ALBA CONSORT ~ The Nightingale SIngs
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 7pm
St. John’s in the Village
218 West 11th St. New York, NY
Margo Andrea ~ mezzo-soprano, vielle Rex Benincasa ~ percussion, hurdy gurdy, tenor
Jason Priset ~ lute, vihuela, baroque guitar Carlo Valte ~ oud, guitar
special guest Karen Lindquist ~ renaissance and modern harps
Ondas do Mar; Mia Irmana Fremosa | Martim Codex (13th century), Galecia |
Fenice Fu | Jacopo da Bologna (1340-1386), Italy |
Ayuha-assaqi | Traditional Arabic, Andalucia poem by Ibn Zuhr (1094-1162) |
Nahawand Kabir Khar | Abdul Qadir Maraghi (died 1435), Persia |
Ballad # 23: En vous amer | Anonymous, Turino Manuscript (ca. 1400-1430), Cyprus |
Tres douce dame | Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377), France |
La Bella Se Siet | Guillaume Dufay (1397-1474), France |
Canarios (16th c. dance from Canary Isls) | Gaspar Sanz (1640 - 1710), Spain |
Sì dolce è'l tormento | Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), Italy |
Bashraf Uzzal - Bostan (Garden) | Anonymous (16th century), Persia |
Chinar Es | Ancient Armenian folksong, arranged by Komitas [born Soghomon Soghomonian (1869-1935)] |
Tunisienne | Ancient Andalusian-North African melody |
Four Persian Mystic Poems 1. Ma Darse Sahar 2. Gham Makhor 3. Râze Gole Sorkh 4. Cho be yâde kerdegâram | Reza Vali (born 1952) poem by Hafez (1325–1390) poem by Hafez poem by Sepehri (1928-1980) poem by Rumi (1207-1273) |
ALBA Consort ~ The Nightingale Sings Texts and translations
Ondas do mar de Vigo, se vistes meu amigo? E ai Deus, se verra cedo. Ondas do mar levado, se vistes meu amado? E ai Deus, se verra cedo. Se vistes me amado, o por que ei gran coidao? E ai Deus, se verra cedo. Mia irmana fremosa treides comigo a la ygreia de Vig’u e o mar salido E miraremos las ondas. Mia irmana fremosa treides de grado a la ygreia de Vig’u e o mar levado, E miraremos las ondas. A la igreia de Vig’u e o mar salido e verra y, mia madre, o meu amigo, E miraremos las ondas. A la igreia de Vig’u e o mar levado e verra y, mia madre, o meu amado, E miraremos las ondas. | Waves of the sea of Vigo, have you seen my love? Oh God, will he soon return? Oh rising waves, have you seen my beloved? Oh God, will he soon return? Have you seen my beloved for whom I greatly weep? Oh God, will he soon return? My beautiful sister, come with me to the church at Vigo where the sea crashes and we will watch the waves. My beautiful sister come to the church at Vigo where the sea rises and we will look on the waves. At Vigo church where the sea crashes, there, my mother, is my love. We will look upon the waves. At Vigo church where the sea rises, there, oh mother, is my beloved! We will look upon the waves. |
