PHILOMUSICA of ABERYSTWYTH Established • Sefydlwyd Yn 1972 Rhif Elusen/Registered Charity No.: 512398
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PHILOMUSICA OF ABERYSTWYTH established • sefydlwyd yn 1972 Rhif Elusen/Registered Charity No.: 512398 Celebrating 40 years • Dathlu 40 Mlynedd MATHIAS Dance Overture RODRIGO Concierto d’Aranjuez gyda • with CATRIN FINCH BERLIOZ Symphonie Fantastique Arweinydd • Conductor DAVID RUSSELL HULME 8pm Nos Sadwrn • Saturday Mawrth 17 March 2012 Neuadd Fawr • Great Hall Gwneud Cerddoriaeth Cymru Ffederasiwn Cenedlaethol Cymdeithasau Cerdd This concert is given with the support of Ty Cerdd – Music Wales, the National Federation of Music Societies and Aberystwyth University. Cynhelir y cyngerdd hwn gyda chymorth Ty Cerdd – Music Centre Wales, y Ffederasiwn Cenedlaethol Cymdeithasau Cymru a Phrifysgol, Aberystwyth. VIVIAN NOON MNIMH CLWB 100 PHILOMUSICA 100 CLUB Mae cost cynnal cerddorfa a chyflwyno rhaglen lawn o gyngherddau wedi codi’n aruthrol yn y blynyddoedd diweddar. Ymrwymodd Philomusica Aberystwyth i nodd Cynllun Ysgoloriaeth Gerdd ragorol y Brifysgol – dyfarniadau sydd yn dod â cherddorion talentog i’r ardal. Fel rhan o gynllun codi-arian sefydlwy ‘CLWB 100’ gan Philomusica. Dymuna’r gerddorfa ddiolch i’r rhai a gyfrannodd. The cost of running an orchestra and presenting a full programme of concerts has risen enormously in recent years. Philomusica of Aberystwyth is also committed to supporting the University’s excellent Music Bursary Scheme – awards that bring talented orchestral instrumentalists to Aberystwyth. As part of its Western Medical Herbalist fund-raising effort, Philomusica has established a ‘100 Club’. Philomusica would like to thank all 01970 820713 those who have contributed. www.nimh.org.uk Diddordeb mewn ymaelodi? Am £10 y flwydden cewch gyfle i ennill deg o weithiau. Interested in joining? For £10 a year you are entered into ten draws. Gworwyon / Prizes: £30 & £20 Cysylltwch â / Contact: Dr. Elinor Hughes, 24 North Parade, Aberystwyth (612983), Philomusica has vacancies for players in some sections of the orchestra. If you are interested in joining, please contact: Gall Philomusica gynnig lle i chwaraewyr mewn rhai adrannau o’r gerddorfa. Os oes gennych chi ddiddoreb ymuno, cysylltwch â: Melanie Evans 01970 622685 [email protected] When All Else Fails: A peek at the podium from the band’s nether regions At a time when the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth had a Music Department a professional septet (string quartet, pianist, horn player and voice tutor) it also had some extremely able musician students. I had left the college some three years previously and was approached by two such students Brian Clarke and David Russell Hulme with regards to forming a town and gown orchestra to be directed by Robert Jacoby, first violin in the college quartet. There was a whiff of danger about the whole project as I for one wasn’t entirely sure whether it had the full-scale approval of the establishment. But on seeing such a distinguished member of the college as Professor Sir Granville Beynon sitting opposite me in the back desk of the firsts - with God on our side, who could be against us? Certainly in our first couple of outings there was a sense of flying by the seat of our collective pants, but we survived and became the better for it. At a time when university life dare I say, presented a more rounded experience, students, lecturers and town stalwarts made up the mix. A constant feature was the experience of playing great works from the Romantic repertoire and being joined by soloists of international acclaim. Bob Jacoby’s friendship with John Lill for example, resulting in piano concertos with him as soloist. An outstanding example of Jacoby’s virtuosity that I recall was when he played the opening of the Sibelius violin concerto in strict tempo with us so we might work out where we were. When Bob Jacoby left, there was an interregnum with two conductors Richard Simm the college pianist, and Her Majesty’s Inspector for music in schools, Haydn Wyn Davies. By this time I had been joined in the horn section by an old school friend Wynford Jones. We nearly swallowed our mouthpieces on turning up to a rehearsal to be greeted by ‘Oh No – late again!’ for Haydn Wyn Davies had been our music master for seven years at Pontypridd Boys’ Grammar School and it was he who was responsible for our playing the horn rather than the violin (but that’s another story). Haydn brought a sense of adventure into the repertoire and we also put on a special children’s concert in the Summer term. One such memorable concert was when Rolf Harris painted the Enchanted Lake to the accompaniment of Liadov’s overture of the same name. Following Haydn’s untimely death, it was appropriate that his pupil and long-standing member of the orchestra Wynford Jones took the reins. We had some memorable performances, including Shostakovich 5 (which I found to be a profound experience not knowing the work previously) and culminating in a performance of Beethoven 9 at the end of which Wynford was barely able to stand on his feet. There was nowhere left to go after that. This was the stage that the one time secretary of the orchestra Dr David Russell Hulme, returned to his Alma Mater as director of College Music. Since David’s return, the introduction of music bursaries amongst other things has meant that there are fewer hoary heads in the orchestra than ever before and there is no longer any ‘comfort zone’. The Ravel piano concerto, the Rachmaninov Symphonic Variations, Piazzola Tangos and Film music have pushed the orchestra beyond any previous experience. I must say, I’m so pleased to be still here and still getting a thrill out of the music, albeit clinging by my fingernails. Thank you Philo. D. Geraint Lewis (and I state this with great pride, one time principal horn) Seinier cyrn! Pan oeddwn yn fyfyriwr yng Ngholeg Prifysgol Cymru Aberystwyth yr oedd gan y coleg seithawd o gerddorion proffesiynol (pedwarawd llinynnol, pianydd, chwaraewr corn a thiwtor llais) ac yn eu plith ddau sydd wedi cyfrannu’n helaeth at fywyd cerddorol Aberystwyth dros y blynyddoedd, Geraint John a Peter Kingswood. Yn ogystal â’r grŵp roc y Blew yr oedd myfyrwyr cerddorol disglair yn y coleg ac ychydig o flynyddoedd ar ôl imi adael y coleg dyma ddau ohonynt Brian Clarke a David Russell Hulme yn gofyn a oedd diddordeb gennyf ymuno â cherddorfa newydd. Fel crwt ysgol yn Sir Forgannwg yr oedd fy ngwyliau wedi’u llenwi gyda chwarae mewn gwahanol gerddorfeydd ac yr oeddwn wrth fy modd yn derbyn cyfle i chwarae eto. Grŵp digon amrwd oeddem dan arweiniad Bob Jacoby, blaenwr pedwarawd llinynnol y coleg. Yr oedd elfen gref o antur ynglŷn â’r cyfan ond yr oedd llaw sicr a dawn gerddorol Bob Jacoby yn ein tywys drwy’r darnau anodd yma. Cerddorfa yn cynnwys aelodau o’r coleg a thrigolion y dref oedd Philomusica a llanwyd unrhyw fylchau angenrheidiol ar ddiwrnod y cyngerdd gan chwaraewyr proffesiynol o’r tu allan. Ar un achlysur bythgofiadwy mewn cyngerdd yn Llanbedr pan nad oedd modd cael chwaraewr allanol cefais gyfle i chwarae’r unawd yn ail symudiad Symffoni rhif 5 Tchaikovsky (ac y mae’r erchylltra nerfol cyn y perfformiad, a’r rhyddhad nefolaidd pan aeth pethau’n iawn wedi’u serio yn fy nghyfansoddiad). Rhai enwau lleol sy’n dod i’r cof yw Malu Lin yn chwarae darnau Scherezade, Brian Sansbury clarinét a’r crwt ifanc di-nerfau hwnnw Jason Lewis yn chwarae agoriad Lieutenant Kijé ar ei ben ei hun o falconi’r Neuadd Fawr. Soniais am fy magwraeth freintiedig, gerddorol yn Sir Forgannwg, a dylanwad mawr yr adeg yma oedd athro cerdd Ysgol Ramadeg y Bechgyn Pontypridd, Haydn Wyn Davies. Un arall a ddaeth dan ei ddylanwad oedd fy nghyfaill ysgol Wynford Jones oedd wedi ymuno â Philomsica erbyn hyn, y ddau ohonom yn chwarae’r corn. Dychmygwch y sioc pan gyrhaeddon ni ychydig yn hwyr un bore Sadwrn i’r cyfarchiad ‘Oh no! Late again boys!’ a dyna lle oedd ein hen athro cerdd ( a oedd yn enwog am ei feistrolaeth o gadw trefn gyda hen fwa cello wedi colli’i flew) yn sefyll ar y podiwm o’n blaen. Fe wnaeth Haydn ehangu gorwelion y gerddorfa a denu disgyblion ysgol hefyd. Cafodd Manon fy merch, sy’n gerddor proffesiynol erbyn hyn, ei chyfle cyntaf yn chwarae un o offerynnau taro yn The Little Train of the Caipira gan Villa-Lobos. Arbrofodd gyda chyngherddau plant yn taflunio lluniau’r planedau, neu ddarluniau mewn arddangosfa (Mussorgsky), rhywbeth a ddefnyddiwyd eto yn ddiweddar wrth inni berfformio Sinfonia Antarctica Vaughan Williams. Yn dilyn marwolaeth annhymig Haydn, Wynford ei ddisgybl a gymerodd at yr awenau. Un o nodweddion Wynford oedd ei ddychymyg dilyffethair a dau ddarn unigryw o’i waith ei hun a chwaraewyd dan ei arweinyddiaeth, oedd ei amrywiadau ar ddarn enwog Handel dan y teitl The Bombing of the Queen of Sheba a darn a gyfansoddodd i ddathlu achlysur pen-blwydd Coleg Dewi Sant Llanbedr. Gyda dychweliad David Russel Hulme at ei hen goleg, ffurfiolwyd y berthynas rhwng y brifysgol a’r gerddorfa. Ef oedd yn gyfrifol am sefydlu ysgoloriaethau cerdd i fyfyrwyr, sydd wedi arwain at lenwi safleoedd o bwys gyda chwaraewyr disglair, a gostyngiad sylweddol yng nghyfartaledd oedran aelodau’r gerddorfa. Yn ystod ei gyfnod mae David wedi agor pyrth newydd i waith cyfansoddwyr Prydeinig ddechrau’r ugeinfed ganrif, wedi talu teyrnged i’w hen athro cerdd yr Athro Parrott ac wedi gwthio’r gerddorfa allan o hafnau cysurus y cyfansoddwyr rhamantaidd i genres newydd a heriol. ‘Rwyf i yma o hyd’. Mae adran y cyrn yn Philomsica bob amser wedi bod yn uned gyfeillgar, glòs, ac mae’n dda gennyf adrodd bod fy nghyfeillion ifainc yn gofalu amdanaf, ac hyd yn hyn, rwy’n dod i ben, ac yn dal i fwynhau.