._ ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS
Please note - for your comfort and enjoyment
Smoking and consumption of food and drink
are not allowed in the church.
Patrons are kindly requested to switch off
mobile phones and alarms on digital watches.
Flash photography, audio and video recording are not permitted.
Please try to restrain from coughing;
A handkerchiefplaced over the mouth whilst coughing
assists greatly in limiting the noise. Thank you.
There will be an interval of20 minutes.
A bell will be rung
5 and 2 minutes before the end of the interval.
Once the concert starts again entry will only be permitted between pieces.
The Crypt Gallery and Café-in-the-Crypt
can be hiredfor private functions. Phone 020 7839 4342.
Designed, produced & printed by
Jones’ Creative Services Limited
Designers, Typesetters, Graphic Artists and Printers
for the The Leatherhead Drama Festival
www.leatherheaddramafestival.org
and Mole Valley Arts Alive Festival
<
)
v
Supporting Virtuocity with Creativity
www.jonescreative.co.uk
ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS
Bn@:lenburg
\R\Bamquc Soloists
Friday 26 February 2010
Vivaldi
Four Seasons
and
Gloria
by candlelight
a period instrument performance
Vivace Chorus
Conductor Jeremy Backhouse
Violin Pesephone Gibbs
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4]]J
Box Office: 020 7766 1100 Online: www.smitf.org
Welcome
May I offer you a very warm welcome to the fourth
concert of our annual Spring Choral Festival?
An important strand of our concert schedule is working
with choirs to support them for what is often the major
|
event of their calendar, so it gives me enormous
pleasure to be able to invite some of our favourite
choirs to join us in our favourite venue.
St
Martin-in
the-Fields
is
such
a
marvellously
atmospheric setting and of course the acoustic is just
perfect for the vocal music, whether solo or choral.
It is a special treat to welcome our old friends the
Vivace Chorus and Jeremy Backhouse.
They are a highly successful large scale choral society
based in Guildford and so their standard repertoire is normally on a symphonic scale
so the Vivaldi with our expert period instrument orchestra, the Brandenburg Baroque
Soloists will provide a refreshing new flavour.
In the first half our leader Persephone Gibbs with take the solo role in Vivaldi’s Four
Seasons — a traditional repertoire “war horse” to which she brings a poetic breath of
fresh air.
I do hope you enjoy it and if you do, why not stay on to hear Rachmaninov’s’
magnificent All Night Vigil ("Vespers") for choir, Op.37 in a concert at 9.30pm.
Robert Porter
Artistic Director Brandenburg Sinfonia
PS.
If you enjoy tonight’s concert why not sign up as a “Friend of the BrandenburgsTM.
It is an email service that keeps you up to date with our activities. There is no charge,
you can withdraw from our mailing list at any time, and because we understand what
a pain it can be constantly to receive unwelcome emails, we guarantee not to pass on
your email address to anyone. Simply send us a quick one-line email asking to be put
on the list to bob@brandenburg.org.uk
We are hoping to extend the scope of the “Friends” to include social events attached
to our concerts so I hope to see you at another concert really soon.
page 2
the
SBraneenire
W) Baroque Soloists
Artistic Director - Robert Porter
Violin 1
Oboe
Persephone Gibbs
Geoffrey Coates
g
Elizabeth McCarthy
’
Weibke Thormalen
B.
Trumpet
Adrian Woodward
Violin 2
Hetty Wayne
Harpsichord
Stephen Pedder
David Gostick
Viola
Wendy Kelly
Jane Rogers
Cello
Gabriel Amherst
Harriet Wiltshire
Bass
Jan Zahourek
Artistic Director
Associate Music Director
Ensemble Director
Robert Porter
Sarah Tenant-Flowers
Mihkel Kerem
Concert Manager
Friends of the Brandenburgs
Events Manager
Jane Kersley
Linda Ruocca
Wendy Warrilow
PA to Artistic Director
Transport Manager
Finance
Eve Christie
Alan Fryer
Patricia Unwin
page 3
g
.
|
Jeremy Backhouse began his
bty by S Cariety Clarks: o S
-
SR
Wl
musical career in Canterbury
&
W
Cathedral, where he was Head
f Chorister, and later studied
e
B
music at Liverpool University.