Ayyuha-s-Saqi Elayka-l-Mushtaka Qad Da’awnaka Wa-en Lam Tesma’i Wa-Nadeemon Hemtu Fee Ghurratihi Wa-Sharibtu-r-Raha Men Rahatihi Kullama Estayqatha Men Sakratihi Jathaba-z-Ziqa Elayhi Wa-Ettaka Wa-Saqani Arba’an Fee Arba’i Ma li-’Ayni ’Ashiyat Bi-n-Nathari Ankarat Ba’daka Dhaw’a-l-Qamari Wa-Etha Ma She’ta Fa-Sma’ Khabari ’Ashiyat ’Aynaya Men Touli-l-Buka Wa-baka Ba-dhi ’Ala Ba’dhi Ma’i Kabidon Harra Wa-Dam'on Yakiffu Ya'rifu-th-Thanba Wa-La Ya-tarifu Ayuhha-i-Mu'ridhu 'Amma Asifu Qud Nama Hubbuka 'Endi Wa-Zaka La Taqul Enni Fee Hubbika Mudda'i | O, cupbearer! To You I complain To you I have called out, even if you shall not listen I complain of a drinking companion whose face I fell in love with. From his palms I drank the wine Every time he was aroused from his inebriation He would pull the wineskin back to him and then lay down And from four wine cups, he has poured me wine four times What is it with my eyes that they would go blind? Upon seeing you, they have come to reject the light of the moon. And if you desire so; then listen to what I have to say of my fate. My eyes have gone blind from crying too long, And a part of me has grieved over another part of me with me My heart burns and my tears pour down He knows what the fault is, still he does not confess to it O, you whom I have been speaking of and describing Your love has sprouted inside me of me and blossomed Do not accuse me of being untrue in my love to you. poem by Ibn Zuhr (1094-1162) |
En vous amer Ai mis labour, Dame au vis cler Digne d’honnour, Car de dous sour, Estes garnie, Fresche et polie. | To love you is my life’s work, Lady, your bright face worthy of honor As you exhale gently, you are to be protected, so fresh and so beautiful |
La belle se siet au piet de la tour, Qui pleure et souspire et mainne grant doulour. “Je ne veul mari, je ne veul seignour; Je veul le mien ami, qui pourist en la tour.” | The beautiful girl sits at the foot of the tower, crying and sighing and making great moan. Her father asks her: "Daughter, what will you? Would you like a husband or a lord?". "I don't want a husband, I don't want a lord; I want my lover who is rotting in the tower." "By God, daughter, you shall not have him, for he will be hanged tomorrow at dawn." "If he is to be hanged, father, bury me under him, and everyone will say, 'That is true love.' |
Si dolce è’l tormento Ch’in seno mi sta, Ch’io vivo contento Per cruda beltà. Nel ciel di bellezza S’accreschi fierezza Et manchi pietà: Che sempre qual scoglio All’onda d’orgoglio Mia fede sarà. Per foco, e per gelo Riposo non hò. Nel porto del Cielo Riposo haverò. Se colpo mortale Con rigido strale Il cor m’impiagò, Cangiando mia sorte Col dardo di morte Il cor sanerò. Se fiamma d’Amore Già mai non sentì. Quel rigido core Ch’il cor mi rapì, Se nega pietate La cruda beltate Che l’alma invaghì Ben fia che dolente Pentita, e languente Sospirimi un dì.
| So sweet is the torment that lies in my breast, that I live happily from its cruel beauty. in Heaven's beauty fierce pride may grow bold without pity but always what a rock against that wave of pride my faith will be.
From fire and ice I will find no repose; only at the gate of Heaven shall I find repose. should the deadly strike of an arrow impale my heart, by changing my lot with that arrow of death my heart shall heal.
