Summer Concert: Into the Woods

Vaughan Williams ~ In Windsor Forest

A cantata adapted from Vaughan Williams’ opera Sir John in Love.  The libretto, by the composer himself, is based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and supplemented with texts by Philip Sidney, Thomas Middleton, Ben Jonson, and Beaumont and Fletcher. The music deploys English folk tunes, including Greensleeves. Originally titled “The Fat Knight”, the opera premiered at the Parry Opera Theatre, Royal College of Music, London, on 21 March 1929. Its first professional performance was on 9 April 1946 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

Sondheim arr. Bremer ~ Into The Woods medley

Sondheim’s musical intertwines a plethora of fairy tales, in which venturing into the forest recurs as a common theme. Trees weave their magic as a place of excitement, fear, enchantment, reward, danger, solace and mystery.

Other items

Kodaly ~ Evening Song
Anon ~ Sumer is icumen in
Trad Irish arr. Stanford ~  My love’s an arbutus
Traditional ~ Aura Lee
Yradier ~ La Paloma