Robert Franz
1815-1892


Robert Franz was born in Halle, Germany, in 1815. 

His musical beginnings were troublesome as his family was unsupportive of his passion for music. He came from a family heavily involved in the salt business and was expected to take over the family business. At the age of twenty, he was allowed to study organ in Dessau (1835-1837) under the tutelage of Friedrich Schneider. From this study, he came to have an intimate knowledge of J.S Bach and G.F Handel. This knowledge led to his own editions of the Matthaus-Passion (BWV 244), Ten Cantatas, and the Messiah.

Following his time in Dessau, Franz returned home to Halle, where his steady friendship with poet Wilhelm Osterwald led to many lieder compositions. It was in 1843 that Franz completed his first book of songs with the help of Robert Schumann. Schumann had received a letter from Franz asking for feedback on a set of 12 songs. Schumann enjoyed the songs, and the pair organized to meet in person. Through this friendship, Schumann, an already up-and-coming composer, helped Franz gain contacts to publish his songs. Other composers who noted Franz’s work included Wagner, Liszt, and Mendelssohn. Although encouraged to write opera or other larger works, Franz resisted because “larger works were filled with needless fanfare and excessive drama.” Based on his love of poetry, he exclusively wrote songs. Franz wrote music to poetry by Heinrich Heine, Joseph von Eichendorff, Wilhelm Osterwald, Nikolaus Lenau, Eduard Mörike, and Robert Burns. 

In 1848 Franz married Marie Hinrichs. It said that he was very much in love with Marie and is said to have lived a very happy marriage. The couple had three children, two sons, and a daughter. Franz encouraged his wife Marie to compose, and she published her first and only collection of nine songs in 1846.
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Franz battled with increasing deafness from the time of the publication of his first collection of songs. The total loss of his hearing in 1868 led to his retirement from his postings in Halle, where he worked as the city organist and conductor of the Sing Akademie and City Symphony. Franz’s failing health led to mobility issues and a nervous disorder, which caused him to retire from composing. Franz Liszt among other colleagues, such as the violinist Joseph Joachim and the singer Helene Magnus, performed benefits concerts and raised around 100,000 marks for the Franz family. They gifted him this money allowing him and his wife Marie to live comfortably from their Halle home.
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Franz died in 1892, one year after the passing of his wife. 

- Anna Khan & Brea Holland, 3rd year

 Based on information found on https://www.franzfound.com/

WINNER

Ella Coddington
Mezzo-Soprano

Mezzo-Soprano Ella Orehek-Coddington is currently in her Honours year at the Sydney Conservatorium, studying a Bachelor of Music Honours (Classical Voice Performance) under the tutelage of Barry Ryan OAM. This year she is also undertaking a Diploma of Language Studies (Germanic Studies) at the University of Sydney. While at the Conservatorium, she has been an awardee of the Kevin and Margaret Duffy Scholarship, the Patricia Lucas Music Achievement Award, the Costa Rosa Harsas Award Scholarship, and the Quinquin Foundation Scholarship. She has performed in a masterclass for Gerald Finley as a part of the Fourth Fresno State Art Song Festival and participated in the 2020 and 2021 Demant Dreikurs German Song Contest as a Reserve Finalist.

Ella has performed the title role in Mascagni’s ‘Zanetto’, Juno in Handel’s ‘Semele’, Joas in Handel’s ‘Athalia’, La Feé in Viardot’s ‘Cendrillon’, Night & Juno in Purcell’s ‘The Fairy Queen’, Spoletta in Puccini’s ‘Tosca’, A Priestess in Gluck’s ‘Iphégenie en Tauride’, A Bridesmaid in Mozart’s ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’, and Suzie in Reeves’ ‘Ever the Best of Friends’. She has also appeared in Gluck’s ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’. Ella has appeared in principal roles for Concordia Ensemble and The Cooperative, as well as in concert for the Con Lieder Series and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Later this year, Ella looks forward to performing the alto solo in Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’ with the Eastern Sydney Chamber Orchestra, Offstage Chorus in Holst’s ‘The Planets’ with the Hills Shire Symphony Orchestra, Mrs Grose in Britten’s ‘The Turn of the Screw’ with the Cooperative, Dido in Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’ with Concordia Ensemble, and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’, also with Concordia Ensemble.
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Ella also has a keen interest in German Lieder and language, and is looking forward to being a finalist in this year’s Demant Dreikurs German Song Contest.
Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen 
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
“Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen” is one of Robert Franz’s most impassioned and frequently heard songs. Translating to “he has come in storm and rain,” this piece speaks of devoted love, and how it can be found in the darkest of times. In this poem, a female narrator expresses her emotions through the course of a romance. In the first verses, she describes the passionate beginnings of this romance, as well as her with her initial fears. As the melody line ascends, the emotional intensity increases and by the last stanza she is more confident in her love, as she proudly watches her love travel abroad. ​
Er ist gekommen in Strum und Regen 
Poet: Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
​Er ist gekommen
In Sturm und Regen,
Ihm schlug beklommen 
Mein Herz entgegen.
Wie konnt' ich ahnen, 
Daß seine Bahnen
Sich einen sollten meinen Wegen?

Er ist gekommen 
In Sturm und Regen,
Er hat genommen 
Mein Herz verwegen.
Nahm er das meine? 
Nahm ich das seine?
Die beiden kamen sich entgegen.

Er ist gekommen 
In Sturm und Regen.
Nun ist entglommen
Des Frühlings Segen.
Der Freund zieht weiter, 
Ich seh' es heiter,
Denn er bleibt mein auf allen Wegen.
​
He came in storm and rain
​Translation: Richard Wigmore.
He came 
in storm and rain,
my anxious heart 
beat against his.
how could I have known, 
that his path
should unite itself with mine?

He came 
in storm and rain,
he boldly 
stole my heart.
Did he steal mine? 
Did I steal his?
Both came together.

He came
in storm and rain,
Now has come 
the blessing of spring.
My love travels abroad, 
I watch with cheer,
for he remains mine, on any road.
Das Verlassene Mägdlein
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
“Das Verlassene Mägdlein”, is one of the most widely set German texts of all time, and certainly of Mörike’s works. With over a hundred settings, Wolf’s version is one of the finest; short, intimate settings that represent the true spirit of the lied. This piece follows a folk text with great imagery and  easy language. The text describes a young maiden who wakes in the morning to tend a fire. The flames of the fire awaken distant memories she once held with a faithless boy she dreamed about in the night. This saddens her to know it is not a reality, so she wishes for the day to be over as soon as it begins.
​
Das Verlassene Mägdlein
Poet: Eduard Mörike (1804-1875)
Früh, wann die Hähne krähn,
Eh’ die Sternlein schwinden,
Muss ich am Herde stehn,
Muss Feuer zünden.

