tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-113361612024-03-18T08:43:10.006+00:00Planet HugillClassical music news, opera, concert & CD reviews, live performance previews, features and musings on contemporary music from classical music composer, Robert Hugill. One of Saga Magazine's '50 Best Bloggers over 50'Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05139360579883837086noreply@blogger.comBlogger10777125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-50264640607971770312024-03-18T08:39:00.003+00:002024-03-18T08:39:37.414+00:00Breezes of Spain: discovering the music of Óscar de la Cinna <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoE3tzZ1wY2ARS8tLmxIplnRHHeH0gVVmJQblIYLlwmjgBYM3CRCjEZ1ucIyWxXr2fiD0JODMw4M0wAlBNxmET-g48QDFvnefkmX9jkGZiMuS3Tg3xEUy7-ywNN78NBuK2W2z8QIAlv_Wv2M9H9rCEzFsEw_AeMAGwx4dQMkTnTNQg4nByb_NGg/s1200/image.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Óscar de la Cinna in 1875" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="970" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXoE3tzZ1wY2ARS8tLmxIplnRHHeH0gVVmJQblIYLlwmjgBYM3CRCjEZ1ucIyWxXr2fiD0JODMw4M0wAlBNxmET-g48QDFvnefkmX9jkGZiMuS3Tg3xEUy7-ywNN78NBuK2W2z8QIAlv_Wv2M9H9rCEzFsEw_AeMAGwx4dQMkTnTNQg4nByb_NGg/w324-h400/image.jpg" title="Óscar de la Cinna in 1875" width="324" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Óscar de la Cinna in 1875</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pianist and composer Óscar de la Cinna (1836–1906) is not a household name. Born in Hungary, he was musically educated Prague, Warsaw and Vienna, studied with Czerny and was a classmate of Liszt. A virtuoso pianist, he moved to Spain as piano tutor to the Spanish Royal family, before finally settling in Andalucia. There he was influenced by Spanish folk songs and Moorish dance music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On Friday 29 March 2024, there is a chance to get to know Óscar de la Cinna's music when a piano and dance performance, <i>Breezes of Spain (Brisas de España)</i> is being presented at The Horton, the renovated Grade II-listed former Horton Chapel </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">in Epsom that is now an arts venue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The performers are Yoel Vargas (dance and choreography) and José-Vicente Riquelme (piano), both of whom took part in the Horton's Spanish season last year. There is also a preconcert talk about the composer and his music by artistic director, Antonio Hernandez Moreno.</span></p><p>Full details from the <a href="https://thehortonepsom.org/events/breezes-of-spain/" target="_blank">Horton's website</a>.</p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-52392430318340551442024-03-18T07:47:00.003+00:002024-03-18T07:47:39.357+00:00600 young musicians aged 7-11 join the RLPO to celebrate 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN4RZ4wihjTuY36rMLHMSlp26OkwMq7nfPRvbH8Oez1uILi0mse8ypiLT-Dw3SQp9P_IcswVLNVHUiseeLMkN65G6SzyLV6FWylKOM6cbf7NFYX8KuYeLQg2s9UFxsajekvUiaqAiP5CmrhlCIISzv72a6aqixWlnrKRxhXu2YMtjZYcQKZCYdQ/s938/dscf3469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Celebrating 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool" border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="938" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAN4RZ4wihjTuY36rMLHMSlp26OkwMq7nfPRvbH8Oez1uILi0mse8ypiLT-Dw3SQp9P_IcswVLNVHUiseeLMkN65G6SzyLV6FWylKOM6cbf7NFYX8KuYeLQg2s9UFxsajekvUiaqAiP5CmrhlCIISzv72a6aqixWlnrKRxhXu2YMtjZYcQKZCYdQ/w640-h384/dscf3469.jpg" title="Celebrating 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today (18 March 2024), the Liverpool Philharmonic together with 600 young musicians aged 7-11 from Anfield and Everton, will celebrate 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool with a birthday concert at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The performers from Faith Primary, The Beacon CE Primary and All Saints Catholic Primary will present a concert with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra musicians to an audience of friends and family culminating in a joyous finale of massed choir and orchestra.</span></p><p>Launched in 2009 and benefiting over 4,000 children and young people, In Harmony uses orchestral music making to improve the life chances of children by increasing confidence, wellbeing, skills and resilience, enhanced by opportunities to travel, learn, perform and collaborate with professional musicians, international artists and other young people.</p><p>Children and young people make music every week free of charge, learn an instrument, compose, sing, rehearse and perform wide ranging music in orchestras and ensembles in schools, throughout the community and in concert venues. </p><p>1,700 children and young people currently take part within and beyond the school day through partners, and many young people have gone on to perform in Resonate Youth Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company and the National Youth Orchestra’s Inspire programme. </p><p>In Harmony Liverpool is part of the Liverpool Phiharmonic's wider learning and community engagement programmes and in 2022/23, over 100,000 participants of all ages took part in these, whilst over 18,000 people living with mental and physical ill-health have benefitted from our music and health NHS programme over the last 15 years.</p><p>Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic <a href="https://www.liverpoolphil.com/about-us/in-harmony-liverpool/" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-78870104558104880582024-03-18T07:35:00.005+00:002024-03-18T08:42:39.358+00:00Quite an achievement: the North London Chorus' ambition rewarded in a performance of Ethel Smyth's The Prison that intrigued and engaged<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--AnXQDkxfPY/Xye2YFv2bzI/AAAAAAAAWEQ/-fnYPCpyKLI-I6E36DmQh-AMqTYsaD7rQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Henry%2BBrewster%2B%2528HB%2529%2Bin%2B1897.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Henry Brewster (HB) in 1897" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1969" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--AnXQDkxfPY/Xye2YFv2bzI/AAAAAAAAWEQ/-fnYPCpyKLI-I6E36DmQh-AMqTYsaD7rQCLcBGAsYHQ/w385-h400/Henry%2BBrewster%2B%2528HB%2529%2Bin%2B1897.jpg" title="Henry Brewster (HB) in 1897" width="385" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-size: 10.4px;">Henry Brewster (HB) in 1897</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Beethoven: <i>Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt</i>, Smyth: <i>The Prison</i>, Brahms: <i>Nänie</i>: Rebecca Bottone, Alex Otterburn, North London Chorus, Meridian Sinfonia, Murray Hipkin, Lucy Stevens; St James Church, Muswell Hill<br />Reviewed 16 March 2023</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A welcome opportunity to hear Ethel Smyth's late work live, in a fine performance which rewarded the choir for its daring in programming <i>The Prison</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ethel Smyth's late work, <i>The Prison</i>, which she described as a 'Symphony for soprano, bass-baritone soli, chorus and orchestra' does not get many concert outings, despite being rediscovered on disc [see <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2020/08/on-disc-at-last-ethel-smyths-late.html">my review</a>]. The enterprising <a href="https://www.northlondonchorus.org/" target="_blank">North London Chorus</a> under their conductor <a href="https://www.northlondonchorus.org/murray-hipkin/" target="_blank">Murray Hipkin</a> gave a rare performance of Ethel Smyth's <i>The Prison</i> at <a href="https://www.st-james.org.uk/" target="_blank">St James Church</a>, Muswell Hill on 16 March 2024 with the <a href="http://meridiansinfonia.com/" target="_blank">Meridian Sinfonia</a> and soloists <a href="https://www.musichall.uk.com/artists/sopranos/rebecca-bottone" target="_blank">Rebecca Bottone</a> and <a href="https://www.atholestill.com/artist/alex-otterburn/" target="_blank">Alex Otterburn</a>. Also in the programme was Beethoven's <i>Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt</i> and Brahms' <i>Nänie</i>. Lucy Stevens, who has developed a show about Ethel Smyth, <i>Grasp the Nettle</i>, provided lively spoken introductions to Smyth and <i>The Prison, </i>including Smyth's observations on meeting Brahms.</span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>We began with Beethoven's Goethe setting, <i>Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt</i> written in 1814/15 (so definitely not an early work), it is one of those middle-period Beethoven pieces, like <i>Wellington's Victory</i>, that rather get a veil drawn over them when discussing Beethoven's musical career. In two movements, without any sort of orchestral prelude, things began with a nice hushed evocation of the calm sea, the music more interestingly complex than one might have anticipated, and then a prosperous voyage that was full of vigour and energy, the choir displaying both attentiveness and enthusiasm. </p><p>Ethel Smyth was just a year younger than Elgar, like him she did not attend any formal music institution in England, and like him, she wished to study in Leipzig. But Elgar's father (a provincial piano tuner) could not afford to send his son; Smyth's father, a General whose opposition Smyth managed to face down, could and, surprisingly, did send his daughter to Leipzig. There she soon dropped out of official lessons and studied privately. Like Elgar, Smyth's music exists at a slight tangent to the standard English line of Parry and Stanford (both highly influenced by Brahms) and their pupils, leading the English 20th century musical style. Until the Great War, much of Smyth's musical life was in Continental Europe.</p><p>By the time she came to write <i>The Prison </i>she was over 70 and deafness had vastly slowed down her output. The music is conservative for its time, yet with a definite presence, you never feel that Brahms is present in the room. Dramaturgically the work is close to Elgar's <i>The Dream of Gerontius</i>, in the the text that Smyth extracted from her friend H.B. Brewster's philosophical treatise involves a prisoner preparing for death, communing with his soul. Brewster had died in 1908 and <i>The Prison</i> was something of a memorial to him (around the time of the work's premiere Smyth arranged for Brewster's original philosophical tract to be re-published with her own biographical sketch of the man). Brewster had written librettos for Smyth, and the lack of his sure dramatic hand is felt in <i>The Prison; </i>the text, as set by Smyth, remains dense and and somewhat impenetrable.</p><p>What we have is the Prisoner (Alex Otterburn) and his Soul (Rebecca Bottone), along with Voices (the chorus) engaging in a philosophical dialogue, the first part <i>Close on Freedom</i> ends with the Prisoner resigning himself to his fate 'And it seems to me that I am as a doomed ship'. The second part, <i>The Deliverance</i> ends with the Prisoner's death, with him and his Soul becoming conjoined.</p><p>The setting is largely in free arioso with rich and complex orchestral support. There are a few sections resembling set pieces, aria-like moments for the soloists and big choruses, but the main effect is fluid flow. Smyth write lyrically, but without any thumping tunes, and in many ways the work evoked for me Elgar's late oratorios <i>The Apostles</i> and <i>The Kingdom</i>, which similarly use this sort of fluid flow, and Smyth's approach to setting Brewster's rather dense text seemed to draw hints of Vaughan Williams' approach to Walt Whitman in his writing for the soloists in his <i>Sea Symphony</i>. </p><p>But the work resembles neither of these. The orchestra doesn't so much accompany as contribute to the dialogue, rather than supporting the voices the instruments create a web of sound around them, and Smyth's writing for the large orchestra (triple woodwind) is remarkably transparent, with quite a lot of soloistic writing for individual instruments. It is a highly sophisticated work with memorable orchestral moments including the prelude to Part Two with its Baroque hints. And Smyth weaves into the later fabric two ancient Greek melodies that she had notated when visiting Greece. Perhaps the only moment that sits awkwardly to modern ears is that Smyth, the daughter of General in the British Army, uses the Last Post as part of the scenes of the Prisoner's death.</p><p>Lasting an hour, the work was an ambitious undertaking for a choral society, featuring music that neither singers nor orchestral players had performed before, and it is clear that Smyth's writing presents notable challenges. The soloists were excellent, Rebecca Bottone singing the Soul with radiant tone and poise, even the long passage that is on a high monotone (as the orchestra wove a web around her), whilst Alex Otterburn managed to make the Prisoner's philosophical maunderings very present and engaging, he always held the attention and made the music feel obvious. </p><p>The chorus surmounted most of their challenges, and all concerned should be proud of their achievement. What we got was a performance that made us think about, consider and enjoy the work. There was a confidence to the singing that transcended the occasional tricky corner and helped engage the audience. </p><p>The Meridian Sinfonia were on fine form and largely did Smyth's writing justice. There is no doubt that the work would benefit from the long rehearsal period that a fully professional performance would bring (and one wonders why it still has not been done at the BBC Proms), but Murray Hipkin and his team can be proud of their achievement. When the audience left, everyone was discussing Smyth's work in a way which said that the performance had certainly engaged.</p><p>Before <i>The Prison</i>, Lucy Stevens gave an engaging and informative introduction to Smyth, drawing on Smyth's own writings with Stevens using her Smyth persona from her stage show to admirable effect. After <i>The Prison</i> and before Brahms' <i>Nänie</i>, Stevens returned with Smyth's observations on Brahms - she admired the music but was rather tart about the man, particularly his dim view of women as composers!</p><p><i>Nänie</i>, a funeral song written in memory of a friend, returned us to the world of Brahms' <i>Ein Deutsches Requiem</i>. The chorus gave a contained, concentrated and fluid performance of the work, but it felt a bit of a wrench of the the late Romantic complexity and striking evanescence of the end of Smyth's <i>The Prison</i>, and I wished they had had the confidence to end with Smyth.</p><p>It is nearly 20 years, I think, since the previous UK performance of Smyth's<i> The Prison. </i>The North London Chorus showed braveness in tackling the work, and the results were a great achievement.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">From Early Music to contemporary: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">the Royal Festival Hall organ is 70 and organist James McVinnie is celebrating - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/from-early-music-to-contemporary-royal.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Almost an expressionist nightmare: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Janáček's</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Jenůfa</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">at ENO with Jennifer Davis in the title role -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/almost-expressionist-nightmare-janaceks.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Little short of a revelation: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset explore Wagner's influences with</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> In the Shadows - </i><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/little-short-of-revelation-michael.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Upheaval: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">cellist Janne Fredens & pianist Søren Rastogi in music by four women composers from the years 1911 to 1918 -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/upheaval-cellist-janne-fredens-pianist.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Something astonishing: </b>Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/something-astonishing-olivia-fuchs-new.html">opera review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lumen Christi</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-86693506179533302492024-03-16T09:57:00.003+00:002024-03-17T18:38:28.265+00:00From Early Music to contemporary: the Royal Festival Hall organ is 70 and organist James McVinnie is celebrating with a Southbank Centre residency<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGmj5PTWSAb2gm64qg9uiuL4EtubCvmWXNZomRzY0pe-WXfozYsrBQcYmikehS-0OLAxCIUDf8wYGQxJftvGY5D-zPgCwN16KiWrRwu_u3v-Ij4LtVnGfDYw39H4mUyH_EzroMd_HAbALB6BSGX1SyhGki3OFzN4tm09jM-58z8rd-Czll0QfwA/s1500/at%20RFH%20with%20Bedroom%20Community%20Sept%202015.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="James McVinnie performing at the Royal Festival Hall organ with Bedroom Community - Sept 2015" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1500" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGmj5PTWSAb2gm64qg9uiuL4EtubCvmWXNZomRzY0pe-WXfozYsrBQcYmikehS-0OLAxCIUDf8wYGQxJftvGY5D-zPgCwN16KiWrRwu_u3v-Ij4LtVnGfDYw39H4mUyH_EzroMd_HAbALB6BSGX1SyhGki3OFzN4tm09jM-58z8rd-Czll0QfwA/w640-h426/at%20RFH%20with%20Bedroom%20Community%20Sept%202015.jpg" title="James McVinnie performing at the Royal Festival Hall organ with Bedroom Community - Sept 2015" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James McVinnie performing at the Royal Festival Hall organ with Bedroom Community - Sept 2015</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk" target="_blank">Royal Festival Hall</a> organ is 70. Built from 1950–1954 to the specification of the London County Council's consultant, Ralph Downes, it was restored and re-configured by <a href="https://www.harrisonorgans.com/" target="_blank">Harrison & Harrison</a> as part of the hall's reconstruction during 2005-2007 and it was re-inaugurated on its 60th anniversary in March 2014. Now, to celebrate the instrument's 70th birthday, organist <a href="https://jamesmcvinnie.co.uk/" target="_blank">James McVinnie</a> has a residency at the Southbank Centre featuring organ recitals including a wide range of repertoire as well as an appearance by the James McVinnie Ensemble.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Though James had played the organ once before the rebuild, he was not familiar with it until he came to play it as part of the 2014 celebrations. But he spent two years as an organ scholar at <a href="https://www.stalbanscathedral.org/" target="_blank">St Albans Cathedral</a> where the organ was also designed by Ralph Downes and built by Harrison & Harrison (in 1963). James's period at St Albans was incredibly formative for him, as he performed at Evensong every evening, and he learned from the organ. This meant that when he came to play the Royal Festival Hall's organ, everything seemed to be familiar and with both instruments the organist is right up close to the instrument.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ralph Downes designed the organ to challenge the status quo of what an organ was in the 1950s. Organ building in Britain at the time still adhered to the romantic ideal as evinced by the organs at <a href="https://www.westminster-abbey.org/worship-music/music/the-organs/the-harrison-harrison-organ-1937" target="_blank">Westminster Abbey</a>, <a href="https://www.stpauls.co.uk/organs" target="_blank">St Paul's Cathedral</a> and the <a href="https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/our-history/explore-our-history/building/henry-willis-organ/" target="_blank">Royal Albert Hall</a>. But Downes was something of an outsider, when the musical establishment was conservative; Downes was not interested in the tradition of the organ as emulating an orchestra. Whilst Downes' approach was very forward-looking, he used techniques and philosophies from organ building from 200 years previously. At the time, the organ establishment was very dismissive of these 'primitive' organ-building techniques. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLZ1gGYiYa_8ial15wPh7ySJHtkRrBnNvqnyEDPUzrxOe8Unm9-W0yum6QAWM6uWDWrMnFPVeptRjM93fwMbWD1WqPdHNPUkoRsvHiFfGyMpz6eV-UF7lQm8xnIGgS3H2SSsMrvnCgmJOGBedQFK_c0UZtpK1a-1KbpLEpXRG1s9QVtJOj2J3hA/s2399/JMV%20Graham%20Lacadao.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="James McVinnie (Photo: Graham Lacadao)" border="0" data-original-height="1596" data-original-width="2399" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLZ1gGYiYa_8ial15wPh7ySJHtkRrBnNvqnyEDPUzrxOe8Unm9-W0yum6QAWM6uWDWrMnFPVeptRjM93fwMbWD1WqPdHNPUkoRsvHiFfGyMpz6eV-UF7lQm8xnIGgS3H2SSsMrvnCgmJOGBedQFK_c0UZtpK1a-1KbpLEpXRG1s9QVtJOj2J3hA/w640-h426/JMV%20Graham%20Lacadao.jpeg" title="James McVinnie (Photo: Graham Lacadao)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James McVinnie (Photo: Graham Lacadao)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>However, James emphasises that the organ does speak with its own voice and the instrument was something of a shot in the dark for Harrison & Harrison who were responsible for building it. It is important to understand the context behind the building of the instrument and indeed the hall itself. Post-war Britain was still suffering from rationing and Londoners were living with the destruction wrought by the Blitz. The hall and the organ were a great forward-thinking enterprise, a new 3000-seater hall to replace the Queen's Hall that had been destroyed by bombing in 1941. It was a philosophical statement, that the arts were important and this is a statement that is still appropriate today with the funding crises that the arts are facing. So the hall and the organ are both a great enterprise and an ideal for us today.