Cambridge, London, UK and International performances
AC A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C
19-20
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC
SEASON
2019-20
For those who love
Handel Rejoice!
Coronation Anthems at King’s Messiah Handel’s Heroines Alison Balsom: Sound the Trumpet
For those who love
Bach
Viktoria Mullova Benjamin Appl Bach & the Divine Jean Rondeau Keble Early Music Festival St. John Passion at Keble, King’s and Cadogan
2019-20 Season at a glance:
Bach’s St. John Passion
Beethoven & Dussek: Egmont and Mass in G
Handel’s Heroines
Wednesday 2 October 2019, Barbican, London
Rejoice! Rowan Pierce & David Blackadder
Tuesday 22 October 2019, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Thursday 24 October 2019, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Wednesday 11 December 2019, Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles Fri 13 Dec 2019, First Congregational Church, Berkeley, San Francisco Saturday 22 February 2020, Assembly Rooms, Bath
Coronation Anthems at King’s
Wednesday 6 November 2019, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Viktoria Mullova plays Haydn, J.S. & C.P.E. Bach Wednesday 13 November 2019, Großer Saal, Alte Oper, Frankfurt Saturday 16 November 2019, Malvern Theatres, Worcestershire Monday 18 November 2019, The Apex, Bury St Edmunds Wednesday 20 November 2019, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Thursday 21 November 2019, SPOT Groningen, Netherlands
Eccles Semele
Tuesday 26 November 2019, Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge
Messiah VOCES8 & VOCES8 Scholars
Monday 2 December 2019, Gresham Centre, London Tuesday 3 December 2019, Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge Friday 6 Dec 2019, University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford
Sacred Cantatas: Bach & the Divine
Saturday 29 February 2020, Keble College, Oxford
Thursday 12 March 2020, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Thursday 19 March 2020, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Saturday 21 March 2020, Malvern Theatres, Worcestershire Friday 22 May 2020, Úbeda, Spain
Alison Balsom: Sound the Trumpet Saturday 14 March 2020, Leeds Town Hall, Leeds
Bach’s St. John Passion
Tuesday 7 April 2020, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge Thursday 9 April 2020, Cadogan Hall, London
Glories of Venice: Castello and Monteverdi
Wednesday 22 April 2020, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Thursday 23 April 2020, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Music for Royal Occasions BBC Singers & Sofi Jeannin
Friday 8 May 2020, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Sunday 10 May 2020, Audley End House, Saffron Walden
Musick for a While with James Hall
Friday 3 July 2020, Champs Hill, Pulborough Monday 6 July 2020, Upper Library, Christ Church, Oxford
Longborough Festival Opera: Monteverdi’s Ulisse Tues 14 July, Thurs 16 July, Sat 18 July, Sun 19 July, Tues 21 July 2020 Longborough Festival Opera, Moreton-in-Marsh
Wednesday 15 January 2020, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Sunday 19 January 2020, Milton Court Concert Hall, London
Jean Rondeau plays Bach and more
Thursday 20 February 2020, Milton Court Concert Hall, London Sunday 23 February 2020, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Concert location: London | Cambridge and nearby | Oxford and nearby Part of AAM’s Barbican Multibuy package, see pg.32 for information Part of AAM’s Cambridge subscription series, see pg.33 for information
Welcome from Richard Egarr Welcome to the 19-20 Season! Once again we can can promise you hours of thrilling musical journeys along both new and old paths. I’m always proud to introduce new and exciting artists and repertoire, and this season we will see the young dazzling soprano Lucie Chartin involved in our “out-there” Castello and Monteverdi programme. The fabulous Viktoria Mullova will warm you with wonderful, and perhaps unknown, works by Haydn and C.P.E. Bach. There are of course lots of familiar faces and works too … My most urgent and excited desire is for you to come and experience the modern world premiere of Jan Ladislav Dussek’s Mass in G Minor. This is an extraordinary work by an extraordinary composer which has not seen the light of day since it was first performed in 1811 – a year before the composer’s death. I urge you to come along to this and all the rest on offer in this lively season of music-making.
“Egarr and the AAM gave us miraculous, alchemical changes in colour and texture, an unresting musical surface of dancing lights.”
BACHTRACK
Photo: Patrick Allen
Richard Egarr, Music Director
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Welcome from Alexander Van Ingen I am It is adelighted huge privilege to welcome and pleasure you to the to welcome Academy youAncient of to the Academy Music’s 2019-20 of Ancient season; Music’s a year 20182019 season. packed with wonderful We’ve a broad music, range fascinating of terrific music to whet discoveries, and your new appetite, partnerships. and forWorld the first time we combine premiere performances all ourjoin concert with our activity first forays into one brochure. into wine exploration; the creation of new visual art accompanies baroque and classical Our main residencies masterpieces; and first-rate in Cambridge soloists and perform London form the backbone alongside the expert ofplayers the season, of the and world’s this year we arelistened-to delightedperiod to be Associate Ensemble for most instrument orchestra, Music at Oxford. perhaps makes AAM the first the Academy of ItAncient Music. ensemble to be resident in both Cambridge and Oxford At Easter simultaneously, 2019 AAM gave and thewith 300th a new anniversary research partnership at University of Oxford, we look performance ofthe Handel’ s little-known masterpiece, forward to the fruits of concerts and academic Brockes-Passion, which we recorded in a brand work AAM acrossedition, both great We arereleased also proud new withcities. the album in to become Orchestra in Residence in Bury St autumn 2019 (see page 19 for details). In the Edmunds twowe wonderful concerts same spiritfollowing of discovery open AAM’s 2019-20 there last season. The Apex is a beautiful concert season with Dussek’s long-lost Mass in G, hall world the with anpremiere excellentperformance audience, and in we modern look forwardset toalongside many more performances there. and times, Beethoven’s complete rarely played incidental music to Egmont. A special highlight of the 18-19 season is Handel’s Brockes-Passion in a concert on Good Friday, exactly 300 years to the day from its first performance. This is a lesser-known gem of a work which undoubtedly deserves far greater hearing, and all of us at AAM are excited 4
During 2019-20 wethis welcome artist Emma about performing work, but also aboutSafe, AAM’s new Hogwood Fellow, wholove will you, create the prospect of recording it. We’d our works of visual in response to our musicaudience, to getart involved by sponsoring an aria, making; wea begin our from first partnerships chorus orand even character the work – with wine21 experts from Berry Bros. & Rudd, see page for more details. Stannary St., and Bat & Bottle. Three concert programmes featureFund, concurrent AAM’s Strategicwill Recording which iswinehelping tastings: & Beethoven opens ourfrom season, us make Bordeaux many smaller recordings, goes harpsichordist Jean Rondeau takes in strength to strength: AAM is now thepart most Bach & Burgundy, April’s online. superb Of Glories listened-to periodand ensemble course of concert of Castello and Monteverdi theVenice fund couldn’t exist without your generous features forgotten grapeyou; varieties of those support, the for which we thank and should composers’ (see pages 11, 23 to and 31 you want tohomeland help us deliver more music more for more in details). listeners this way, please do get in touch. We open are delighted to champion AAM’s new our season with Purcell’s best-known recordings, releasing Handel’sthe Brockes-Passion opera, Dido & Aeneas, perhaps jewel in the on AAM an album of Beethoven crown ofRecords, our three-year Purcell cycle at thewith soprano Chen Reiss on Onyx Classics, Francisco Barbican. A season-long collaboration with the Valls’Singers s Missa Regalis withan theall-French Choir of Keble BBC starts with programme College, andand Bach’s Matthew Passion in October, we great have St. a very special concert the Choirclarinettist of King’s College with leading MichaelCambridge. Collins in And across the record November, whoseason makeswe his will debut withDussek’s not Mass, Castello Sonatas II), live stream just one but two period(Book instruments. Handel’s selectedisconcerts from Cambridge andyear from Messiah a seasonal favourite, and this Milton Abbey, andpartnership continue towith release new we explore a new VOCES8, music videos online. as we go around the corner from our ‘home’ venues: to the Gresham Centre (next to the
Throughout 2019-20and AAMtoisthe joined by a Barbican) in London, magnificent glittering soloistsinfrom Viktoria Mullova chapel of array TrinityofCollege Cambridge. to Royal Wedding trumpeter David Blackadder, Bevan, Appl,usAlison Balsom, IMary do hope thatBenjamin you will join for many of Rowan Pierceand andthat many After 2019’s our concerts, youmore. might consider astonishingour production Le nozze di Figaro, supporting recordingofand education in 2020 we return to opera and withheartfelt Monterverdi’s endeavours. An enormous thank Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria insupporters partnership you to a host of individual as with well as Longborough Festival Opera; and we hostbackour trusts and foundations for their generous first without Summerwhich Schoolthe forwork instrumental players at ing, we do and the muMilton Abbey. simply would not be possible; to sic we perform our generous and dedicated Board and Council From trio sonatas to symphonies great– it is members; and to Richard and ourand players choralafter works, the 2019-20 season showcases they, all, who create the magic we all love themuch: full range of some of the most incredible so on stage, in the classroom and in the baroque and classical repertoire some of recording studio. This is a seasonwith of important, the veryand finest performers. I hope you will join brilliant living music, superbly performed us forgreat manyskill of these concerts, and look forward with and passion – I look forward to to welcoming you. across the 2018-19 season sharing our concerts with you.
