2017-18 concert programme
2017-18
Richard Egarr’s 10th anniversary season as Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music
concert programme
Mortal Voices
ACADEMY ACADEMY OF OF ANCIENT ANCIENT MUSIC MUSIC
JS BACHOrchestral Suites “Exuberant and full of vitality.” BBC Radio 3 “a feast of meaningfully understated musicianship. I loved it.” AAM003
Editor’s Choice, GRAMOPHONE
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JS BACH St John Passion (1724 version)
All the titles here are available to buy tonight or online aam.co.uk/recordings
Sonate Concertate In Stil Moderno, Libro Primo
With an all-star cast including James Gilchrist as Evangelist and Matthew Rose as Jesus. AAM002
DARIO CASTELLO
Handel to Haydn
AAM001
AAM005
“AAM’s performances gave virtually unalloyed pleasure” GRAMOPHONE “A striking success” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
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£25 (3 CD)
£20 (2 CD)
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“Egarr’s compellingly original vision of this greatest of all musical tombeaus, with its fresh anticipation founded on collective adrenaline and uniformly outstanding lyrical Bach-singing . . . is a triumph.” AAM040
AAM004
(1727 version)
GRAMOPHONE
£20 (2 CD) THE BIRTH OF THE SYMPHONY:
“A joy for ear and spirit” GRAMOPHONE “This is a gem of a CD” THE STRAD
JS BACH St Matthew Passion
£20 (2 CD)
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This two-disc compilation of core baroque and classical repertoire gives a taste of our unrivalled award-winning catalogue of over 300 recordings.
£20 (2 CD)
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
Academy of Ancient Music Christian Curnyn
director & harpsichord
Keri Fuge soprano
Tim Mead
counter-tenor
Thursday 15 February 2018, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London
Friday 16 February 2018, 7.30pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Tuesday 20 February 2018, 7.30pm The Apex, Bury St Edmunds
Friday 23 February 2018, 7.30pm Assembly Rooms, Bath
Mortal Voices
music by Pergolesi, Corelli and Handel
CORELLI
HANDEL
HANDEL
20-minute interval
Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.1 in D major (1714)
Cantata HWV230 "Ah! Che troppo ineguali" (1708)
Cantata HWV82 "Il Duello Amoroso" (1708)
PERGOLESI
Stabat Mater (1736)
Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton
Mortal Voices
Thursday 01 March 2018, 8.00pm
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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Welcome A warm welcome to the Academy of Ancient Music’s first London and Cambridge concerts of 2018, a programme I am delighted we are also touring to Bury St Edmunds, Bath and Southampton. Mortal Voices forms a programme I have been eagerly anticipating and I am very pleased that we are joined by Keri Fuge and Tim Mead, under the direction of Christian Curnyn, for tonight's concert. Late last year we introduced a new Strategic Recording Fund, which is now open to donations. The aim is to establish a "rapid reaction" fund, that will enable AAM to make fast decisions and record works or performances which we feel strongly about. AAM is already the most-listened to period instrument ensemble online and this Fund will help us build on those foundations. The Fund has already allowed us to produce some promotional short films (you may have seen them on Facebook), and it will support a new recording of tonight’s programme, made from each of the live performances. If you would like to contribute to the SRF, or to learn more, please do contact us on support@aam.co.uk. I was delighted to see a capacity audience at the Barbican Hall for AAM’s Messiah before Christmas, and gratified that our education project Messiah: Who? received such a
positive reaction from both audience and reviewers. A short video about this project is now available on AAM’s YouTube channel, along with a recording of the new work A Young, Known Voice, written by the young people who performed on stage alongside composer Hannah Conway. I hope you will join us when we return to the Barbican on 31 May with Nicola Benedetti to explore Telemann and Vivaldi; and on Good Friday (30 March) for the St John Passion (featuring Iestyn Davies and James Gilchrist). Looking ahead to the summer, booking is now open for The Grange Festival where we will perform Handel’s Agrippina (8 June to 6 July), with a special event for AAM Society members on the opening night. April sees us in Milton Court (London) and West Road (Cambridge) for a superb Haydn and Dussek programme with AAM’s Music Director, Richard Egarr, and mezzo-soprano Daniela Lehner.
Alexander Van Ingen Chief Executive Academy of Ancient Music
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May 25 – June 10, 2018 in Halle (Saale), Germany Berenice (HWV 38), Messiah (HWV 56), Parnasso in festa (HWV 73), Gala concerts with Joyce DiDonato, Max Emanuel Cencic, Magdalena Kožená, Julia Lezhneva and much more Sales start November 24, 2017 www.handel-festival.com/en More information: festspiele@haendelhaus.de
2018 T E AT RU M A N O E L M A LTA
13th to 27th January 2018 www.vallettabaroquefestival.com.mt www.teatrumanoel.com.mt
2017–18 concerts:
Visions, Illusions and Delusions
Handel’s Semele
Bach’s St Matthew Passion
A sensuous evocation of the illusions and delusions of love.
Featuring an all-star line-up of singers, led by Mark Padmore.
18 October 2017
26 March 2018
Be careful what you wish for.
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
A powerful depiction of the Easter story.
