Monthly Archives: January 2016

St Nicolas and St Wilfrid’s Churches, Pevensey

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A ‘Noteworthy’ Concert 
23rd January at 7:00PM – Tickets £6

Music-lovers who enjoy hearing sublime choral singing in a church that enhances the pleasure, will not want to miss Noteworthy Voices’ Epiphany Concert on Saturday 23rd of January in St. Nicolas Church, Pevensey. Founded by chorister Richard Long, Noteworthy is a mixed choir of about 20 members. Their fine ‘a cappella’ debut in 2015 was highly rated by local audiences.

As Epiphany is the season of gladness, hope and light, Musical Director Ansy Boothroyd has chosen a beautiful programme of atmospheric and joyful pieces: Morten Lauridsen’s much-loved work ‘O Magnum Mysterium’ is complemented by two earlier versions from Victoria and Poulenc. Other delights in store include works by Tavener, Grieg and Tchaikovsky as well as favourite modern classics such as Peter Gritton’s ‘Winter Wonderland’: rich close-harmony at its very best.

‘This is our first concert in St. Nicolas Church’s 800th anniversary year and we are delighted to welcome ‘Noteworthy’ back to begin our season of concerts, after a very successful first visit last year,’ says George Stephens, Deputy Churchwarden.

The concert is at St Nicholas Church Pevensey, on the 23rd of January 2016 at 7.00p.m. Tickets £6 on the door. Student concessions.

The St. Nicolas Concerts are supported by Gaby Hardwicke, BPE Business Consultants, Priory Court Hotel, Visick Cars, Carr Taylor Wines and Sunshine Music.

For more information see: www.noteworthyvoices.co.uk., or www.stnicolas800.org.uk

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

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Lighthouse, Poole; 13 January 2016

Liadov’s folk tale-inspired programme piece Kikimora is a sparky concert opener, new to me and, I suspect, to most of the audience in the packed Lighthouse.  Full of unexpected woodwind and other flourishes, it was played with colourful clarity and a lot of wit.

Valeriy Sokolov

Shostakovich’s unusually structured first violin concerto totally rejects any hint of classicism by opening with a long slow movement. It isn’t easy to sustain but Kees Bakels – a baton-free conductor with an un-histrionic focus on beating time – ensured that the orchestra engaged fully with the soulful enigmatic mystery of Valeriy Sokolov’s lyrical account of the solo violin part. Sokolov then delighted me and (I think) most others present in his contrasting take on the virtuosic passages of high speed Schostakovichian jazzy rhythms which packed exactly the right level of manic melodic wildness with plenty of complementary woodwind detail in the latter three movements – especially the scherzo – and Sokolov’s spectacular, and diabolically difficult, double stopping in the cadenza was delivered with terrific panache.

Notwithstanding the ongoing debate about Beethoven’s metronome markings and intentions, I don’t accept that the opening movement of the glorious Fifth Symphony should be a gallop. The first two bars are three crotchets and a minim and the movement is marked allegro con brio. Had Beethoven meant three semiquavers and a quaver I’m pretty sure he would have written that and marked it prestissimo. In this performance Bakels pushed the orchestra so fast that far too much of the detail became an aural blur which was a pity. The latter three movements worked much better with a rich warm sound, especially from the lower strings in the andante; and what fun – after they’ve sat waiting for three movements – to have the trombones stand when they eventually played. It certainly drives Beethoven’s triumphant message home as the piccolo, perfectly played here, weaved its excited magic at the top of the texture. SE

THE SCHUMANN PROJECT – OXFORD LIEDER 2016

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Schumann’s complete songs will be the focus of the fifteenth Oxford Lieder Festival (14-29 October 2016). The Schumann Project, which falls on the 160th anniversary of the composer’s death, places his works for voice alongside an array of his other works and songs by his friends and contemporaries. The two-week Lieder Festival, which won an RPS Award for the 2014 Schubert Project, encompasses chamber and choral works, study events, artistic partnerships and world-class musicians. It will explore Schumann’s life and times, his friends and contemporaries, his influences and his legacies, and his literary and artistic interests; all illuminating and casting a fresh light on his remarkable body of songs.

Graham Johnson returns for two lecture-recitals exploring Schumann’s life and music; study days will look at Schumann’s fascination with Bach, and at the political upheaval and revolution of the 1840s; Wolfgang Holzmair will lead the residential mastercourse; and there will be film screenings, masterclasses and talks.  2016 is also the 120th anniversary of Clara Schumann’s death; her 29 songs will be included in the Festival.

Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber will give the opening recital of the Festival, and other artists appearing in Oxford for the first time include Anne Sofie von Otter, Bo Skovhus and Juliane Banse. The roster also features Thomas Allen, Sarah Connolly, Felicity Lott, James Gilchrist, Sophie Karthäuser, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Christoph Prégardien, and Roderick Williams, alongside many other leading artists and emerging stars.