Alexander Van Ingen, Chief Executive
Explore Join us on our journey to explore, reveal and preserve baroque and classical music.
Concerts
• brilliant music, expertly performed • inspirational, engaging performers at the highest level • detailed, informative programmes, free of charge • pre-concert talks and discussions • digital programmes and playlists sent in advance • post-concert listening and reading suggestions
Online
• past concert programme information • news and updates through social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube • developing playlists for leading streaming services such as Spotify
Recordings
• over 300 albums, creating a substantial resource of historically informed performance practice • our own record label, AAM Records • new Strategic Recording Fund enabling track-by-track recording of lesser-known works • making some of the finest performances available worldwide
• dedicated Education & Outreach Manager, curating programmes for schools and communities • working with the next generation of performers and audience members • open rehearsals and opportunities to engage with performers and directors • high-level scholarship and research presented in informative ways • new baroque performance summer school in 2020
Photo: Phil Tragen
Learning
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Hogwood Fellow 2019-20
Emma Safe For our 2019-20 season, we’re delighted to be working with our new Hogwood Fellow and first Artist-in-Residence: Emma Safe. “On Good Friday 2019, 300 years – almost to the day – since its first known performance, I had the great privilege to draw as the Academy of Ancient Music performed Handel’s Brockes-Passion; a special celebration and culmination of a major project for the AAM.
Previously unknown to me, Handel’s Brockes-Passion relates the Christian story in vividly physical, near-visceral terms and yet the psychological and emotional pain of the story are no less clearly drawn. A dual agony of physical and psychological torture emerges, told through some of Handel’s most beautiful writing. It was a very powerful and profoundly moving performance.” Emma stands in-situ to draw, absorbing the rhythm of place; responding to situations physically – never changing her drawings after an event. Her work takes pride of place on the front cover of our Brockes-Passion deluxe 3-CD booklet. Emma will work alongside AAM across our 19-20 season. Explore Emma’s work at: emmasafe.com 6
Hogwood Alumni Sandy Burnett 2018-19
“In my fellowship thus far I’ve hosted pre-concert discussions with some of the leading artists performing with AAM, delving into the niceties of the basset clarinet with Nicola Boud and Michael Collins, and the baroque recorder repertoire with Lucie Horsch. My research has taken me up into the library of Westminster Abbey where I’ve been looking into neglected repertoire that the original Academy of Ancient Music of the 1730s used to perform regularly (in a pub of all places …) As part of our Breaking Down Baroque season of films, Bojan Čičić and I have discussed the evolution of baroque bowing, and of baroque bows. And I’ve sharpened my 18th-century nib and added my contribution to a brand new translation of Handel’s Brockes-Passion, one of the standout moments of the 2018-19 season.”
Robert Levin 2017-18
“It was a singular honour to have been named the first Hogwood Fellow by AAM. My association with AAM dates to the 1980s, when Christopher Hogwood and the Academy collaborated with me on a broadcast devoted to classical period improvisation (an excerpt is available on YouTube). Central to our work together was the cycle of Mozart piano concertos for Decca/L’Oiseau Lyre that featured for the first time improvisation of all cadenzas and decorations. This project lies at the core of my identity as an artist and I shall forever be grateful to Christopher and AAM for making possible the realisation of this dream. I am delighted to have continued my relationship with the Academy under the expert leadership of Richard Egarr. To be appointed first Hogwood Fellow has further deepened my relationship with the Academy, which I treasure.” 7
Support Us Our donors make our music happen: affordable concerts, accessible education and high-level research. For more than four decades, the Academy of Ancient Music has been changing the way the world hears some of the greatest music ever written. We have got this far thanks to the generosity of our supporters: but there is much more to do. Our 2019-20 season is ambitious: presenting masterpieces; working with the leading artists of our time; releasing more recordings and delving deep into the past with doctoral research projects on Beethoven’s contemporaries and more. Off-stage, we are determined to introduce more and more young and disadvantaged people to music via a major expansion of our outreach programme, AAMplify. We can only do this, and continue to heighten the levels of excellence for which we are renowned, with your help. By supporting AAM, you play an essential role in sustaining AAM’s excellent performances, recordings, and education, bringing more early music experiences to more people every year.
Choir of AAM. Photo: Alexander Van Ingen
When you join the AAM family, you will receive invitations to a range of events that explore the Orchestra, our music, and our work “behind-the-scenes”. To find out more about how you can help AAM, please contact: support@aam.co.uk or 01223 341 097.
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Meet AAM’s Principal Players
Bojan Čičić
Jane Rogers
Leader
Joseph Crouch & Sarah McMahon
Principal Viola
Judith Evans
Principal Double Bass
Principal Cello
Rachel Brown
Leo Duarte
Photos: Phil Tragen
Principal Flute
Anthony Pay
Principal Oboe
David Blackadder Principal Tumpet
Principal Clarinet
Benedict Hoffnung Principal Percussion
Ursula Leveaux
Gavin Edwards
Principal Bassoon
William Carter
Principal Theorbo/Lute
Principal Horn
Alastair Ross
Principal Keyboard 9
Beethoven & Dussek
Dussek Mass in G major Beethoven Egmont (complete)
Richard Egarr
Choir of AAM
Chen Reiss
Stefanie True
Helen Charlston
Gwilym Bowen
conductor
soprano
Morgan Pearse bass
mezzo-soprano
soprano
tenor
We begin our Beethoven 250th anniversary celebrations with his complete incidental music for Goethe’s play Egmont alongside the modern premiere of the Mass by his scandalous Czech contemporary Dussek. Recently rediscovered by AAM’s Music Director, Richard Egarr, and heard here for the first time since the 19th century, Dussek’s Mass throws fascinating new light on a musical pioneer whose expressive works anticipate the Romantic style of Chopin and Schumann. While the Overture to Egmont has become a concert hall staple, it is relatively rare to have the chance to hear a performance of the complete incidental music, into which Beethoven channelled his fury at Napoleon’s tyrannical progress through Europe. It is an impassioned, heroically defiant musical expression of the triumph of freedom over oppression. Opposite, find details for our accompanying Beethoven & Bordeaux wine-tasting. Sung in German with English surtitles
Reviews of AAM’s 2017 Messiah: “The AAM Choir dazzled the ear with breathtaking tempos, clarity of articulation and unanimity of tone … the agility, energy and control were extraordinary … a masterclass in discipline.”
CLASSICAL SOURCE
Photo: Patrick Allen
“The evening’s star turn … was the 17-strong AAM choir. From their outstanding ensemble virtuosity and beautifully melded sound to high-def inition fugato passages … the choir shone.”
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THE TIMES
Wednesday 2 October 2019, 7.30pm | Barbican, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | barbican.org.uk for ticket information Also with accompanying wine tasting and dinner: see opposite
Beethoven & Bordeaux Berry Bros. & Rudd Rebecca Lamont
Head of Wine School
Henrietta Gullifer
Events & Education co-ordinator
Bordeaux’s key grape, Cabernet Sauvignon, is, like Beethoven, serious, brooding and complex. Full of meaning and intent, this music and these wines are built to develop and last as we grow with them, finding new meaning and depths each time we savour their rich harmonic structure and thematic components. We join Rebecca Lamont and Henrietta Gullifer from the esteemed Berry Bros. & Rudd for a tour of Bordeaux, and a look at the Bordeaux Pretenders – those elsewhere creating wine in a similar way – alongside our season-opening concert of Beethoven and Dussek. With four key wines before the concert, and another four with dinner after, we will include notable Chateaux such as Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Cissac, Haut-Bailly and le Serre Nuova from Ornellaia. Berry Bros. & Rudd, holders of two Royal Warrants (H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Prince of Wales), have traded from the same premises in London’s St. James since 1698, some 20 years before the original Academy of Ancient Music was founded; their cellars and records tell as many stories as AAM’s.
