For the convenience of concertgoers

the Garden Cafe remains open until 6:oo pm.

The use of cameras or recording equipment during the

performance is not allowed. Please be sure that cell phones,

pagers, and other electronic devices are turned off.

Please note that late entry or reentry of

the West Building after 6:30 pm is not permitted.

Music Department

National Gallery of Art

Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue nw

Washington, DC

Mailing address

2000B South Club Drive

Landover, md 20785

www.nga.gov

cover: Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas (detail), 1656,

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

The Sixty-eighth Season of

The William Nelson Cromwell and F. Lammot Belin

Concerts

National Gallery ofArt

2,772nd Concert

)musica(aperta

Natalie Berk and John Yilmaz, actors

William Smith and Kathryn Pilkington, dancers*

Regino Madrid and Eva Cappelletti Chao, violin

Kyung LeBlanc, viola

Ignacio Alcover, cello

Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano

Kathryn Brake, piano

David Jones, woodwinds

-appearing courtesy of CityDance Ensemble

February 28, 2010

Sunday Evening, 6:30 pm

West Building, West Garden Court

Admissionfree
Pheasants

An original production of)musica(aperta

Script: Juan Uriagereka 

Choreography: Christopher Morgan

Stage Director: Scott Morgan

Lighting: Robert Johnson 

Sound: John Conway

Executive Director: Robert Wight

Artistic Director: Ignacio Alcover

Presented in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in observance 

of Spain’s presidency in 2010 ofthe European Union and in honor of

the exhibition The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture,

1600-1700.

SETTING

The Thirty Years’ War ended in 1648 with an arranged marriage

between Louis xiv of France and his double cousin Marla Teresa, the 

daughter of Philip iv of Spain. She took on the royal name MarieTherese in a ceremony organized by Diego Velazquez, Philip’s court

painter, on Pheasant Island in the Bidassoa River. The event represented

the transition of power in Europe from the old “Regime of Mystery’’

to the new “Empire of Reason.” Through music, dance, movement,

and theatrics, )musica(aperta reevaluates the event through the looking 

glass ofVelazquez’s contemporary painting Portrait ofthe Family of

Philip iv, also known as Las Meninas. In this ars pictorica, what the 

painting hides matters as much as what it shows. The missing person

in this family portrait is the absent daughter, Marla Teresa, given to

France in exchange for peace.

SCENE

The chambers ofthe deceased Prince Baltasar at the Royal Alcazar in 

Madrid, assigned to Velazquez as a studio after the boy died.

A court garden.

The time is circa 1660.

ACTION

The play is structured as a chess game. The first act takes place in a

single morning circa 1656. The second act unfolds in a single afternoon, a year later. The third act happens sometime around 1660, and

has the structure of a masque written by the king. The game is interrupted by interludes taken from Tiento xxm por Alamire by Joan

Bautista Cabanilles.
A spring morning, circa 1656

Defense

Morning fury

Gabriel Faure: “6 mort, poussiere d’etoiles”

Development

Garden games

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Preludes nos. 2,10, and 14

Control

At the painter’s studio

Giovanni Battista Bononcini: Sonata no. 1 for Cello and Basso Continuo

Giovanni Sollima: Crettofor String Quartet

Safety

A lullaby

Osvaldo Golijov: Excerpt from Night ofthe Flying Horses

An autumn afternoon, circa 1657

Force

Waking up

Ignacio Alcover: Cuartofor cello solo

Preparation

Courage to speak

Olivier Messiaen: Amour, oiseau d’etoile, for piano and soprano

Golijov: Night ofthe Flying Horses (reprise)

4

Defense

A tea party

Sollima: L’Ortolanofor String Quartet

Queenside

Advantages oftime travel 

Sollima: Crettofor String Quartet

A masque written circa 1660

Reduction

Ready to play

Sergei Prokofiev: Visionsfugitives, nos. 2,9, and 15

Opposition

An allegory

Paul Hindemith: Quartetfor Violin, Clarinet, Cello, and Piano

Sehr langsam

Triangulation

Only a game

John King: Petite Overturefor Piano and Die

Closing

A procession

Jean-Baptiste Lully: “11 me fuit, l’inconstant!” from Phaeton
DRAMATIS PERSONAE (iN ORDER OF APPEARANCE)

The Dark Queen (Kathryn Brake, pianist)

Mariana of Austria (1634-1696) was Queen Consort of Spain as the

second wife of Philip iv, her maternal uncle. The daughter of Holy

Roman Emperor Ferdinand ill and Maria Ana of Spain, she became

regent upon the death of her husband in 1665 and remained influential

during the reign ofthe last Spanish Habsburg king. Upon her death, a

popular movement emerged to canonize her.