He
spent
5
Editor at the
years
as
Music
Royal National
Institute for the Blind, where he
was
responsible
for
the
transcription of print music into
Braille. In 1986 he joined EMI
Records as a Literary Editor and
from April 1990 he combined work as a Consultant Editor for EMI Classics with a
career as a freelance conductor. In November 2004, Jeremy joined Boosey & Hawkes
Music Publishers and now works for them in a freelance capacity.
In January 1995, Jeremy was appointed Chorus Master and subsequently Music
Director of the Guildford Philharmonic Choir (now Vivace Chorus). Major works
performed in Guildford Cathedral include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Symphony
No. 8, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Karl Jenkins’
The Armed Man and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 (Lobgesang).
Jeremy is also the conductor of the Vasari Singers, widely acknowledged as one of the
finest chamber choirs in the country, performing choral music from the Renaissance
right up to contemporary commissions. In 2005, the choir and Jeremy celebrated their
25th anniversary together.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country’s leading choirs, including the
Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral Society and the Brighton Festival Chorus.
For 6 years, to the end of 2004, Jeremy was the Music Director of the Wooburn
Singers, only the third conductor in the distinguished history of the choir, following
Sir Richard Hickox (who founded the choir in 1967) and most recently, Stephen
Jackson.
page 4
Persephone Gibbs
An exciting emerging talent on the period
instrument scene, violinist Persephone Gibbs has
appeared
groups
as
soloist throughout
including
Schola
the
UK
Pietatis
»”
with
Antonio
Vivaldi, Concertante of London and the
QuintEssential Sackbut and Cornett Ensemble.
She recently performed a sonata programme in
Spain with harpsichordist Timothy Roberts and
has
also
programme
taken
to
an
the
unaccompanied
USA.
violin
Persephone
leads
Charivari Agréable Simfonie and the Temple
Players as well as the Brandenburg Baroque
Soloists.
Persephone trained as a modern violinist at
the Juilliard School with renowned
pedagogue Dorothy Delay. At the age of 15, Persep
hone decided to diversify her
interests and gained a place at Yale. On comple
ting her English degree she studied
law at Columbia.
While working as a staff attorney at the
federal court of appeals in Atlanta,
Persephone’s musical horizons expanded as well.
She was an extra for the Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra, freelanced for opera and
ballet orchestras, experimented with
improvisation and scordatura on the electric violin
in indie rock band Jet Assembly
and played a baroque violin for the first time with
the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra.
Coming to London to study with David Takeno
at the Guildhall School, Persephone
also studied baroque violin with Rachel Podger
and took prizes for solo Bach and
baroque chamber music. She quickly became establi
shed on the period instrument
scene and is a regular member of the Acade
my of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the
Age of Enlightenment and the Gabrieli Consor
t.
page 5
The Four Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi 1678 — 1741
Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons were the first four of twelve Violin concertos
published in Amsterdam in 1725. The twelve were entitled Il cinmento dell’armonia
e dell’inventiono (The trial between harmony and invention). Each of the Four Seasons
concertos is based on a sonnet describing the time of year. Curiously, although these
four concertos are probably the most familiar music in the history of Classical Music,
we know little of their provenance. We don’t know when the sonnets were written, or
by whom; whether the music was based on the poetry or vice-versa, or whether the
programmatic ideas were Vivaldi’s own, although the seasons of the year have been a
theme to which artists of all disciplines have responded throughout history. There is
even a possibility that Vivaldi wrote the sonnets himself.