<p></p><p>The result is an organ that James sees as ideal for music from the 16th and 17th centuries, anything that has counterpoint including Bach and French classical. James' recital on the afternoon of 23 March 2024 has a programme of the type of music that Downes would have had in his ears, Sermisy, Praetorius, Sweelinck, Pachelbel, Böhm, Buxtehude and Bach [see Southbank Centre <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/james-mcvinnie-bach-buxtehude-pachelbel?eventId=965657" target="_blank">website</a>]. </p><p>But in his second recital on the evening of 23 March, James is exploring the other end of the repertoire with a performance of <i><a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/classical-season/royal-festival-hall-organ-70" target="_blank">Infinity Gradient</a></i>, the 2021 tour-de-force for organ and 100 speakers by American composer and sound artist <a href="https://www.tristanperich.com/" target="_blank">Tristan Perich</a>. James wanted to give a pair of concerts to show how adaptable the organ is, from Early Music to the present day. In a way, the two concerts show different sides to the organ, but they both use the same stops and pipes, the recitals demonstrate the organ's chameleon nature.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SRQDapKcOzftTXAL8Ho9X2XxCYRxDXYl6lyM3SBMDf3L1j6YUG4tl5gBv3rsMn7Ziih7HwkXDzGc0WkZ52NhhXPLf-rm-hWtWz51hADvsy24Jv8oxtxwFVlqskUH28icQjJiMbIwQx9MR-sjvZ0b-PapQWgJEddkUxNSvHgtGJcJJotfdWUnvA/s800/james-mcvinnie-tristan-perich.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="James McVinnie and Tristan Perich" border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SRQDapKcOzftTXAL8Ho9X2XxCYRxDXYl6lyM3SBMDf3L1j6YUG4tl5gBv3rsMn7Ziih7HwkXDzGc0WkZ52NhhXPLf-rm-hWtWz51hADvsy24Jv8oxtxwFVlqskUH28icQjJiMbIwQx9MR-sjvZ0b-PapQWgJEddkUxNSvHgtGJcJJotfdWUnvA/w640-h360/james-mcvinnie-tristan-perich.webp" title="James McVinnie and Tristan Perich" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James McVinnie and Tristan Perich</td></tr></tbody></table><p>James describes Perich's piece as an hour-long symphony for organ and electronic speakers, effectively it is a duet for organ and speakers. Perich often uses electronics in his music and he likes primitive electronic sound. For the 23 March concert, the speakers are one-bit (normal speakers are 16-bit), so have a primitive resolution, akin to a 1990s computer! There are 100 speakers of three different sizes, four large, 27 medium and the remainder small. They are custom-made by Perich and will be grouped on the hall stage, making a strong visual statement too. James premiered the work and has given eight or nine performances of it since and is pleased to be bringing it to London. He thinks that both hall and organ will be ideal for the work, the speakers will look amazing.</p><p>On 29 June, James is back at the Southbank Centre, at the Purcell Room this time, with the James McVinnie Ensemble in a programme entitled <i><a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/james-mcvinnie-ensemble-american-minimalism?eventId=965728" target="_blank">American Minimalism</a></i>, with music by <a href="https://www.gabriellasmith.com/" target="_blank">Gabriella Smith</a>, <a href="https://philipglass.com/" target="_blank">Philip Glass</a>, <a href="https://www.earbox.com/" target="_blank">John Adams</a> and <a href="https://www.inticomposes.com/" target="_blank">inti figgis-vizueta</a>. The ensemble features four keyboard players, James himself plus <a href="http://www.elizamccarthy.com/" target="_blank">Eliza McCarthy</a>, <a href="https://www.siwanrhys.co.uk/" target="_blank">Siwan Rhys</a>, and <a href="https://hughrowlands.co.uk/" target="_blank">Hugh Rowlands</a>. The ensemble has its origins in 2017 when Philip Glass was turning 80. James has always been a big fan of Glass's music, particularly that from the 1960s and 1970s. He is one of those who saw <i><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/may/06/einstein-on-beach-glass-review" target="_blank">Einstein on the Beach</a></i> in London in 2021 and it changed his life. Another work that he found powerful was Glass' <i><a href="https://philipglass.com/compositions/music_in_twelve_parts/" target="_blank">Music in Twelve Parts</a></i>, written between 1971 and 1974. Something of a cult piece, the work had never been published and so had never been performed by anyone other than the Philip Glass Ensemble. James wrote to Philip Glass to ask if he could put together a performance for Glass's 80th birthday. The result was a performance by a group of musicians assembled by James at the <a href="https://www.barbican.org.uk/" target="_blank">Barbican</a> on 1 May 2017. It was a unique opportunity and the genesis of his ensemble. </p><p>He did not do anything further with the ensemble until after the pandemic when he launched it more seriously, performing music by Glass, Adams and percussionist <a href="https://www.chrispthompson.com/" target="_blank">Chris Thompson</a> at the Barbican. They concentrate on music that is less well-known in the UK. The ensemble features two organists and two pianists, all devotees of music by Glass, Adams and other similar composers, and their programmes mix music for all four with two piano repertoire and solos. The June concert will feature ensemble pieces as well music for two players including early Philip Glass pieces as well as Adams' <i>China Gates</i> and <i>Hallelujah Junction</i>. The concert is on the final weekend of the Southbank Centre's year when there is a festival across the whole Southbank, which James calls a wonderful place.</p><p>James grew up as a pianist, where the default is performing on your own and he thought that this was the norm, whilst other instruments need other performers. He loves performing with others, both in his ensemble and in concertos with orchestras.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhH5wCFhf3jbHFu13Z_clCCB4j51QHYdyKA2eXV5V8Yg0wc9xYmYCYugnnuC1oeum_LPDJEtgSfc1Pec3voT95XpPE_Uga4NeIKvZKIhckxF71Z4XLyhlf06PyZMWAceIT33thhfH08FgzxjY6-m3VWxznteJ-OG7yaqmpgcSxigEyqj7rLt-UQ/s1000/Gabriella%20Smith%20-%20Breathing%20Forest%20-%20premiere%20LA%20Phil%20Feb%202022.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Premiere of Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forest at Walt Disney Hall with James McVinnie, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Esa-Pekka Salonen - Feb 2022" border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhH5wCFhf3jbHFu13Z_clCCB4j51QHYdyKA2eXV5V8Yg0wc9xYmYCYugnnuC1oeum_LPDJEtgSfc1Pec3voT95XpPE_Uga4NeIKvZKIhckxF71Z4XLyhlf06PyZMWAceIT33thhfH08FgzxjY6-m3VWxznteJ-OG7yaqmpgcSxigEyqj7rLt-UQ/w480-h640/Gabriella%20Smith%20-%20Breathing%20Forest%20-%20premiere%20LA%20Phil%20Feb%202022.jpeg" title="Premiere of Gabriella Smith's Breathing Forest at Walt Disney Hall with James McVinnie, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Esa-Pekka Salonen - Feb 2022" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Premiere of Gabriella Smith's <i>Breathing Forest</i> at Walt Disney Hall<br /> with James McVinnie, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Esa-Pekka Salonen - Feb 2022</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The June concert includes music by American composer Gabriella Smith, and looking ahead James will be performing Smith's organ concerto <i><a href="https://www.gabriellasmith.com/breathing-forests" target="_blank">Breathing Forests</a></i> with the <a href="https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/" target="_blank">Cleveland Orchestra</a>, conductor John Adams in <a href="https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/discover/severance/" target="_blank">Severance Hall</a>, Cleveland on 4 and 6 April 2024. The work was commissioned by the <a href="https://www.laphil.com/" target="_blank">Los Angeles Philharmonic</a> for James and premiered in 2022 by them at <a href="https://www.laphil.com/about/our-venues/about-the-walt-disney-concert-hall" target="_blank">Walt Disney Hall</a>, conducted by <a href="https://www.esapekkasalonen.com/" target="_blank">Esa-Pekka Salonen</a>, and James has subsequently performed the work in San Francisco. James explains that all of Gabriella Smith's music is concerned, in some way, with the climate emergency. She is both a composer and environmentalist, involved in rewilding projects including a recent one at a former Air Force base.</p><p>Her organ concerto for James sprang from a meeting they had in Los Angeles at a performance of her music. The organ in the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles has an all-wood façade, and Gabriella Smith came to think of the organ as like a forest. For the concerto, the forest is part of the regeneration of the climate and the work's three movements, <i>Grow</i>, <i>Grieve</i>, <i>Burn</i>, are about the life-cycle of the forest and a lament for the loss of forests, particularly by fire. Whilst fire is a natural part of the life of a forest, the final movement of the work is an acknowledgement of the changes recent decades have wrought, with the wildfires in California. James has performed the work twice in California; as a Londoner, he is very conscious of how different life is in California, with the dangers of wildfires. He describes the concerto as hugely powerful; for him, Gabriella Smith's music gets to the heart of the matter without sounding trite or cliched. There is an immediacy to her music and it works on lots of different levels.</p><p>Another work by Gabriella Smith that James mentions is her <i>Requiem</i>, written for the vocal ensemble, <a href="https://www.roomfulofteeth.org/" target="_blank">Room Full of Teeth</a> and string quartet. Rather than using the conventional liturgical text, Smith sets the Latin names of species that have become extinct in the last 100 years.</p><p>Whilst James' career is now focused on concert and recital work, he regards church music as a wonderful tradition and it is a big part of who he is. He keeps his hand in as director of music at two City of London churches. Being in the City, this does not require a Sunday commitment from him, thus enabling him to get his church music fix. </p><p>James was assistant organist of Westminster Abbey between 2008 and 2011; before this, he held similar positions at St Paul's Cathedral, St Albans Cathedral, and <a href="https://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Clare College</a>, Cambridge (where he studied). He made the move into more regular concert work because he felt that he had come to the end of the shelf-life for the job he was doing, and outside of church music he was coming into contact with a world of contemporary composers. These were kindred spirits, and he did not know anyone in the organ world doing this type of music. So, he did a side-step, focusing on concert work but feeling that he could go back if necessary. And twelve years later he is still here, having built a bit of a unique, custom career that has a momentum of its own. </p><p>He still misses Evensong, playing the psalms and canticles, the music of Stanford and Howells. For James, the repertoire of music for Evensong is extraordinary. But living in London with that sense of rubbing shoulders with other cultural offerings made him want to focus on other areas, to explore and uncover other music. He has now had major concerto and solo works written for him by <a href="https://nicomuhly.com/" target="_blank">Nico Muhly</a>, Gabriella Smith, Tristan Perich, Tom Jenkinson/<a href="https://squarepusher.net/" target="_blank">Squarepusher</a>, <a href="http://www.martincreed.com/" target="_blank">Martin Creed</a>, <a href="https://davidchalmin.com/" target="_blank">David Chalmin</a>, <a href="https://davidlangmusic.com/" target="_blank">David Lang</a>, <a href="https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/4319/Richard-Reed-Parry/" target="_blank">Richard Reed Parry</a>, <a href="https://brycedessner.com/" target="_blank">Bryce Dessner</a>, <a href="https://www.hildurness.com/music" target="_blank">Hildur Guðnadóttir</a>, <a href="https://darkstar.ws/" target="_blank">Darkstar</a>, and others.</p><p>Most of his commissions have been through composers who are friends, and it is rare for him to get involved in a project where the composer does not already know his work. But writing for the organ can be somewhat daunting for non-organists; it works best if the composer is not too specific, they need to have an instinctive feel for the instrument. When Gabriella Smith was writing her concerto for him, he sent her lots of things to listen to and they had a very satisfying back-and-forth while she was writing the piece. He describes it as a great collaboration. Some composers are quite hands-off when it comes to organ specifications, whilst Nico Muhly, who has a church music background, knows instinctively how to write for the instrument, leaving scope for the player.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpov13vE8tfeKOqAI66CaJddySOl49MtbB5Nn0dK4fv04H3toEflS1qUsH7bC8GoYMbGhhQyK43Cz4xYqnnHpkajLlkxkGqdBkjFCBdyNIEsU1aPayEAR2_lCeYCm0jjhHXj6WtQeeAZHHSzJDW7Aq4A2BiPi3L60BELE6sAl66BaOZ5-wWxYVVw/s1500/RFH%202015.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="James McVinnie at the Royal Festival Hall in 2015" border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1500" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpov13vE8tfeKOqAI66CaJddySOl49MtbB5Nn0dK4fv04H3toEflS1qUsH7bC8GoYMbGhhQyK43Cz4xYqnnHpkajLlkxkGqdBkjFCBdyNIEsU1aPayEAR2_lCeYCm0jjhHXj6WtQeeAZHHSzJDW7Aq4A2BiPi3L60BELE6sAl66BaOZ5-wWxYVVw/w640-h428/RFH%202015.jpg" title="James McVinnie at the Royal Festival Hall in 2015" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James McVinnie at the Royal Festival Hall in 2015</td></tr></tbody></table><p>When Esa-Pekka Salonen was writing his <i>Sinfonia concertante for organ and orchestra </i>(2023) he mentioned being daunted that the organ is an orchestra in itself. Many of the repertoire pieces for organ and orchestra, Poulenc's concerto, Saint-Saens' symphony, Alexandre Guilmant's symphony and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/aug/21/jon-leifs-organ-concerto-proms-2015-stephen-farr" target="_blank">Jón Leifs</a>' concerto (which James calls amazing and difficult) tend to be a battle between organ and orchestra. Composers now are taking a more integrated approach, and Gabriella Smith's writing in her concerto feels very organic, with the orchestral writing coming out of the organ. Nico Muhly's piece for organ and orchestra, <i>Register</i> uses the orchestral wind in a very organ-like way, and the work is something of a philosophical dialogue. James recently gave <i>Register</i> its European premiere with the <a href="https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en" target="_blank">Helsinki Philharmonic</a>, conductor <a href="https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/pekka-kuusisto" target="_blank">Pekka Kuusisto</a> at the <a href="https://musiikkitalo.fi/en/" target="_blank">Helsinki Music Centre</a> on 7 and 8 February 2024 as part of the inauguration of the hall's 124-stop <a href="https://www.rieger-orgelbau.com/en/instrumente/aktuelle-projekte" target="_blank">Rieger Organ</a>.</p><p>James grew up with the idea that there was a lack of concerto repertoire for organs. But more recently composers have been taking up the challenge, for instance <a href="https://saariaho.org/" target="_blank">Kaija Saariaho</a> wrote <i>Maan varjot</i> (<i>Earth's Shadows</i>) for organ and orchestra in 2013 and things are looking up.</p><p>In the second half of his year-long residency at the Southbank Centre, James will be exploring more Romantic repertoire as well as focusing on Bach, so that during the year-long residency he gets to show who he is. But the two concerts in March show his main interests, Early Music and modern music.</p><p>When I ask whether the Royal Festival Hall organ is suitable for the Romantic repertoire, James answers with a firm 'Yes it is'. He points out that the organ's specification is diverse and that with careful registration you can make it sound French, particularly as all of the reed stops are built in the French manner. But you can also play music by Liszt and Julius Reubke with integrity (James heard the organist <a href="https://www.patrickgarvey.com/artists/thomas-trotter/" target="_blank">Thomas Trotter</a> in Reubke at the Royal Festival Hall, and he sounded terrific). But you can also play Bach with integrity on the instrument.</p><p>James points out that the Royal Festival Hall is not the most generous of acoustics, you get less of a thrill from the room which means that there is an incredible clarity and immediacy to the sound of the organ. Gillian Weir said that she enjoyed Messiaen on the hall's organ because of this clarity. Also, the organ gives the player a very immediate experience whilst playing it, it does what you tell it!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMt09GYYySU5o47acCHSmhxlW5XmAeZcQ-PcDb6vJnqYW4SUVa5FmVPTIexFs-5NmDI0W46RA3AqIG_HLeLYofjpHQRYZ3jfuOHUQT5xZU-_omIto6zcqLVMgopyLDRhWiRU2qFvYeR5wacA1bpgApavoJXHNwTs3wwLHAeYFLwMYZzy3x3D43gA/s1500/Union%20Chapel%20Feb%202015%20with%20Nico%20Muly%20and%20Oneohtrix%20Point%20Never.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="James McVinnie at the Union Chapel with Nico Muly and Oneohtrix Point Never - Feb 2015" border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1500" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMt09GYYySU5o47acCHSmhxlW5XmAeZcQ-PcDb6vJnqYW4SUVa5FmVPTIexFs-5NmDI0W46RA3AqIG_HLeLYofjpHQRYZ3jfuOHUQT5xZU-_omIto6zcqLVMgopyLDRhWiRU2qFvYeR5wacA1bpgApavoJXHNwTs3wwLHAeYFLwMYZzy3x3D43gA/w640-h428/Union%20Chapel%20Feb%202015%20with%20Nico%20Muly%20and%20Oneohtrix%20Point%20Never.jpg" title="James McVinnie at the Union Chapel with Nico Muly and Oneohtrix Point Never - Feb 2015" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James McVinnie at the Union Chapel with Nico Muly and Oneohtrix Point Never - Feb 2015</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Often, the organist has the worst seat in the house when it comes to hearing the organ. At the <a href="https://unionchapel.org.uk/" target="_blank">Union Chapel</a>, there is an amazing Father Willis organ (dating back to 1877), but the organist is far removed from the sound in the room. At the Royal Festival Hall, you are right next to the organ. The sound does change as you go further back into the hall, the balance is different, but at the console, you still get a great picture. Whilst at the Royal Albert Hall, the organ there points in so many directions that you either have to know the instrument or have someone listen for you.</p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">23 March - 28 June 2024 - <i>The Royal Festival Hall at 70</i> concert series<br />see <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/classical-season/royal-festival-hall-organ-70" target="_blank">Southbank Centre website</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">29 June 2024 - <i>American Minimalism</i>, Purcell Room<br />see <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/classical-music/james-mcvinnie-ensemble-american-minimalism?eventId=965728" target="_blank">Southbank Centre website</a>.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Almost an expressionist nightmare: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Janáček's </span><i style="font-family: verdana;">Jenůfa</i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> at ENO with Jennifer Davis in the title role - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/almost-expressionist-nightmare-janaceks.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Little short of a revelation: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset explore Wagner's influences with</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> In the Shadows - </i><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/little-short-of-revelation-michael.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Upheaval: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">cellist Janne Fredens & pianist Søren Rastogi in music by four women composers from the years 1911 to 1918 -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/upheaval-cellist-janne-fredens-pianist.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Something astonishing: </b>Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/something-astonishing-olivia-fuchs-new.html">opera review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lumen Christi</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-37386263989588378072024-03-15T09:42:00.002+00:002024-03-16T09:55:48.640+00:00Almost an expressionist nightmare: Janáček's Jenůfa at ENO with Jennifer Davis in the title role<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Wy5-ugeJjlqJU-A4GPYqboGnM3JA3sEVKGhZ_IxsAN6tFB2x2OW6KIklVb7eZSdXr9oB8kPhCk9kEYQ3wruZKsN1Cd-Gt6g9wOC-1V4nKkMbuWCtKkVaxY-Vz_r-pTBvhVAmQMRE3AHbN930Fp4js4OcTeZebHYtgOFu37uvLFEilkBWSlLYkA/s5100/Jennifer%20Davis,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz%20%286%29.