The Brandenburg Sinfonria
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
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17th March 2012
7.30 pm @ G Live
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Vivace
Choru
A Night at the Opera
A selection of opera arias and
choruses, with an overture, from
Bizet, Dvorak, Mascagni, Mozart, Mussorgsky,
Puccini, Purcell, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Wagner
Sara Lian Owen
Soprano
Philip Modino
Tenor
Gareth Brynmor John
Baritone
Thomas Faulkner
Bass
Narrators: Gill Perkins and Jon Long
The Brandenburg Sinfonia
Conductor: Jeremy Backhouse
PRE-CONCERT TALKS
Before our concerts in Guildford Cathedral, Vivace Chorus offers ticket §
holders a free talk, given by an acknowledged music expert who has a
special interest in the works to be performed. Our next concert, on May
15", is a programme of the music of Rachmaninov, including not only
two choral works, but also his ever-popular Piano Concerto No.2. The
pianist will be Francis Pott, and we are delighted that Francis will be
giving the pre-concert talk that evening himself — there can surely be no
greater ‘special interest’ than to be about to perform such a well-known
work to a cathedral full of eager concert-goers!
Francis is perhaps best known as a composer, particularly of sacred
choral music and works for the organ. He sees himself as one of a long
line of composer-pianists — Rachmaninov himself was one — for whom
advanced pianism is a means to another end, and less as a ‘career’
performer. Nonetheless, he has been heard several times playing his
own piano music on BBC Radio 3, has participated in a number of
commercial CD recordings and has appeared at prestigious venues such
as London’s Wigmore Hall.
‘
Come and hear Francis speaking before the concert to get an insight into
this glorious work and Francis’s own interpretation of it.
‘
Parry and Brahms, November 2011
"The soloists and the Brandenburg Sinfonia were superb,
but the Vivace Chorus was just sensational ... we are very'
lucky in Guildford to be able to enjoy such talent and!
enthusiasm for music."
/
"Brahms Requiem is one of my top 3 favourite pieces of :
music, I have several different recordings of it ... your
performance on
Saturday was
incredibly moving and
powerful and right up there with the best of them."
VLW BGT R R S B A
AR T
R
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R,
BT
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Flash photography, audio and video recording are not permitted
without the prior written consent of the Vivace Chorus. Please also
kindly switch off all mobile phones and alarms on digital watches.
2
Vivace Chorus
PROGRAMME
Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Orchestra only
Bizet: March of the Toreadors from Carmen
Chorus
Bizet: Au fond du temple saint from The Pearl
Tenor,
Fishers
Baritone
Purcell: Dido’s Lament and final chorus from Dido
and Aeneas
Soprano,
Chorus
Tchaikovsky: Waltz Scene from Eugene Onegin
Bass, Baritone
Tenor, Chorus
Dvorak: Song to the Moon from Rusalka
Soprano
Wagner: Procession and chorale from Die
Meistersinger von Niirnberg
Mussorgsky: Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov
Chorus
Tenor, Bass,
Chorus
Interval
Mascagni: Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana
Soprano,
Chorus
Puccini: Che gelida manina from La Bohéme
Tenor
Puccini: O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi
Soprano
Verdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco
Chorus
Puccini: Vissi d’arte from Tosca
Soprano
Verdi: The Brindisifrom La Traviata
Puccini: Nessun dorma from Turandot
Verdi: Triumphal Scene from Aida
Vivace Chorus
Soprano,
Tenor, Chorus
Tenor, Semi-
chorus
Chorus
OPERA: ‘A dramatic work in one or more acts, set to music for
singers and instrumentalists’.
Tonight’s concert, with 16 pieces from 10 composers, gives a taste of the
world of opera, with the emphasis on the dramatic in some of its many
interpretations: passion, despair, grandeur, joy and, of course, romance.
Composers featured tonight range from Purcell and Mozart, both early
exponents of the genre, through to the enduringly popular Puccini,
whose later works were written less than a century ago.
Decade
Extracts to be performed
tonight from:
1680s
Dido & Aeneas/Purcell
First
performed
1689
|
The development
of opera
An early opera—a
landmark in English
dramatic music
1780s
The Marriage of Figaro/Mozart
1786
!
1840s
1850s
Mozart the first to
introduce humour into
opera
Nabucco/Verdi
La Traviata/Verdi
1842
Heralding the ‘golden
1853
age’ of opera, led and
dominated by Wagner
in Germany and Verdi
in ltaly
1860s
The Pearl Fishers/Bizet
1863
In this ‘golden age’,
Die Meistersinger von
1868
the popularity of
AidalVerdi
R
Ls
Carmen/Bizet
1875
e
Ndrnberg/Wagner
1870s
Boris Godunov/Mussorgsky
Eugene Onegin/Tchaikovsky
opera spread
1874
Bikisia
1879
1880s
1890s
Eona an
Opera continued to
Cavalleria Rusticana/Mascagni
1890
1896
dominated by Puccini,
1900s
Tosca/Puccini
Rusalka/ Dvorak
1900
1901
one of the last major
Italian opera
1910s
Gianni Schicchi/Puccini
1918
composers, several of
whose arias have
1920s
Turandot/Puccini
1926
entered popular
4
La Boheme/Puccini
:zx?%%l::fir;mo the
culture today
Vivace Chorus
Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Orchestra
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 — 1791) was a prolific and influential
composer, composing over 600 works across a wide range of genres,
and is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
Mozart's operatic career blossomed following his move in 1781 to
Vienna, where he won a commission from Emperor Joseph |l to write a
cheerful opera, which resulted in Die Entfiihrung aus dem Serail. Mozart
was perhaps the first composer to inject humour into his operatic works.
