2009 / 2010 SEASON
Judas Maccabaeus HANDEL 1685 - 1759
RUBY HUGHES • SUSAN BICKLEY BEN JOHNSON • MICHAEL GEORGE
TAKUO YUASA MANCHESTER CAMERATA MEMBERS OF THE OSAKA SYMPHONIC CHORUS Chorus Master: JOSEPH CULLEN Organ: Darius Battiwalla Harpsichord: Joseph Cullen FRIDAY
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SPONSORSHIP The Society is extremely grateful for the support from the following organisations over this season: • UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD • Principal Partner • THE DELIUS TRUST • SYNGENTA • • SS COMPONENTS LTD • • SOUTHWESTERN CORPORATION • • HUDDERSFIELD GRAMMAR SCHOOL • • THE GREENBANK GROUP UK • • INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGY LIMITED • • G2 CONSULTING • JULIE HALE CONSULTANCY • -o -
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The Huddersfield Choral Society’s success over recent years has been greatly assisted by the support of our Sponsors and their valued contribution to The Society’s wellbeing. We are fortunate indeed in having a number of faithful Sponsors of many years standing and we are very pleased when new Sponsors are able to join us. Opportunities do exist for further support and a share in the life of The Choral. -o-
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Welcome to the third concert of the 2009/10 subscription season. We are delighted to welcome Manchester Camerata, and tonight's soloists Ruby Hughes, Susan Bickley, Ben Johnson and Michael George. We are also very pleased to welcome tonight's conductor Takuo Yuasa returning to Huddersfield and to our friends from the Osaka Symphony Chorus joining us for tonight's performance. Members of the Choral visited Osaka in July 2007 to perform Britten's War Requiem with the Osaka Symphony and Chorus under Maestro Yuasa, and we are very glad to be able to continue this connection. Our visit to Japan was the first to that country since the Choral's foundation in 1836, contributing the unique 'Huddersfield Sound' - a thrilling full-bodied and firm blended tone, flexible enough for both the most shattering climaxes and for the softest but focused pianissimos. The choir has been busy during the past season with several engagements. It began with a continuation of our association with Signum Records, as we recorded Stainer's The Crucifixion in June at Huddersfield Town Hall, conducted by Joseph Cullen with Darius Battiwalla, organ, and soloists Andrew Kennedy and Neal Davies. Copies of this CD are available for sale in the Area entrance tonight, along with notelets featuring paintings by local artists, and other items. The recording sessions were closely followed by a visit to Orkney for two concerts - including Vaughan Williams' A Sea Symphony with Martyn Brabbins - as part of the St Magnus Festival. More recently, a section of the choir made a return visit to Bowness on Windermere during October for a concert conducted by Joseph Cullen with Darius Battiwalla at the organ. Other projects this season included participation in a world première performance of a new work by Alvin Curran during November's Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, recorded for BBC Radio 3. This was followed by a live broadcast on BBC Radio 4 of Sunday Worship from St Paul's Hall featuring choruses from Messiah, during the BBC's “Sing Hallelujah!” weekend. Earlier this month the choir sang Orff's Carmina Burana at the Sage Gateshead with the Orchestra of Opera North conducted by Bramwell Tovey. In addition to these engagements, the Society promotes its own professional subscription concert season in Huddersfield Town P A G E
Hall, its home since 1881. Delius's A Mass of Life was the first Subscribers' concert on 30 October in a stunning performance with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Conductor Laureate Martyn Brabbins. December was a busy month, with Brian Kay and soloist Martene Grimson returning for two Christmas concerts with Hepworth Band, and two performances of Messiah at which Grant Llewellyn made his conducting début with the Society, with a strong international team of soloists and the Orchestra of Opera North. Our final engagement this season is the President's Concert conducted by Joseph Cullen with Darius Battiwalla at the organ on June 12th in St Paul's Hall. This venue once again marks the close collaboration between the Choral and the University of Huddersfield which is resulting in a great range of collaborative activities, including a choral conducting scholarship. In 2010/11 the Society celebrates its 175th season. Plans include Verdi Requiem with Vasily Petrenko and performances of Messiah in Huddersfield, Gateshead and Stratford-upon-Avon (with the Stratford-upon-Avon Choral Society - also celebrating their 175th anniversary during 2011). The final subscription concert of the season will include the UK première of Jonathan Harvey's Messages. The anniversary season will conclude with a gala performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius with Conductor Laureate Martyn Brabbins. There is an active recruitment programme to replace singers who retire or move away. Several new members have already joined us this season, bringing our total membership to well above 200. Our recruitment officer Gaynor Haliday (07539 468 454 or gaynor.haliday@huddersfieldchoral.com ) would be delighted to hear from anyone who is interested in joining the choir. For enquiries about becoming a subscriber, please contact Julie Hale on 07989 395 066 or julie.hale@huddersfieldchoral.com News, details of all concerts and other events can be found on the website at http://www.huddersfieldchoral.com.
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JUDAS MACCABAEUS The Historical Background . . . The Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC provided the background to the story unfolded in Judas Maccabaeus. It is part of the history of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empires. Following the death of Alexander the Great in Babylon in 323 BC, his empire disintegrated. When his own descendants were unable to succeed him effectively, the kingdom went to his Generals. Two of these were Ptolemy, who assumed the Kingship of Egypt, and Seleucus, who established himself first as master of Babylonia, and later of the northern part of Syria, where he made Antioch his capital. Palestine initially remained under Ptolemy, but by 198 BC, in the reign of Antiochus the Great, Palestine was finally conquered by the Syrians. Under Antiochus the Jews were favourably treated, but later, under his successor Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes), the Jewish people suffered great hardship. Like Alexander the Great, he sought to impose both a common Greek culture and its religion (Hellenism) on his empire. In 169 BC Jerusalem was attacked. In 167 BC Jewish religious customs were forbidden, the Temple was defiled and pagan rites were instituted. There followed a rebellion led by Mattathias, a priest of the Joarib family from Jerusalem who had settled in Modin. It was continued by his sons John, Simon, Judas Maccabaeus, Eleazar and Jonathan after Mattathias’s death in 166 BC. Morell’s libretto begins here and continues the outline of the Maccabean struggle until 161 BC. Having dealt with the appointment of Judas as the military leader of the nation, Morell takes the story, in a condensed form, down to 164 BC, when Judas marched on Jerusalem and regained the Temple for the Jews; subsequently the Temple was purified and reconsecrated. Further wars were fought by the armies of Judas and his brothers during the reigns of Antiochus IV, who died in 163 BC, and his successor Antiochus V, but these were not recorded with historical accuracy in the libretto.
