The Golden Lions Winter Showcase

Hela Rotan

Arranged by Ken Steven. Directed by Victor Martinez

 Composer Ken Steven is an Indonesian born composer, and in this piece merges a gives a modern take on a folksong from the island of Maluku in eastern Indonesia. The central metaphor is about the game of “Hela Rotan” or Tug-of-War; Rotan is the vining palm used to make rope. The song is a parable of competition-as-cooperation between different communities. The song also mentions the “drums of Java” which may be a reference to the eruptions of the volcano of Krakatau.

Sanctuary

by Jason Robert Brown. Arranged by Mac Huff. Directed by Victor Martinez.

 Jason Robert Brown is best known for his compositions in musical theater, winning multiple Tony awards for productions like Parade and The Bridges of Madison County. The piece was released in 2020 and contains the longing for connection ubiquitously felt during the Covid pandemic.

That’s a siren
There’s an ambulance down in the street
Shut the window
Close the curtain, the lights are blinding

I can’t hear with the children crying
I can’t think with the anger flying
I can’t breathe with my mentors dying

And I, I am searching for sanctuary
Will you shelter me?
Will you shelter me?
I am searching for sanctuary
Will you shelter me?
Will you shelter me?
I am writing your name in the air
Can you see me?
Can you see me?
I am writing for sanctuary
Will you shelter me?
Will you shelter me?

The Island Itself

by Sarah Quartel. Lyrics by Joan Mcbreen. Directed by laurel stinson

Quartel sets to haunting melody the words of Irish poet Joan McBreen. The titular island is Omey in County Galway off the west coast of Ireland, the historical site of  a monastery and settlement reportedly founded by St Feichin.
The piece is sung a cappella and is reminiscent of a modern Celtic style with an ebb and flow evocative of waves off the beach.

Homage to Omey
by Joan McBreen (1944)
 
Afternoon sun on my back,
irregular slap of water on rock,
and then, a skylark.
 
Fine sand blown over
the hill’s top, over the lake,
swans, and the sound they make.
 
Aquamarine, the colour of the sea.
Nobody to say my name,
no one to listen to me.
 
Nothing to remember
but the currents swell and shift
and the island itself;
 
again my head thrown back,
my eyes shut, clear music in the air
and the smell of sea-wrack.

You’ll Be Back

BY Lin-Manuel Miranda. Performed by alex kosovych. accompanied by adriana kosovych

The musical Hamilton tells life story of Alexander Hamilton based on the 2004 book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. In this song King George III addresses the American colonists about their impending Revolution in 1775.

You say
The price of my love’s not a price that you’re willing to pay
You cry
In your tea which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by

Why so sad?
Remember we made an arrangement when you went away
Now you’re making me mad
Remember, despite our estrangement, I’m your man

You’ll be back, soon you’ll see
You’ll remember you belong to me
You’ll be back, time will tell
You’ll remember that I served you well

Oceans rise, empires fall
We have seen each other through it all
And when push comes to shove
I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!

You say our love is draining and you can’t go on
You’ll be the one complaining when I am gone…
And no, don’t change the subject
Cuz you’re my favorite subject
My sweet, submissive subject
My loyal, royal subject
Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever…

You’ll be back like before
I will fight the fight and win the war
For your love, for your praise
And I’ll love you till my dying days

When you’re gone, I’ll go mad
So don’t throw away this thing we had
Cuz when push comes to shove
I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love

Heart of Stone

BY Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. PERFORMED BY KJ PANGANITHON

SIX tells the story of the wives of King Henry VIII, King of England 1509 – 1547. This song is sung by Jane Seymour to Henry. Seymour was betrothed to Henry only a day after the execution of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, and died from complications duirng childbirth in 1537.

Winter Song

by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. Performed by KJ PanganiThon and Tara O’Donnell

From the 2008 album The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs.

She Used to Be Mine

by Sara Bareilles. Performed by Ariel Kaye

The musical Waitress tells the story of unhappily married Jenna as she struggles waiting tables, with an unexpected pregnancy, and through an affair with her doctor. In this scene Jenna reflects on her past self and the disconnect she sees to her present.

Strangers in the Night

composed by Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Performed by Jacopo Tonucci

As made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra.

Dark Come Soon

BY Tegan and Sara. Performed by Laurel Stinson

Off their 2007 album, The Con, this song speaks of the struggles of coping with mental illness.

Sing Me to Heaven

By Daniel Gawthrop. LYRICS BY Jane Griner. Directed by Laurel Stinson

In 1991 Gawthrop composed this piece on commission with the directive to create a song that “spoke to the way that we, as singers, feel about music in our lives.” It has since become one of the most frequently performed choral pieces of modern times and has sold more than a half million copies.

Sing Me to Heaven

In my heart’s sequestered chambers
Lie truths stripped of poet’s gloss
Words alone are vain and vacant
And my heart is mute
In response to aching silence
Memory summons half-heard voices
And my soul finds primal eloquence
And wraps me in song
Wraps me, in song

If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God
Sing me a requiem, sing me to Heaven

Touch in me all love and passion
Pain and pleasure, touch in me
Touch in me, grief and comfort
Love and passion, pain and pleasure
Sing me a lullaby
A love song
A requiem
Love me, comfort me
Sing me to God
Sing me a love song
Sing me to Heaven