluss (In Conclusion)
VII Demise of a great composer
Zwölf Vierhändige Klavierstücke für Kleine und Gross Kinder (12 Pieces for Large and Small Children), Op. 85 (1849) by Robert Schumann
Albendlied (Evening Song)
VIII “All for the best, maybe?”
Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 23 (1861) by Johannes Brahms
Theme,Variations 1 & 3
Variations 9 & 10