SYNOPSIS PART ONE The Israelites mourn the death of Mattathias, their leader in the struggle against the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, King of Syria. They appeal to God to grant them another leader. Simon, one of Mattathias’s sons, rallies the Israelites, telling them to put their trust in God. Claiming divine inspiration, he proclaims his brother, Judas Maccabaeus, the new commander. Judas addresses his followers, calling on them to be inspired by the battle honours of their forefathers. The Israelites offer prayers for their newly appointed leader and for the restoration of their liberty. Judas demands
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that his troops face the enemy resolved on liberty or death. Part One ends with the Israelites imploring the Almighty to support them in their struggle. PART TWO Judas receives the acclaim of his people, having defeated one group of invaders from Samaria led by Apollonius, and another from Syria under the command of Seron. Judas acknowledges their acclaim, but tells them to give thanks to Almighty God. News then arrives that King Antiochus has decided to dispatch an army from Egypt under General Gorgias to destroy the Jewish nation. The Israelites are in despair, but Simon tries to comfort them, telling them to turn to God, since He alone can work wonders. Declaring Jehovah his leader, Judas once again calls on his troops to fight. They declare their loyalty to him and their willingness to die for their laws, their religion and their liberty. Simon, approving of his brother’s rallying call, tells him that he will be responsible for restoring the Temple recently desecrated by the Syrians. He believes that its restoration is vital if God is to give Israel success in battle. The Israelites vow not to worship heathen idols, as ordered by the Syrian king, but to worship God, and God alone. PART THREE Part Three opens after the Temple has been returned to the Israelites and reconsecrated. In commemoration, a Festival of Thanksgiving is to be celebrated, and since the ceremonial lighting of lamps was a prominent feature of this, it became known as the Feast of Lights. In the next scene an Israelitish Messenger arrives bearing the news of the rout of the invaders by Judas at Capharsalama. The Israelites sing unto God ‘with unmeasured praise’. Judas enters in triumph and is greeted enthusiastically by his countrymen. He asks for those killed in battle to be remembered, and especially Eleazar, his brother, who triumphed in a glorious death. He had attacked a heavily guarded armoured elephant which he assumed to be carrying the enemy’s king. Getting under the elephant, he stabbed it; whereupon the elephant collapsed on top of Eleazar, killing him. In the final scene Eupolemus, the Israelite Ambassador, returns from a mission to Rome with a treaty ensuring protection for Judea as an independent nation. With grateful hearts the Israelites pay tribute to God for the blessings they have received: they also show their gratitude to Judas Maccabaeus. The story ends with the Israelites looking forward to peace and prosperity. On Simon’s orders the Israelites rejoice with the celestial spirits, Cherubim and Seraphim, singing ‘songs divine’. A fine Hallelujah Chorus ends the oratorio. By courtesy of Novello & Co Ltd
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COMPOSER NOTES HANDEL, GEORGE FRIDERIC, (b Halle, 23 Feb 1685; d London, 14 April 1759. English composer of German birth). He was born Georg Frederich Handel, son of a barber-surgeon who intended him for the law. At first he practised music clandestinely, but his father was encouraged to allow him to study and he became a pupil of Zachow, the principal organist in Halle. When he was 17 he was appointed organist of the Calvinist Cathedral, but a year later he left for Hamburg. There he played the violin and harpsichord in the opera house, where his Almira was given at the beginning of 1705, soon followed by his Nero. The next year he accepted an invitation to Italy, where he spent more than three years, in Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice. He had operas or other dramatic works given in all these cities and, writing many Italian cantatas, perfected his technique in setting Italian words for the human voice. In Rome he also composed some Latin church music. He left Italy early in 1710 and went to Hanover, where he was appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector, but he at once took leave to take up an invitation to London, where his opera Rinaldo was produced early in 1711. Back in Hanover, he applied for a second leave and returned to London in autumn 1712. Four more operas followed in 1712-15, with mixed success; he also wrote music for the church and for court and was awarded a royal pension. In 1716 he may have visited Germany; it was probably the next year that he wrote the Water Music to serenade George I at a river-party on the Thames. In 1717 he entered the service of the Earl of Carnarvon (soon to be Duke of Chandos) at Edgware, near London, where he wrote 11 anthems and two dramatic works, the evergreen Acis and Galatea and Esther, for the modest band of singers and players retained there. In 1718-19 a group of noblemen tried to put Italian opera in London on a firmer footing, and launched a company with royal patronage, the Royal Academy of Music; Handel, appointed musical director, went to Germany, visiting Dresden and poaching several singers for the Academy, which opened in April 1720. Handel’s Radamisto was the second opera and it inaugurated a noble series over the ensuing years including Ottone, Giulio Cesare, Rodelinda, Tamerlane and Admeto. Works by Bononcini (seen by some as a rival to Handel) and others were given too, with success at least equal to Handel’s, by a company with some of the finest singers in Europe, notably the castrato Senesino and the soprano Cuzzoni. But public support was variable and the financial basis insecure and in 1728 the venture collapsed. The previous year Handel, who had been appointed a composer to the Chapel Royal in 1723, had composed four anthems for the coronation of George II and had taken British naturalisation. Opera remained his central interest, and with the Academy impresario, Heidegger, he hired the King’s Theatre and (after a journey to Italy and Germany to engage fresh singers) embarked on a five-year series of seasons starting in late 1729. Success was mixed. In 1732 Esther was given P A G E
