Classical Music Study 2019

January 2019: THE STRING QUARTETS OF HAYDN It’s not the usual practice for the presenter at our meetings to report their own offering but due to a failure by myself to give Kath Robins, a willing volunteer, the programme notes, on this occasion the rule has to be broken. To avoid complaints of bias however, I shall stand to one side and let my alter ego do the work. Born in 1732, Joseph Haydn received his limited formal musical education as a chorister in the Cathedral church of St Stephen in Vienna. At the age of 18 he left the choir without a patron or employment. To earn a living he taught music and played the violin. In this role he taught the children of a Baron von Furnberg. To entertain the baron he joined with the Baron’s steward, the parish priest and a local cellist and wrote his first series, Opus 1 and 2, of quartets. Unlike the later quartets with four movements they had five and offered with very little scope for the cello. There then followed a ten year gap in which no quartets were written. Haydn then found a patron in a Count Morzin as his Kappelmeister. Aside from his duties in providing church music Haydn produced another group of quartets which were much closer in form to the modern work with four movements and with the cello having a greater role although not yet being treated with the same respect as the violins and the viola. The writing for the first violin also became more sophisticated, due in part to the availability of Luigi Thomasini, a virtuoso violinist. By opus 20 the cello was also given an equal status with the violins. Another break of nine years followed when Haydn was in the service of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy when his talents were devoted to writing for the stage and the prince’s marionette theatre. After this gap there followed a very productive period culminating in opus 64 Hadyn then took a break in London with the impresario Salomon where in addition to his the late quartets were written. Whereas many of the quartets played were unknown to our CMAG the C Major quartet opus 76 was sufficiently well known to have some of our audience singing along to the Austrian national hymn. David Dobbs

February 2019: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN CHORAL MUSIC We are so used to presentations on Beethoven symphonies; instrumental concertos and sonatas piano music and string ensembles to name but a few that Michael’s programme entirely devoted to choral music came as an interesting and pleasant surprise. Having said that, the first music on the programme was Beethoven’s Fantasia for piano, and chorus which offered something for all tastes culminating in the chorus which was ,in later life, to lead to the finale of the 9th . Michael followed this with the cantata, commissioned by the members of Lesegesellschaft of Bonn to commemorate the death the emperor Joseph II.in 1790. In the same year Beethoven wrote what might be termed a companion cantata to celebrate the accession of the emperor Leopold II. Interestingly, neither cantata was performed in Beethoven’s lifetime. Beethoven’s only Fidelio, written between 1804 and 1814.was a drama of the true love of a wife rescuing her husband from certain death as a political prisoner. In the short extract played by Michael the prisoners sing of the joy of being out of their cells and in the fresh air whilst always aware of the watchful eye of their guards. From dark melodrama we then moved to music for the church with the cantata for Maundy Thursday, ”Christ on the mount of Olives” and then the Kyrie and Benedictus from the Missa Solemnis in D The morning’s program came to an end with a little heard cantata Der Glorreiche Augenblick written in praise of Vienna and the kings and princes of Europe who were instrumental in the defeat of Napoleon and finally a peaceful extract from opus 112, “A calm sea and a prosperous voyage.. David Dobbs March 2019: THE LIFE OF BRIAN Brian who? was the question that I asked when Colin Jones announced the title of his talk. A show of hands quickly proved that I was not alone in my ignorance. Born William Brian in 1876 to working class parents in the Potteries at 35 Ricardo St, Dresden, Stoke on Trent, William Brian obtained his earliest musical education in church choirs and from a local music teacher. Leaving school at the age of 12 he was in demand as a church organist and in his spare time he learned the violin and cello. In 1899 he married Isabel Priestly and, free from parental influence, William changed his name to Havergal after the Rev’d William Havergal, the composer of a collection of Anglican Hymns with whom he was , as a church organist, familiar. This name change was, he felt, more appropriate for a great composer. This short review cannot do justice to the energy and productivity of the man, who wrote 32 symphonies, 20 after the age of 80; five English suites; five operas none of which has ever been staged; concertos for violin and cello and a number of major choral works .All of this was accomplished whilst living a chaotic personal life and at times a hand to mouth existence. Havergal’s earliest surviving work, The Burlesque variations on an original theme dating from 1903 was probably influenced by Elgar,s Enigma Variations written in 1899. The scale of much of Brian’s work is exemplified by his opera “The Tigers which called for dozens of soloists, a full chorus and a large orchestra. On an even larger scale was Colin’s next example, The Gothic Symphony which calls for a massive 800 performers including an orchestra of 190 players, an adult chorus of 500, a children’s choir of 100. Needless to say this work is rarely performed in full. The final example played was the symphony No 10. Composed in 1954 it shows Havergal as a mature composer. The whole work is compressed into a single movement lasting a mere 16 minutes. The consensus of opinion at the end of our meeting was that there was much to be explored and admired in the work of Havergal Brian. David Dobbs.