Passes for the entire festival cost £460 and a week pass £280 – available now from www.oxfordlieder.co.uk / 01865 591276. General booking opens 1st June.

www.oxfordlieder.co.uk

ENO stages its first ever production of Bellini’s Norma

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ON NormaFor the first time in its 85-year-history ENO will stage an opera by one of the greatest masters of the Italian Bel canto style, Vincenzo Bellini. His widely-acknowledged masterpiece Norma will be performed in the staging by award-winning director Christopher Alden which was first seen at Opera North in 2012 where it was described as ‘alive, energising and absorbing ‘ by the Daily Telegraph. It was subsequently seen in Chemnitz and Bordeaux.

The production relocates the setting from Gaul under Roman occupation to an imagined American Mid-West of the late 19th Century where a close-knit community’s way of life is threatened by unstoppable change. The people want war. Their priestess Norma, secretly in love with one of the enemy Pollione, resists. But now he has a new love and in the face of his betrayal it seems Norma is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Norma is a high-point of the Bel canto style with the drama expressed through vocal lines of extraordinary beauty and grandeur yet which demand exceptional technical control. Its most famous aria Casta Diva has been a showcase for many of opera’s most acclaimed sopranos including Giuditta Pasta who created the role, Rosa Ponselle, Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé and Cecilia Bartoli. But the work is also noted for its powerful choral episodes and two magnificent duets for the two sopranos.

Christopher Alden directs his sixth production for ENO. Known for his striking interpretations, his dramatic staging ofNorma ‘pierces to the heart of the drama’ (The Guardian). Alden’s creative team includes set designer Charles Edwards, costume designer Sue Willmington and lighting designer Adam Silverman.

Stephen Lord, Music Director of the Opera Theatre of St Louis and a noted interpreter of the Bel canto repertory, returns to lead the orchestra and chorus having previously conducted Rigoletto, La Boheme and Tosca for ENO.

Rising star soprano Marjorie Owens makes her UK, ENO and role debut in the demanding title role.  A recent Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Marjorie was also a company member of Semperoper in Dresden where her roles included Daphne, Senta, Ariadne, Amelia Grimaldi and Elisabetta in Don Carlo.

American soprano Jennifer Holloway returns to ENO in the role of Adalgisa, which she sang in this production in Bordeaux. Previously here she has sung Musetta and Prince Orlofsky.

British tenor Peter Auty debuts in the role of Pollione. He has previously sung for ENO in The Girl of the Golden West,Der Rosenkavalier, Rigoletto and La bohème. Formerly a company principal at the Royal Opera House he has also performed with Grange Park Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera North and Scottish Opera. Peter’s professional musical career started at the tender age of 13, when as a choir boy at St Paul’s Cathedral he was chosen to sing ‘Walking in the Air’,the theme to the 1982 animated film of The Snowman.

Celebrated American bass James Creswell is Norma’s father Oroveso, a role he performed in this production with Opera North in 2012 and in Bordeaux. His previous roles for ENO include Padre Guardiano in The Force of Destiny, Pogner in Richard Jones’s Olivier Award-winning production of The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Sarastro in Simon McBurney’s production of The Magic Flute, a role he will reprise in its revival in February 2016.

Scottish mezzo-soprano Valerie Reid sings the role of Norma’s friend Clotilde. For ENO she has previously sung in numerous productions including La traviata, Juiletta , Peter Grimes, and Katya Kabanova and will perform the role of Mayor’s Wife in David Alden’s revival of Jenufa in June 2016.

Completing the cast is Australian tenor Adrian Dwyer as Pollione’s companion Flavio. Adrian recently sung the role of Trabuco in The Force of Destiny and has also performed in The Girl of the Golden West, Fidelio, Death in Venice, The Passenger, Wozzeck, Parsifal and Lucia di Lammermoor all for ENO.

Norma opens on Wednesday 17 February 2016 at 7.30pm for 7 performances –24, 27 February, 2, 7, 11, March at 7.30pm, 20 February at 6.30pm.

Pre-performance talk: Wednesday February 5.15-6pm, £5/£2.50 concs.

Originally created by Opera North in a co-production with Die Theater Chemnitz

New production supported by the English National Opera Trust and the American Friends of ENO.

January 2016 DVDs & CDs

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Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony
Bejart Ballet Lausanne & The Tokyo Ballet, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
EUROARTS 2060878

The idea behind this approach is unproblematic as many orchestral works have been turned into highly successful ballets. Macmillan’s Das Lied von der Erde is a good case in point. Unfortunately Bejart’s approach is unconvincing and often lacklustre. The movement appears to have little to do with the score and is frequently at odds with it. This might matter less of the musical side was outstanding but there is too often a sense that Zubin Mehta is holding himself back for the dancers rather than leading the score.