at a London musical society by friends of Handel’s, then by a rival group in public; Handel prepared to put it on at the King’s Theatre, but the Bishop of London banned a stage version of a biblical work. He then put on Acis, also in response to a rival venture. The next summer he was invited to Oxford and wrote an oratorio, Athalia, for performance at the Sheldonian Theatre. Meanwhile, a second opera company (‘Opera of the Nobility’, including Senesino) had been set up in competition with Handel’s and the two competed for audience over the next four seasons before both failed. This period drew from Handel, however, such operas as Orlando and two with ballet, Ariodante and Alcina, among his finest scores. During the rest of the 1730s Handel moved between Italian opera and the English forms, oratorio, ode and the like, unsure of his future commercially and artistically. After a journey to Dublin in 1741-2, where Messiah had its première (in aid of charities), he put opera behind him and for most of the remainder of his life gave oratorio performances, mostly at the new Covent Garden theatre, usually at or close to the Lent season. The Old Testament provided the basis for most of them (Samson, Belshazzar, Joseph, Joshua, Solomon, for example), but he sometimes experimented, turning to classical mythology (Semele, Hercules) or Christian history (Theodora), with little public success. All these works, along with such earlier ones as Acis and his two Cecilian odes (to Dryden words) were performed in concert form in English. At these performances he usually played in the interval a concerto on the organ (a newly invented musical genre) or directed a concerto grosso. During his last decade he gave regular performances of Messiah, usually with about 16 singers and an orchestra of about 40, in aid of the Foundling Hospital. In 1749 he wrote a suite for wind instruments (with optional strings) for performance in Green Park to accompany the Royal Fireworks celebrating the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. His last oratorio, composed as he grew blind, was Jephtha (1752); The Triumph of Time and Truth (1757) is largely composed of earlier material. Handel was very economical in the reuse of his ideas; at many times in his life he also drew heavily on the music of others (though generally avoiding detection) - such ‘borrowings’ may be of anything from a brief motif to entire movements, sometimes as they stood but more often accommodated to his own style. Handel died in 1759 and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, recognised in England and by many in Germany as the greatest composer of his day. The wide range of expression at his command is shown not only in the operas, with their rich and varied arias, but also in the form he created, the English oratorio, where it is applied to the fates of nations as well as individuals. He had a vivid sense of drama, but above all had a resource and originality of invention, to be seen in the extraordinary variety of music in the op.6 concertos, for example, in which melodic beauty, boldness and humour all play a part, that place him and J.S. Bach as the supreme masters of the Baroque era in music.
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PROGRAMME NOTES JUDAS MACCABAEUS - G.F. HANDEL Culture and Politics Handel had been hugely disappointed by the London musical scene of 1744-45: a planned series of 24 concerts had to be cancelled before the last 8 performances because of dwindling audiences for his recent oratorios. His health had also suffered and the future seemed uncertain. However, a national political crisis in 1745 would influence his fortune. Jacobite rebels in Scotland (named after the late Catholic Stuart King James II - James in Latin is Jacobus) had welcomed the return of the young Pretender, Prince Charles Edward Stuart ('Bonnie Prince Charlie'), and he began to march south with his army of Highlanders. The Hanoverian King, George II, felt under serious threat in the capital, and although the rebels reached as far as Derby, lack of support made them retreat back to Scotland. They were finally defeated at Culloden Moor on April 16th 1746 by forces under the command of the King's son, Prince William, the Duke of Cumberland. 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' evaded capture and escaped to France. Handel worked hard that summer to complete a new oratorio, 'Judas Maccabaeus', and dedicated it to the victor at Culloden, the Duke of Cumberland. At its first performance in 1747 the story of an heroic Jewish leader appealed strongly to a patriotic London audience only recently endangered by the Jacobite rebellion. The success of this concert ensured annual revivals of the work (except for one year) until Handel's death in 1759, and it was a close second in popularity to 'Messiah'. Libretto and score The libretto was taken from the two books of Maccabees in the Apocrypha, which deal with the stirring war of independence waged by the Jews between 167 and 142 B.C. There are two named characters, Simon and his brother, Judas, sung by bass and tenor soloists. However, most of the many airs and recitatives are sung by two anonymous Israelites, male and female. The choir is always in the role of the Jewish people, with some choruses echoing the solo voices. There are five duets in this oratorio (one of which is omitted in tonight’s performance). Although much of the story concerns oppression and military conflict, the range of moods and emotions is much more varied than might be expected. Handel continued to revise the score after 1747, adding numbers from later works which proved to be popular, including what is probably the most well-known movement, 'See, the conquering hero comes', which appeared first in 'Joshua'. The Music Part 1 After a lively overture, the opening chorus , 'Mourn, ye afflicted children', laments the death of their leader , and the sad tone is continued in the duet, 'From this dread scene' A second elegiac chorus, 'For pious lamentations', has doleful phrases for the bassoons. When the Israelite woman reminds the Jews that they are God's chosen people, the chorus regains its resolution in the hymn-like, 'O Father, whose almighty power', P A G E
which leads into a vigorous fugue at 'And grant a leader bold and brave'. Simon then appeals to the people to defend their laws and religion, 'Arm arm, ye brave', and they respond in an energetic chorus, 'We come in bright array'. Their new leader, Judas, urges them to 'Call forth thy powers'. The Israelite woman then addresses Liberty in 'O Liberty, thou choicest treasure' and this is followed by a duet 'Come, ever-smiling Liberty' (both became popular as solo items in London concerts following the defeat of the Jacobites). The chorus becomes more bellicose in 'Lead on' and 'Disdainful of danger' (with no soprano line). Judas declares his ambition is to bring eventual peace in 'No unhallowed desire'. Part 1 ends with the impressive chorus, 'Hear us, O Lord', with another rousing fugue on 'Resolved on conquest'. Part 2 The chorus celebrates victory in 'Fall'n is the foe', which ends in another vigorous fugue at 'Where warlike Judas'. Eloquent tributes to Judas are sung by the Israelite man and woman, 'So rapid thy course is' and 'From mighty kings he took the spoil'. Judas responds modestly in 'How vain is man', but when a messenger brings news of the approaching army of Antiochus the chorus expresses its despair in 'Ah, wretched Israel'. Simon urges them again to renew their faith in God in the spirited 'The Lord worketh wonders'. Judas rallies their martial spirit in 'Sound an alarm', with trumpets and drums, and the chorus responds in 'We hear the pleasing, dreadful call'. Once Judas has left for battle, Simon and the Israelite man and woman deplore recent idolatrous acts in 'With pious hearts' and the recitative' 'Ye worshippers of God'. A duet, 'O never bow we down', introduces the final chorus, 'We never will bow down': at 'We worship God' there is a short chorale followed by a vigorous conclusion. Part 3 This opens with one of Handel's great airs, the tranquil prayer 'Father of Heaven', sung by an