Schön ist der Flamme Schein,
Es springen die Funken;
Ich schaue so darein,
In Leid versunken.

Plötzlich, da kommt es mir,
Treuloser Knabe,
Dass ich die Nacht von dir
Geträumet habe.

Träne auf Träne dann
Stürzet hernieder;
So kommt der Tag heran--
O ging’ er wieder!
The forsaken servant-girl
Translation: Richard Stokes 
​In the early morning, when the cocks crow,
Before the tiny stars disappear,
I must stand at the hearth,
I must light the fire.

The glow of the flame is beautiful,
The sparks leap up;
I gaze in so deeply,
Lost in sorrow.

Suddenly I realise,
Unfaithful boy,
That in the night
I dreamt of you.

Tear after tear 
Then tumbles down;
So the day breaks –
Oh, if it were only over again!
Erlkönig
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Schubert’s “Erlkönig” is a thrilling setting of a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Geothe which tells of the story of a boy who is being hunted by the supernatural being, The Erlking. This psychological drama is shared between a narrator, a child and the Erlking as they sweep through the night on horseback. The child’s fear increases throughout the story as the Erlking approaches until it is too late for the father to save his son. The work was published when Schubert was merely 18 years old and is considered one of his greatest ballads. 
Erlkönig
Poet: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
​Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? 
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind:
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

“Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?” 
“Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron’ und Schweif?”
“Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.”

“Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel’ ich mit dir; 
Manch’ bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand, 
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, 
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?”
“Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind:
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.”

“Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; 
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Rein 
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort 
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?”
“Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.”

“Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt; 
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.” 
“Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt fasst er mich an! 
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!”

Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind, 
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, 
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not:
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.

​
The Erlking
Translation: Richard Wigmore
Who rides so late through the night and wind? 
It is the father with his child.
He has the boy in his arms;
he holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

“My son, why do you hide your face in fear?” 
“Father, can you not see the Erlking?
The Erlking with his crown and tail?”
“My son, it is a streak of mist.”

“Sweet child, come with me.
I’ll play wonderful games with you. 
Many a pretty flower grows on the shore; 
my mother has many a golden robe.”

“Father, father, do you not hear
what the Erlking softly promises me?”
“Calm, be calm, my child:
the wind is rustling in the withered leaves.”

‘Won’t you come with me, my fine lad?
My daughters shall wait upon you;
my daughters lead the nightly dance,
and will rock you, and dance, and sing you to sleep.”

“Father, father, can you not see
Erlking’s daughters there in the darkness?” 
“My son, my son, I can see clearly:
it is the old grey willows gleaming.”

“I love you, your fair form allures me,
and if you don’t come willingly, I’ll use force.” 
“Father, father, now he’s seizing me!
The Erlking has hurt me!”

The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
he holds the moaning child in his arms; 
with one last effort he reaches home; 
the child lay dead in his arms.

Finalists

Cassandra Doyle
Mezzo-Soprano

Cassandra Doyle is a mezzo-soprano completing a Bachelor of Music (Performance) on merit scholarship at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She studies voice with Dr. Rowena Cowley.

A graduate of the Conservatorium High School and recipient of the Patricia Bell Grant, Cassandra has been a concert soloist at the Sydney Opera House for the NSW Arts Unit Festival of Music and a featured artist in the NSW Schools Spectacular.

This year has seen Cassandra perform Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart) with The Cooperative, Ino in Semele (Handel) with Concordia Ensemble and Madame Frida in the Australian-premiere of Aija Dragun's new children's opera, Max and Moritz with Musgrove Opera. Cassandra featured as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor with the Illawarra Choral Society, Bach’s Ascension Oratorio BWV 11 with the Choir of St. James, King Street and in the Sydney Opera Society’s Mid-Year Concert. She had recent success in the Sydney Eisteddfod, placing second in the Operatic Aria (21-26) section and competing as a semi-finalist in the IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition. Cassandra was a recitalist for The Women's Club, as apart of their 'Women in Music' 2022 concert series and is a regular recitalist at St. James Church, King Street.
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An experienced chorister, Cassandra has toured extensively with Gondwana Choirs and Sydney Children’s Choir throughout Asia, the Baltics and Iceland. She is currently an Alto scholar at St. James, King Street and an Apprentice Artist with The Song Company.
Suleika I, Op.14; No 1; D. 720 (1821)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Brahms was quoted to say that Schubert’s “Suleika I” is the “loveliest song ever written”, and it is hard to disagree with that sentiment. The text published under Goethe’s name was actually written by his lover Marianne von Willemer, whom he saw in person only three times. With so many layers of romantic context surrounding the text, the plot of Suleika awaiting her lover Hatem, is a parallel of Goethe and Von Willemer’s own correspondence and sharing of creative outpouring.
​
Schubert’s setting captures the idea of the ‘east-wind’ perfectly, often using the unusual flattened fifth scale degree so often associated with the western-romanticised idea of the ‘East’. The work is neither strophic nor through composed, but is in itself a mini-opera full of passion and longing, awaiting the reuniting of two separated lovers.

Suleika I
Poet:  Marianne Von Willmer (1784-1860)
​Was bedeutet die Bewegung?
Bringt der Ost mir frohe Kunde?
Seiner Schwingen frische Regung
Kühlt des Herzens tiefe Wunde.
​
Kosend spielt er mit dem Staube,
Jagt ihn auf in leichten Wölkchen,
Treibt zur sichern Rebenlaube
Der Insecten frohes Völkchen.

Lindert sanft der Sonne Glühen,
Kühlt auch mir die heißen Wangen,
Küßt die Reben noch im Fliehen,
Die auf Feld und Hügel prangen.

Und mir bringt sein leises Flüstern
Von dem Freunde tausend Grüße;
Eh noch diese Hügel düstern
Grüßen mich wohl tausend Küsse.

Und so kannst du weiter ziehen!
Diene Freunden und Betrübten.
Dort wo hohe Mauern glühen,
Find' ich bald den Vielgeliebten.
​
Ach, die wahre Herzens kunde,
Liebeshauch, erfrischtes Leben
Wird mir nur aus seinem Munde,
Kann mir nur sein Athem geben.
Suleika I
Translation: Richard Morris
What does this stirring mean?
Does the East wind bring glad tidings?
The refreshing movement of its wings
Chills the heart's deep wound.
 
It plays gently with the dust,
Chasing it into light clouds.
And drives the happy insect people
To the security of the vine-leaves.
 
It softly tempers the sun's incandescence,
And chills my hot cheeks,
As it flees it kisses the vines
Which are prominent on the fields and hills
 
And its soft whispering brings me
A thousand greetings from my friend
Before these hills dim,
I will be greeted by a thousand kisses.
 
