Planet Hugill - A world of classical music

June at the Barbican

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:00:09 PDT

Circa & I Fagiolini: How Like An Angel
© Chris Taylor

June in the Barbican opens with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama's contribution to Britten 100 with a performance of Britten's Owen Wingrave directed by Kelly Robinson. This is a co-production with the Banff Centre, Canada where Robinson is the Artistic Director of Theatre Arts (5, 7, 10, 12 June). Cellist Yo-Yo Ma joins the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas for a trio of concerts which include Shostakovich's two cello concertos, plus Britten's Symphony for Cello and Orchestra. Each of the three concerts includes music by Shostakovich, Copland and Britten, three great contemporaries. (9, 11, 12 June). The LSO's pair of concerts which were intended to be conducted by Sir Colin Davis have become a memorial with a variety of conductors including the composer's son, in a programme which reflects Davis's wide interests (16, 18 June). Les Arts Florissants directed by Paul Agnew, return for more Monteverdi madrigals, this time the Fifth Book of Madrigals (15 June). And Laurie Anderson joins forces with the Kronos Quartet to premiere a major new commission and their first collaboration. (28 June). Off site I Fagiolin are joined by Circa's brand of contemporary circus in a programme called How Like an Angel at St Bartholomew the Great (25-28 June).

Something intriguing in the trees

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sun, 19 May 2013 08:16:35 PDT

Despite living not that far away from Nunhead cemetery, I missed Biped's Monitor which was presented in the cemetery by the Arbonauts. Described as a unique site-based theatrical experience merging highly-visual, surreal environments with an ethereal operatic score, it involved strange and evocative installations created for the disused chapel and trees of Nunhead Cemetery. Now the group plan to bring the event back this summer for six evenings. Biped's Monitor is inspired by the Italo Calvino folktale, The Baron in the Trees which follows a young aristocrat who takes to the trees. The Arbonauts promise a surrel experience that allows the audience to explore and encounter characters and spaces at their own pace.

Arbonauts was formed in 2011 by Helen Galliano and Dimitri Launder. They are a multidisciplinary collective which includes theatre maker Helen Galliano, designer Dimitri Launder and composers Alex Nikiporenko and Louise Drewet. They specialise in 'performative installations inspired by unusual spaces and surreal narratives. Our work is often voyeuristic and provocative – made for a curious audience.'

You can hear some of their work, Aria Arboria, on the Sound Cloud website

They recently had a successful experimental night at Battersea Arts Centre trying out ideas for a new piece called The Desire Machine set to Madrigale by Aldo Clementi.

For August they are looking for local singers and choirs to perform with them further information (and contact info) from the Arbonauts webpage.

A scream and an outrage - 2

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:16:58 PDT

A weekend music marathon at the Barbican and other places: curated by Nico Muhly

The Sixteen

Session 4 began far LSO St Lukes traversing music from the renaissance to present day with The Sixteen, led by Harry Christophers, who were on angelic form.

too early on Sunday morning but we were back in

The first three pieces in the concert, written by the 16^th century composer Thomas Tallis (1505 – 1585), were beautifully performed - The Sixteen glided through the trademark Tallis dissonances that could be right at home in a 21^st Century composition. Tallis was a local man, living in Greenwich towards the end of his life. A contemporary of Byrd, he managed to survive four monarchs and the switches in religion which claimed many lives. The three pieces performed here were all written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first, who, despite being fervently Protestant, permitted the Catholic Tallis and Byrd to write and publish music. This is the kind of music that would have been performed in the first incarnation of St Luke's and is still right at home in today’s rebuilt performance space.

Four centuries after Tallis, Arvo Pärt (1935 - ) was born near Tallinn in Estonia. He composed ‘The woman with the alabaster box’, a setting of Matthew 26: 6-13, in 1997. The sustained tones which characterise this piece contrasted nicely with the Tallis; the constant movement of the first highlighting stillness of the second.

Similarly the ‘Three motets’ by Charles Stanford (1852 – 1924) were beautifully performed. Probably written towards the end of the 19^th century these Anglican motets are in a different style entirely, yet still complemented both the Tallis and Pärt.

These were followed by ‘Infelix ego’ composed by William Byrd (1539 –1623) a pupil of Tallis, and Nico Muhly’s (1981-) ‘I cannot attain unto it’ written in 2005. The Muhly was surprising in its sensitive treatment of Psalm 139 and drew together elements of all the composers already heard along with percussive elements and repetitive fragments reminiscent of Saturday afternoon. A modern eclecticism.

‘Miserere’ from Psalm 51 by James MacMillan (1959 - ) continued this drawing together of styles. Contained within a wild wood of primal folk, hymns, chorales and psalms reach out, settling into the plainchant Tonus Peregrinus recognisable from the Allegri. Gustav Holst’s (1874 – 1934) ‘Nunc Dimittis’ completed the morning’s session.

The evening concert (Session 6) began with the same drones as Session 2, starting to play as the audience took their places. This flowed into ‘Drones and viola’ played by Nadia Sirota and ‘Drones and violin’ played by Pekka Kuusisto. These were more in keeping with yesterday’s ‘Three songs’ than this morning’s ‘I cannot attain unto it’, with elements of lyricism interrupted by harsh chords and cadenza-like solo sections. Both of the ‘Drones and ...’ had moments relating to Glass, and both stopped rather abruptly.

The ‘Drones and...’ were followed by ‘Architecture of loss’ by Valgeir Sigurðsson (1971 - ). This Icelandic composer is the founder of Greenhouse Studios and the record label ‘Bedroom Community’ used by Nico and friends. Using the violin, viola and piano, Valgeir transformed, looped, and manipulated sound snippets, to produce an industrial work (which also ended quite suddenly).

The European premier of ‘Death Speaks’ by David Lang (1957 - ) had no such problems. This work came out of the composer’s musings on the personification of Death in ‘Death and the Maiden’ by Franz Schubert. In the songs of Schubert, Death has a message 32 times. These messages David converted into a libretto and a ‘post, post Schubertian song’. Sung by Shara Worden whose voice is delightfully simple and clear, and supported by Nico on piano, plus violin and guitar, ‘Death Speaks’ was a captivating performance.

Throughout the day all 20 ‘Etudes for Solo Piano’ by Phillip Glass were being performed. Nico Muhly played the first four during the morning. Although I didn’t get to hear all 20 it was an interesting exercise in differing interpretations. Nico’s version of Etudes 1 through 4 was impressionistic in style, making much of changes in tempo and dynamic and stretching our phrases.

In contrast, during the evening Phillip Glass himself played Etudes 8, 9, and 10. Not needing any music, he was the relaxed boogie woogie master, who played straight through all three. Nico played Etudes 11 and 12, but in a more retrained way than his previous performance that morning. Finally Timo Andres, an American composer/pianist brilliantly played the last five, perching his ipad on the music stand.

All of the interpretations were adeptly played and all in all they reflected the ethos of the weekend – a group of friends getting together to make a bit of music and to see what was possible.

Hilary Glover

For our coveage of A Scream and an Outrage see also Hilary's review of day one.

22 May: Luke Bedford premieres

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:00:09 PDT

Luke Bedford
(c) Ben Ealovga

Luke Bedford's new piece Renewal will be performed twice by the London Sinfonietta at the concert on May 22 at the Purcell Room on London's South Bank. In between the two performances Bedford will talk about the work, giving the audience insight into the work before they are able to hear it again. I wish that more premieres were like this. (In an ideal world we'd be issued with free scores beforehand too!). Also in the programme will be the UK premiere of Bedford's Wonderful no-headed nightingale in its version for ensemble as well as Gerard Grisey's Periodes from Le espaces acoustiques. Bedford won the Royal Philharmonic Composition Prize in 2000 for composers under 29 and was the Wigmore Hall's first ever composer in residence. Further information about the London Sinfonietta concert from the South Bank Centre website.