Israelite priest to solemnise the Feast of Lights, and the rising incense is taken as a sign by the Israelite man that 'The Lord has heard our prayer'. The Israelite woman then has another exquisite air, 'So shall the lute and harp awake '. A messenger brings news of Judas' latest victory, and he is welcomed back in 'See the conquering hero comes', which is sung first by a chorus of youths (sopranos and altos), then by a chorus of virgins ( two soprano parts), then by the whole chorus and orchestra before ending in an orchestral march. Two soloists begin the next movement, 'Sing unto God', with trumpet fanfares, before the full chorus joins in. Judas' final elegiac air, 'With honour let desert be crowned' has a trumpet obbligato. An ambassador from Rome, Eupolemus, brings news that the Romans will defend the Israelites from any future attacks, and this news is honoured in a serene duet, 'O lovely peace', with flute accompaniment. Simon's joyful invocation to the nation, 'Rejoice, O Judah' leads into the final triumphant chorus, 'Hallelujah, Amen'. The Huddersfield Choral Society has performed 'Judas Maccabaeus' fifteen times, but only two of those concerts were in the last century, in 1900 and 1990. John Brown N I N E
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TAKUO YUASA “ …… under Takuo Yuasa's direction these works sounded astonishingly fresh and newly minted. The London Philharmonic Orchestra responded warmly to his baton, playing with precision and panache throughout the evening. Claude Debussy's La Mer is often mistreated as a flashy showcase for virtuoso orchestras but here Yuasa enticed the LPO to play with chamber-like intimacy and a delicate transparency …… It is difficult to imagine a more atmospheric, dramatic and sensitively played La Mer …… Takuo Yuasa proved a supreme Sibelian, conducting the composer's First Symphony with a total grasp of its structure and a strict adherence to the score whilst also securing the chilling mood of the authentic Sibelius sound …… A packed house showed their appreciation for this glowing performance, and a self-effacing conductor was at great pains to ensure that his plaudits were shared by the orchestra.” (Royal Festival Hall, London, 4th February 2005 www.musicweb.uk.net) During recent seasons Takuo Yuasa has conducted at London's Royal Festival Hall, Vienna's Konzerthaus, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Stuttgart's Liederhalle and the Sibelius Hall in Lahti, Finland. His complete concert cycles of the symphonies by Brahms and Schumann in Kobe, Japan, were recorded live for release there on CD and in October 2007 Takuo Yuasa received the prestigious Iue Cultural Award, created by Toshio Iue the founder of SANYO, for his exceptional contribution to music and for his international artistic achievement. This personable and highly regarded Japanese conductor regularly performs throughout Europe and the Far East. In Japan he has held the position of Principal Conductor with the Gumma Symphony Orchestra and in the United Kingdom he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and of the Ulster Orchestra in Northern Ireland. He has a successful recording career as an exclusive Naxos artist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and others. He attracts fine reviews (“… Yuasa's accounts [of Webern's orchestral pieces] have the spare, skeletal feel and expressive economy that makes them very rewarding indeed. An outstanding achievement.” Classics Today) in a wide range of repertoire which covers Britten, Macmillan and Rawsthorne, Webern and Schoenberg, Honegger, Vieuxtemps, Macdowell, Schubert, Rimsky-Korsakov, Pärt, Górecki, Glass and Nyman with a newly P A G E
emerging strand of Japanese composers who include Mayuzumi, Ohki, Bekku, Yashiro, Moroi, Akutagawa and Yamada. This versatility is recognised by orchestras around the world who engage him to conduct standard core repertoire as well as less well-known pieces by major composers. Takuo Yuasa conducts several major Japanese orchestras including the Japan Philharmonic, Osaka Philharmonic and New Japan Philharmonic orchestras. His recent engagements there have included a concert with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra in its own Subscription Series and the complete symphonies by Brahms and Schumann with the Osaka Century Orchestra. He is also Associate Professor, Performing Arts Centre, Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music where he is closely associated with the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra and the university's wonderful new Sogaduko Concert Hall. Outside Japan he has conducted the Oslo Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, London Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Brabants Orkest, Luxembourg Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony and Queensland Orchestras and in the UK he has been a frequent visitor to the Hallé Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra whilst his musicianship and infectious leadership attracts several European music conservatoires and the national youth orchestras of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire to engage him to conduct a new generation of performers. Takuo Yuasa was born in Osaka where he studied piano, cello, flute and clarinet. At eighteen he left Japan to study in the USA at the University of Cincinnati where he completed a Bachelor Degree in Theory and Composition. He later moved to Europe to study conducting with Hans Swarowsky at the Hochschule in Vienna, then with Igor Markevich in France and with Franco Ferrara in Siena before he became assistant to Lovro von Matacic, working with him in Monte Carlo, Milan and Vienna. Since winning a Special Award at the Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Katowice, Poland, Takuo Yuasa has frequently conducted the major orchestras there, including the Warsaw National Philharmonic and Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestras. E L E V E N
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JOSEPH CULLEN Chorus Master
Joseph Cullen is one of this country's leading choral conductors and his work with both the London Symphony Chorus and the Huddersfield Choral Society has won him consistent critical acclaim. In February he was awarded his second Grammy award, this time for his choral direction in the LSO's recording of Britten's Billy Budd on the LSO Live label. He has also received favourable critical acclaim for his recently released CD of Stainer's Crucifixion with the Huddersfield Choral Society on the Signum label. Joseph makes his début with the Northern Sinfonia in 2010 directing a baroque orchestral programme and has just directed the City of London Sinfonia in a series of concerts featuring Bach Cantatas as part the City of London Festival in addition to Bach's St Matthew Passion in the Barbican on Good Friday. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Grant Park Festival Orchestra in Chicago. Joseph maintains a national profile as an organist and a continuo player. He has inaugurated many new organs for which he has also been consultant and this year will give concerts on new and restored organs in Huddersfield, Leeds Cathedral and Paisley Abbey. He has held musical positions in the RC Cathedrals of Glasgow, Leeds and Westminster.
