Saturday 24 July, St Mary’s Church 12noon – 1.00pm Manu Brazo (saxophone) and Bryan Evans (piano)

A Gershwin Fantasy arr. Ralph Martino George Gershwin (1898-1937)

Ralph Martino’s arrangement Gershwin Fantasy was compiled for Dale Underwood and the U.S. Navy band. It opens with ‘Strike Up the Band’ (from the eponymous Musical) and moves on to ‘Summertime’ (Porgy and Bess). Next is ‘Oh, ‘Lady Be Good’, succeeded by an upbeat ‘Fascinating Rhythm’ (both from Lady be Good) and ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ (Porgy and Bess). The main theme from Rhapsody in Blue and ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’ (Girl Crazy) bring the set to a riotous close.

Studies in English Folk Songs arr. Brazo (1872- 1958) Folksong was a well spring of inspiration for Vaughan Williams, who travelled the English countryside transcribing and recording . Indigenous tunes form the core of his Six Studies in English Folksong, a work originally conceived for cello and piano. Each study is a brief musical elaboration on a chosen folk tune that in no small way demonstrates the ’s love for the genre. The collection begins with the contemplative ‘Lovely on the water’ and continues with the ‘far away’, ‘Spurn Point’ and ‘Van Diemen’s Land’, this last familiar to church goers as the hymn tune ‘Kingsfold’. The gentle ‘She Borrowed Some of her Mother’s Gold’ is followed by ‘The Lady and the Dragon’, and the set closes with the vigorous ‘As I walked over London Bridge’.

‘’ Fantasy, Lovreglio arr. Brazo (1813-1901)

Such was the vogue for Italian during the nineteenth century that countless arrangements were made to satisfy keen followers unable to attend live performances. One such operatic compilation is the Fantasia da su La Traviata by the -based composer Donato Lovreglio (1841-1907) who fashioned these bravura variations for his clarinettist friend Nicola Dell’Orefice. First performed in 1863, the Fantasy unites themes from Act 1 of Verdi’s opera including the famous drinking song ‘Libiamo ne' lieti calici’, the whole faithful to the character of Verdi’s music.

Siete canciones populares Españolas (Seven Spanish Folksongs) Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)

One of the most prominent and influential Spanish of the 20th century, Manuel de Falla forged a style that drew on his country’s own folk heritage. Dating from 1914, His Siete

canciones populares Españolas draw on ancient folk tunes to clothe anonymous texts about everyday life and love. ‘El paño moruno’ (The Moorish cloth) is a lively and sardonic song (from the province of Murcia) in which a haberdasher laments the loss in value to a stained cloth. ‘Seguidilla murciana’ (The Seguidilla of the woman from Murcia) admonishes those who ‘throw stones in glass houses’. ‘Asturiana’ is a lament from the north of and ‘Jota’ (originally from Aragon) conveys a painful but temporary separation of two lovers. ‘Nana’ is an Andalusian lullaby while ‘Cancion’ is a resigned love song and the final ‘Polo’, also from , expresses the pains of love.

Devil’s Rag Jean Matitia / Christian Lauba (born 1952)

In a distinguished career combining composition, conducting and university teaching, Tunisian-born Christian Lauba has an established reputation for his saxophone compositions, writing in a jazz or rag idiom under the pseudonym Jean Matitia. Among many influences is the music of his native North Africa and Japan. The exuberant Devil’s Rag clearly owes its style to ragtime and was written for Federico Mondelici and Arno Bornkamp.

Pequeña Czarda Pedro Itturalde (1929-2020)

The Spanish child prodigy, Pedro Itturalde was a celebrated saxophonist and composer who forged links between jazz and symphonic music, in particular fusing jazz and styles. His eclectic compositional approach incorporates folk and classical references and in this he bears kinship with Astor Piazzolla. His Pequeña Czarda (1949) is an early work and its slow - fast traversal, brings ‘under the same roof’ tender rumination and irrepressible chutzpah.

Generously sponsored by an anonymous donor