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
oae.co.uk
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713)
Concerto Grosso Op.6 No.1 in D major (1714) Largo – Allegro / Largo – Allegro / Largo – / Allegro / Allegro
Writing almost a century after the event, in 1789, the Corelli was born in February 1653 in the small town of Englishman Charles Burney had nothing but praise Fusignano, some 15 miles inland of Ravenna. Given his for the first composer in this evening’s programme. earliest music lessons by a priest, so it’s said, Corelli went “The Concertos of Corelli,” Burney wrote, “seem to have on to study violin in Bologna, and then moved in his withstood all the attacks of time and early 20s to Rome, where he stayed for the fashion […] they preclude all criticism, rest of his life in the service of a number Corelli was someone and make us forget that there is any of high-end patrons: Queen Christina of who, according to the other music of the same kind existing.” Sweden, Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, English observer Hugh Strange perhaps that Arcangelo and, from 1690 till his death, Cardinal Pietro Corelli’s music should cast such a long Ottoboni. This last was more like a friend Howard, played the shadow, given that he wrote exclusively than an employer to him; after Corelli violin in a manner that instrumental music at a time when there died in January 1713 it was Ottoboni was “learned, elegant was considerable demand for vocal who took charge of the funeral plans, and pathetic" – in other music for the church and opera house. arranging for the composer to be buried words, rich in pathos. But for Corelli, an outstanding violinist, in Santa Maria della Rotonda, or the teacher and ensemble director, strings Pantheon, and requesting that he be were the thing: as Corelli put it in a letter posthumously honoured with the titled of 1679 to Count Fabrizio Laderchi, he wrote music quite of the Marquisate of Landenberg by another of his simply far campeggiare il violino – to show off what the aristocratic admirers, the Palatine Elector Johann Wilhelm. violin can do.
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Corelli’s set of 12 Concerti Grossi opus 6, first published in Amsterdam the following year, is really a retrospective of the great man’s career: rather than being a newly composed body of work, the set gathers together music that Corelli had composed many years before, in some instances right back in the 1680s. The concerto grosso layout though is common to all, with a large group of ripieno players doubling much of what the concertante players (two solo violins and a cello) play, while leaving the stage to the latter for more intricate solo sections. A striking feature of this D major concerto is the stunning
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flurries of fast semiquavers that Corelli gives first to the solo cello, and then to the violins, in the two Allegros. Elsewhere in the alternation of short slow and fast movements the opportunity is there for present-day concertante players to improvise their own elaborations which can be as flashy or expressive as they wish, bearing in mind perhaps the greatest attributes of the great violinist composer who created it. Corelli was someone who, according to the English observer Hugh Howard, played the violin in a manner that was “learned, elegant and pathetic" – in other words, rich in pathos.
M O R TA L VO I C E S
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Cantata HWV230 “Ah! che troppo ineguali" (1708) Cantata HWV82 “Il Duello Amoroso" (1708) Cardinal Ottoboni, mentioned above, wasn’t what you for one of those Ottoboni Wednesdays, which used to mix might call a “proper” cardinal; he had the post thrust upon sacred and instrumental music with a little light worship him aged 16 by his uncle Pope Alexander VIII. In those and plenty of socialising. The solemn tone of the Cantata days there was, believe it or not, actually an office called reflects the passion in the text: this poignant prayer to Cardinal-Nephew, and Pietro Ottoboni the Virgin Mary asks her to bring peace was the last ever holder of it. The French at a time when “a warlike torch inflames diplomat Charles de Brosses scathingly the earth” – a reference here surely to described Ottoboni as being “without the War of the Spanish Succession which “Ah, too unequal are morals, untrustworthy, debauched and was engulfing much of Europe at the the mortal voices, ruined” – but then at least he was a “lover time. As the opening lines of the opening however pleasing, of the arts, and a fine musician”. The recitative puts it: "Ah, too unequal are when echoed to the highlight of the Ottoboni week was mortal voices, however pleasing, when undoubtedly Wednesday, the day when echoed to the celestial realm" – an celestial realm." concerts were held in his Palazzo image from which tonight’s concert della Cancelleria, taking place under takes its title. Arcangelo Corelli’s benign and expert direction, and featuring the best instrumentalists and Another of Handel’s patrons was Prince Francesco Maria singers around. And it was into Ottoboni’s creative circle Ruspoli – his Rome palazzo was home to Handel for that a brilliant visitor from Saxony, George Frideric Handel, extended periods of time in return, it seems, for writing arrived amid much fanfare in 1707. Handel may well have vocal works. As Christopher Hogwood explained, Handel’s written the recitative and aria “Ah! che troppo ineguali” status there was probably somewhere in between a
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protégé and a house guest. The musical routine chez Ruspoli seemed to focus on Sundays when cantatas would be performed at the weekly conversaziones, involving both in-house musicians and hired-in performers from outside. One work that Handel wrote for Ruspoli was the magnificent Easter oratorio La Resurrezione; another was this “amorous duel” between the mythical pairing of Daliso, a shepherd, set for alto voice (also performed by counter-tenor as this evening), and the unattainably beautiful Amaryllis, a soprano role. This little work is a miniature opera outlining the troubled relationship between this famous pair. Claudio Monteverdi had already touched on it right at the start of the Baroque era in his Cruda Amarilli which opens his fifth book of madrigals in 1605; this retelling describes how Amaryllis had consented to Daliso but has since changed her mind. Daliso, his pride wounded and heart broken, threatens to use violence to get his way with her, whereupon Amaryllis calls his bluff by pulling out a dagger and challenging him to plunge it into her breast. Daliso breaks down and
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begs her forgiveness, but this only invites contempt from Amaryllis. As she leaves in the company of her father, who conveniently arrives at that very moment, she reproaches Daliso with the words “you do not have the torch to kindle love’s flame.” 20-minute interval
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Cantata Texts Ah! che troppo ineguali Recitative Ah! che troppo ineguali allor che il ciel festeggia son, benchÊ grate sian, voci mortali, per eco fare alla superna reggia. Hor che guerriera face arde il suol, noi divoti cangiamo i canti in voti perch’al mondo Maria renda la pace.