The first of the Four Seasons is Spring. This is the most optimistic music of the cycle.It
is also the most formal, with a ritornello that has both the heaviness and poise of a
courtly dance, suited to the proclamation of a Goddess. The arrival of Spring in the first
movement is portrayed with happy bird song and the murmuring of streams. Following
the arrival of spring, as in the sonnets the music shows the darkening of the sky with
thunder and lightning. However, at the end of the first movement the birds return and
the singing continues. In the slow movement we hear hushed violins lulling the
shepherd to sleep, while the viola portrays a barking dog. In the third movement we
could imagine festive celebration, in a rustic compound metre, with bagpipe drones.
Vivaldi’s vision of Summer is of the fear and destruction of a violent storm. First we
hear a ritornello that represents the oppressive heat of an airless day — a picture painted
by repeated falling quavers. The voice of the cuckoo can be heard, soon followed by the
turtledove and the nightingale — the cuckoo is here a premonition of disaster. The stormy
winds follow and in the final movement the storm breaks destroying the corn crops.
In contrast to the Summer concerto, Autumn conveys a sense of victory and
enjoyment. Having toiled with the troubles of the summer weather, man can now revel
in untroubled leisure, celebrating the harvest with singing and dancing. He can reap the
benefits of the crops and drink ale. In the second movement he rests and in the third he
hunts.
The Winter concerto explores the varying sensations of the winter weather. The first
movement depicts the coldness of the snow and biting winds, the second is a picture of
warmth indoors in front of the fire while the weather outside is freezing. The third
movement portrays the icy conditions, but the whole cycle concludes with a rich glow
of wintery pleasure.
page 6
Glorla
Antonio Vivaldi 1678 — 1741
THE GLORIA, probably Vivaldi’s best known sacred work, must
among his most important contributions to church music. It was
surely be counted
probably written for the
Feast of the Blessed Virgin in 1713 or 1714. This was the Patronal
Feast of the Ospedale
della Piatg (the orphanage for young girls) in Venice where Vivaldi
was Music Master and
is therefore the most likely reason for its composition.
It was not unusual for single mass movements to be set to
music, as certain occasions
required individual treatment of a particular movement. This
was most likely the case for
this piece. The work is set in broad dimensions. It is almost like a
cantata and is divided
into twelve short movements, each of which is well contrasted
in tempo, key, scoring and
musical style. The conspicuous use of winds (oboe and trumpet)
as obligato instruments
and its allocation of solo parts exclusively to high voices are
typical of the works written
for the Pieta.
The first movement, Gloria in exelsis deo (Glory to God in
the highest), with its octave
leaps in the strings and the subsequent trumpet run is typical
of the festive brilliance of
Vivaldi’s church music. It exerts an almost hypnotic sense of
forward drive in the listener.
The second movement, Et in terra pax hominibus (And peace
on earth to all men), is a
moving and broadly conceived section of music, with its
intense chromaticism almost
contradicting the meaning of the text.
After a light-hearted duet for two solo voices, Laudamus te (We
praise Thee, Lord), there
follow two contracting movements in E minor: the Gratias agimus
tibi (We give thanks
unto Thee), and the magnificent fugal Propter magnam gloriam
tuam (For thy great glory
Lord).
The next movement, Domine Deus (O Thou our Lord God) is
a flowing largo in the style
of a Siciliano based on pizzicato lower strings. It is an expressi
ve dialogue between solo
soprano and a hauntingly beautiful solo for oboe.
After the Domini Fili unigenite Jesu (Lord Jesus Christ), the
eighth section Domine
Deus, Agnus Dei (Lord God, Lamb of God) is a calm prayer
for solo voice with passionate
interjections from the chorus.
This prayer is echoed by the intensely chromatic choral Qui
tolis peccata mundi (Thou
who takest away the sins of the world) which is followed by the
determined Qui sedes ad
dextram Patris (Who sittest on the right hand of the Father)
The penultimate movement, Quoniam to solus sanctus (For
Thou alone art holy) draws
on the material from the opening Gloria for chorus.
