Piano Concerto No 2
Vespers (extracts)
The Bells
,,,,,,,
Saturday
19th May 2012
Tickets 11, £16 and £22
Tourist Information 01483 444334
Michael Taylor 07958 519 741
or purchase on our website
vivacechorus.org
7'30 Pm GUfldfOTd cathEdTa.]
6.30 pm Pre-concert talk
Registered Charity No.1026337
Rachmaninov
Piano Concerto No. 2, The Bells, Vespers
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 a large orchestra, which
explores in turn the contrasting emotions linked to the sounds of various bells: sleigh bells, wedding
bells, alarm bells and funeral bells.
Our soloist for the concerto
international
reputation,
is
Francis
Francis
Pott.
Himself a composer of
belongs to the
same
long
line
as
Rachmaninov in viewing the piano as a means to a further creative end,
and mastery of the instrument as merely one facet of being a musician.
Nonetheless he has been heard on BBC Radio Three a number of times, has
participated in three commercial CD releases (including one of his own
"
music) and has appeared at such prestigious venues as London’s Wigmore
Hall. A former private pupil of the distinguished British pianist Hamish Milne,
he is in regular demand as a soloist and accompanist. Francis Pott also
shares with his former teacher a particular interest in the music of Nikolai
Medtner, Rachmaninov’'s contemporary and close friend, whose output
forms the basis of his academic research as Professor of Composition at
London College of Music, University of West London.
A free pre-concert talk
given by our soloist, Francis Pott, in The Chapter House at 6.30 pm
If you do not have a reserved concert seat, you will be able to save a seat
in the unreserved area prior to the talk.
Benjamin Britten 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 20th 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
one week before the end of World War 1, with the text of the Requiem Mass. It now speaks to
everyone world-wide. There will be a retiring collection in aid of 'Help for Heroes'.