20 May: Tales from Ovid

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:00:03 PDT

Christopher Ainslie

Ian Page and Classical Opera are back with a concert which examines the 18th century's fascination with Ovid and his Metamophoses. The group will be performing Dittersdorf's symphony based on the rescue of Andromeda by Perseus, plus music from Gluck's opera Orfeo et Euridice, Haydn's Philemon et Baucis (actually an opera for marionettes) and Mozart's first opera Apollo et Hyacinthus. Performers include counter-tenor Christopher Ainslie, soprano Anna Devin and tenor Benjamin Hulett. The concert takes place on Monday 20 May at the Wigmore Hall. Further information from the Wigmore Hall website.

17 May: Fanfare for Fran

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:03 PDT

A Fanfare for Fran - Celebrating Frances Andrade does exactly what the title says. The concert on 17 May 2013 at St. James's Piccadilly celebrates the life of violinist Fran Andrade. The Chamber Ensemble of London (an ensemble with which she was associated) are performing with soprano Gillian Rae-Walker and violinist Eri Konii, directed by Peter Fisher. The concert will help support the Rape And Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Guildford, where she lived. The event opens with Clive Jenkins' Fanfare and fugue in memorian Frances Andrade and there is music by Telemann, Monteverdi, Schubert, Harold Darke and Bach, plus Dido's Lament from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Lascia ch'io pianga from Handel's Rinaldo. Further information from the Concert-Diary.com page.

A scream and an outrage - 1

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:16:17 PDT


Trio Mediaeval CF-Wesenberg:kolonihaven.no

A weekend music marathon at the Barbican and other places: curated by Nico Muhly

Part pop festival, part classical concert, this weekend was an eclectic mix of music and I’m glad that I got to listen to as much of it as I did.

The first session I went to was session 2 at LSO St Lukes. While I overheard someone call the space ‘brutal’ I have to disagree. By fusing utilitarian modern with its 18^th century facade, this beautiful Hawksmoor with its dilapidated past is acoustically and aesthetically one of the best music spaces in London.

Before the concert proper Nico Muhly (1981-) and friends played an introduction to the first set of songs. Sat on a little carpet they played a minimalistic drone, based around a single tone with slowly changing chords, which eventually became the accompaniment to the UK premiere of ‘Three songs’. Performed by violinist Pekka Kuusisto and British tenor Allan Clayton, the songs reminded me a little of ‘Fish in the unruffled lakes’ by Benjamin Britten, albeit with guttural statements from the violin. Moments of consonance to the drone and silence were used to highlight words and phrases. When the drone finally ended its loss was keenly felt, even though you probably weren’t sure when it began.

Bang on a Can all-Stars played Terry Riley’s (1935-) ‘Tread on the Trail’. Written in 1965 this piece is for ‘any number of instruments’ and is ‘Like in C… everybody plays from the same page’. Today we had cello, double bass, guitars, piano, percussion and sax (and sound engineer), who together produced a delightful jazzy meandering and clearly enjoyed themselves.

The final piece of this set was also a UK premier. Bang on a Can all-Stars joined forces with the Norwegian girl group Trio Mediaeval, to perform Julia Wolfe‘s (1958-) ‘Steel Hammer’. Julia herself explained that there are over 200 version of the American Ballad ‘John Henry’. According to legend he raced and won against a steam hammer, only to die with his hammer in his hand. But Julia wanted to explore the way information travels and grows – various discrepancies between alternate versions are brought forward. While this version of John Henry emphasizes his achievement rather than his finality, what she manages to show is that in the end, regardless of the details, the humanity and impact of the story remains.

The folk-style and precision of Trio Mediaeval perfectly matched the alternating moods of ‘Steel Hammer’ from cattle call American to industrial scrapes and bangs. For the singers and musicians this piece it itself an unrelenting marathon on its own. Their vocal dexterity through the various tongue twisters and rhythmic fragments was amazing.

Session 3 in the Barbican Hall was preceded by an afternoon of FreeStage events. In passing I heard Steve Reich’s (1936-) ‘Music for Pieces of Wood’ performed by the Guildhall Percussionists and, during the interval, a delightfully irreverent ‘Double Music’ by Jason Treuting played by So Percussion and students from the Guildhall School of Music. I’m not even sure what all the instruments they used were – but it definitely included some audience participation. The last welcome interruption was during one of the stage rearrangements when So Percussion flash mobbed Steve Reich’s ‘Clapping music’.

Another premier – this time a European premier: Daniel Bjarnason’s ‘Over Light Earth’. This Icelandic composer, who records with the same label as Nico, has worked with London Sinfonietta, Ulster Orchestra and Sinfonietta Cracovia and has won the 2010 Best Composer/Best Composition category at the Icelandic Music Awards.

The stage was certainly full. With two pianos, two sets of percussion, speakers, amps, multitudes of wires and stands, the lone harp glittered like a jewel. ‘Over Light Earth’ was an ever changing soundscape with cycles of storms and calms – but it seemed a little self-conscious. Not all the sounds had a readily apparent source and there was an electronic hiss of an undertone. The strings were a little scratchy and could have done perhaps with more performers per part in such a large space.

Bryce Dessner’s (1976-) ‘St Carolyn by the sea’ (UK premier) also seemed a little lost. Apparently this piece is meant to be performed by Bryce and his twin, but they were not present tonight. There were some pleasant moments, and the strings were more solid, but it was sometimes hard to make out the guitars – even the conductor appeared to lose where they were up to.

Then the audience went wild for Conor J. O’Brien, guitarist and founder of the Irish indie folk band the Villagers, who was suitably dressed down for the occasion. The Villagers are clearly well known and were nominated for a Mercury award and won an Ivor Novello award in 2011. The arrangements by Nico were surprisingly mainstream, but with little odd moments now and again which didn’t quite fit in. Not my thing – I like my folk music to be folk music - but the rest of the audience loved it.

Experimental composer Richard Reed Parry, member of indie rock band Arcade Fire, was in the unfortunate position of following Connor. ‘Heart and Breath’ however was an exciting idea. The performers wore stethoscopes so that they could play to the rhythm of their own heart beats and breathing.

The duet was fairly self explanatory, but the quartet and nonet were a little confusing. Especially as they were explained thus: ‘the quartet, by which we mean eleven people, which expands into a nonet, by which we mean eleven people’. The number of movements and general pauses were also unclear, leaving the audience unsure of whether to clap or not. Several people plumped for - if in doubt, applause. All this embarrassed the composer and detracted from what was actually happening.

The sections based on heart rates resulted in some interesting harmonies which would be horrible to notate any other way. The sections based on breathing also worked in juxtaposition, but less so when they were the main element. This has the potential to be an amazing piece but at another time and with a different audience.

Similarly to Conor, Glen Hansard’s set received rapturous applause. This singer songwriter is an emotive performer with a strong on-stage personality and well thought out lyrics. One slight hiccup was charmingly glossed over - he forgot to come in and unfortunately it’s hard to ask a whole orchestra to repeat a few bars so that he could catch his place. The orchestral sound seemed to gel more with his style and Glen ended the evening on a very late, but endearing, encore.

Nico’s idea was to have a ‘gathering of friends and family, new and old’ and in this he succeeded. But there was little screaming and no outrage – just a group of people trying things out in a, by and large, minimalistic way. Some of it worked – some of it didn’t. But without trying and experimenting how else can we move forward.

Hilary Glover

For further coverage of A scream and an outrage see Hilary's review of day two.

17-19 May: Sacconi Chamber Music Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:00:12 PDT

May 17 to 19 sees that Sacconi Chamber Music Festival filling Folkestone with some fine chamber music. The festival is organised by the young Sacconi Quartet, who open on Friday 17 May with a concert of quartets by Haydn, Ireland and Beethoven. They continue on May 18 with a programme of Bridge, Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn and strings, RVW and Elgar which involves Mark Padmore (tenor), Richard Watkins (horn) and the Royal College of Music Chamber Orchestra. Mark Padmore and Gary Matthewman join the quartet for RVW's On Wenlock Edge, plus Britten's Winter Words and Tippett's Boyhood's End on Sunday 19 May. Richard Watkins plays Mozart's Horn Quartet in a programme which also includes Haydn and Britten String Quartets. In between these events there are Mozart's duos for violin and viola, late night folk-fusion and a talk on Britten. The Sacconi Quartet are also involved in outreach in the area and on May 4, there is a performance of Britten's Noye's Fludde with the Canterbury Cantata Trust, schoolchildren and community musicians. Further information from the festival website.