1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. It
proved to become one of Mozart's most important works and is a
mainstay of the operatic repertoire today. Its lively and effervescent
overture is a fitting curtain-raiser, not just to the opera it usually heralds,
but also to our concert tonight.
Bizet: March of the Toreadors from Carmen
Chorus
Georges Bizet (1838 — 1875) is best known for Carmen, an operatic
masterpiece. He died at the tragically early age of 36, just three months
after its first performance, unaware that Carmen was to bring him fame
and indeed was to become one of the most popular and frequently
performed works in the entire opera repertoire.
A story of love, betrayal and murder, Carmen tells of a rather naive
soldier, Don José, who falls in love with a beautiful gypsy named
Carmen. Careless of his feelings, she leaves him for the bullfighter
Escamillo. When Don José begs her to come back to him, she scorns
him and, overcome with jealousy, he stabs her to death.
In the March of the Toreadors, an excited crowd greets the procession of
toreadors (les Toreros), including Carmen’s new lover, the great
Escamillo. As the procession approaches, you hear the excited shouts of
‘les voici’ (here they come) and later, calls of appreciation for Escamillo.
Bizet: Au fond du temple saint from The Pearl Fishers
Tenor, Baritone
The Pearl Fishers, or Les pécheurs de perles, the other favourite from
Bizet, is set in ancient times on the island of Ceylon. The opera is a story
of how a vow of eternal friendship between two men is threatened by
their love for the same woman, whose own dilemma is the conflict
Vivace Chorus
5
between secular love and her sacred oath as a priestess. The friendship
duet Au fond du temple saint, generally known as ‘The Pearl Fishers
Duet’, is an instantly recognisable firm favourite.
Purcell: Dido’s Lament and final chorus from Dido and Aeneas
Soprano and Chorus
Henry Purcell (1659 — 1695), was an English organist and Baroque
composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated
Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy
was a uniquely English form of Baroque music.
Dido and Aeneas, as one of the first genuine English operas, is a
landmark in the history of English dramatic music. It recounts the love
story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her
despair at his abandonment of her.
Dido expresses this despair just before she dies in an aria known as
Dido's Lament - When | am laid in Earth - and the chorus then concludes
the opera by ordering the cupids to ‘scatter roses on her tomb, soft and
gentle as her heart. Keep here your watch, and never, never, never part’.
Tchaikovsky: Waltz Scene from Eugene Onegin
Bass, Baritone, Tenor, Chorus
Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky (1840 — 1893) was a Russian composer of the
Romantic
era.
He
wrote
a
wide
range
of
compositions
including
symphony, chamber music, ballet and opera, including some of the most
popular concert and theatrical music in the classical repertoire.
Based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin, the opera Eugene
Onegin, tells of a selfish hero, Onegin, who lives to regret his blasé
rejection of a young woman's love and his careless incitement of a fatal
duel with his best friend. This opera is full of dance music, the most
famous piece being this exuberant waltz scene, where the provincial
gentry gossip about the sophisticated Onegin, who is provoked by what
he hears to pick a quarrel with his friend, Lensky, with devastating
results.
Dvorak: Song to the Moon from Rusalka
Soprano
The Czech composer Antonin Leopold Dvorak (1841 — 1904) often
employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia
6
Vivace Chorus
in his music. His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music,
concertos, operas and many other orchestral and vocal-instrumental
pieces. His best-known opera is Rusalka, based on the fairy tales of his
native land.
Rusalka, a water nymph, has fallen in love with a human prince who
comes to hunt around the lake, and she wants to become human too.
Rusalka sings her ‘Song to the Moon’, asking it to tell the prince of her
love.
Wagner:
Procession
and
chorale
from
Die
Meistersinger
von
Niirnberg
Chorus
Richard Wagner (1813 — 1883) was a German composer, conductor and
theatre director primarily known for his operas. His works are notable for
their complex texture, and rich harmonies and orchestration.
Set in the 16" century, in Die Meistersinger von Niirnberg a goldsmith's
daughter, Eva, and a knight, Walther, fall in love, but Eva's father has
promised her to the winner in a forthcoming song contest. Walther must
quickly learn the mastersinger's art under the wise tuition of cobbler-poet
Hans Sachs in order to win his sweetheart’s hand.
The citizens of Nuremburg have gathered to greet the procession of
mastersingers as they arrive for the contest. They greet the dawn and
hail their beloved Hans Sachs: ‘Heil Nirnbergs teurem Sachs’.
Mussorgsky: Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov
Tenor, Bass, Chorus
Russian composer Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839 — 1881) was an
innovator of Russian music in the romantic period. He strove to achieve
a uniquely Russian musical identity, often in deliberate defiance of the
established conventions of western music.
Many of his works, including the opera Boris Godunov, were inspired by
Russian history and folklore. The opera tells the story, based on fact, of
Boris’s rise to the Russian throne, and his struggle with his guilt over the
killing of the rightful heir, the young son of Ivan the Terrible.
In this coronation scene, in 1598, Boris is hailed by the people as he
emerges from the Cathedral of the Assumption, with shouts of ‘Hail to
Thee’ (Da zdrastvuyet) and finally, ‘Glory! Glory! — Slava! Slava!
Vivace Chorus
P4
~ Interval ~
(20 minutes)
Mascagni: Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana
Soprano, Chorus
The Italian composer Pietro Mascagni (1863 — 1945) wrote 15 operas,
an operetta, several orchestral and vocal works, as well as songs and
piano music, demonstrating an unusual versatility of styles. Although he
enjoyed immense success during his lifetime, both as a composer and a
conductor, he never repeated the international success of Cavalleria
Rusticana.
