Genius J.S. Bach, E. Elgar & G. Enescu
Southwark International Music Festival presents: Mellos Ensemble
SANDS FILMS MUSIC ROOM
Friday 19th November 7pm In-person & streamed online
Programme J. S. Bach Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins BWV 1043 Vivace; Largo, ma non tanto; Allegro E. Elgar Serenade for Strings in E Minor Op.20 Allegro piacevole; Larghetto; Allegretto G. Enescu String Octet in C Major Op.7 Très modéré; Très fougueux; Lentement; Mouvement de valse bien rythmée
Soloist/Leader Alda Dizdari violin Soloist Maria Gîlicel violin
Mellos Ensemble: Alda Dizdari – violin Maria Gîlicel – violin Juhee Yang – violin Homan Woo – violin Matthew Johnstone – viola
Anna Barsegjana – viola Idlir Shyti – cello Melody Lin – cello Additional members Ezgi Sarikcioglu violin Olive Chan cello
Tonight’s programme contains three works, each noteworthy in its own right. Enescu, one of the twentieth century’s greatest violinists had a lifelong love of Bach and played almost all of Bach’s solo violin music from memory. The slow movement of Enescu’s Octet pays tribute to the one in Bach’s concerto by using an almost identical tempo and intervals in the writing. Throughout his lifetime Elgar referred to the Serenade for Strings as his favourite composition, with a particular fondness for the slow moment. With an obvious sense of humour, Elgar described it as being “Very stringy in effect”.
J. S. Bach Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins BWV 1043 Johann Sebastian Bach joined the Court of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen in 1717 when he was 32 years old and remained there for six years. During this time, he wrote most of his instrumental music. It is known he wrote several concertos for solo violin
and a few for multiple solo instruments. Although the Cöthen orchestra was relatively modest, it managed to attract two notable violinists from Berlin. It has been conjectured that Bach wrote this concerto for the Berliners Joseph Speiss and Martin Marcus, but it is uncertain exactly when it was composed or when the first performance took place. We owe the survival of the manuscript to the fact that on Bach’s death his manuscripts were divided between two of his sons. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s inheritance include this concerto. He fastidiously maintained his father’s works, unlike Wilhelm Friedemann, who was perennially penniless and sold Bach’s manuscripts for scrap. The opening Vivace movement extols the virtues of the fugue, taking its cue from the high Baroque writing style of Vivaldi. Bach’s innovation was to introduce the fugue to the concerto form. Structurally, there are three recurring orchestral passages of varying length, ornamentation and exploration of different key signatures. The two soloists intervene between these ritornello passages; each plays its own intricate melodic line before parts are exchanged and elaborated. The fugue again suffuses the middle Largo ma non tanto movement as each of the violinists’ theme is developed using this technique. This movement has long been acknowledged as amongst the most sensuous instrumental writing that Bach ever penned. Contrast is found in the closing Allegro movement, as it is written in a more conventional concerto form, whereby the soloists lead the recurring orchestral sections. Interestingly, the soloists reverse their roles: the second violin becomes the first and vice versa. Against this there is much to enjoy in the orchestration: thematic material recurs and is played successively by the instrumental sections. This drives the music forward towards a thrilling conclusion, which allows the soloists’ technical prowess to shine forth.
E. Elgar Serenade for Strings in E Minor Op.20 Edward Elgar studied the violin in his youth and he had a relatively successful early career as a performer. From around 1890, aged 33, Elgar started to turn his attention to composition, but still had to perform and lead various choral groups in his native Worcestershire in order to make ends meet.
The Serenade for Strings was written in March 1892. A compact work consisting of three relatively brief movements, it appears to be a revision and reworking of earlier material. Just a few years later, the premiere of the ‘Enigma’ Variations in 1899 would firmly establish his compositional reputation. The opening Allegro piacevole movement – literally a ‘pleasing’ allegro – has a lilting rhythm which recalls that used in Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade. It is possible that Elgar knew Wolf’s composition, which was written in 1897. However, in marked contrast to Wolf’s optimistic manner, an undertone of sadness pervades Elgar’s writing. The C major middle Larghetto movement takes its cue from the preceding movement, as it initially adapts some of the earlier material. The skill with which Elgar draws out the romance of its lyrical melodic line foreshadows the technique he used in ‘Nimrod’ within the ‘Enigma’ Variations. A brief reprise of the movement’s opening is heard again towards its hushed conclusion. The brief final movement Allegretto recalls the atmosphere of the opening movement but exhibits a dance-like character in its tempo. The Serenade’s slow movement was first performed by the Worcester Ladies’ Orchestral Class in 1893, under the composer’s supervision. Elgar submitted the work to the London publisher Novello, who rejected it with the observation, “We have given your Serenade our attention and think it is very good. We find however that this class of music is practically unsaleable.” As so often with Elgar’s music, early success was found in continental Europe: the Serenade was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Germany whilst the first complete performance took place in Antwerp in 1896.
