The Union College Music Program is presenting its third annual Valentine Concert this Saturday, February 13, 2010. The selections, of course, are all about love; lost love, love and desire, longing for love, and the misery of love. Yes, I said the misery of love. As with most other artists, composers often pour their heartache and despair into their music. Therefore, (along with uplifting songs about love) there is an abundance of music about romantic heartache from which to choose.The selections I chose for this year’s program encompass a wide range of emotions. In way of example, let us look at the texts for “Someone to Watch Over Me” by George and Ira Gershwin and “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables by Claude-Michel Schoenberg. First, let’s look at “Someone to Watch Over Me.” “There’s a saying old says that love is blind. Still we’re often told, seek and ye shall find. So, I’m going to seek a certain lad I’ve had in mind…. “ (moving on to the chorus) “There’s a somebody I’m longing to see. I hope that he turns out to be someone who’ll watch over me. I’m a little lamb who’s lost in the wood. I know I could always be good to one who’ll watch over me…. “ (and so forth) This is a song of hope, longing, and dreams. It is sentimental in every way. Now contrast this with “I Dreamed a Dream.” (Yes, this is the song also made popular by Susan Boyle). “ …And still I dreamed he’d come to me, that we would live the years together but there are dreams that cannot be and there are storms we cannot weather. I had a dream my life would be so different from this hell I’m living, so different now from what it seemed; Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.” Wow, now that is a statement – “Now life has killed the dream I dreamed.” I must admit that the lyrics are so dramatic that I (on occasion) find them a little amusing.
There are many facets to love and how one expresses themselves in song is often a reflection of ones own circumstance. Some of the other songs that will be performed at the concert are "As Time Goes By," " Hey There Delilah," "This Nearly Was Mine" (from South Pacific), "Moon River," "And So it Goes" (Billy Joel), and many more...
I am very much looking forward to the program and hope to see you there. The concert is Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. It will be held in Conway Boatman Chapel on the campus of Union College and is free and open to the public. PS For all you UK fans, the concert will last approximately an hour so you can still catch the game.