This one act masterpiece, a rural story of love, betrayal and death written
with Sicilian passion and warmth, caused one of the greatest sensations
in opera history,
ushering
realism.
in a new era of post-Romantic operatic
The Easter hymn, included to signify the religious side of Sicilian life, is
sung by an off-stage small choir representing those inside the church,
with the village girl, Santuzza, and other villagers being outside in the
village square.
Puccini: Che gelida manina from La Bohéme
Tenor
The operas of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858 — 1924) are
among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire, and
several of his arias have become part of popular culture. One of the
greatest exponents of operatic realism, he is regarded as one of the last
major
ltalian opera composers. Common themes within his operas
include the important role of his heroines, such as Tosca, Turandot and
Mimi in La Bohéme, and there is a strong presence of exoticism in his
operas, with several being set in faraway locations.
La Boheme tells of the tragic love story of Rodolfo, one of a group of
young artists living in an attic in the Latin Quarter of Paris and their
neighbour, the little seamstress Mimi.
Rodolfo sings Che gelida manina (literally, ‘What a cold little hand’, but
known in English as ‘Your tiny hand is frozen’) to Mimi when he meets
and falls in love with her.
8
Vivace Chorus
Puccini: O mio babbino caro from Gianni Schicchi
Soprano
The less well known Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act, the final
part of Puccini's /I trittico (The Triptych) - three one-act operas with
contrasting themes, originally written to be presented together.
The opera concerns the money-grubbing relatives of a wealthy man
attempting to change his will after they discover that he has left all his
worldly wealth to the local monks. They beg cunning Gianni Schicchi
(pronounced ski-key) to find a solution. At first Schicchi does not want to
help the scheming family. He eventually agrees, but he double-crosses
them, managing to give most of the disputed possessions to himself!
Schicchi’s daughter joins the family in persuading him to help, singing O
mio babbino caro — ‘Oh, my dear papa’.
Verdi: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Nabucco
Chorus
Giuseppe Verdi (1813 — 1901) is best known for his operas. He was one
of the most influential Italian composers of the 19" century and many of
his 28 operatic works are still frequently performed a century and a half
after their composition. Three of the most enduringly popular — Nabucco,
La Traviata and Aida — feature in tonight’s concert.
Nabucco follows the plight of the Jews as they are exiled from their
homeland by the Babylonian King Nabucco (Nebuchadnezzar).
The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, which begins Va, pensiero, sull'ali
dorate (‘Fly, thought, on golden wings’),
is sung by the
Israelites,
lamenting the loss of their homeland: O mia patria, si bella e perduta —
Oh, my homeland, so beautiful and lost’. So compelling is this great
chorus that when the opera was first rehearsed all the stage hands and
construction workers stopped work to listen and applaud.
Puccini: Vissi d’arte from Tosca
Soprano
Tosca is a melodramatic story set in Rome in 1800, with the Kingdom of
Naples' control of Rome threatened by Napoleon's invasion of Italy. It
contains depictions of torture, murder and suicide, yet also includes
some of Puccini's best-known lyrical arias.
Tosca is a singer whose lover she can only save by giving herself to his
persecutor. As she hears the drums announcing an execution, she sings
Vivace Chorus
9
a fervent prayer: Vissi d'arte ('l lived for art, | lived for love, never did |
harm a living creature ... O Lord, why dost thou repay me thus?’)
Verdi: The Brindisi from La Traviata
Soprano, Tenor, Chorus
La Traviata, based on Alexander Dumas’ novel, La Dame aux Camélias,
is a tragic love story which ends with the heroine, Violetta, dying of
consumption.
The word brindisi simply means a drinking song and here, at a lavish
party to celebrate Violetta’s apparent but misleading return to health, her
lover Alfredo is exhorting the guests to join him in a toast, calling to them
‘libiamo!’
— 1et’s drink!’
Puccini: Nessun dorma from Turandot
Tenor, Semi-chorus
Sadly Puccini never heard this opera as it was unfinished when he died
and performed for the first time two years later, completed by a lesser
known ltalian composer, Franco Alfano.
Set in China, the story involves a prince, Calaf, who falls in love with the
cold princess Turandot. To obtain permission to marry her, Calaf has to
solve three riddles, or die. He passes the test, but Turandot still hesitates
to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she can guess his real name
before dawn, she can execute him, but if she does not, she must marry
him. Turandot then decrees that none of her subjects shall sleep that
night until his name is discovered. If they fail, all will be killed.
When Calaf hears this he sings Nessun dorma — ‘None shall sleep’.
Verdi: Triumphal Scene from Aida
Chorus
Aida is set in Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Aida, an Ethiopian
princess,
is captured and brought into slavery in
Egypt.
A military
commander, Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and
his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is
loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris.
This glorious triumphal scene sees Radames returning victorious from
battle, greeted by a chorus of ‘Gloria all'Egitto, ad Iside!’ — ‘Glory to
Egypt, to Isis!’
10
Vivace Chorus
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Vivace Chorus
11
'
Welsh
soprano
Sara
Lian
Owen
. completed her BMus at The Royal
. Academy of Music and graduated in
2010 with a First Class degree and a
Regency Award.
In 2007 Sara was a finalist in the
Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Competition
and she won the coveted Osborne
Roberts Blue Riband Prize at the
National Eisteddfod in 2010. Her
concert
Cminor
work
includes
Mass
and
Mozart's
Requiem,
Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Rossini's
Petite Messe Solennelle, Vivaldi's
Gloria and Will Todd's Mass in Blue.
