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Britten and Mozart Mass in C Minor [1981-03-07]

Subject:
Britten: Cantata Academica; Mozart: Mass in C Minor
Classification:
Sub-classification:
Location:
Year:
1981
Date:
March 7th, 1981
Text content:

GUILDFORD BOROUGH

COUNCIL CONCERTS

Lesley Garrett

* Lesley Garrett was born in Yorkshn‘e and
studied at the Royal Academy of Music and
the National Opera Studio. In 1979 she was

1980/81

SATURDAY 7 MARCH 1981'

the winner of the Decca Prizein the Kathleen

at 7.45 p.m.

Ferrier Memorial Competition: in the same

year she made three appearances at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall, one with Leppard and
the English Chamber Orchestra. She gave a

'Guildfr;d

hlghly successful recital at the Purcell Room
and took part at the Musica Nel Chiosto

production of Orontea in Italy and later in
London.

Philharmon

ic

()rchestr

Lesley Garrett is much in demand as a con-

-

cert artist and operatic soloist.

Elizabeth Ritchie

a|

Elizabeth Ritchie studied singing and piano

Assocxatc Leaders:
'HUGH BEAN andJOHN LUDLOW

the Purcell Room in a Westmoreland Concert
marking the R.A.M’s Centenary. Subse-

at the Royal Academy of Music and was
selected by the R.A.M. to sing as a soloist at

-

quently, with an award from the Vaughan

Williams Trust, she studied at the
Mozarteum, Salzburg, with Eric Werba. She
also secured a bursary from the Worshlpful
Company of Musicians, while privately she

‘Philharmonic Choir
Lesley Garrett
Soprano

continued
her stu‘diés_«wfli"th Joy Mammen and,
later, with Audrey Langford.

Elizabeth Ritchie joined the Glyndebourne

Elizabeth Ritchie
Soprano

Chorus in 1977 but her interests and ex“perience are, however, by no means confined

Marilyn
de Blieck

to the world of opera, as her career to date has
_already demonstrated. She gave her first

Mezzo Soprano

Wynford Evans

Wigmore Hall recital as part of the Young
Musicians Series and subsequently, with
David Wilson-Johnson, gaveanother devoted

Tenor

to Wolf’s Morike Lieder.

John Hancorn

Marilyn de Blieck

Marilyn de Blieck, the only British finalist in
the 1979 Benson and fHCdgles Gold Award,
~ was also the yo‘unges't of the four finalists.

‘Bass

Vernon Handley
Conductor

A graduate of the Umversxty of Glasgow, she
was successively awarded Scottish Arts Coun~cil and Caird Scholarships to studyin London, whilst also attending Master Classes for
- Singers under Sir Peter Pears at Aldeburgh.

This concert is promoted by Gu‘ild{érd‘-BAoroug_h :

‘Council with financial support from the South East

Arts Associaton.

;

Her recent ‘cngflagements, have included

appearances with Christopher Seaman and
the Northern Sinfonia and performances of

Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion”
in Edinburgh,
King’s

College

Chapel,

Cambridge,

and

Snape Maltings, when Edward Greenfield of

The Guardian described her singing as having
‘a natural gravity, with tone both beautiful
and distinctive’.

Vernon Handley

Vernon

Handley,

tor/Musical

Principal

Director

of

the

ConducGuildford

Philharmonic Orchestra, was bornin Enfield,

North London, and studied at Balliol College,

Oxford and the Guildhall School of Music

and Drama. Vernon Handley has been

Wy'n'ford Evans

Musical Director of the Guildford Philhar-

Wynford Evans was born in Swansea. He

monic Orchestra

studied singing with Joyce Newton at the

developed it into a fully professional body of

Guildhall School of Musxc and Drama where

major import‘a'n‘ce which is now firmly es-

hewon many prizes.

tablished as “The Orchestra of the South

As one of the count—ry s leading tenors he has

travelled widely in Great Britain and on the
international

scene by

1980

he

will

have

- appeared in all the continents of the work.