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Joseph has worked closely with some of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Mark Elder, Mariss Jansons, Valery Gergiev, Martyn Brabbins, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gianandrea Noseda, Vasily Petrenko, Yan-Pascal Tortelier, Bernard Haitink, Richard Hickox and Sir Colin Davis, with whom he won a 2006 Grammy award for the LSO Live recording of Falstaff Verdi. Other recordings include the Grammy-nominated Peter Grimes Britten and A Child of our Time Tippett. for LSO Live and ‘Symphony of a Thousand’ Mahler for EMI. Joseph Cullen is committed to mentoring musicians at the beginning of their careers. He has established choral conducting scholarships with both the London Symphony Chorus and the Huddersfield Choral Society and gives masterclasses at the Orkney conductors' course, which is part of the St Magnus Festival, and at the Royal Academy of Music. He has coached many distinguished singers and gives the next generation a platform with his ensemble London Chamber Voices.
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Susan Bickley Mezzo-soprano
Ruby Hughes Soprano Winner of both First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 London Handel Festival Singing Competition, Ruby Hughes graduated from London's Royal College of Music in July 2009.
Susan Bickley is firmly established as one of the most accomplished mezzo sopranos of her generation, with a wide repertory compassing the Baroque, the great 19th and 20th Century dramatic roles and the music of today.
She has worked with conductors including Laurence Cummings, Christian Curnyn, Pablo Heras-Casado, René Jacobs, Marc Minkowski, Ian Page, Daniel Reuss and Andreas Spering, and with orchestras such as the Akademie für Alte Musik, Les Musiciens du Louvre, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. Festival appearances include Cheltenham, Eisenstadt, Fishguard, Nuremberg and Potsdam. She sang Rose Maurrant Street Scene in The Opera Group's Olivier Award winning production, and made her début at the Theater an der Wien as Roggiero Tancredi. Broadcasts include Bach Christmas Cantatas (SR2), a Handel 250th Anniversary Concert (RTÉ Lyric fM broadcast to the EU as part of the 250th Anniversary Handel celebrations), Handel Chandos Anthems (Polish Radio), Saul (Netherlands Radio), Philemon und Baucis (Deutschlandradio Kultur) and In Tune (BBC Radio 3). Current engagements include Michal Saul (Buxton Festival), Sandrina L'infedelta delusa (Potsdamer Winteroper), Fortuna L'Incoronazione di Poppea (Theater an der Wien), Rose Maurrant Street Scene (Opéra de Toulon), J. S. Bach B Minor Mass (Stuttgart Kammerchor), Cantatas (Le Concert Lorrain; Das Neue Orchester), Magnificat (Three Choirs Festival) and St Matthew Passion (London Handel Festival), Handel Arias (Munich Radio Orchestra), Cantatas (Wigmore Hall), Gloria (Zurich Chamber Orchestra), Messiah (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and Saul (Estonian National Orchestra), Haydn Nelson Mass (London Mozart Players) and a recital with Julius Drake for Pollok House Arts Society. Ruby Hughes was selected by OPERA NOW as amongst “Who's Hot in Opera” in November / December 2008. P A G E
Photo credit: Samantha Ovens
Following unanimously acclaimed performances in the 0809 season, Susan performs the roles of three formidable women this season in major new productions: Mescalina in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre by Fura dels Baus, her first Babulenka in Richard Jones’ The Gambler for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Antonio Pappano, and Kabanicha Katya Kabanova in a production by David Alden at ENO, conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. She has also sung on many of the great stages of the world, performing operatic roles for the Opéra de Paris, Glyndebourne, San Francisco Opera, Salzburg Festival, De Vlaamse Opera; and Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Well known for her eloquent and engaging performance of contemporary repertoire, Susan has also created roles in Writing to Vermeer, Netherlands Opera; Turnage’s Twice through the Heart and Gerald Barry's The bitter tears of Petra von Kant both for English National Opera. On the international concert platform Susan has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and ensembles. She made her Carnegie Hall début singing Stravinsky's Requiem Canticles; has sung Ligeti's Requiem and George Benjamin's Upon Silence at the Salzburg Festival, opened the 2008 Edinburgh International Festival singing Begbick Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny and regularly appears at the BBC Proms. Recent performances have included Waltraute Götterdämmerung and Alexander Nevsky with the Hallé Orchestra, Adès’ America: A prophecy with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mahler 2 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Bach’s B minor Mass at the Barbican, London.
