LISTENING GUIDE 5 Bass-Baritone Laurence Williams 23 December 2019 at 7Pm (AEDT)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
MESSIAH HANDEL'S SACRED MASTERPIECE SAT 7 DEC 2019 CONCERT HALL, QPAC PROGRAM | MESSIAH I WELCOME I’m delighted to welcome you to this year’s Messiah, and I hope you are again impressed with the splendour of Handel – or, perhaps, amazed hearing this work for the first time! It seems few composers can approach Handel’s grandeur, as in the rousing choruses, and not many are his equal for pathos either. I am always moved performing this masterpiece, and grateful to be in ‘pole position’ as leader to appreciate the efforts of the orchestra, conductor, choir, and soloists. And tonight we will enjoy the almost electric enthusiasm of Stephen Layton’s direction, with the miraculous beauty of Sara Macliver’s voice, and the excellence of the other soloists. Stephen’s approach is intense and luminescent; you may remember his Messiah interpretation from 2015 or his Bach Mass in B minor from 2017. It is a remarkable (and strenuous!) experience to work with him. In my career I’ve played certain works, this Messiah, the Four Seasons, Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik, etc. scores of times, and my appreciation, far from palling, deepens. So many convincing interpretations are possible in my experience, partly because the imagination and craft in composing them is undoubtedly great, and partly because each musical leader can arrive in front of the orchestra with an integrated, informed, and personal touch that is distinct and CONTENTS always deeply human. With every good wish for your listening tonight. WELCOME 1 Warwick Adeney Concertmaster IF YOU'RE NEW TO THE ORCHESTRA 2 DEFINITION OF TERMS 3 IN THIS CONCERT PROGRAM Conductor Stephen Layton Handel Messiah, HWV 56 2 hrs, 40 min OUTLINE Chorus Brisbane Chamber Choir (including 20’ interval after Part 1). 4 Soprano Sara Macliver Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston Tenor Gwilym Bowen Relive this concert on ABC Classic on LISTENING GUIDE 5 Bass-baritone Laurence Williams 23 December 2019 at 7pm (AEDT). LIBRETTO (SONG TEXT) 6 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES 12 Queensland Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the traditional custodians of Australia. SUPPORTING YOUR ORCHESTRA 20 We acknowledge the cultural diversity of Elders, both past and recent, and the significant contributions that Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made to Queensland and Australia. To ensure an enjoyable concert experience for everyone, please remember to turn off your mobile phones © Peter Wallis MUSICIANS AND MANAGEMENT 26 and all other electronic devices. Please muffle coughs and refrain from talking during the performance. II PROGRAM | MESSIAH 1 IF YOU'RE NEW TO THE ORCHESTRA DEFINITION OF TERMS The following terms appear in bold the first time they appear. Accompagnato indicates when a recitative is accompanied by the orchestra. Aria an extended, accompanied song for one voice which usually appears in an opera or oratorio. Chamber music music performed by a small ensemble of instruments. BASSOON Chorus refers to either a group of singers or the music sung by them. Libretto the text of a vocal work. Opera refers to both a genre of classical music and a dramatic work in multiple acts (sections) set to music for singers and instrumentalists. Oratorio a vocal work based on a sacred or secular text, usually religious in nature. Passion music Passion music refers to music that is based on text (usually WHO SITS WHERE biblical) about the suffering and crucifixion of Christ. Recitative a type of vocal work which mimics the inflections and rhythms Orchestras sit in sections based on types of instruments. There are four main sections of speech, usually written for one voice and often appearing in in the symphony orchestra (strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion) and sometimes operas and oratorios. a keyboard section. STRINGS BRASS These instruments produce sound by bowing or Brass players create sound by vibrating their plucking stretched strings. lips. When this vibration is pushed through large First and Second Violin brass tubes, it can create significant noise. Viola Trumpet Cello Double Bass PERCUSSION These instruments create sound by being WOODWIND struck or, for the harp, plucked or strummed. Wind instruments produce sound by being Some instruments just make a sound; others blown into. play particular notes. Oboe Timpani Bassoon KEYBOARD Keyboard instruments are played by pressing keys. Chamber Organ Grand Organ Harpsichord © Peter Wallis 2 PROGRAM | MESSIAH PROGRAM | MESSIAH 3 OUTLINE LISTENING GUIDE PART THE FIRST PART THE SECOND George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) Sinfony Behold the Lamb of God Messiah: An oratorio (HWV 56) Words selected from the Holy Bible by Charles Jennens (1700–1773) Comfort ye He was despised Ev’ry valley Surely He hath borne our griefs Handel composed