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President: Raphael Wallfisch
presents
Fanfares and Serenades Music for a Royal Wedding
in Ely Methodist Church
Saturday March 5th 2011
at 7.30pm
There will be a 20 minute interval between the Handel and the Wagner
Conducted by Steve Bingham
PROGRAMME
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
Mozart Serenata Notturna no. 6 in D major K239 Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks Wagner Siegfried Idyll Beethoven Symphony no 1
Ely Sinfonia wishes to express sincere thanks to all who helped with this concert and especially:
The Kings School, Ely Lorna Shuttleworth and her colleagues at Ely Methodist Church
Sallyann Ford and Ely Cathedral box office staff
www.elysinfonia.co.uk Programme £1
Ely Sinfonia expresses its grateful thanks to its corporate sponsors: Bardwyck Ltd, Burrows Bookshop, Toppings & Company, The Wine Store at La Hogue
To find out more about how your company can help Ely Sinfonia, please contact Patricia Mathieson on 01353 721991 or email [email protected].
Coming up from Ely Sinfonia
Saturday July 2nd 2011 Serenade to Music, Chatteris Church 7.30pm Amazing 13-year-old Cambridge-based cellist Victoria Nicoll plays Saint-Saëns’ 1st Cello Concerto. Plus Handel's “Zadok the Priest”, Vaughan Williams' “Serenade to Music” and music by Bach and Dvořák . Saturday October 1st 2011 Raphael Wallfisch plays Dvořák , Ely Cathedral 7.30pm The return of Ely Sinfonia’s Honorary President, Raphael Wallfisch, to play the amazing Dvořák Cello Concerto. The concert will also include Wagner's stirring overture to "Tannhäuser" and the ever popular "Háry János" Suite by Kodály .
Other forthcoming events: Saturday 19th March 2011 Cambridge Concert Orchestra and Chesterton Choral West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Society in “Some Enchanted Evening”, a celebration of light music. Tickets from [email protected] or 01223 502090 Saturday 26th March 2011 Ely Consort sings Brahms “A German Requiem”. Ely Cathedral 7.30pm Tickets from www.tickets.elycathedral.org or tel 01353 660349 Saturday 16th April 2011 Ely Choral Society sings Mozart’s Mass in C Minor Ely Cathedral 7.30pm Tickets from www.tickets.elycathedral.org or tel 01353 660349
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Bardwyck is delighted to be associated with Ely Sinfo-
nia and wishes the orchestra all the best for “Fanfares
and Serenades”
Bardwyck—creating total harmony out of businesses by streamlining their processes
� Did you know that the average business wastes 35-50% of its resources through poor
efficiency? We don’t mean people sitting around chatting or too much money tied up in
stock, but processes that seem fine in themselves, but actually undermine each other.
� You won’t necessarily realise what’s happening, though. Two committed managers might be
at loggerheads or your profits might be going through a downturn. The solution may seem
obvious—and that’s the trouble: by the time you find out it’s not, it may be too late.
� That’s where Bardwyck comes in. We can find out where the problems lie by analysing and
improving your business plans and strategies and making sure that the rest of the company is
geared up to make them work—everything working in harmony, in fact.
Based just outside Ely, Bardwyck helps growing businesses, charities and not-for-profit organisa-
tions make the best of the opportunities available to them—so they can improve their results, even
in hard times. To find out more, call 01353 721991 or email [email protected]
Ely’s oldest established bookshop has supported Ely Sinfonia for many years and is proud to sponsor “Fanfares and Serenades”.
We started our newsagents in Ely in 1899, and the bookshop opened in 1994. Today we specialise in local history and children’s books, with one of the area’s largest ranges of these specialist titles.
We also sell hand and finger puppets, as well as toys and other items related to children’s books. Look out for our Gruffalo range, recently updated.
Look out for our children’s parties and word perfect parties!
Burrows Bookshop Open Monday to Saturday 9 High Street Passage 9am to 5pm Ely Tel: 01353 669759
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Ely Sinfonia is sponsored by The Wine Store at La Hogue — a wine store with attitude!
A visit to The Wine Store is a unique experience—you will be impressed by our
knowledge and feel cosseted by our friendly team in the most congenial surroundings.
Come to us for:
• advice on wine for any occasion
• tutored tasting evenings to find great wines for yourself or the perfect gift for a
friend or loved one
• special tastings for groups
• Gifts, presentation boxes
• Gift vouchers
... and a selection of wines that you can’t find anywhere else!