- Apart from his OrafOEio work, Mr. Evans has

- performed many times with Kent Opera and
with the Netherlands Opera.

ensemble called

Fortune’s Fire and made

several

under

the

with concerts

throughout

the

South

1962

in

and

many

East

has

towns

region from

Cafnterb,ur'y'tor_S'alisbury. In 1974 the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain named Vernon
Handley as “Conductor of the Year” for his
services to Britishmusic and now recognised

~as one of the major champions of British
music, he is frequently entrusted with the

Wynford Evans has teamed up very
- successfully with Carl Shavitz to form a lute
records

East”’

since

Enigma

- with the ensemble.

label
-

As soloxst Wynford Evans hasappeared on
twenty-five records.

world premieres of new works. He is very

busyin the recordmg field and has an extensive list of recordingsin the current catalogue

including works by Dvorak, Tchaikovsky,
Elgar, Tippett, Debussy, Vaughan Williams
and Faure.

His recording of Elgar’s First

Symphony with the London Philharmonic
Orchestra has recently been released and his
recording of the Second Symphonyis due to

-

be released this month.

John Hancorn

Vernon

(South East Arts Association

Handley is now one of Britain’s

busiest conductors. As well as a full season of

Competition Winner)
John Hancornis twenty-six years old and was

bornin Inverness, Scotland, but has been liv-

ing in the south east for the last fourteen
years. He is a Graduate of Trinity College of

Music where, among other prizes, he won the

concerts with all the major British orchestras,

he is also taking on a number of engagements
with

foreign

orchestras

including

the

Stockholm Philharmonic, the NOS Radio
Philharmonic Orchestra, Hilversum and the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Elizabeth Schumann Prize for Lieder. After
leaving college, John attended four weeks of

In spite of his busy s_chedule, Vernon Handley

Master classes at the Britten-Pears School for

still manages to follow his keen imterest in or-

Advanced

nithology. .

Musical

Studies

under

the

direction of Sir Peter Pears.

John Hancorn has performed extensively in
oratorio and has also performed at the

Wigmore Hall as a result of winning the 1980
South East Arts Young Musicians Platform.

In October he is to join the National Opera
Studio and has a busy concert schedule to

fulfil,

including

performances

at

Kings

College, Cambridge and at the Royal Festival
Hall.

Philharmonic Choir

The Musical Director acknowledges with
thanks the help he has receivedin training the

choir from Kenneth Lank and accompanists
Linden Knight and Patricia Wood. The Choir

made its first recording in 1973 with the
Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra: ‘Intimations of Immortality’ by Gerald Finzi,

and in 1976 recorded Hadley’s ‘The Trees So
High’ with the Philharmonic Orchestra.

eighth movement the theme is heard as a continuous melody. When one considers the

Chaconne in G minor
Henry Purcell 1659-1695

Arranged for strings by W Gillies Whittaker
Among Purcell’s instrumental music were a
number of very expressive sonatas for two
violins, gamba and continuo as well as some

‘beautiful string fantasias. When
W. G. Whittaker was Professor of Music in the University
in Glasgow he found the manuscript score of
the posthumous *“Ten Sonatas of Four Parts”
in the Euing berary, Glasgow. The original
edition had been in 1697. He took Sonata
No.6 and arranged it for a modern string
orchestra with the one difference, that it includes three violin parts as well as viola, cello
and bass rather than the usual two violins
that we find in the modern orchestra.
:

4

W. G. Whittaker was himself a resourceful
and individual composer and not narrowly

academic as some University and Musical
Academy musicians become and it was
probably the fusion of Chaconne and Fantasia with its attendant expressive qualities
that attracted him to Sonata No.6. Certainly
any idea of a dry ‘working out’ must not inform anyone’s preconceptions of this
Chaconne. In its seven or so minutes, it
achieves a great variety of mood as well as

revealing Purcell’s imaginative writing for his _

original combination. Purcell was one of the
composers for whom Benjamin Britten had
an abiding regard and listeners may find
certain similarities between the Chaconne
own love of ostinato or repeated
and Britten’s
phrase ideas.