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Janáček:Jenůfa - Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="5100" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Wy5-ugeJjlqJU-A4GPYqboGnM3JA3sEVKGhZ_IxsAN6tFB2x2OW6KIklVb7eZSdXr9oB8kPhCk9kEYQ3wruZKsN1Cd-Gt6g9wOC-1V4nKkMbuWCtKkVaxY-Vz_r-pTBvhVAmQMRE3AHbN930Fp4js4OcTeZebHYtgOFu37uvLFEilkBWSlLYkA/w640-h426/Jennifer%20Davis,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz%20(6).jpg" title="Janáček:Jenůfa - Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janáček:<i>Jenůfa, </i>Act 3 - Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Janáček: </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Jenůfa</i>; Jennifer Davis, Susan Bullock, Richard Trey Smagur, John Findon, Fiona Kimm, director: David Alden, conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson; English National Opera at the London Coliseum<br />Reviewed 13 March 2024</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A vivid account of tis hard-edged, expressionist production showcasing intense and profound performances from the principals</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.intermusica.com/artist/David-Alden" target="_blank">David Alden</a>'s production of Janáček's <i>Jenůfa</i> at <a href="https://www.eno.org/" target="_blank">English National Opera</a> debuted in 2006 and was last seen at the London Coliseum in 2016 [see <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2016/06/Jenůfa-returns-to-london-coliseum.html">my review</a>]. The latest revival of the production is the last fully-staged opera ENO performs this season (two semi-staged performances of Bartok's <i>Bluebeard's Castle </i>are to come), a significant moment when a large amount of 'who knows' seems to hang over the whole enterprise. But this revival, directed by David Alden, with movement director <a href="https://www.eno.org/artists/maxine-braham/" target="_blank">Maxine Braham</a>, seemed to be a stake in the sand, showing what ENO does best. Conducted by <a href="https://www.keri-lynnwilson.com/" target="_blank">Keri-Lynn Wilson</a>, the cast included <a href="https://askonasholt.com/artist/jennifer-davis" target="_blank">Jennifer Davis</a> as Jenůfa, <a href="https://www.harrisonparrott.com/artists/susan-bullock" target="_blank">Susan Bullock</a> as the Kostelnička, <a href="https://www.richardsmagur.com/" target="_blank">Richard Trey Smagur</a> as Laca, <a href="https://johnfindon.com/" target="_blank">John Findon</a> as Števa and <a href="https://jamesblackmanagement.com/artists/fiona-kimm/" target="_blank">Fiona Kimm</a> as Grandmother Burya. Set designs are by <a href="https://www.cruickshankcazenove.com/charlesedwards-designer" target="_blank">Charles Edwards</a> with costumes by <a href="http://www.jon-morrell.com/" target="_blank">Jon Morrell</a>, lighting by <a href="https://www.adamsilverman.co.uk/" target="_blank">Adam Silverman</a> revived by <a href="https://www.eno.org/artists/gary-james/" target="_blank">Gary James</a>. The work was sung in the classic Edward Downes and Otakar Kraus translation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jennifer Davis, who sang Jenůfa, is a singer who impressed in the title role of Dvořák's <i>Armida</i> at Wexford in 2022 [see <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2022/11/musical-and-dramatic-riches-wexford.html">my review</a>]. <i>Armida</i> premiered in 1904 in Prague, just three months after the first performance of <i>Jenůfa</i> in Brno. Janáček was only 13 years younger than Dvořák yet the dramatic approaches of the two operas are worlds apart, the one looking backward and the other looking presciently forward.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqBtMfhQ0t9s_O8JhaGI0LQ4acWX04feClZn5zX-GyVNIwcATgpxQ78R2h4wDHsgyOp1vRyuGn4EYt4bLUaha9Sj8HFGnwUaHjWv-ZALE5gBUOZ5Zi4iWpOtuUpNC5N_FUvH2s9Yv-fzZDrBs7e4_-PppwB-g4vtqpkgCJH7TSZ7Le7CaVRq-Xg/s5100/Fiona%20Kimm,%20Julieth%20Lozano%20Rolong,%20Jennifer%20Davis,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Janáček:Jenůfa - Fiona Kimm, Julieth Lozano Rolong, Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="5100" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeqBtMfhQ0t9s_O8JhaGI0LQ4acWX04feClZn5zX-GyVNIwcATgpxQ78R2h4wDHsgyOp1vRyuGn4EYt4bLUaha9Sj8HFGnwUaHjWv-ZALE5gBUOZ5Zi4iWpOtuUpNC5N_FUvH2s9Yv-fzZDrBs7e4_-PppwB-g4vtqpkgCJH7TSZ7Le7CaVRq-Xg/w640-h426/Fiona%20Kimm,%20Julieth%20Lozano%20Rolong,%20Jennifer%20Davis,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" title="Janáček:Jenůfa - Fiona Kimm, Julieth Lozano Rolong, Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janáček:<i>Jenůfa, </i>Act 1<i> </i>- Fiona Kimm, Julieth Lozano Rolong, Jennifer Davis - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Alden's production transposes the action to a rather grim 1950's Eastern bloc factory. Charles Edwards' designs are neatly observed and Alden fills the stage in Act One with much action, including the sense that many of the men lust after Jenůfa including Darren Jeffery's foreman who clutched his crotch rather a lot. Alden resolutely avoided any sense of the folkloric; the dancing in Act One was little more than drunken celebration, whilst in Act Three the girls' dance was a sort of embarrassed feature of the wedding, their traditional costumes accessorised with leather jackets and such.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><p></p><p> Alden seemed to be interested in creating a world of broken people, almost grotesques, against which Jennifer Davis' self-contained Jenůfa came across as the only normal person, so the villagers and mill-hands were profoundly unlikeable. So much so, that when Susan Bullock's severe Kostelnička appeared to interrupt the celebrations, rather than being a killjoy you rather sympathised with her. </p><p>Alden doesn't invent things, the whole production was based on the disturbing vein of violence and anger that simmers under the opera's surface. Act One is the most conventional, the closest to Verismo models, but the subsequent acts are unremitting in their focus on the disturbing elements in the drama. Act Two essentially takes us into the Kostelnička's head, and here the set was a simple, stark room of extreme geometry with strong shadows heightening the expressionist element.</p><p>That said, I did find that Act One in particular had a rather unpleasantly hard edge to it. The ENO chorus and ensemble acted their socks off, so this was brilliantly done but you wished for a little relaxation, a little folklore in the mix. Surely the idea of Janáček's opera is to set the emotional traumas of the Burya family against the routine of everyday life.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeXbpf4aqO8sP8B69W4GnGoJSHjTSFyZB85oTZ7it6qNs8UZqoSOa7JINJWHqycv3XOGLd4coVMeJrw-0sYy1cAXwjdxFBPxqcevcXAHdLyG44Ay_pUqFXCKTVKRuctN2H8I79cNxKfNWPIALcu73Tqty4hlcQ3z7u1a_WmLJ2PZBz9QzbZFTjg/s5100/John%20Findon,%20Susan%20Bullock,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Janáček:Jenůfa - John Findon, Susan Bullock - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="5100" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeXbpf4aqO8sP8B69W4GnGoJSHjTSFyZB85oTZ7it6qNs8UZqoSOa7JINJWHqycv3XOGLd4coVMeJrw-0sYy1cAXwjdxFBPxqcevcXAHdLyG44Ay_pUqFXCKTVKRuctN2H8I79cNxKfNWPIALcu73Tqty4hlcQ3z7u1a_WmLJ2PZBz9QzbZFTjg/w640-h426/John%20Findon,%20Susan%20Bullock,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" title="Janáček:Jenůfa - John Findon, Susan Bullock - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janáček:<i>Jenůfa, </i>Act 2 - John Findon, Susan Bullock - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Jennifer Davis' impressively contained yet strong performance as Jenůfa stood out, the only bastion of normality in this world. Yet Jenůfa was, to a certain extent, deluded in her regard for John Findon's unpleasantly slob-ish and entitled Števa. Davis has quite a big dramatic voice, which meant that she was able to give full reign to the emotional drama in the role. In Act One things simmered under the surface, perhaps a bit too contained, but in Act Two everything exploded and you forgave Alden everything for the way he and Davis created a scene of such searing intensity. Here Davis' voice let rip, but always within the role, there was never a feeling of a big voice being reined in. In Act Three the containment returned, a little, but also Davis suggested that the girl had inherited some of her stepmother's iron control. The end, when it came was simply glorious. But Davis and Richard Trey Smagur leaned into Janáček's wonderful climax, two damaged characters finally finding each other. And for once, in a modernist style production, there was no hint of subverting the opera's message, but with that music coming out of the pit, how could you.</p><p>Susan Bullock made the Kostelnička's control and discipline a physical thing, her body language said it all. Yet within this iron control there was a vein of emotionalism that came out in Bullock's voice, the rich colours and warm timbres. Bullock's fine diction meant that words really counted here. She got her Act One solo which is usually cut because it holds things up, but Bullock's intelligent performance made it worthwhile. In Act Two she really leaned in to the expressionist nature of the production, and the sheer violence of her emotional reaction to events was shocking. By Act Three, this woman is broken, yet still in control enough at the end, with no hint of redemption in this production.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCrW8Y52T7YO4NXj5mO_CQ70dnXNNCh5PvwOglqvngihGsLJxTP16lM9VqTYkvn082VgCo6KqHvkBxDZCrh2pqkeRHQ2BtLOcnvbZjDIOk1jXTtgBpSAtZfsUPITBudlutx_xLUcFrOr-1MPBwBY1VMweKgOOhnDJTem_AkaNk7ApSg8-c4A81w/s5100/Darren%20Jeffery,%20Richard%20Trey%20Smagur,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Janáček:Jenůfa - Darren Jeffery, Richard Trey Smagur - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="5100" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrCrW8Y52T7YO4NXj5mO_CQ70dnXNNCh5PvwOglqvngihGsLJxTP16lM9VqTYkvn082VgCo6KqHvkBxDZCrh2pqkeRHQ2BtLOcnvbZjDIOk1jXTtgBpSAtZfsUPITBudlutx_xLUcFrOr-1MPBwBY1VMweKgOOhnDJTem_AkaNk7ApSg8-c4A81w/w640-h426/Darren%20Jeffery,%20Richard%20Trey%20Smagur,%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz.jpg" title="Janáček:Jenůfa - Darren Jeffery, Richard Trey Smagur - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janáček:<i>Jenůfa, </i>Act 1 - Darren Jeffery, Richard Trey Smagur - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>American tenor Richard Trey Smagur, making his UK opera house and role debut, brought great physicality to the role of Laca. Smagur is a big man, and he made Laca physically ungainly, a mirror of the way he had difficulty keeping his emotions in check, and the one led to the other, hence the incident with the knife. There was no doubting the intensity of this Laca's feelings, Smagur has a big, vibrant voice which seemed to want to lean into a bigger role at times. I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but by the opera I could not help feeling that the way the role was being played hinted that this Laca had mental health issues, which left something of a nasty taste in the mouth. But Smagur's radiant performance at the end, conquered all.</p><p>John Findon had a whale of a time as bad-boy Števa, entitled and irredeemably self-regarding, Findon's rather over-the-top antics fitted admirably into Alden's distorted world, whilst Findon's singing in Act One rightly held focus, this Števa knew how to be liked. In Act Two, Findon gave us a sight of the weak man underneath, unable to deal with Jenůfa's pregnancy, and unable to deal with the Kostelnička's fierceness.</p><p>Fiona Kimm made grandmother something of a control freak in Act One, yet with a sense of a crazy old woman lurking underneath. Her fondness for Števa here seemed almost wilful blindness, whilst in Act Three the woman was clearly meant to be on a decline into sad senility.</p><p>The smaller roles were all vividly taken, each creating a strong character. Julieth Lozano Rolong, making her company debut, brought vivid tone and irrepressible enthusiasm to Jano. Darren Jeffery was the mill foreman, frequently an observer to the action in Act One, creating a feeling of his underlying contempt for his employers. Freddie Tong made self-regarding and rather unpleasant Mayor, with Madeleine Shaw channelling Hyacinth Bucket as his wife. Isabelle Peters sang and danced engagingly as Barena. Segomotso Masego Shupinyaneng was all self-regarding charm and simpering as their daughter, Karolka. Morag Boyle and Claire Pendleton completed the cast with brilliant cameos as a neighbour and a villager.</p><p>The chorus was on terrific form (belying the alarums and excursions that have been going on behind the scenes), not only singing up a storm but creating a whole world of vivid and disturbing characters. Everything in Act One seemed to have a threat of violence, to be a whisker away from real danger and then in Act Three the chorus' entry through the house itself was appropriately terrifying.</p><p>Conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson drew her cast into strongly performed ensemble, with a sure feel for the pacing of Janáček's often speech-based music. In the pit, the orchestra made the music seem gorgeous, too much so at times and in Act One particularly, I would have liked a bit more edge. This came in Act Two, and the conclusion to Act Three was simply magical.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurOAJIPqQS9PQ3IACzrOoc-iC4xmVYZWy3it6A7c0SnnA4828l-tVfA2-SkiXJB23N5iPugwNzO2gaXVR_LoL24aDftR-NUK_GBkSFlCOtAJ1FUyxdRIVYRcdrYQtke_hzqELLub0dpJVw09kZ5TnuWEX-T-pvJ57GR9lLh7sOs3bopG5dZRUZQ/s5100/The%20Cast%20of%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz%20%282%29.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Janáček:Jenůfa - Jennifer Davis, Isabelle Peters, Fiona Kimm - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" border="0" data-original-height="3400" data-original-width="5100" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgurOAJIPqQS9PQ3IACzrOoc-iC4xmVYZWy3it6A7c0SnnA4828l-tVfA2-SkiXJB23N5iPugwNzO2gaXVR_LoL24aDftR-NUK_GBkSFlCOtAJ1FUyxdRIVYRcdrYQtke_hzqELLub0dpJVw09kZ5TnuWEX-T-pvJ57GR9lLh7sOs3bopG5dZRUZQ/w640-h426/The%20Cast%20of%20ENO%E2%80%99s%20Jenufa%202024%20%C2%A9%20Ellie%20Kurttz%20(2).jpg" title="Janáček:Jenůfa - Jennifer Davis, Isabelle Peters, Fiona Kimm - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janáček:<i>Jenůfa</i>, Act 3 - Jennifer Davis, Isabelle Peters, Fiona Kimm - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: © Ellie Kurttz)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>This was a strong evening in the theatre, anchored by powerful performances particularly from Jennifer Davis as Jenůfa and Susan Bullock as the Kostelnička. As a performance of David Alden's production, this could not be bettered, creating an almost expressionist nightmare out of Janáček's drama.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Little short of a revelation: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset explore Wagner's influences with</span><i style="font-family: verdana;"> In the Shadows - </i><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/little-short-of-revelation-michael.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Upheaval: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">cellist Janne Fredens & pianist Søren Rastogi in music by four women composers from the years 1911 to 1918 -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/upheaval-cellist-janne-fredens-pianist.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Something astonishing: </b>Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/something-astonishing-olivia-fuchs-new.html">opera review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lumen Christi</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-60529040721743501882024-03-14T08:58:00.003+00:002024-03-14T08:58:45.304+00:00Gavin Higgins becomes a Patron of Awards for Young Musicians<span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1btaP89VEc0uQVI59r3_unPdeG7X3Bv8s_WEmtCQ31OlUHe8gy-f8p4nTo1t7azabn8uKrNxlZsJaIG_tOcyo8aWepfPkqp-Mgy7VzGBtEb2xAKE33uiacpPjSpHdY4-goYoIGAtHU0fNfsLECOjJM8H0Poe7Fy3gwiITe7hZs52gTs096Iwcw/s848/GFw9BQgX0AA4xfB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ben Goldscheider, Gavin Higgins & London Chamber Orchestra (Photo: Jerome Weatherald)" border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="833" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw1btaP89VEc0uQVI59r3_unPdeG7X3Bv8s_WEmtCQ31OlUHe8gy-f8p4nTo1t7azabn8uKrNxlZsJaIG_tOcyo8aWepfPkqp-Mgy7VzGBtEb2xAKE33uiacpPjSpHdY4-goYoIGAtHU0fNfsLECOjJM8H0Poe7Fy3gwiITe7hZs52gTs096Iwcw/w393-h400/GFw9BQgX0AA4xfB.jpg" title="Ben Goldscheider, Gavin Higgins & London Chamber Orchestra (Photo: Jerome Weatherald)" width="393" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ben Goldscheider, Gavin Higgins & London Chamber Orchestra <br />at London premiere of Higgins' <i>Horn Concerto<br /></i>(Photo: Jerome Weatherald)</td></tr></tbody></table>Composer Gavin Higgins, whose horn concerto was recently premiered by Ben Goldscheider [see </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/horns-galore-incandescent-playing-from.html" style="text-align: left;">my review</a><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">of the London performance], and who is Composer-in-Association with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, has become a Patron of music charity Awards for Young Musicians (AYM).</span></span><p>AYM aims to ensure that family finances and other obstacles do not get in the way of musical talent by supporting young musicians from low income families, with funding and other help, and supporting music education through training, advocacy and research.</p><p>Gavin Higgins was an early beneficiary of AYM, and he describes his new role with the organisation as something of a "full circle moment." Born into a brass-banding family, but a condition of receiving a full scholarship to study at Chetham’s School of Music was that he had to transition from brass-band instrument to French horn. AYM helped Higgins purchase the instrument.</p><p>Gavin Higgins' comments "I couldn’t afford my own, so I was playing on the school horn for a long time. It was bashed up, it was dented, there were holes in it, which I had to put Blue Tack in, the water key was broken. I had to put elastic bands around it, and it got to the point where I just needed my own instrument."</p><p>The announcement comes in the lead up to the inaugural <i>Arts for Impact</i> campaign. Any donation made to AYM from 12 noon on Tuesday 19 March to 12 noon on Tuesday 26 March will be doubled until they reach their fundraising target of £10,000, see the <a href="https://www.a-y-m.org.uk/arts-for-impact-2024/" target="_blank">AYM website</a> for details. </p><br />Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-87824530792594004732024-03-14T08:15:00.003+00:002024-03-14T08:15:26.602+00:00Young vocal health: St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh launches of two vocal programmes, the only ones of their kind in Scotland and the North of England<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZd4aVRk9fqR4QUOBzHdD4NuudIhlSuiTLYxkZ84sYg7x4R9k5N1oXNacbRm_EImYXy4qJXRtyCIInRYL7L3rw04oc9WnxtfAHJ4T9yS5J5uTUAb9rezXS9nE0HTjhiBB8pSTb6W6E4_lb4TIdbUyGdYgiljP4mEPA_lmjyHBrD7qz2d8jTmy1eg/s1024/St_marys_music_school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh" border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="1024" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZd4aVRk9fqR4QUOBzHdD4NuudIhlSuiTLYxkZ84sYg7x4R9k5N1oXNacbRm_EImYXy4qJXRtyCIInRYL7L3rw04oc9WnxtfAHJ4T9yS5J5uTUAb9rezXS9nE0HTjhiBB8pSTb6W6E4_lb4TIdbUyGdYgiljP4mEPA_lmjyHBrD7qz2d8jTmy1eg/w400-h329/St_marys_music_school.jpg" title="St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh</td></tr></tbody></table>S<span style="font-family: verdana;">t Mary's Music School in Edinburgh is the only specialist music school in Scotland, and it is also the Choir School of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral. The has launched two vocal programmes, the only ones of their kind in Scotland and the North of England - <i>Changing Voices Programme</i> and <i>Senior Vocal Programme</i>. Both courses are full time programmes, running alongside academic studies (rather than part time or out of hours lessons/ courses).</span></p><p><i>Changing Voices Programme</i> is aimed at pupils aged 13 to 15, and arises out of a programme to nurture the boys from St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral choir after their voices break. The programme focuses on classical vocal technique, singers are nurtured and supported to maintain confidence in their vocal ability through specialist classes and teaching on how to use their new voices. </p><p><i>Senior Vocal Programme</i> is designed for pupils aged 15 to 19, preparing young singers for the next stage in their career, and it incorporates acting, movement, stagecraft, and vocal scenes, providing the opportunity for talented young singers to receive top-tier vocal training without the need to travel south of the border.</p><p>The courses are the brain-child of the school's Head of Voice, Kate Aitken, herself an experienced opera singer </p><p>Full details from the <a href="https://www.stmarysmusicschool.co.uk/study/music-faculties2/vocal-programme/" target="_blank">school's website</a>.</p><p><br /></p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-66719741764033386002024-03-13T09:06:00.001+00:002024-03-13T11:52:54.911+00:00Contemporary music for St Patrick's Day: Belfast-based choir Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Matthew Quinn, makes its London debut<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhSS0Ntkz86F_vfltX0rO6TrVV_Z-YZqyqZKfCgbPjItfmag2NU3P9M8EgmNO-GORZekkzifmRfpDe_VqiC094U4kSIkeeSvTJZueu4uaZsEe-o7ULs5lAyJl_XCrZ8i29EbaN9B7XxvE8I2umVtQy14fN9qf4N4DRb20kU-LGrmNI9VICrcbKw/s2228/Cappella%20St%20Malachys%20from%20gallery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Michael Quinn" border="0" data-original-height="2197" data-original-width="2228" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhSS0Ntkz86F_vfltX0rO6TrVV_Z-YZqyqZKfCgbPjItfmag2NU3P9M8EgmNO-GORZekkzifmRfpDe_VqiC094U4kSIkeeSvTJZueu4uaZsEe-o7ULs5lAyJl_XCrZ8i29EbaN9B7XxvE8I2umVtQy14fN9qf4N4DRb20kU-LGrmNI9VICrcbKw/w640-h632/Cappella%20St%20Malachys%20from%20gallery.jpg" title="Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Michael Quinn" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cappella Caeciliana, musical director Matthew Quinn</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Belfast-based choir <a href="https://caeciliana.org/" target="_blank">Cappella Caeciliana</a>, musical director Matthew Quinn, makes its London debut on Saturday 16 March 2024 presenting a concert of Celtic music at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden on the eve of St Patrick’s Day.