“For all the ancient shelving and smoothly hollowed f loorboards of the St. James’s Street headquarters, Berry Bros. really is one of the most original and far-sighted wine companies in the world.”
DECANTER
Tickets £160 to include a top-price concert ticket and post-concert dinner Wednesday 2 October 2019, 7.30pm | Barbican, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | barbican.org.uk for ticket information 11
Rejoice! Bojan Čičić
director & violin
Rowan Pierce soprano
David Blackadder trumpet
Clarke Mr Shore’s Trumpet Tune Handel ”Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion” from Messiah Corelli Concerto grosso in D major, Op.6 No.7 Torelli Concerto for Trumpet in D major Handel Gloria in Excelsis Deo D. Purcell “Sound The Trumpet” from The Masque of Hymen Handel “Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson Handel Concerto Grosso in G major, Op.6 No.1 Bach Cantata “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen”
Rejoice greatly! in an evening of music to stir the soul and lift the spirits. Celebrate with some of baroque’s musical masters heard here at their most irrepressibly joyful and effervescent. Rising young soprano Rowan Pierce, an AAM favourite, joins the orchestra for two sacred cantatas. Only rediscovered in 2001, Handel’s sparkling Gloria has already established itself as one of the great coloratura cantatas, showcasing the soprano voice in a sequence of dazzling, virtuosic movements. Overflowing with jubilant energy, Bach’s Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen pairs a solo soprano and trumpet in music that sets them in exuberant competition – each striving to outdo the other. Pierce is here joined by our Principal Trumpet, David Blackadder, the instrument’s finest living champion, who is also the soloist for Torelli’s high-spirited Concerto in D major. With the programme also including the thrilling Let the Bright Seraphim from Handel’s Samson and Clarke’s ever-popular Trumpet Tune, this is a concert that promises to send you home with a smile on your face and a spring in your step.
Reviews of Rowan Pierce in AAM’s 2018 Dido & Aeneas: “Rowan Pierce sounding crystalline as Belinda.”
THE GUARDIAN
“Rowan Pierce was superb … conveying vivacity, directness and integrity through … her dramatically sensitive phrasing.”
OPERA TODAY
Tuesday 22 October 2019, 7.30pm | West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 39 for ticket information
Thursday 24 October 2019, 7.30pm | Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information
Photo: Boyd Gilmour
Wednesday 11 December 2019, 8.00pm | Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles
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laphil.com/events for ticket information
Friday 13 December 2019 | First Congregational Church, Berkeley, San Francisco Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Saturday 22 February 2020, 7.30pm | Assembly Rooms, Bath bathbachfest.org.uk for ticket information
The Grange Festival Singing Competition Final
Programme Repertoire will be chosen by individual singers after selection at the semi-finals
Peter Robertson director
Photo: Kemper Edwards
The Grange Festival is pleased to announce the second Grange Festival International Singing Competition, and AAM are delighted to be working alongside them this year, following 2019’s acclaimed production of Le nozze di Figaro. Different periods of music give singers a variety of opportunities and require diverse strengths. Earlier repertoire lays great store in skills of rhetoric, declamation, improvisation and imagination, where later music focuses on legato line, colour and power. To quote the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt, “… music prior to 1800 speaks, while subsequent music paints”. The final concert will be a high-profile event taking place in London at the historic Merchant Taylors’ Hall. The repertoire will be finalised at the choice of selected singers as the final draws closer, and can incorporate anything composed up until 1830 – to no doubt include Purcell, Bach, Handel, Mozart and Beethoven, composers at the heart of the baroque and classical periods.
Thursday 31 October 2019, Merchant Taylors’ Hall, London thegrangefestival.co.uk/singing-competition for ticket information 13
Handel: Coronation Anthems Daniel Hyde
conductor
Donal McCann organ
Handel Choir of Kings College Cambridge
Coronation Anthem No.1 “Zadok the Priest” Concerto Grosso, Op.3 No.2 in B-flat Major Organ Concerto Op.4 No.4 in F Major Coronation Anthem No.2 “Let Thy Hand Be Strengthened” Coronation Anthem No.4 “My Heart is Inditing” Water Music Suite Coronation Anthem No.3 “The King Shall Rejoice” Cambridge Music Festival attracts some of the very best musicians in the world to the city every November. The festival champions music that dares to be bold and imaginative, and this year is no exception. The Academy of Ancient Music joins the Choir of King’s College Cambridge for the opening night of 2019’s Cambridge Music Festival in a glorious programme showcasing Handel’s Coronation Anthems. Conducted by Daniel Hyde, making his Cambridge Music Festival debut as Director of Music at King’s College as he takes over from Sir Stephen Cleobury, with King’s College organ scholar, Donal McCann performing Handel’s Organ Concerto Op.4 No.4.
“Daniel Hyde’s direction is notable for his attention to inner detail and clear sense of architecture.”
GRAMOPHONE
“Daniel Hyde f inds all the beauty and pain in this spellbinding sequence, an hour of listening that is both of the moment and utterly timeless.”
THE INDEPENDENT
Wednesday 6 November 2019 | King’s College Chapel cambridgemusicfestival.co.uk for ticket information 14
Viktoria Mullova Bach & Haydn Richard Egarr
director & harpsichord
Viktoria Mullova violin
James Hall
countertenor
C.P.E. Bach Symphony No.4 in A major J.S. Bach Cantata “Bekennen will ich seinen Namen” J.S. Bach Concerto for Violin No.1 in A minor J.S. Bach “Erbarme Dich, mein Gott” from St. Matthew Passion Haydn Symphony No.4 in D major Haydn “Fac me vere tecum flere” from Stabat Mater Haydn Concerto for Violin in G major
Her intelligence and artistry place Viktoria Mullova among the most exciting soloists of her generation, a violinist whose bold clarity of vision lets the music speak directly to the listener. Here, Viktoria Mullova joins us for a concert that sets the sublime against the joyful in music by Haydn, J.S. and C.P.E. Bach. The mercurial moods of C.P.E. Bach’s Symphony in A major and the good-natured warmth and earthy wit of Haydn – heard here in his Symphony No.4 and his sparkling Violin Concerto in G major – stand in contrast to the transcendent, other-worldly beauty of “Erbarme Dich” from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, in which the purity of the countertenor voice is set in dialogue with its wordless spirit-double, the violin.
“This is music like a warm breeze with an easygoing lyricism at its heart … Mullova’s bow dances across the strings with a virtuosity and panache few could match.”
EVENING STANDARD
“To hear Mullova play Bach is, simply, one of the greatest things you can experience.”
THE GUARDIAN
Wednesday 13 November 2019, 8.00pm | Großer Saal, Alte Oper, Frankfurt Viktoria Mullova - Photo: ©Henry Fair
alteoper.de for ticket information
Saturday 16 November 2019, 7.30pm | Malvern Theatres malvern-theatres.co.uk for ticket information
Monday 18 November 2019, 7.30pm | The Apex, Bury St Edmunds theapex.co.uk for ticket information
Wednesday 20 November 2019, 7.30pm | Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information
Thursday 21 November 2019, 8.15pm | SPOT Groningen, Netherlands spotgroningen.nl for ticket information 15
Eccles Semele Julian Perkins
Anna Dennis
Richard Burkhard
Helen Charlston
Aoife Miskelly
William Wallace
Ino
Athamas
Jonathan Brown
Héloïse Bernard
Christopher Foster
Iris
Somnus
Bethany HorakHallett
Jolyon Loy
Ed Ballard
director & harpsichord
Juno
Cadmus
Cupid
Rory Carver
Julian Perkins from the Academy of Ancient Music playing the harpsichord in the exhibition Vermeer and Music : The Art of Love and Leisure
2nd Priest/ 1st Augur
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Semele
Apollo
Jupiter
Chief Priest
Cambridge Handel Opera Company and Cambridge Early Music with Academy of Ancient Music present
Eccles Semele (concert performance) Libretto by William Congreve
Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Cambridge Early Music and Academy of Ancient Music join forces for the first time for a rare performance of John Eccles’s Semele. A lively retelling of the story of Jupiter’s pursuit of the Theban princess; Juno plots her downfall by persuading her to insist on seeing him in his divine form, where his thunderbolts consume her. Planned for the opening of London’s Italian opera house, Semele was never performed at the time, and the libretto is best known today from Handel’s later oratorio. Eccles’ s Semele is a dramatic and highly effective response to Congreve’s text, written in an attractive English idiom with Italianate influence. A work which deserves to be far better known, this concert is the centrepiece of a project to make the first ever professional recording of the work on period instruments to be released on AAM Records in 2020.