The “Cantata Academica’ was written to
celebrate the quincentenary of Basle University, and the text has been taken from the
charter of that University and from older
speeches praising the town. The work is
doubly academic in*that it not only has the
salute to the University as its subject, but also

uses musical academic devices in each of its

movements, including a serial theme of twelve
dominates

the

first

twelve

movements in the following order: G - F -E
flat- E- Fsharp-A-D-Bflat-C-Dflat-C
flat - A flat...

remains firmly tonal. Britten does not expect

his audience to appreciate all the academic

points laid out above and the work relies on a
brilliant set of contrasts for its effects.
The opening Corale gives simple phrases to

the chorus and underlines them strikingly
with a rhythmic orchestral accompaniment.

This Corale will return as the last movement
of the piece. By complete contrast, the second

movement is lyrical: the tune sung by the
male voices being answered in melodic invertion by the soprano and altos, eventually
the two versions being heard together. Next
comes a florid recitative for tenor, followed
amusingly by an arioso pomposo for bass.
The contrast between the pomposity
and the

next movement, a graceful duet for soprano
and alto soloists, is typical of Britten’s most
effective writing. The duet leads directly to
the tranquil recitative for tenor, and the first
part ends with a presto Scherzo recalling
Verdi in melodic shape.

The second part begins with a statement of a
serial theme, and a straightforward fugue.
The duet that follows this is itself made of
contrasts, the bass soloist singing very dotted
rhythms in praise of the city, the final phrase

of the Latin (As if a common fatherland to all
men) being given to the contralto, who sings

the

smoothest

possible

line.

The

next

movement, with soprano solo singing very

beautifully about the suitability of calling

Basle the Royal city, has an accompaniment
of a hummed traditional students’ song contributed by the choral tenors and basses. A

Cantata Academica
Britten 1913-1979

notes which

associations of the word ‘serialism’ nowadays,
it is an added joke that this particular work

The thirteenth movement

returns to G, and at the beginning of the

further florid recitative for tenor leads to the

twelfth movement, where soloists and chorus
jubilantly praise the city. Thefestivity of this
movement eventually explodes into the
“recapitulation of the Corale.

PARS 1

1. CORALE—Solisti e coro
Bonorum summum omnium
humanae vitae labilis
vel hoc sit, quod dono dei
per studium
assiduum
mortales adipisci valeant
scientiae margaritam,

II. ALLA ROVESCIO—Coro
quae bene beateque vivendi viam

praecbet
et ad mundi arcana cognoscenda
dilucide introducit
'
et hac in terrena statione natos
evehit in sublimes

III. RECITATIVO—Tenore solo
At huius caelestis doni

-

Basileae quis auctor fuit,
quis bonus gentis Ruracae

IX. SOLI EDUETTO—
Alto e basso soli

Rhenana erga omnes urbs
humana et hospitalis est
et tamquam hominum quaedam
patria communis.

X. ARIOSO CON CANTO
POPOLARE—
Soprano solo e coro maschile
ut iustissime Basilea audiat.
XI. RECITATIVO—Tenore solo

genius clarusque conditor?

O cives Basilienses,

IV. ARIOSO—Basso solo
Majorum imprimis virtus,
amans bonarum artium,
vecti pulchrique provida,

tam nobilem academiam

auxisse semper vobis laudi sit.

XII. CANONE ED OSTINATO—
Solisti e coro

et audax magnanimitis

Nos autem cuncti hoc festo die

senatus'atque populi;

ex animi sententia

hic nostrae Romae Romulus,
qui civitatem de se bene meritam

optamus et precamus: Sit
opibus firma, copiis locuples.
Basilea patria in perpetuum
laudibus ambla, virtute honesta.

instructa privilegiis

XIII. CORALE CON CANTO—

V. DUETTINO—Soprano edalto soli
tum vero Aeneas Sylvius,

professionum omnium
ornavit academia.

vigeatque academia libera

VI. RECITATIVO—Tenore
solo
Et gubernacula mundi qui tenet
preces propitius exaudivit

in libera civitate,
sempiternum decus atque ocellus
inclytae Basileae.

Soliste e coro

conditorum sese orantium:

VII. SCHERZO—Solisti e coro
ut ad longaeva tempora

Wynford Evans

floreat studium generale,
quo fides propagetur,
justitia servetur,

John Hancorn

tuendae sanitati consulatur,
quodque idem sit philosophiae fons
irriguus,

Soloists: Elizabeth Ritchie
Marilyn de Blieck

de cuius plenitudine hauriant

universi litterarum
cupientes imbui documentis.