</span> </p><p><i>Celtic Celebration</i> includes music by Sir James MacMillan and Charles Wood, along with rising stars <a href="https://seandohertymusic.com/" target="_blank">Seàn Doherty</a>, <a href="http://www.eoghandesmond.com/" target="_blank">Eoghan Desmond</a>. <a href="https://ainemallon.com/" target="_blank">Áine Mallon</a> and <a href="https://www.anselmguitar.co.uk/" target="_blank">Anselm McDonnell</a> [read <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html">my review</a> of McDonnell's recent disc, <i>Kraina</i>]. The works by Doherty and McDonnell are London premieres, and <i>Quicksilver</i> by choir member Anita Mawhinney is also a London premiere. The programme also includes <a href="https://philipstopford.com/" target="_blank">Philip Stopford</a>'s <i>Ave Verum Corpus</i>, composed when he was Director of Music at St Anne’s (Anglican) Cathedral in Belfast as a gift to St Peter’s, the city’s other Cathedral (Catholic), whilst the performance of Dublin-born Charles Villiers Stanford's <i>The Blue Bird</i> commemorates the centenary month of his death.</p><p>Full details from St Paul's Church's <a href="https://actorschurch.org/whatson/" target="_blank">website</a>.</p><p><br /></p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-8813255462994081892024-03-13T08:14:00.001+00:002024-03-13T08:14:36.605+00:00Out of the Shadows in Clapham and Estonia<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj3Dt8fYwBSE3PPydL5zamRLeJvJt0h0retzz8uVXdTVK00jtVqLzgffBLvSR4NrZE0gedNI9qntUlqTWOXPAoBM12T0DisZKd4qfWlCbFCxogT5Yma_JfC96_pNLY8ZvHRXlPqJ3kF0l8caJBWcgh2_KN-t645lWNzbj13p7lVUc6hh516UQtQ/s900/900x600.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Out of the Shadows in Clapham and Estonia" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXj3Dt8fYwBSE3PPydL5zamRLeJvJt0h0retzz8uVXdTVK00jtVqLzgffBLvSR4NrZE0gedNI9qntUlqTWOXPAoBM12T0DisZKd4qfWlCbFCxogT5Yma_JfC96_pNLY8ZvHRXlPqJ3kF0l8caJBWcgh2_KN-t645lWNzbj13p7lVUc6hh516UQtQ/w640-h426/900x600.jpg" title="Out of the Shadows in Clapham and Estonia" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />Following its successful premiere in February 2023, <i>Out of the Shadows</i>, the evening of my songs will be returning in 2024 with performances for Pride 2024 at the Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, and at the Glasperlenspiel Festival in Tartu, Estonia, during Tartu's year as one of the European Capitals of Culture.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The performers are tenor <a href="https://www.benvonberg-clark.com/" target="_blank">Ben Vonberg-Clark</a> (precentor at the church of St John the Divine, Kennington and conductor of the London Youth Boys' Choir), baritone <a href="https://www.jonathaneyers.co.uk/" target="_blank">Jonathan Eyers</a> (currently a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio), and pianist <a href="https://www.londonsongfestival.org/company" target="_blank">Nigel Foster</a> (founder and artistic director of the London Song Festival).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As part of <a href="https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/96-festival-2024/" target="_blank">96 Festival</a>, Omnibus Theatre's celebration of queerness and theatre, <i><a href="https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/out-of-the-shadows/" target="_blank">Out of the Shadows</a></i> will be performed on 16 June 2024. Then on Friday 5 July 2024, the programme will be presented at St John's Church, Tartu as part of the <a href="https://www.erpmusic.com/festival-glasperlenspiel/" target="_blank">Glasperlenspiel Festival</a>. The festival is a leading musical event in the Estonian Summer and was founded in 1995 by Estonian composer and music producer, Peeter Vähi.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The programme features two cantatas that take us from the twilight world of the 19th & early 20th century homosexual to a desperate search for eternal life, alongside songs celebrating love in all forms. <i>Out of the Shadows</i> moves from the earliest tentative admissions of same sex attraction, to cruising in a bath house in Imperial Russia to Walt Whitman’s unashamed admission of his sexuality. <i>Et expecto</i> explores the search for eternal life in different forms, from the certainty of the Latin creed, to explorations of cryogenics, the body-snatching of Burke and Hare and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, before resolving in the homoerotic pantheistic transcendentalism of Walt Whitman with its celebration of Death itself.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Alongside these there are love songs and settings of Michaelangelo’s sonnets plus a depiction of an Aids candlelit memorial.</span></p><p><b><span style="font-family: verdana;">Out of the Shadows</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ben Vonberg-Clark (tenor), Jonathan Eyers (baritone), Nigel Foster (piano)<br />7pm 16 June 2024 - Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, London SW4 0QW<br />10pm 5 July 2024 - Glasperlenspiel Festival at St John's Church, Tartu, Estonia</span></p><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-70228158507986919992024-03-13T08:05:00.001+00:002024-03-15T09:41:00.271+00:00Little short of a revelation: Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques & Christophe Rousset explore Wagner's influences with In the Shadows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7YUQHphJqIWECAVdp0qPOZL-QpvKSeqn7Q7mt7tOdsrCY-XdK2wMN5_B8OghscfubI7CSraMRKSFkaS0p12szqRz4725WuofcBxzGNITq_1TR0vhZ0M6SmP0Ilm6NqgxaYOkfU9Qi0f-rlOhP1IIpWT4l7jkepest_ovuIEzZkqlYHxToUv58w/s3000/Michael_Spyres_In%20the%20Shadows%20Wagner_01_NEW%20SQ%20ALT%203.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="In the Shadows: Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, Weber, Wagner; Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset; Erato" border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7YUQHphJqIWECAVdp0qPOZL-QpvKSeqn7Q7mt7tOdsrCY-XdK2wMN5_B8OghscfubI7CSraMRKSFkaS0p12szqRz4725WuofcBxzGNITq_1TR0vhZ0M6SmP0Ilm6NqgxaYOkfU9Qi0f-rlOhP1IIpWT4l7jkepest_ovuIEzZkqlYHxToUv58w/w400-h400/Michael_Spyres_In%20the%20Shadows%20Wagner_01_NEW%20SQ%20ALT%203.jpg" title="In the Shadows: Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, Weber, Wagner; Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset; Erato" width="400" /></a></i></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>In the Shadows:</i> Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, Weber, Wagner; Michael Spyres, Les Talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset; Erato<br />Reviewed 12 March 2024</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A wonderfully imaginative recital, showcasing both the wide range and variety of Wagner's musical influences as well as Spyres' own virtuosity and adaptability</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The mature Richard Wagner would have wanted you to think that his art sprang directly from his imagination, without the influence of other composers, but the reality was more complex. The young Richard was something of a sponge, soaking up influences from all over. For instance, in 1833 Würzburg Theatre staged Giacomo Meyerbeer's <i>Robert le Diable </i>(premiered in Paris in 1831), it was the operatic event of the year. Richard Wagner's brother Albert was singing the title role and had managed to get Richard a job as chorus master at the theatre. 20-year-old Richard rehearsed the choruses of Meyerbeer's opera and this first exposure to the piece made a big impression on him. Another notable opera that Richard rehearsed was Auber's <i>La muette de Portici</i>. Richard would return to this French grand opera repertoire whilst he worked in Magdeburg (1834 to 1836) and in Riga (from 1837).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tenor <a href="https://www.michaelspyres.com/" target="_blank">Michael Spyres</a>' latest project is designed to explore just such influences. His disc, <i><a href="https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/shadows" target="_blank">In the Shadows</a></i> on <a href="https://www.warnerclassics.com/" target="_blank">Erato</a> features music by Auber, Bellini, Berlioz, Halévy, Méhul, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Spontini, and Weber along with Wagner himself, performed with <a href="https://www.lestalenslyriques.com/" target="_blank">Les Talens Lyriques</a>, conductor <a href="https://www.lestalenslyriques.com/en/christophe-rousset/" target="_blank">Christophe Rousset</a>.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span></span><p></p><p>We begin with 'Vainement Pharaon, dans sa reconnaissance…Champs paternels' from <i>Joseph</i>, the 1807 opéra comique by Méhul, the foremost composer of the French Revolution and Napoleonic era. And in 1838, Wagner would acknowledge <i>Joseph</i>'s influence on him. The music here is far Gluckian than you might expect and from this performance is definitely a composer to be explored. Spyres seems at home in the combination of long classical lines and Romantic colour.</p><p>Beethoven's <i>Fidelio</i> (1805/1814) had a clear influence on the young Wagner, both in terms of the music and in the development of the heroic tenor voice. Here Spyres sing's Florestan's opening scene, 'Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!…In des Lebens Frühlingstagen'. In both this and the Méhul, the orchestral contribution is significant, bringing out the remarkable colours of orchestration, along with drama and transparent textures. Spyres makes a Florestan in the mould of a lighter Jon Vickers, with the Canadian tenor's openness of tone, but here allied to a narrower focus and lighter touch. He will not be heroic or heavy enough for some, but I loved the sense of firmness and flexibility that he brings to the music.</p><p>For, as well as a journey into the antecedents of Wagner's music, this is a journey towards a particular type of tenor voice, one that combines power, stamina and flexibility. Often nowadays we find roles like Énée in Berlioz' <i>Les Troyens</i> or Jean in Meyerbeer's <i>Le Prophete</i> sung by voices with the 'requisite' weight and stamina, but without the flexibility. On this disc, Spyres demonstrates an ability to combine the two.</p><p>Rossini's influence on 19th century opera was ubiquitous, and another important element in the development of the 19th century tenor voice. We hear Leicester's 'Della cieca fortuna un tristo esempio…Sposa amata' from Rossini's <i>Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra </i>(1815). Spyres brings a remarkably heroic edge to music that we might think was lighter. The role was written for Andrea Nozzari, the tenor who created many Rossini roles including the title role in <i>Otello </i>(1816), and who had a voice that contemporaries saw as baritonal but with a high extension allowing for the pyrotechnics needed. Spyres has this in spades, turning in a finely dramatic and intensely thrilling account.</p><p>Meyerbeer would have a complex relationship with Wagner, but as we have seen his influence on the young Wagner was profound. Here we have Adriano's 'Suona funerea' from <i>Il crociato in Egitto</i> (1824), this dates from 1824 and we can hear both Meyerbeer's debt to Rossini and the hallmarks that would develop in his later works. Spyres manages to be plangently expressive, whilst also demonstrating his bravura chops too.</p><p>The theatrical works by Carl Maria von Weber held a central place in Wagner’s early development. Here we hear Max's Act One aria, 'Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen' from <i>Der Freischütz </i>(1821). I have to confess, that I would have loved to hear Spyres and Les Talens Lyriques in the Wolf's Glen scene from the opera, or something from <i>Euryanthe</i> (1823). But here, on a rather lighter scale, Spyres is all engaging charm with moments of high drama that look forward.</p><p>Auber's operas helped redefine the new style of French grand opera, whilst <i>La Muette de Portici </i>(1828) brought about an actual revolution too (in Belgium). We hear Masaniello's 'Spectacle affreux!…Ô Dieu! toi qui m’as destiné' from Auber's <i>La Muette de Portici</i>, where the voice's ability to move at speed seems to be as important as the more heroic aspect.. In fact, I have heard Spyres in this role, when the opera was performed in Paris at the Opera Comique back in 2012 [see <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2012/04/aubers-la-muette-de-portici-at-opera.html">my review</a>] and for all the added weight on his voice some 12 years later, he still has the ability to thrill here.</p><p>Spontini moved his sphere of operations to Berlin following failures in Paris after the Restoration, but it his Parisian operas, <i>La Vestale</i> (1807) and <i>Fernand Cortez</i> (1809) that were his most influential. Spontini's <i>Agnes von Hohenstaufen</i> (1829) was his only major German opera, and we hear Heinrich's 'Der Strom wälzt ruhig seine dunklen Wogen'. That this is the first recording of the aria in German says a lot for how much still needs doing in terms of restoring Spontini's output. Here, it is a novelty hearing the French style with the underlying Italian accents but with German language. Spyres makes you wish to hear more, and if you played it to someone blind, then I think they might struggle to pinpoint the composer.</p><p>Bellini's <i>Norma</i> (1831) needs no introduction, but the influence of Bellini's endless melody on Wagner should not be underestimated. Here were hear Pollione and Flavio's scene, 'Meco all’altar di Venere…Me protegge, me difende'. Spyres turns in a wonderfully heroic performance, ably supported by Julien Henric.</p><p>Marschner's operas remain underestimated today, but <i>Hans Heiling</i> (1833) was one of the works that greatly influenced Wagner, not least the psychological complexity of the anti-hero. Here we hear Konrad's 'Gönne mir ein Wort der Liebe', a remarkably piece that really does seem to both look back to Beethoven and look forward to early Wagner. Spyres brings a lovely expansiveness to the lines, a feeling of breadth to the paragraphs that links both to the French works on the disc and to Wagner's own writings.</p><p>The disc ends with music from three of Wagner's early operas, the works where these influences can be seen at their music direct (and undigested).</p><p>First, Arindal's 'Wo find ich dich, wo wird mir Trost?' from <i>Die Feen</i> (1834) which is where we hear Wagner at his most influenced by his German predecessors. Like much of the other music on the disc, it calls on Spyres' distinctive blend of power and virtuosity. Then Cola Rienzi's Act Five aria 'Allmächt’ger Vater, blick’ herab!' from <i>Rienzi </i>(1840/1842). Here, Wagner was writing a French grand opera with a German libretto, and we start to hear the synthesis that would play an important part in the development of his own musical voice. Spyres sings the aria with a combination of poise and beauty of line that we don't really associated with Wagner performance nowadays (alas).</p><p>Finally, Lohengrin's 'Mein lieber Schwan' (1848), and I loved the way Spyres' opening phrase was sung with immense delicacy yet as the aria develops, the power opens up. No wonder Elsa fell in love with this Lohengrin!</p><p>I have to confess that I found this recital little short of a revelation. For the imaginative way the programme sheds light on Wagner's musical influences. For the revelatory way Spyres approaches each of the arias with his combination of power, flexibility, and virtuosity yet always singing with great style. Also for the contributions from Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyrique who bring their own distinctive style and a sympathy for the feel of the music, so that we hear even the familiar items anew. Once again, their contribution emphasises that in music from the first half of the 19th century, sensitivity to the original performance style, sounds and timbres is paramount.</p>
ÉTIENNE MÉHUL 1763–1817 - Joseph: 'Vainement Pharaon, dans sa reconnaissance…Champs paternels'<br />
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN 1770–1827 - Fidelio Op.72: 'Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!…In des Lebens Frühlingstagen'<br />
GIOACHINO ROSSINI 1792–1868 - Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra: 'Della cieca fortuna un tristo esempio…Sposa amata'<br />
GIACOMO MEYERBEER 1791–1864 - Il crociato in Egitto: 'Suona funerea'<br />
CARL MARIA VON WEBER 1786–1826 - Der Freischütz Op.77: 'Nein, länger trag’ ich nicht die Qualen…Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen'<br />
DANIEL AUBER 1782–1871 - La Muette de Portici: 'Spectacle affreux!…Ô Dieu! toi qui m’as destiné'<br />
GASPARE SPONTINI 1774–1851 - Agnes von Hohenstaufen: 'Der Strom wälzt ruhig seine dunklen Wogen'<br />
VINCENZO BELLINI 1801–1835 - Norma: 'Meco all’altar di Venere…Me protegge, me difende'<br />
HEINRICH MARSCHNER 1795–1861 - Hans Heiling: 'Gönne mir ein Wort der Liebe'<br />
RICHARD WAGNER 1813–1883 - Die Feen: 'Wo find ich dich, wo wird mir Trost?'<br />
RICHARD WAGNER - Rienzi: 'Allmächt’ger Vater, blick’ herab!'<br />
RICHARD WAGNER - Lohengrin: 'Mein lieber Schwan'<br />Michael Spyres (tenor)<br />Julien Henric (tenor)<br />Jeune Choeur de Paris<br />Les Talens Lyriques<br />Christophe Rousset (conductor)<br />Recorded: 2, 4–7.XII.2022, Salle Colonne, Paris<br />ERATO 5054197879821 1CD [84.49]<br /><p></p><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><b style="font-family: verdana;">Upheaval: </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">cellist Janne Fredens & pianist Søren Rastogi in music by four women composers from the years 1911 to 1918 - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/upheaval-cellist-janne-fredens-pianist.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Something astonishing: </b>Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/something-astonishing-olivia-fuchs-new.html">opera review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lumen Christi</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-8742507595942446842024-03-12T09:19:00.002+00:002024-03-12T09:19:16.269+00:00It's back: Classical Pride returns to the Barbican with a five celebration of LGBTQ+ composers and artists<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_SDmpU4RhoQk-dw24FAqhKfeik-xOXQ7jKkOLVQpDO63noBMyEmxSuvSKWeUxb2Ba-vPGsKDITxQ_rujB_InvL54dGFvLnKZepi98L-tJCGe5unq92zf8PPCUOb6B-B-vJn3HQxRME8dlOR9DWB03jHRzhGxO6xmgwfXBAuFgp0Qb9BVWLO-fQ/s3840/ClassicalPride_Main%20CP24%20header_landscape.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It's back: Classical Pride returns to the Barbican with a five celebration of LGBTQ+ composers and artists" border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_SDmpU4RhoQk-dw24FAqhKfeik-xOXQ7jKkOLVQpDO63noBMyEmxSuvSKWeUxb2Ba-vPGsKDITxQ_rujB_InvL54dGFvLnKZepi98L-tJCGe5unq92zf8PPCUOb6B-B-vJn3HQxRME8dlOR9DWB03jHRzhGxO6xmgwfXBAuFgp0Qb9BVWLO-fQ/w640-h360/ClassicalPride_Main%20CP24%20header_landscape.png" title="It's back: Classical Pride returns to the Barbican with a five celebration of LGBTQ+ composers and artists" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">After a debut last year, Classical Pride, artistic director Oliver Zeffman is back with a five-day festival from 3 to 7 July 2024, showcasing the breadth, diversity and depth of talent of LGBTQ+ composers and artists, past, present and future.</span><p></p><p>The centre piece of the festival is a concert at the Barbican Hall where Oliver Zeffman conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in programme featuring a new commission from Jake Heggie with soprano Pumeza Matshikiza, Cassandra Miller's <i>Round</i>, Szymanowski’s <i>Symphony No. 3, ‘Song of the Night’, </i>with tenor soloist Russell Thomas and LGBTQ+ Community Choir, Saint-Saens' <i>Piano Concerto No. 2</i> with Pavel Kolesnikov and music by Tchaikovsky and Copland.</p><p>At Milton Court Concert Hall, the Fourth Choir, conductor Nicholas Chalmers will be focusing on the relationship between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in <i>My Beloved Man</i> featuring music by Britten, Barber, Imogen Holst, Barber and more.</p><p>There is a free performance of Julius Eastman’s <i>Gay Guerilla</i>, in the Barbican’s foyer performed by the Julius Eastman Ensemble assembled by Stephen Upshaw in an arrangement by US composer Jessie Montgomery.</p><p><i>A Proud Future</i> features performers and composers from the LGBTQ+ student bodies of the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in a series of concerts of LGBTQ+ music that has personal meaning for them. </p><p>The festival opens with something a bit different, <i>Classical Drag</i> at Outernet in Soho, to showcase some of the biggest names in drag and classical music.</p><p>Classical Pride is non-profit with net proceeds donated to three important LGBTQ+ charities; Rainbow Railroad, Terrence Higgins Trust & GAY TIMES' Amplifund.</p><p>Full details from <a href="https://www.classicalpride.uk/">Classical Pride's website</a>.<br /></p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-39703577876452124402024-03-12T08:35:00.000+00:002024-03-12T08:35:11.916+00:00Lovely Music: Louth CMS annual June celebration features operas by Robert Ashley, Stockhausen’s Stimmung, Linda Catlin Smith & more<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikG0KucNplZR_O-RNwc0quHwpGjwQ9iCAVaqriW9BWHFv0-XRzdbjJx6bKa1XZLHMYlgwBt4mEH9hZaOVdA23m9c-AfKLTpsMsEE8pxYLWKYtocSXSkx5jvpJ2AXuejlsEKeypyRgT2O4os9ycRR2EM5R14RQREP6Ty9Hodnu7aYNp0FpxicUVBw/s4201/1975-Ashley%20by%20Mimi%20Johnson%201975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Robert Ashley photographed by Mimi Johnson in 1975" border="0" data-original-height="2859" data-original-width="4201" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikG0KucNplZR_O-RNwc0quHwpGjwQ9iCAVaqriW9BWHFv0-XRzdbjJx6bKa1XZLHMYlgwBt4mEH9hZaOVdA23m9c-AfKLTpsMsEE8pxYLWKYtocSXSkx5jvpJ2AXuejlsEKeypyRgT2O4os9ycRR2EM5R14RQREP6Ty9Hodnu7aYNp0FpxicUVBw/w640-h436/1975-Ashley%20by%20Mimi%20Johnson%201975.jpg" title="Robert Ashley photographed by Mimi Johnson in 1975" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Ashley photographed by Mimi Johnson in 1975</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Louth Contemporary Music Society will be presenting its annual mid-June festival, <i>Lovely Music</i>, in Co Louth, Ireland on 14 and 15 June 2024. The title, <i>Lovely Music</i>, originated as the ironic, combative title that Mimi Johnson, a New York agent, chose in 1978 for a record label she founded to feature composers she represented, including her husband, the American composer Robert Ashley (1930-2014) and this year, the festival will be featuring two of Ashby's operas. </span></p><p><i>Crash</i> is Ashley's final work, an opera for six singers but as Ashley explained, "<i>All of the singing is very soft vocally, but amplified, and all of the singing of the words is very fast. This is a special kind of vocal sound that the audience will have rarely experienced.