F O U R T E E N
Michael George Bass-baritone
Ben Johnson Tenor
Michael George trained as a chorister at King's College, Cambridge under Sir David Willcocks, and later at the Royal College of Music. Recordings include Schubert Photo credit: Peter S Zownir Mass in Ab (Gardiner), Gerontius (RLPO), Haydn Creation (AAM), Boyce Odes (Hanover Band), Bach Cantatas and Masses (King's College Cambridge), Handel Samson, Esther, Alexander's Feast and Chandos Anthems (The Sixteen), Handel Joshua, Acis and Galatea, Judas Maccabaeus and Ottone as well as the complete Purcell series (The King's Consort) and Monteverdi 1610 Vespers and Orfeo (New London Consort). Notable performances have included St Matthew Passion (Bach Choir), Purcell's Faerie Queen (The Netherlands), Schubert Mass in A flat (Muti), Elgar The Apostles (Three Choirs Festival), Beethoven Missa Solemnis (Hallé), Beethoven Ninth Symphony (Brisbane), Messiah (The Sixteen), Mozart Requiem (Vienna Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra) and St John Passion (OAE and LPO) and Christmas Oratorio (Trondheim Cathedral, Norway). Further engagements have included Cadmus/Somnus Semele and Don Ferrando Fidelio (Scottish Opera), Verdi Requiem and L'enfance du Christ (Odense), Messiah (RLPO), Haydn Seasons (St Louis Symphony Orchestra), Mozart Requiem (Bach Choir), Saul (Kroningen), St John Passion (Irish Baroque Orchestra), Riccardo Primo (Kammerorchester Basel), Brahms Requiem (Istanbul Festival), Gerontius and Haydn Salve Regina (King's College, Cambridge), St Matthew Passion (Cadogan Hall), Holst Savitri (King's Place, London) and B Minor Mass (Bridgewater Hall).
Ben studied at the Royal College of Music graduating with First Class Honours in 2006 and at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. He won the First Prize at the 2008 Kathleen Ferrier awards, the first out-right male winner for 13 years.
Ben is increasingly in demand as an oratorio soloist around the UK and Europe. He has worked with such conductors as Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Bicket, Peter Schreier, Andrew Parrott and Neil Thompson. This summer he made his BBC Proms début singing Handel’s Samson with Harry Bicket. His recent operatic engagements have included his début with Scottish Opera as Tonik in Smetena's The Two Widows, Aceste Ascanio in Alba at Kings Place with the Classical Opera Company, the world prémiere of Das Babylon experiment by Matthew King at the Internationales KammermusikFestival Nürnberg and covering in ENO’s Dido & Aeneas and Glyndebourne’s The Fairy Queen. Engagement this season include Wozzeck in concert with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Royal Festival Hall and the Théâtre de Champs Elysée, Otello in concert with the LSO and Sir Colin Davis, Britten’s Les Illuminations with the Orchestra of Scottish Opera under Francesco Corti, a return to Scottish Opera to cover Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, his début with the Opéra de Lyon, Novice Billy Budd in a new production conducted by Sir Mark Elder at Glyndebourne, a recital with Roger Vignoles at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam and appearances with James Southall at the Chelsea Schubert Festival and Oxford Lieder Festival.
Recent and future engagements include Nelson Mass (Macau International Music Festival/Academy of Ancient Music), Messiah (Ulster Orchestra, RSNO and RLPO), St John Passion (Cadogan Hall), St Matthew Passion (Bath Abbey) and Verdi Requiem (Birmingham Town Hall). P A G E
Photo credit Chris Gloag
F I F T E E N
P A G E
S I X T E E N
MANCHESTER CAMERATA Manchester Camerata is one of the UK's leading chamber orchestras. Based in England's northwest, it is committed to enhancing lives through music's extraordinary power to inspire, communicate, educate and entertain. As Manchester's chamber orchestra, Camerata embodies the energy, innovation and vibrant creativity for which the city has won international fame.
and participation programme, bringing live music to all, in particular those who would not otherwise have access to orchestral concerts. Douglas Boyd, Manchester Camerata's Music Director since 2001, is increasingly in demand in the UK and
As chamber orchestra in residence at Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Camerata offers fresh and imaginative interpretations of repertoire spanning five centuries, from the great Baroque and Classical masterpieces to contemporary classical music. The orchestra presents an annual series here and at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), as well as giving concerts throughout the northwest and beyond. In June 2007 Manchester Camerata became the first chamber orchestra in the UK to become resident in a conservatoire, developing a programme of joint activity with the RNCM to complement both the orchestra's performance and learning work, and providing vital learning and experience opportunities for the next generation of musicians. Camerata's commitment to creative learning in many different educational and community settings inspires an award winning learning P A G E
abroad. Nicholas Kraemer, the highly respected Baroque specialist, is Permanent Guest Conductor and has been making music with the orchestra for 25 years. Gordan Nikolitch, Leader of the LSO, has been Principal Guest Director since 2006.