The Light Queen (Rosa Lamoreaux, soprano)

Elisabeth of France (1602-1644), the first wife of Philip iv, was Queen

Consort of Spain from 1621 to 1644. The daughter of Henry iv of France

and Marie de’ Medici, she was renowned for her beauty and intelligence, which made her very popular. She was regent of Spain while her

husband was at war. At the time of her death at age forty-one, she left 

two children— Maria Teresa and her brother Baltasar Carlos, heir to the

Spanish throne, who died soon after his mother.

The Princess (Natalie Berk, actor)

Maria Teresa of Spain (1638-1683) was the daughter of Philip iv and

Elizabeth of France. She was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis

xiv, to whom she was betrothed at the Isle of Pheasants in June 1660. 

Her only surviving child was Louis, the Grand Dauphin, direct ancestor

to the last monarchy in France and to the present monarchy in Spain.

Pertusato (John Yilmaz, actor)

Nicola Pertusato (1645-1710) was a functionary in the service of Philip

iv and his family. He entered the court in 1650, assigned by the Queen

Consort to the care of her step-daughter. He is famously depicted by

Velazquez in Las Meninas, playing with the Princess’ favorite dog.

6

The King (William Smith, dancer)

Philip iv (1605-1665) was King of Spain from 1621 until his death,

when the Spanish Empire reached its territorial zenith, spanning three

billion acres. He is remembered for the art he collected with the help of

his court painter, Diego Velazquez, which forms the core ofthe permanent collection in the El Prado Museum and much ofthe permanent

collection in the Louvre. He was an avid reader, translator, playwright,

painter, and musician.

The Infanta (Kathryn Pilkington, dancer)

Margarita of Spain (1651-1673) was married in 1667 to her uncle, Leopold

of Austria, who soon thereafter was elected Holy Roman Emperor. She 

was the daughter of Philip iv and his second wife, Mariana ofAustria.

She is the central figure in the famous painting Las Meninas.

The Court Painter (Ignacio Alcover, cellist)

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (1599-1660) was court painter to

Philip iv, who eventually promoted him to court chamberlain. He 

painted dozens of portraits ofthe royal family, culminating in the

execution of his masterpiece, Las Meninas (c. 1656). Velazquez was in

charge ofthe scenic display and decoration for the Isle of Pheasants

ceremony in which Maria Teresa was given in marriage to the King of

France on July 7,1660. Exhausted by the effort involved in organizing

the display, Velazquez died two months later.

The Prime Minister (David Jones, woodwinds)

Luis Mendez de Haro y Sotomayor (1598-1661) was a favorite and confidant of Philip iv in the later years ofhis reign.

Other Courtiers (Regino Madrid, violinist; Eva Cappelletti Chao, violinist;

Kyung LeBlanc, violist)

7
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS

6 mort, poussiere d’etoiles

Charles van Lerberghe

(Translation by Peter Low)

6 mort, poussiere d’etoiles,

Leve-toi sous mes pas!

Viens, 6 douce vague qui brilles

Dans les tenebres;

Emporte-moi dans ton neant

Viens, souffle sombre ou je vacille,

Comme une flamme ivre de vent!

C’est en toi que je veux m’etendre,

M’eteindre et me dissoudre,

Mort ou mon ame aspire!

Viens, brise-moi,

comme une fleur d’ecume,

Une fleur de soleil a la cime

Des eaux!

Et comme d’une amphore d’or

Un vin de flamme et d’arome divin, 

Epanche mon ame

En ton abime, pour qu’elle

embaume

La terre sombre

et le souffle des morts

O Death, Dust of Stars

O Death, dust ofstars,

rise up under my footsteps!

Come, gentle wave shining

in the dark;

carry me offinto your nothingness!

Come, somber breeze in which I sway

like a flame intoxicated with wind!

In you I want to stretch out,

fade and dissolve,

O death, my soul’s aspiration!

