Concert Programme
Saturday , 10th October 2009 at 7.45pm
Holy Trinity Church
Barrow-upon-Soar
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The Birds
Respighi (1879 - 1936)
Prelude
The Dove
The Hen
The Nightingale
The Cuckoo
Ottorino Respighi was born in Bologna. He received his
early musical education at the Liceo Musicale Bologna
where he studied the violin and composition, but it
was the lessons he received from Rimsky-Korsakov during
two visits to Russia shortly after the turn of the century
that were to have the greatest influence on his composition,
in particular how he orchestrated his works. Initially
he pursued his musical career as a violinist and violist,
but he eventually settled in Rome and took up the post
of Professor of Composition at the Liceo di S. Cecilia.
He eventually became the Liceo's Director.
As a composer, Respighi is probably best known these
days for his 'Roman Trilogy' - the three huge symphonic
poems "The Fountains of Rome" (1914-16), "Pines
of Rome" (1923-24) and "Roman Festivals"
(1928) which clearly show the colourful influences of
Rimsky-Korsakov and Richard Strauss. At the other end
of the orchestral scale is tonight's work, which he
described as a 'Suite for Small Orchestra'. This too
has remained popular perhaps, in this country at least,
due to its use on television - those with long, or should
I say 'antique', memories will remember the Prelude
as the theme music to the BBC's long-running programme
"Going for a Song". Respighi had developed
an interest in lesser-known composers from the past
and a number of his compositions were arrangements or
transcriptions of their works. The Prelude and four
delightful musical portraits that make up "The
Birds" are all examples of this - perhaps Respighi
should have added an extra movement entitled "The
Magpie"!
The Prelude and "The Cuckoo" are based primarily
on music by Bernardo Pasquini, "The Dove"
is based on music by Jacques Gallot, and "The Hen"
is based on Jean-Philippe Rameau's well-known piece
"La Poule". In "The Nightingale",
Respighi makes use of music by an anonymous seventeenth-century
English composer.
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Violin concerto no.1 in C
Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Soloist - Nic Fallowfield
Allegro moderato
Adagio
Finale (Presto)
Haydn had a long and distinguished
career as a composer and much of his considerable
output took the form of symphonies and chamber music.
Although he wrote concertos for a number of instruments,
it was not a form he particularly favoured. Haydn's
vast output has created certain difficulties, not
least for the composer himself, whose record of his
own early compositions tended to consist of little
more than his autograph manuscripts.
However, in 1765 Haydn received a letter from Prince
Nikolaus Esterházy, his patron and employer
for much of his creative life, reprimanding him for
negligence. The reprimand was initiated by the elderly
Ober-Kapellmeister Werner, who was becoming increasingly
bitter at the success and popularity of his young
deputy and wrote to Prince Nikolaus complaining about
Haydn's slovenliness in a number of areas, including
losing music. However, the letter reprimanding Haydn
also contained a rebuke from Prince Nikolaus himself
in which he 'encouraged' Haydn to apply himself more
diligently to composition, in particular pieces for
the gamba (also known as the baryton) which was the
prince's favourite instrument. In order to refute
this particular criticism, Haydn began to catalogue
his own works in what became known as his "Entwurf-Katalog"
(draft catalogue) to show the prince just how much
he had composed.
Scholars such as Hoboken and H.C. Robbins Landon have
also catalogued Haydn's compositions, but there has
nevertheless been much discussion concerning the authenticity
of a number of works, particularly those from the
earlier part of his creative life.
Over the years, a total of eleven violin concertos
have been credited to Haydn. However, these days only
four are thought to be by the master. Haydn's own
catalogue lists only three - tonight's work, a concerto
in A and a third in D. The latter two concertos were
for many years both thought to have been lost, but
the concerto in A was rediscovered in the 1940s and
on publication acquired the title the "Melker"
concerto after the Benedictine monastery in which
it was found. A fourth concerto, in G major, a 1777
manuscript of which is preserved in Vienna is now
generally accepted to be by Haydn - its omission from
his own catalogue is thought to be a not atypical
lapse of memory. The C major concerto is thought to
date from the period 1761-5 and is thought to have
been composed for Luigi Tomasini, the leader of Haydn's
orchestra at Eisenstadt. It is scored for strings,
perhaps indicating how at that time Haydn was still
influenced more by the Baroque style of the past than
the Classical style which he was to play such a key
part in establishing.