So as you go on your way!
Serve friends and those who are sad.
There where high walls glow,
I shall soon find my dearly beloved.
 
Oh, the true message of his heart,
Loves-breath, refreshing life
Comes only from his mouth,
Can be given to me only by his breath.
Mädchen mit dem roten Mündchen (Op. 5, No.5)
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
"Mädchen mit dem roten Mündchen” is the fifth piece of Franz’s Opus 5. Set to the poetry of Heinrich Heine, “Mädchen mit dem” is a bittersweet ode to love and longing. The words of this Heine poem speak to the narrator's tender adoration of the ‘Maiden with the red lips’, who we assume to be their love. Though it is not specified if this love is romantic or familial, the poem's openness leaves much to the imagination of the listener. The song appears as a through-composed piece, but despite its lack of repetitive phrasing, can be heard almost as an enthusiastically tender lullaby. Franz set both the piano and vocal lines to be performed piano (softly), and denoted that the piano be performed dulce (sweetly), whilst the voice be innig. Fervently (fervently tender/heartfelt). With these markings, Franz creates soft momentum and passion amongst the sweet tenderness of Heine’s poetry.
​         
Mädchen mit dem roten Mündchen 
Poet: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
​Mädchen mit dem roten Mündchen,
Mit den Äuglein süss und klar,
Du mein liebes, kleines Mädchen,
Deiner denk’ ich immerdar.

Lang ist heut der Winterabend,
Und ich möchte bei dir sein,
Bei dir sitzen, mit dir schwatzen,
Im vertrauten Kämmerlein.

An die Lippen wollt’ ich pressen
Deine kleine weisse Hand,
Und mit Tränen sie benetzen,
Deine kleine, weisse Hand.

​
Maiden with the red lips
Translation: Richard Stokes
​Maiden with the red lips,
With the sweet clear eyes,
You, my dearest little maiden,
I think of you incessantly.

The winter evening is long tonight,
And I wish I could be with you,
To sit with you and talk with you
In your cosy little room.

I would press to my lips
Your little white hand,
And wet it with tears,
Your little white hand.
Die ihr schwebet um diese Palmen (No. 4, Spanisches Liederbuch)
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
The text for this Hugo Wolf song originates from the poem “Cantorcillo de la Virgen (Carol of the Virgin)” written by Lope da Vega. It is from Wolf’s Spanisches Liederbuch, a collection of 44 lieder songs, divided into two categories. “Die ihr schwebet” falls into the Geistliche Lieder category; the poems in this part mostly pertain to the holy family. This poem follows Mary, mother of Jesus, as she pleads with the angels to allow her child to sleep. The antagonist in “Die ihr Schwebet” is the rustling, unyielding wind, that threatens to awake the Child from his peaceful slumber, as it rages (“windesbrausen”) and blusters angrily (“zornig Sausen”) through the palm trees, threatening to wake the Child from his peaceful slumber. 
Wolf sets the piano line in the piece to imitate the rustling sound of wind in the trees, with fast, yet soft movement in the accompaniment, it cleverly mimics the subtleties of the nuisance of sound whilst trying to get a child to sleep. Wolf also wrote the vocal melody to be sung softly, furthering a sense of gentle begging, so as not to disturb a child sleeping.
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Die ihr Schwebet
Poet: Lope de Vega (1562-1635)
Die ihr schwebet
Um diese Palmen
In Nacht und Wind,
Ihr heilgen Engel,
Stillet die Wipfel!
Es schlummert mein Kind.

Ihr Palmen von Bethlehem
Im Windesbrausen,
Wie mögt ihr heute
So zornig sausen!
O rauscht nicht also!
Schweiget, neiget
Euch leis und lind;
Stillet die Wipfel!
Es schlummert mein Kind.

Der Himmelsknabe
Duldet Beschwerde,
Ach, wie so müd er ward
Vom Leid der Erde.

Ach nun im Schlaf ihm
Leise gesänftigt
Die Qual zerrinnt,
Stillet die Wipfel!
Es schlummert mein Kind.

Grimmige Kälte
Sauset hernieder,
Womit nur deck ich
Des Kindleins Glieder!
O all ihr Engel,
Die ihr geflügelt
Wandelt im Wind,
Stillet die Wipfel!
Es schlummert mein kind.

​
You who hover
Translation: Richard Stokes
You who hover
About these palms
In night and wind, 
You holy angels, 
Silence the tree-tops!
My child is sleeping. 

You palms of Bethlehem
In the raging wind, 
Why do you bluster
So angrily today!
Oh roar not so!
Be still, lean
Calmly and gently over us; 
Silence the tree-tops!
My child is sleeping. 

The heavenly babe
Suffers distress, 
Ah, how weary He has grown
With the sorrows of this world. 

Ah, now that in sleep
His pains
Are gently eased, 
Silence the tree-tops!
My child is sleeping. 

Fierce cold
Blows down on us, 
With what shall I cover
My little child’s limbs?
O all you angels
Who wing your way
On the winds,
Silence the tree-tops!
My child is sleeping.

Ellena Hicks
​Mezzo-Soprano

Ellena is currently in her fourth year at the Sydney Conservatorium completing a BMus (Performance) in classical voice under the tutelage of Dr. Rowena Cowley. Her love for singing emerged back home in Orange when she joined her high school’s choir and soon after she began singing lessons at the Orange Regional Conservatorium. Whilst studying at the Orange Regional Conservatorium, she won the Concerto Competition, performed Bernstein’s I Hate Music with the Orange Youth Orchestra and performed as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia. For many years she sung in the Orange Carol’s by Candlelight in the choir and as a soloist. During her university studies, she has performed as the alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Sydney Conservatorium Big Choir, performed the roles of Secrecy, Mopsa and Summer in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and is currently an alto scholar at St Stephen’s Uniting Church. In 2022, she returned home to perform as the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Orange Regional Conservatorium and Allegri Singers.
Begegnung
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
Hugo Wolf’s ‘Begegnung’ or ‘Encounter’ is No.8 of the Mörike-Lieder Songbook, composed in 1888. The poem by Eduard Mörike is set to a simple structure of five quatrains, each following an ABAB rhyme scheme. The poem explores the subject of a young boy daydreaming on the street about a likely sexual encounter he had with a girl the night before. Unlike much of Wolf’s other work, the harmony of Begegnung is relatively simple and diatonic, perhaps due to the simplistic or youthful nature of the subject matter. The rapid, undulating rise and fall of the syncopated piano line is meant to represent the ‘storm’ featured in the poem, a metaphor for their encounter the night before and perhaps meant to represent the tempestuous but lively nature of young love.​
​
Begegnung
Poet: Eduard Mörike (1804-1875)
​​Was doch heut nacht ein Sturm gewesen,
Bis erst der Morgen sich geregt!
Wie hat der ungebetne Besen
Kamin und Gassen ausgefegt!