15 May: Villazon - Verdi - the concert

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:00:00 PDT

Following up his recent CD of arias from Verdi operas (see my review), Rolando Villazon will be singing a selection of Verdi arias in concert at the Royal Festival Hall on 15 May 2013 as part of a European tour. Further dates include Amsterdam (12 June), Stuttgart (15 June), Nurnberg (18 June), Baden-Baden (21 June), Toulouse (24 June) and Barcelona (27 June). For the London concert Villazon will be accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by the Russian-born, Barcelona-based Guerassim Voronkov. Arias featured in the concert will include items from Don Carlo, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, plus arias from lesser known operas such as Il Corsaro and Oberto, plus Verdi's songs orchestrated by Luciano Berio. Later this month Villazon will be appearing in L'elisir d'amore at the Liceu in Barcelon and in July he will be singing the lead role in Mozart's Lucia Silla at Salzburg.

14 May: Schumann - Under the influence

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:00:06 PDT

American pianist Jonathan Biss continues his exploration of Schumann's music and influence, with a pair of concerts at the Wigmore Hall, Schumann: Under the Influence. On 14 May 2013, Biss is joined by the Elias String Quartet for performances of Schumann's Piano Quartet and String Quartet in A Minor, Opus 41 no. 1. In between these two there will be the premiere of a new work by Timothy Andres commissioned by Wigmore Hall, San Francisco Performances, Carnegie Hall and Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam. The concert opens with a selection of Purcell's Fantasias. The concert is preceded by a talk with Jonathan Biss in conversation with Geoffrey Norris. Then on 22 May, Biss has a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall in which he plays Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze and Phantasiestucke interspersed with excerpts from Janáček's On an overgrown path. Biss will also be playing Berg's Piano Sonata No. 1. The overall question which the concerts seek to answer is where does Schumann's music belong in the general musical scheme of things, so expect unexpected links and connections. Further information from the Wigmore Hall website.

Reduced service

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sat, 11 May 2013 14:05:56 PDT

There will be a reduced service on Planet Hugill for the next week or so as I will be off on holiday. Not that I will be putting my feet up, I'll be joining friends walking in Montenegro.

Competition!

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sat, 11 May 2013 05:50:40 PDT

Gregg Kallor, whose recent album I reviewed, has an intriguing competition going. Post a coffee themed picture of yourself on Gregg's Facebook page and the winner will get their photo as the cover photo on his Facebook page as well as receiving tickets to the album launch in NYC and an autographed copy of the CD. Further details on Gregg's Facebook page. You have until May 13, so get posting!

Handel's L'Allegro at the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:54:45 PDT

image credit Jonathan Rose

Somewhat like London buses, Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato has made two London appearances in short succession after an absence of a number of years. Following on from the performance of the work as the close of the London Handel Festival (see my review), the Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music opened this year with a performance of L'Allegro given by Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort and Players at St John's Smith Square on Friday 10 May 2013 with soloists Gillian Webster, Laurence Kilsby, Jeremy Ovenden and Ashley Riches.

image credit Jonathan Rose

Like Laurence Cummings at the London Handel Festival, McCreesh chose to solve L'Allegro's textual problems by going back to Handel's original version, first premiered in 1740. Following on from this premiere, Handel would continue to tinker with the piece, adjusting it to the various forces available as was his wont. But also part of the tinkering seems to have been a dissatisfaction with theil Moderato. Handel adjusted this rather a lot and even dropped it entirely. Handel's revisions to his works are rarely complete improvements, and Paul McCreesh made the point in the programme that though by choosing the original version we lose some delightful music, we also gain the tautest and most vivid version of the work. One area where McCreesh returned even closer to the premiere was to use a treble, Laurence Kilsby, as Handel did rather than a second soprano, thus having a clear division between il Penseroso (soprano soloist) and l'Allegro (three male soloists, treble, tenor and bass). I did wonder whether the three male voices were intended in some way to reflect the three ages of man (youth, mature vigour, and old age), though at this performance there was no hint of old age in Ashley Riches' performance, I hasten to add.
concluding section, Charles Jennens'

McCreesh opened with two movements from Handel's Concerto Grosso, Opus 6 No. 1, the work which Handel opened his programme. Using around 30 musicians in total we had a good rich sound filling St. John's Smith Square. The two concerto grosso movements had a nice crisp bounce to them, and with the four cellos and two basses strung out across the stage behind the upper strings, a nice strong bass line to them.

Some lovely dark textures in the orchestra set off Jeremy Ovenden's tenor quite brilliantly in the opening accompagnato. Ovenden has quite a bright voice, with a vivid way with the words. Some of McCreesh's speeds were quite lively, but Ovenden was nicely adept at the fast passagework. One interesting point about the casting of this role, it was first sung by John Beard the tenor who also created the title roles in Handel's Samson and Jephtha, so a nice degree of robustness is to be expected. Ovenden brought out all the words in the tongue twister which is Haste thee, nymph, including the famous laughing passage, which he caught delightfully. But showed himself capable of some lovely, fine-toned singing in Let me wander not unseen.

Treble Laurence Kilsby sing with a remarkably assured stage manner, and firm bright tones to which he brought a remarkable degree of richness. He had a very secure technique, bringing charm and great sophistication to his performances. The celeste in Or let the merry bells complemented his singing nicely without overwhelming.

Bass Ashley Riches had to wait until the latter half of part one before his first solo, but it was worth the wait. Riches has a lovely dark voice which he used with great flexibility, its full resonance being complemented by the stunning natural horn solo in his hunting aria. Riches was equally vivid in part two with Populous Cities. It is the bass soloists who bears the main responsibility in part three, Il Moderato and here Riches followed a robustly resonant accompagnato with a pair of nicely shaped arias.

L'Allegro was soprano Gillian Webster, singing with clarity and nice warm tone, clearly highly involved with her music and projecting the words and character in inimitable manner. She gave us some moments of really fine singing without appearing fussy and over-precise, and there was a warm to her manner which came over at all times. The highlight, was of course, Sweet Bird, where she duetted brilliantly with the lovely solo flute placed up in the balcony. Here Webster showed both charm and technical expertise, with a lovely trill. And then was complemented with a fine cello obliggato in But oh, sad virgin. In Hide me from Day's garish eye she fined her tone right down to a fabulous hush.

The final duet, As steals the morn, is one of those pieces which can always be relied upon to bring a smile to the face and here it did not disappoint. The opening ritornello featured some lovely, expressive duetting from the oboes and bassoons, which nicely counterpointed the duetting of Webster and Ovenden.

The chorus are not overly used in this work. But they gave us highly characterful accounts of such contributions as Come and trip it as you go, as well as some fine grained singing in the major choruses which conclude parts one and two.

The orchestra were on fine form, giving us not only some fine solo playing but providing firm and highly characterful accompaniment.

In fact, characterful is probably a good adjective to describe the whole performance. McCreesh clearly loves the work and got strongly expressive and vivid performances from all of his performers. This was the perfect opening to the festival, and St. John's Smith Square seems just the right size for the work, giving the performers and the music enough space to breath whilst not being too big, still allowing a feeling of intimacy.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Mercadante's I due Figaro

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:35:38 PDT

A forgotten opera by a relatively unknown composer: I due Figaro by Saverio Mercadante is the latest to be revived by Riccardo Muti and the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini recorded live at the 2011 Ravenna Festival. Mercadante was the nearly man of early 19th century Italian opera, a younger colleague of Rossini's who had a long and influential operatic career. Trained in Naples, he ended up as director of the conservatoire there from 1840, and it is this Neapolitan connection which provides the link to Muti's other revivals of operas by Pergolesi and Cimarosa. Though in fact I due Figaro was written for Madrid.

