Castelnuovo-Tedesco

The Divan of
Moses Ibn Ezra
COMPLETE MUSIC FOR SOPRANO AND GUITAR

Joanna Klisowska soprano Giulio Tampalini guitar

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco 1895-1968
The Divan of Moses Ibn Ezra
A cycle of Songs for Voice and Guitar Op.207

Part I - Songs of Wandering
1. When the morning of life
had passed 238
2. The dove that nests in the
tree- top 159
3. Wrung with anguish 140
Part II - Songs of Friendship
4. Sorrow shatters my heart 214
5. Fate has blocked the way 415
6. O brook 143
Part III - Of wine, and of the delights
of the sons of men
7. Drink deep, my friend 046
8. Dull and sad is the sky 104
9. The garden dons a coat
of many hues 131
Part IV - The World and its vicissitudes
10. Men and children of this world 138
11. The world is like a woman
of folly 050
12. Only in God I trust 203
Part V - The Transience of the World
13. Where are the graves 050
14. Let man remember all his days 126
15. I have seen upon the earth 145
16. Come now, to the Court
of Death 110
17. Peace upon them 150
18. I behold ancients graves 058
Epilogue
19. Wouldst thou look upon me
in my grave? 222
20. Ballata dallEsilio (based on 23. Romance del Conde Arnaldos 254
a Lyric by Guido Cavalcanti) 442
24. La Ermita de San Simon 215
21. Arise (from Cymbaline)
From the Shakespeare Songs
Vol 6 No.2 126
22. Seals of Love
(from Measure for Measure)
From the Shakeaspeare Songs
Vol. 4 No.2 053
Joanna Klisowska soprano Giulio Tampalini guitar

Recording: 5-7 September 2016, Bartok Studio, Bernareggio (MB), Italy

Sound Engineer: Raffaele Cacciola
Technical assistant: Jmmanuel Kondo
Editing and Mastering: Bartok Studio
Guitar made by Philip Woodfield (2010)
Aquila Perla strings
Photo Tampalini by Sergio Lussignoli
Cover photo and photo Klisowska by Laelia Milleri
p & 2017 Brilliant Classics
Coming to terms with failing health during the last years of his life, Mario
Castelnuovo-Tedesco wrote a number of works imbued with reflections on his
own life, and on the wider perspective of the human condition. In the very years in
which he was completing his autobiography A Life in Music, which ends with
the events of 1961, he started composing 24 Caprichos de Goya, a collection of
pieces for the guitar that reveal his identification with Francisco Goyas view of the
world. Five years later, in 1966, he found himself drawn by the works of the Spanish
poet of Jewish religion, Moses ibn Ezra (1055/1060-c. 1138), on account of their
mutual experience of exile. Born in Granada, Moses ibn Ezra was forced to take
refuge in Castille following the conquest of his homeland by the Berber Almoravids
(though some claim that family discord was the real reason for this move), whereas
Castelnuovo-Tedesco, who was also Jewish, had left Italy for the United States in
1939, having foreseen the fate that others of his faith were to meet in Europe.
Castelnuovo-Tedescos collection of lyrics for voice and guitar is based on a
selection of the poems included in Moses ibn Ezras most important work, Divan.
What the composer set to music was not the original Hispanic Hebrew text, however,
but an English version by an unknown translator. The composers knowledge of
Hebrew would not have been sufficient to allow him to translate it himself, so he
probably used an existing translation (possibly one that he himself had commissioned)
that he was then able to adapt to the requirements of the music he had in mind.
The 19 poems in the collection are divided into five parts, the first four of which
consist of three songs, while the fifth comprises five. The titles of each section indicate
the mood of both the texts and the music, and an epilogue concludes the cycle.
Under the title Songs of Wandering, the first section contains three songs that
revolve around the subject of exile experienced late in life (And the path of my years
was shortened, exile called to me), and how this can urge the wayfarer to beg pity of
the dove (Mourn, little dove, mourn for the wanderer) and to succumb to despair
(My mind is wearied, my strength decays).