</i>" <i>Crash</i> is being presented by Varispeed Collective and they join forces with Irish colleagues at the Spirit Store: Sean Carpio, Caoimhe Hopkinson and Steve Welsh for Ashley's <i>The Bar</i>.</p><p>Also in the festival is <i>Dirt Road</i> by Canadian composer <a href="https://www.catlinsmith.com/" target="_blank">Linda Catlin Smith</a>, performed by violinist Larissa O’Grady and the percussionist Caitríona Frost. Catlin Smith describes the work thus, "<i>I imagined the two instruments as two travellers, moving along a simple landscape, with all of its slight or grand changes.</i>"</p><p>Hamza El Din (1929-2006) was Egyptian oud player and composer who moved to California in the early sixties and had a powerful effect on U.S. musicians from the Grateful Dead to Steve Reich. His <i>Escalay (The Waterwheel) </i>will be performed by three exponents of Irish traditional music, Dónal Lunny, Zoë Conway and Inni-k.</p><p>The festival ends with a very different approach to music for six voices, as New Vocal Soloists of Stuttgart perform Karlheinz Stockhausen’s exuberant 1968 work <i>Stimmung</i>.</p><p>Full details from Louth Contemporary Music Society's <a href="https://www.louthcms.org/" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-61741139521828142882024-03-12T07:33:00.002+00:002024-03-12T07:37:30.212+00:00Upheaval: cellist Janne Fredens & pianist Søren Rastogi in music by four women composers from the years 1911 to 1918<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdr3doFE8HF1D4kjgOCoHZRNu-96RiCjiSMAvcWgu-NYSWdqqWpLotFP1ZTIhTJH2USiU6aOq2o6HOldukv4AA1XnwF7fs8wQaerXof7wH_omfJeluwZfQ-tc3gEOaIv-GGyMIRCoePsMSlq5xN_-UP4UJzgAr2rKpKzjZ345KgRFGYR2QQ_u_rQ/s3000/0747313168361_Cover_Front.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Upheaval: Henriëtta Bosmans, Dora Pejačević, Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger; Janne Fredens, Søren Rastogi; OUR Recordings" border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdr3doFE8HF1D4kjgOCoHZRNu-96RiCjiSMAvcWgu-NYSWdqqWpLotFP1ZTIhTJH2USiU6aOq2o6HOldukv4AA1XnwF7fs8wQaerXof7wH_omfJeluwZfQ-tc3gEOaIv-GGyMIRCoePsMSlq5xN_-UP4UJzgAr2rKpKzjZ345KgRFGYR2QQ_u_rQ/w320-h320/0747313168361_Cover_Front.jpg" title="Upheaval: Henriëtta Bosmans, Dora Pejačević, Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger; Janne Fredens, Søren Rastogi; OUR Recordings" width="320" /></a></i></div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Upheaval: </i>Henriëtte Bosmans, Dora Pejačević, Nadia Boulanger, Lili Boulanger; Janne Fredens, Søren Rastogi; OUR Recordings<br /></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reviewed 4 March 2024</span></span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Four women from three countries with music for cello and piano spanning the years 1911 to 1918 in an imaginative and passionate recital from a Danish husband and wife duo</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The four cello works featured on this disc are all major works by women, and written during the period 1911 to 1918. The disc's title <i><a href="https://www.ourrecordings.com/albums/upheaval" target="_blank">Upheaval</a></i> thus refers both to the women challenging the musical conventions of the day and to the general upheaval happing in Europe at the time. Released on the <a href="https://www.ourrecordings.com/" target="_blank">OUR Recordings</a> label it features the husband and wife duo <a href="https://jannefredens.com/" target="_blank">Janne Fredens</a> (cello) and <a href="https://www.sorenrastogi.com/" target="_blank">Søren Rastogi</a> (piano).<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>One of Holland's greatest pianists, Henriëtte Bosmans career was disrupted by the Nazi occupation and never quite got back on track. Her relatively early <i>Sonata for Cello and piano</i> is a large-scale serious work, a sweeping opening movement evoking memories of Brahms, followed by a wonderfully lyrically flowing second movement and then a quietly intense third. It is this third movement where we seem to firmly land in the 20th century. We end with a vigorous and forceful finale.</p><p>Ten years older than Bosmans, Dora Pejačević was the daughter of a Croatian count and a mother who was an educated singer and pianist. Largely self-taught, she had completed a dozen large-scale chamber works whilst still in her teens. She died tragically at the age of 38 after giving birth. Her <i>Sonata for Cello and piano</i> begins with a dark and serious <i>Allegro moderato </i>where her Hungarian and Viennese links surface. The music is perhaps slightly backwards looking, but full of promise and passion. Next comes a highly characterful scherzo, followed by a darkly soulful slow movement. Pejačević volunteered as a nurse during the First War, and you feel that the implicit melancholy of throughout this work might reflect her experiences. We end with movement which seems to reflect her love of Brahms and Dvorak.</p><p>These two large-scale sonatas, showcase a form that was changing and going out of fashion, and both works sits firmly in established traditions and both could have seems somewhat old-fashioned. They are followed by a group of occasional pieces by come occasional pieces by the Boulanger sisters, where we do feel a whiff of the changes that were happening to music itself.</p><p>First <i>Nocturne</i> by Lili Boulanger, whose tragically short life still managed to encompass some remarkable creativity. <i>Nocturne</i> was written when she was 18, the year before she won the Prix de Rome. It lyrical flowing style perhaps betraying that it was first written for flute and piano. The world here is well away from that of Bosmans and Pejačević, we are looking at the seductions of the post-Debussian world of 20th-century French music. Nadia Boulanger was also a gifted composer, though on her sister's death she chose to divert that creativity into other channels. Her <i>Trois pièces</i> date from 1914, the first two originally organ piece. The first two elegant and expressive, the third vivid and vigorous, they deserve to be better known and make you wonder what she would have achieved if she had persevered.</p><p>This is an imaginative and passionate disc. Fredens and Rastogi give committed and vibrant performances of music that is sometimes large-scale and like the women who wrote it, threatens to break the bounds. I could quite easily (and lazily) titled this review, 'Sisters are doing it for themselves' as the disc provides a snapshot of a moment when four women from three different countries were all challenging the status quo and writing their own music.</p><p>Henriëtta Bosmans (1895-1952) - Sonata for cello and piano (1918)<br />Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) - Sonata for cello and piano (1919)<br />Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) - Nocturne (1911)<br />Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) - Trois pièces (1914)<br />Janne Fredens (cello)<br />Søren Rastogi (piano)<br />OUR Recordings 6.220683 1CD [60.53]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Something astonishing: </b>Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/something-astonishing-olivia-fuchs-new.html">opera review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Lumen Christi</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html" style="font-family: verdana;">interview</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-84968507981252860582024-03-11T08:58:00.009+00:002024-03-11T08:58:52.226+00:00Premiere of Eleanor Alberga's piano concerto, commissioned by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic for Leeds Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsR_rICIkZfzqicyxmoxyqpmPFhtIuCOhKYwDQBQuyeGBElrrfwxSJlM0XT813IumDzQr1XtVZL3jYJGi0V-l6hwZW7xX87tWbjZmYhd4nYfps09cWfS7sZ-HlMVej41a_4rNqLFmDto-8_k050bQWJFg0LAQHXo2nAa6l5nvWdhY5flyP9-7Ag/s1089/0799fd_f7c6d65e92ed4b7b9410981732b91e20~mv2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Alim Beisembayev (Photo: Nabin Maharjan)" border="0" data-original-height="726" data-original-width="1089" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfsR_rICIkZfzqicyxmoxyqpmPFhtIuCOhKYwDQBQuyeGBElrrfwxSJlM0XT813IumDzQr1XtVZL3jYJGi0V-l6hwZW7xX87tWbjZmYhd4nYfps09cWfS7sZ-HlMVej41a_4rNqLFmDto-8_k050bQWJFg0LAQHXo2nAa6l5nvWdhY5flyP9-7Ag/w400-h266/0799fd_f7c6d65e92ed4b7b9410981732b91e20~mv2.webp" title="Alim Beisembayev (Photo: Nabin Maharjan)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alim Beisembayev (Photo: Nabin Maharjan)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Kazakhstan-born pianist Alim Beisembayev won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in September 2021, along with the medici.tv Audience Prize and a new prize, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance. This led the orchestra to commission a new work especially for Beisembayev, from the eminent Jamaican-born British composer, Eleanor Alberga, who will also be a Jury member of the 2024 Competition later this year.</span></p><p>Alberga's <i>Piano Concerto </i>will be premiered by Alim Beisembayev with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Domingo Hindoyan on 25 April 2024 at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool as part of a concert that includes a suite from Roussel's <i>Bacchus and Ariadne</i> and Shostakovich's <i>Symphony No. 5</i>.</p><p>Alberga's concerto, her first piano concerto, has grown from solo works for piano and thematically draws on her life story. I chatted to Eleanor Alberga back in 2022 about her music and her Jamaican heritage, see <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2022/02/most-pieces-use-dichotomy-between.html">my interview</a>.</p><p>Full details from the <a href="https://liverpoolphil.com/whats-on/classical-music/shostakovichs-symphony-no5/8731" target="_blank">Liverpool Philharmonic website</a>.</p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-3879816868228179182024-03-11T08:14:00.004+00:002024-03-11T08:14:47.996+00:00BBC Ten Pieces celebrated its 10th anniversary last week by announcing a new collection of ten works by women composers across eight centuries. <p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2M4m7gx4hube-xt8t5bwkLFKUdjjLLviPmIRyhTqub7qWL1U6HonhVm1_03pr1nSD3Te1Zl2vtEGe0w1QZBJKwhwN3dA7QgCiemalMgxc8I9RCPVr1nonfyT6AU1yW9vnzjnkjyzR6sxfEn9LT1p3QGt7OSoUQuHQ6fGbAKegnaPJye6hwD10w/s688/p0hgsm7w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Sally Beamish, Hildegard von Bingen, Margaret Bonds, Lili Boulanger, Reena Esmail, Cassie Kinoshi, Marianna Martines, Laura Shigihara, Errollyn Wallen, Judith Weir." border="0" data-original-height="387" data-original-width="688" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2M4m7gx4hube-xt8t5bwkLFKUdjjLLviPmIRyhTqub7qWL1U6HonhVm1_03pr1nSD3Te1Zl2vtEGe0w1QZBJKwhwN3dA7QgCiemalMgxc8I9RCPVr1nonfyT6AU1yW9vnzjnkjyzR6sxfEn9LT1p3QGt7OSoUQuHQ6fGbAKegnaPJye6hwD10w/w640-h360/p0hgsm7w.jpg" title="Sally Beamish, Hildegard von Bingen, Margaret Bonds, Lili Boulanger, Reena Esmail, Cassie Kinoshi, Marianna Martines, Laura Shigihara, Errollyn Wallen, Judith Weir." width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sally Beamish, Hildegard von Bingen, Margaret Bonds, Lili Boulanger, Reena Esmail, Cassie Kinoshi, Marianna Martines, Laura Shigihara, Errollyn Wallen, Judith Weir</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Building on ten years opening up the world of classical music to 7-14 year olds, BBC music education initiative Ten Pieces celebrated its 10th anniversary last week by announcing a new collection of ten works by women composers across eight centuries. </span></p><p>The selection features a broad range of orchestral, vocal and gaming music by <a href="https://www.sallybeamish.com/" target="_blank">Sally Beamish</a>, Hildegard von Bingen, Margaret Bonds, Lili Boulanger, <a href="https://www.reenaesmail.com/" target="_blank">Reena Esmail</a> (BBC commission), <a href="http://www.cassiekinoshi.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cassie Kinoshi</a> (a BBC/ABRSM/Music For Youth co-commission), Marianna Martines, <a href="https://www.laurashigihara.com/" target="_blank">Laura Shigihara</a>, <a href="https://oxfordphil.com/news/errollyn-wallen/">Errollyn Wallen</a>, and Master of the King’s Music <a href="https://www.judithweir.com/" target="_blank">Judith Weir</a>.</p><p>Nine of the ten pieces were featured across the BBC Radio 3 schedule on Friday 8 March as part of its International Women’s Day celebrations, when the station marked the occasion with 24 hours of music only by women composers.</p><p>BBC Ten Pieces aims to open up the world of classical music to 7-14 year olds and inspire them to develop their own creative responses to the music. Recordings of the new repertoire and accompanying resources for 7-11 year olds will be released in the Autumn school term. The aim of this latest phase of the project is to increase the quantity of music by women composers studied and performed by children and young people, and to continue supporting teachers in delivering high quality music education.</p><p>Full details and further content from the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/ten-pieces" target="_blank">BBC website</a>.</p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-9553622462097109252024-03-11T07:32:00.000+00:002024-03-11T07:32:04.496+00:00Something astonishing: Olivia Fuchs' new production of Britten's Death in Venice for Welsh National Opera involved a collaboration with circus arts, NoFit State<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKes72NOZBdmCKS7wLmxCTEN9ZLe9LKrUKNONSJvEWQFFnKpJjM5JIA7vi_QdWaThz77_AfT-BWADW6r4YFC27qVHGIZ9KG00woY2Via3yuouxGmrr8yUpPnIZE6GLURLhcUybqRlQZAoldvddg6qxBr0lJLTLzWDTOvjyXCYG1yiBeNiM19sOg/s970/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-and-Antony-Cesar-Tadzio-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07563_d6f1760c398e807c9db5f5d430151cbd.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Britten: Death in Venice - Mark Le Brocq, Antony César - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" border="0" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRKes72NOZBdmCKS7wLmxCTEN9ZLe9LKrUKNONSJvEWQFFnKpJjM5JIA7vi_QdWaThz77_AfT-BWADW6r4YFC27qVHGIZ9KG00woY2Via3yuouxGmrr8yUpPnIZE6GLURLhcUybqRlQZAoldvddg6qxBr0lJLTLzWDTOvjyXCYG1yiBeNiM19sOg/w371-h400/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-and-Antony-Cesar-Tadzio-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07563_d6f1760c398e807c9db5f5d430151cbd.jpg" title="Britten: Death in Venice - Mark Le Brocq, Antony César - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" width="371" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britten: <i>Death in Venice</i> - Mark Le Brocq, Antony César<br />Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Britten: <i>Death in Venice</i>; Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams, Alexander Chance, Antony César, Diana Salles, director: Olivia Fuchs, conductor: Leo Hussain; Welsh National Opera in collaboration with NotFit State; Wales Millennium Centre<br />Reviewed 9 March 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Bringing music drama and circus arts together in Britten's last opera to create something unforgettable anchored by Mark Le Brocq's assumption of the title role</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Britten's <i>Death in Venice </i>involves the interaction between two worlds, those of Aschenbach and Tadzio, sung music drama and dance. A metaphor for Aschenbach's artistic and personal journey, the exact nature of these two worlds helps govern our perception of whether Aschenbach's relationship with Tazio is entirely in the older man's head or something rooted in reality.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For <a href="https://olivia-fuchs.com/" target="_blank">Olivia Fuchs</a>' new production of Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i>, presented by <a href="https://wno.org.uk/" target="_blank">Welsh National Opera</a> at <a href="https://www.wmc.org.uk/en" target="_blank">Wales Millennium Centre</a>, Cardiff (seen 9 March 2024), and then on tour, WNO collaborated with circus arts company <a href="https://www.nofitstate.org/" target="_blank">NoFit State</a>, so that Tadzio and his family were all played by circus artists. <a href="http://marklebrocq.co.uk/" target="_blank">Mark Le Brocq</a> was Aschenbach, with <a href="https://www.grovesartists.com/artist/roderick-williams/" target="_blank">Roderick Williams</a> in the baritone roles, <a href="https://www.alexanderchance.co.uk/" target="_blank">Alexander Chance</a> as Apollo, <a href="https://www.grovesartists.com/artist/gareth-brynmor-john/" target="_blank">Gareth Brynmor John</a> as the English Clerk, and <a href="https://markkendallartists.com/artists/peter-van-hulle/" target="_blank">Peter Van Hulle</a> as the Hotel Porter. The circus artists were <a href="https://wno.org.uk/profile/antony-c%C3%A9sar" target="_blank">Antony César</a> as Tadzio, <a href="https://www.dianasalles.com/" target="_blank">Diana Salles</a> as the Polish Mother, <a href="https://www.nofitstate.org/cy/amdanom/cwrdd-%C3%A2-r-t%C3%AEm/team-member/?id=50" target="_blank">Vilhelmiina Sinervo</a> and <a href="https://wno.org.uk/cy/profile/selma-hellman" target="_blank">Selma Hellmann</a> as the daughters, and <a href="https://wno.org.uk/profile/riccardo-saggese" target="_blank">Riccardo Saggese</a> as the Governess and Jaschiu. The remaining roles were taken by two WNO Associate Artists and 19 members of WNO Chorus. The designer was <a href="https://www.nicolaturner.art/scenography-" target="_blank">Nicola Turner</a>, the lighting designer was <a href="https://www.robbiebutler.com/" target="_blank">Robbie Butler</a>, and the video designer was <a href="https://samsharples.co.uk/" target="_blank">Sam Sharples</a>. The circus consultant was <a href="http://www.nofitstatearchive.com/people/tom-rack" target="_blank">Tom Rack</a>, and the circus designer and director was <a href="http://nofitstatearchive.com/people/firenza-guidi" target="_blank">Firenza Guidi</a>, both from NoFit State. The conductor was <a href="https://www.intermusica.com/artist/Leo-Hussain" target="_blank">Leo Hussain</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nicola Turner's set was simple, a basic black space with four pillars used by the circus artists for climbing, but occasionally used by Roderick Williams and Alexander Chance. This was a production that took things upwards. There was a small amount of set dressing, Aschenbach's desk, the hotel lobby, but largely atmosphere came from Sam Sharples' videos, projected onto the rear wall. These were largely evocative details, an oar moving in the water, fragments of Venice, the sea, even a mouth eating a strawberry; they created both setting and atmosphere. Costumes were traditional, early 20th century, and the chorus' physical presence contributed to the look and feel of the ensemble scenes.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWzyxWSEC5038HVqU2iXCm4HJLyixFxjta5BZYxu36_yKQz596dlaKqq1cMq_r9rhwIo1SNDmqvEtJ_te3oNR9_dgSmwsr5nN6Vf3tVx1rx8w9IsMY-_lbIvwjC1ASEKwefK7JQRQD9n4E6fXzA30brLIBcQzlMXCWcdj_9puuG8GAr-diJ0eZg/s900/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Antony-Cesar-Tadzio-Riccardo-Frederico-Saggese-Jaschiu-and-the-cast-of-Death-in-Venice-photo-credit-Johann-Persson-04094_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Britten: Death in Venice - Antony César, Frederico Saggese - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="900" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwWzyxWSEC5038HVqU2iXCm4HJLyixFxjta5BZYxu36_yKQz596dlaKqq1cMq_r9rhwIo1SNDmqvEtJ_te3oNR9_dgSmwsr5nN6Vf3tVx1rx8w9IsMY-_lbIvwjC1ASEKwefK7JQRQD9n4E6fXzA30brLIBcQzlMXCWcdj_9puuG8GAr-diJ0eZg/w640-h408/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Antony-Cesar-Tadzio-Riccardo-Frederico-Saggese-Jaschiu-and-the-cast-of-Death-in-Venice-photo-credit-Johann-Persson-04094_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" title="Britten: Death in Venice - Antony César, Frederico Saggese - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britten: Death in Venice - Antony César, Frederico Saggese - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>The movement, the use of the circus artists, was astonishing. Both in itself and in the way it integrated into the drama. The five circus artists created real characters on stage using both movement and their circus skills. Antony César's skill on aerial straps taking Tadzio high into the air, Diana Salles as the Polish Mother particularly with her tightrope walking, and Riccardo Saggese both as the virile Jaschiu and rocking big hat, long skirt and heels as the governess. Both César and Saggese, as Tadzio and Jaschiu, were clearly fit young men, rather older than the callow boys of the story. This, combined with their physicality, the way César's expressive movement took him way up into the air, clearly indicated the divide between the sung/spoken and the danced. There the two worlds barely touched, Olivia Fuchs to be suggesting that we were seeing Aschenbach's imaginative world, not reality, helped by Anthony César's physical beauty and mesmerising stage presence.