Da kommt ein Mädchen schon die Strassen,
Das halb verschüchtert um sich sieht;
Wie Rosen, die der Wind zerblasen,
So unstet ihr Gesichtchen glüht.

Ein schöner Bursch tritt ihr entgegen,
Er will ihr voll Entzücken nahn:
Wie sehn sich freudig und verlegen
Die ungewohnten Schelme an!

Er scheint zu fragen, ob das Liebchen
Die Zöpfe schon zurecht gemacht,
Die heute nacht im offnen Stübchen
Ein Sturm in Unordnung gebracht.
​
Der Bursche träumt noch von den Küssen,
Die ihm das süsse Kind getauscht,
Er steht, von Anmut hingerissen,
Derweil sie um die Ecke rauscht.
Encounter
Translator: Richard Stokes 
​What a storm there was last night,
It raged until this morning dawned!
How that uninvited broom
Swept the streets and chimneys clean!

Here comes a girl along the street,
Glancing half bashfully about her;
Like roses the wind has scattered,
Her pretty face keeps changing colour.

A handsome lad steps up to meet her,
Approaches her full of bliss,
How joyfully and awkwardly
Those novice rascals exchange looks!

He seems to ask if his sweetheart
Has tidied up her plaited locks,
That last night a storm dishevelled
In her gaping wide room.
​
The lad’s still dreaming of the kisses
The sweet child exchanged with him,
He stands enraptured by her charm,
As she whisks round the corner.
Gewitternacht
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
Robert Franz’ Gewitternacht was published in 1846. Karl Wilhelm Osterwald’s poem uses a storm as a metaphor for the narrators complex feelings about losing their love. Throughout the song, the singer laments their anger, frustration and sadness because of their circumstances. The opening line is repeated at the beginning of the first and third stanza, highlighting how, at first, the singer is cursing the ‘storm’ having entered its depths because they felt they had no other option. By the time that line returns, the singer is pleading to be let in because the pain of weathering the storm is better than the pain of unrequited love.

Franz refrained from using an introduction in the accompaniment in the beginning of this song, but wrote for the singer and piano to enter at the same time. This gives the audience an impression that they enter in the middle of a storm themselves, a feeling that is further highlighted in the highly rhythmic and heavy accompaniment heard throughout this song.
​
Gewitternacht
Poet: Karl Wilhelm Osterwald (1820-1887)
Grolle lauter, zürnend Gewitter,
Sturmwind, rase, du wilder Geselle,
Öffne dem Blitz das Wolkengitter,
Daß er die schwarze Nacht mir erhelle.
Tröstlich ist mir, o Himmel, dein Hadern:
Zweifel im Herzen, Zorn in den Adern,
Bin ich von meinem Mädchen geschieden,
Ohne Kuß und Wort,
So ging ich fort
In die grollende Nacht und suche Frieden.

Weh! Auf ewig ist mir verloren
Jenes selige Glück des Bundes,
Das ihr Auge mir zugeschworen
Und der glühende Hauch des Mundes.
Träume der Jugend, [wie seid ihr verflogen]1,
Falsch wie die Schwüre habt ihr gelogen!
Schneidend fühl' ich durchs Herz mir beben
Das Blitzeslicht:
"Sie liebt mich nicht!"
Mein Herz ist gebrochen, was soll ich leben?
​
Grolle lauter, Gewitterstimme,
Flammender Himmel, wild und vermessen
Laß mich eifern mit deinem Grimme,
Laß die Kalte mich ewig vergessen!​
​Aber du schweigst Im säuselnden Regen
Wandelt dein Zorn sich, Himmel, in Segen,
Thränen der Liebe, o rieselt nieder!
Ach! ohne sie
Genes' ich nie,
Mädchen, Geliebte, liebe mich wieder.
Stormy Night
​​Translator: John H. Campbell
Rumble louder, angry thunderstorms,
Storm-wind, rage, you wild spirit,
open the clouds for the lightning,
it only brightens the black night for me.
I, o heavens, am comforted by your discord:
Doubt in my heart, fury in my veins,
I have parted with my love,
without kiss or word,
so I went away
into the rumbling night to seek peace.

Woe! Forever, I have lost
the sweet joy of her devotion,
that her eyes pledged to me
and her mouth breathed promising;
youthful Dreams, you have passed
falsely; like the promises, you have lied.
I feel stabbed and shaken through the heart
by that lightning bolt:
she loves me not!
my heart is broken, why should I live?

Rumble louder, thunderous storm,
flaming heavens, thrash and threaten,
let me join in your gloom,
​leave me to coldly forget, forever.
But you are silent, in murmuring rain
change your fury to blessing,
Tears of love, o trickle down!
Oh! Without her
I can never recover!
O maiden, beloved, love me again!
Der Doppelgänger
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
This poem, written by Heine, describes a person returning from war. They stand looking towards the house where their love used to live. The Doppelgänger mythology is explored in this introspective song, wherein a person sees a ghostly version of themselves, this apparition is a harbinger of bad news, usually implying that the person has died or is not far from death. In the middle of the song, once the singer realises that the person standing near the house is their Doppelgänger, they grapple with the fact that they haven't returned from war as they had thought.

This song is vocally declamatory and the accompaniment consists almost entirely of block chords. Through this simplicity of style, Schubert effectively produces a dramatic and bone-chilling atmosphere of a person pained by the love they have lost. The repetitive accompaniment serves to remind the listener of the ‘doubling’ of the narrator and their Doppelgänger.
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Der Doppelgänger
Poet: Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
Still ist die Nacht, es ruhen die Gassen,
In diesem Hause wohnte mein Schatz;
Sie hat schon längst die Stadt verlassen,
Doch steht noch das Haus auf demselben Platz.

Da steht auch ein Mensch und starrt in die Höhe,
Und ringt die Hände, vor Schmerzens Gewalt;
Mir graust es, wenn ich sein Antlitz sehe –
Der Mond zeigt mir meine eigne Gestalt.

Du Doppelgänger! du bleicher Geselle!
Was äffst du nach mein Liebesleid,
Das mich gequält auf dieser Stelle,
So manche Nacht, in alter Zeit?​
The Wraith
Translator: Richard Wigmore 
The night is still, the streets are at rest;
in this house lived my sweetheart.
She has long since left the town,
but the house still stands on the selfsame spot.

A man stands there too, staring up,
and wringing his hands in anguish;
I shudder when I see his face –
the moon shows me my own form!