The second section bears the title Songs of Friendship, and begins with a poem
that embodies a passionate defence of a forbidden love (Sorrow shatters my heart;
and men distress it with blame because it follows love), followed by a melancholy
song of despondency for the loss of a friendship (Fate has blocked the way to the
garden of friendship) that ultimately turns into proud resolve and the determination
Then shall I walk through the darkness unto the light of my friend). The third
poem is a message sent to a distant friend on the waters of a stream (O brook,
whose hurrying waters go to the far land that holds my friend, by thee, my greetings
let me send).
The subject matter of the third section would seem to be less bitter (Of Wine,
and of the Delights of the Sons of Men), even though the prevailing tone is that of
sorrow and defeat. The first song exhorts the friend to revive the poet if he should
die while drinking a cup of wine; a gloomy atmosphere surrounds the second, which
embodies a disconsolate invocation (Them that weary, or that faint I restore);
and it is only in the third piece that the light of spring suggests a ray of hope and
consolation (The new-born flowers acclaim the new-born Spring).
The fourth section turns a sorrowful eye outwards (The World and its
Vicissitudes), beginning with a grave expression of faith (Men are children of
this world, yet hath God set eternity in their hearts) that contrasts markedly with
the next piece, a sort of exhortation in the name of wisdom to banish the insidious
madness of the world, represented in symbolic terms by a woman of folly. This
moment of fear then fades into a gentle prayer that concludes the section with the
comforting invocation: Only in God I trust.
The fifth and last section comes across as a dialogue in the poets own mind as
he resigns himself to the idea of death: Where are the graves is the first song, a
sort of prelude to the elegy of memories (Let man remember all his days) with
their distant visions of palaces and monuments that speak for transient glory and
forgotten deeds and inhabitants (Where are their souls and where their bodies?).
The following invocation, Come now, to the Court of Death, thus comes across
as ineluctable, while an aura of consolation accompanies the viaticum Peace upon
them. Like an aria from a requiem, I behold ancient graves expresses the yearning
for eternal peace in the silence of the tomb.
 The epilogue suggests the last words addressed to the son (Wouldst thou look
upon me in my grave?), where there is no time or space left for illusion, but a sort of
fading into nothingness (I am like a prey in the talons of my dust).
As in his earlier collection based on Shakespeares Sonnets, Castelnuovo-Tedesco
completely merges the poetic text with the music, deriving melody from the emotional
depth of the poem and interweaving voice and instrument to create a single tapestry
of great dramatic coherence. In so doing he adds a new chapter to the great European
Lieder tradition, regardless of its intrinsic chronology.
In 1956 Castelnuovo-Tedesco had set to music the song of another Italian exile, the
13th century poet Guido Cavalcante, who was also a Florentine, and whose verse he
particularly enjoyed. The outcome was the highly touching Ballata dallesilio, with
its uniquely spare, understated guitar score. Universally recognized as a masterpiece
of the genre, the composition paves the way for The Divan of Moses ibn Ezra a
decade later.
Substantially different in mood from the Divan and the Ballata are the two
songs on poems by William Shakespeare that are also included in this recording.
Written in 1921 and 1923, when the composer was still young, they speak for his
great love of Shakespeares plays, although they actually derive from The Passionate
Pilgrim, an anthology of poems attributed to Shakespeare. Originally written for
voice and piano, they were later arranged for voice and guitar by Castelnuovo-
Tedesco himself.
Different again are the colourful folktale La Ermita de San Simon and the
Romance del Conde Arnaldos, which have more in common with the early Spanish Fly to Freedom, by Ernesto Galizia
Canciones. The former was composed in 1934, while the latter dates back to 1935
and was included in the second series of the Romances Viejos. Here again the
original versions were for voice and piano, and were arranged by the composer for
voice and guitar.
