Songs that Tell Stories
Richard Turner, Tenor
Sonya Subbayya Sutton, Piano
“Stories are like prayers. It does not matter when you begin, or when you end, only that you
bend a knee and say the words.” Catherynne M. Valente, In the Night Garden
I have always loved story songs; being drawn into a story gives a new dimension to
the music. Some of my earliest musical memories are of children’s story songs, soon
followed by spoken stories told to great music like Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev
and Aladdin’s adventures to Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. Later, I remember
Victorian church solos sung by my uncle and listened to by my father. They were
both proud of their autographed programs from a concert by the great baritone
Lawrence Tibbett. I’ve continued to play my father’s Lawrence Tibbett album over
the years— my introduction to world-class vocal talent as well as the art of story
telling through song.
Story telling takes precedence for contemporary singer songwriters and folk
traditions, where we hear a weaving of history and folklore that highlight topical
concerns. Art songs also tell stories and are joyous partnerships of music, poetry
and story.
Over a surprising (to me) number of years, I’ve done lots of singing and acting. As a
folk singer, evangelist or recitalist, it is the telling of stories through music that I
enjoy the most. During this program, I hope you enjoy hearing some of my old and
new favorites.

The Flying Trapeze
Gaston Lyle and Albert Lee
George Leybourne
Written in 1868, this ditty was the basis of a Saroyan short story and a
W. C. Fields movie. It literally speaks for itself.
The Choirmaster's Burial From Winter Words
Benjamin Britten
Thomas Hardy
Hardy’s poems capture the lives of the people in an English village. This
song was new to me, and I am glad to have found it.
Danny Deever
Walter Damrosch
RudyardKipling
Danny Deever is an 1890 poem by Rudyard Kipling, one of the first of
the Barrack-Room Ballads. It received wide critical and popular
acclaim and describes the execution of a British soldier in India for
murder. His execution is viewed by his regiment, standing in “hollow
square” around the gallows, and the poem is composed of the
comments exchanged between the “Files on Parade” (the enlisted men)
and “the Color Sargent” (their more experienced leader) as they see
him hanged. It was one of the songs on my father’s Lawrence Tibbett
album.
The Hills of Shiloh
Shel Silverstein
An exquisite modern ballad recorded by many folk singers. Shel
Silverstein was an American poet, singer-songwriter, cartoonist,
screenwriter and author of children's books.
From On Wenlock Edge
Ralph Vaughan Williams
A. E. Housman
This song cycle on poems from A Shropshire Lad were originally scored
for piano and string quartet. I’ve selected three songs from the cycle.
The first song describes the conversation between a deceased young
man and his best friend. The second is a short paen to behavior
management. The third is a cautionary tale about life and love.
Is my team plowing?
Oh when I was in love with you
Bredon Hill

The next set of songs harken back to my childhood. A.A. Milne’s ability to get into
the heads of children has always fascinated me and I loved Christopher Robin, Pooh
and Piglet even before they met Walt Disney. The three songs from a set composed
by his good friend Fraser-Simpson are among my favorites, and my wife and I have
recorded them, with appropriate name changes, for our grandson (I acknowledge
she performs the best version of Missing). The fourth song is Oscar Hammerstein’s
warning to adults that what children are taught—for good or evil— sticks with
them for life.
From When We Were Very Young
Fraser-Simpson
A. A. Milne
Missing
Hoppity
Halfway Down
You've Got to be Taught from South Pacific
Richard Rogers


Oscar Hammerstein
Amsterdam
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel (Mort Shuman-Eric Blau)
This song is less a single story than a story-like introduction to a
number of people who inhabit the port area of Amsterdam. The
translation/adaptation is from Jacque Brel is Alive and Living in Paris.
Bring Him Home from Les Miserables
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Herbert Kretzmer
This beautiful song, by now most likely known to everyone in the
audience, is an example of how a vignette from one story can create a
way for us to enter our own story. Years ago, our daughter suffered a
severe mental illness. Each time we had to admit her to the hospital, we
never knew if we would ever be able to bring her home. This song
remains as both a reminder of our pain as well as her recovery and
continuing health. It probably evokes a personal story for you, as well.

About Richard Turner:
Rich is an active member of St. Alban’s parish and its music ministries, singing in
choirs along with his wife, Jo. Before shifting his professional and musical focus to
put three children through college, he was named by the Washington Post as “one of
the area’s finest singers.” Whether interpreting choral masterpieces, bringing opera
roles to life, or sharing songs in an intimate setting, his communicative style
gathers the listener into the musical experience. He appeared as a guest artist with
the National Symphony, the Choral Arts Society of Washington, the National
Cathedral’s Choir of Men and Boys, the Cathedral Choral Society, and the
Washington Bach Consort as well as the Washington Opera, the Ashlawn-Highland
Festival, and the Wolf Trap Opera. His recordings include Voices that are Gone, a
collection of songs popular in Victorian America, and Capitol Hill Choral Society’s
collection of Mrs. H. H. A. Beach music under the direction of the late Betty
Buchanan.