Tuesday 26 November 2019, 8.00pm Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge*
*Not part of the AAM Cambridge subscription series Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Handel Messiah Barnaby Smith
conductor London & Cambridge
Owen Rees
conductor Oxford
Barnaby Smith conductor VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars
Monday 2 December 2019, 7.00pm Gresham Centre, London Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Tuesday 3 December 2019, 7.30pm Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge
Conductor: Barnaby Smith, VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars voces8.com/tour for ticket information Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Handel Messiah Handel needed a change of fortune in 1740: his most recent opera had flopped, and he turned back to the world of oratorio. Messiah was his sixth of the genre, and caused great controversy by bringing a cathedral choir to join his “club of fiddlers” for the premiere; but with this work he hit gold. Handel’s epic oratorio depicting the birth, life and death of Christ and the eventual triumph of good over evil has held a special place in the Western choral concert calendar since its first performance in Dublin in 1742, and with good reason. Some of the greatest dramatic scenes ever depicted in music are related by soloists, orchestra and choir through profoundly beautiful arias and thrilling choruses, none more famous than the ‘Hallelujah!’. Join us to hear it performed on the instruments Handel intended. Messiah will be conducted by Barnaby Smith in London and Cambridge, and we’re delighted to announce our first collaboration with conductor Owen Rees and the Queen’s College Choir in Oxford. Let us sweep you through the festive season with a smile on your face and a tune or three on your lips.
5-star review of 2018’s Messiah with VCM Foundation Choirs: “With the Academy of Ancient Music providing f iery orchestral colour, this Messiah rocked along with breathtaking fervour, irst Messiah but left space for contemplation … This f of the season was a winner.” THE OBSERVER
Friday 6 December 2019 University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford Conductor: Owen Rees, Choir: The Queen’s College, Oxford Visit universitychurch.ox.ac.uk for ticket information
VOCES8 – Photo: Andy Staples
Owen Rees conductor Queen’s College Choir, Oxford
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J.S. BACHOrchestral Suites
AAM Records, the in-house record label of the Academy of Ancient Music, releases recordings which showcase the very best of AAM. You can learn more about these as well as our rich back catalogue of over 300 recordings on other labels at aam.co.uk/recordings
Editor’s Choice, GRAMOPHONE AAM003
HANDEL Brockes-Passion
“Exuberant and full of vitality.” BBC Radio 3 “a feast of meaningfully understated musicianship. I loved it.”
J.S. BACH St. John Passion (1724 version)
With an all-star cast including James Gilchrist as Evangelist and Matthew Rose as Jesus.
£40 (3 CD, deluxe package)
DARIO CASTELLO
AAM002
AAM007
300th anniversary recording from our new edition of the score, new for 2019. “A gruesomely graphic work to break Bach’s monopoly” THE FINACIAL TIMES
Sonate Concertate In Stil Moderno, Libro Primo
BIRTH OF THE SYMPHONY:
AAM001
AAM005
“AAM’s performances gave virtually unalloyed pleasure” GRAMOPHONE “A striking success” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
£12
18
£25 (3 CD)
£12
ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC at
“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)
Handel to Haydn
“A joy for ear and spirit” GRAMOPHONE “This is a gem of a CD” THE STRAD
J.S. BACH St. Matthew Passion
£20 (2 CD)
40
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)
Brockes-Passion CD Feature
Over the last two years, AAM has worked closely with scholars and musicologists around the world to set down this staggering new edition. It reinstates the first 63 “missing” bars, brings in additional instruments, and showcases choruses and other numbers omitted from other editions. Our exploration has taken in 15 sources from 11 collections, in nine cities across five countries. The accompanying CD booklet acts as a comprehensive guide to Handel’s Brockes-Passion, including: a complete guide to all known recordings of the work; detailed notes and commentary from Handel scholars; the first modern publication of the original Kurrentschrift text from the manuscript score, alongside modern German and AAM’s new translation; and for the very first time, the music in Charles Jennens’ 18th-century partial English translation in the appendices. The booklet also includes striking artwork created by contemporary visual artist Emma Safe, our Hogwood Fellow for 2019-20. These images were produced whilst Emma listened to our Good Friday performance, one of which takes pride of place as the CD cover art. This 3-CD deluxe package is released in October 2019. For more information on the project, as well as to purchase your recording, visit: aam.co.uk
“A gruesomely graphic work to break Bach’s monopoly.” THE FINANCIAL TIMES Price £40 (3CD, deluxe package)
Artists:
Richard Egarr director & harpsichord Elizabeth Watts Daughter of Zion Robert Murray Evangelist Cody Quattlebaum Christus Gwilym Bowen Peter
Tim Mead Judas Ruby Hughes Faithful Soul Nicky Spence Faithful Soul Rachael Lloyd Mary / Faithful Soul Morgan Pearse Pilate Choir of the Academy of Ancient Music 19
AAM Strategic Recording Fund The Academy of Ancient Music is listened to more than any other similar ensemble online, and our recordings reach millions of people every year through both this medium and radio broadcasts. Streaming data shows that our music is being listened to as far afield as Mexico, Montreal, Tokyo and Taipei. It is important that we engage strongly and swiftly with AAM’s new listeners that streaming services bring. This is why, in September 2017, we launched the Strategic Recording Fund. This Fund gives AAM the financial and artistic flexibility it needs to make fast, artistic-led decisions to record anything from just a single movement or aria to full works; to create first-rate materials to support our creative learning programme; to respond quickly to artistic priorities and demand for new recordings; and to adapt effectively to a changing marketplace in the consumption of music online.
Support for this Fund will make a huge difference to AAM’s artistic output and will help AAM secure itself as an authority in the performance and understanding of baroque and classical music. If you would like to donate to the Strategic Recording Fund, or to find out more information about it, please contact support@aam.co.uk
Featuring on:
4,530,746 fans (28m listens) 20
Soprano Mary Bevan during filming. Photo: Alexander Van Ingen
The munificent generosity of our supporters in response to this Fund enabled us to record a range of short educational and promotional videos throughout last season, as well as make an audio recording of our highly successful Mortal Voices tour with Keri Fuge and Tim Mead in spring 2018.
Sacred Cantatas: Bach & the Divine Masato Suzuki
harpsichord & organ
Benjamin Appl baritone
Leo Duarte oboe
“… the current front-runner in the new generation of Lieder singers.” GRAMOPHONE
Bach Cantatas including: Schwingt freudig euch empor, Ich steh mit einem Fuß im Grabe, Ich habe genug, Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Christ lag in Todes Banden, Er is mein Licht, mein Leben, Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, Sehet, wir gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis Together with Bach orchestral works.
“He had the exacting attention to text of an actor, the charisma of a seasoned storyteller.” NEW YORK Benjamin Appl joins the Academy of Ancient Music under Masato Suzuki to create an evening that’s both a musical self-portrait of and a deeply moving homage to this most timeless of all composers.
Benjamin Appl – Photo: Lars Borges / Sony Classical
Benjamin Appl is already one of the most exciting lieder-singers of his generation, but here he gets back to Bach in a very personal recital that’s just as thoughtful and intimate as any lieder recital.
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“Bach belongs not to the past, but to the future,” said George Bernard Shaw, and it’s only in the era of modern recordings, perhaps, that we’ve been able to grasp the full scope and richness of Bach’s 200-plus cantatas. Tonight’s programme ranges from extracts from the iconic St. Matthew Passion to some of Bach’s least known but loveliest cantatas.