Angelo Gilardino
Translated by Kate Singleton
Negli ultimi anni della sua vita, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, consapevole della
sua delicata salute, scrisse alcune opere in cui meditava sulla sua storia personale
e, pi ampiamente, sulla condizione umana: proprio mentre terminava di scrivere
lautobiografia Una vita di musica (che termina con gli eventi del 1961), egli mise
mano alla composizione della raccolta di brani per chitarra intitolata 24 Caprichos
de Goya, nella quale si identificava con la visione del mondo di Francisco Goya; e
cinque anni dopo, nel 1966, si accostava allopera del poeta spagnolo, di religione
ebraica, Moses ibn Ezra (1055/1060-1138?). Il tema in cui sorgeva laffinit tra il
poeta e il compositore era quello dellesilio, che entrambi avevano patito: Moses ibn
Ezra, nato e residente a Granada, era stato costretto a rifugiarsi in Castiglia dopo la
conquista della sua citt da parte degli almoravidi (ma, secondo alcuni, per dissidi con
la sua famiglia), mentre Castelnuovo-Tedesco,anchegli ebreo, aveva abbandonato
lItalia per gli Stati Uniti nel 1939, presagendo la sorte che sarebbe toccata alla sua
stirpe in Europa.
La raccolta di liriche per voce e chitarra scritta da Castelnuovo-Tedesco basata
su una selezione tratta dalle poesie di Moses ibn Ezra incluse nel Diwan, opera
fondamentale dellautore. Esse non furono per musicate nellebraico ispanico del
testo originale, ma in una versione inglese della quale il compositore non accredit
alcun traduttore. Egli non conosceva lebraico abbastanza a fondo da poterne
ricavare il testo inglese: dunque da supporre che si sia servito di una traduzione non
pubblicata (forse preparata appositamente per lui da un esperto di sua fiducia), alla
quale apport probabilmente qualche modifica per adattarla alle esigenze del discorso
musicale.
Le diciannove liriche della raccolta sono divise in cinque sezioni; le prime quattro
contengono tre liriche ciascuna; lultima, cinque; infine, un epilogo conclude il ciclo. I
titoli di ciascuna sezione ci guidano nella comprensione del carattere, sia dei testi, sia
della musica.
La prima sezione intitolata Songs of Wandering, e le tre poesie che la
compongono vertono sul tema dellesilio sopraggiunto in tarda et (And the path
of my years was shortened, exile called to me) che induce il viandante a chiedere
la compassione del colombo (Mourn, little dove, mourn for the wanderer) e ad
abbandonarsi allangoscia (My mind is weared, my strenght decays).
La seconda sezione, intitolata Songs of Friendship, inizia con una poesia che si
erge nellappassionata difesa di un amore proibito (Sorrow shatters my heart; and
men distress it with blame because it follows love), seguita da una cupa canzone
di disfatta per la perdita di unamicizia (Fate has blocked the way to the garden of
friendship), ma poi convertita in un fiero proposito di rivalsa (Then shall I walk
through the darkness unto the light of my friend); la terza poesia un messaggio
inviato a un amico lontano sulle acque di un ruscello (O brook, whose hurrying
waters go to the far land that molds my friend, by thee, my greetings let be sent).
La terza sezione mostra un tema apparentemente meno amaro (Of Wine, and
of the Delights of the Sons of Men), anche se poi svolto in tono di compianto e di
sconfitta: la prima canzone esorta lamico a risuscitare il poeta qualora egli muoia
nellatto di bere una coppa di vino; la seconda assume dal fosco paesaggio il motivo
per unoscura invocazione (Them that weary, or that faint I restore), e solo nel
terzo brano filtra un raggio di speranza e di consolazione nella luce di una nuova
primavera (The new-born flowers acclain the new-born Spring).
La quarta sezione rivolge uno sguardo dolente verso lesterno (The World and Its
Vicissitudes) e inizia con un canto grave ma intriso di fede (Men are children of this
world, yet hath God set eternity in their hearts), al quale si oppone in forte contasto
lagitazione del successivo brano, quasi uno scongiuro che esorta, in nome della
saggezza, ad allontanare linsidia della follia del mondo, della quale una woman of
folly rappresentazione allegorica. Questo momento di paura si placa nella dolcezza
di una preghiera nel canto che conclude la sezione, e che inizia con la consolante
invocazione: Only in God I trust.