If having never felt the flames of love, that frigid heart that has captured my heart, If she denies me pity, that cruel beauty that entchanted my soul, may she pay, pained, with regret, and languishing, sighing for me one day. poem by Carlo Milanuzzi (c.1590-c.1647) |
Chinar es, geranal mi Yar, yar, yar Mer trnen heranal mi Yar, yar, yar
Yar ko Asdvadz g sires Yar, yar, yar Heroo es moranal mi Yar, yar, yar | You are like a plane tree, don’t bend your head My beloved, dear love Don’t stay away from our door Beloved, dear love
My love, for God's sake Beloved, dear love Don’t forget me, even though you are far away My love, dear beloved |
Four Persian Mystic Poems - English translation by Reza Vali
I. Darse Sahar The morning Discourse, poem by Hafez (1325–1390) We left the morning discourse on the way to the tavern We threw the seeds of our prayers to the way of the beloved It will set fire to the root of every sanctimonious zealot This mark that we put on each bewildered hearth The reign of the eternity bestowed upon us the treasure of the sorrow of love So that we could enter into this dilapidated world | II. Gham Makhor Do Not Sorrow, poem by Hafez The lost Joseph will return to Canaan do not sorrow The house of grief will become the garden of joy, do not sorrow O bewildered hearth, you will feel better do not despair Your turbulent life will come to peace, do not sorrow Walking in the desert, longing for the Kaaba* If you encounter any hardship do not sorrow *Kaaba: the house of God, an allusion to longing for the beloved |
III. Râze Gole Sorkh The Mystery of the Rose, poem by Sepehri (1928-1980) It is not our task to understand the mystery of the rose Our task is perhaps to float on the mesmerizing spell of a rose Our task is perhaps that in between the lotus flower and the century To seek the call of the truth The call of the truth... The call... The call… | IV. Cho be yâde kerdegâram When I think of the Creator, poem by Rumi (1207-1273) When I think of the creator I feel good I empty my head from any thought I feel good I have no silver or gold I depend on no one And fear no one All I have is an old Kelim (carpet) But I feel good Everywhere I ask Everywhere I search Everywhere I seek I seek only the beloved. ———————————- The reign of the eternity bestowed upon us the treasure of the sorrow of love…(Hafez) |
Welcome to ALBA Consort’s The Nightingale Sings. The title of this program symbolizes the synthesis of eastern and western music. The Nightingale is a symbol of love in both the east and the west. Its mournful song evokes desire and longing and it is the subject of song and poetry in languages around the Mediterranean and Middle East. The nightingale's migration spans Spain through mid and southern Europe to North Africa and over the Caucasus to Persia, the very range of music ALBA Consort explores.
The "nightingale and rose" is a prominent theme throughout the history of Persian art and literature where the nightingale signifies the poet, the human spirit longing to be unified with the beloved, represented by the rose, symbol of beauty and perfection. Nightingale and rose depict the union of the human spirit with the divine. The rose is a spiritual symbol in many philosophies and religions - Judeo, Christian, Islamic, and Sufi traditions. Courtly love was also the quest for divine love within the chivalric code of the troubadours, and there are many scholars who see Islamic influence on troubadour poetry. Martin Codex, 13th century composer and troubadour from Vigo, traveled south to Andalusia where he heard Arabic music and poetry. He parallels the "beloved" as the divine in the provocative poetry in his compositions he places at the Christian church plaza. The Persian Bashraf Uzzal Bustan (Garden) may make reference to the great work of the same name by Persian poet Saadi, completed in 1257, exploring ethics, justice, love and prayer.
Ancient Arabic and Persian eastern scales are part of the foundation of western music theory. (An example is heard in the early Italian music of de Bologna.) Spain had music with eastern tunings as evidenced in Andalusian and Sephardic music when North African Moors dominated southern Spain. You will hear quarter tones in Reza Vali’s composition and in the early Persian music on this program. I’m sure these tuning systems and rhythms were more present in music from western Mediterranean regions but were dropped as western music developed independently. A 10th century Armenian song Havun (the quail) has cadences that became signature to 15th century Guillaume Dufay.
La Serenissima (Most Serene), aka the Republic of Venice, aka the Republic of Music! was a maritime empire from AD 697- AD 1797 which dominated international trade in the Adriatic and Mediterranean. Its overseas possessions included ports in Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, and even Alexandria, Egypt. Its mighty fleet and army fought in the 4th crusade (1204) and the Ottoman-Venetian wars (1396-1718). Cyprus, for example, was overtaken in the crusades (Who was living on the island at the time? What languages were they speaking? What music were they making?) by Richard the Lionhearted who "sold" the island to the Knights Templar where then a French court ruled. Hence, the French ballads from Cyprus that made their way to Torino, Italy, by the princess Anne of Cyprus who married the Italian Duke of Savoy. Guillaume de Machaut writes about the excellent musicians from Cyprus that came to Paris. I wonder if Maraghi, considered one of the greatest Persian composers who also wrote famous treaties of music theory and preserved not only Persian music but music in many languages throughout the region, may have traveled to Cyprus and heard these ballads.