Wednesday 15 January 2020, 7.30pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 39 for ticket information
Sunday 19 January 2020, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information 21
Jean Rondeau plays Bach Jean Rondeau director & harpsichord
Programme to include Bach Keyboard Concertos alongside sparkling, energetic works from Jean Rondeau’s homeland of France.
Flamboyant, fun but always thoughtful and sensitive to the music, Jean Rondeau has blazed a trail for the harpsichord, opening the eyes of the world to its technicolour possibilities. Described by the Washington Post as “one of the most natural performers one is likely to hear on a classical music stage these days”, Rondeau has mastered a combination of baroque discipline and jazzinfluenced liberation that makes for enthralling performances that stop you in your tracks. Rondeau has said that Bach’s music “is so full of humility, so generous, that we have the right and the duty to play it, to share it, and to take the hand that he extends to us.” With his fleet fingers and natural abilities as a communicator, he brings a spirit and relaxed eloquence to his performances that put us in touch with the inherent beauty of Bach’s music. The London concert also offers the opportunity to explore the wines of Burgundy alongside the music of Bach; see opposite for more details.
“Rondeau has developed an af finity for [the harpsichord] and a comfort in its presence that allow him to see in it its possibilities rather than its limitations.”
GRAMOPHONE
“Not only is the trajectory utterly sure-footed; he can also generate palpable excitement without resorting to empty bravado … Rondeau is a natural communicator.” jean Rondeau – Photo: Edouard Bressy
BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
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Thursday 20 February 2020, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information Also with accompanying wine tasting and dinner: see opposite
Sunday 23 February, 7.00pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 39 for ticket information
Bach & Burgundy Stannary St. Wine Co. Jason Haynes
Director & Burgundy Buyer
Burgundy – perhaps the most fascinating and intriguing wine-producing region of France. Just two grape varieties, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, suggest simplicity, yet the multitude of expressions created by location, small local micro-climates, methods of viniculture and more lead to wines that can be astonishingly complicated and amongst the most sought-after in the world. Pinot Noir – hauntingly perfumed, silky, complex – creates some of the most sublime wines known to man, and we explore this king of grapes alongside one of the greatest composers to have lived: J.S. Bach. Bach’s exceptional composition, and in particular his notable skills as a fuguewriter, pay homage to the creation of great Burgundy. Both begin with simple ingredients and a straightforward set of rules – for growing and cultivating, for harmony and counterpoint – yet the mastery of Bach and skill of the top wine-makers can produce something far above the ordinary. Led by “Mr. Burgundy” Jason Haynes of Stannary St. Wines (Burgundy experts, winning IWC’s Burgundy Specialist of the Year), and one of today’s leading Bach interpreters, harpsichordist Jean Rondeau, we’ll sample four wines before our concert, and a further four over dinner afterwards in the company of performers. Great Burgundy, like Bach’s music, has a serious structure, complex interplay of melody and harmony, and once created continues to evolve as we explore it for years to come.
“… one of the most exciting burgundy dealers around.”
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Tickets £150 to include a top-price concert ticket and post-concert dinner Wednesday 20 November 2019, 7.30pm | Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | barbican.org.uk for ticket information 23
Handel’s Heroines Laurence Cummings
Handel
Mary Bevan
director, harpsichord & organ
Jennifer France
soprano
soprano
Thursday 12 March 2020, 7.30pm | West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 39 for ticket information
Thursday 19 March 2020, 7.30pm | Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information
Saturday 21 March 2020, 7.30pm| Malvern Theatres Visit malvern-theatres.co.uk for ticket information
Chad Kelly
director, harpsichord & organ
Soraya Mafi soprano
Friday 22 May 2020 | Auditorio del Hospital de Santiago, Úbeda, Spain Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
“Laurence Cummings’s conducting is witty and compassionate.”
THE GUARDIAN
Mary Bevan – Photo: Victoria Cadisch
“One of his generation’s leading baroque-era specialists, at home in both opera house and concert hall.”
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STAR TRIBUNE
Solomon: The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Will the sun forget to streak, Bless’d the Day Ariodante: Volate, amori, Suite of dances (including “Entrée des Songes funestes”) Teseo: Dolce riposo ed inoccente pace, M’adora l’idol mio, gode il mio core Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno: Lasica la spina cogli la rosa, Overture Semele: O Ecstasy of Happiness & Myself I shall adore, O Sleep, why dost thou Leave Me Together with Handel pieces from Rinaldo, Acis & Galatea, Apollo & Daphne, Serse; and Handel orchestral works Few composers faced feistier sopranos than Handel, nor wrote for them with such love and understanding, celebrating their voices in some of the most dazzling operatic arias ever written. From Handel’s exhilarating Arrival of the Queen of Sheba to the meltingly lovely “Lascia la spina” and Semele’s outrageous display of virtuosity, “Myself I shall adore”, this is a concert of high-wire musical thrills and heart-stopping emotions. Celebrated Handelian Laurence Cummings brings his unmistakable flair and zest to a programme that roams through the composer’s best-loved operas and oratorios, including Serse, Ariodante, Rinaldo, Semele, setting their finest arias and duets alongside some of the composer’s characterful works for orchestra. Bringing glittering coloratura brilliance and lyrical ease to Handel’s melodies, sopranos Mary Bevan and Jennifer France join Cummings for what promises to be several joyous evenings of music-making. Likewise, led by the revered Chad Kelly in Úbeda, our performance with the radiant soprano Soraya Mafi will assuredly leave concertgoers feeling enlivened and inspired.
Alison Balsom: Sound the Trumpet Chad Kelly
director & harpsichord
Alison Balsom trumpet
Soraya Mafi soprano
Above it all soars that music, played with exquisite eloquence.”
FINANCIAL TIMES “Balsom is simply divine.” SUNDAY TELEGRAPH “She is an astonishing virtuosa.” THE TIMES
D. Purcell “Sound The Trumpet” from The Masque of Hymen B. Galuppi Alla tromba della fama Handel
Concerto Grosso Op.1 No.1 in G Major ‘’Eternal source of light divine” from Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne Oboe Concerto in B-flat Major (arr. for trumpet)
Venturini Sonata Grosso Op.1 No.9 in G minor H. Purcell “Sound the Trumpet” from Come Ye Sons of Art Torelli Trumpet Concerto in D Major Handel Concerto Grosso No.6 in D, Op.3 ‘’Let the Bright Seraphim” from Samson
J.S. Bach Cantata “Jauchet Gott in allen Landen”
Alison Balsom – Photo: Jason Joyce
Sound the Trumpet! Join the AAM for an evening of irresistible baroque mastery with celebrated trumpet soloist Alison Balsom. As one of the most highly regarded trumpeters and classical musicians of a generation, Alison has spent the last decade performing in some of the world’s most prestigious venues, collecting a number of illustrious awards en route. Alison will be joined by duo partner – director, harpsichordist and organist Chad Kelly, a formidable continuo player and director in the world of historically informed performance. Alongside them will be the sparkling Soraya Mafi; with her crystalline tone and effortless ability to reach spine-tinglingly high notes – Handel’s “Let the Bright Seraphim” is sure to be a highlight. With the ethereal beauty of Handel’s “Eternal Source of Light Divine” and Torelli’s joyous Concert for Trumpet in D Major, this concert will undoubtedly leave you feeling enlivened and inspired.
Saturday 14 March, 7.30pm | Leeds Town Hall Free pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with George Kennaway. Visit leedstownhall.co.uk for ticket information 25
AAM’s Legacy Giving
Photo: Bibi Basch
Dame Emma Kirkby “I was so lucky to sing over many years with Christopher Hogwood and his Academy of Ancient Music. Christopher based his work on sound scholarship and was all his life a generous educator. He also looked to AAM’s future, choosing his successors carefully, so that the orchestra remains in excellent hands. When Christopher died in 2014, a grievous loss to us all, his final gift was a generous legacy to AAM. Under Richard Egarr the orchestra and choir continue to flourish, bringing joy and inspiration to new audiences, and especially to young players, singers and listeners through the educational initiative, AAMplify. I salute Christopher for his care and foresight, and also AAM’s loyal Friends who have been with us throughout: thank you for all you have done up to now, and especially for any future bequests!”