The final movement Cum Sancto Spiritu (With the Holy
Spirit) is not original work by
Vivaldi. He adapted a fugue by the minor Veronese compose
r GM Ruggieri. Vivaldi
largely rewrote the piece, adding a virtuoso trumpet part to
bring to a glorious conclusion
one of the great masterpieces of the choral repertoire.
page 7
Paula is
an American
soprano, currently
studying on the opera course at the Royal
College of Music.
She received her undergraduate BA with
honours from the Schwob School of Music in
the
-
-
United
Karaviotis
States.
Prize
She has received the
at
the
Les
Azuriales
International Competition.
At RCM, she was in the final of the Young
Concert Artists Trust and received the Coutts
& Co. Award along with the Sir Thomas Allen
Scholarship supported by a Clayton Award.
Operatic roles include Emilia/Flavio (ETO);
-
Pamina/
The
Magic
Flute
(ETO);
Gilda/Rigoletto
(Preggio
Opera
Festival,
Italy); Atalanta/ Atalanta (Handel Society);
Bastienne/ Bastien und Bastienne (Skipton Camerata); Mimi/ La bohéme and Inez/ Il
trovatore
(Opus
Clizia/Teseo
I
(ETO);
Opera);
Grasshopper/
The
Cunning
Little
Vixen
(RCM);
covering Ginevra/Ariodante. Concert engagements include
Mozart Exultate Jubilate (Skipton Camerata); Rossini Stabat Mater (Putney St.
Mary).
Additionally, Paula has recorded a Peroni advert soundtrack. This spring she will be
performing Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro with ETO.
page 8
Born in Hertfordshire, Rosie is currently the H F
Trust scholar at the RCM International Opera
School, where she studies with Janis Kelly; she
previously studied with Kathleen Livingstone for
five years. Competition successes include the
RCM Concerto Competition, performing Elgar’s
Sea Pictures with the RCM Symphony Orchestra,
conducted by Martin André; the RCM English
Song Prize; and the Cuthbert Smith Prize in the
Lies Askonas Competition. Rosie is a grateful
recipient
of
the
‘Sybil
Tutton
Award’,
T
|
administered by the MBF; and is supported by
the Countess of Munster Musical Trust and the
Josephine
Baker
Trust.
Recent roles have
Cleone in Handel’s Alessandro in
association with the London Handel Festival;
included:
Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with
the RCMIOS; and Baba the
Turk and Mother Goose in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progres
s with BYO.
Rosie has enjoyed extensive oratorio and concert experien
ce, including, Dvordk’s
Stabat Mater at the Cadogan Hall; Bach’s Christmas Oratori
o at St John’s, Smith
Square; Bach’s St John Passion with the BBC Scottish Sympho
ny Orchestra; Bach’s
Mass in B Minor with the Welsh Baroque Orchestra; Elgar’s
Sea Pictures in Chester
Cathedral; Verdi’s Requiem in Antwerp, Belgium; Handel’
s Messiah in Truro
Cathedral; and Vaughan Williams® Serenade to Music at
the Queen Elizabeth Hall
with the Concordia Young Artists Foundation.
Recent solo performances have included Elijah at the
Barbican with Sir Thomas
Allen; Elgar’s The Music Makers at St Martin-in-the-Fi
elds with the London Oriana
Choir; and Third Lady in Die Zauberflite with the RCMIOS
. Future projects include
the role of Dorinda in Handel’s 7 Pastor Fido with the London
Glyndebourne chorus.
Handel Festival and
page 9
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus came into being in May 2005, when to reflect its independent status,
the former Guildford Philharmonic Choir ‘rebranded’ itself. The choir was founded in
1947, and celebrated with a 60th Anniversary Concert at the end of the 2007 season.
