Northern Chamber Orchestra with Matthew Sharp, cello & baritone The Heritage Centre, Macclesfield Saturday 22 May 5.30pm and 8.00pm. Online Sunday 23 May – Sunday 30 May Peter Warlock (1894 – 1930) Capriol suite I Basse-Danse. Allegro moderato II Pavane. Allegretto, ma un poco lento III Tordion. Con moto IV Bransles. Presto V Pieds-en-l'air. Andante tranquillo VI Mattachins (Sword Dance). Allegro con brio Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Madamina, il catalogo è questo (Don Giovanni) Giacomo Puccini (1858 – 1924) Crisantemi Gustav Holst (1874 – 1934) Brook Green suite I Prelude. Allegretto II Air. Andante III Dance. Allegro Pyotr IlyichTchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Variations on a Rococo Theme Op. 33 Moderato quasi Andante. Tema moderato semplice Var. 1 Tempo del Tema Var. 2 Tempo del Tema Var. 3 Andante sostenuto Var. 4 Andante grazioso Var. 5 Allegro moderato. Cadenza Var. 6 Andante Var. 7 Allegro vivo Old dance forms are the basis of the Capriol Suite, but with a touch of 20th century spici ness added by Peter Warlock. The original melodies appeared in 1589 in the form of a teach-yourself-to-dance manual put together by a French priest called Arbeau. The first, Basse-Danse, is a lively dance in which the dancers’ feet for the most part slide along the floor. The second, Pavane, is far statelier in nature, while the following Tordion is once again spirited, similar in mood to the opening movement. The Bransles (pronounced Brawl) is a fast country dance which works its way into a frenzy, continuously building in speed and excitement. The subsequent Pieds-en-l’air is justifiably the Suite’s most popular movement. While most movements are named after the dance name, this one is named after the dancers ’ instruction. The dancers’ feet should move so gently that they barely touch the floor. The final movement, Mattachins, is an exhilarating sword dance, danced by four men in pretend combat. The music is march-like throughout and climaxes in violent dissonances, which send the piece hurtling to a close. “Madamina, il catalogo è questo” (“Little lady, this is the catalogue”) is Mozart’s most famous bass aria, from Don Giovanni, and is a towering example of the melding of words and music. Leporello, Don Giovanni’s servant, tells the distraught Donna Elvira that she is only one of his master's many paramours. Instead of the usual slow-fast division of the classical aria, Mozart inverts the order, presenting the fast section before the slow one. This inversion works dramatically in that during the fast section, Leporello presents the catalogue and lists the Don's many conquests. During the slow section, Leporello describes the women; some are young, some are old, some pretty and some plain. Mozart’s genius at using orchestral resources for dramatic emphasis is present throughout the aria. When Leporello is listing how many women the Don has in each country, the flutes have an ascending and descending passage that sounds like laughter. In the score of Manon Lescaut, the first opera for which Puccini himself chose the subject, the composer used some pieces of music originally written for other contexts. Crisantemi was first composed as an elegy for string quartet in 1890, upon the death of Duke Amadeo d’Aosta. Subsequently, the work served as the source material for both the scene between Manon and Des Grieux at the prison window in Act 3 and the death scene in Manon Lescaut. From 1905 until his death, Gustav Holst was music director at St Paul's Girls' School in Brook Green. He wrote his well-known St Paul's Suite in 1913 for the school string orchestra and followed it in 1933 with the Brook Green Suite - composed for the junior orchestra. The last of the three short movements borrows a puppet show's tune that Holst heard while on holiday in Sicily. When approached to compose a cello concerto, Tchaikovsky always replied, ‘Why don’t you play my (Rococo) Variations?’ The response was usually that the cellist found them ‘uncomfortable’. ‘They can’t pl ay them and so they pester me,’ the composer invariably joked. Two years later he composed, as if in defiance, the Violin Concerto! He composed his Rococo Variations in 1876 for his friend, the cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen. With Tchaikovsky's agreement the solo cellist changed the order of the variations, making various cuts and changes to the solo part. This is the version which was always played until the late 20th century when the original manuscript surfaced. Today Matthew Sharp is playing the Fitzenhagen version. This concert has been generously supported by the Friends of the Northern Chamber Orchestra. We thank CDL, Arts Council England, Macclesfield Town Council and Shackleford Pianos for their support of our season. Matthew Sharp, cello and baritone Matthew Sharp is an award-winning, internationally recognised solo cellist, baritone, director, recording artist & educator. He plays world stages and school halls. He has shaped his career around the belief and knowledge that music and art have the power and magic to transform, heal and connect. [For an extended biography, please visit www.matthewsharp.net] The Orchestra Violin I Double Bass Nicholas Ward James Manson Louise Latham Sarah Whittingham Flute Nichola Hunter Violin II Simon Gilks Oboe Rebecca Thompson William Oinn Viola Clarinet Richard Muncey Daniel Bayley Michael Dale Bassoon Cello Rachel Whibley Alex Holladay Horn Barbara Grunthal Naomi Atherton
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