These ports surely had minstrels, instruments and songs that must have made their way along the trade routes. Canarios is an indigenous dance from the North African Canary Islands, conquered brutally by Spain in the early 1400's. Monteverdi makes reference to Ottoman culture in his songs and must have heard music from the east in his home of Venice. The oud is a prominent instrument in Persian, Armenian and North African music and is the ancestor of the lute which became known as the "sultan" of instruments in the 16th century west. In The Nightingale Sings, ALBA Consort presents regional traditions with long and complicated histories. But as the nightingale's flight does not recognize international borders, ALBA Consort seeks to find unity in musical and poetic expression, both ancient and modern, as music continues to transform our collective culture - illuminating our human spirit and our connection to the divine.
Margo Andrea
ALBA CONSORT performs Early Music and modern works composed for its unique instrumentation, bridging the ancient to the present. ALBA means white, the light of dawn, and is a troubadour genre of song when lovers part at daybreak. ALBA has performed throughout the U.S. including for “University of Chicago Presents”; Academy of Early Music, Michigan; CUNY.TV’s Classic Artist Showcase; the Long Island Baroque Ensemble; on GEMS Midtown Concerts Series NYC; the New York Philharmonic’s New World Initiative as part of their 175th Anniversary and most recently for the second time in Milwaukee on the Early Music Now series. ALBA premiered “Four Persian Mystic Poems” by Reza Vali which was written for the ensemble. “[ALBA’s] pulsating rhythms...were undulating and hypnotic...bringing the contrasting harmonic idioms of the various regions vividly to life.” Chicago Classical Review www.albaconsort.com
MARGO ANDREA (Artistic Director, Mezzo-soprano, Vielle, Percussion) is noted by Chicago Classical Review for “effortlessly pure intonation” and by Early Music America Magazine for her “unique voice”. She has performed with NY's Ensemble for Early Music, New York Collegium, at The University of Chicago Presents, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Bloomington Early Music Festival, the Cloisters in NY, Academy of Ancient Music, Bargemusic, Early Music Now and Long Island Baroque Ensemble. She is soloist on Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass and Robert Wilson (Sony Classics) which she sang in opera houses around the world including Opera Bobigny, Paris; McCarter Theater in Princeton; and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Other recordings include “Music of Medieval Love” (Metropolitan Museum of Art), “Jesus Blood Never Saved Me Yet” (Gavin Breyers with Tom Waits), and the Philip Glass film score of Martin Scorsese's Kundun. Also an actress, she is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Co. (with a highlight of The Cider House Rules directed by Tom Hulse), and has performed at the Goodman Theatre of Chicago, Lincoln Center Theater NYC and the London Shakespeare Co. Film credits include Narcan (2017 Manhattan Film Festival) and shorts with photographers Robert Frank and Ellen von Unwerth.
REX BENINCASA (Percussion: frame drum, riq, tambourine, darbouka, daf, bells; tenor, hurdy gurdy) has been a freelance drummer and percussionist in New York since 1978. Along with his work with ALBA Consort, he has performed with Apollo's Fire, the New Music Consort, Ensemble Caprice, The Sebastians, American Ballet Theater, Flamenco Latino, Carlota Santana Spanish Dance, Andrea Del Conte Danza España, Zorongo Flamenco Dance, Pilar Rioja, Amanecer Flamenco Progressivo, The Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Austin, The Washington Ballet and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Rex has recorded CDs and/or movie soundtracks for Marty Balin, Andrea Marcovicci, Karen Mason, Foday Musa Suso, Douglas Cuomo, Philip Glass, Sesame Street, and NFL Films. Rex has performed in 35 Broadway shows including Fosse, Elaine Stritch, The Full Monty, Flower Drum Song, Man Of LaMancha, Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, The Drowsy Chaperone, Curtains, The Color Purple, In The Heights, Motown the Musical, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Mr. Benincasa likes all kinds of music.