Vivace Chorus enjoys a challenging and varied concert repertoire, performing works
spanning the last five centuries — some well-known, but also many rarities deserving
to be heard by a wider audience. By way of recent demonstration: the 2004/05 season
finished with Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man (2000) as the first in our Contemporary
Choral Classics Cycle (CCCC), a projected 4-year innovative series of works from the
late 20th and 21st century. The 2005/6 season began with Mendelssohn’s epic choral
Symphony No. 2 (Lobgesang) — a work rarely heard in the UK. By contrast, our next
concert was devoted to the ‘Pillars of the Baroque’ — Bach and Handel. The second
CCCC concert included the haunting Evening Hymns of Humphrey Clucas; it was
only slightly disconcerting to know he was sitting in the audience!
In addition to Brahms’ Schicksalslied and Bruckner’s Te Deum, our first concert of the
2006/7 season included three delightful choral works by Hugo Wolf, virtually
unknown repertoire
in the UK.
The Music Makers, which followed, was
quintessentially English — the music of Elgar, Parry and Vaughan Williams. But the
highlight of the year was undoubtedly our CCCC concert and first-ever foray into the
world of jazz. Here we sang and swung to the music of Bob Chilcott, John Rutter and
especially to Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, accompanied by the composer, complete with
his jazz trio, jazz band and his outstanding soloist wife, the soprano Bethany Halliday.
The audience loved it too — we had a standing ovation!
During the summer break, we sang our third consecutive ‘Last Night of the Proms’
charity concert at a packed Fairfield Halls, Croydon. This was a big success, as well
as great fun for audience and performers alike.
With our good friends the Brandenburg Sinfonia, we also sing at least once a year in
the inspiring venue of St Martin-in-the-Fields, performing works such as Mozart’s
Requiem. This is always a wonderful experience.
For more information, see our website at www.vivacechorus.org.
page 10
Brandenole
Q W Baroque Soloists
BRANDENBURG BAROQUE SOLOISTS is one of the
exciting new orchestras playing on period instruments.
Its
creation
was an organic development from the
longstanding partnership between Twickenham Choral
Society and the Brandenburg Sinfonia for a performance
of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in 2004. The orchestra is a
judicious mixture of regular Sinfonia players who play on
both modern and original instruments with some of the
finest period instrument specialists.
The repertoire of the orchestra has expanded steadily to
include the standard baroque choral classics including
Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s Passions.
The Brandenburg Baroque Soloists gratefully acknowledges the generosity of
the Josephine Baker
Trust by supporting the soloists in this evening’s performance.
page 11
A
L
|
1]
T
TS
(A
ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS
g
i Sinfonia
Tuesday 18 May at 7.30pm
Baroque Concerti
by Candlelight
Brandenburg Sinfonia
Conductor Robert Porter
Tickets: £18 £15 £9
Monday 31 May at 7.30pm
Sir James Galway
plays Vivaldi
by Candlelight
Brandenburg Sinfonia
Tickets: £39
page 12
£29
£25
£20
£14
£8
at St Martin-in-the-Field
The Spring Choral Festival continues with
Saturday 6th March 6.00pm
6thMarch 8.00pm
Saturday
Choros
ConductorJanet Lince
Harlow Chorus
Conductor Alex Chaplin
Allegri Miserere
Fauré Requiem
Thursday 18th March 7.30pm
Handel Messiah
English Baroque Choir
Conductor Jeremy Jackman
Brranlenburg
the
W sinfona
e
fi
St Martin-in-the-Fields
ij
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4|
=
Fri
26
Feb
2010
7.30pn
Vivaldi By Candlel1ght
Vivace Chorus and Brandenburg Barogue Solo
Please keep tickets for re-admission
£24.00
NAVE J12
Please use entrance 2
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4]
Fri 26 Feb 2010 7.30pm
Vivald1 By Candlel1ght
Vivace Chorus and Brandenburg Barogue Solo:
Please keep tickets for re-admission
£24.00
NAVE J13
Please
use entrance 2