<p></p><p>Anchoring this was the heroic performance of Mark Le Brocq as Aschenbach. The role was written for Peter Pears, leaning into the tenor's ability to spin and expressive narrative line based on his supreme accounts of the Evangelist in Bach's passions. And I can testify that Pears was mesmerising as Aschenbach. It is a role that has a lot of talking, largely to us. Mark Le Brocq was powerfully expressive, really taking us into Aschenbach's thought processes and dilemmas. He wasn't the nicest of characters, Le Brocq did not sugar coat it. But he used the combination of music and text brilliantly, and brought a remarkably wide range of expressive colours to the role. Significantly, the ending, when Aschenbach sees Jaschiu kiss Tadzio and the older man tries to reach out to Tadzio before dying, was the only moment the two worlds came physically close.</p><p>Roderick Williams was the baritone, demonstrating a remarkable physical virtuosity and creating various characters, the sinister gondolier (and I loved the way that during the production, Aschenbach's gondola journeys moved from the very physical to a simple imaginative idea), the over the top fop who was almost <i>commedia dell'arte</i>, the rather proper hotel manager who managed to make everything he said seem pregnant with meaning, the slimy barber, the vividly projected player with Williams almost unrecognisable in a wig, and the somewhat low key Dionysus. This was not the most sinister performance, yet Williams conveyed the idea of a figure in the background, inexorably manipulating Aschenbach.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW5-V41Quz4heASKWzzHzfv-68asbItmiMMKhMTxaZoSmS8ksIPRJesTa37ZLTiNgJf3DAjkpn2dTrGfP1cr-JS3vf8s_oRNB6UdAK22S6k3eGHNadk17iXtAbs3kJb_4Jgmo3RlvI47XkMbHx2MCwvKPHoQCkIRN3W9JrGLlOweyd74UbSfx_Q/s900/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Alexander-Chance-The-Voice-of-Apollo-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-Roderick-Williams-The-Voice-of-Dionysus-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07250_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Britten: Death in Venice - Alexander Chance, Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtW5-V41Quz4heASKWzzHzfv-68asbItmiMMKhMTxaZoSmS8ksIPRJesTa37ZLTiNgJf3DAjkpn2dTrGfP1cr-JS3vf8s_oRNB6UdAK22S6k3eGHNadk17iXtAbs3kJb_4Jgmo3RlvI47XkMbHx2MCwvKPHoQCkIRN3W9JrGLlOweyd74UbSfx_Q/w640-h426/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Alexander-Chance-The-Voice-of-Apollo-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-Roderick-Williams-The-Voice-of-Dionysus-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07250_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" title="Britten: Death in Venice - Alexander Chance, Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britten: <i>Death in Venice</i> - Alexander Chance, Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Alexander Chance made a hypnotising Apollo, the combination of the lovely clarity of his voice, his height and that gold suit. He was seriously from another world. Gareth Brymor John gave a vivid cameo as the English Clerk, whilst Peter Van Hulle (who sings the role of Aschenbach on 11 May) was the Hotel Porter, dapper and characterful. </p><p>The remaining roles were all well taken, emerging out of the ensemble for their moment and then receding. The chorus was on strong form, on only in terms of the sophisticated malleable choral sound, but in the way they suggested character, whether as hotel guests, beach denizens or threatening inhabitants of Venice.</p><p>The city itself was a merest suggestion, perhaps yet another manifestation of Aschenbach's imagination. Yet in the pit, Leo Hussain and the orchestra conjured magical sounds that complemented these wisps and fragments, creating a very real sound world, with a special mention to pianist Stephen Wood for all the expressive recitative.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfGnEalMXAEjFbpLpHJqcc6zBU6yPa54x6cFYjQYRI5wOVjr7Gl6Z2ydvNP-Dzj5pFLU4kPN1iS_O0SXa5Q0bCP6424iwJS8DpcU9cKWOKSn-FDKaLr1tmkNpN-lyjV8JcQopXMRlyNVNolGl9EUZvaLxMrk2UWLeJNfDx88830JVOKed-m-JGA/s900/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Roderick-Williams-The-Voice-of-Dionysus-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-and-the-Cast-of-Death-in-Venice-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07449_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Britten: Death in Venice - Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJfGnEalMXAEjFbpLpHJqcc6zBU6yPa54x6cFYjQYRI5wOVjr7Gl6Z2ydvNP-Dzj5pFLU4kPN1iS_O0SXa5Q0bCP6424iwJS8DpcU9cKWOKSn-FDKaLr1tmkNpN-lyjV8JcQopXMRlyNVNolGl9EUZvaLxMrk2UWLeJNfDx88830JVOKed-m-JGA/w640-h426/WNO-Death-in-Venice-Roderick-Williams-The-Voice-of-Dionysus-Mark-le-Brocq-Gustav-von-Aschenbach-and-the-Cast-of-Death-in-Venice-photo-credit-Johan-Persson-07449_3370a540f391115c933fbe6a89e5fd07.jpg" title="Britten: Death in Venice - Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Britten: <i>Death in Venice</i> - Mark Le Brocq, Roderick Williams - Welsh National Opera (Photo Johann Persson)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Dare we say it, for all its genius status, Britten's <i>Death in Venice</i> can have longeurs. The most successful production I have seen had an added ingredient into the mix. All those years back, the presence of Peter Pears in the title role made the whole mesmerising. At Garsington in 2015, Paul Curran's production added significantly more dance to the mix [see <a href="http://www.planethugill.com/2015/06/benjamin-brittens-death-in-venice-at.html">my review</a>], and here, in an astonishing feat, Olivia Fuchs and NoFit State brought music drama and circus arts together to create something unforgettable.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Lumen Christi</i></b>: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/lumen-christi-i-chat-to-master-of-music.html">interview</a></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Music that is vividly alive & vibrant, yet requires concentration & dedication to listen to: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Anselm McDonnell's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Kraina</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-37766062300251625992024-03-08T15:52:00.000+00:002024-03-08T15:52:02.806+00:00Lumen Christi: I chat to Master of Music, Simon Johnson about his first disc with the choir of Westminster Cathedral<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUteCl5bti2VVOJdqPMlGMGTjRRBtJqDNV_l34gi6R-gsXxDpVrW9hdzPzTW_yPXYYX5KAn92Qywb9T_tK3pVIST16Qyp-v90ty8vhyhaZ02dB3WfzoF7JCuHGFUbbsLGw_ZyEpRQfChOWNUAwXawTkCr08tpTaDwqOZjeaJAxi240NFw5UlgLA/s2048/349110302_254778280468242_1393720061925057267_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUteCl5bti2VVOJdqPMlGMGTjRRBtJqDNV_l34gi6R-gsXxDpVrW9hdzPzTW_yPXYYX5KAn92Qywb9T_tK3pVIST16Qyp-v90ty8vhyhaZ02dB3WfzoF7JCuHGFUbbsLGw_ZyEpRQfChOWNUAwXawTkCr08tpTaDwqOZjeaJAxi240NFw5UlgLA/w640-h426/349110302_254778280468242_1393720061925057267_n.jpg" title="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.adfontes.org.uk/">Ad Fontes</a>, the record label founded by <a href="https://www.buckfast.org.uk/" target="_blank">Buckfast Abbey</a>, is releasing <i><a href="https://www.adfontes.org.uk/catalogue/peter-stevens/lumen-christi-a-sequence-of-music-for-the-easter-vigil/" target="_blank">Lumen Christi</a></i> on 22 March 2024. A sequence of sequence of music for the Easter Vigil from the <a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/music/about-the-choir/" target="_blank">choir of Westminster Cathedral</a>, this will be a follow-up to the choir's <i>Vexilla Regis</i> disc on the label. The new disc features plainchant alongside music by Lassus, Andrew Reid, Victoria, Palestrina, <a href="https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/5042/Matthew-Martin/" target="_blank">Matthew Martin</a>, Jean L'Heritier, Jean Langlais and <a href="https://www.concertorganists.com/artists/martin-baker/" target="_blank">Martin Baker</a>. But perhaps more significantly, the disc is the first one for the choir under its current Master of Music, <a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/music/people/" target="_blank">Simon Johnson</a>. Simon became Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral in September 2021, following thirteen years as the Organist and Assistant Director of Music at <a href="https://www.stpauls.co.uk/" target="_blank">St Paul’s Cathedral</a>.</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The choir's disc <i><a href="https://www.adfontes.org.uk/catalogue/martin-baker/vexilla-regis/" target="_blank">Vexilla Regis</a></i>, released in 2019, featured music for Holy Week so the new disc, with its focus on the Easter Vigil Liturgy which takes place on the evening of Easter Saturday, makes a logical follow on. The Vigil, in its full form one of the oldest and most dramatic liturgies, begins between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday with the kindling of an Easter, the lighting and blessing of the Paschal candle, and continues with the Easter Proclamation, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of Baptism where baptismal vows are renewed, finally ending with the Liturgy of Communion, the first communion in the church since Maundy Thursday. Simon explains that the structure of the disc relates to the Easter Vigil liturgy and that 80% of the music on the disc is what the choir would perform normally. There are a few extras, such as the setting of the <i>Vidi Acquam</i> by Matthew Martin (this would usually be sung to plainchant) and a few more motets than would be usual in the service.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZqLuXYxdrq0xJH6V2zbNKS9yj_f3O8iDY92JHCtIrjNHk0gPxZ0GOWsy43GxFU3oOizoGJkev1ckWXVg0wEKjXd-yM9XIVOdzFSQgd2tHhrZIJWb769B56WXpnXl64zupn8fO95FoHj9udTLryM334Y5ckRMRu6IULe4DJW_SN_r-2i7X49Y7w/s7952/DSC02851.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" border="0" data-original-height="4472" data-original-width="7952" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZqLuXYxdrq0xJH6V2zbNKS9yj_f3O8iDY92JHCtIrjNHk0gPxZ0GOWsy43GxFU3oOizoGJkev1ckWXVg0wEKjXd-yM9XIVOdzFSQgd2tHhrZIJWb769B56WXpnXl64zupn8fO95FoHj9udTLryM334Y5ckRMRu6IULe4DJW_SN_r-2i7X49Y7w/w640-h360/DSC02851.jpeg" title="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">The disc is very much a snapshot of the choir's life. The choir has plenty of single composer discs in its back catalogue devoted to composers such as Palestrina and Victoria, but Simon points out that the recording industry has changed significantly and the reasons for doing a disc in 2024 are vastly different to the 1980s. Also, Ad Fontes was keen for the choir to explore recording from a Roman Catholic angle and Simon was happy to do so.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span><p>To make the recording, the entire choir of men and boys decamped to Buckfast Abbey which Simon describes as an 'interesting operation', but he admits that it was a nice thing to do, to get away from London and to get the boys away from the pressures of everyday life. Also, post-lockdown, the trip represented an important group bonding exercise. However, in the future, their recordings are likely to be in the fine acoustic of the cathedral.</p><p>Simon took over the choir in September 2021 amidst two significantly problematic episodes. In 2020, changes to the timetabling at the cathedral's choir school caused controversy with some arguing the changes put the cathedral's choral tradition at risk; Westminster remains the only Roman Catholic cathedral in the UK to have daily services sung by the cathedral choir. The controversy reportedly led to the resignation of the then Master of Music, Martin Baker [see article in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/21/westminster-cathedral-to-review-sacred-music-after-master-resigns" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>]. But 2020 was notable for another reason as well, COVID forced churches everywhere to suspend normal services and those church choirs involving children had a very particular duty of care [see my 2020 <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2020/06/an-organist-in-lockdown-i-chat-to.html">interview</a> with Edmund Aldhouse, director of music at Ely Cathedral]. And emerging from lockdowns, choirs that had children on the top line found themselves with an entire generation that had not sung together.</p><p>Simon feels that they have come out of things quite well. The arrangements at the school have settled down and recruitment is good. They have not reduced the number of sung liturgies, but have changed when they happen. What has been kept is the important pattern of repetition, doing things over and over. He is happy with the progress of the choir and this can be heard in the live stream of the Sunday morning service [see the <a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/spiritual-life/watch-a-mass/" target="_blank">cathedral's website</a>].</p><p>The recording of the new disc took place during his second year in post and whilst the music relates to the Resurrection of Christ, the recording itself can also seem to be the resurrection of the choir, and doing the recording was in itself good for the choir's health. Simon hopes to make further recordings, there is an idea to do one focused on the music for Pentecost.</p><p>There are huge similarities between St Paul's Cathedral, the Anglican establishment where he was assistant director to <a href="https://www.stpauls.co.uk/our-musicians" target="_blank">Andrew Carwood</a>'s director of music, and Westminster Cathedral, the Roman Catholic establishment where he is now Master of Music. Both have choirs of children and men, with a choir school to tend to the children, plus lay clerks. Both establishments are in London, so partake of the highly professional system for lay clerks in the capital. Also, Andrew Carwood, who was director of music at St Paul's whilst Simon was there, is a Roman Catholic and a former Westminster Cathedral lay clerk himself, so the repertoire at St Paul's had a rather catholic bent.</p><p>But that said, the liturgies are very different. Though the lay clerks at Westminster perform Vespers daily, the main musical focus is the mass, whereas, at St Paul's Cathedral, the choir is more geared towards choral evensong. As a result, the repertoire differs. Though Simon did chant with the choir of St Paul's, moving to Westminster Cathedral was a quantum leap when it came to the amount of chant that the choir sang. This makes a big difference, but Simon loves chant and appreciates the opportunity his role gives him to immerse himself in it. </p><p>With a choir that involves boys, any recording requires planning ahead. The <i>Lumen Christi</i> disc was made a few weeks after Easter, just after they had performed the Easter Vigil liturgy, and the disc includes motets performed at other times during the Easter liturgies. Looking ahead to this year, the choir is performing Bach's <i>St John Passion</i> in the cathedral in a few weeks [on 14 March 2024, <a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/westminster-cathedral-choir-to-perform-j-s-bachs-st-john-passion/">see website</a>] and then there will be a radio broadcast of a Tenebrae service during Holy Week. Simon's way of laying the foundations for such extra activities is to take ten minutes at the end of each rehearsal. Ten minutes daily means he has an hour per week to devote to working with the boys on any new music, to chip away at it. And of course, during recording sessions, there is time to refine things. He also describes the choir as very spontaneous and reactive, he works with what is there.</p><p>Westminster Cathedral Choir was always famous for its very particular, continental-style sound. Simon was very conscious of this heritage when he took over the choir. George Malcolm, who was Master of Music for 12 years from 1947 to 1959 was very fond of this type of sound. Also the choir's singing of so much chant, and the particularity of the acoustics of the cathedral apse where they sing probably contribute to the sound. Also, they sing almost exclusively in Latin, which means that Simon polishes just five vowels with the boys each day. </p><p>That said, when he turned up this was on his mind as when services resumed, the boys had not sung together for almost two years and initially the sound was not there. But it is back, and Simon feels that the present Westminster Cathedral Choir is recognisably the same choir, the sound he grew up listening to on all those recordings.</p><p>Generally, congregational numbers are returning to pre-COVID levels. But for his first Sunday at the cathedral, with the choir rehearsing in the cathedral (so they could be spaced out), he was struck by the size of the congregation, the nave was full fifteen minutes before the service began. The commitment of the congregation struck him, thus bucking trends.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwN597gfzjE1il-tCOeQkjngrFQkINDTuVDDT6aDAKetn8N1DcLPa47UU40d-JHZAZCgspMIzy2zD5r2hoCyr7_vOeIYJ1sW6tqA4s-6pHfzuXxV-H4s_UQstTVjuhg0Sr3hpTR0br6gYL9zABN-0g4SfgR4IMyYdRS1ijwHxSKVHpFs6fTzXAQ/s2048/350110999_619496750100011_7874068134928342018_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwN597gfzjE1il-tCOeQkjngrFQkINDTuVDDT6aDAKetn8N1DcLPa47UU40d-JHZAZCgspMIzy2zD5r2hoCyr7_vOeIYJ1sW6tqA4s-6pHfzuXxV-H4s_UQstTVjuhg0Sr3hpTR0br6gYL9zABN-0g4SfgR4IMyYdRS1ijwHxSKVHpFs6fTzXAQ/w640-h426/350110999_619496750100011_7874068134928342018_n.jpg" title="Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Simon Johnson & the choir of Westminster Cathedral recording at Buckfast Abbey</td></tr></tbody></table>The organist on the disc is <a href="https://westminstercathedral.org.uk/people/peter-stevens-assistant-master-of-music/" target="_blank">Peter Stevens</a>, the assistant master of music, Simon describes him as first-rate so Simon never feels the need to go to the organ console during regular services. The rebuilding of the choir at Westminster was more than a full-time job, a role that he was completely immersed in and in fact, a role that he always wanted to do. Simon's organ playing tends to be for half-term and holiday breaks when he gives recitals, and he has ones coming up in the USA and in Germany. <p></p><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Szymanowski's rarely performed <i>Harnasie</i> from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/a-vivid-account-of-szymanowskis-rarely.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun -</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Music that is vividly alive & vibrant, yet requires concentration & dedication to listen to: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Anselm McDonnell's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Kraina</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beauty and meaning: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Handel's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Theodora</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo with Louise Alder in the title role - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beauty-and-meaning-handels-theodora.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-55087778764853499392024-03-08T11:52:00.004+00:002024-03-08T11:52:40.607+00:00Sounds of Blossom: Kew Gardens' Spring festival offers a full sensory experience with collaboration with the Royal College of Music<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhLPTqU6OlGA_AKYx3odyibu1SedMfqkNJJtSIEzTudS2Nt2k98nnMYPdIH4YBS1dnT73IJbQ0QWJeoSVdEvAwA0C5J7ik8FbuPIsxlKu87koKf7vSZ6UX__DFQ_rYa3BKciedBfjvKKdE3aIeTNbXxX_LYksCe7tDshd9Ce5VZsrLPU98Bos2g/s698/magnolia.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Magnolia campbellii 'Pink tulip tree' © RBG Kew" border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="698" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhLPTqU6OlGA_AKYx3odyibu1SedMfqkNJJtSIEzTudS2Nt2k98nnMYPdIH4YBS1dnT73IJbQ0QWJeoSVdEvAwA0C5J7ik8FbuPIsxlKu87koKf7vSZ6UX__DFQ_rYa3BKciedBfjvKKdE3aIeTNbXxX_LYksCe7tDshd9Ce5VZsrLPU98Bos2g/w400-h300/magnolia.jpg.webp" title="Magnolia campbellii 'Pink tulip tree' © RBG Kew" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Magnolia campbellii 'Pink tulip tree' © RBG Kew</td></tr></tbody></table>Kew Gardens' Spring festival, <i>Sounds of Blossom</i>,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> will see visitors not only enjoying the sights and smells of Spring blossom at the gardens but hearing sounds too, as as bespoke compositions emerge from blossom trees thanks to a new collaboration with the Royal College of Music.</span></p><p>Working with students from the Royal College of Music, the festival will feature six bespoke commissions that celebrate Kew’s unique landscape in the spring, with recordings of music emerging from carefully chosen locations, including avenues of cherry blossom and vistas dotted with magnolias, offering the prospect of a complete sensory experience. There will be Spring and blossom-inspired music from six of the college's students, Daniel Musashi, Jasmine Morris, Tymon Zgorzelski, Lucy Holmes, Delyth Field, and Louis Enright.</p><p>Kew Gardens' Sounds of Blossom festival runs from 23 March to 14 April. There will be blossom-inspired dishes in the cafes, and a series of free talks from Kew horticulturists and scientists and a programme of wellbeing events, such as Tai Chi and Yoga amongst the cherry blossom.</p><p>Full details from <a href="https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/sounds-of-blossom" target="_blank">Kew Gardens' website</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-40032297818459138732024-03-08T09:15:00.008+00:002024-03-08T10:52:01.948+00:00A vivid account of Szymanowski's rarely performed Harnasie from the LPO, with a visual installation from Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams that never quite matched the terrific music<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kBPAmpGfnXROKKrnBoeS2cPfOw4-SNBXvo1ukBzqi4SDFM7QkUiFza9jqHALw3OTERAUaA7ywd1oRYCvCWvlY4x1cx6BCWZTRKeiwFdPe0f-obNHlPtYdn_rPqe06IiZLv9h5NUZ37qbfwaPvfZvBZNdI0gQb9HuB-rsZcNmsJxDiaDHbbmUtw/s5000/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams'%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan3.