You wraith, pallid companion,
why do you ape the pain of my love
which tormented me on this very spot,
so many a night, in days long past?

Georgia Cooper
​Soprano

Originating from Tasmania, Georgia is a soprano completing her fourth year of her Bachelor of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under the tutelage of Maree Ryan AM. Georgia’s love for performing and singing started when she was cast as Gretel in The Sound of Music with the Burnie Musical Society. During her time at the Conservatorium, Georgia understudied the Soprano soloist for Poulenc’s Gloria and has been awarded the Peter Davidson Music Scholarship. In 2022, Georgia won the City of Wollongong Eisteddfod in the Open Aria section and placed first in the German Lieder section. She has participated in master classes led by Dr Maria Briggs, Graham Johnson, and Emily Kilpatrick. She is at present a Soprano choral scholar at St Stephen’s Uniting Church.
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Georgia has performed as Titania in Purcell’s Fairy Queen, Silvia in Mascagni’s Zanetto (Concordia Ensemble), Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and is currently preparing Miss Jessel and understudying Governess in Britten’s Turn of the Screw (The Cooperative). Georgia is hoping to further her studies overseas in the coming years and develop her understanding of German literature and lieder.
Über Nacht
​Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
‘Über Nacht’ is one of Hugo Wolf’s earlier works, composed in 1878 when he was 18. It is set to a poem by poet and theologian, Julius Sturm. The song explores the themes of grief and joy, and their juxtapositions within the human condition. The first stanza of poetry speaks of grief, a sorrow so encompassing to a point where sleep becomes the escape, and dawn the ultimate dread. The second stanza, in comparison, is about joy so childlike that sleep evaporates at dawn and dreams cannot compare to life. Finally in the third stanza of the poetry, Julius Sturn ties the two emotions in their juxtaposition by pulling both out from underneath us in death, presenting how we wore both grief and joy to the Lord. When we one day look back on our lives, will we look back and be content with how we acted and reacted during both times of Grief and in Joy?​
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Über Nacht
Poet: Christoph Sturm (1740-1756)
Über Nacht, über Nacht
Kommt still das Leid,
Und bist du erwacht,
O traurige Zeit!
Du grüssest den dämmernden Morgen
Mit Weinen und mit Sorgen.

Über Nacht, über Nacht
Kommt still das Glück
Und bist du erwacht,
O selig Glück!
Der düstre Traum ist zerronnen,
Und Freude ist gewonnen.
​
Über Nacht, über Nacht
Kommt Freud' und Leid,
Und eh du's gedacht,
Verlassen dich beid',
Und gehen dem Herrn zu sagen,
Wie du sie getragen.
By Night 
Translator: Richard Stokes 
By night, by night
Grief comes silently,
And once you awake –
O mournful time,
You greet the dawn
With tears and sorrow.

By night, by night
Happiness comes silently,
And once you awake –
O blessed fate,
The sombre dream has vanished
And joy is to hand.

By night, by night
Come joy and grief,
And before you’re aware,
Both leave you
And go to tell the Lord
How you have borne them.​
Frühling und Liebe
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
Within Robert Franz’s musical chronology, this lesser known piece Frühling Liebe falls at op. 3, No. 3. It was published in 1844. The lyricist of this piece, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, was best known for writing "Das Lied der Deutschen", whose third stanza is now the national anthem of Germany. With the tempo marked as Andantino con moto, Franz wishes for Frühling und Liebe to be performed slowly but with momentum and a degree of energy. With this collaboration of poetry from Hoffmann and musical setting from Franz, we get a beautiful piece of Lieder that uses directional phrasing and word painting to bring across the poetry and intention of warmth, renewal and love. Hence its title, Frühling und Liebe , translated meaning, Spring and Love. Listen and try to picture the turn of Winter into Spring and all that it brings. Renwal, new life, fertility, warmth, love and passion.
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Frühling und Liebe
Poet: A. Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874)
Im Rosenbusch die Liebe schlief,
Der Frühling kam, der Frühling rief;
Die Liebe hört's, die Lieb' erwacht,
Schaut aus der Knosp' hervor und lacht,
Und denkt, zu zeitig möcht's wohl sein
Und schläft dann ruhig wieder ein.
​
Der Frühling aber läßt nicht nach,
Er küßt sie jeden Morgen wach,
Er kos't mit ihr von früh bis spat,
Bis sie ihr Herz geöffnet hat
Und seine heiße Sehnsucht stillt,
Und jeden Sonnenblick vergilt.​
Spring and Love
Translator: Anke Höppner-Ryan 
In the rose bush love slept,
Spring came, spring called;
Love hears it, love wakes up
Looks out of the bud and laughs
And thinks it might be too soon
And then falls asleep again.
​
But spring doesn't let up
He kisses her awake every morning
He flirts with her from dawn to dusk,
Until she opened her heart
And satisfies his passionate longing,
And rewards every glimpse of sunshine.
Gretchen am Spinnrade
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Gretchen am Spinnrade was composed by seventeen-year-old Franz Schubert with text using the three stanza poems from Part One of Goethe’s Faust. It depicts the story of a young girl, Gretchen, who is singing of the intense emotions she feels for Faust as she sits at her spinning wheel. Gretchen laments how these feelings have destroyed her ability to continue living within the confines of her life. Gretchen is a young, innocent girl who has fallen deeply in love without knowing or fully experiencing a physical relationship with Faust. The piano is heard constantly moving in semiquavers and quaver patterns, representative of the spinning wheel where Gretchen sits and pedals. The music demonstrates Gretchen’s distress and yearning through a minor tonality, but importantly uses rising the dynamics and register to reach the climax of the song marking the importance of the kiss Gretchen yearns to share with Faust.
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Gretchen am Spinnrade
Poet: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Meine Ruh’ ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.

Wo ich ihn nicht hab’
Ist mir das Grab,
Die ganze Welt
Ist mir vergällt.

Mein armer Kopf
Ist mir verrückt
Mein armer Sinn
Ist mir zerstückt.

Meine Ruh’ ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.
​
Nach ihm nur schau’ ich
Zum Fenster hinaus,
Nach ihm nur geh’ ich
Aus dem Haus.
Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel
Translator: Richard Stokes
My peace is gone
My heart is heavy;
I shall never
Ever find peace again.

When he’s not with me,
Life’s like the grave;
The whole world
Is turned to gall.

My poor head
Is crazed,
My poor mind
Shattered.

My peace is gone
My heart is heavy;
I shall never
Ever find peace again.
​
It’s only for him
I gaze from the window,
It’s only for him
I leave the house.