INTERVAL

Mass in C minor (K.427)
Mozart 1756-1791

The Mass in C Minor and the Requiem are

the most impressive of Mozart’s religious
works. The Mass is a very important landPARSII

VIII. TEMA SERIALE CON FUGA—
:
Coro
Docendi ac discendi aequitati
in peregrinos comitas consociatur.
Venerint ex omnibus orbis terrarum
;
regionibus:

mark in Mozart’s development because when

he broke with the Archbishop of Salzburg and
went to Vienna, he became acquainted with

the works of Bach and Handel for the first
time. The two great masters of Church music
made a tremendous impression on Mozart

and he came to the writing of his religious
works thereafter with a new zeal and
freshness. The first work after his study of

Bach and Handel was the C Minor Mass of

1782-1783. There was also a personal reason

-

:

IV SANCTUS

:

for the composition: his fiancée Constance

“Sanctus”
and ‘“Osanna’—Chorus

Weber, was ill and he promised to write a
Mass after her recovery. He wrote to his

“Benedictus”—Quartet:

father, ‘“As for the Mass, it is quite correct

Tenor and Bass

that it has not flowed from my pen without
prcvxous intention, I really promlsed it in my

heart”.

Soprano,

|

Mezzo

Soprano,
Soloists: Lesley Garrett

Marilyn de Blieck

When he had married, in August

Wynford Evans

1782, he at once started the work. A number
of personal problems interrupted the writing
of the Mass and when Mozart arrived back in

John Hancorn

Salzburg in 1783, he merely took with him the
completed movements which were the Kyrie,

Gloria, Sanctus and Benedictus. The Credo
was in pieces and the Agnus Dei not begun.

ON THE MOVE

At the first performance Constanze sang the

Durmg this past week the orchestra has given

soprano solo part. How Mozart filled in the

a series of concerts for schools at the Central

parts lacking in the Mass, or even whether he

did, is uhknown; editions have appeared in
which one of his pupils and later editors have

Halls, Chatham, at the invitation of Kent

County Council. The five concerts, conducted
by Dr. Bela de Csillery, followed a highly

put in sections from one or more of his other

successful

works. He never completed the remaining sec-

during the spring of 1980.

tions, but it is in the complete form that the

work is generally performed because it gives a
true picture of the new Church music style
which Mozart took on after his study of the
works of the Baroque masters. The deep faith

and the sublime and happy faith stand side by
side in the huge contrasts of this work. The
strict seriousness

of the

Kyrie includes a

coloratura Christe eleison for soprano. The

Gloria is all Handel; the Laudamus te the
very spirit of Italian Opera. And so on right
through the work, contrasts and styles blend-

ed

by Mozart’s

symphonic

brilliance

culminatingin the sublime fugato for double

chorus, Osanna.

similar

series

for Kent schools
'

The orchestra’s educational activities continue to expand and on April 1st it is to give a

schools’

concert

preceding

its

public

appearance at the Congress Theatre, East-

bourne that evening. Vernon Handley will
conduct Weber’s Overture ‘Der Freischutz’
and Sibelius’ Second Symphony and the
soloistin Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto
will

be Ilana Vered whom Guildford
audiences will have the opportunity to hear

oon Sunday 22nd March.

The Tchaikovsky concerto will occupy the
second part of this Sunday afternoon concert

and will also be conducted by Vernon
Handley. Mendelssohn’s ‘“Hebrides” Over-

ture and Bizet’s youthful and ebullient

I. KYRIE

Symphony in C open the programme and for

“Kyrie”’—Soprano and Chorus

this

II GLORIA

welcomes guest conductor, John Forster.

part

of

the

concert

the

orchestra

“Gloria’ —Chorus
“Laudamus te”’—Mezzo Soprano

“Gratias”’—Chorus

“Domine”’—Soprano Duet

Sunday 22 March

“qu tollis”—Chorus

“Quoniam”—Soprano, Mezzo Soprano and

Civic Hall
at 3.00 p.m.