April 2019: Debussy Born In 1872 into a family of very modest means and very little involvement in the world of letters and the arts, Achille Claude Debussy showed such musical talent that at the age of ten he was admitted as a student into the Paris Conservatoire. Initially studying the piano, Debussy switched to composition and remained as a student for the next eleven years earning his living as a teacher. As he experimented with composition Debussy became more and more in conflict with the ultra- conservative Parisienne musical establishment but throughout his life he strongly resisted the description “Impressionist” being applied to his music. In Steve’s choice of music, notwithstanding Debussy’s objection to the description of Impressionism, it would be hard to find a better word; perhaps Mood Music comes closest, particularly in the selection of piano music. The programme started with two piano solos, “The girl with the flaxen” hair followed by Arabesque No2. The Fantasia for piano and orchestra which followed showed the experimental nature of Debussy’s composition although there was a marked contrast with the mysterious and relaxing “The submerged cathedral”, another example of his impressionistic piano pieces. The orchestral suite “Prelude to the afternoon of a faun” revealed Debussy’s desire to move away from more conventional musical forms with its experimental harmonies creating a mood of mystery. Another well known work was “La Mer” Nos 2 and 3 which must surely rank as impressionistic. Less well known to much of the audience were the dances for harp and strings and “Images2 No 1 & 2. The programme finished with the much more familiar “Suite Bergamasque. Thank you Steve for your well received efforts and thank you Kath for your hospitality. David Dobbs. May 2019: BARRY MILLS Barry’s commitment to music composition was in evidence as he gained his training and experience as a mature student. He has a life-long career as a composer, taking a day job as a postman in order to be free to compose at night. Now that he is retired, he is able to devote himself to music full time. If the audience for Paul’s presentation of Barry’s music was expecting shrieks and dissonance with gritted teeth and forced smiles it is fair to say they came away pleasantly surprised. The earliest composition we listened to, for solo piano, entitled “Transitions” was .written in 1993. This composition was easy on the ear and like much of Barry’s other work contained echoes of British folk music. This use of folk tunes was very much in evidence in “Elan Valley” a suite for chamber orchestra which draws heavily on Welsh themes. There was much that was interesting in the orchestration and choice of instruments including a concerto for Mandolin and Guitar in Elan Valley, a flute and from Summer Waves and a pairing of Flute and Guitar. To sum up, the music of Barry Mills is very approachable: both melodic and pleasing. Thank you Kath and Steve for hosting our meeting and Paul for his presentation. David Dobbs

June 2019: THOMAS TALLIS Presented by Jill Thomas. To be a composer of church music in the reign of the Tudors required more than just the ability to write devotional music. Composers such as Thomas Tallis walked and wrote in a minefield in which the wrong religious sentiment or allegiance could be fatal.. When Tallis was initially writing for Henry VIII, Roman Catholicism was the official religion and musical style and content was well defined. When Henry broke from Rome in 1534 musicians would have noticed little difference as the new Church of England retained the traditional Latin liturgy until 1549 . The mass and choral offices continued to be sung in the traditional way with new music being commissioned for medieval texts. With the accession of Edward VI radical protestant opinion was encouraged and books of common prayer published in 1549 and 1552 replaced the Latin mass and with it the entire musical repertoire of Catholic worship. Tallis, Shepperd and Byrd adapted and kept their heads! When Mary became queen in 1553 these trends were reversed and again the Latin mass and devotion to the Virgin Mary were back in fashion with Tallis still a favoured court composer. Stability returned with Elizabeth 1st in 1558 with the establishment of a state protestant church and a slow move toward religious tolerance. Jill’s program started with the Alleluia for the feast of Pentecost followed by a pre reformation text in honour of the Blessed virgin Mary. Probably the most ambitious of the music of Tallis was the 40 voice motet “Spem in allium nunquam habui” (hope in any other have I none). Jill’s program closed with two compositions, Tallis’ original theme written for Archbishop Matthew Parker as a setting for Psalm 2 and the then the set of variations by Vaughan Williams on this original hymn. Thank you Jill and thank you Kath for hosting the meeting. David Dobbs