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)" border="0" data-original-height="3338" data-original-width="5000" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kBPAmpGfnXROKKrnBoeS2cPfOw4-SNBXvo1ukBzqi4SDFM7QkUiFza9jqHALw3OTERAUaA7ywd1oRYCvCWvlY4x1cx6BCWZTRKeiwFdPe0f-obNHlPtYdn_rPqe06IiZLv9h5NUZ37qbfwaPvfZvBZNdI0gQb9HuB-rsZcNmsJxDiaDHbbmUtw/w640-h428/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams'%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan3.JPG" title="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: <i>A Body For Harnasie</i> - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Tania León: <i>Raíces</i>, Ravel: <i>La Valse</i>, Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: <i>A Body for Harnasie</i> (based on Szymanowksi's <i>Harnasie</i>); London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner, Robert Murray, Vlaams Radiokoor<br />Reviewed 6 March 2024</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Szymanowski's rarely performed late ballet-pantomime in a terrific performance that vividly brought out the work's colour and symphonic depth, with a visual installation that did not always match this</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Karol Szymanowski's <i>Harnasie </i>is one of his late, folk-imbued works inspired by the music of the Polish Tatra mountains. <i>Harnasie</i>, the ballet-pantomime which Szymanowski worked on from 1923 to 1931, not only uses the music but sets its story in the Tatra mountains too. It remains, however, an unjustly neglected work. On 6 March 2024 at the <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/venues/royal-festival-hall" target="_blank">Royal Festival Hall</a>, <a href="https://askonasholt.com/artist/edward-gardner" target="_blank">Edward Gardner</a> and the <a href="https://lpo.org.uk/" target="_blank">London Philharmonic Orchestra</a> gave us a rare chance to hear Szymanowski's <i>Harnasie</i> as part of a concert that included the world premiere of <a href="https://www.tanialeon.com/" target="_blank">Tania León</a>'s <i>Raíces (Origins)</i> and Ravel's <i>La valse</i>. Szymanowski's music was presented as part of <i>A Body for Harnasie</i>, a work by choreographer <a href="https://waynemcgregor.com/" target="_blank">Wayne McGregor</a> and designer <a href="http://bencullenwilliams.net/" target="_blank">Ben Cullen Williams</a> that was part installation, part dance and part film, with Gardner and the LPO being joined by tenor <a href="https://www.intermusica.com/artist/Robert-Murray" target="_blank">Robert Murray</a> and the <a href="https://www.vlaamsradiokoor.be/" target="_blank">Vlaams Radiokoor.</a></span></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0IgkJSwaQY2w_i3dZNBv-jHFhKQzJrfgOq_H1MGLrJADUfALXQ7BgH0u_OVF1qeoUhNIoQ6eCq82-xAmXX7-gjUBR_9CKEI_qR0YTM63BJ4CjXnv4-ErMpylNkUiXLjCRvMXIV-KDUWgNo8cPeqIx_8m9fSCNaYnFZ7HIMOY2tvHhwAgMqPMQA/s5000/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan15.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan" border="0" data-original-height="3311" data-original-width="5000" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0IgkJSwaQY2w_i3dZNBv-jHFhKQzJrfgOq_H1MGLrJADUfALXQ7BgH0u_OVF1qeoUhNIoQ6eCq82-xAmXX7-gjUBR_9CKEI_qR0YTM63BJ4CjXnv4-ErMpylNkUiXLjCRvMXIV-KDUWgNo8cPeqIx_8m9fSCNaYnFZ7HIMOY2tvHhwAgMqPMQA/w640-h424/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan15.JPG" title="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: <i>A Body For Harnasie</i> - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ben Cullen Williams' installation was suspended over the orchestra, part screen, part sculpture, it descended low enough that part of the stage was taken up, thus leading the orchestra to be awkwardly laid out for the whole concert.<span><a name='more'></a></span></span><p></p><p>We began with Tania León's <i>Raíces (Origins)</i>. Leon is the LPO's current composer in residence, and the new work has as its title the Spanish word <i>Raíces </i>which means origins or roots, those in question being partly Leon's own as she is Cuban with a mix of Spanish, Cuban, Chinese and French in her heritage.</p><p>It is a large-scale work for a big orchestra that began with strings playing high and with harmonics, presenting us with tantalising fragments of material. Short rhythmic phrases developed into a rather Copland-esque feel, and there was a sense of the material never quite settling down. There were up-tempo sections where the music was imbued with a sense of dance and moments of stasis, but despite changes of timbre and texture, the atmosphere of the piece remained one of restless expectation. Though the longed for climax, the synthesis of all those tantalising fragments of melody, never quite came.</p><p>Following this we had Ravel's choreographic poem, <i>La valse</i> which dates from just before Szymanowski started work on <i>Harnasie</i>. Gardner's approach to <i>La valse</i> was more definite and rather less 'haunted ballroom' than some. It began at quite a speedy tempo, the bass heartbeat leading to something rather sinister. There was a sense of clarity and definition to this performance, everything was vivid and nothing was nebulous. When the strings first came in, it was more Vienna on acid than the waltz-king, developing into a nervy and unnerving performance, where the impetus to keep going was immense. The climax was intense and stylised leading to virtuoso, quasi-orgasm at the end.</p><p>Szymanowski's <i>Harnasie</i> has a scenario, about a woman about to get married but falling in love with a robber, Harnas, who ultimately abducts her. But the composer was evidently not that bothered about strictness in the story-telling, and the approach at this performance was completely abstract. Ben Cullen Williams' installation functioned partly as screen, for the projection of film, and partly as sculpture. The projections continued whilst the sculpture was in motion, thus rendering the visual image fragmented and fractured. The visual images began with AI generated dance, intercut with images from the Tatra mountains but gradually as the piece developed the visual component became more abstract, with dance dropping away. The AI generated dance images seemed an unnecessary complication, visually they looked too anime-like and despite the use of AI there seemed little coordination between music and movement. The whole was intriguing and disturbing, not necessarily a complement to Szymanowski's music.</p><p>Thankfully the performance from Gardner and the LPO was vivid enough to stand on its own. <i>Harnasie</i> is a complex, symphonic work rather than a naïve, descriptive pantomime, and whatever original story there was has been subsumed in Szymanowski's musical inspirations. Just as we would rarely nowadays choreograph Bartok's ballet <i>The Miraculous Mandarin</i>, so <i>Harnasie</i> seems to function without dance. The folk influence on the music was clear, but overlaid with complex rhythms and textures; Bartok dosed with Stravinsky, but creating something all of its own. It was a terrific sound world of colours and textures, the music balancing between lush romanticism and more pointed elements, which perhaps is a metaphor for Szymanowski's late period. </p><p>The contributions from tenor Robert Murray (placed at the back of the choir stalls) were wonderfully vivid indeed, and complemented by the terrific contributions from the choir. Only towards the end did you feel that there was a dramatic narrative in the music, much of the time it felt like a symphonic exploration of this material. The ending, with an intense choral climax and all hell breaking loose, followed by fragmentary orchestra contributions and a long tenor solo, was intriguing and striking.</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBD_l6onooSFypSc40-e1_SS1BLA4VXzONHn3S_rR9auJNmiWw7EncwR48WR8ZLhvybr5uNIUb3k9R0Ue9lwYhdhFbT0jXNFNiicm4Ye-YgwCXwKvYprLWQbutrBAytvq1fXmPLAeIYea-r3M-vuwlRjGPm8IX84ksI6GAFiSFagzeF_GamXA9g/s5000/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan17.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)" border="0" data-original-height="3385" data-original-width="5000" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWBD_l6onooSFypSc40-e1_SS1BLA4VXzONHn3S_rR9auJNmiWw7EncwR48WR8ZLhvybr5uNIUb3k9R0Ue9lwYhdhFbT0jXNFNiicm4Ye-YgwCXwKvYprLWQbutrBAytvq1fXmPLAeIYea-r3M-vuwlRjGPm8IX84ksI6GAFiSFagzeF_GamXA9g/w640-h434/Wayne%20McGregor&Ben%20Cullen%20Williams%20A%20Body%20For%20Harnasie%20cMark%20Allan17.JPG" title="Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: A Body For Harnasie - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wayne McGregor & Ben Cullen Williams: <i>A Body For Harnasie</i> - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner - Royal Festival Hall (Photo: Mark Allan)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Gardner and the LPO gave a terrific performance of the work, bringing real intensity to Szymanowski's sometime edgy style and depth to the sound-world. They hardly needed the visuals, but the audience seemed noticeably different to the regular one, so if the event tempted more people into experiencing <i>Harnasie </i>then all the better.<p></p><p></p><div><br /></div><div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Danza Gaya</i></b><span style="font-family: verdana;">: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful élan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/danza-gaya-simon-callaghan-hiroaki.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Music that is vividly alive & vibrant, yet requires concentration & dedication to listen to: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Anselm McDonnell's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Kraina</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beauty and meaning: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Handel's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Theodora</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo with Louise Alder in the title role - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beauty-and-meaning-handels-theodora.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Intense and disturbing, a story without any redemption: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Stephen McNeff's new opera</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">A Star Next to the Moon</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">based on Juan Rulfo's novel Pedro Páramo -</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/intense-and-disturbing-story-without.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-62021150527478460312024-03-07T07:39:00.002+00:002024-03-08T09:14:39.648+00:00Danza Gaya: Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi play with wonderful elan & relish, clearly having a great deal of fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiak1LqEy_W6nVCbX_LqvtBPuMx7KPXQjJ5FSVey2Dre0XfnoYA9Sx-18F-LLyX9MaprRk2FRy2R-AaSnw_46GfQbfVAzFz2YKioNegF6B_BNLfLGX0_lNFJZeLtgaaJQ_HxeyTUb2pIMLtRsNjuqcMzj6-UTsJ2bfk5_LH5VmSFGaHOU50d4fkUQ/s3000/SRCD433.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Danza gaya: music for two pianos - Madeleine Dring, Dorothy Howell, Pamela Harrison; Simon Callaghan, Hiroaki Takenouchi; LYRITA" border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="3000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiak1LqEy_W6nVCbX_LqvtBPuMx7KPXQjJ5FSVey2Dre0XfnoYA9Sx-18F-LLyX9MaprRk2FRy2R-AaSnw_46GfQbfVAzFz2YKioNegF6B_BNLfLGX0_lNFJZeLtgaaJQ_HxeyTUb2pIMLtRsNjuqcMzj6-UTsJ2bfk5_LH5VmSFGaHOU50d4fkUQ/w320-h320/SRCD433.jpg" title="Danza gaya: music for two pianos - Madeleine Dring, Dorothy Howell, Pamela Harrison; Simon Callaghan, Hiroaki Takenouchi; LYRITA" width="320" /></a></i></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Danza gaya: music for two pianos </i>- Madeleine Dring, Dorothy Howell, Pamela Harrison; Simon Callaghan, Hiroaki Takenouchi; LYRITA</span></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Three 20th-century English women composers, thirteen pieces all virtually unknown; Simon Callaghan & Hiroaki Takenouchi take us on an engagingly enjoyable exploration</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">None of the composers on pianists <a href="https://www.simoncallaghan.com/" target="_blank">Simon Callaghan</a> and <a href="https://tashmina.co.uk/instrumentalists/hiroaki-takenouchi/" target="_blank">Hiroaki Takenouchi</a>'s new disc are well enough known. <i><a href="https://www.ulyssesarts.com/the-ua-blog/danza-gaya-dring-howell-harrison-callaghan-and-takenouchi-1-mar-2024" target="_blank">Danza gaya</a></i> on the <a href="https://www.wyastone.co.uk/all-labels/lyrita.html" target="_blank">Lyrita </a>label features delightful music for two pianos by three women from 20th century English music, Madeleine Dring, Dorothy Howell and Pamela Harrison.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>We open with a group of pieces by Dring. Something of a child prodigy, Dring's time at the Royal College of Music would include lessons with Howells and Vaughan Williams, but her interests were wider and much of her working life was in theatre and cabaret. There is a lightness to a lot of her music that belies its fine craftsmanship and has, I think, rather mitigated against its appreciation. Callaghan and Takenouchi begin with the captivating, <i>Danza Gaya</i>, then the deceptively frothy <i>Valse française</i>, a lively <i>Italian Dance</i> that evokes Arthur Benjamin and as does the altogether delightful <i>Caribbean Dance</i>.</p><p>Next comes Dorothy Howell. Again something of a prodigy with her symphonic poem <i>Lamia</i> premiered at the Proms in 1919 (when she was all of 21). But though Howell kept up a significant output, in later life her profile was less prominent as she focused on teaching and performance. First of we hear her 1934 piece, <i>Recuerdos Preciosos</i> (Precious Memories), written after a trip to Barcelona, the first movement all laid-back heat and the quiet cool of the cloister in the cathedral, the second a lively evocation of a busy amusement park. The first response to these engaging pieces is why has it taken so long for pianists to bring them to our attention.</p><p>Pamela Harrison studied with Gordon Jacob and Arthur Benjamin, her finely crafted tonally-based music gradually going out of fashion in the post-war climate. Her <i>Six Dances</i> is a relatively late work, from 1976, originally written for a friend who had taken up the piano late in life. Written for piano duet, it is played on two pianos here. Six contrasting, delightful movements where Harrison's ear is deceptive, the outward conventionality and charm of the music being underpinned by sly wit.</p><p>We then return to Dring for her <i>Sonata for two pianos.</i> Relatively unusual in her output being a large-scale formal sonata, it was not well received and her subsequent writing for two pianos concentrated on the lighter and more upbeat. The first movement, marked <i>Drammatico e maestoso</i> begins grandly and seriously, but there is still a lyricism to her writing too. The result, perhaps, tries too hard but it is certainly striking. This is followed by the quietly intense <i>Élégie. Sotto voce</i>, with things rounded off by a perkily upbeat <i>Allegro Vigoroso</i>. And in all three movements, Dring's fondness for using the genre of two pianists and two pianos to create fistfuls of notes is rather noticeable.</p><p>Dring's <i>Three for Two</i> features three dances for two pianos, all written as teaching pieces. The first delightfully period, the second elegantly evocative, and the third a perky delight; I cannot imagine teaching being any more engaging than this. <i>Taranetelle</i> is, as you might expect, fast, furious and fun. Definitely not a teaching piece. We return to teaching with <i>Four Duets</i>, all four big on character and charm, Dring achieving her ends with minimal complication.</p><p>Howell's <i>Mazurka</i> was also used for teaching, here the didactic wears its learning lightly and we get a wonderfully characterful piece that deserves to be danced to. Howell's <i>Spindrift</i> is clearly designed for more technically adept pianists, a feather-light whirlwind that was one of her most popular pieces during her lifetime. Dring's altogether quirkily imaginative <i>Three Fantastic Variations on Lilliburlero</i> brings the disc to a close.</p><p>This disc brings together music by three women composers whose output has been somewhat side-lined because their music did not fit with post-war musical orthodoxies. They had the misfortune to be women, writing music that was tonal, approachable and, in some cases, with a distinct whiff of light music. We are learning to better know. Callaghan and Takenouchi play with wonderful elan and relish, clearing enjoying the sound-worlds and having a great deal of fun. And they must be thanked for digging up these treasures.</p><p>Madeleine Dring (1923-1977) - Danza Gaya (1964)<br />Madeleine Dring - Valse française (pub. 1980)<br />Madeleine Dring - Italian dance (1960)<br />Madeleine Dring - Caribbean dance (1959)<br />Dorothy Howell (1898-1982) - Recuerdos Preciosos (1934?)<br />Pamela Harrison (1915-1990) - Dance Little Lady for piano duet (1976)<br />Madeleine Dring - Sonata for two pianos (1951)<br />Madeleine Dring - Three for Two<br />Madeleine Dring - Tarantelle<br />Madeleine Dring - Four Duets<br />Dorothy Howell - Mazurka<br />Dorothy Howell - Spindrift<br />Madeleine Dring - <i>Three Fantastic Variations on Lilliburlero</i> <br />Simon Callaghan (piano)<br />Hiroaki Takenouchi (piano)<br />Recorded at Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, UK 29-31 August 2023<br />LYRITA SRCD 433 4 1CD [73:39]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></i></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/ian-venables-intense-settings-of-john.html">concert review</a></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Music that is vividly alive & vibrant, yet requires concentration & dedication to listen to: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Anselm McDonnell's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Kraina</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beauty and meaning: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Handel's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Theodora</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo with Louise Alder in the title role - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beauty-and-meaning-handels-theodora.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Intense and disturbing, a story without any redemption: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Stephen McNeff's new opera</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">A Star Next to the Moon</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">based on Juan Rulfo's novel Pedro Páramo -</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/intense-and-disturbing-story-without.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beyond coloratura: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Strong performances and a serious approach in Chelsea Opera Group's account of Léo Delibes'</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Lakmé</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">-</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beyond-coloratura-strong-performances.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-34261684111246548322024-03-06T09:47:00.000+00:002024-03-06T09:47:00.545+00:00Congratulations to all the winners at the 2024 RPS Awards, and a special mention for Jasdeep Singh Degun, the first Indian Classical musician to receive the Instrumentalist award<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd5ZyuNVigW90dTKeV_FvdkD8dvYFWeeKcwPdqBlILZkmrY-uEYhJZNJq3ueJTkCvb2eJPJNRq0LXQdkniKGnOLlD-TiMd3OU-XlP82m6bor7KGklKADVio2bCA7kpUorh0fcvDYhUKlf1h-Oksp75L9v0xjUAv6hrvi3yfn5ub-sXReICHnkMA/s862/Jasdeep%20Singh%20Degun_RPS%20Awards%202024_CREDIT%20Robin%20Clewley%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Jasdeep Singh Degun at the RPS Awards 2024 (Photo: Robin Clewley)" border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="862" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPd5ZyuNVigW90dTKeV_FvdkD8dvYFWeeKcwPdqBlILZkmrY-uEYhJZNJq3ueJTkCvb2eJPJNRq0LXQdkniKGnOLlD-TiMd3OU-XlP82m6bor7KGklKADVio2bCA7kpUorh0fcvDYhUKlf1h-Oksp75L9v0xjUAv6hrvi3yfn5ub-sXReICHnkMA/w640-h430/Jasdeep%20Singh%20Degun_RPS%20Awards%202024_CREDIT%20Robin%20Clewley%202.jpg" title="Jasdeep Singh Degun at the RPS Awards 2024 (Photo: Robin Clewley)" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jasdeep Singh Degun at the RPS Awards 2024 (Photo: Robin Clewley)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Congratulations to everyone who was involved in last night's Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in Manchester, both the winners and all those terrific names who were nominated. A significant highlight was the Opera and Music Theatre Award, awarded to Ukrainian composers Illia Razumeiko and Roman Grigoriv for their opera <i>Chornobyldorf </i>and they travelled specially from Ukraine for the event. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Sitarist Jasdeep Singh Degun received the Instrumentalist award. The first Indian Classical musician and the first sitarist to receive this award. Degun was also shortlisted for the Opera award and the Large-scale composition award.</span></p><p>Leah Broad received the Storytelling award for her book <i>Quartet</i>, about Doreen Carwithen, Dorothy Howell, Ethel Smyth and Rebecca Clarke. Composer Laurence Osborn received the Chamber-scale Composition award for <i>TOMB!</i> written for GBSR Duo and 12 Ensemble. </p><p>Kaija Saariaho received the Large-scale composition award for her final opera, <i>Innocence</i>. Whilst this award is understandable, it seems something of a disappointment to all those composers who wrote fine, large-scale works that are not operas. That two of the four shortlisted works in this category this year were operas seems a mistake.