Come, break me like a flower of

foam,

a sun-bloom on the crest

ofthe waves!

And like a wine offire and divine

scent

flowing from a golden amphora,

pour out my soul

into your abyss, so that it may

perfume

the dark earth

and the breath of the dead.

Lullaby

Sally Potter (written for Osvaldo 

Golijov’s score of her film The Man

Who Cried)

Close your eyes

And you shall go

To that sweet land

All dreamers know.

Lift your face

Towards the sky,

I will be watching

As you fly.
Amour, oiseau d’etoile

Olivier Messiaen

(from his song cycle Harawi)

Oiseau d’etoile,

Ton oeil qui chante

Vers les etoiles,

Ta tete a l’envers sous le ciel,

Ton oeil d’etoile,

Chaines tombantes,

Vers les etoiles,

Plus court chemin de l’ombre au ciel.

Tous les oiseaux des etoiles,

Loin du tableau mes mains chantent,

Etoile, silence augmente du ciel.

Mes mains, ton oeil, ton cou, le ciel.

Love, Star Bird

Star bird,

Your eye that sings

To the stars,

Your head upside down under the

sky,

Your star-eye,

Chains falling,

Towards the stars,

The shortest route from the shadow

to the sky.

All the birds ofthe stars,

Far from the painting my hands are

singing,

Star, augmented silence ofthe sky.

My hands, your eye, your neck, the

sky.

10

11 me fuit, l’inconstant!

Philippe Quinault

(from the opera Phaeton)

11 me fuit, l’inconstant!

il m’este tout espoir

O Ciel! tout de froideur succede

a tant de flame!

Ah! que n’a-til toujours evite 

de me voir!

Qu’il auroit espargne de tourments

A mon ame!

Sur la fui des serments

d’ont il flatloit mes voeux,

J’esperois un destin heureux;

fe croyois toujours

nos coeurs d’intelligence;

Je m’assurois que jamais

l’inconstance

Ne briseroit de si beaux noeuds;

Ah! qu’il est dangereux

De s’engager sur la vaine assurance

Des serments amoureux!

L’infidele attendoit

pour esteindre ses feux 

Qu’il m’en eust fait sentir

toute la violence

Que le charme fatal

d’une douce esperance

Expose un coeur credule a

de maux rigoreux!

Ah! quel est dangereux....

He flees from me, that unfaithful

one!

He flees from me, that unfaithful

one!

He removes all hope.

O Heavens! So much coldness

after so much passion.

Ah! Ifonly he had avoided seeing me!

He would have spared my soul

so many torments!

On the faith ofthe vows with

which he

flattered my desires,

I hoped for a happy outcome;

I had thought that there was always

understanding between our hearts;

I was sure that inconstancy

Would never break such firm knots;

Ah! How dangerous it is

to commit oneselfto the vain 

assurance

of a lovers vows!

The unfaithful one waited

to extinguish his passion

until he had let me feel how all

the violence

ofthe fatal charm of a sweet hope

exposes a credulous heart to the

sternest evils!

Ah! How dangerous it is....

n
)musica(aperta

)musica(aperta—Latin for “open music”—is an interdisciplinary performance arts ensemble that has delighted audiences in Washington, D.C.,

since 2002. Its productions entertain and challenge audiences by presenting music side-by-side with complementary art forms such as drama, dance,

and the visual arts. The ensemble operates from the conviction that everyone can experience music deeply, and that barriers to such experience—

such as the formality and protocol of a concert venue —can be transcended

by innovative, energtic, and communicative performances.

In October 2008 )musica(aperta introduced Mystics, a stirring musical

and theatrical performance inspired by the life of Saint John ofthe Cross

(1542-1591), at the National Gallery of Art. It blends poetry from the saint’s

Spiritual Canticle—written during his imprisonment in Toledo, Spain—

with music from a variety of composers from medieval times to the present.

Mystics will be performed in several other cities during the first half of 2010

under the sponsorship ofthe Spanish Presidency ofthe European Union.

)musica(aperta’s activities are funded in part by the DC Commission on

the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National

Endowment for the Arts. More information about the actors, dancers, and 

musicians who make up )musica(aperta is available at www.musicaaperta.org.