Mercadante had a long operatic career. A few years younger than Rossini he wrote operas from 1819 to 1857 (the year Verdi wrote the original version of Simon Boccanegra and four years after the premiere of La Traviata). His middle period operas such as Il giuramento (1831) and Elena da Feltre (1839) are important in the modernisation of operatic technique. Mercadante followed his younger colleagues, Donizetti and Bellini, in updating his technique and he banished cabalettas and crescendos, simplified the vocal lines. His operas of this period had an important influence of Verdi (whose first opera dates from 1839). And it is the younger composer who has eclipsed Mercadante, though during his lifetime many of Mercadante's operas were more successful in Italy than Verdi's early works.

But the work that Muti has chosen to revive is a comedy dating from 1826, the earlier part of Mercadante's career, and written whilst he was working in Madrid. Mercadante's comedy dates from some years before Donizetti's well known comedies, L'Elisir d'Amore (1832) and Don Pasquale (1843). Its libretto is based on a comic play by French playwright Honore Antoine Richard Martelly dating from 1795, which somewhat satirised the characters from Beaumarchais' play Le Mariage de Figaro by inventing further intrigues for them. The libretto by Felice Romani was first set by Michele Carafa in 1820. Mercadante's version was intended for Madrid in 1826, but a dispute with his leading lady put the opera on hold and it did not appear until 1835.

The plot takes place some years after La Nozze di Figaro, the Count and Countess have a daughter, Ines, of marriageable age. There are twin plots to gain her hand. Figaro conspires with another servant, Torribio, to present Torribio as a suitor, Don Alvaro; they will share the dowry. Cherubino also returns, he loves Ines, and comes back as his own servant, also named Figaro, to gain her hand. To add complexity there is a poet, Plagio, looking for a plot for a play. The result is something like a crazy mash-up of La Nozze di Figaro with Il Turco in Italia.

The music shows little sign of Mercadante's changes to his technique and a listener coming to the piece cold might well mistake it for a work by Rossini. The work has the same sort of feel, with large scale ensembles and few solo arias, a big, multi-part finale and rather elaborate vocal writing. Perhaps the most interesting musical aspect is the fact that in the overture and one or two numbers in the opera Mercadante brings in hints of Spanish music, there is even an aria for Susanna which is a bolero of sorts.

Vocally the characters owe more to Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia than Mozart's opera. The Count and Countess (Antonio Poli and Asude Karyavuz) are a tenor and mezzo-soprano. Both are admirable and Poli's light tenor gets its way round Mercadante's elaborate vocal lines, though Karyavuz is not allowed anywhere near the depth of character that her character gets in Rossini or Mozart. There are two soprano roles: Rosa Feola is charming as the put upon Ines and Eleonora Buratto is a delightful Susanna, still scheming against both the Count and Figaro. Figaro (still a baritone) is played by Mario Cassi as an eternally confident schemer. Cherubino, despite the passage of years, is still a mezzo-soprano (Annalisa Stroppa) so clearly age has not diminished his youthful vigour. Anicio Zorzi Giutiniani is the servant Torribio who is disguised as Don Alvaro and Omar Montanari is the unfortunate poet Plagio who crops up at inopportune moments. All of the singers have to cope with Mercadante's elaborate vocal lines with significant roulades, and all do so admirably so that the performances are a complete pleasure to listen to.

The disc was recorded live and the CD booklet includes some very striking images of the stage production. The result is that the recitative has an appealing dramatic thrust to it, and is well accompanied on the fortepiano by Speranza Scappucci.

The Philharmonia Chor Wien contribute to the organised chaos of some of the ensemble numbers. Muti keeps the drama moving and gets very fine playing from his young players.

This is a very handsomely produced set, with a CD booklet which includes two articles. One gives the extensive background to I due Figaro and the other talks of Mercadante's importance in 19th century opera. Unfortunately this latter article can't really hide the fact that I due Figaro is not one of Mercadante's important operas. It does not show the composer modernising his style. Instead, it is charming Rossini-esque comedy which has a nice degree of engagement with the music of Spain.

Mercadante's more serious operas have been well served by Opera Rara and others, so that there are a decent selection in the catalogue. The high production values and strong ensemble performances in this set ensure that Mercadante's comedy is a complete delight to listen to, even if it does not quite plumb the depths. So, though the set might not make the case for Mercadante's importance in early 19th century opera, it has a degree of charm which might make it appealing in its own right.

Saverio Mercadante (1795 -1870) - I due Figaro
Count Almaviva - Antonio Poli (tenor)
Countess Almaviva - Asude Karayavus (mezzo-soprano)
Inez - Rosa Feola (soprano)
Cherubino - Annalisa Stroppa (mezzo-soprano)
Figaro - Mario Cassi (baritone)
Susanna - Eleonora Buratto (soprano)
Torribio - Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (tenor)
Plagio - Omar Montanari (baritone)

Philharmonia Chor Wien
Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini
Riccardo Muti (conductor)
Recorded Live at Teatro Alighieri, Ravenna, Italy 24 and 26 June 2011
DUCALE DUC 045-45 3CD

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Opera North new season

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:45:23 PDT

Opera North open its 2013/14 season with a trilogy of operas celebrating Britten's centenary, with revivals of Peter Grimes and A Midsummer Nights Dream alongside the company's first ever Death in Venice. In the Winter 2014 season there is a revival of Verdi's Macbeth plus a new production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West). Then in the Spring 2014 season they complete their Ring with performances of Gotterdammerung with Puccini's La Boheme as the unlikely partner in the season.

Phyllida Lloyd's 2006 production of Peter Grimes return with Jeffrey Lloyd-Roberts in the title role, Giselle Allen as Ellen Orford and Robert Hayward as Captain Bulstrode, conducted by Jac van Steen, the Dutch conductor who has been principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales since 2005.

Martin Duncan's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream dates from 2008 and returns with two fine young counter-tenors sharing the title role, James Laing and Christopher Ainslie, plus Jeni Bern as Titania and Henry Waddington and Darren Jeffrey sharing the role of Bottom. Stuart Stratford makes a welcome return to Opera North as conductor; he will also be at Opera Holland Park this year conducting Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci.

Alan Oke will sing the role of Aschenbach in Death in Venice with Opera North music director Richard Farnes conducting. The production, by Yoshi Oida, is from Aldeburgh where it garnered very strong reviews. Peter Savidge is singing the baritone roles. The productions will tour to Leeds, Salford, Nottingham and Newcastle, with Death in Venice also going to Aldeburgh.

Tim Albery's 2008 production of Verdi's Macbeth returns with a cast which includes Kelly Cae Hogan as Lady Macbeth and will be conducted by the Swedish violinist and conductor Tobias Ringborg. Then the new production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West will start Alwyn Mellor as Minnie and be directed by Aletta Collins (who directed Dido and Aeneas and La Voix Humaine for Opera North last year). Robert Hayward is Jack Rance, Rafael Rojas is Dick Johnson and Richard Farnes conducts. Both productions are being performed only in Leeds.

In the Spring, Peter Mumford directs the concert staging of Wagner's Gotterdammerung with a very strong cast which includes Alwyn Mellor returning as Brunnhilde, Daniel Brenna as Siegfried, Mats Almgren as Hagen, conducted by Richard Farnes. The revival of Phyllida Lloyd's 1993 production of La Boheme will be double cast but no further details are available as yet. Both productions are being performed in Leeds and Salford.