La quinta e ultima sezione sembra un dialogo tra il poeta e s stesso, nel segno
di una rassegnata accettazione della morte: Where are the graves il primo
canto, quasi un preludio allelegia dei ricordi (Let man remember all his days)
che evocano lontane visioni di palazzi e monumenti, segni di glorie effimere e per voce e chitarra furono approntate successivamente dallo stesso autore.
ormai immemori dei loro artefici e abitanti (Where are their souls and where their Di carattere ancora diverso, affine a quello delle antiche canciones ispaniche,
bodies?). Inesorabile, sorge linvocazione del canto Come now, to the Court of sono il colorito racconto popolaresco La Ermita de San Simon (1934) e Romance
Death, e poi, con tenerezza misericordiosa, una preghiera di viatico (Peace upon del Conde Arnaldos, composto nel 1935 e incluso nella seconda serie dei Romances
them) e, in unaria da requiem, un anelito verso la pace eterna nella quiete delle Viejos: anche in questo caso si tratta di versioni per voce e chitarra di originali
tombe (I behold ancient graves). stesure per voce e pianoforte.
Lepilogo un estremo saluto rivolto al figlio (Wouldst thou look upon me in my Angelo Gilardino
grave?): il canto non si apre a nessuna illusione, ma a una sorta di dissolvimento nel
nulla eterno ( I am like a prey in the talons of my dust).
Come gi nella raccolta dei Sonetti di Shakespeare, Castelnuovo-Tedesco crea una
totale identit tra testo poetico e musica, facendo sorgere la linea melodica dalla
profondit emotiva della poesia e unendo la voce e lo strumento in una inscindibile
coerenza drammatica, nel solco della grande tradizione liederistica europea di cui egli
fu, sebbene anacronisticamente, un erede privilegiato.

Quasi come un preludio a The Divan of Moses ibn Ezra, Castelnuovo-Tedesco

aveva fin dal 1956 messo in musica il canto di un esule, il suo illustre e da lui
amatissimo conterraneo Guido Cavalcanti: alla struggente Ballata dallesilio
il compositore aggiunse un soffio di melodica dolcezza, resa ancora pi tenera
dalladozione di una scrittura chitarristica spoglia, priva di ogni ornamento
virtuosistico, si direbbe francescana. In questa composizione, lautore tocca uno
dei suoi vertici nella lirica vocale da camera, il genere in cui anche i suoi critici pi
severamente avversi gli hanno riconosciuto di aver dato prove di assoluto valore
musicale.
Assai lontane dal Divan e anche dalla Ballata , nel tempo e nellindole
poetico-musicale, sono le due liriche su testo di William Shakespeare incluse in questo
programma. Furono scritte nel 1921 e nel 1923 dallallora giovane compositore
fiorentino, appassionato cultore del teatro shakesperiano. Si tratta di estratti dalla
vasta collezione intitolata The Passionate Pilgrim, per voce e pianoforte. Le versioni
Joanna Klisowska, soprano - was della Arcadia, Artsemble, Bozen Baroque Ensemble, Il Canto di Orfeo , Collegium
born in Wroclaw, Poland, where she 1704, Divina Armonia, Immortal Bach Ensemble, Stuttgarter Vocal Ensemble,
began her musical education, first as Mitteleuropea Orchestra Barocca, La Verdi Barocca.