Molly Ryan
​​Soprano

Soprano Molly Ryan is currently in her third year of a Bachelor of Music Performance (Classical Voice) at the Sydney Conservatorium, studying under Maree Ryan AM. She has been the recipient of the PATIM Fund (2021, 2022), the Helen Myers Scholarship (2020) and the Florence Mary Verga-Smith Award (2019).

Molly’s roles include Belinda and Second Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Maguelonne and Armelinde in Viardot’s Cendrillon, Susanna in Wolf-Ferarri’s Il Segretto di Susanna, Autumn in Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Clorinda in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda.

During her studies, Molly has enjoyed various performance opportunities, including soprano soloist in Concordia Ensemble’s various concert programs: Rebirth (2022) and Handel’s Athalia (2021). 2022 saw Molly perform as a soloist for the Australian Children’s Music Foundation at the Australian Admin Awards and in St Paul’s College Choir’s collaboration with Ensemble Apex. In 2022, Molly joined the St Paul’s College Choir as a Soprano choral scholar and has additionally enjoyed singing in various choirs. Masterclasses include that of David Miller AM, and Molly looks forward to working with Christian Mueller later this year.

Additionally, Molly looks forward to upcoming engagements throughout the year, including an inaugural aria and art song evening at Pymble Hotel and as soprano soloist with Bel A Cappella and North Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Later this year, Molly is joining the Hornsby Kuringai Ecumenical Choir as the Soprano soloist for Handel’s Messiah.

​Molly found recent success in the 2022 Sydney Eisteddfod, winning first place in the Vocal championship, Oratorio, Female voices, French song and Art Song, as well as third place in Operatic aria. She has also had other previous successes in the Sydney, Northern Beaches, Penrith and Ryde Eisteddfods.
Die Lotosblume
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
“Die Lotosblume” (The Lotus Blossom) is the third of 12 lieder from Franz’s Opus 1, set to poems by Emanuel Geibel, Ida Hahn-Hahn, Robert Burns, Joseph von Eichendorff, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, and Johann Ludwig Tieck. Geibel’s allegory of chaste love is in the form of a lotus flower rising from a lake serenaded by a white swan. The ambiguity of the poetry is wonderfully explored through the soft dynamic colours of the melodic line and the rich support of the harmonic flow in the piano accompaniment.
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Die Lotosblume 
Poet: Emanuel Geibel (1815-1884)    
​​Die stille Wasserrose
Steigt aus dem blauen See,
Die Blätter flimmern und blitzen,
Der Kelch ist weiß wie Schnee.

Da gießt der Mond vom Himmel
All' seinen gold'nen Schein,
Gießt alle seine Strahlen
In ihren Schooß hinein.

Im Wasser um die Blume
Kreiset ein weißer Schwan
Er singt so süß, so leise
Und schaut die Blume an.

Er singt so süß, so leise
Und will im Singen vergehn --
O Blume, weiße Blume,
Kannst du das Lied verstehn?
The Lotus-Flower 
Translator: David Kenneth Smith
The quiet lotus blossom
sprouts from the pond so blue,
its leaves all glimmer and sparkle,
its bud is white as snow.

The moon pours down from heaven
all of its golden shine,
pours all its golden moonbeams
into her blossom heart.

In water 'round the blossom
circles the whitest swan
it sings so sweet, so softly
and gazes on the bloom.

It sings so sweet, so softly
and would but perish in song.
O blossom, whitest blossom,
can you conceive the song?
Nacht und Träume, D.827; Op.43 (1825)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Schubert’s stand-alone “Nacht und Träume” is a reverie to the deep spiritual substance of dreams, and how the night provides a soft, safe environment for that substance to be obtained. In this way, poet Matthäus van Collin crafts the poem as a prayer to the “holy night”, as if it is a place of worship, for the dreams to “float down” to the dreamers like whisperings from the universe. The poem concludes with a yearning for more of this healing experience as the day rises. Schubert’s meditative setting - washed in reverberant, slow broken chords and grounded by the depths of the piano’s bass range - marries elements of lullabies and prayer hymns to evoke these themes of spiritual healing, and pure tranquility.​​

Nacht und Träume 
Poet: Matthäus von Collin (1779-1824)
​Heil’ge Nacht, du sinkest nieder;
Nieder wallen auch die Träume, 
Wie dein Mondlicht durch die Räume,
Durch der Menschen stille Brust.

Die belauschen sie mit Lust; 
Rufen, wenn der Tag erwacht: 
Kehre wieder, heil’ge Nacht! 
Holde Träume, kehret wieder!
Night and Dreams
Translator: Richard Wigmore
Holy night, you sink down; 
dreams, too, float down, 
like your moonlight through space, 
through the silent hearts of men. 

They listen with delight, 
crying out when day awakes: 
come back, holy night! 
Fair dreams, return!
Vöglein Schwermut, Op.10 - 3
​Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942)
Although the exact date is unknown, it is assumed Zemlinksy composed Vöglein Schwermut, and the other pieces of opus 10, around 1901. During this period, he was madly in love -- with Alma Schindler -- choosing themes of love, marriage, death, and melancholy for his compositions. The idea of melancholy is especially true for Vöglein Schwermut. With text by Christian Morgenstern, the piece personifies death through the use of a black bird, whose song is so sorrowful, its victims die from just hearing it. Each night, the bird comes to rest on Death’s fingers before taking off again to repeat its mournful journey.
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Vöglein Schwermut
Poet: Christian Morgenstern (1871-1914) 
Ein schwarzes Vöglein fliegt über die Welt,
das singt so todestraurig 
Wer es hört, der hört nichts anderes mehr, 
wer es hört, der tut sich ein Leides an, der mag keine Sonne mehr schauen.

Allmitternacht ruht es sich aus 
auf den Fingern des Tods.
Der streichelt's leis und spricht ihm zu: 
"Flieg, mein Vögelchen, flieg, mein Vögelchen" 
Und wieder fliegt's flötend über die Welt. 
Melancholy Bird
Translator: John H. Campbell
A black-bird flies across the world, 
singing so sorrowfully of death . . .
Whoever hears it, hears nothing else, 
whoever hears it, hears such sadness, 
they fear the sun may shine no more. 

All thru' the night it rests 
on the finger of death. 
He caresses the bird solemnly and urges it: 
Fly, my little bird! Fly, little bird! 
And again it flies soaring over the world.