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Pavane pour une enfante defunte
Ravel (1875 - 1937)
Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure in
the Basque region of France. His mother was a Basque
who had spent much of her youth in Madrid. It is therefore
perhaps not surprising that Ravel became fascinated
with Spain, something which is reflected in much of
his music. The Pavane is one such work although, according
to the composer, it had nothing to do with the death
of a Spanish princess - he had chosen the title simply
because he liked the sound of it! He later added that
the music could suggest a princess dancing, perhaps
hinting at a solemn dance which was a court custom in
Spain at times of royal mourning.
The work started life in 1899 as a piano solo, but
he later orchestrated it and this version was first
performed in Paris in 1910. It is solemn and tranquil
in character throughout, and Ravel makes best use
of his skill in the subtle use of orchestral colour.
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Symphony no 103 in Eb major 'Drum
roll'
Haydn (1732 - 1809)
Adagio - Allegro con spirito
Andante più tosto allegretto
Menuet and Trio
Finale : Allegro con spirito
In 1761, Haydn was appointed Vice-Kapellmeister at Eisenstadt
to Prince Paul Esterházy. Prince Paul was succeeded
in 1762 by Prince Nikolaus. For almost 30 years Haydn
remained with the Esterházy family, spending
much of his time at the palace of Esterháza which
was situated in a swamp located in what is now Hungary.
It was a fairly isolated existence which, on the whole,
suited Haydn.
However, in the late 1780s he began to find the isolation
tiresome. He wrote to his friend Marianne von Genzinger
: "Well, here I sit in my wilderness - forsaken
- like a poor waif - almost without any human society
- melancholy - full of memories of past glorious days…"
Haydn had visited the Genzingers in Vienna several times
and these visits introduced him to a life very different
to that at court, but he was seldom allowed to leave
the palace.
On 30th May 1790 he wrote again to Frau von Genzinger
: "Your Grace must not be angry at your Haydn who,
often as his Prince absents himself from Esterháza,
cannot go to Vienna even for 24 hours; it's scarcely
credible, and yet the refusal is always couched in such
polite terms, so polite in fact that I just don't have
the heart to insist on receiving permission." He
didn't have much longer to wait. Prince Nikolaus died
on 28th September during a visit to Vienna. His successor,
Prince Anton, did not share his father's musical interests
and he dismissed most of the court orchestra. Haydn
retained his position as Kapellmeister - including a
generous pension and an annual retainer - but no longer
had any duties thus allowing him to leave Esterháza.
Such was his haste to leave for Vienna that he left
many of his possessions behind!
Several failed attempts had been made in the 1780s
to get Haydn to visit London. The German-born violinist
and impresario Johann Peter Saloman was in Cologne
when he read of Prince Nikolaus' death. He decided
to try again and arrived unannounced at Haydn's house
in Vienna proclaiming : "I am Saloman from London
and have come to fetch you. Tomorrow we shall conclude
an agreement." Now free from his ties to the
Esterházy family, Haydn was able to accept
the invitation and - for a large fee - agreed to compose
an opera, 6 symphonies and 20 other works which he
would conduct at a series of concerts in London. Haydn
and Saloman set off for London and arrived in England
on New Year's Day 1791. Just a week later, he wrote
to Frau von Genzinger : "My arrival caused a
great sensation throughout the whole city and I went
the rounds of all the newspapers for 3 successive
days. Everyone wants to know me." This was to
be the first of two visits to London for which Haydn
composed numerous major works, perhaps most significantly
his final 12 great symphonies - the "London Symphonies",
Nos. 93 to 104. Whilst not really representing a significant
development in Haydn's symphonic style, they are undoubtedly
'grander' than their predecessors. On this first visit,
Haydn stayed in London until June 1792 during which
time he composed the first 6 of the "London Symphonies".
He returned to Vienna where he composed Symphony No.
99 and started work on Nos. 100 and 101, but by the
end of the following year had again received permission
from Prince Anton to visit London, and arrived there
on 5th February. The second visit was, if anything,
even more successful than the first and Haydn completed
his remaining symphonies. However, Prince Anton died
in 1794 and his successor, Prince Nikolaus II re-established
the Esterházy court orchestra and reappointed
Haydn as Kapellmeister. Haydn returned to his post
in August 1795, but due to the new prince's more liberal
approach was at least able to divide his time between
Vienna and Eisenstadt. He performed his "London
Symphonies" in both locations and continued to
revise them for many years, but composed no new symphonies
for the rest of his life.
Haydn is reputed to have described tonight's work
as his favourite symphony. It was composed in 1795
and first performed on 2nd March that year in London.
The title is derived from the quiet timpani roll with
which the symphony's slow opening section begins.
The second movement features a solo violin and includes
variations on not one but two themes, the second of
which is itself a variation of the first. The third
movement is a rustic minuet and trio. The symphony
concludes with a pulsating Allegro, full of joy and
charm.
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