Ah, too unequal, now that heaven celebrates, are mortal voices, however pleasing, echoed to the celestial realm. Now that a warlike torch inflames the earth, we piously change our songs to prayers that Mary may restore peace to the earth.
Aria O del ciel Maria regina Se di pace sei la stella Splenda al mondo il tuo favor. Al mortal un guardo inchina Ed estinta ogni facella Sia del bellico furor.
O Mary, Queen of Heaven, if you are the star of peace, let your grace shine on the world. Bend a glance down to mortals, and extinguish every spark there may be of warlike fury.
Anon
Translation by Lionel Salter, The Lionel Salter Library, lionelsalter.co.uk
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Cantata Texts continued Il Duello Amoroso Sonata: Allegro – Adagio – Menuetto Recitative (Daliso) Amarilli vezzosa, appunto in questo solitaria foresta, dove ne pur giungon del sole i rai, il pianto sospirai, quante pene soffersi, sol per cagion del tuo superbo orgoglio: o la mercede, o la vendetta io voglio.
Pretty Amaryllis, just here in this lonely forest, where not even the rays of the sun reach, I have sighed as many laments as I have suffered pains solely because of your arrogant pride. Now I would have recompense, or revenge.
Aria (Daliso) Pietoso sguardo, vezzo bugiardo. più non lusingano questo mio cor. Tempo è da cedere alle mie lagrime che più resistere non sa’l dolor.
A pitying glance, beguiling endearment, no longer deceives this heart of mine. It is time to yield to my tears, for my grief can no longer be restrained.
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Recitative (Amarilli) Dunque tanto s’avanca d’un pastorel che m’ama la temeraria voglia? E stolto credi che la mercè che chiedi ti possa dar necessita d’impegno? Misero, e non t’avvedi che quel piacer ch’oggi il tuo cor desia figlio del genio mio d’uopo è che sia?
So does the bold desire of a shepherd who loves me dare so much? And, fool, do you think that the compulsion of a pledge can give you the reward you seek? Wretched man, do you not realise that the pleasure which today your heart desires must needs be the offspring of my own inclination?
Aria (Amarilli) Piacer che non si dona per opra del piacer più tosto è pena. Forza crudel che sprona l’altrui voglia goder fende l’arena.
The pleasure that is not bestowed by an act of pleasure very soon becomes pain. The cruel force that incites another to enjoy his desire shatters the field of play.
Recitative Daliso Sì, sì, crudel, ti accheta, o sia forza, o sia genia, o sia dispetto, pria di morir fia lusinghieri affanni meglio è rapir cio che donar si vieta.
Yes, yes, cruel one, you shall be subdued either by force or inclination or resentment before the enticing pains of death come; it is better to seize what it is forbidden to give.
Please turn the page quietly
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Cantata Texts continued Amarilli Semplicetto che sei, cangia consiglio: mal si gode quel bene che dall’odio si acquista o dal rigore; il vero Amor solo d’Amore è figlio.
Fool that you are, change your plan: poorly one enjoys that gift which is gained by hate or cruelty; true love is the child of love alone.
Aria (Amarilli) Quel nocchiero che mira le sponde la tema dell’onde dal sen discacciò. Ma se intanto pretese conforto, in vece dal porto, io scoglio trovò.
That sailor who espies the shore dismisses the fear of the waves from his heart. But if meanwhile he thinks he is safe, instead of the harbour he finds a rock.
Recitative (Daliso) Amarilli, Amarilli, in vano tenti con speranze fallaci uscir dal laccio ove ponesti il piede; che di tua data fede benche fossero mille i giuramenti sempre in sostanza poi o il rio l’accolse o gli rapiro i venti.
Amaryllis, Amaryllis, in vain you try with false hopes to escape from the snare in which your foot is caught; though a thousand might be the oaths of your pledged faith, either the stream washes away their substance, or the winds blow it away.
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Aria (Daliso) È vanita d’un cor quel viver in Amor sempre sperando. Convien più volte udir promesse di gioir ma non il quando? Recitative Amarilli Or su, già che ostinato oscurar d’onore il preggio il core trapassami col ferro; e poi, crudele, di questo sen fedele, di cui non curi il tormentoso affanno, renditi pure a tuo piacer tiranno. Daliso Come? Amarilli? oh Dio, dunque ... Amarilli Non più; desio l’empia voglia satiar che ti tormenta: Barbaro! Su, che fai? Prendi lo strale e in questo sen l’avventa. Daliso Vincesti, ah sì vincesti, ora ti chiedo pietade all’error grave;
It is useless for a heart to live always in hope of love. Is it better to hear many times promises of love but not when they may be fulfilled?