She
has
appeared
on
BBC
Radio
Wales, S4C, BBC2 and also at the
Queen
Elizabeth
Hall,
Royal Albert
Hall and St Martln-in-the- Flelds During summer 2011 she appeared in
Glyndebourne Festival Opera's first ever staging of Die Meistersinger
von Nirnberg, under Vladimir Jurowski. Sara joined Royal Academy
Opera in September 2011, to continue her studies with Elizabeth Ritchie
and Ingrid Surgenor. In her first term she performed the role of Nora in
Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea, conducted by Peter Robinson.
Future engagements include First Lady in Die Zauberfibte for Royal
Academy Opera, a second season in the chorus at Glyndebourne
Festival Opera and Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle at the Mayfield
Festival.
Sara is extremely grateful for the generous support of the Headley Trust
in
memory
of
Howard
Milner,
Ryan
Davies
Memorial
Fund,
The
Josephine Baker Trust and The Arts Council of Wales.
The Vivace Chorus gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship of
Sara Lian Owen, Philip Modino, Gareth Brynmor John
and Thomas Faulkner
by the Josephine Baker Trust.
12
Vivace Chorus
Philip Modino studied singing, piano and
conducting at Trinity College of Music,
London and was awarded a Bachelor's
Degree Honours in Performance. During
his
time
at
numerous
Trinity
he
productions
took
part
including
in
the
world premiere of Cry of Innocence under
Terry
Edwards.
Since
appeared
in
Greece,
Spain and
France.
then
he
England,
has
Italy,
Roles that he has
sung
include
Pinkerton,
Yamadori
(Madame Butterfly),
Lensky (Eugene
Onegin),
ldomeneo,
Gabriele
Adorno
(Simon
Boccanegra),
Canio,
Pepe
(Pagliacci), Alfredo (La Traviata), Radames (Aida), Creonte (Antigone),
Ishmael (Nabucco), Luigi (Tabarro), as well as Stabat Mater by Dvoiak
and Messa di Gloria by Puccini. He has performed in numerous venues
such as the National Opera of Greece, Barbican, St. John's, Smith
Square, Teatro de la Feria Valladolid and many more.
In 2009 Philip took part in the parody The two orphans starring alongside
some of the most popular actors in Greece in a 60-performance tour
around Greece, in which he sang the role of the narrator, which was
compiled of famous pieces from the operatic and Neapolitan repertoire
(such as La donna & mobile and Sorrento) but with comedic lyrics that
related to the play. He was also the orchestrator and conductor at the
recording of the playback used for the performance.
Other recording work includes the children's musical Pol and Lara by
Dimitris Katis to be published later this year.
As a pianist he has worked very much as an accompanist, but also as a
soloist, performing for organisations such as the Liszt Society and the
Alkan Society and in venues such as Steinway Hall and the Bluthner
Piano Centre in London.
Philip
was
the
co-director
of
the
2007
revival
production
of
Shakespeare's forgotten play Cardenio at King's College London with the
Anatomy Players, as well as having served as Artistic Director at the
Casa dei Mezzo music festival in Crete in 2008. He was awarded the
Onassis Scholarship and the Greek Wagner Gesellschaft Bursary in
2011 and currently attends the Royal Academy of Music doing a Master
in Arts. He has also become a beneficiary of the Josephine Baker Trust.
Vivace Chorus
5
Gareth Brynmor John — Baritone
Gareth Brynmor John has performed
with
UK,
the
around
widely
performances including the St John
and St Matthew Passions, the Mozart,
Haydn, Stanford and Faure Requiems,
Schubert Masses, The Messiah in St
Vaughan
and
Martin-in-the-Fields,
Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols
© in St John’s, Smith Square, and
' Philharmonic Hall, Ljubljana. Gareth
has a keen interest in song repertoire
and is part of the RAM Song Circle.
Recent performances include Brahms
op. 71 in the Duke’s Hall and Wolf's
Italienisches Liederbuch in the David
Josefowitz Recital Hall at the Royal
Academy of Music. A forthcoming
recital at King's Place will feature works
of Brahms.
In addition to concert work, Gareth’s opera roles have included the
Gendarme in the the Cambridge University Opera Society (CUOS)
production of Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias; Eliab in Samuel
Hogarth's modern chamber opera, David and Goliath; the title role in
Puccini's Gianni Schicchi as part of the Cambridge Summer Music
Festival: the title role in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin with CUOS in
West Road Concert Hall; Papageno in Mozart's The Magic Flute with
Shadwell Opera; Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring with Shadwell Opera; The
Ferryman in Britten's Curlew River with Royal Academy Opera (RAO)
and Claudio in Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict with Sir Colin Davis and
John Copley (RAO). Forthcoming roles include Speaker in Mozart's The
Magic Flute (RAO) and The Count in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro as
part of the Amersham Festival.
Gareth graduated in 2007 from St John's College, Cambridge, where he
was a Choral Scholar and subsequently a Lay Clerk under David Hill and
Andrew Nethsingha. He is now continuing his studies on the Royal
Academy of Music Opera Course with Mark Wildman. Gareth is kindly
supported by the Josephine Baker Trust and is the Reizenstein Scholar.
14
Vivace Chorus
Thomas Faulkner — Bass
Thomas studied at Cambridge University
and the
Royal Academy of Music,
supported by the Countess of Munster
Trust, the Josephine Baker Trust and the
Musicians Benevolent Fund.