Messiah in just over three weeks during the summer of 1741. It appeared at a crucial point in his career. He had composed his firstoratorios during his time in Italy over 30 years earlier; And the glory of the Lord And with His stripes however the main focus of his career following his arrival in London in 1710 had been Italian opera. Thus saith the Lord All we, like sheep In February 1741, he produced his last opera, Deidamia. Having no sympathy with the direction opera But who may abide All they that see Him was taking in London, he accepted an invitation from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to produce a And He shall purify He trusted in God concert season in Dublin from late 1741 until Easter 1742, for which Messiah was to be the highlight. It Behold, a virgin shall conceive Thy rebuke hath broken His heart was premiered on Tuesday 13 April at the New Musick-Hall, Fishamble Street. A capacity audience of O thou that tellest Behold and see 700 attended, the expectation of an audience larger than the concert hall could hold leading to the quaint newspaper request that ladies come without hooped dresses and gentlemen without swords. For behold, darkness He was cut off The concert was a charity performance ‘For the Relief of the Prisoners in the several Gaols, and for The people that walked in darkness But Thou didst not leave the support of Mercer’s Hospital, and the Charitable Infirmary’ and was a great success. For unto us a child is born The Lord gave the word However, the initial London performances in 1743 were greeted with less enthusiasm, and it was only Pastoral Symphony How beautiful are the feet when Handel began to perform the work in association with the Foundling Hospital at Lincoln’s Inn There were shepherds Their sound is gone out (of which he was a governor) from 1750 onwards, that it became a favourite in London and began And lo, the angel Why do the Nations to assume its modern iconic status. And the angel said unto them Let us break their bonds Most of Handel’s oratorios employ librettos based on Old Testament stories and are dramatic in And suddenly, there was with the angel He that dwelleth in heaven form and content. Messiah clearly does not fit this pattern, being Christian in subject matter and reflective, with events narrated obliquely rather than directly. The libretto was compiled from biblical Glory to God Thou shalt break them and liturgical sources by Charles Jennens, and outlines the sequence of the church year, from Advent Rejoice Greatly Hallelujah through to Pentecost, then on to Eternity. The narrative expresses an essentially Enlightenment view Then shall the eyes of the blind of the Christian story – with an emphasis on decorum, rationality and restraint – that also gives it an He shall feed his flock PART THE THIRD air of universality. His yoke is easy Musically, this universality can be seen in the work’s combination of diverse stylistic elements. It fuses I know that my Redeemer liveth in a unique way the traditions of Italian opera and chamber music, the German Passion, and the Since by man came death English ceremonial anthem. These complementary qualities can also be seen to progress through Behold, I tell you a mystery the work. Part I shows the strongest Italianate influence in its arias, accompanied recitatives, INTERVAL and choruses. The Passiontide section of Part II has the strongest German influence; while from The trumpet shall sound the Resurrection onwards there is a return to Italianate traditions with a strong element of English Worthy is the Lamb ceremonial music, notably the Hallelujah Chorus and the concluding Worthy is the Lamb, with their Amen celebratory timpani, trumpets, and fanfare figures. Handel’s original performance of Messiah in Dublin employed quite modest forces. The soloists and orchestra consisted of a mixture of artists brought from London and the best available local talent. The choir consisted of the combined forces of the two Cathedrals of St Patrick and Christ Church. Only after his death did a tradition arise of increasing the forces on a massive scale, culminating in a performance at the Crystal Palace, London, in 1857 when a ‘wonderful assembly of 2000 vocal and 500 instrumental performers’ was involved. From the mid-20th century, however, a revisionary attitude has led to a general desire to return to the masterpiece as Handel conceived, composed, adapted, knew, and performed it. Abridged from an annotation by Robert Forgacs © 2010 4 PROGRAM | MESSIAH PROGRAM | MESSIAH 5 LIBRETTO PART THE FIRST But who may abide The people that walked in darkness have And suddenly there was with the angel Prophecy of Christ’s appearance on (Malachi 3:2) seen a great light; a multitude of the heav’nly host, earth; the nativity. Song: Alto and they that dwell in the land of the praising God, and saying… But who may abide the day of His coming? shadow of death, ‘Glory to God in the Highest, Sinfony and who shall stand when He appeareth? upon them hath the light shined.