Frances Hogwood “I am honoured to support AAM’s Legacy campaign. [My brother] Christopher was able to make such a difference to the musical world, and so much of the way we perform and listen to music now is his legacy to us. He left his beloved orchestra a generous legacy too, that they may continue to flourish and build on his achievements; and I hope that many of us might consider a similar gift in support of this wonderful group to ensure that this powerful, passionate music lives on, changing lives for future generations too.“ 24 26
Remembering AAM in your Will The Academy of Ancient Music is committed to bringing more early music experiences to more people every year, and we are determined to preserve our music and music-making so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come. Our music moves audiences now just as it did when first written, and the commitment and generosity of our supporters ensure it continues to be powerful and immediate for audiences of the future. If AAM has enriched your life by performing music that you love, please consider remembering AAM in your Will; help us to pass on our extraordinary treasure house of early music to the next generation. There may also be tax benefits* for your estate should you wish to leave a percentage of your estate to charity. Gifts that are left to the Academy of Ancient Music in Wills are one of the most important ways you can support our work. Joining our Legacy Circle will bring you into AAM’s unique and convivial supporting community, and you will be invited to an annual lunch as a thank you for your generosity, so that we can keep you updated with AAM’s work. Your gift today is supporting AAM’s artistic activities of tomorrow. If you would like to find out more about AAM’s Legacy Circle, please contact us on: support@aam.co.uk. Leaving a gift to AAM and other charities that enrich your life will sustain our work for generations to come. Every gift in every Will makes a difference – however large or small. * as every individual situation is different, we recommend taking professional advice when assessing potential tax benefits.
Corporate Support Corporate Sponsors The Academy of Ancient Music is able to offer bespoke sponsorship packages for individual concerts and tours, both in the UK and internationally, and for major recording and education projects. Every partnership is tailored to the sponsor’s specific requirements, with branding, marketing and entertainment opportunities alongside the chance to interact with the artists. Our tailored packages range from £5,000 for a concert in London through £25,000 for a globally released recording to £50,000 for supporting an international tour to Japan or the USA – and everything in between. To discuss forthcoming sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at: support@aam.co.uk or 01223 341097.
We also offer corporate partnerships in our resident cities of Cambridge and London, giving companies the chance to be associated with the UK’s foremost period instrument orchestra, to network with other corporate partners and our major individual donors, and, above all, to attend some outstanding concerts and musical events in both cities. A dedicated member of AAM staff will facilitate your partnership with the orchestra, and will be on hand at all receptions and concerts you attend. Our Corporate Partners scheme is available from £2,000 a year. For full details, contact us on: support@aam.co.uk, or 01223 341097.
Richard Egarr and Mary Bevan during filming. Photo: Alexander Van Ingen
Corporate Partners
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Education & Outreach The Academy of Ancient Music’s Education & Outreach activity takes many forms, from introducing toddlers and primary school children to music and its historical context through to work with conservatoire students and high-level academic research and musicological studies. AAM is currently working with partners on new performing editions of unpublished and unavailable works by Dussek and Schmidt, amongst others; and continues to work with the University of Cambridge in the context of our residency there. This year, we’re proud to continue our partnership with the University of Oxford, jointly working on doctoral studies centred around Beethoven and his contemporaries, in addition to undertaking practical training with students. AAMplify, AAM’s Participation & Learning programme, provides high quality music-making opportunities strategically linked with our concert programmes and performance activity: workshops and sit-in rehearsals for school children; discovery activities and inter-disciplinary work at the Fitzwilliam Museum and elsewhere; composing and performance alongside AAM; research and participatory music-making with Addenbrookes Hospital; and masterclasses and side-by-side training for students at music colleges in Manchester, Cardiff and London. Actively building partnerships across the country, our wide-ranging AAMplify programme is developing new ways to work creatively, engaging people of all ages in baroque and classical music. To find out more contact us on info@aam.co.uk or call 01223 301509. Under 26 or a full-time student? You can get £5 AAMplify tickets for all performances in AAM’s London and Cambridge seasons (listed on pages 38-39) by providing proof of age or a valid NUS card on collection at the box office. AAMplify tickets are only available for collection in person at the box office. “A Young Known Voice, a new choral work by Hannah Conway involving London schoolchildren … Skilfully constructed with material created in workshops, it layered anthemic unisons for the children, scraps of Handel for the Academy of Ancient Music Choir … disarmingly powerful narrations from teenage readers.” THE GUARDIAN “My two year-old got a chance to listen to some amazing musicians so close up and with such a personal connection.” Participant in Baby Music Magic at Fitzwilliam Museum 28
Bach: St. John Passion Matthew Martin
The Choir of Keble College
Daniel Hyde
The Choir of King’s College
William Vann
Chapel Choir of Royal Hospital Chelsea
conductor Keble College
conductor King’s College
conductor Cadogan
“Haste, ye deeply wounded spirits …” J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion is an intensely personal experience, bringing to life the humanity of the passion story. For these performances, we’re delighted to be collaborating with several illustrious conductors and celebrated choirs.
Bach St. John Passion Matthew Martin conductor The Choir of Keble College An award-winning composer and Director of Music at Keble College, Matthew Martin is recognised internationally for his dynamic style of composition – needless to say, we anticipate an electric performance that’s not to be missed. We’re also delighted to announce our collaboration with Matthew and The Choir of Keble College for this season, uniting for the first performance and recording of the Missa Regalis (1740) by Francisco Valls (1665/71-1747); to be released in 2020.
Saturday 29 February | Keble College, Oxford For ticket information visit keble.ox.ac.uk
Daniel Hyde conductor The Choir of King’s College Daniel Hyde is a versatile musician: a conductor of orchestras and choirs, a worldclass organist and a broad-minded academic; now in the prestigious role of Director of Music at King’s College, Cambridge, succeeding the recently honoured Sir Stephen Cleobury. Daniel will conduct the Choir of King’s College; one of today’s most accomplished and renowned choral groups.
Tuesday 7 April, 7.30pm | King’s College Chapel, Cambridge For ticket information visit kings.cam.ac.uk
William Vann conductor Chapel Choir of Royal Hospital Chelsea Known for his deft pianism, William Vann is a multiple prize-winning conductor and accompanist, and performs with a host of major singers and instrumentalists across the world. Founder and Artistic Director of the London English Song Festival, William will be joined by the Chapel Choir of Royal Hospital Chelsea – one of the finest professional church choirs in the UK – for this performance at London’s Cadogan Hall.
Thursday 9 April, 7.00pm | Cadogan Hall, London For ticket information visit cadoganhall.com
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Glories of Venice: Castello and Monteverdi Richard Egarr
director & harpsichord
Lucie Chartin soprano
Programme to include a selection of works by Monteverdi, alongside those from his fellow Venetian composer Castello, including from his Sonate Concertate In Stil Moderno, Libro Secondo The Academy of Ancient Music returns to a revolutionary period of Italian music with the Second Book of Sonatas by Venetian man of mystery, Dario Castello. Working at the same time as Claudio Monteverdi, Dario Castello wrote innovative and ground-breaking sonatas that had a profound effect on generations of Italian composers. But next to Monteverdi, Catello enjoys a more modest reputation. Indeed, there is some question around whether he existed at all or whether the name is an anagram of that of the real composer of his music. AAM Music Director Richard Egarr is a lifelong advocate of Castello, and following his critically acclaimed performances and recording of the First Book of Sonatas in 2016, he directs members of AAM in this Second Book of fiercely virtuosic, adventurous and expressive sonatas that are full of imagination and colour; alongside some of Monteverdi’s most impassioned music for ensemble and soprano. Both London and Cambridge concerts offer the opportunity to explore the wines of the north-eastern region of Italy; discovering some long forgotten grape varieties in what was once Castello’s home. See opposite for more details.
Reviews of our 2016 Castello recording: “A joy for ear and spirit.” “This is a gem of a CD.”