Recently
he
has
performed
for
- Garsington Opera, singing Second Armed
Man (The Magic Flute), British Youth
Opera, as Bartolo (Le Nozze di Figaro),
'\
l
-
and
-
number
of
included
Superintendent
for Wexford
roles.
Festival
Opera
in
Other
roles
have
Budd
a
(Albert
Herring) for Royal Academy Opera, Don
Pantaleone
(Die
Drei
Pintos)
for
UCOpera, Noye (Noye’s Fludde), Elviro
(Xerxes), Plutone (Orfeo), Gremin (Eugene Onegin), and Sarastro (The
Magic Flute). He has sung the parts of Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte), and
Traveller (Curlew River) in concert. Work in contemporary opera includes
the role of Radamanthus in British Youth Opera's Production of Stephen
Oliver's Euridice, as well as leads in several new works by young English
composers, most recently King Saul in Sam Hogarth's David and Goliath,
and Narrator in Kim B Ashton's The Boy, the Forest and the Desert at the
Grimeborn Festival. This summer he joins the Glyndebourne Festival
Opera chorus.
Thomas is busy as a concert soloist in a wide repertoire, from early
baroque German motets to Puccini and Britten, with a particular focus on
Bach (B minor Mass, cantatas, including all the solo cantatas, Magnificat,
Christmas Oratorio, arias and Jesus in both Passions.) He has sung in
the Spitalfields and Bregenz festivals, St John’s, Smith Square, many of
England's cathedrals, and appeared in the RAM/Kohn Foundation Bach
cantata series and on BBC radio. Forthcoming highlights include St John
Passion (Jesus) with the choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, under
Andrew Nethsingha, and Israel in Egypt at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
His recital repertoire includes Beethoven, An die ferne Geliebte,
Schumann, Liederkreis op. 24, Brahms, Vier ernste Gesange, and songs
by Liszt, Schubert, Wolf, Mahler and Mussorgsky. He has performed new
songs written for him, and often collaborates with instrumentalists in
baroque repertoire, performing works by Rameau, Bach, Biber, Schiitz
and Tunder.
Vivace Chorus
15
- Jeremy
musical
Backhouse
career
in
began
his
Canterbury
Cathedral, where he was Head
Chorister, and later studied music at
Liverpool
University.
He
spent
5 years as Music Editor at the Royal
National Institute of Blind People
(RNIB), where he was responsible for
the transcription of print music into
Braille.
In
1986 he joined
EMI
Records as a Literary Editor and from
April 1990 combined his work as a
Consultant Editor for EMI Classics and later Boosey & Hawkes Music
Publishers with his career as a freelance conductor.
In
January
1995,
Jeremy
was
appointed
Chorus
Master
and
subsequently Music Director of the Vivace Chorus (then the Guildford
Philharmonic
ambitious
Choir).
Jeremy
programmes,
has
including
presented
and
Howell's
Hymnus
conducted
some
Paradisi
and
Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, Mahler’s ‘Resurrection’ Symphony (No. 2),
Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, Mendelssohn’s ‘Lobgesang’
(Symphony No. 2), Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible,
and, most recently, Mahler’s ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ (No. 8) in the
Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Major classical
popular works have included Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Verdi's
Requiem and Haydn's The Creation.
Since 1980, Jeremy has been the conductor of the Vasari Singers,
acknowledged as one of the finest chamber choirs in the country,
performing music from the Renaissance to contemporary commissions.
Jeremy
is
totally
committed
to
contemporary
music
and
to
the
commissioning of new works. He and Vasari have commissioned over
20 works in their recent history, and this enthusiasm has spread to the
Vivace Chorus who, in May 2009, performed the premiere of their first
commission — local composer Will Todd's Te Deum.
Jeremy has also worked with a number of the country's leading choirs,
including the Philharmonia Chorus, the London Choral Society and the
Brighton Festival Chorus. For 6 years, to the end of 2004, Jeremy was
the Music Director of the Wooburn Singers, following Richard Hickox and
Stephen Jackson. In January 2009, Jeremy was
Director of the Salisbury Community Choir.
16
appointed
Music
Vivace Chorus
Bn@ienburg
sinfonia
Artistic Director — Robert Porter
Associate Music Director — Sarah Tenant-Flowers
The Brandenburg Sinfonia is one of the most dynamically versatile
musical organisations in the country. It is renowned for its special quality
of sound and poised vivacity in performance. The orchestra performs
regularly in the majority of the major venues across the country, and in
London at the Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Fairfield Halls and St John's, Smith Square. The Brandenburg Sinfonia is
also in great demand abroad and has visited France, USA, Bermuda, the
Channel Islands, Barbados, Russia, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong. In
1999 the orchestra established major concert series at both St Martin-in-
the-Fields and Crystal Palace Bowl.
A large number of artists of international standing have worked with the
orchestra including Emanuel Hurwitz, Lesley Garrett, John Georgiadis,
Michael Thompson and Gordon Hunt. Its repertoire
John Wallace,
ranges from
Bach to
Lloyd Webber and
its members give around
100 performances of orchestral, chamber, choral and operatic music
during the year. The orchestras for a number of touring companies are
formed from members of the Brandenburg Sinfonia including First Act
Opera, London City Opera, Opera Holland Park, London Opera Players
and Central Festival Opera.