On then, if stubbornly you would now shut out the merit of honour; pierce my heart with a dagger, and then, cruel man, indeed let the tortured affliction of this faithful heart, for which you have no thought, be given up to your pleasure, tyrant! What? Amaryllis? Oh God, then ... No more! I would have you satisfy the wicked desire that torments you; unfeeling man, come! Why delay? Take the blade and strike it into this heart. You have triumphed, ah, you have triumphed! Now I beg forgiveness for a dreadful wrong;
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Cantata Texts continued alma che di penar fu sempre accessa già sitibonda aspetta giusto risentimento all’alta offesa. Amarilli Ecco giunge opportuno Silvano il mio buon padre; or sappi, amico semplicetto pastorello, che tu credando a lusinghieri detti del mio timore usato, perdesti il tempo ed il piacer bramato. Duet Daliso Sì, sì, lasciami ingrata ma pria rendimi il cor. Sei tu selce spietata, priva di senso e ardor. Amarilli Su, su, restati in pace ne più chiedermi Amor; no, non hai tu la face per accender ardor. Anon
my soul, which was ever given to suffering, is already eagerly expecting your just anger at my great offence. Here, in good time, comes Sylvanus, my good father. Now understand, dear foolish shepherd, that when you believed the deceitful words of my well-practised fear, you lost your opportunity and the pleasure you desired.
Very well, leave me alone, heartless girl, but first give me back my heart. You are as hard as flint, void of feeling and love’s flame. Come, come, be at peace, and no longer seek love from me; no, you do not have the torch that can kindle my flame. Translation © Anthony Hicks 1985, reprinted by courtesy of the Trustees of the Handel Institute
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)
Stabat Mater (1736)
Born in the Le Marche region of Italy in 1710, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi studied at the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Jesù Cristo in Naples, before serving as maestro di cappella first to the equerry of the Viceroy of Naples Prince Ferdinando Colonna Stigliano and then to the Duke of Maddaloni. But then tuberculosis cut short his promising career, and his life, all too soon; Pergolesi died in the Franciscan monastery at Pozzuoli at the age of just 26. Of the works that attracted posthumous fame for Pergolesi, two stand out. One is La serva padrona (1733), a micro-opera buffa at just 45 minutes in length which bridged the gap between the Baroque and Classical, with memorable melodies and characters that everyone could relate to. And the other was this Stabat Mater which Pergolesi completed just days before his death. The setting quickly caught on, and was arranged and adapted by Bach, Paisiello and others. First published in London in 1749, it became the most frequently published single work of the 18th century.
The text is a medieval hymn which depicts Mary, the sorrowful mother of Jesus, as the aghast witness of her son’s suffering on the cross; it asks her to allow us Christians to feel the force of her grief, in order that we may mourn alongside her. Pergolesi sets the verses as 12 brief movements, each of them in a contrasting character; the fugal turmoil of Fac ut ardeat cor meum ("Make my heart burn with the love of Christ") for example is completely different from the Sancta Mater movement that follows it, a serene example of elegant pre-Classicism. And the first movement in particular seemed to capture the spirit of the times in representing Mary’s suffering in a way that’s vivid and humane – do the pointed descending staccato quavers in the fifth bar represent her falling tears? It’s human touches like this that made Jean-Jacques Rousseau respond so warmly to this setting. For him, as he wrote: “the first movement of the Stabat Mater is the most perfect and the most moving that has ever issued from the pen of any composer.” Programme notes © Sandy Burnett
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AAM Quick Pick Each concert Lars Henriksson picks out one key thing to listen out for. Stabat Mater, the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion, has been a popular theme throughout the centuries and several composers, such as Palestrina, Vivaldi, Haydn, Dvořák and Verdi, to mention a few, have painted the scene in music. Pergolesi hones in on the suffering instantly, the discord of pain hitting us already in the first bar of the slow instrumental intro. This is followed by an ascending movement of suspensions and resolutions – the most stringent method of expressing sadness during the Baroque era – marking the distress of the Holy Mother.
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Stabat Mater Text Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Stabat mater dolorosa, juxta crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat filius.
At the Cross her station keeping stood the mournful mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last.
Aria (soprano) Cujus animam gementem, contristatam, ac dolentem pertransivit gladius.
Through her heart, his sorrow sharing, all his bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed.
Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta mater unigeniti.
Oh, how sad and sore distressed was the mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten one!
Aria (counter-tenor) Quae moerebat et dolebat et tremebat pia mater, dum videbat nati poenas inclyti.
Christ above in torment hangs; she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious son.
Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Quis est homo qui non fleret Christi matrem si videret in tanto supplicio?
Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep Christ’s dear mother to behold?
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Quis non posset contristari piam matrem contemplari dolentem cum filio?
Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that mother’s pain untold?
Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Jesum in tormentis et flagellis subditum.
For the sins of his own nation she saw him hang in desolation, all with bloody scourges rent.
Aria (soprano) Vidit suum dulcem natum morientem desolatum dum emisit spiritum.
She beheld her gentle child dying, forsaken and defiled, as his spirit passed away.
Aria (counter-tenor) Eja mater, fons amoris, me sentire vim doloris fac ut tecum lugeam.
O thou mother, fount of love, touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord.
Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Fac ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum deum, ut sibi complaceam.
Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ our Lord.
Please turn the page quietly
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Stabat Mater Text continued Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Sancta mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide.
Holy mother, pierce me through; in my heart each wound renew of my Saviour crucified.
Tui nati vulnerati tam dignati pro me pati poenas mecum divide.
Let me share with thee his pain, who for all my sins was slain, who for me in torments died.
Fac me vere tecum flere crucifixo condolere donec ego vixero.
Let me mingle tears with thee, mourning him who mourned for me, all the days that I may live.
Juxta crucem tecum stare te libenter sociare in planctu desidero.
By the Cross with thee to stay. there with thee to weep and pray, is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgo virginum praeclara, mihi jam non sis amara, fac me tecum plangere.