Reserve Finalists

Galatea Kneath
Soprano

Galatea Kneath is in her 4th year at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying a Bachelor of Music (Performance) in Classical Voice under Dr. Rowena Cowley. In 2021 she was a recipient of the Quinquin Foundation Scholarship and in 2020 she achieved her AMus A in Classical Voice. In 2018, Galatea was awarded the Opera Australia regional scholarship where she worked with conductor Tahu Matheson and director Liesel Badorrek. Galatea is a frequent performer in productions and eisteddfods throughout Sydney and the Hunter, her first production being Opera Hunter’s Carmen at age 9.
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More recent credits include Evita (National Theatre Company), Don Giovanni, Angelina in Trial by Jury, Annina in La Traviata (Opera Hunter), Attendant, Fairy 1 and Woman 1 in Purcell’s Fairy Queen (Concordia Ensemble), Josephine in HMS Pinafore (Rockdale Opera), and Mabel and Edith in Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Sydney). She has also been a frequent performer for the Young Champions and Raise the Roof concert series through the Lake Macquarie Music Society, and Opera Hunter’s Love Life and Opera series. Galatea has been a director and musical director for Young People Theatre’s productions of Winnie the Pooh Jr, Jungle Book Jr, and Cats.
Auf dem Wasser zu singen
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Schubert's iconic piece, ‘Auf dem Wasser zu singen’ is based on a poem by Friedrick Leopold zu Stolberg. The text describes a scene on the water from the narrator on a boat. The narrator describes the scenery around the area in which the narrator is in and reminisces on the past while upon the boat. The piano creates the atmosphere of the piece and the serenity of the water. Constant key changes also change the meaning of each stanza of the poem.
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Auf dem Wasser zu singen
Poet: Friedrick Leopold zu Stolberg (1750-1819)
Mitten im Schimmer der spiegelnden Wellen 
Gleitet, wie Schwäne, der wankende Kahn;
Ach, auf der Freude sanft schimmernden Wellen 
Gleitet die Seele dahin wie der Kahn;
Denn von dem Himmel herab auf die Wellen 
Tanzet das Abendrot rund um den Kahn.

Über den Wipfeln des westlichen Haines 
Winket uns freundlich der rötliche Schein; 
Unter den Zweigen des östlichen Haines 
Säuselt der Kalmus im rötlichen Schein; 
Freude des Himmels und Ruhe des Haines 
Atmet die Seel’ im errötenden Schein.
​
Ach, es entschwindet mit tauigem Flügel
Mir auf den wiegenden Wellen die Zeit.
Morgen entschwinde mit schimmerndem Flügel
Wieder wie gestern und heute die Zeit,
Bis ich auf höherem strahlendem Flügel
Selber entschwinde der wechselnden Zeit.
To be sung on the water
Translator: Richard Wigmore
Amid the shimmer of the mirroring waves 
the rocking boat glides, swan-like,
on gently shimmering waves of joy.
The soul, too, glides like a boat.
For from the sky the setting sun
dances upon the waves around the boat.

Above the tree-tops of the western grove 
the red glow beckons kindly to us; 
beneath the branches of the eastern grove 
the reeds whisper in the red glow.
The soul breathes the joy of heaven,
the peace of the grove, in the reddening glow.
​
Alas, with dewy wings
time vanishes from me on the rocking waves.
Tomorrow let time again vanish with shimmering
wings, as it did yesterday and today,
until, on higher, more radiant wings,
I myself vanish from the flux of time.
Die Zigeunerin
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
‘Die Zigeunerin’ (The Gypsy Girl), one of the Lieder from Hugo Wolf’s song cycle Eichendorff Lieder was first published in 1889. Based on the poem by Joseph von Eichendorff, this lied tells a story about a Gypsy girl walking through a forest in the quiet evening. Meanwhile, she met a huge cat in the twilight and got extremely angry at it. At the same time, the Gypsy girl also got into the imagination of having a lover who is a wanderer. The piano part utilizes the short, dotted rhythm as well as some of the chromatic descending sequence to imitate the atmosphere of freedom.
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Die Zigeunerin
Poet: Joseph von Eichendorff (1788-1857)
Am Kreuzweg da lausche ich, wenn die Stern’
Und die Feuer im Walde verglommen,
Und wo der erste Hund bellt von fern,
Da wird mein Bräut’gam herkommen.
La, la, la –

“Und als der Tag graut', durch das Gehölz
Sah ich eine Katze sich schlingen,
Ich schoss ihr auf den nussbraunen Pelz,
Wie tat die weit überspringen! –
Ha, ha, ha!”

Schad’ nur ums Pelzlein, du kriegst mich nit!
Mein Schatz muss sein wie die andern:
Braun und ein Stutzbart auf ung’rischen Schnitt
Und ein fröhliches Herze zum Wandern.
La, la, la …
The Gypsy Girl
Translator: Richard Stokes
At the crossroads I listen, when the stars
And fires in the wood have faded,
And where, afar, the first dog barks,
From there my bridegroom will come,
La, la, la –

“And at dawn, through the copse,
I saw a cat slinking,
I fired a shot at her nut-brown coar,
How that made her jump –
Ha, ha, ha!”
​
A shame about the coat, you won’t catch me!
My sweetheart must be like the others:
Swarthy, with a beard of Hungarian trim,
And a happy heart for wandering
La, la, la …
Er ist gekommen
​Robert Franz (1815-1892)
‘Er ist gekommen’ (No.7, Op.4) was published in 1845, an early composition by Robert Franz in his “Liederhefte”. With text by Friedrich Rückert, the female narrator cycles through her emotions in a new romance. It begins passionate and intense, expressing anxiety in the new relationship, it then shifts to exciting and confident. In combination with a lively 6/8 tempo and momentous melody, the piece achieves a sense of sexual pursuit from the woman of her lover.
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Er ist gekommen
Poet: Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Er ist gekommen
In Sturm und Regen,
Ihm schlug beklommen Mein Herz entgegen.
Wie konnt' ich ahnen,
Daß seine Bahnen
Sich einen sollten meinen Wegen?

Er ist gekommen
In Sturm und Regen,
Er hat genommen
Mein Herz verwegen.
Nahm er das meine?
Nahm ich das seine?
Die beiden kamen sich entgegen.
​
Er ist gekommen
In Sturm und Regen.
Nun ist [entglommen]
Des Frühlings Segen.
Der Freund zieht weiter,
Ich seh' es heiter,
Denn [er bleibt mein] auf allen Wegen.
He came
Translator: David Kenneth Smith
​He came
in storm and rain,
my anxious heart
beat against his.
how could I have known,
​that his path
should unite itself with mine?

He came
in storm and rain,
he boldly
stole my heart.
Did he steal mine?
Did I steal his?
Both came together.

​He came
in storm and rain,
Now has come
the blessing of spring.
My love travels abroad,
I watch with cheer,
for he remains mine, on any road.