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London Festival of Contemporary Church Music

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Thu, 09 May 2013 06:16:08 PDT

The London Festival of Contemporary Church Music runs from 11 to 19 May 2013 in a variety of locations in and around London. There are services of Choral Evensont, Choral Eucharist, Choral Mattins and Vespers at Westminster Abbey, St. Pancras Parish Church, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, Westminster Cathedral and many others. The opening night concert, on 11 May at St Pancras Parish Church celebrates the 70th birthday of Philip Moor with Vox Turturis, directed by Andrew Gant, performing music by Moore. And on 17 May, at St Pancras Parish Church, UCL Chamber Choir under conductor Charles Peebles perform choral music by Robin Holloway to celebrate his 70th birthday.

On Saturday 18 May 2013 at St John's Church Waterloo, Gregory Rose's Danse Macabre receives its UK premiere performed by the Exultate Singers and the Jupiter Orchestra conducted by Gregory Rose.

A feature of the festival is their annual commissions, they have commissioned over 40 works since the festival was founded in 2002. This year they have commissioned a Missa Brevis from Nikolas Labrinakos which is performed on 12 May at St Pancras Parish Church as part of Chroal Eucharist. And Philip Moore's St Pancras Canticles are premiered at Choral Evensong from St. Pancras broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 15 May, alongside the premiere of Ed Hughes Chaconne for Jonathan Harvey and Ronald Corp's Responses, plus a performance of Gordon Crosse's As watchmen look to the morning which was commissioned in 2011.

The festival has grown considerably and there are now 24 participating venues, so for over a week you have a wide choice of services which include an element of contemporary church music. Further information from the festival website.

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Popup Opera - Don Pasquale

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:43:13 PDT

Popup Opera's speciality is touring small scale opera productions to unusual venues, tailoring the production to the venue. I caught their new production of Donizetti's comic opera Don Pasquale in the relatively intimate confines of the upstairs room at the Sun Tavern in Covent Garden. Directed by Darren Royston with a cast that included Raul Baglietto as Don Pasquale, Ricardo Panela as Doctor Malatesta, Ciff Zammit Stevens as Ernesto and Clementine Lovell as Norina, the lively production filled the relatively small acting space, accompanied by James Henshaw on piano. Sung in Italian, with English subtitles, the results were vividly communicative.

Popup Opera was founded by soprano Clementine Lovell in 2011 and they have developed a raison d'etre where they perform in the original language, taking traditional productions to non-traditional locations including pubs, boats, a Victorian poor-house, a tunnel under the Thames and caves.

Don Pasquale opened with Darren Royston's ubiquitous servant figure lounging in Don Pasquale's house. During the overture we were introduced to the cast, in slightly mad-cap fashion but one which ensured that we knew who was whom. Royston's production made imaginative use of props such as figurines, photographs and books, not to mention a water pistol, to ensure that we knew who these people were and what they were doing. There were English summaries, projected silent-move style on a screen at the side but frankly, you hardly needed them such was the communicativeness of the production.

Of course, Donizetti's opera does not sing itself, and despite being a comic piece needs singers with secure and confident vocal techniques. So it helped that Royston had a cast who could not only perform in such an uninhibited fashion with the audience so close, but who had the technical armoury to bringing off a robustly confident musical performance. There was a lot of laughter in the production, but Royston's inspiration was the commedia dell'arte, so we were not laughing at the characters; underneath all the antics Royston and his cast took the characters seriously.

Baritone Raul Baglietto made a strong and sympathetic Don Pasquale. He has a dark, nicely-grainy bass baritone voice with a good ability to articulate Donizetti's passagework cleanly. He was clearly far younger than his character, but thankfully we did not have any comic acting of old age. He created sympathy for the character so that when Norina (Clementine Lovell) slapped him, it was a real shock. Rather impressively Baglietto and Ricardo Panela as Doctor Malatesta sang the famous patter duet whilst pretending to box, a tour-de-force which came off brilliantly. Both were technically confident and conveyed the sheer joy of the brilliant music. Panela made a very fine, rather knowing Doctor Malatesta who seemed rather too fond of Norina himself. He was clearly having fun and conveyed this enjoyment in his vivid performance.

Cliff Zammit Stevens was a larger than life Ernesto, wearing blazer and shorts. He has quite a robust lyric tenor voice which negotiated the pit-falls of Donizetti's tenor line with aplomb, and he showed himself capable of finesse in the quieter passages. He also has great charm. Clementine Lovell made an attractive Norina. Initially seen in tennis gear, before switching to demure county for Sofronia before her final incarnation as a dominatrix! Lovell has a nicely useful lyric soprano, and made an attractive, rather pert Norina. Some of the details of the passagework were a bit smudged, but she carried everything off with great verve and charm.

The production was full of mad-cap ideas which worked, because they seemed to say something about the characters and the action rather than being grafted on as yet another crazy stunt. Fruit featured rather a lot, including the proffering of a real apple, much artificial fruit was thrown about, at one happy moment we had soap bubbles being blown (a delightful effect). Royston and his cast had learned from commedia dell'arte the art of keeping moving, whilst remaining expressive and characterful.

In such a small space the singing was quite powerful and it says a lot for the technical expertise of all concerned, that this came off well as there was so much to enjoy vocally. Musical director James Henshaw worked hard at the piano, discreetly providing reliable and imaginative support.

This was a vivid, quite broad brush, performance, but with plenty of fine Donizettian singing. Though I saw it in an audience of generally seasoned opera goers, I felt that it would certainly appeal to those coming to opera for the first time. Do try and catch them if they Popup near you. They are currently touring Don Pasquale and will be presenting a new double bill of Donizetti's Rita and Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona in June. Further information from the Popup Opera website.

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Cherubini - further thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:51:46 PDT

A number of interesting points have been raised as a result of my article about Cherubini. Perhaps the first thing that should be pointed out is that the premiere of Medee in 1797 comes just six years after the premieres of Mozart's final operas, La Clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflote, that's a long distance to travel in just six years. One thing that correspondents have emphasized is that Cherubini's operas need to be performed with 'necessary thickness' in the orchestra. During Cherubini's day this would be done by having a substantial band (as many as eight to ten desks for each violin section, with big cello and bass sections to balance and sometimes double wind). This in turn raises the interesting question of the types of voices needed. One that it is difficult to address in the present economic climate when huge period bands are rarely possible (how about Medee at the Proms?).

Elizabeth Connell's recent memorial service jogged my memory of a stunning concert performance with her in the title role, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in the early 1990's I don't suppose that we might hope for a recording to surface? If, unlike me, you are comfortable with Medee in Italian with recitatives, then Callas 1957 studio recording of the opera with Tullio Serafin seems to be the most recommendable.

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The English recorder revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:58:43 PDT

That the recorder is so ubiquitous in modern life we owe mainly to one man, Carl Dolmetsch. The first acknowledged recorded virtuoso of the 20th century, he started to seek a contemporary repertoire for the instrument. This new disc, English Recorder Works, from young recorder virtuoso Jill Kemp with Aleksander Szram, piano, and the Browowski Quartet, explores this repertoire developed for the instrument in the latter half of the 20th century with works by Lennox Berkeley, Malcolm Arnold, Gordon Jacob, York Bowen and Edmund Rubbra.

Carl Dolmetsch (1911 - 1997) was the song of Arnold Dolmetsch (1858 - 1940), a major figure in the early music revival. Carl was involved in early music, but sought new music too. It was for him that Lennox Berkeley (1903 - 1989) wrote his Sonatina for treble recorder and piano which was included in Dolmetsch's 1939 recital at the Wigmore Hall. In three movements, the work starts in dramatic and anxious manner. There is something fascinating yet oddly uncomfortable about the harmony in the first movement, with its complex, chromatic melody. The slower second movement has an equally chromatic, sinuous melody. It is clear that Berkeley was intent on writing serious, grown-up music for the instrument. Only in the finale do things relax to allow a jolly, perky conclusion.

Though written 14 years later, the Sonatina for treble recorder and piano, Opus 41 by Malcolm Arnold (1921 - 2006) seems to live in the same sound world as the Berkeley, especially its first movement with its troubled, chromatic melody. The middle movement is equally dark, and both composers seem determined that the instrument demonstrate its modern, serious capability. Again, only in the last movement do we get to relax. And I did start to wonder whether composers were trying a little bit too hard to modernise the instrument.