July 2019: WILLIAM WALTON Brian gave us a brilliant introduction to William Walton, an English composer we had all heard of but didn’t really know. The music ranged widely. The first piece, Façade, annoyed most critics with its obvious debt to surrealism, declamatory style singing and unconventional mix of music (1923). The first orchestral piece followed two years later, Portsmouth Point, a very busy evocation of the Eighteenth Century harbour. Sinfonia Concertante in 1927, returned to a decidedly modernist stance with a highly complex pattern of rapidly juxtaposed musical ideas in the first and third movements. In 1931 came the first performance of Walton’s overwhelming and triumphant Belshazzar’s Feast, with a giant orchestra which had been expanded at the suggestion of with two additional brass bands. The latest piece we listened to was the delightful, lyrical and melodic Concerto for Viola and Orchestra in A major. Thanks, too, to Kath and Steve for hosting. It’s wonderful to be able to sit down and really listen to music occasionally and you can join us. Sign up at the General Meeting or send an email via the Classical Music Study webpage. Paul Martinez

September 2019: MINIMALISM By its very name “Classical Music Appreciation” might indicate a conservative outlook on a title which, to most of those present, would be a journey into the unknown. It was ,therefore, most gratifying that a very large audience turned out to listen to Nick’s presentation on Minimalism. In an attempt to explain what was being presented, Nick gave us a definition of Minimalist music :-“ A genre of music based on extremely simplified prolonged rhythms and patterns with great use of repetitions of individual phrases and the avoidance of embellishment. Use is often made of instruments and techniques of electronic music”. For the first two pieces that we heard, Clapping and Nagoya Marimbas by Steve Reich, the definition made sense, it was clever patterns of percussion although for some of us it called into question the definition of music. “A short ride in a fast machine” and “Harmonium” by John Adams were well received although Harmonium was far from minimalist in its huge demands on vocal and instrumental resources. The general reaction to Steve Reichs’ “Different Trains, America before the war and Europe after the war” left many of us confused by the sounds of electronically sampled and manipulated train sounds and human announcers; discussions which went on well after the meeting. Nick is to be applauded for his presentation to an audience that might well have been unreceptive and for the interest that the topic generated. Thank you Nick and thank you Kath and Steve for hosting our meeting. David Dobbs

October 2019: Symphonies by composers better known for works of a different genre Although the composers of the works presented by Mike Johnson are perhaps better known for writing opera, choral, piano and instrumental music, it should come as no surprise that they could also write symphonies. They are, after all, composers from the same late nineteenth to early twentieth century era. Their musical education would have been based on what was offered by the conservatoires in Europe and the United States of America, drawing heavily on the great symphonic era of the preceding century. Mike’s programme started with Georges Bizet’s second symphony, written at the age of 17 whilst a student at the Paris conservatoire. This work was unknown until 1933, some fifty years after his death. This student composition was followed by the 4th movement of Holst’s Cotswold symphony. This work is not typical of his later work and could be from the pen of any late 19th century European composer. Wagner’s symphony in C major, was written when he was 19 years old. This composition shows little of his later style and is obviously strongly influenced by his composition teacher, Theodor Weinlig, a devotee of Beethoven. The Wagner was followed by movements from Franz Liszt’s Faust and Dante symphonies. These were very expressive orchestral pieces which showed that although best known as a pianist who built emotion into every bar, as an orchestral composer Liszt was a master of instrumental writing. The last two composers, Cesar Franck and Samuel Barber left much to be desired. Franck is probably best known as an organist and composer for the organ who was harshly treated by the critics and Samuel Barber’s 1st Symphony, a work in one movement showed a strong connection with music of the Romantic era, far removed from his later instrumental and orchestral works. David Dobbs

November 2019: CHOPIN PIANO FAVOURITES presented by Shirley Ellis What more can be said? This was a programme that required no carefully crafted extracts from Wikipedia to get its message over. Here was easy listening at its best and if the number of “air piano” players in the audience was a measure of popularity, Shirley’s presentation took it to the top of the hit parade. There is no doubt that Chopin was a genius and infant prodigy so it comes as no surprise that the first work played, the Polonaise in G minor, was written at the tender age of seven. Moving on to the advanced age of 17, Shirley played part of Chopin’s’ variations for piano and orchestra based on the aria “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s opera The marriage of Figaro. Not only was the teenager a master of composition for the keyboard but also more than competent as an orchestrator. Moving through the rest of the programme, every piece of music played evoked strong emotions; long forgotten memories ranging from the failed attempts by the pianists in the audience to master the etudes to the happy “I’m forever chasing rainbows” suggested by the G sharp minor etude. The sombre notes of the adagio, “the funeral march”, from the second piano concerto did nothing to spoil the general feeling of pleasure although a military band would have shown off this march in all its splendour. Shirley’s programme closed with the stirring Polonaise in A flat,” the Revolutionary” and as a final flourish the waltz in A flat, leaving some academic argument as to the real meaning of its familiar name “The Minute Walz”. Who cares? Thank you Shirley and thank you Kath and Steve for being our hosts. David Dobbs