The Wine Store - left off the A11 just north of Newmarket for East Anglia's most
interesting selection of wines....for drinking or laying down.
The Wine Store at La Hogue, La Hogue Road, Chippenham, Cambs, CB7 5PZ
Phone: 01638 555190 Email: [email protected]
www.winetasting.co.uk
Fanfares and Serenades Welcome to Fanfares and Serenades, a concert that celebrates music for those special occasions. We have a fanfare to all of humanity and the human spirit, written by the American composer, Aaron Copland, contrasting with Handel's music for a royal celebration in 1749, which still speaks to us today of the pomp and circumstance of great state celebrations. Alongside these you will hear two pieces written for use in more intimate surroundings: Mozart's take on light background music in his wonderful night time serenade and Wagner's amazing musical birthday gift to his wife. We end the concert with the youthful Beethoven's first attempt at the great symphonic form - directly in the footsteps of Haydn and Mozart - in which he shows us a little of what was to come in his later life! So sit back and enjoy this veritable feast of musical delights.
Steve Bingham, artistic director
Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Fanfare for the Common Man
What piece of music unites Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, the rock bands Styx and Asia, the Woody Herman orchestra and the British prog rock ensemble Emerson, Lake and Palmer? That’s a question for your next Trivial Pursuits party! The answer is Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, a radiant call to attention and, in its few short minutes, an unashamed celebration of some-thing deep in the human spirit. No wonder that so many musicians from differ-ent traditions have used it to open and close their many events. It was even used when Queen Elizabeth II entered the Scottish parliament for the first time in 2004. The fanfare was written at the request of Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony orchestra. Goossens asked a number of composers to write fanfares to mark America’s participation in the second world war, mirroring something that had also been done in the Great War. Eighteen composers came up with the goods, but only Copland’s is still played. Perhaps this is because the first time anyone hears it, it seems as if the music has always been there. Radiant and emphatic, it encompasses the triumph
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FRIENDS WANTED!
Why not join the FRIENDS of ELY SINFONIA? At just £10 a year, it’s a great opportunity to become part of a lively, social group that meets up regularly as well as supporting the orchestra. Being a friend will give you the following advantages:
• Personal email giving advance information of concerts and special events
• 10% discount on tickets to concerts promoted by Ely Sinfonia • Friends’ newsletter • Free Friends concert once a year • Opportunity to meet the conductor and players at rehearsal
As the local community orchestra, Ely Sinfonia aims to give players the chance of orchestral experience close to home, to provide local schoolchildren with the opportunity to learn about music and instruments, and to bring a wealth of wonderful music to local music-lovers. Your subscription will go towards developing the orchestra, allowing it to give more concerts in Ely and to take live music out to rural East Cambridgeshire and beyond. Our Friends help us to give concerts in local venues and to run workshops, which give young players the chance to play alongside more experienced musicians and learn new, challenging pieces. For more information about becoming a Friend, please ask for details and a membership form at the Friends’ stall or email [email protected].
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Ely Sinfonia
Artistic Director Steve Bingham Violin 1 Christina Everson (Leader), Ann Claydon , Denise
Farmer, Fiona Gloag, Chris Moule, Louise Topping, Christina Wager, Richard Williamson
Violin 2 Roz Chalmers, Ian Claydon, Clare Hambling, Mark Hutchinson, Jane Stevens, Nick Tippler, Ijmkje van der Werf
Viola Katy Baker, Becky Brown, Jeremy Harmer, Patricia Mathieson, Marlen Moss-Eccardt, Hilary Sellars, Yvonne Williamson
Cello Rachel Mycock, Bryan Austin, Nick Balaam, April Bowman, Charlotte Dean, Fionna Hall, Roger Lunn, Joan Marchbank, Sally Parnell
Double Bass Chris Finch, John Chalmers Flute Jean Swift, Liz Hargest, Eleanor Wolmark Oboe Jenny Sewell, Carol London, Helen Hambling Clarinet Peter Fisher, Michelle Heathcote Bassoon Phil Evans, Julia Hudson, Katherine Worster Horn John Cronin, Laurie Friday, Owen Rose, Tim London Trumpet Graham Berridge, Evert Bokma, Andy Britton Trombone Alan Dimond, Wesley Bloom, Roger Nunn Tuba Alan Sugars Percussion Alan Silverstein, Joe Pope, Sheri Rutland
of the human will, an open chant as wide as the plains of Copland’s native America. For, of all Americans, Copland produces music that seems to tell us most of the magnificence of that great land, from the mountain communities of Appalachia to the exuberant hoedown of a traditional rodeo.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) Serenata Notturna no. 6 in D major
Marcia:
maestoso
Minuetto
Rondo:
allegretto
Between 1774 and 1779, Mozart wrote a variety of party pieces, including serenades, cassations and divertimenti. The Serenata