Violin 1
Viola
Oboe
Mihkel Kerem
Matthew Quenby
Alun Darbyshire
~ Emma Juliet
Andres Kaljuste
Mark Braithwaite
Sophie McMillan
Hodgson
Rhys Watkins
Francis Kefford
Raja Halder
Barbara Zdziarska
E
Mariam Ruetschi ~ Clarinet
Tom Lessels
Trombone
Mark Townend
Dougal Prophet
Cecilia Romero
Cello
Sue Gill
Tul?a
Gabriela Nikula
Beq Rogerson
Bessoon
Adrian Miotti
Melissa Reiner
Lydia Shelley
R
Gabriella Swallow ~ Robert Bourton
Emma Vidgeon
Tom Hardy
.
:
Timpani
Kokilla Gillett
James Widden
Bass
Lawrence Ungless
Horn
Dave Lee
Percussion
Tim Evans
Tom Hankey
Jan Zahourek
Caroline O'Connell Scott Bywater
Flute
Susie Koczur
garpBl :
Paul Archibald
Gpyis Evans
Organ
Prue Smith
Violin 2
Phillip Granel
Dunja Larova
Jenny Lee
Vivace Chorus
Celia
Chambers
:
Kimberley Boyle
Fergus Davidson
Martin Grainger
T rumpet
—
Tristan Fry
=
17
About Vivace Chorus
Jeremy Backhouse
Music Director
Francis Pott
Accompanist
James Garrow
Chairman
Vivace Chorus has two aims: to make
music of the highest standard and to
have fun while doing so.
’
The choir has come a long way since it
began over 60 years ago as the
Guildford Philharmonic Choir, gaining
over time an enviable reputation for E
performing first-class concerts across a
wide range of musical repertoire.
Since 1995, the choir has thrived under the exceptional leadership of our
Music Director, Jeremy Backhouse, ably supported by Francis Pott.
Jeremy’s passion for choral works and his sheer enthusiasm for musicmaking are evident at every rehearsal and every performance, and
Francis is not just a very fine rehearsal accompanist but is also a
composer of international reputation and a concert pianist in his own
rightt. Come to our next concert, when Francis will be playing
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and judge for yourself!
We relish the opportunity to perform more unusual works such as
Mahler's Symphony No. 8, or Prokoviev's Alexander Nevsky as much as
the great choral masterpieces of Verdi, Bach, Brahms, Handel or Haydn.
At a more intimate level, we are at home with the works of Fauré,
Tavener, Allegri or Lauridsen. Contemporary music is an important
feature of the repertoire and our ‘Contemporary Choral Classics’ series,
which has featured works such as Will Todd’s Mass in Blue, is designed
both to challenge the choir and
to promote the classics of the
future.
= Our most recent successes
' have
included
a
sell-out
| performance
of
Mahler’s
Symphony
No.
8,
the
Symphony of a Thousand’, at
the Royal Albert Hall in May
2011, involving five choirs and
Vivace Chorus
the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jeremy, and a
performance last November of the Brahms Requiem which prompted a
reviewer to say, “Guildford is indeed most fortunate to have such a great
ensemble in its midst”.
This year, as well as the Rachmaninov concert in May, we will be
performing Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem in November. Composed
and first performed fifty years ago to celebrate the consecration of the
new Coventry Cathedral, it has become one of the defining masterpieces
of the 20" century.
In addition to our own concerts, we also sing in charity concerts such as
the Shooting Star CHASE Carol Concert, at the Mayor of Guildford's
Carol Concert and, with our good friends the Brandenburg Sinfonia, we
sing twice a year in the superb venue of St Martin-in-the-Fields.
We also, on occasion, venture further afield. Trips abroad have included
visits to Freiburg, Germany, to sing with the Freiburger Bachchor and, in
June 2009, to France where we gave concerts of music from the early
16" to late 20" centuries in the cathedrals of Paris (Notre-Dame), Rouen
and Beauvais. In June we are off on tour again, this time giving concerts
in Strasbourg, Heidelberg and Freiburg.
New members are always welcome, so if you love beautiful choral music
and
want to have fun singing, please contact Jane Brooks at
membership@vivacechorus.org to find out how you can be a part of our
exciting future. We rehearse
in
Holy
Trinity
Church, [
Guildford High Street,
Monday evenings.
on
For
do
more
information,
visit
our
vivacechorus.org,
you
can
receive
also
TR
o
M.
_
W
website,
where
sign
up
information
our concerts,
%
Y
to
about
us on
follow us on
Twitter.