S E V E N T E E N
OSAKA SYMPHONIC CHOIR MEMBERS Masuko, Tsutomu - Chorus Master FIRST SOPRANO:
ALTO:
BASS:
Fujii, Masuko
Fujii, Sonoko
Asayama, Munehide
Ikeyama, Mayumi
Fujimura, Kumiko
Ishiga, Toshiaki
Katada, Masako
Futaki, Michiko
Kawashima, Kazuyoshi
Kondo, Chizuko
Honda, Motoko
Kobara, Tetsuya
Nakayama, Chieko
Ichida, Hiroko
Nishida, Hiroki
Ohtsu, Emiko
Ida, Mikiko
Odaka, Masaki
Omae, Yuko
Inujima, Choko
Okazoe, Masaru
Oya, Shigeko
Masaoka, Hisako
Shima, Iwao
Teranishi, Tomoyo
Miura, Takako
Shoji, Hiroyuki
Tomogane, Ikuko
Murakami, Tomoko
Suzuki, Hiroaki
Tsuchiyama, Yumiko
Odaka, Atsuko
Tanaka, Shodo
Shima, Chitose
Tange, Toyokichi
Tadaka, Hitomi
Yamamoto, Daisuke
SECOND SOPRANO: Fukushiro, Yumiko Hatano, Mieko
TENOR:
Hayashi, Fumiko
Furukawa, Hiroshi
Inagaki, Mayumi
Nakamura, Tatsuo
Inoue, Yoko
Oka, Michio
Kurashige, Yoko
Tanimura, Akira
Miike, Izumi Okazaki, Toshiko Shintaku, Haruyo
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E I G H T E E N
OSAKA SYMPHONIC CHOIR The Osaka Symphonic Choir was founded in 1979 in Hirakata City to perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Originally called the Hirakata Freude Chorus, the choir changed its name in 1995 to attract a wider membership throughout the Osaka area and to highlight the choir’s main policy of always singing with an orchestra. The choir has a membership of 173 under their Chorus master, Tsutomu Masuko. Osaka Symphonic Choir (OSC) has performed a wide range of repertoire including, Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, C minor Mass, Orff Carmina Burana, Brahms German Requiem, Haydn, The Seasons, and The Creation. Handel Messiah, Schubert Masses, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Christ on the Mount of Olives, Berlioz Te Deum, Poulenc Mass, Mahler Das Klagende Lied, Zemlinsky Psalms, Bernstein Chichester Psalms and Scriabin Symphony No. 1 amongst others. In 2001, OSC gave the Japanese prémiere of Gerald Finzi’s Intimation of Immortality, followed by the first performance in Japan of Frederick Delius’s Sea Drift in 2004 which was awarded funding by the Delius Foundation from the United Kingdom. In the summer of 2007, OSC were joined by the Huddersfield Choral Society and Trinity Boy’s Choir in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem given at the Osaka Festival Hall to an audience of 2800. That concert led to today’s participation by some of the OSC members joining Huddersfield Choral Society in this performance of Judas Maccabaeus. The Osaka Symphonic Choir feels deeply honored by the Huddersfield Choral Society’s invitation to perform in Huddersfield, and to sing with the Choral Society whose history and tradition we admire. We welcome this opportunity to continue our international collaboration.
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JUDAS MACCABAEUS - Handel PART ONE Overture Chorus of Israelites, men and women, lamenting the death of Mattathias, the father of Judas Maccabaeus. Chorus of Israelites Mourn, ye afflicted children, the remains Of captive Judah, mourn in solemn strains; Your sanguine hopes of liberty give o'er, Your hero, friend and father is no more. Recitative Israelitish Man Well, may your sorrows, brethren, flow In all th'expressive signs of woe: Your softer garments tear, And squalid sackcloth wear, Your drooping heads with ashes strew, And with the flowing tear your cheeks bedew. Israelitish Woman Daughters, let your distressful cries And loud lament ascend the skies; Your tender bosoms beat, and tear, With hands remorseless, your dishevell'd hair; For pale and breathless Mattathias lies, Sad emblem of his country's miseries! Duet Israelitish Woman and Man From this dread scene, these adverse pow'rs, Ah, whither shall we fly? O Solyma! Thy boasted tow'rs In smoky ruins lie. Chorus of Israelites For Sion lamentation make, With words that weep, and tears that speak. Recitative Israelitish Man Not vain is all this storm of grief; To vent our sorrows gives relief.
Wretched indeed! But let not Judah's race Their ruin with desponding arms embrace. Distractful doubt and desperation Ill become the chosen nation, Chosen by the great I AM, The Lord of hosts, who, still the same, We trust, will give attentive ear To the sincerity of pray'r. Air Israelitish Woman Pious orgies, pious airs, Decent sorrow, decent pray'rs, Will to the Lord ascend, and move His pity, and regain His love. Chorus of Israelites O Father, whose Almighty pow'r The Heav'ns, and earth, and seas adore! The hearts of Judah, thy delight, In one defensive band unite. And grant a leader bold, and brave, If not to conquer, born to save. Recitative Simon I feel, I feel the deity within, Who, the bright cherubim between, His radiant glory erst display'd; To Israel's distressful pray'r He hath vouchsafe'd a gracious ear, And points out Maccabaeus to their aid: Judas shall set the captive free, And lead us all to victory. Air Simon Arm, arm, ye brave! A noble cause, The cause of Heav'n your zeal demands. In defence of your nation, religion, and laws, The Almighty Jehovah will strengthen your hands. Chorus of Israelites We come, we come, in bright array, Judah, thy sceptre to obey. P A G E
T W E N T Y
Recitative Judas Maccabaeus 'Tis well, my friends; with transport I behold The spirit of our fathers, fam'd of old For their exploits in war. Oh, may they fire With active courage you, their sons inspire: As when the mighty Joshua fought, And those amazing wonders wrought, Stood still, obedient to his voice, the sun, Till kings he had destroy'd, and kingdoms won. Air Judas Maccabaeus Call forth thy pow'rs, my soul, and dare The conflict of unequal war. Great is the glory of the conquering sword, That triumphs in sweet liberty restor'd. Recitative Israelitish Woman To Heav'n's immortal King, For blessings on this exemplary zeal. Bless him, Jehovah, bless him, and once more To thy own Israel liberty restore.
Air Israelitish Woman O liberty, thou choicest treasure, Seat of virtue, source of pleasure! Life, without thee, knows no blessing, No endearment worth caressing. Duet Israelitish Woman and Man Come, ever-smiling liberty, And with thee bring thy jocund train. For thee we pant, and sigh for thee, With whom eternal pleasures reign. Chorus of Israelites Lead on, lead on! Judah disdains The galling load of hostile chains.