a violinist, and then as a singer at the She has taken part in numerous festivals, including Bologna Festival, Lucerne
Academy of Music in Professor B. E. Festival, Utrecht Early Music Festival, Festival Ambronay, Rheingau Musik Festival,
Werners class. She then attended the Wratislavia Cantans, Settimane Barocche, Musica e Poesia a S. Maurizio, Festival
baroque singing course directed by Hendlowski [Handel Festival], Festival Internazionale di Danza e di Musica Antica,
C. Ansermet in Milan, and graduated Festival Brezice, Festival di Musica Barocca di Rovino, Festival Mozart, Maj z
with honours from a two-year post- Muzyka Dawna [May with Early Music], Miedzynarodowy Festiwal Muzyki
graduate course at the Faculty of Organowej i Kameralnej [International Festival of Organ and Chamber Music],
Early Music at the Musikhochschule Musica Elettronica Nuova. Apart from her Europe-wide concert schedule, she also
Trossingen under the direction of Ch. leads educational activities and master classes. For two years, she was a jury member
Hilz and M.K. Kiehr. for the Concorso Internazionale di Musica Antica, which takes place in Pienza
She also studied with the famous (Italy). With G. Capuano and Il Canto di Orfeo group, she is currently recording
Polish singer Jolanta Zmurko and all the oratorios of Carissimi and Rossi. Her recordings also include the recently
attended numerous courses devoted rediscovered Oratorium Musicum Der Mensch, ein Gottesmrder by L. Mozart
to baroque music performance led with the Bolzano Baroque Ensemble conducted by Claudio Astronio for the Amadeus
by G. Banditelli, P. Kooij, B. Schlick, label, Motets by F. A. Bonporti recorded for the Austrian ORF label (Alte Musik)
J. Christensen, L. Brunmayr-Tutz, , Responsoria by J.D. Zelenka with Collegium 1704 and Vaclav Luks (Akccent
inter alia. 2012), and an album of sacred music by Henry Purcell for soprano and bass with the
Specialized in performing music participation of P. Kooij for the Stradivarius label (Italy 2012).
of the baroque and classical periods,
Joanna Klisowska is also interested
in late 19th century French music,
Lied and contemporary music. Her
busy concert schedule has led her to work with C. Astronio, G. Capuano,
R. King, B. Kuijken, L. Ghielmi, V. Luks P. Nemeth, P. Neumann, M. Schuldt-Jensen,
M. Toporowski, Ch. Toet, R. Vettori as well as with ensembles such as Accademia
 Giulio Tampalini has been hailed in Rome and the Andrs Segovia International Competiton in Granada. In 2001 he
internationally as one of the most performed at the Christmas concert in the Vatican in honour of the Pope. Apart from
popular and charismatic classical his work as a soloist, he also plays chamber music, and performs with orchestras,
guitarists, and as such he tours choirs, strings, percussions, saxophone and many other different ensembles, including
regularly and extensively in his the Soloists of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
country and abroad (La Fenice In 2003 his double album Francisco Tarrega: Complete Works for Guitar
Opera Theatre Venice, Rome Parco won the Golden Guitar award at the International Guitar Meeting in Alessandria
della Musica, Shubert Theatre as Best CD of the year. Among his other notable albums are: the Concierto de
Tremont Boston U.S.A., Teatro Aranjuez by Joaquin Rodrigo for guitar and orchestra, recorded with the Orchestra
Renascena Porto Alegre Brazil, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli; all the major guitar works by Angelo Gilardino; the
Ithaca College New York U.S.A., complete Six Rossinianas by Mauro Giuliani; the Concerto No.1 Op.99, the Quintet
Qintai Grand Theatre Wuhan China, Op.143 and the Romancero Gitano by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, recorded with
Cearte Arts Centre Baja California the Haydn Symphony Orchestra; the complete works for guitar by Miguel Llobet;
Mexico, Muhsin Ertugrul Theatre and a DVD containing the complete solo guitar works by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Giulio
Istanbul Turkey, Safadi Foundation Tampalini is a tenured Professor at the Adria Conservatory of Music (Italy) and he is
Lebanon, Nadine Chaudier Thetare regularly invited to give master classes all over Europe. He plays guitars made by the
Avignon France, Muse international English guitar maker Philip Woodfield.
de la Croix-Rouge Geneve
Switzerland, Salle Jacques Huisman
Thtre National Bruxelles Belgium).
Winner of the Arts and Culture Prize
(Milan, Italy 2014), he has recorded
over 25 albums and has played in
more than 2000 concerts worldwide.
He has won many awards at major
international guitar competitions, including the Narciso Yepes Competition
in Sanremo (chairman: Narciso Yepes); the International Rome Competition in
1996 and 2000; De Bonis International Competition in Cosenza; Pittaluga
International Competition in Alessandria; Fernando Sor International Competiton