Vivace Chorus
or
Facebook or
19
Vivace Chorus Singers
FIRST SOPRANOS
Mary Broughton
Elaine Chapman
Rachel Edmondson
Mo Kfouri
Susan Norton
Margaret Parry
Margaret Perkins
Kate Rayner
Gillian Rix
Carol Terry
Joan Thomas
Nikki Vale
SECOND SOPRANOS
Anna Arthur
Mandy Freeman
Marianne llisley
Jane Kenney
Krystyna Marsden
Isabel Mealor
Debbie Morton
Kate Peters
Rosalind Plowright
Isobel Rooth
Ann Sheppard
Judy Smith
Philippa Smith
Paula Sutton
Zowie Sweetland
Christine Wilks
Frances Worpe
FIRST ALTOS
Barbara Barklem
Penny Baxter
Monika Boothby
Jane Brooks
Margaret Dentskevich
Liz Durning
Kate Emerson
Sheila Hodson
Jean Leston
Judith Lewy
Lois McCabe
20
Kay McManus
Christine Medlow
Rosalind Milton
Mary Moon
Gill Perkins
Lesley Scordellis
Catherine Shacklady
Ann Smith
Marjory Stewart
Hilary Trigg
SECOND ALTOS
Geraldine Allen
Hannah Andrews
Evelyn Beastall
Sylvia Chantler
Mary Clayton
Andrea Dombrowe
Carolyn Edis
Celia Embleton
Elizabeth Evans
Valerie Garrow
Jo Glover
Barbara Hilder
Carol Hobbs
Yvonne Hungerford
Val Morcom
Jacqueline Norman
Sheila Rowell
Prue Smith
Jo Stokes
Rosey Storey
Pamela Usher
Anne Whitley
June Windle
Elisabeth Yates
FIRST TENORS
Mike Bishop
Bob Bromham
Bob Cowell
Tim Hardyment
Nick Manning
Martin Price
Chris Robinson
John Trigg
SECOND TENORS
John Bawden
Ewan Bramhall
Peter Butterworth
Tony Chantler
Stephen Chowns
Geoff Johns
Stephen Linton
Peter Norman
Jon Scott
John Thornely
FIRST BASSES
Phil Beastall
John Britten
Michael Golden
Brian John
Jeremy Johnson
Eric Kennedy
Jon Long
Chris Newbery
Chris Peters
Robin Privett
David Ross
Philip Stanford
Barry Sterndale-Bennett
Kieron Walsh
SECOND BASSES
Peter Andrews
Roger Barrett
Alan Batterbury
Norman Carpenter
Dave Cox
Geoffrey Forster
James Garrow
Stuart Gooch
Nick Gough
Michael Jeffery
Neil Martin
John Parry
Roger Penny
Michael Taylor
Vivace Chorus
Vivace Chorus Patrons
The Vivace Chorus is extremely grateful to all Patrons
for their financial support.
Honorary Life Patrons:
Mr Bill Bellerby MBE
Dr John Trigg MBE
Mrs Doreen Bellerby MBE
Platinum Patrons:
Dr Roger Barrett
Mrs Pamela Leggatt
Mr & Mrs Peter B P Bevan
John and Janet McLean
John and Barbara Britten
Ron and Christine Medlow
Mr & Mrs R H R Broughton
Dr Roger Muray
Mr Michael Dawe
Mr & Mrs John Parry
Mr & Mrs G Dombrowe
Margaret Perkins
Mr & Mrs Joseph Durning
Dr & Mrs M G M Smith
Dr Michael Golden
Barry Sterndale-Bennett
Susan and Cecil Hinton
Mrs Pamela Usher
Mrs Carol Hobbs
Miss Enid Weston
Mrs Rita Horton
Bill and June Windle
Mr Laurie James
Gold Patrons:
Robin and Jill Broadley
Mrs Jean Radley
Mrs Philip Davies
Brenda and Brian Reed
Mr & Mrs Maxwell S New
Prue and Derek Smith
Silver Patrons:
Mrs Iris Bennett
Mr Lionel Moon
Mr H J C Browne
Maggie van Koetsveld
Bob & Maryel Cowell
Without
the
help
of
Patrons,
together with
grants
and
our
other
fundraising efforts, we would be unable to perform such a wide-ranging
and exciting repertoire. Patrons receive certain benefits so if you would
like to join do please contact Barry Sterndale-Bennett on 07753 958726
or email patrons@vivacechorus.org.
Vivace Chorus
21
gsmf
Sunday
18th March
Monday
19th March
Tuesday
20th March
Wednesday
21st March
Guildford Spring Music Festival
18 - 24 March 2012
Rock Choir - from 4pm
Rock Choir, the phenomenon of the decade, opens the 2012 Festival with three performances.
The Will Todd Trio 7.30pm
p
azz Lunch 12.30pm
p
Jimmy Hastings and his Quartet.
Jazz of a different kind.
Tormegd S::jhool flu;i';lans 'Pm | Songs That Go Like This 7.30pm
on:[l(fagu‘nggfc;':igzue;zh::;;.
An evening of show-stoppers from the GSA Singers.
Emily Hooker Ipm
ngrrey Bra;s 7.30pm
High Scorer’s Concert Ipm
jonathan Veira 730pm
International operatic baritone, raconteur
Pianist and star of BBC's Classical Stor programme
ersfgtvle
brits phy/ing of Bin slasaics,
ilm scores and lighter styles
.
of the best candidates from the Guildford area
Thursday Some
22nd March
who achieved high marks in recent ABRSM exams
Guildhall High Street. Guildford
Friday
23rd March
Saturd
24thu;;a:zh
and entertainer in a concert of two halves.
"
.
The Santiago String Quartet Ipm
Including a world premier of a commissioned quartet
Mus’c forTwo Pianos 8Pm
Guildhall, High Street, Guildford
400 NG plnss.
Simon Phillips and Stephen Ridge
Will Todd
by local composer
Surrey Cantata 12.45pm
The Gala Concert 7.30pm
5urrey Mozart P'ayers
;
;
Forbes
by Sebastian
Directed
Weber
Choral singing accompanied by an instrumental group
in Bach,Vivaldi and others
eber,
Dvorsk and Brah
Lvorax an
Fanms.
At The Electric Theatre, Guildford
Lunchtime events £8 (£4 concs). Evening events £14 (£7 concs). Rock Choir £6 (£3 concs).
Concessions under |6s, students, |SA, IB and IS
The Guildford Spring Music Festival has reached its 5th biennial anniversary having started in 2004
as a festival celebrating the musical talents of the Guildford area. All events feature musicians
with a significant local connection by birth, education, work or residence.
The performers come from the ranks of
A
pr
£,
i
Is, students and talented amateurs.
The Festival is supported by The Guildford Borough Council.
The Humphrey Richardson Taylor Charitable Trust and many local businesses.