Whilst Arnold's Sonatina had been written for the recorder player Philip Rogers, it was Carl Dolmetsch who commissioned the Suite for treble recorder and string quartet from Gordon Jacob (1895 - 1984). The suite was premiered by Dolmetsch at the Wigmore Hall in 1958.

Jacob's Suite goes give the impression that the recorder goes better with strings than it does with piano. The suite is in seven movements. A lyrical, but restless Prelude leads to a delightful and very English, English Dance. The Lament is a long, serious movement, dramatic and rather meandering with a restless melody in the recorder. Things get delightfully exotic in the Burlesca all Rumba, before a Pavane which is pure English pastoral and rather lovely. A dark and dramatic string introduction leads to a composed Cadenza with string accompaniment. The final Tarantella is very high and very bright, a delight.

Malcolm Arnold's Solitaire was written for a tobacco advert and arranged as a whistling tune (for John Amis), and for flute and piano. it is here recorded in its recorder and piano incarnation, and a complete charmer it is.

Carl Dolmetch commissioned York Bowen's (1884 - 1961) Sonata, op. 121 for recorder and piano in 1946. The work was premiered at the Wigmore Hall in 1947. Whilst the first two movements use the treble record, the final one uses the descant, the first time the instrument had been used in a modern context. Unlike the first three works on the disc, you sense that York Bowen was not trying too hard. His first two movements have a lovely relaxed, lyrical feel, with a glorious romantic melancholy melody in the second movement. The busy second movement his highly virtuosic but Kemp's playing charms us too.

Edmund Rubbra (1901 - 1986) seems to have been another composer who took a relaxed attitude to writing for the recorder. His Meditazioni sopra 'Coeurs Desoles' op. 67 is the first on the disc to evoke the recorder's early music past whilst at the same time being true to Rubbra's style. The work was written for Carl Dolmetsch for his 1949 recital at the Wigmore Hall and it based on a chanson by Josquin des Pres. It is a remarkably fine piece, it fits the recorder/piano combination well and, by not trying too hard, succeeds brilliantly.

The final work on the disc was also amongst Malcolm Arnold's last works. The Fantasy for recorder and string quartet was written for the Danish recorder virtuoso Michaela Petri in 1990. It is a five movement work which features Petri's rather distinctive ability to vocalise whilst playing the instrument. The opening Andante et mesto is austere and rather dramatic, followed by a perky Allegro with more than a hint of hornpipe about it. The Lento e mesto movement is the first to feature the soloist's vocalisation in a big way. This creates a curious, very edgy sort of atmosphere and, frankly, I found the effect rather difficult to listen to for any length of time. The Allegretto is a gently evocative movement and quite lovely whilst the concluding Vivace seemed to be utilising various different bird calls, and includes more of the vocalisation technique. If have to admit that my dislike of the sound made by the vocalisation technique, impressive though it might be technically, has rather coloured my view of this work.

Jill Kemp is technically strong in all these pieces and makes a fine advocate for them and she is well supported by Aleksander Szram and the Brodowski Quartet.

This is a fascinating disc, a window onto a concerted campaign to turn the recorder into an instrument with a worthy contemporary repertoire. I am not certain that every piece works, but Kemp is to be congratulated for allowing us to explore this repertoire and to judge for ourselves how English composers in the latter part of the 20th century came to grips with the recorder as a modern solo instrument.

English Recorder Works
Lennox Berkeley (1903-1989) - Sonatina Op.13 (1939) [9:38]
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) - Sonatina Op.41 (1953) [7:39]
Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) - Suite for Recorder and String Quartet (1957) [20:28]
Malcolm Arnold - Solitaire (1956) [1:35]
York Bowen (1884-1961) - Sonata Op.121 (1946) [12:19]
Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) - Meditation sopra ‘Coeurs Désolés’ (1949) [5:47]
Malcolm Arnold - Fantasy for Recorder and String Quartet, Op.140 (1990) [13:46]
Jill Kemp (recorder)
Aleksander Szram (piano)
Brodowski Quartet
Rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk, 4-6 September 2010
MUSIC MEDIA MMC103 [70:58]

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Arensky Chamber Orchestra - auspicious debut

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:43:29 PDT

Jennifer Pike

How do you re-think the classical concert? The Arensky Chamber Orchestra is a young chamber orchestra which besides bringing a new ear to the music, is bringing a fresh eye to the way concerts are presented. For their debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London's South Bank on 7 May 2013 under their artistic director, conductor William Kunhardt, they worked with lighting designer Simon Gethin Thomas and actor Matthew Sharp. In other circumstance the results might have been a trifle gimmicky, but the sheer freshness and brilliance of the performances of Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin, movements from Francois Couperin's Concerts Royaux and Beethoven's Violin Concerto (with violinist Jennifer Pike) was such that concert felt new-minted. An extremely auspicious South Bank debut indeed.

The concert started with Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin. Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937) wrote Le Tombeau de Couperin as a suite for piano between 1914 to 1917, based on the movements of a baroque suite. He orchestrated it in 1919, omitting four of the movements. The individual movements are dedicated to friends who died in the First World War. During the war Ravel worked in , and this apparently light-hearted suite was his response. Other composers of the time who participated in the war were similar; works such as RVW's Pastoral Symphony and Arthur Bliss's Morning Heroes also lack the tortured response that we might have expected.

Ravel based the structure of his pieces on baroque music, with the Forlane of his suite having a structural similarity to the Forlane from Couperin's Quatrieme Concert Royaux. This inspired the Arensky Chamber Orchestra to perform the Ravel interleaved with movements from Couperin's suites. Francois Couperin (1688 - 1733) wrote his Concerts Royaux in 1714/15 for the French court. Though the music includes dance movements, the works were intended for listening rather than dancing, being written at a period when listening to chamber music was in vogue. Couperin published the pieces without any definite orchestrations, so they can be played by harpsichord or a small group of instruments.

The orchestra started with Ravel's Prelude, this was followed by the Prelude from Couperin's Troisieme Concert Royaux and the Forlane from the Quatrieme Concert Royaux. The Forlane and Menuet from Ravel's suite came next, then the Menuet en Trio from Couperin's Premier Concert Royaux and the Rigaudon from the Quatrieme Concert Royaux and finally the Rigaudon from Ravel's suite.

The orchestra play standing up and Thomas's lighting placed them in higher relief than usual, with the lighting changing to concentrate on the small group of players who performed the Couperin movements. Kunhardt conducted the Ravel from memory, and the Couperin was played as chamber music without a conductor. The movements flowed seamlessly from one to another to form a fascinating whole.

What struck me from the opening notes of Ravel's Prelude was the clarity of sound which the orchestra brought to the music. This was something I kept coming back to during the evening; it wasn't the sound of a group of young players saying listen to me, aren't I brilliant, but they brought a nice clarity of definition and freshness to all the evening's programme. Being a small band (just 21 strings), meant that the woodwind instruments were placed in relief without struggling. The strings also played without excessive vibrato which brought a keen sound to Ravel's neo-classical world, but also gave the Beethoven a nice edge.

Kunhardt's speed in the Prelude was quite brisk, but the players brought a lovely fluidity to the movement, with a feeling of ebb and flow. Couperin's Prelude played by violin, oboe, viola and cello displayed great charm with a fine clarity of line. Both movements had in common some very mellifluous oboe playing indeed.

Couperin's Forlane was crisply and elegantly rendered by two violins, viola and cello, before Ravel's Forlane in which the whole orchestra gave the movement a lovely lilt, but with a bit of bite to it. Rhythms were admirably bouncy and again we had some fine wind solos. The oboe came to the fore in Ravel's Menuet in combination with a warm string sound. The neo-classical feeling of Ravel's writing was brought out, with a good clarity of texture. Kunhardt and his players took a flexibly view of pacing and there was a nice feeling of rubato, with lots of little easements of tempo complemented by beautiful shaping of the phrases.