Notturna in D major, composed in 1776, is one of these. As its name suggests, it was almost certainly designed as background music for a late-night open-air function of Viennese high society, “while bottles were uncorked/Milord chewed noisily, Milady talked”, as W H Auden described the events. What an extraordi-nary combination of the banal (the occasion) and the exquisite (the music)! What makes the piece so fascinating is the way in which it looks back to the Baroque period, with four soloists playing against the full orchestra in concerto grosso style, whilst at the same time looking forward with symmetrical themes and an almost sonata-like thematic development. It is a clear reminder that just around the corner is Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, one of the greatest works of its type. In the Serenata Notturna, the dignified march of the first move-ment gives way to the second movement minuet, showing us, as if we need to be reminded, that Mozart hardly ever wrote a dull tune. In the trio section the soloists have it all to them-selves. Mozart also uses a most un-baroque-like rondo form, innovative for its time, for the finale. It is pure fun – a kind of high-spirited country dance. There is one brief episode of a more serious kind, but when the lively allegro leads us into the re-statement of the original theme this little jewel of a piece reaches its satis-fying conclusion. The solo parts are taken by Christina Everson and Roz Chalmers (violin), Katy Baker (viola) and Chris Finch (double bass).
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When Handel organised a full rehearsal of the Royal Fireworks Music in Vauxhall Gardens on 21 April 1749, six days before the big event, it caused a three-hour tailback as more than twelve thousand people rushed to hear the new music. That’s rock-star stadium numbers for the time, and reminds us how central music like this was to both the popular and elevated culture of its time. Perhaps it is no accident that Handel lived in the same house in London as Jimi Hendrix! But to go back to the beginning: King George II wanted some-thing spectacular to celebrate the end of the Austrian War of Succession and the signing of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. He lit upon (sic) the idea of a massive fireworks display on the Thames. He asked George Frideric Handel, who was under contract to him, to write some background music to go along with al the bangs and whizzes. The musicians were housed in a specially designed building and all should have gone well, but everything caught fire and the evening went up, literally, in a puff of smoke. In the end only the music remains. The Music for the Royal Fireworks is scored for a large wind band, precisely calibrated for balance and sound. During the first performance, the five movements would have carried across the water as the rockets flared. Today, free from the danger of com-bustion, this is the pure fun and bite of Handel at his best with peace and rejoicing, itself perhaps a perfect description of the composer’s entire oeuvre, forming the heart of the piece in movements 3 and 4. Light the blue touch paper and enjoy the explosive results!
Ouverture:
adagio,
allegro,
lentement,
allegro
Bourrée
La Paix: largo
alla siciliana
Menuets I and
II
La
Réjouissance:
allegro
Steve Bingham studied viol in with Emmanuel Hurwitz, S idney Gri l ler and the Amadeus Quartet at the Royal Academy of Music from 1981 to 1985, winning prizes for orchestral leading and string quartet playing. In 1985 he founded the Bingham String Quartet, internationally known for its performances of
both classical and contemporary repertoire. Steve has appeared as guest leader with many orchestras, including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Chamber Orchestra , English National Ballet and English Sinfonia. He has given solo recitals in the UK and America and his concerto performances include works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius. Steve is also keenly interested in improvisation, electronics and World Music. He has released two solo CDs, Duplicity (2005) and Ascension (2008). Steve has many years of experience conducting both youth and amateur orchestras. This is his fourth season as Ely Sinfonia’s Artistic Director.
www.stevebingham.co.uk
About Ely Sinfonia Ely Sinfonia was founded in November 1999 by a group led by ADeC (Arts Development in East Cambridgeshire) with the aim of becoming a beacon of excellence as East Cambridgeshire’s own community orchestra. Since then, it has become one of the region’s best respected orchestras. Today, Ely Sinfonia is made up of players of all ages and backgrounds, inclu-ding school and college students, business professionals, retired individuals and local music teachers. We play a huge range of music, as you can see from tonight’s programme. Our repertoire ranges from the contemporary (including special commissions) to mainstream works. We are sponsors of the Cambridge Young Composer of the Year competition and the 2011 winners’ piece will be played at our October concert. As well as playing works for full orchestra, Ely Sinfonia also provides smaller groups to play at events such as the Easter Day mass in Ely Cathedral. Other projects include training days, coached by professionals, for less experienced players who want to develop their orchestral and ensemble playing techniques. The orchestra’s president is the internationally renowned ‘cellist Raphael Wall-fish, and we are delighted to announce that he will be joining us to play Dvořák’s cello concerto in Ely Cathedral on Saturday October 1st 2011.