JASON PRISET (Lute, Vihuela, Baroque Guitar) is a regular soloist and performer in the US and internationally. In addition to his work with ALBA Consort, Jason has appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Early Music New York, the Long Island Baroque Ensemble and the Riverside Symphony including performances in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine & Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in Manhattan and the L’Auditori & Museu de la Música de Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain. As an international artist Jason has appeared in concerts in Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jason holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from Stony Brook University and a post Doctorate degree from Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC) in Barcelona, Spain and specializes in historical guitars and lute. Dr. Priset is currently serving as Executive Director for the Lute Society of America (LSA) summer festival, faculty for Amherst Early Music (AEM), and faculty for Montclair State University, NJ.
CARLO VALTE (Oud, Guitar) is a performer and educator in New York and abroad. He performs with ALBA Consort and has also performed at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center NY, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, L’Auditori de Barcelona, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center’s Out of Doors, Museo Tamayo (Mexico), with the Long Island Baroque Ensemble and at The United Nations. He has given master classes and educational programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Queens College, Northern Illinois University, at public and independent schools in the New York City area and in Spain. He is heard on the 2024 release of Chasing Home by Joseph Thalken with the Dallas Chamber Symphony. Other recordings are with Albany Records, One Soul Records, Vienna Modern Masters, and N.Y. Collegium. Carlo is currently a faculty member of Mannes College of Music’s Prep department and has coached for the New York Guitar Seminar. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Music degrees at the Mannes College of Music. He studied oud with Simon Shaheen in New York and Nasser Houari in Rabat, Morocco.
KAREN LINDQUIST (harps) has performed as soloist with the National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Vienna Austria Symphony, and has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, White Mountains Festival, Music at Angel Fire, at the Bravo! Colorado Festival in Vail and the Manchester Music Festival. She has toured the US with Speculum Musicae and the Aurora trio and performed frequently with the Theatre Chamber Players of the Kennedy Center. She was a featured performer with the members of the Chicago Symphony in Symphony Hall. Formerly a member of the Baltimore Symphony, she is principal harp of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Long Island Philharmonic orchestras, and is also a free-lancer in New York, playing on Broadway, at the Metropolitan Opera and with various choral groups. Ms. Lindquist is a member of Canta Libre harp quintet and can be heard on Varese, Sarabande, Orion, Music Masters and Bridge records.
Reza Vali was born in Ghazvin, Iran, studied at the Conservatory of Music in Tehran, at the Academy of Music in Vienna and received his Ph.D. in music theory and composition at the University of Pittsburgh,. Mr. Vali has been a faculty member of the School of Music at Carnegie Mellon University since 1988. He received the honor prize of the Austrian Ministry of Arts and Sciences, two Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships. Commissions with performances include from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Kronos Quartet, and the Carpe Diem String Quartet. His music has also been performed by the Seattle Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the Da Capo Chamber Players and internationally in Europe, China, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong, and Australia. His works are recorded on the Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, New Albion, MMC, Ambassador, Albany, and ABC Classics labels.
The LONG ISLAND BAROQUE ENEMBLE, one of our nation's first historical performance groups performing on period instruments, was founded by harpsichordist Sonia Gezairlian Grib in 1970, with her pioneering vision to offer the public professional Early Music concerts. Celebrating 56 years, LIBE continues with Artistic Director Margo Andrea, prominent artists, historians and scholars, to present an annual concert series throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the tri-state area.
We thank Fr. Graeme and the community of St. John’s in the Village for their commitment to the arts.
Many thanks to Dennis Edemeka and Vipin Bharathan for technical assistance.
LIBE thank all its supporters:
The NEA (National Endowment for the Arts), NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts with support from Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, Public funding provided by Suffolk County,
AND YOU! Please make a tax deductible contribution to LIBE. www.libaroque.org/donate
Long Island Baroque Ensemble 636 2nd Street Greenport NY, 11944
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