GRAMOPHONE THE STRAD
Wednesday 22 April 2020, 7.30pm | Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information Also with accompanying wine tasting: see opposite
Thursday 23 April 2020, 7.30pm | West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 39 for ticket information Also with accompanying wine tasting: see opposite 30
Castello & Venice: Forgotten Grapes & A Forgotten Composer with Bat & Bottle Ben Robson Director
“Italy boasts perhaps the world’s richest variety of individual wine styles, distinctive terroirs, and indigenous grape varieties … Her wines have a vivacity, originality, savour and flair all of their own …” to quote Jancis Robinson and Hugo Johnson. Alongside the music of Dario Castello – long-forgotten Venetian composer, highly popular in his day and overdue a renaissance now – we explore some similarly forgotten Italian grape varieties from the same north-eastern region of Italy as Castello’s home. In the company of Italian wine expert Ben Robson from Bat & Bottle, we will indulge in white, red, and sparkling wine from the regions around Venice in a pre-concert and interval tasting. The Academy of Ancient Music aims to make the first complete recording of Castello’s sonatas in 2020 and so bring them to a new, modern audience; and Ben Robson believes just as passionately in introducing contemporary palettes to some of Italy’s finest native grapes. From Rossanel (on the verge of extinction) to Erbaluce di Caluso (perhaps Piemonte’s finest white varietal) via Cividin, Schioppettino and more, this promises an evening of musical and vineous discovery – both in London and in Cambridge. “Whether from Italy, Spain or Portugal … We have developed a taste for wines made by men and women who cherish the history and traditions of their hills and valleys.”
BEN & EMMA ROBSON
Concert and tasting with Italian specialists Bat & Bottle Tickets £75 to include a top-price concert ticket Wednesday 22 April 2020, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London barbican.org.uk for ticket information
Thursday 23 April 2020, 7.30pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information 31
Music for Royal Occasions Sofi Jeannin director
BBC Singers
The BBC Singers and their Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin are joined by the Academy of Ancient Music – the orchestra at the heart of Her Majesty The Queen’s Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012 – exploring music from the pomp and splendour of Handel’s ceremonial writing to the solemnity of Purcell’s funeral music. The mood of great state occasions has always been punctuated by the music of great composers of the time – the relationship between crown and favoured composers informing our understanding of history. Under the leadership of BBC Singers’ Chief Conductor Sofi Jeannin, this promises to be a stately and opulent occasion; where concertgoers are invited to explore the splendour of Handel and solemnity of Purcell.
Reviews of our 2018 collaboration with BBC Singers: “The unf lappable Jeannin brought buoyancy … while the blended choral sound had a glorious sheen.”
Sofi Jeannin in Japan - Photo: K.Miura
THE TIMES
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“Sofi Jeannin staged an intoxicating and memorable cultural and artistic fusion with subtle presence and aplomb, and the BBC Singers and the Academy of Ancient Music were resourceful, powerful and delicate.”
CLASSICAL SOURCE
Friday 8 May 2020, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London Free pre-concert talk at 6.30pm | page 38 for ticket information
Sunday 10 May 2020, 7.00pm Audley End House, Saffron Walden Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Musick for a While Bojan Čičić
director & violin
James Hall
countertenor
“Music for a while, shall all your cares beguile …”
Leo Duarte oboe
Hayes Trio Sonata in F Major Purcell “Music for a While” from Oedipus Gallo (misattrib. Pergolesi) Trio Sonata No.1 in G Major Purcell “O solitude, my sweetest choice!” Telemann Trio Sonata in F Major A. Amalia Sonata in F Major Handel “Ombra mai fu” from Serse Telemann Trio Sonata in D minor Stölzel Trio Sonata in C minor C.P.E. Bach Sonata in D minor
Among one of Henry Purcell’s most popular and best remembered pieces; “Music for a While” is arresting, compelling and enduring. He turns to a mainstay of the baroque era: basso ostinato or “stubborn bass,” what he called a ground, which reverberates through the aria. Truly, his treatment of this sorrowful piece was masterful; set to be a standout highlight of the evening. AAM Leader Bojan Čičić and Principal Oboe Leo Duarte will be joined by scintillating countertenor James Hall, fresh from his recent Glyndebourne debut. Praised for his poised stillness and light, clean tone, concertgoers will be treated by his playful dexterity throughout this varied repertoire. Other programme highlights include Anna Amalia’s Sonata in F Major. A student of Johann Philipp Kirnberger – who was an important student of J.S. Bach – you can undoubtedly hear Bach’s influence in her work. She is credited with helping to preserve and revive the music of J.S. Bach; but unfortunately, very few of her own works survive – partially due to her own destruction of many of her works from self-imposed perfectionism.
“The young countertenor James Hall sang throughout with great beauty of tone and a commitment to word and line which bodes well for his career, and I look forward to hearing him in many other roles.”
ROBERT HUGILL
“James Hall, a voice of velvet power that had projection but with easy, almost laid-back charm and purity of tone …”
CATHOLIC HERALD
Friday 3 July, 7.30pm | Champs Hill, West Sussex Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Monday 6 July, 8.00pm | Upper Library, Christ Church, Oxford Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information 33
Monteverdi Ulisse Robert Howarth director & harpsichord
Polly Graham director
Monteverdi Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Tom Randle
tenor / Ulisse
“Tom Randle’s Ulysses is a masterpiece of intelligent acting and focused singing.”
THE STAGE
“Tenor soloist Tom Randle created a sense of urgency with his powerful and beautiful voice.”
OREGON MUSIC NEWS
“I’m delighted to be collaborating with conductor Robert Howarth on The Return of Ulysses Monteverdi’s beautiful, compassionate drama of homecoming.”
POLLY GRAHAM
Longborough’s Artistic Director Polly Graham makes her directing debut at the festival with Monteverdi’s lI ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. First performed in Venice in 1640, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria marked Monteverdi’s return to the stage after an absence of more than three decades – at a turning point in musical history. The first great musical dramatist, Monteverdi explores the meaning of a text, realising its significance in sound. Epic, magisterial; fuelled by timeless themes of love and war - this score remains a thing to be marvelled at. With Tom Randle playing the titular role, an internationally recognised tenor known for his strength and ardency as a performer, this promises to be an evening to remember. Longborough Festival Opera is nestled in the heart of the Cotswolds. Its intimate auditorium allows you to experience the drama and emotion on the stage on an almost personal level, making for a memorable performance.
Tuesday 14 July, Thursday 16 July, Saturday 18 July, Sunday 19 July, Tuesday 21 July, 5.00pm Longborough Festival Opera, Moreton-in-Marsh lfo.org.uk for ticket information
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Bach Mass in B Minor:
Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Barnaby Smith
VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars
conductor
“The singing of VOCES8 is impeccable in its quality of tone and balance. They bring a new dimension to the word ‘ensemble’ with meticulous timing and tuning.”
GRAMOPHONE
“VOCES8 are undoubtedly gifted.”
THE TIMES
“All conducted with infectious energy by Barnaby Smith.”
THE OBSERVER
Bach Mass in B Minor
The AAM are thrilled to reveal that for our 2019-20 season, we will be Orchestra in Residence for the Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival. We’re also delighted to announce inaugural AAM Baroque Summer School, set to explore a variety of baroque and classical works – more information can be found overleaf (page 37). Listening to Bach’s Mass in B minor, one could have the impression of a culmination of his life’s work – a choral equivalent of The Art of Fugue. Monumental in conception and thrilling in execution, this work was unsurpassed in grandeur and profundity in the mid 1700s, the soundscape combining huge complexity with incredible beauty, enchanting solo writing, glorious celebratory choruses and trumpetfestooned splendour. Composed – or perhaps assembled – the year before his death, this is an enigmatic work which Bach himself may never have heard in a single sitting. The choruses and solo arias cover the full range of baroque vocal expression and make this one of the most joyful musical experiences in the repertoire. From the mighty opening “Kyrie” and brilliantly unfurling fugue through to the angelic “Sanctus”, this work of many contrasting moods and styles is the ultimate example of Bach’s unrivalled talent and ability to articulate his religious faith through music. For this performance, we will be joined by the spectacular VOCES8; as conducted by Barnaby Smith.
Wednesday 29 July | Milton Abbey, Dorset Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information 35
Handel Israel In Egypt:
Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Barnaby Smith
VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars Milton Abbey International Music Festival Chorus
conductor
“[VOCES8] more than put their stamp on the festival … led by Barnaby Smith, a musical general who spearheaded all the musical endeavours and thus ensured quality in a class of its own… Jubilation and standing ovations at the close.”