Virgin of all virgins best, listen to my fond request: let me share thy grief divine.
Aria (counter-tenor) Fac ut portem Christi mortem, passionis fac consortem, et plagas recolere.
Let me to my latest breath, in my body bear the death of that dying son of thine.
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Fac me plagis vulnerari cruce hac inebriari ob amorem filii.
Wounded with his every wound, steep my soul till it hath swooned, in his very blood away.
Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Inflammatus et accensus per te, virgo, sim defensus in die judicii.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh lest in flames I burn and die, in his awful judgement day.
Fac me cruce custodiri, morte Christi praemuniri, confoveri gratia.
Christ, when thou shalt call me hence, be thy mother my defence, be thy cross my victory.
Duet (soprano and counter-tenor) Quando corpus morietur fac ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.
While my body here decays, may my soul thy goodness praise, safe in paradise with thee. Amen.
attrib. Jacopo de Benedetti (alias Jacopone da Todi, died 1306)
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Christian Curnyn
Keri Fuge
director
soprano
Performances for English National Opera include Handel Partenope, Rodelinda and Julius Caesar, and Rameau Castor and Pollux. Other appearances include Purcell Dido and Aeneas in Aldeburgh; Rameau Platée, Handel Alcina and Purcell The Fairy Queen at Oper Stuttgart; Britten The Beggar’s Opera, and Cavalli L’Ormindo at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, as well as Così fan tutte at New York City Opera, and Charpentier Médée at Chicago Opera Theater, amongst others. Concert platform highlights have included concerts with the English Concert, The Hallé, Swedish Chamber, Bournemouth Symphony and Ulster orchestras. Alongside recordings for EOC, Christian has recorded Britten's realisation of The Beggar's Opera with the City of London Sinfonia and a disc of Italian repertoire with Nicola Benedetti for Decca. Recent and future highlights include a new production of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse at The Roundhouse for ROH, and a new production at Opéra national du Rhin.
© Nicholas Thomson
© Eric Richmond
Christian Curnyn founded the Early Opera Company in 1994, which has enjoyed notable performances and award-winning recordings.
Keri Fuge's current and future engagements include Sophie (Werther) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) at Standttheater Klagenfurt; King Arthur at Theater Basel; Flavia (Lucio Silla revival) at International HändelFestspiele Göttingen, and Fauré Requiem at Royal Festival Hall. Recent operatic highlights include Cupid (Rossi Orfeo) for The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden at the Globe Theatre; Poppea (Agrippina) for Brisbane Baroque in Australia; Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice) at Bregenz Landestheater; Atalanta (Xerxes) for Early Opera Company; Aquilio (Pergolesi Adriano) in Siria Slowacki Theater, Kraków; Despina and Dona Isabel (The Indian Queen) for English National Opera; and Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) and Chocholka (The Cunning Little Vixen) at Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Keri is an alumnus of The National Opera Studio 2012-13 sponsored by The Glyndebourne New Generation Programme, She gained her Mmus in Vocal Studies and Performance from Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Marilyn Rees.
Tim Mead
© Andy Staples
counter-tenor
Counter-tenor Tim Mead is praised for his “alluring” and “consistently excellent” interpretations (New York Times). Highlights of the 2017-18 season include his debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Hamor (Handel Jephtha), a return to English National Opera as Bertarido (Handel Rodelinda) and to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Endimione (Cavalli La Calisto). In concert he will sing a Vivaldi programme with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Bach cantatas with the Netherlands Bach Society and Bach St John Passion at the BBC Proms. Recent highlights include Oberon (Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Bergen National Opera; the title role in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten and Ottone (Handel Agrippina) at Opera Vlaanderen, and a reprisal of the role of Boy/Angel in George Benjamin’s Written on Skin at the Bolshoi. On the concert platform he recently appeared at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées singing Monteverdi and Pergolesi for Les Grandes Voix, and gave solo recitals at Wigmore Hall accompanied by James Baillieu, and at La Sainte Chapelle with Les Accents and Thibault Noally.
& Sinner? 1790s LONDON
Saint
music by Haydn & Dussek Richard Egarr Daniela Lehner director & fortepiano
mezzo-soprano
Thursday 12 April 2018, 7.30pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Box Office: 01223 357851 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/tickets
Friday 13 April 2018, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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Meet the staff member: Ellen Parkes Development Manager I sing with a brilliant London-based chamber choir, Evoke. I was a choral scholar at Lincoln College, Oxford, and also sang with Schola Cantorum based there. I used to play the piano too, but I am regrettably rusty now!
© John Cairns
What does your job involve?
How long have you been at AAM? I have been with AAM since November 2017. My previous job was based in Oxford, working for the Master of St Catherine’s College.
Do you play anything or sing? Yes, I do. I sing and choral singing is one of my passions. Right now,
I look after the fundraising team for AAM, which in part involves keeping in regular touch with our wonderful Society members and AAM Friends who support us so generously. Naturally, we are always keen to expand our support base, so another part of my job is to find and encourage new donors, as well as to seek important additional income for our projects from Trusts and Foundations.
How did you get into development? Whilst I was at Oxford, I directed Menotti’s opera Amahl and the Night Visitors in Lincoln College Chapel. We had to raise every penny ourselves to help fund it. This made me realise how important development work is for all arts projects, but I also discovered how much fun it could be! Since then I’ve been involved in orchestral administration (for the LSO) and events management and development (at St Catherine’s College). I’m delighted to be returning to fundraising now, especially for such a wonderful orchestra.