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George Frideric Handel (1685 – 1759) Music for the Royal Fireworks
Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) Siegfried Idyll
Imagine the scene: Christmas day 1870 and you, Cosima Wagner, are lying languidly in your bed, too lazy to actually make a move and get the day going. From somewhere outside your bedroom in your villa at Tribschen , near Lucerne, Switzerland, you hear the murmur of distant voices, but it’s OK because your husband, Richard, is up and about and he’ll deal with anything that’s going on. Suddenly the most delicious melody snakes its way up the stairs, music of such
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sweetness and delight that you have to rise from your bed, put on your robe and rush out of the room. And there on the stairs, which must have been quite sub-stantial, are some of your husband’s top musical friends playing a piece com-posed specially for you as a birthday present. Wagner called it the ‘Triebschen Idyll with Fidi’s birdsong and the orange sun-rise’, Fidi being the nickname that the Wagner’s had given to their son. Siegfried, born in 1869. Happy birthday, Cosima! She was born in 1847 – her father was the composer Franz Lizst - and only married Wagner after she left her first husband the con-ductor Hans von Bülow. Melodies from the Triebschen Idyll piece found their way into Siegfried (one of Wagner’s operas in the Ring cycle) during the love scene between Siegfried and Brunhilde. Today, that Christmas day gift has become the Siegfried Idyll, a stand-alone piece providing twenty minutes of pure melodic heaven. On the radio a few days ago, the conductor Daniel Harding called it ‘one of the most difficult pieces I have ever had to conduct.’
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Symphony no 1 in C
Adagio molto;
allegro con
brio
Andante
cantabile con
moto
Menuetto:
allegro molto e
vivace
Adagio: allegro
molto e vivace
What an impression Beethoven made, and continues to make, on the great tapestry of western classical music. Thirty years after the first performance of his first symphony, a Paris critic wrote that the symphony is ‘a danger to musical art ....the ear is only stabbed; there is no appeal to the heart’! Music that can excite that kind of reaction must be something special. And this, the first real outpouring of a thirty-year-old’s prodigious genius, certainly is. It abounds with the characteristic trademarks of Beethoven’s idiosyncratic brilliance: the sforzando bursts, musical jokes and keys fighting for dominance. And it’s just plain good fun. Beethoven had gone to Vienna to study the works of his musical idols, Haydn and Mozart, and his first symphony is steeped in their musical style, refracted through the younger composer’s own musical personality.
The symphony is dedicated to Baron Gottfreid van Swieten, an early patron, and was first performed on 2 April 1800 in a concert that included a symphony by Mozart, excerpts from Haydn’s Crea-tion and two other works by Beethoven. The musicians found the music hard to play and the critic of the Allgemeine Musikalisches Zeitung thought the symphony was good, but that Beethoven used the wind too much – “so that the music is more like a band than an orchestra.” A few months later, when it was performed in in Leipzig, a writer called the work “the confused explosions of the outrageous effrontery of a young man”. What they were all referring to, of course, was the new and vibrant sound that Beethoven had unleashed, from the joke-like opening to the charming andante; from the scherzo-like bustle of the minuet to the gallop towards the final conclusion of this young music. This is refreshing and ebullient work, not, perhaps, great yet, but entertaining, challenging to play and exciting to the senses. So where should we place our enjoyment of this work in the whole story of Beethoven’s life, long before the deafness, piano-thumping and irascibility? Perhaps we should leave the last word to Robert Schumann, reflecting on the great ninth symphony, the pinnacle of Beethoven’s symphonic genius. “Love him, love him truly, but do not forget that he reached poetic freedom after thorough study, years on end, and praise his restless moral power. Do not seek to extract the unusual, go back to the roots of creation, demonstrate his genius not through his last symphony (…..), you can do this just as well through his first symphony.”
Jeremy Harmer