KULTUR
Gala Festival performance of
Handel Israel in Egypt (Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival)
For our second performance as Orchestra in Residence for the Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival, we’re delighted to once again be joined by the sensational VOCES8 and VOCES8 Scholars; alongside the Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Chorus. AAM presents the oratorio by Handel that best conveys the composer’s gift for theatrical effect, dramatic grandeur and poignant contemplation. His threepart Israel in Egypt from 1739 charts the biblical Lamentation of the Israelites, their subsequent escape from captivity through the parted Red Sea and the triumphant celebration of their new-found freedom. Via a divided choir and large orchestra complete with trumpets, trombones and drums, Handel depicts the frogs, flies and hailstones that confront the Israelites before conjuring an electrifying climax with the resplendent C major hymn of praise, “Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously”. The range and variety of Handel’s writing in Israel in Egypt is unprecedented and staggering.
“Versatile is certainly the word for VOCES8. The award-winning a capella octet has a repertoire that stretches from early English choral pieces to jazz standards and recent pop tunes. But above all, it is the on-stage presence, character and connection with the audience that has made it so successful.” Photo: VOCES8
THE TELEGRAPH
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Saturday 1 August | Milton Abbey, Dorset Visit aam.co.uk for ticket information
Academy of Ancient Music: Baroque Summer School Monday 27 July – Saturday 1 August, Milton Abbey, Dorset The first Academy of Ancient Music Baroque Summer School – for amateur adult players and music students – will explore the works of Bach and Handel, alongside others. Together, we will work on a range of music and baroque performance techniques, with instrumental coaching and workshops alongside collaborations with the participants of the VOCES8 Choral Course running at the same time. One-to-a-part chamber music sessions, instrumental sectionals, chamber ensembles and orchestral rehearsals will be combined with talks and demonstrations from AAM’s Principal players, and tickets included to the evening concerts of the Milton Abbey International festival. The final concert will be an opportunity to perform Handel’s Israel in Egypt side-by-side, seated with AAM’s specialist period-instrument players. Applications are invited from confident players of gut-string baroque instruments (with baroque bows), recorder, flute, oboe, bassoon, lute family, baroque trumpet and trombone, and harpsichord / organ, all at A=415. No previous experience of Baroque performance is necessary, though continuo players should have good knowledge of figured bass. Residential fee covers tuition, full board, and free entry to concerts. A limited number of student bursaries are available. Please apply as early as possible, as places are limited. We will acknowledge your application, and will formally accept in April 2020, when we hope to have a workable balance of instruments. For more information, visit aam.co.uk/summerschool.
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LONDON multibuy series Beethoven & Dussek Wednesday 2 October 2019
Barbican | Tickets £15-50
Top price ticket including wine tasting and dinner: £160* *Multibuy ticket holders can upgrade for £110
Rejoice! Thursday 24 October 2019 Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35
Multibuy
Concessions
Buy tickets for five or more AAM performances in the 2019-20 multibuy series listed above and receive a 15% discount. The discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer and will not apply to 19 January and 8 May, however these concerts will still count towards your multibuy total – book five concerts including these dates, and you will save 15% on six concerts.
Viktoria Mullova Wednesday 20 November 2019 Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35 Sacred Cantatas: Bach and the Divine Sunday 19 January
Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-41
Fann Street < Golden Lane > Beech Street < Silk Street Entrance >
BARBICAN CENTRE
Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35
Handel’s Heroines Thursday 19 March 2020,
< Bunhill Row
Whitecross Street >
Chiswell Street <
Barbican
Jean Rondeau plays Bach Thursday 20 February 2020 Top price ticket including wine tasting and dinner: £150* *Multibuy ticket holders can upgrade for £115
Under 26 or a full-time student? You can get £5 AAMplify ticketsfor all AAM Barbican performances by providing proof of age or a valid NUS card on collection at the box office. AAMplify tickets are only available for collection in person at the box office.
MILTON COURT
< Finsbury Street < Ropemaker Street
Silk Street >
Liverpool Street >
Moorfields > Moor Lane >
Aldersgate Street >
< Fore Street Wood Street >
South Place > New Union Street >
< Finsbury Circus
Moorgate
Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35
Glories of Venice Wednesday 22 April 2020
< Milton Street
London Wall >
Bank <
Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35 Top price ticket including wine tasting: £75* *Multibuy ticket holders can upgrade for £40
Music for Royal Occasions Friday 8 May 2020 Milton Court Concert Hall | Tickets £15-35
How to book
Online at barbican.org.uk (£3 booking fee per transaction) By telephone 020 7638 8891 (£4 booking fee per transaction) Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm; Sunday and bank holidays 11am-8pm In person at Barbican Advance Box Office Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm; Sunday and bank holidays 11am-8pm 38
Barbican Hall, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS Milton Court Concert Hall, Silk Street, London EC2Y 9BH The main entrance at Silk Street is ramped and lifts give access to all levels. Both the Barbican Hall and Milton Court have seating for wheelchair users. Please inform the Box Office of any access requirements on booking. An induction loop is provided in the Barbican Hall. Visitors with hearing aids can make use of this facility by switching their hearing aid to the “T” position. An Access Guide with full details is available at barbican.org.uk/access or from the Barbican box office. Visitors with access requirements who have joined the Barbican Access Membership scheme can provide information about their requirements, receive information in alternative formats and may be eligible for reductions on tickets. Any available discounted tickets are limited in number and subject to availability – please book early to avoid disappointment.
CAMBRIDGE subscription series Rejoice!
Tuesday 22 October 2019, West Road Concert Hall
Messiah
Tuesday 3 December 2019, Trinity College Chapel
*not part of Cambridge Subscription Series. Tickets can be added to your subscription with 20% discount rate.
Concessions
Subscriptions
Under 26 or a full-time student? You can get £5 AAMplify tickets for all AAM performances by providing proof of age or a valid NUS card on collection at the box office. AAMplify tickets are only available for collection in person at the box office.
Buy tickets to all five AAM concerts listed left and save 20%. Subscription booking opens on Tuesday 11 June and closes on Friday 19 October 2019. We advise you to book early to ensure you get the same seat for every concert at West Road Concert Hall. Please note seating at Trinity College Chapel is arranged in price bands but the actual seats are unreserved, therefore we suggest you arrive early.
There are a limited number of concessionary rate tickets available to over 65s for all concerts at West Road Concert Hall. The discounted rate is £2 off full-price tickets.
A10, A14 (W) >
Sacred Cantatas
< M11 Jct 13
Wednesday 15 January 2020, West Road Concert Hall
Victoria Avenue >
Magdalene St >
Jean Rondeau plays Bach
Midsummer Common
Jesus Lane
< Bridge St
Maids Causeway
Sunday 23 February 2020, West Road Concert Hall TRINITY COLLEGE CHAPEL
Handel’s Heroines
Thursday 12 March 2020, West Road Concert Hall
Queen’s Road >
Glories of Venice
West Road
Thursday 23 April 2020, West Road Concert Hall
WEST RD CONCERT HALL
Top price ticket including wine tasting: £75* *Cambridge Subscribers can upgrade for £40
Trinity St > King’s Parade >
Grange Road >
Silver St
< Sidney St BOX OFFICE
Drummer St >
Benet St
Wheeler St Lion Yard < St Andrew’s St Corn Car Park Exchange Downing St > St
Pembroke St Regent St >
Sidgwick Site Sidgwick Avenue
Tickets £16, £28, £35
Christ’s Pieces
< Parkside
Parker’s Piece
< Trumpington St
Newnham Rd >
< M11 Jct 12
Lensfield Rd < Hills Road Fen Causeway
How to book
Online at cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/tickets
Barton Road
< Trumpington Rd
A1134 to M11 Jct 11 >
By telephone 01223 357851 Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm
West Road Concert Hall, West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP
In person at the Cambridge Live Tickets box office, Wheeler Street, Cambridge CB2 3QB Monday to Friday 12-6pm; Saturday 10am-6pm
Trinity College Chapel, Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TQ
Cambridge Railway Station >
Information about accessing the concert hall including disabled parking is available from westroad.org/visit/access Information about accessing the Chapel is available from trinitycollegechapel.com/about/information-visitors 39
Get involved: @AAMorchestra academyofancientmusic @aamorchestra Watch season trailers: acadofancientmusic
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 Orchestra-in-Residence at the Apex, Bury St Edmunds Orchestra-in-Residence for VOCES8 Milton Abbey International Summer Music Festival Associate Ensemble at Music at Oxford Partner: Culture Mile Network Music Director: Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow: Emma Safe Founder: Christopher Hogwood CBE 11b Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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
Design by Apropos Cover Photo: Patrick Allen
Full programme details at aam.co.uk