What's been your career highlight so far? It has to be AAM’s performance of Handel's Messiah in December 2017. As a singer, I feel I know the piece
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Explore inside out, but that night AAM made it sparkle and come to life so I heard it anew! I also thoroughly enjoyed the new commission, A Young Known Voice by Hannah Conway, performed by 60 young people with our singers and players at the start. That made the evening even more special for me.
If you enjoyed tonight’s concert, you may be interested in the following recordings:
What are you most looking forward to about working at AAM?
Corelli Concerti Grossi, Op.6 Nos.1-6
Meeting and talking with lots of new people – it’s my favourite part of the role! So, if anyone here tonight is interested in supporting AAM, please do come and find me at the end, or email support@aam.co.uk. I would be delighted to talk to you.
Corelli Concerti Grossi, Op.6
Pergolesi Stabat Mater
Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Academy of Ancient Music / Christopher Hogwood [Decca, 4784029]
Il duello amoroso – Italian Cantatas
Andreas Scholl, Hélène Guilmetter, Accademia Bizantina / Ottavio Dantone [Harmonia Mundi, HMC901957] Europa Galante / Fabio Biondi [Naïve, OP90147] The English Concert / Trevor Pinnock [DG Archiv, 4749072]
Christopher Hogwood: Handel Recordings
numerous artists [22 CD set, Decca / L’Oiseau Lyre, 482810]
Pergolesi Adriano in Siria
Fagioli, Basso, Mynenko, Idrisova, Sancho, Capella Cracoviensis / Jan Tomasz Adamus [Decca, 4830004]
Handel in Rome 1707
Ghisleri Choir & Consort / Giulo Prandi [Deutsche HM, 88985348422]
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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Academy of Ancient Music Violin I Bojan Čičić ‡ Persephone Gibbs James Toll Madeleine Easton*† Violin II Rebecca Livermore William Thorp Iwona Muszynska ‡ Liz MacCarthy † * leading 1 March † 15 February & 1 March only ‡ not 1 March
Viola Alexandru-Mihai Bota Ricardo Cuende Isuskiza Cello Joseph Crouch Imogen Seth-Smith Double Bass Judith Evans
Archlute David Miller Organ Alastair Ross Harpsichord Christian Curnyn Keyboard Technician Keith McGowan
Sponsored Chairs Principal Viola Richard and Elizabeth de Friend Sub-Principal Viola Nicholas and Judith Goodison Principal Cello Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell Sub-Principal Cello The Newby Trust
© Patrick Harrison
Principal Theorbo John and Joyce Reeve
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Our Team Music Director Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow Robert Levin
Head of Concerts and Planning ChloĂŤ Wennersten
Chief Executive Alexander Van Ingen
Projects and Fundraising Co-ordinator Alice Pusey
General Manager Anthony Brice
Librarian Hannah Godfrey
Artistic Consultant Lars Henriksson
Fundraising Assistant Leonore Hibou
Development Consultant PR Consultant WildKat PR John Bickley
Finance Marianna Lauckner Palieskova
Marketing Consultants Bethan Sheppard ChloĂŤ Priest Griffiths
Board of Trustees
Development Board
Hugh Burkitt Matthew Ferrey Philip Jones (chair) Graham Nicholson John Reeve Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall Janet Unwin
Delia Broke Hugh Burkitt Elizabeth de Friend (chair) Andrew Gairdner MBE Peter Hullah Philip Jones Roger Mayhew Craig Nakan John Reeve
Honorary President: Christopher Purvis CBE
Programme Editor Sarah Breeden
Development Manager Ellen Parkes
Council Chris Rocker Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall Janet Unwin
Richard Bridges Adam Broadbent Kate Donaghy Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Carol Grigor Tim Harvey-Samuel Nick Heath Lars Henriksson Christopher Lawrence Sir Konrad Schiemann Rachel Stroud Dr Christopher Tadgell The Lady Juliet Tadgell
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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Who we are and what we do Music
The Academy of Ancient Music is an orchestra and choir that perform music from the baroque and classical era in the way it was first intended.This means taking inspiration from the composers themselves; through careful research and using first edition scores as often as possible. Our historically informed approach was ground-breaking when the orchestra was founded in 1973 by scholar-conductor Christopher Hogwood and AAM remains at the forefront of the early music scene today, under the leadership of Music Director Richard Egarr.
Recordings
Originally established as a recording orchestra AAM has an incredible catalogue of more than 300 CDs which have won numerous accolades, including Brit, Gramophone, Edison and MIDEM awards. On its own in-house
label, AAM Records, the orchestra has released five critically acclaimed recordings. The most recent release, a stunning selection of instrumental works by Dario Castello, a Venetian composer from the early baroque period, was launched in October 2016.
Education
Since 2010 AAM has run its AAMplify education scheme, with the aim of nurturing the next generation of young artists and audiences. Working with partners around the country, AAM delivers workshops, masterclasses and other special projects for children and people of all ages.
2017-18 Season
The 2017-18 season began with a semistaged performance of King Arthur, the second instalment of AAM’s three-year Purcell opera cycle. Also this season the Choir of AAM takes centre stage at the
Barbican for performances of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St John Passion, joined by first class soloists; and Nicola Benedetti performs virtuosic Vivaldi and Telemann concerti on gut strings. In West Road and Milton Court concert halls, soloists from AAM feature in programmes exploring the musical impact of cross-European migration, and the "reversed fortunes" of Telemann and Bach. Soprano Carolyn Sampson celebrates English song from Dowland to Arne; and a programme of secular and sacred vocal music showcases the pairing of soprano Keri Fuge and counter-tenor Tim Mead. AAM is Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre and Orchestra in Residence at the University of Cambridge, at the Grange Festival and at Chiltern Arts. Visit aam.co.uk to find out more.