Another pair of Couperin movements came next. The elegant Menuet en Trio with a warm toned flute solo plus violin and cello, then the crisply performed Rigaudon with an elaborate violin part, plus a further violin, viola and cello. Finally we had an elegant account of Ravel's Rigaudon with some strong dynamic contrasts.

The second half of the concert opened with a dramatised reading of extracts from Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament given by Matthew Sharp, with discreet string accompaniment. This was highly moving and very powerful, and it was a shame that instead of progressing seamlessly to Beethoven's Violin concerto, the lights had to come on and we applauded the entry of the soloist.

But this is my only complaint, Jennifer Pike gave a poised and highly musical performance of the concerto. Kunhardt's speed in the first movement was steady, allowing time and space for some very fine grained orchestral playing. But this wasn't a low-key performance, the orchestral introduction was extremely strongly characterised. Pike entered with a lovely singing tone and a strong sense of line. She played with a nicely focussed, fine tone which was well complemented by the orchestra's clarity of line. Playing with a chamber orchestra meant that Pike did not have to work hard on balance and there was a constant feeling of singing in her playing with a lovely refined tone. Technically she was clearly on form, but never overly showy. This wasn't a bit romantic performance, both conductor and soloist seemed to be in agreement. Though there was a relaxed feeling of interplay between soloist and ensemble, both had their dramatic and incisive moments. Pike contributed a brilliantly incisive cadenza. And the ensemble ensured that the dramatic narrative of the work, with the repeated E flat figure, kept flowing.

After an understated but characterful introduction from the orchestra for the second movement, Pike came in with a beautifully limpid solo, displaying a nice flexibility of line and of tempo without pulling the piece about too much. Fluidity, flow and singing line were the characteristics of this movement. Pike combined her refined tone with intensity, and there was a strong feeling of dialogue with the ensemble. The ending, with the combination of the high, bright solo line and the timpani, was magical.

The finale was lively and, at times, almost bumptious. Pike commented afterwards that she had many friends in the orchestra and the performance seemed to reflect this as there was an easy interaction between soloists and the individual solo lines in the orchestra. Pike played a vigorously brilliant cadenza and the movement finished with a strong feeling of lively drama. This wasn't a portentous or pretentious performance, it had a youthful confidence and vigour, a litheness and clarity in both the soloist and the accompanying textures.

After extremely warm, and well deserved, applause Pike treated us to an encore, the Preludio from Bach's Partita no. 3 for solo violin.

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Singing to aid young singers

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Tue, 07 May 2013 07:15:36 PDT

Singers are uniquely dependent on their body as their source of income, and young singers can be affected by illness, not only physically but financially too. The Young Singers' Welfare Foundation was set up to help young singers (those under 40) who suffer financial hardship as a result of a serious medical condition or illness. Soprano Rosemary Joshua, a founder trustee of the foundation, is giving a recital on 17 May 2013 in aid of the foundation. The recital takes place at the Stone House in Lewisham and all proceeds will be going to the Young Singers Welfare Foundation. Further information from the Young Singers' Welfare Foundation website.

Britten and the Classical Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:38:42 PDT

Matthew Barley's Around Britten tour reaches Classical Revolution tonight (7 May) at the Green Carnation in Soho. The cellist will be playing music for solo cello by Bach and by Britten from his tour (see my review of his Around Britten concert in Southampton) and will be improvising with musicians from the Cassical Revolution London collective. Violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen will be on-hand to play music for solo violin, and the Gelachter wind trio will be playing Mozart and McDowall.

Classical Revolution began in the USA in 2006 and was one of the first groups to take music out of the concert hall and into non-traditional venues. The London chapter has been going since 2012 and is curated by violinist Simon Hewitt Jones. Tonight's concert takes place at the Green Carnation bar in Soho, further information from the Classical Revolution website.

John Beard - a Handelian tenor and much more

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Tue, 07 May 2013 00:23:12 PDT

John Beard

The eighteenth century tenor John Beard's name is known, if at all, mainly to lovers of Handel's music. Beard created a remarkable series of tenor roles for Handel. Roles which broke the mould for 18th century dramatic works based on the castrato voice and place the heroic tenor centre stage; works like the oratorios Samson and Jephtha. But Handel's oratorio seasons consisted of a dozen or so dates in Lent and singers, no matter how great, music live. In this new biography of Beard by Neil Jenkins (himself a note singer of Handel's music), a great deal of light is shed on the remainder of Beard's life, and a fascinating one it was too.

Professionally Beard became a singing actor, performing on the stages of Drury Lane and Covent Garden in a variety of works both serious and comic, becoming associated with the role of Macheath. He also made regular appearances at the pleasure gardens like Ranelagh and Vauxhall. He became something of a musical celebrity and eventually took over the management of Covent Garden Theatre. His private life was even more picaresque as he married Lady Henrietta Waldegrave, daughter of an earl, widow of a marquess's son, descendant of James II. This caught him up in a web of family disputes which lasted his entire marriage and reads more like a Fielding novel. But happiness caught up with him late in life as he married for a second time and settled in a happy retirement.

In his introduction Jenkins talks about all of the different threads to his research for this book, and you get the impression that this could almost warrant a book in its own right. Jenkins is not the sort of writer to create a story by blending uncertainty into a coherent narrative, instead we are presented with the full information, or lack, guided by the author's lively prose and patent enthusiasm for his subject. And what a subject.

John Beard's (1717 - 1791) origins are obscure, but he springs fully formed as a chorister into the Chapel Royal and his family may well have had links as servants to the Royal Household. Beard might have been expected to spend his working life as a member of the Chapel Royal. But he seems to have caught Handel's eye and when he was 19 appeared in Il Pastor Fido. Beard would continue to have links with the Chapel Royal, and would return for special occasions such as the performances of the court odes (music by William Boyce), but he made his career in the theatre.

John Beard (c.) as Hawthorn in "Love in a Village" by Isaac Bickerstaffe (Johann Zoffany, 1767)

For the next 25 year's of the singer's life Handel's opera and oratorio performances would be a thread running through Beard's life. They are the reason that we remember him, something about his sturdy tenor voice, quickness of study and dramatic manner encouraged Handel to take the tenor repertoire to new realms. Handel wrote Jonathan (Saul), L'Allegro, Jupiter (Semele), Samson and Jephtha for him, and almost certainly shaped the tenor solos in Messiah to his voice (Beard did not sing in the premiere in Dublin but he sang in the London premiere and was permanently associated with the Foundling Hospital performances of the work). In these works Handel developed the dramatic tenor into regions that had rarely been explored.

And it was Beard who inspired this, as Jenkins makes clear. There was a period when John Beard did not sing for Handel and Thomas Lowe did instead, the tenor parts for Lowe take a dramatic dip (the high priest in Solomon is nowhere near as important dramatically as Jonathan in Saul and Samson). This gap in Beard's career illustrates the depth of Jenkins' research, he has produced Beard's work schedule as an actor, to demonstrated that Beard could have sung for Handel if he had wanted. We don't known why. It may be that Beard did not hold his Handel performances in the high regard that we do, they may just have been one job among many, but the likelihood is that the absence was connected with Beard's complicated private life.

Here again Jenkins has done superb research, weaving a fascinating and complex narrative. John Beard married Lady Henrietta Waldegrave, daughter of Earl Waldegrave and widow of Lord Edward Herbert; the two were married by a clergyman in the Fleet Prison. It was unheard of for a female aristocrat to marry an actor. Add to that, Lady Henrietta's family was Roman Catholic, and she was descended from James II. Lady Henrietta never returned to relations with her family and their entire married life was spent in a welter of court cases relating to Lady Henrietta's inheritance (which she never did achieve a satisfactory solution). Sensibly, though Jenkins keeps the narrative roughly chronological, he makes individual chapters thematic, dealing with John Beard and Lady Henrietta's marriage in one single sweep and making an admirably gripping narrative of it. Lady Henrietta died seeing her daughter (John Beard's step-daughter) marry a far older man in Lady Henrietta's late husband's family. During all this time, Beard was an actor. There are indications that early in his marriage John Beard and his wife may have hoped to life off her expectations, with that not forthcoming John Beard returned to work.