Hannah Burton
​​Soprano

Hannah is a third year student at Sydney Conservatorium of Music doing a Bachelor of Music (Classical Voice Performance) and a Diploma of Languages with Maree Ryan on a scholarship for merit. Hannah has always loved performing and directing since she was young, with her first classical performance being with Opera Australia with the children choir in the Magic Flute, and then in 2019 she worked again with OA as a Regional Vocal Scholar. In 2021, Hannah Assistant Directed the Sydney Conservatorium’s and NIDA’s “a Midsummer Nights Dream” with Kate Gaul and this year Hannah made her directorial debut with “La Serva Padrona” with Opus Collective and “Sunday in the Park” with George with MUSE. Hannahs roles include the title role in Kaija Saariaho’s “Emilie” and understudying Susanna in “The Marriage of Figaro” by W.A Mozart (the CoOperative) and has been a Featured Artist in the Schools Spectacular (2019). This year Hannah is performing the First Witch in Henry Purcells Dido and Aeneas with Pacific Opera, Flora in Benjamin Britain’s Turn of the Screw with the CoOperative and is looking forward to performing with Apex Ensemble later in the year. 
Frühling und Liebe
Robert Franz (1815-1892)
Franz's piece describes the love in which the narrator has towards the item he so desires and reminisces the idea of love through words like 'sweet love awakes at the soft sound showing how much the narrator enjoys the tranquility and love of the piece. The piano creates a calming effect which pushes the sereneness of the piece.
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Frühling und Liebe
Poet: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798-1874)
Im Rosenbusch die Liebe schlief, Der Frühling kam, der Frühling rief; Die Liebe hört’s, die Lieb’ erwacht, Schaut aus der Knosp’ hervor und lacht, Und denkt, zu zeitig möcht’s [halt] sein Und schläft [drum] ruhig wieder ein.
​
Der Frühling aber läßt nicht nach, Er küßt sie jeden Morgen wach, Er kos’t mit ihr von früh bis spat, Bis sie ihr Herz geöffnet hat Und seine [heiße] Sehnsucht stillt, Und jeden Sonnenblick vergilt.
Love and Springtime
Translator: Richard Stokes
Im Rosenbusch die Liebe schlief, Der Frühling kam, der Frühling rief; Die Liebe hört’s, die Lieb’ erwacht, Schaut aus der Knosp’ hervor und lacht, Und denkt, zu zeitig möcht’s [halt] sein Und schläft [drum] ruhig wieder ein.
​
Der Frühling aber läßt nicht nach, Er küßt sie jeden Morgen wach, Er kos’t mit ihr von früh bis spat, Bis sie ihr Herz geöffnet hat Und seine [heiße] Sehnsucht stillt, Und jeden Sonnenblick vergilt.
Du bist die Ruh
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Du bist die Ruh, in English ‘You are Repose’, is one of the most performed German Lieder by Franz Schubert. It was composed in 1823 and set in an untitled group of four love songs in op. 59. The texts are taken from a set of four poems by the famous German poet Friedrich Rückert. As the third song in this set, Du bist die Ruh is often taken out for solo performances. With loving and gentle themes, the piece illustrates the true depth and pain of a familiar love. Schubert utilizes a light and subtle approach in the texture and form, thus creates this beautiful and moving song.
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Du bist die Ruh
Poet: Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866)
Du bist die Ruh,
Der Friede mild,
Die Sehnsucht du,
Und was sie stillt.

Ich weihe dir
Voll Lust und Schmerz
Zur Wohnung hier
Mein Aug’ und Herz.

Kehr’ ein bei mir,
Und schliesse du
Still hinter dir
Die Pforten zu.

Treib andern Schmerz
Aus dieser Brust.
Voll sei dies Herz
Von deiner Lust.
​
Dies Augenzelt
Von deinem Glanz
​Allein erhellt,
O füll’ es ganz.
You are repose 
Translator: Richard Wigmore
You are repose
and gentle peace.
You are longing
and what stills it.

Full of joy and grief
I consecrate to you
my eyes and my heart
as a dwelling place.

Come in to me
and softly close
the gate
behind you.

Drive all other grief
from my breast.
Let my heart
be full of your joy.
​
The temple of my eyes
is lit
by your radiance alone:
​O, fill it wholly!
Frühling übers Jahr
​Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)
‘Frühling übers Jahr’ by Hugo Wolf is No.28 in his Goethe-Lieder collection, composed in 1891. The poem uses fantastic imagery of spring to compare the blossoming flowers to the eternal blossoming of his love, being both a spring song and love song. The piano accompaniment uses delicate chiming sounds to capture the beauty of spring while the vocal melody carries a buoyant and lively melody.
​

Frühling übers Jahr
Poet: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Das Beet, schon lockert
Sichs in die Höh!
Da wanken Glöckchen
So weiß wie Schnee;
Safran entfalltet
Gewaltge Glut,
Smaragden keimt es
Und keimt wie Blut;
Primeln stolzieren
So naseweis,
Schalkhafte Veilchen,
Versteckt mit Fleiß;
Was auch noch alles
Da regt und webt,
Genug, der Frühling,
Er wirkt und lebt.

Doch was im Garten
Am reichsten blüht,
Das ist des Liebchens
Lieblich Gemüt.
Da glühen Blicke
Mir immerfort,
​Erregend Liedchen,
Erheiternd Wort,
Ein immer offen,
Ein Blütenherz,
Im Ernste freundlich
Und rein im Scherz.
Wenn Ros und Lilie
Der Sommer bringt,
Er doch vergebens
Mit Liebchen ringt.
Perennial Spring 
Translator: Richard Stokes
The flower-bed’s
Already pushing upwards,
Little bells wave there.
As white as snow;
Crocuses blaze
With intense colour,
Shoots of emerald
And shoots like blood.
Primroses strut
So saucily,
Mischievous violets
Carefully hidden;
And a great deal else
Is stirring and moving,
Enough – it’s spring,
Active and alive.

But in all the garden
The richest flower
Is my sweetheart’s
Lovely soul.
She looks at me ardently
All the time,
Inspiring songs,
Provoking words,
An ever-open
Blossoming heart,
Friendly in grave matters,
And pure in jesting.
Summer may bring
The rose and lily,
But it vies in vain
With my darling.

German Diction at the Sydney Conservatorium
As a part of their first year undergraduate course work, students of German Diction at the Sydney Conservatorium have written, filmed and edited some entertaining videos to practice their spoken German skills.

​Check out their fantastic work! 

Watch the 2021 Competition Below

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to our:
Pianist
David Miller AM

Guests of Honour
German Consul General Axel Zeidler
Sonja Schweizer, President of the Australian German Welfare Society Sydney
​
Head Adjudicator
Barry Ryan OAM

Associated Adjudicators
Dr Michael Halliwell
Maree Ryan AM
Dr Anke Hoeppner-Ryan