Tenor

Hebrides Overture, Mendelssohn*
Symphony
in C, Bizet*

Y Pesy

Christe—Cum

spiritu”—Chorus

III. CREDO

“Credo”—Chorus

“Et incarnatus est’’%qu'ra’no-

sancto

Piano Concerto in Bb minor,
Tchaikovsky

- Ilana Vered, Pianoforte
John Forster, Guest conductor*

DELPHONIC ENSEMBLE JAPAN
Sunday 29th March at 7.45 p.m.

JAPANESE MUSIC PAST AND PRESENT
The Civic Hall Guildford will be the final

GUILDFORD SINGERS
President: John Alldis

Vice President: Vernon Handley
SATURDAY 4 APRIL at 7.30 p.m.

prestigious Delphonic Ensemble Japan, one

Rejoice in the lamb, Britten
The Twelve, Walton

of the foremost performing groups of Japanese

Mass in D, Dvorak

venue in an eight nation European tour by the

traditional and contemporary music.

Performing in traditional dress, these four
outstanding musicians will bring the sounds
of the East to the West. The haunting beauty
of traditional Japanese music played on the
shakuhachi, koto and shamisen. The energy
and excitement of new Japanese music using
electronics,

percussion

and

traditional

in-

struments.

The

Mari Williams
Peter Medhurst

Organ — Peter Wright
Conductor — Stephen Cleobury
GUILDFORD CATHEDRAL
(by kind permission of the Dean & Chapter)
ADMISSION BY PROGRAMME
:

£2 from A & N and SPCK, Guildford

concert

will

be

introduced

by

Neil

Sorrell, lecturer at York University, who will
also illustrate the background to the varied
programme.

and choir members

For further information please contact:
John Evans
— Guildford 71221 (day)

Guildford 898297 (evening)

Tickets at £2 (with £1 concession to Senior
Citizens and Students) available from Civic

Hall Box Office.
Enquiries Civic Hall Guildford (67314) and

Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra Guildford
(73800).

The tour is supported by the Japan Foundation and

promoted by

Heather Keens
Philip Salmon

Guildford Philharmonic Society on

behalf of Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra.

GUILDFORD

PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA

Director of Music/Conductor
Vernon Handley
First Violins:

Cellos:

Trumpets:

Harp:

Associate Leaders

Eldon Fox
Geoffrey Thomas

Clifford Haines

Kate Wilson

Hugh Bean

John Ludlow

John Stilwell

Sheila Beckensall

Pauline Sadgrove

John Gralak

Kathleen Hamburger
Richard Kirkland
Robert Lewcock
Linda McClaren
Cyril Newton
Susan Thomas

David Towse
- Gil White

' Second Violins:
"

Tina Macrae
John Hursey

Marie Louise Amberg

Ruth Dawson’
Marilyn Downes
Peter Fields

Andrew Laing
David Richmond

Martin Nicholls

Douglas Lees
Michael Fagg

Flutes:

Christopher Nicholls

Oboes:

Clarinets:
Hale Hambleton

Violas:
:
David Newlands

Nicholas Hunka
Anna Meadows

William Hallett

Horns:

Len Lock

Concerts Manager:

Kathleen Atkins

Concerts Assistant:
~ David Groves

Stephen Wick

‘Timpani:
Roger Blair

Percussion:
Charles Fullbrook

David Corkhill
Jack Lees

John Donaldson

George Caird

Bassoons:

John Harries

Piano/Celesta:
Callum Ross

James Brown

Victor Slaymark

Timothy Grant

Bass Trombone:

Tuba:

Ronald Tendler

Julius Bannister

Ian White

- Graham Bolton

Basses:

Mark Thomas

Frederick Campbell
James Walker

Tenor Trombones:

John Bass
Colin Paris
Stephen Martin

Nicholas Maxted Jones Henry Messent
Rosemary Roberts

Michael Hinton

Peter Clack

Dennis Scard

David Clack

George Woodcock

The audience may be interested to know that
the violin sections are listed in alphabetical

order after the first desk because a system or
rotation of desks is adopted in this orchestra
so that all players have the opportunity of
playing
in all positions in the section.