His work with Handel may be the reason why we remember him, but Jenkins makes it clear that John Beard's main work was his acting and singing at Drury Lane and Covent Garden, under David Garrick and John Rich. John Beard became the Macheath (in the Threepenny Opera) of his day. Jenkins' exposition of this aspect of John Beard's life is admirably comprehensive and completely fascinating, illuminating the vastly different theatrical work of John Beard's day. This was a period when there were generally two performances per night, a more serious piece at 6pm with a comic after-piece. The comic after-pieces had an entirely different audience, and it was in these that Beard sang a great many roles, developing a very popular following.

His later life was in a happier vein. He ultimately married Charlotte Rich, daughter of John Rich the proprietor of Covent Garden. Eventually John Beard too over the management of the theatre and made important strides in the modernisation of the theatrical management, He and Charlotte finally retired happily to Hampton in Middlesex.

This is quite a big book, Jenkins takes in all aspects of John Beard's career and includes extensive documentation of John Beards roles and much background detail. But he has also written a rattlingly good yarn.

There are plenty of illustrations with John Beard painted in his costume as Macheath on the cover. Whilst personal information is somewhat patchy, he has found some admirable nuggets such as poems written by a friend to celebrate moments in John Beard and Lady Henrietta's married life. Jenkins really does bring his subject to life, a subject he clearly admires. I started this book interested in John Beard the Handelian, and came out fascinated by the sheer breadth of his career.

And what did his voice sound like? Well he was the only singer who took part in all of Handel's oratorios and his voice is described as sturdy. Charles Burney talked about his 'superior conduct, knowledge of music and intelligence as an actor'. Just bear in mind the range of roles that Handel wrote for him and you can get an idea of the breadth of his talent.

Neil Jenkins - John Beard - Handel and Garrick's Favourite Tenor
Bramber Press, 2012; 391pp
ISBN 978-1-905206-13-1

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Cambridge Handel Opera - Atalanta

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Mon, 06 May 2013 23:20:39 PDT

Handel's opera Atalanta was written in 1736 to celebrate the marriage of Frederick, Prince of Wales and Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (the parents of George III). It is based on an existing libretto and is very thin on plot, clearly the main event at the premiere was the fireworks at the end. There were no real fireworks at the end of Cambridge Handel Opera's performance of Atalanta on 4 May 2013, but there had been plenty of the musical kind. Also emotions ran strong as conductor Andrew Jones took his bow, this was the final performance of the run and this will be Andrew Jones's final performance with Cambridge Handel Opera and after 28 years the group will cease to exist in its present form. The performance was a fine example of Cambridge Handel Opera's ethos, using Andrew Jones's own English translation, young professionals as soloists, students as orchestra and chorus, and production values which attempt to emulate the traditional stagings of Handel's day. Director Victoria Newlyn teaches movement and drama at RADA and her staging involved the use of period gesture with painted scenery by Tom Oldham.

The story, such as it is, involves Atalanta (Sarah Power) fleeing court and an arranged marriage to live the pastoral life and pursue her love of hunting. Her betrothed Meleagro (Erica Eloff) follows her to become a shepherd. The basis of the 'plot' of the opera is the way the two never quite manage to get things together. The delayed conclusion was a standard part of the opera seria plot armoury with a series of obstacles put in the way of the rational solution, and Atalanta uses the device in spades.

The sub-plot is equally contrived. Shepherd Aminta (Mark Chaundy) is in love with Irene (Anna Huntley), and she with him, but not only has he asked her father's permission but has asked for pastures and flocks too. She is outraged that he does not love her for herself so she pretends to be in love with Meleagro. Handel radically cut down the number of arias for Irene and Aminta (Aminta was sung at the premiere by a young John Beard). This concentrated the musical action on Atalanta and Meleagro, though it left Aminta and Irene heavily involved in the plot.

You felt Victoria Newlyn too felt the thinness of the plot. Her production, though traditional and using a degree of period gesture, was rather over busy. Handel included a small chorus who play little dramatic role until the final celebrations. But Newly kept them on stage nearly all the time and arias took place against a background of movement. I have to admit that it was not as distracting as some productions that I have seen, Newlyn did not include gimmicks to keep the audience entertained. But there was a rather distracting amount of movement from the chorus.

She also introduced a degree of humour which is, I think, foreign to the piece. Handel's later operas do have their moments, but he is only ever satirical and never downright humorous. Newlyn took advantage of the fact that Huntley is a gifted comedienne to play the Irene/Aminta sub-plot for laughs. It didn't do serious violence to the plot, but it did smack of desperation in the face of this material.

Handel himself did not exactly coast through the piece, there is some lovely and some powerful music, but the drama never seems to have gripped him, as a result we are not drawn into the opera as vividly or as violently as we can be in the two operas he wrote just before Atalanta, Ariodante (which has a strong plot) or Alcina (which has a very strongly written lead character).

Unusually, for his hero and heroine Handel had a pair of sopranos as Meleagro was sung by a soprano castrato whose voice seems to have been genuinely soprano. This giving Handel some wonderful opportunities to intertwine the voices in the lovers' final duet. Along the way, both are cast down by love so both have stunning arias, long serious pieces with Handel making no attempt to write in the shorter more lyrical 'modern' style as he sometimes did in his later operas.

Both Power and Eloff brought a considerable amount of style, intensity and charm to their performances. With both of them it mattered not that the plot was thin, they convinced you with the vivid intensity of the moment. Both were technically secure and able to use complex lines for expressive purposes. Power was, perhaps, slightly less convincing in act one as the tom-boy huntress, but she was clearly not helped by the comedy stuffed boar she had to spear. Still she got many more chances to shine and to hold our attention magically. Eloff certainly had the physique du role, tall and slim with a voice to match, she made a glorious love-sick hero.

Mezzo-soprano Anna Huntley was a delight as the love-sick and furious Irene. As I have said, Huntley displayed a fine comic talent and though I had doubts about the validity of some of the comedy, Huntley was real charmer. Her main aria was nicely done. Let us hope we hear her in other major Handel roles. Mark Chaundy suffered slightly from the fact that Aminta was the first role that Handel wrote for John Beard. His main aria includes highly elaborate fioriture of the sort that was unsuitable for Beard's robust voice, and the like of which Handel never wrote again for him. Chaundy did well enough with this passage and convinced elsewhere with his directness and robust charm. Robert Gildon was quite intense in the small role of Irene's father.

The ending used a device rare in Handel, the Deus ex Machina. Mercury (Richard Latham) appears to bless the happy couple and weave in references to Frederick, Prince of Wales and his bride. Here, frankly, Handel seems to have been running on auto-pilot, though Richard Latham was very creditable in the role. Having Mercury appear in full Louis XIV fig and on a cloud was a brilliant idea, but Newlyn did not seem to be able to resist the temptation to develop the chorus's wonder into a myriad of unnecessary sub-plots.

We didn't get fireworks, but the beauties of Power and Eloff's duet at the end were sufficient indeed.

The chorus has a very small musical role but Newlyn made them work hard indeed for most of the opera. Here we detected a difference between the studied period gesture and innate naturalism which created an interesting visual tension in the performance. The young cast, however, entered into the drama with a will.

The small orchestra (23 players in all) gave a smart and stylish account of the score. And conductor Andrew Jones, very much the fons et origo of the event, elicited fine performances from his cast.

Historically informed stagings are always difficult and we have a long way to go before it is a mature as historically informed musical performance. But here Newlyn sympathetically utilised the creative tension between naturalism and historically informed, if only she could have remembered less is more.

Elsewhere on this blog:

April on Planet Hugill - once more unto the breach with fireworks and damnation

noreply@blogger.com (Robert Hugill) — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:49:23 PDT