</p><p>Lotte Betts-Dean received the Young Artist Award. Nicky Spence received the Singer award for the remarkable breadth of his work from the BBC Proms and Welsh National Opera to nurturing young talent at Blackheath Halls and Scottish Opera. François-Xavier Roth received the Conductor award, hilighting his work uniting modern and historical practice with the London Symphony Orchestra and his ensemble Les Siècles. </p><p>The BBC Singers received the Ensemble award, reflecting the astonishing quality, style and imagination of their performances. Sara Lee and the Irene Taylor Trust received the Gamechanger award for their creative projects in prisons and their powerful presence in communities. Clare Johnston and Drake Music Scotland received the Impact award for their collaboration, Call to the Mountains, a ground-breaking creative exchange with Kazakhstan’s Eegeru ensemble.</p><p>Derwent Brass received the Inspiration award for a non-professional ensemble, Manchester Classical received the Series and Events award.</p><p>Full details from the <a href="https://royalphilharmonicsociety.org.uk/rps_today/news/2024-rps-awards-winners-announced" target="_blank">RPS website</a>. </p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-79571017258252670702024-03-06T09:14:00.008+00:002024-03-06T09:14:55.201+00:00Ian Venables' intense settings of John Clare at the centre of the Dante Quartet's Conway Hall concert alongside Gurney and Elgar<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZUO7TpvSGftty99Rlgk90F-qnFRMe3fV_J0mJiG7MNHLQqNQHZq2UQedcVCvQd9Y4r-G7ccAsML7cq6Fc4t2q_nDnal7EItTLf2Uvb1HT0ZgqYWoVc24ddYlgkzBfd_gCAeJJmoJbEW0rDvITAMAb0vSoUX06cREoAm238Mt7duDOC24TGY-Xw/s417/IMAGE%205%20brinkwells.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Brinkwells in the Surrey Hill, where Elgar wrote his Quartet" border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZUO7TpvSGftty99Rlgk90F-qnFRMe3fV_J0mJiG7MNHLQqNQHZq2UQedcVCvQd9Y4r-G7ccAsML7cq6Fc4t2q_nDnal7EItTLf2Uvb1HT0ZgqYWoVc24ddYlgkzBfd_gCAeJJmoJbEW0rDvITAMAb0vSoUX06cREoAm238Mt7duDOC24TGY-Xw/s16000/IMAGE%205%20brinkwells.jpg" title="Brinkwells in the Surrey Hill, where Elgar wrote his Quartet" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brinkwells in the Surrey Hill, where Elgar wrote his Quartet</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Beethoven, Ian Venables, Gurney, Elgar; Dante Quartet, Brian Thorsett; Conway Hall<br />Reviewed 3 March 2024</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Venables' quartet of intense John Clare settings for the relatively unusual combination of tenor and quartet at the heart of this concert that often felt like conversation amongst friends </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On Sunday 3 March 2024, the <a href="https://www.dantequartet.com/" target="_blank">Dante Quartet</a> was joined by tenor <a href="http://www.brianthorsett.com/" target="_blank">Brian Thorsett</a> for a concert at <a href="https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/" target="_blank">Conway Hall</a> that featured Beethoven's <i>Quartet in F, </i>Op. 135, <a href="https://ianvenables.com/" target="_blank">Ian Venables</a>' 1997 song-cycle, <i><a href="https://ianvenables.com/invite-to-eternity/" target="_blank">Invite to Eternity</a></i>, four songs by Ivor Gurney in arrangements for tenor and quartet by Ian Venables, and Elgar's <i>Quartet in E minor</i>, Op. 38. Before the concert, I gave a talk introducing the works by Venables, Gurney and Elgar, all of whom have West Country links. The Dante Quartet was founded in 1995, and currently features Zoe Beyers, Ian Watson, Carol Ella, and Richard Jenkinson.<span></span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p>Beethoven's <i>Quartet in F</i> was his last major work, though it is on a smaller scale and written with a lighter touch than his other late quartets. The opening movement showcased the Dante Quartet's lovely responsive playing, this really was a dialogue between four players. The second movement was taken at quite a lick, full of crisp articulation with the cross rhythms adding a nice sense of instability, then the slow movement was quiet and inward, but with a hint of tension. The finale had civilised counterpoint disturbed by the motto theme, then gradually the screw tightened.</p><p>Ian Venables' <i>Invite to Eternity</i> features four poems by John Clare set for the relatively unusual combination of tenor and string quartet. The first movement, <i>Born Upon An Angel's Breast</i> (setting 'Love cannot die') began with intense, restless music for the quartet, followed by the tenor's plangent, almost unaccompanied entry. Thorsett's tone was beautifully clear and focused, and he brought intensity to the words. Venables' choice of Clare poems is neither light nor easy, and the work has an underlying tension and intensity. In <i>An Invite, to Eternity, </i>Clare's poem moves from the apparently inconsequential to something rather dark. Thorsett began with lovely even tone, full of lyric melancholy supported by restless music from the quartet, and throughout the movement the music followed the words' emotional journey. <i>Evening Bells</i> was an almost-scherzo, full of character and busy counterpoint from the quartet. The final movement, the work's longest, sets Clare's disturbingly existentialist poem, <i>I Am</i>. Intense, highly-wrought lines and lyric melancholy from the tenor moved between tortured harmony and quieter moments. The tension built then unwound, reaching a sort of resolution and calm.</p><p>After the interval we had three of Ivor Gurney's songs, <i>By a bierside</i>, <i>In Flanders</i>, <i>Severn meadows</i> and <i>Lights Out</i>, all written during the period 1916-1917. I have to confess that I found Venables' versions for tenor and string quartet intriguing, but that I did rather miss the piano. And the change in instrumentation seemed to bring a slight change of scale to the songs, and I did wonder whether Brian Thorsett was somewhat too reticent in his performances.</p><p>We ended with Elgar's <i>Quartet in E minor</i>, written in 1918 in a remarkable late flowering of chamber music (the <i>Violin Sonata</i> and the <i>Piano Quintet</i> date from the same period). This is music that has nothing to prove, it is what it is, and it reflects none of the uncertainties that Elgar had with his style going out of fashion, nor does it really reflect his underlying depression about the Great War. Instead there is a warmth which many speculate comes from the rest he found in the Surrey Hills.</p><p>The opening movement really felt like a conversation amongst friends, with strongly wrought phrases and an opening theme that almost had words. The music was intricate and restless with moments of surprisingly intimacy amidst tight drama. The slow movement, Lady Elgar's favourite, was full of lyrical warmth with a sense of multiple lines contributing to the whole, yet some highly wrought phrasing. There was character and drama aplenty in the final movement, though we didn't quite hear the galloping of squadrons that Lady Elgar professed to do. Full of vibrant tone, the players led us headlong to the end.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Never miss out </b><span style="font-family: verdana;">on future posts by <a href="https://follow.it/planethugill?action=followPub." target="_blank">following us</a></span><b><br /></b></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><b>The blog is free,</b><span style="font-family: verdana;"> but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by <a href="https://www.buymeacoffee.com/planethugill" target="_blank">buying me a coffee</a>.</span></p><p style="font-family: verdana;"><font size="4"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Elsewhere on this </b></span></i><span style="font-size: large;"><b>blog</b></span></span></font></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"></span></p><ul><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Six Concerts avec plusieurs instruments</i>: </b>London Handel Players at Wigmore Hall - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/six-concerts-avec-plusieurs-instruments.html">concert review</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Musical strengths, visual confusion & two Rakes</b><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana; font-style: italic;">:</b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> English Touring Opera's new production of Stravinsky's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">The Rake's Progress</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/musical-strengths-visual-confusion-two.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a></li><li><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><b style="font-style: italic;">Shamus O'Brien: </b>withdrawn by the composer for political reasons, Stanford's most popular opera languished in the 20th century but all that seems set to change - <a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/shamus-obrien-withdrawn-by-composer-for.html">interview</a></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"><i>Dancing with Piazzolla</i>: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Welcome to the sophisticated world of the London Tango Quintet - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/03/dancing-with-piazzolla-welcome-to.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Music that is vividly alive & vibrant, yet requires concentration & dedication to listen to: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Anselm McDonnell's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Kraina</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/music-that-is-vividly-alive-vibrant-yet.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beauty and meaning: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Handel's </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Theodora</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> from Jonathan Cohen and Arcangelo with Louise Alder in the title role - </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beauty-and-meaning-handels-theodora.html" style="font-family: verdana;">record review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Intense and disturbing, a story without any redemption: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Stephen McNeff's new opera</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">A Star Next to the Moon</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">based on Juan Rulfo's novel Pedro Páramo -</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/intense-and-disturbing-story-without.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Beyond coloratura: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Strong performances and a serious approach in Chelsea Opera Group's account of Léo Delibes'</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Lakmé</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">-</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/beyond-coloratura-strong-performances.html" style="font-family: verdana;">opera review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Marking the centenary of Puccini's death: </b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Opera Holland Park in his early</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">Messa di Gloria</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;">-</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"> </span><a href="https://www.planethugill.com/2024/02/marking-centenary-of-puccinis-death.html" style="font-family: verdana;">concert review</a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: verdana;"></span></li><li><b style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="http://www.planethugill.com/">Home</a></b></li></ul>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-50676459101271240962024-03-06T07:55:00.003+00:002024-03-06T07:55:43.210+00:00In case you missed it: our latest newsletter, February on Planet Hugill, has just gone out<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QsU9NpL_nr0U5FAoIjykihgqqfwhfi8DILbG6sbG4JSaGlz_cmF13EXA3BHMVkqyJREm4MJgsn9doiurGukXx40-35JgzmraobYzT4R5fEUY11LQUsYmCXuKzxXzdjnHCuec-uCyhqQTrf8tFC1WflDQoSIVEqg8zDq1NYYi-8yG6-HFue2mbg/s831/Feb%20News.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="February on Planet Hugill" border="0" data-original-height="831" data-original-width="628" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QsU9NpL_nr0U5FAoIjykihgqqfwhfi8DILbG6sbG4JSaGlz_cmF13EXA3BHMVkqyJREm4MJgsn9doiurGukXx40-35JgzmraobYzT4R5fEUY11LQUsYmCXuKzxXzdjnHCuec-uCyhqQTrf8tFC1WflDQoSIVEqg8zDq1NYYi-8yG6-HFue2mbg/w303-h400/Feb%20News.png" title="February on Planet Hugill" width="303" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My newsletter, <i>February on Planet Hugill</i>, has just gone out, a month that took us from Delibes' <i>Lakmé</i> to Wagner's <i>Siegfried</i> to some terrific new music. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Stephen McNeff's opera <i>A Star Next to the Moon</i> premiered and Stephen also talked to us about the genesis of the work, there was also Gavin Higgin's terrific new <i>Horn Concerto</i>, not to mention music by Helen Grime and Freya Waley-Cohen, not forgetting ENO's revival of Poul Ruders' <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Transgender tenor Holden Madagame talked to us about their journey towards singing Mime in <i>Siegfried</i>, and interviews included film composer Eímear Noone, soprano Jenny Stafford on performing Puccini's <i>Manon Lescaut </i>to open English Touring Opera's Spring season, Polish-born, Australian composer Paul Kopetz on his latest disc and composer Jacques Cohen on his Charles Dickens-inspired monodrama, <i>The Lady of Satis House</i>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You can read the latest issue <a href="https://madmimi.com/p/0ae1091" target="_blank">on MadMimi</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you don't already receive it, then <a href="http://madmimi.com/signups/21101/join" target="_blank">sign up here</a>.</span></p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-11086287386604579192024-03-06T07:35:00.000+00:002024-03-06T07:35:20.756+00:00Catching up with Gediminas Gelgotas: my article, Vilnius in drei Sätzen, in latest issue of Schott's Das Orchester<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd5IkYmWL7irJmZs9eBhN0qOpO9nCQlIBqoCvd4lRjp41npzwGapqCDQHlSGP_ymnspq3mASuRiFIyYE6Z_dGkQVyiC-2r3puSlTqgmpWW0ZkhMIUyf9Set9n4XmvKB0cAvLkBFrY-iummY8_mVXGb_IRhrxvcgUMo2BCZLDzkvhMQ0ETmfjdVA/s856/Das%20Orchester%20RH1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Das Orchester - Vilnius in drei Sätzen - Robert Hugill" border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="856" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBd5IkYmWL7irJmZs9eBhN0qOpO9nCQlIBqoCvd4lRjp41npzwGapqCDQHlSGP_ymnspq3mASuRiFIyYE6Z_dGkQVyiC-2r3puSlTqgmpWW0ZkhMIUyf9Set9n4XmvKB0cAvLkBFrY-iummY8_mVXGb_IRhrxvcgUMo2BCZLDzkvhMQ0ETmfjdVA/w640-h526/Das%20Orchester%20RH1.png" title="Das Orchester - Vilnius in drei Sätzen - Robert Hugill" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Back in 2018, I interviewed Lithuanian composer Gediminas Gelgotas when he brought his New Ideas Chamber Orchestra to the UK. Since then he and the ensemble have been busy. In March 2023 Gediminas conducted his largest work to date, <i>The Sarabande of Vilnius</i> with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the first mention of Vilnius in the historical record, and in December 2024 Gediminas and New Ideas Chamber Orchestra made their Carnegie Hall debut.</span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I caught up with Gediminas late last year, via Zoom, and you can read the resulting article in German translation, <i><a href="https://dasorchester.de/artikel/vilnius-in-drei-saetzen/" target="_blank">Vilnius in drei Sätzen</a></i>, in the latest edition of Schott's magazine <i>Das Orchester</i>. The March 2024 edition is entirely devoted to music and the Baltic.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Further information from Das Orchester's <a href="https://dasorchester.de/ausgabe/baltikum/" target="_blank">website</a>.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIsS5o6q4STzLjPZQY3JXXCGdLDIDiTmYoK4ktrKjF1UwOSowL1soOHDnESL0Zx9o0MPWpIXirR6yHcloUXDqMkPq8Fr7TyVSJz89CuYQHInPICWtE6xX6H0H6A0G1LddHCTe4VuycwDoGjMtIM8sVSorYSIw6_W-kX6hr_CF3cPXCJ846QsqJw/s1370/Front%20Cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Das Orchester - Vilnius in drei Sätzen - Robert Hugill" border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="1370" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIsS5o6q4STzLjPZQY3JXXCGdLDIDiTmYoK4ktrKjF1UwOSowL1soOHDnESL0Zx9o0MPWpIXirR6yHcloUXDqMkPq8Fr7TyVSJz89CuYQHInPICWtE6xX6H0H6A0G1LddHCTe4VuycwDoGjMtIM8sVSorYSIw6_W-kX6hr_CF3cPXCJ846QsqJw/w640-h302/Front%20Cover.png" title="Das Orchester - Vilnius in drei Sätzen - Robert Hugill" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><p></p>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11336161.post-22376621610877908182024-03-05T09:40:00.002+00:002024-03-05T09:52:31.366+00:00New music for non-traditional inclusive ensembles: RNS Moves & National Open Youth Orchestra in dynamic new pieces<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3wgPFl_fGeKsRZvNdWHftccbzvjw-Tnw12wU30LinvyvQVxe52ND-88xjG-WFJep_sRJvBRYR2TVzZLgLWijE3yi34sMA-jmmIy1TANCIEb_M7v8U3UUzMyORLqpGolEakK9yeS2HTSAyuZUfTQ4PoHXrWhR3Dni3EqRntSgqMuu_RsCVEi-Aw/s590/RNS%20Moves%20Tynesight%20Photographic.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="RNS Moves (Photo: Tynesight Photographic)" border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="590" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3wgPFl_fGeKsRZvNdWHftccbzvjw-Tnw12wU30LinvyvQVxe52ND-88xjG-WFJep_sRJvBRYR2TVzZLgLWijE3yi34sMA-jmmIy1TANCIEb_M7v8U3UUzMyORLqpGolEakK9yeS2HTSAyuZUfTQ4PoHXrWhR3Dni3EqRntSgqMuu_RsCVEi-Aw/w400-h253/RNS%20Moves%20Tynesight%20Photographic.png" title="RNS Moves (Photo: Tynesight Photographic)" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RNS Moves (Photo: Tynesight Photographic)</td></tr></tbody></table><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">New music for non-traditional inclusive ensembles: the Royal Northern Sinfonia's RNS Moves is premiering a piece by Héloïse Werner at The Glasshouse, Gateshead, whilst the National Open Youth Orchestra is presenting a programme of new music at the Barbican's Milton Court. Both ensembles feature disabled and non-disabled musicians.</span></p><p>RNS Moves, the inclusive ensemble featuring disabled musicians and non-disabled members of Royal Northern Sinfonia will perform a new commission from <a href="https://heloisewerner.com/" target="_blank">Héloïse Werner</a>, <i>Wander</i>, on Sunday 17 March at The Glasshouse, Gateshead. Some of the instruments were completely new to Héloïse Werner: the Headspace, played by RNS Moves founder Clarence Adoo and the robo-recorder, invented and played by Liza Bec. Werner worked closely with them to integrate the distinctive instruments into the music. </p><p>Werner's new piece is inspired by city life, evoking the sensation of strolling through a bustling landscape and being drawn to buskers using a mixture of field recordings and solo parts played live by the players. The concert will include more of Werner's pieces, plus <a href="https://lizabec.com/" target="_blank">Liza Bec</a>’s <i>Space Dinosaur Music </i>and music from Purcell and Barbara Strozzi to Stockhausen and Nina Simone. </p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Full details from The Glasshouse <a href="https://theglasshouseicm.org/whats-on/rns-moves-heloise-werner/" target="_blank">website</a>.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8N2E3tNqdcMlF71d1jQhuNlAcvyMJklwUv17RhqKg9cg8p02hHj2TESa7ZJG9-TI6AcyePQZDHxCki7leEandfJwfFGEqqmEpSVqYCFEo31wq0hUdDLwM-V2_i7bRYX9ipiZumlDz4stEOOdFxw-ZQA6feyUC_CqI1wzs9UZX6Ojxf6i1K7fB7Q/s1232/National%20Open%20Youth%20Orchestra%20classic%20shot.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="National Open Youth Orchestra" border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1232" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8N2E3tNqdcMlF71d1jQhuNlAcvyMJklwUv17RhqKg9cg8p02hHj2TESa7ZJG9-TI6AcyePQZDHxCki7leEandfJwfFGEqqmEpSVqYCFEo31wq0hUdDLwM-V2_i7bRYX9ipiZumlDz4stEOOdFxw-ZQA6feyUC_CqI1wzs9UZX6Ojxf6i1K7fB7Q/w400-h226/National%20Open%20Youth%20Orchestra%20classic%20shot.webp" title="National Open Youth Orchestra" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members of the National Open Youth Orchestra</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The National Open Youth Orchestra, world’s first disabled-led national youth ensemble, is returning to the Barbican's Milton Court Concert Hall on 21 April 2024 for <i>Feel the Music</i>, a relaxed performance welcoming a diverse audience inclusive of disabled and neuro-divergent concert goers and families to a joyous afternoon of music. </p><p>Twenty-four of the orchestra's young disabled and non-disabled musicians will perform a lively programme on acoustic, electronic, and accessible instruments. Among more traditional instruments, the musicians also perform on some instruments not often found in orchestras, such as electric guitars, accordions, or on accessible instruments that may be completely new to audiences - from the Seaboard RISE to the ClarionTM, which some performers play using head movements.</p><div>The concert includes new music by <a href="https://ah-a.co.uk/" target="_blank">Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres</a>, <a href="https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/ben-lunn" target="_blank">Ben Lunn</a>, <a href="https://www.annameredith.com/" target="_blank">Anna Meredith</a> and <a href="https://michaelbetteridge.com/" target="_blank">Michael Betteridge</a>. Ben Lunn's piece pays homage to the virtuoso pianist, Paul Wittgenstein, who, after losing his right arm in the First World War continued to play left-handed.</div><div><br /></div><div>Following the London concert, the orchestra will be touring to Bristol, Poole and Birmingham</div><div><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Full details from the <a href="https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2024/event/national-open-youth-orchestra" target="_blank">Barbican website</a>.</span></div>Planet Hugillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03313336412497998666noreply@blogger.com0