M O R TA L VO I C E S
Thank you The AAM is indebted to the following trusts, companies and individuals for their support of the orchestra’s work.
TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS The Backstage Trust Constance Travis Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Garfield Weston Foundation Geoffrey C Hughes Charitable Trust The Goldsmiths' Company Charity John Armitage Charitable Trust Newby Trust Ltd The Nicholas John Trust The Polonsky Foundation and other anonymous trusts and foundations
AAM SOCIETY The Hogwood Circle Matthew Ferrey Mark and Liza Loveday Christopher and Phillida Purvis * Mrs Julia Rosier Terence and Sian Sinclair Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell
Principal Patrons Christopher Hogwood CBE, in memoriam * John and Madeleine Tattersall and other anonymous Principal Patrons
Mr Andrew Williams Mrs S Wilson Stephens Christopher Stewart Charles Woodward and other anonymous Principal B enefactors
Patrons Richard and Elena Bridges Lady Alexander of Weedon Clive and Helena Butler Alan J Clark Richard and Elizabeth de Friend Mr John Everett Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie Nicholas and Judith Goodison * Graham and Amanda Hutton Philip Jones David and Linda Lakhdhir Roger Mayhew Graham Nicholson John and Joyce Reeve Chris and Ali Rocker Mr Anthony Travis Mark West and other anonymous Patrons
Benefactors Dr Aileen Adams CBE Cumming Anderson Elise Badoy Dauby Professor John and Professor Hilary Birks Mrs Stephanie Bourne Mr and Mrs John Brisby * Adam and Sara Broadbent Hugh Burkitt Marshall Field Michael and Michele Foot CBE Andrew and Wendy Gairdner The Hon William Gibson Ralph Hullah, in memoriam Mrs Noel Harwerth and Mr Seth Melhado The Hon Mr and Mrs Philip Havers Heather Jarman Julian and Susie Knott Mr Peter and Mrs Frances Meyer Herschel and Peggy Post Chris and Valery Rees The Hon Zita Savile Dr Robert Sansom Ms Sarah Shepley and Mr Kevin Feeney Reg and Patricia Singh Mr Michael Smith Peter Thomson and Alison Carnwath Mrs Janet Unwin Peter and Margaret Wynn and other anonymous B enefactors
Principal Benefactors Carol Atack and Alex van Someren John and Gilly Baker Mrs D Broke Jo and Keren Butler Kate Donaghy The Hon Simon Eccles Dr Julia Ellis Ed Hossack and Ben Harvey Mark and Sophie Lewisohn Mr and Mrs C Norton Mark and Elizabeth Ridley Sir Konrad and Lady Schiemann * Stephen Thomas Paul and Michi Warren Julie and Richard Webb
Donors Angela and Roderick Ashby-Johnson Marianne Aston Elisabeth and Bob Boas * Charles Bryant David and Elizabeth Challen Lord and Lady Dilhorne Derek and Mary Draper Nikki Edge Christopher and Jill Evans Tina Fordham Mrs Marilyn Minchom Goldberg Miles and Anna Hember Mrs Helen Higgs Mr and Mrs Charles Jackson Alison Knocker Mr and Mrs Evan Llewellyn Richard and Romilly Lyttelton Richard Meade Annie Middlemiss Graham and Sylvia Orpwood Nick and Margaret Parker Mr Edward Powell Jane Rabagliati and Raymond Cross Mr and Mrs Charles Rawlinson Michael and Giustina Ryan Dr Alison Salt Mr Peter Shawdon Professor Tony Watts Tony and Jackie Yates-Watson and other anonymous D onors * denotes founder m ember
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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SHOSTAKOVICH PLUS October & November 2017 DEBUSSY & PIZZETTI February & March 2018 MICHAEL COLLINS & FRIENDS February, March & April 2018 ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC RESIDENCY May & June 2018 Fridays at 1pm LSO St Luke’s, 161 Old Street London EC1V 9NG lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
Support AAM Each year AAM gives around 40 concerts in the UK and internationally, enriching the lives of tens of thousands of people with our fresh approach to baroque and classical music. AAM’s recordings and broadcasts are heard by wide and varied audiences around the world on the radio and online. Our AAMplify scheme nurtures the next generation of artists and audiences, providing opportunities for talented young musicians to develop their skills and for all young people to experience the thrill of live performance with low-cost concert tickets and introductory workshops. AAM is a registered charity. This year we need to raise over £500,000 to sustain and develop the orchestra’s work promoting the very best music, and to expand our AAMplify programme. We do not currently receive any public funding towards our core costs, so the generosity of our valued family of supporters has never been more important.
AAM Friends Membership of AAM Friends starts from just £2.50 a month or £30 a year. In return, Friends receive:
• an annual drinks party • invitations to open rehearsals • regular news and updates Last year, donations from AAM Friends allowed us to:
• provide a day of coaching from AAM players for talented young musicians through AAMplify • fund speakers for free pre-concert talks for all our audience members • support the cost of providing parts for the players in our own-promotion concerts For more information about AAM Friends, please get in touch with Leonore Hibou, Development Assistant, on 01223 341092 or support@aam.co.uk.