CITYDANCE ENSEMBLE

The mission ofthe professional contemporary repertory company CityDance

Ensemble is to advance appreciation for and participation in the art of dance

through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.

CityDance Ensemble has been celebrated by the Washington Times as

“Washington’s preeminent modern dance company.” The ensemble’s collaborative spirit has earned it the reputation of “a brave and talented troupe 

willing to take risks” (Washington Post). Its work in technology and film has

garnered a Washington, D.C., Mayor’s Arts Award for Innovation in the Arts.

CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is an umbrella organization that includes City12

Dance Ensemble; CityDance Early Arts, an outreach program providing 

free dance classes and performances for children in underserved communities; CityDance Center at Strathmore, a dance school for children, youth,

and adults and pre-professional program for teens; and CityDance Filmworks, an award-winning creator and presenter of original dance-oncamera productions.

William Smith and Kathryn Pilkington appear in this performance courtesy ofCityDance Ensemble.

Program Notes

Arrestingly real representations ofthe Passion ofChrist and the Immaculate

Conception of Mary are among some twenty Spanish masterpieces ofthe

seventeenth century on view in the landmark exhibition The Sacred Made

Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture, 1600-1700. The exhibition showcases

major paintings by Diego Velazquez, Francisco de Zurbaran, and Francisco

Pacheco, with painted and gilded sculptures carved by Gregorio Fernandez, 

Juan Martinez Montanes, and Pedro de Mena, among others. The exhibition 

reveals the dynamic and intricate relationship between two-dimensional 

pictures on canvas and painted sculptures that has long been noted by

scholars but little known by the general public. Many ofthe sculptures have

never been exhibited away from the Spanish churches, convents, and

monasteries where they continue to be venerated and to inspire the faithful.

Pheasants, the theatrical and musical event created by )musica(aperta in 

honor ofthe exhibition, uses Diego Velazquez’s painting Portrait ofthe

Family ofPhilip iv, also known as Las Meninas, as the starting point for a

reflection on the personalities involved in the marriage of Louis xiv and his 

Spanish bride, Princess Maria Teresa, on the Isle of Pheasants. The music

for Pheasants comes from a number of different sources and several centuries. Two of the composers whose music is used were contemporaries of

Velazquez, who lived from 1599 to 1660: Joan Bautista Cabanilles (1644 —

1712) and Jean Baptiste Lully (1632-1687). Cabanilles is considered by many
to have been the greatest Spanish baroque composer, and is sometimes

called the Spanish Bach. He studied theology and music in the cathedral

school at Valencia. In 1665, at age twenty-one, he was named the assistant

organist ofthe cathedral. A year later, upon the death ofhis predecessor, he

became the principal organist. He kept his position for forty-five years, a

remarkable span oftime in an era when the average life expectancy was 

around thirty years. Cabanilles’ music conforms to the stylistic norms ofthe

sixteenth-century Spanish and Italian tradition, but many ofhis compositions are virtuosic and advanced for their time. In addition to passacaglias,

tientos, and toccatas for organ or harpsichord solo, he wrote works for choirs

of up to thirteen parts.

Bom in Florence, Italy, Giovanni Battista Lulli made his career in France, 

where he came to be known as Jean-Baptiste Lully. His mother died when

he was still a boy, and his father sent him offto Paris to work as a page to one 

ofthe members ofthe French Royal family, Mile, de Montpensier, the Duchess ofOrleans. His musical talent served him well, and eventually he became

Composer ofthe King’s Music and Master of Music to the Royal Family, a

position that gave him complete control of all musical performances that

involved singing at the court of Louis xiv. He collaborated with the French

writers Corneille, Moliere, and Quinault to create a specifically French form

of opera in which there is an element of dance, reflecting the preoccupation

of his royal patron. He was also influential in the choice ofmusic and musicians for the royal chapel. Lully’s compositions for the church include a number ofmotets, masses, and vespers. His instrumental works include various

sets of dances from his stage works and eighteen Trios pour le coucher du Roi

(Trios for the king’s bedtime).

Program notes by Stephen Ackert, head ofthe music department, National

Gallery ofArt

14

Next Week at the National Gallery ofArt

Moscow String Quartet

Music by Sofia Gubaidulina

and other composers

Presented in honor of

Women’s History Month

March 3, 2010

Wednesday, 12:10 pm

West Building Lecture Hall