The DVD opens with a lengthy percussion improvisation which seems equally distant from the Beethoven. It may all have made more sense live but conveys very little on the small screen.

Puccini: Turandot
Teatro Carlo Felice, Donato Renzetti
DYNAMIC 33764

With the exception of occasional rather raw edges which may m simply be the result of a live performance this is well sung throughout. Mario Malagnini’s Calaf gets stronger as he goes on and Roberta Canzian’s Liu becomes more mellifluous in the final act. Smaller parts are well sung and vocally characterised. There is a steely edge to Daniela Dessi’s Princess which is in character if a little uncomfortable at times.

The real problem is the production by Giuliano Montaldo which is old-fashioned and dull. It has no understanding of choral movement, with the singers lined up in blocks either side and allowed to emote at will. To compensate, a group of dancers frequently bound onto the stage to fill the space left by the retreating chorus. Added to this the acting is often perfunctory with a propensity for ending an aria down stage centre to milk the applause. I thought we were well past this stage now but it appears I was wrong.

Weber: Der Freischutz
Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann
UNITEL CLASSICA 733108

This is a well-focused if very dark rendition of the work, often violent though never excessively so. As often these days there is no attempt to use the dance music for dancing – the act one scene becomes a nasty fight between neighbours.

However the narrative in Axel Kohler’s production is firmly kept in check and the characterisation is sensitive to the text and score. Michael Konig is a bluff Max, very much the outsider and is easily taken to the dark side. Sarah Jakubiak is a fine Agathe.

Most impressive is the conducting of Christian Thielemann who keeps the score on edge the whole time and makes us sense the latent horror even in moments of apparent calm. Where so many productions can drift too far from the original text, this re-interpretation is very convincing.

Rossini: Otello
Vlaanderen Opera, Alberto Zedda
DYNAMIC CDS 7711/1-3

This is a case where I would happily have had the DVD rather than the CD. For those of us who know Verdi’s Otello well it can come as something of a shock to find Rossini’s version so far adrift from Shakespeare both in terms of narrative and emotional intensity. While well sung I found it difficult to engage with the work as a whole, and, looking at the productions photographs, feel I could have benefitted greatly from seeing the action as well as hearing it. Alberto Zedda keeps things moving well from the pit but does little to engage us with the changes inherent in Rossini’s score.

Mendelssohn in Birmingham Vol 4
Jennifer Pike, violin, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Edward Gardner
CHANDOS CHSA 5161

A happy combination of popular works – the violin concerto and the full incidental music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Both are finely played and I particularly enjoyed the approach to the Dream. The work can so easily seem hackneyed with over hearing but here is light, immediate and engaging. While there are many versions available this must go very high up the list from the start.

Mendelssohn: String Symphonies Vol 1
L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Michi Gaigg
CPO 777 942-2

A noted above these are familiar works but the new recording is fresh and amiable throughout. However the use of a baroque orchestra – with a closer reliance on an original sound – does give this an extra layer of interest.

More recordings to follow

Happy New Year from St Nicholas Pevensey!

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St Nic Pevensey

 

2016 promises to be a momentous year for all who are connected with, value and appreciate St. Nicolas church, Pevensey. It is the churches 800th anniversary year: completed in 1216, 400 years before Shakespeare, 500 years before JS Bach was in his prime, St. Francis of Assisi was yet to be born and the world hadn’t been circumnavigated.

2016 will see the start of the second part of the church’s restoration with two new roofs, upgraded electrical system and renewed windows ironwork (‘ferramenta’). This will be financed by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant announced last September, and from our own continuing fundraising.

A further £80,000 is needed to complete the much needed internal redecoration of the church. Applications will be made to hopefully supportive grant funding bodies early in the New Year who, without exception, always want to know what we are fund raising ourselves!

The church has an ambitious Events programme planned for 2016. Tickets will generally be on sale about four weeks before the concert date. Some events may be booked earlier on line through ‘wegottickets.com’.

The first 2016 concert is on 23rd January at 7:00 PM with NOTEWorthy, an accomplished Eastbourne based ‘a cappella’ choir of mixed voices several of whom have sung in major London choirs (Bach Choir, BBC Chorus to name but two). Their programme will be a selection of sacred and secular music, with some familiar pieces. One of the pieces, an ancient chant ‘O Mysterium Magnum’ from Christmas Matins was sung by King’s College Choir on Christmas Eve this year. It has become a favourite, arranged in this contemporary version in 1947 by an American,  Morten Laurisden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ch7uottHU. Come and hear more! Tickets are £6.