AAM Society The AAM Society is at the core of the AAM family. Society members’ annual gifts of between £250 and £20,000 form our financial backbone, allowing us to evolve and excel in the concert hall, in recordings, and in the AAMplify scheme. To show our appreciation, we offer Society members:
• dinners with the director, soloists and musicians after performances in London • regular invitations to open rehearsals • invitations to private recitals in fellow members’ homes and other special events • complimentary drinks receptions at own promotion concerts in London and Cambridge • regular news and updates • priority booking for all AAM own promotion concerts in London and Cambridge through the AAM office.
Last season, support from AAM Society members facilitated the orchestra’s travel to countries near and far, our work with Jordi Savall, a staging of Purcell’s Fairy Queen, and to celebrate Music Director Richard Egarr’s 10th anniversary with AAM in a glorious concert broadcast by ClassicFM, reaching several million people. The generosity of individuals helped to fund our highly acclaimed performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers in London and Gloucester, where we showcased instruments and music to primary school children; to develop exciting recording projects; and to broaden our reach online. Society donations also enabled us to evolve our partnerships with the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and the Royal Northern College of Music, giving support and advice to young professionals in rehearsals and workshops.
If you would like to join the AAM Society or receive more information about ways to support the orchestra, please get in touch with Leonore Hibou, Development Assistant, on 01223 341092 or support@aam.co.uk.
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC Music Director Richard Egarr Founder Christopher Hogwood CBE Hogwood Fellow Robert Levin Associate Ensemble at the Barbican Centre Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge Orchestra-in-Residence at The Grange Festival Orchestra-in-Residence at Chiltern Arts 11b King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SJ | +44 (0)1223 301509 info@aam.co.uk | www.aam.co.uk Registered charity number 1085485 All details correct at time of printing Visit aam.co.uk to find out more and to watch and listen to us in action
@AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic
Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall Barbican Advance Box Office, Silk Street Tel. 020 7638 8891 www.barbican.org.uk
West Road Concert Hall Cambridge Live Tickets Box Office Tel. 01223 357 851 www.cambridgelivetickets.co.uk
M O R TA L VO I C E S
BACH St John Passion James Philippe Lydia Gilchrist Sly Teuscher Evangelist
Christus
soprano
Iestyn Davies
countertenor
Ilker Cody Choir Arcayurek Quattlebaum of AAM tenor
Good Friday 30 March 2018, 3.00pm Barbican Hall, London Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk
bass
Full programme details at aam.co.uk Get involved: @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON
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CONCERT SEASON 2017/2018
Book now at thebachchoir.org.uk Music Director | David Hill
CAROLS AT CADOGAN
Haydn
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prokofiev
NELSON MASS
FRI 22ND DEC 2017 | 7.30pm
TUE 6TH MAR 2018 | 7.30pm
ST MATTHEW PASSION
ALEXANDER NEVSKY
CADOGAN HALL
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
SUN 18 MAR 2018 | 11am
THU 3 MAY 2018 | 7.30pm RD
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
ROYAL FESTIVAL HALL
David Hill, Carolyn Sampson
Florilegium, David Hill,
Philharmonia Orchestra,
and more
Philip Scriven, Ed Lyon
David Hill, Hilary Summers,
and more
Simon Ponsford
London City Brass,
Philharmonia Orchestra,
David Hill, Philip Scriven, Matthew Green, Nigel Bates
TICKETS £13.50–£32 020 7127 9114
TH
TICKETS £10–£50 020 3879 9555
TICKETS £12–£55 020 3879 9555
TICKETS £10–£50 020 3879 9555
COME & SING St Matthew Passion A training day for choral singers | Led by David Hill SAT 5TH MAY 2018 | 10.30am ST SEPULCHREWITHOUT-NEWGATE, HOLBORN, LONDON
TICKETS £20 (Students £5) 020 7127 9114
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
LONDON & CAMBRIDGE 2017-18 Purcell’s King Arthur (semi-staged)
Tuesday 3 October 2017, Barbican Hall, London
Italy in England – when Handel met Corelli Thursday 19 October 2017, Milton Court, London Friday 20 October 2017, West Road, Cambridge
Bless’d Isle – with Carolyn Sampson
Wednesday 1 November 2017, West Road, Cambridge Thursday 2 November 2017, Milton Court, London
Bach and Telemann – Reversed Fortunes Thursday 7 December 2017, Milton Court, London Tuesday 12 December 2017, West Road, Cambridge
Handel’s Messiah
Wednesday 20 December 2017, Barbican Hall, London
For more than 40 years the Academy of Ancient Music has enriched the lives of thousands the world over with high calibre historically-informed performances of baroque and classical music. Under the direction of Richard Egarr the AAM enjoys a global reputation, building its critically acclaimed record label and investing in an everexpanding programme of live performance and creative learning.
Mortal Voices – music by Pergolesi, Corelli and Handel Thursday 15 February 2018, Milton Court, London Friday 16 February 2018, West Road, Cambridge
Bach St John Passion
Friday 30 March 2018, Barbican Hall, London
1790s London: Saint & Sinner – music by Haydn & Dussek Nicola Benedetti – music by Vivaldi and Telemann Thursday 31 May 2018, Barbican Hall, London
GUARDIAN
“AAM’s buttery strings, cooing winds and nobly-bronzed trumpets“ TIMES
“A joy for ear and spirit“ GRAMOPHONE
Design by Apropos-
Thursday 12 April 2018, West Road, Cambridge Friday 13 April 2018, Milton Court, London
“...don’t be fooled by the old instruments: this performance was unequivocally modern”