G. Enescu String Octet in C Major Op.7 The string octet is amongst the least common chamber music formats, since only a handful of composers have turned their imaginations to the possibilities it affords. Enescu's Octet in C Major Op.7 is noteworthy for its youthful brilliance, mastery of form and melodic invention. For an eighteen-year-old student composer, there is no doubt that Enescu’s octet is an amazingly ambitious work, not least in terms of structure. In later life Enescu recalled, “By the Octet, I felt I was rapidly improving, becoming my own person.” A great deal of confidence is discernible in the writing. This becomes immediately apparent if the romantically influenced first violin sonata of
just three years earlier is taken into account as a comparison. Formally, the composition owes its deepest debt to André Gédalge, Enescu’s counterpoint and fugue tutor at the Paris Conservatoire. The structural complexities presented their own challenges for Enescu: "I was gripped by the problem of construction. I wanted to write it in four connected movements in such a way that, although each movement would have its own independent existence, the whole piece would form a single movement in sonata form on a huge scale. I was crushing myself with the effort of keeping aloft a piece of music in four sections, of such length that each one seemed about to fall apart at any moment. No engineer putting his first suspension bridge in place can have agonized more than I did, as I gradually filled my manuscript paper with notes." For performers the challenges are many. One must establish a key, and follow the minute shifts of tempo that Enescu specifically asks for whilst maintaining the overall structure. To help reinforce the sense of instrumental balance, Enescu often pairs one part with another against a backdrop provided by the other members of the ensemble. Listening to this piece in performance, it is easy to be immediately swept along by the intricately woven profusion of ideas that it contains. The first movement, which forms the exposition of the extended sonata form, is based upon seven distinct musical subjects. They offer a range of moods from the dramatic or dynamic to those that are lyrical or nostalgic in nature, sometimes with echoes of Romanian folk music being made apparent. The second and third movements together form the development section of the sonata. They principally enhance the thematic material already presented, but present a number of new ideas as well. The second movement most clearly displays Gédalge’s influence by being a daringly tempestuous fugue. The third movement offers a contrast since it has a largely nocturnal feeling about it. the final movement summarises all the ideas and by recalling the opening theme, underlines the unified and cyclical nature of the score. Initially, it seems improbable that the movement is written as a waltz, but the form serves the purpose of allowing themes to be combined, superimposed and intervals of seconds, thirds, sixths or sevenths to be explored.
Programme notes written by © Evan Dickerson 2021
Mellos Ensemble was founded out of love for exploring chamber music of all forms, from small to larger scale works and a wide range of genres and periods from baroque to contemporary. The ensemble has a core of members but the format is fluid and variable to allow adaptation according to instrumentation. All musicians bring something unique to the ensemble and above all a passion for exploration, curiosity and dedication to deliver performances of the highest standards.
Alda Dizdari is a versatile musician, educator and author. The Albanian born London based violinist combines a successful solo career with other creative and charitable activities. Since her debut at the Wigmore Hall in 2010 she has been selected as a “One to Watch” musician by the Gramophone magazine in 2011, has performed as a soloist in the most prestigious venues around the country and abroad, produced four recordings on her label, Mellos Records, has been reviewed by The Strad Magazine, featured by the Sunday Times/ Culture Magazine, and appeared live on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 programmes. In 2020 she launched an audiobook of her unique memoir: 'Kiss Me Again; A Memoir of Elgar in Unusual Places’ and released a special edition including the book and recording of the Elgar Violin Concerto brilliantly produced in Moscow in 2019 with conductor Alexander Walker and Musica Viva Orchestra. Alongside her performing career Alda maintains a busy schedule as an inspirational educator. She is the founder of DEA Music Academy, a not for profit organisation offering ‘conservatoire standards with community feeling’ in the borough of Southwark in London. More recently she is the founder and creative director of Southwark Music www.southwarkmusic.org.uk , an umbrella project that includes Southwark International Music Festival, Outreach Activities and a New Composition Award for composers. She teaches part time at the Purcell School of Music and The Junior Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Alda plays a GB Ceruti Violin, Cremona 1791, bought specially for her by a private sponsor and a Dominique Peccatte Bow, on loan from the Stradivari Trust, UK. Romanian violinist Maria Gîlicel is an emerging performer recognised for her versatility and passion on stage. Maria has just obtained her Artist Diploma degree at the Royal College of Music in London with Professor Maciej Rakowski as a Dasha Shenkman Scholar, where she previously graduated from Bachelors of Music with Honours and Masters in Performance with Distinction. She has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra member in various venues including Het Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Buckingham Palace, St. John’s Smith Square, the Romanian Cultural Institute of London and the National Auditorium of Madrid; and has worked with many acclaimed musicians including Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Maxim Vengerov and Gordan Nikolic. She is part of the Tillett Trust Young Artists Platform and was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Emily Anderson Prize for soloists. Future engagements include recitals with the Chloé Piano Trio and performances as part of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. Maria plays on a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin (Paris, 1850).
About: The Sands Films Music Room The Sands Music Room offers hybrid events: hosting an in-person audience while live-streaming concerts online. The project started
during lockdown of 2020, giving musicians a platform when all live venues were closed, with a mission to welcome all types of music and to be as accessible as possible to audiences everywhere. The initiative enables musicians to explore and develop their skills while making use of the facility’s high-quality equipment. Sands Films Studio is not a a conventional entertainment venue, but rather a creative workspace; a performing space that can adapt to each artist and their needs, perceived differently depending on the musician that steps into it. Although Sands Films pays all musicians, sounds technicians and staff a recording session fee, the streams are always supplied free, so that they are accessible to all, including those simply curious. Instead of selling fixed-price tickets, Sands Films ask for donations from its online audience as a kind of online busking. This model is unconventional in the modern world but it is essentially the way musicians have earned a living for thousands of years. All previous concerts remain available online at the Sands Films website: www.sandsfilm.co.uk
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Fred Thomas & Saied Silbak
Thursday 21st October, 8pm