Box Offices: 01483 444789 or 01483 444334
online booking at www.gsmf.org.uk
28
Vivace Chorus
Some of the printed music for this
evening's concert has been hired
from
G Ricordi & Co (London) Ltd,
Oxford University Press Music Hire
Library,
Surrey County Council Performing
Arts Library
and
Brandenburg Sinfonia
a Chorus and Soloists
A programme of opera cameos plus other musical treats
Vivace Chorus
7.30pm Saturday 28th April 2012
Registered Charity No. 1026337
Holy Trinity Church, High Street, Guildford Gu1 3Hj
in the name of
Guildford Philharmonic Choir
Box office 07768002720
boxoffice@guildfordopera.comMmusical birector
www.nodaboxoffice.couk | Francis Griffin
Financially assisted by
G
Tickets £15
@)
GUILDFORD
BOROUGH
Registered charity no. 271484 Alfiliated to NODA www \'lnfdlmd(spcm com
e e 2
e e
e
S
O
L R
B R
S
&
e
e
e
L R
R R
S
Par'r'y and Brahms', November 2011
From a review by Martin Hall
£ Guuldfor‘d Cafhedral bore witness to a splendid event when the Vivace Chorus and *
Brandenburg Sinfonia performed a programme of Parry and Brahms directed by their:
* distinguished
conductor
Jeremy
Backhouse.
Jeremy's
penchant
for
programme -
v*devnsmg is a miracle in itself; he generally includes popular repertoire alongsnder
: undeservedly neglected
works
such as
Parry's moving
Elegy for Brahms.
{‘ expressive piece foundin its orchestra and director worthy advocates.
ThlS.
~In Parry's two blockbusters, I Was Glad and Blest Pair of Sirens, the choir showed:
- themselves from the first thrilling chords to be on vintage form. The ensemble was ammaculafe even in the Cathedral's not always helpful acoustic. The forte passages::
- were
robust, the
piano
sections sensitive;
and
all
this
taxing
work
before
a::
¢perfor'mance of the Brahms Reguiem one could go far without hearing equalled. Pitch
¢ and tone were pleasingly sustained in the unaccompanied sections. The soloists were:
Mnchael Bundy who was at once awe inspiring and poetic, and Helen Neeves, deputizing i
flawlessly at very short notice for an indisposed Claire Seaton. The orchestra rose to all the demands of the score, the lower strings being particularly impressive in the }
opemng bars of the Reguiem.
’
Tt is not an exaggeration to make claims for the Vivace Chorus being one of the best!2
;chor‘al groups of its kind. Guildford is indeed most fortunate to have such a great ,fi
ensembleinits muds'r
Soveriney
T
V/vace Chorus
TR
PP
g
23
Vivace Chorus dates for your diary
2012
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2, The Bells and Vespers
May 19 — Guildford Cathedral
Rachmaninov was himself a fine pianist and his works for piano reflect
his passion for the instrument as well as his extraordinary talent for
expansive and romantic composition. Exemplifying this romanticism, his
Piano Concerto No. 2 was an inspired choice for the theme music for the
film Brief Encounter and has proved enduringly popular, reclaiming the
number 1 spot in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame in 2011. Rachmaninov’s
writing for voice is equally impressive. This concert also features a
selection of his Vespers and The Bells — a work for soloists, chorus and
orchestra, which explores in turn the contrasting emotions linked to the
sounds of various bells: sleigh bells, wedding bells, alarm bells and
funeral bells.
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem
November 17 — Guildford Cathedral
Composed and first performed 50 years ago for the consecration of the
new Coventry Cathedral, the War Requiem has become one of the
defining masterpieces of the 20" century — a devastating meditation on
the pity of war that is every bit as relevant today. This is a large-scale but
poignant work, interspersing the war poetry of Wilfred Owen, killed just a
week before the end of World War 1, with the text of the Requiem Mass.
It is a timeless message to everyone worldwide. There will be a retiring
collection in aid of ‘Help for Heroes'.
Further details at vivacechorus.org
or from info@vivacechorus.org
Printed by WORDCRAFT
115 Merrow Woods, Guildford, Surrey GU1 2LJ
Tel: 01483 560735
24
Vivace Chorus
" COME A ND
/
&
&
O
PETITE MESSE SOLENNELLE
SUNDAY 29 APRIL 2012
REHEARSAL FROM: 2.30pm
CONCERT: 7.30pm WITH A SHORT PERFORMANCE BY
THE PUPILS AT THE YEHUDI MENUHIN SCHOOL
THE MENUHIN HALL, STOKE
D’ABERNON, KT11 3DQ
If you are interested in coming please contact
GETTING HERE
our outreach officer Michaela Khatib on
The Menuhin Hall is just 20
michaela.khatib@yehudimenuhinschool.co.uk
or 01927 554409 for further details.
Alternatively contact the Menuhin hall box office on 08700 842020 - Open 10am - 3pm
Monday-Friday or visit www.menuhinhall.co.uk
minutes from Guildford by train
or car. Taxis are available from
Cobham station or minibuses may
collect singers, by prior request,
from the station 30 minutes
before the start of the rehearsal.
yivacechorus©v'
Vivace
Chorus
G LIVE PRESENTS
l
VIVACE CHORUS: A NIGHT AT THE O
—
Door:5
i
—
_
SAT Mar 17, 2012 At 7:30 PM
TIERED STALLS
Row:R
S —
£22.00
7 &
—
k¥
FuLL PRICE
OrDER #284073
CLAYTON
London Road, Guildford, GU1 2AA
0844 7701 797
Book your own seats 24 hours a day using the interactive seating plan at GLive.co.uk