JUDAS MACCABAEUS - Handel Recitative Judas Maccabaeus So will'd my father now at rest In the eternal mansions of the blest: "Can ye behold," said he "the miseries, In which the long-insulted Judah lies? Can ye behold their sore distress, And not, at least, attempt redress?" Then, faintly, with expiring breath, "Resolve, my sons, on liberty, or death!" We come! Oh see, thy sons prepare The rough habiliments of war; With hearts intrepid, and revengeful hands, To execute, O sire, thy dread commands. Semi-chorus of Israelitish Men Disdainful of danger, we'll rush on the foe, That Thy pow'r, O Jehovah, all nations may know. Recitative Judas Maccabaeus Ambition! If e'er honour was thine aim, Challenge it here: The glorious cause gives sanction to thy claim. Air Judas Maccabaeus No unhallow'd desire Our breasts shall inspire, Nor lust of unbounded pow'r! But peace to obtain: Free peace let us gain, And conquest shall ask no more. Recitative Israelitish Man Haste we, my brethren, haste we to the field, Dependant on the Lord, our strength and shield. Chorus of Israelites Hear us, O Lord, on Thee we call, Resolv'd on conquest, or a glorious fall.
I N T E RVA L PART TWO
continued
Judas, first worthy in the rolls of fame. Say, "He put on the breast-plate as a giant, And girt his warlike harness about him; In his acts he was like a lion, And like a lion's whelp roaring for his prey."
Chorus of Israelites Fall'n is the foe; so fall Thy foes, O Lord, Where warlike Judas wields his righteous sword! Air Israelitish Woman From mighty kings he took the spoil, Recitative And with his acts made Judah smile. Israelitish Man Judah rejoiceth in his name, Victorious hero! Fame shall tell, And triumphs in her hero's fame. With her last breath, how Apollonius fell, And all Samaria fled, by thee pursued Recitative Through hills of carnage and a sea of blood. Judas Maccabaeus While thy resistless prowess dealt around, Thanks to my brethren; but look up to Heav'n; With their own leader's sword, thy deathful To Heav'n let glory and all praise be giv'n; wound. To Heav'n give your applause, Thus, too, the haughty Seron, Syria's boast, Nor add the second cause, Before thee fell with his unnumber'd host. As once your fathers did in Midian, Saying, "The sword of God and Gideon." Air It was the Lord that for his Israel fought, Israelitish Man And this our wonderful salvation wrought. So rapid thy course is, Not numberless forces Air Withstand thy all-conquering sword. Judas Maccabaeus Though nations surround thee, How vain is man, who boasts in fight No pow'r shall confound thee, The valour of gigantic might! Till freedom again be restor'd. And dreams not that a hand unseen Directs and guides this weak machine. Recitative Israelitish Man Recitative Well may we hope our freedom to receive, First Messenger Such sweet transporting views thy actions give. O Judas, O my brethren! New scenes of bloody war Air In all their horrors rise. Israelitish Man Prepare, prepare, Flowing joys do now surround me, Or soon we fall a sacrifice Rising pure without control, To great Antiochus; from th'Egyptian coast, No despair can ever wound me (Where Ptolemy hath Memphis and Pelusium While thy prowess warms my soul. lost) He sends the valiant Gorgias, and commands His proud, victorious bands Recitative To root out Israel's strength, and to erase Israelitish Woman Ev'ry memorial of the sacred place. Oh, let eternal honours crown his name:
Continued on page 23
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T W E N T Y - O N E
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T W E N T Y - T W O
JUDAS MACCABAEUS - Handel Air and Chorus Israelitish Woman Ah! wretched, wretched Israel! fall'n, how low, From joyous transport to desponding woe. Recitative Simon Be comforted, nor think these plagues are sent For your destruction, but for chastisement. Heav'n oft in mercy punisheth, that sin May feel its own demerits from within, And urge not utter ruin. Turn to God, And draw a blessing from His iron rod. Air Simon The Lord worketh wonders His glory to raise; And still, as he thunders, Is fearful in praise. Recitative Judas Maccabaeus My arms! Against this Gorgias will I go. The Idumean governor shall know How vain, how ineffective his design, While rage his leader, and Jehovah mine. Air Judas Maccabaeus Sound an alarm! Your silver trumpets sound, And call the brave, and only brave, around. Chorus We hear, we hear the pleasing dreadful call, And follow thee to conquest; if to fall, For laws, religion, liberty, we fall. Recitative Simon Enough! To Heav'n we leave the rest. Such gen'rous ardour firing ev'ry breast, We may divide our cares. The field be thine, O Judas, and the sanctuary mine. For Sion, holy Sion, seat of God, In ruinous heaps is by the heathen trod; Such profanation calls for swift redress, If e'er in battle Israel hopes success.
continued
Air Simon With pious hearts, and brave as pious, O Sion, we thy call attend, Nor dread the nations that defy us, God our defender, God our friend.
While we prepare with holy rites, To solemnize the feasts of lights. And thus our grateful hearts employ; And in Thy praise This altar raise, With carols of triumphant joy.
Recitative Israelitish Man Ye worshippers of God, Down, down with the polluted altars, down. Hurl Jupiter Olympius from his throne, Nor reverence Bacchus with his ivy crown And ivy-wreathed rod. Our fathers never knew Him Or his beastly crew, Or, knowing, scorn'd such idol vanities.
Recitative Simon See, see yon flames, that from the altar broke, In spiring streams pursue the trailing smoke. The fragrant incense mounts the yielding air; Sure presage that the Lord hath heard our pray'r.
Israelitish Woman No more in Sion let the virgin throng, Wild with delusion, pay their nightly song To Ashtoreth, yclep't the Queen of Heav'n. Hence to Phoenicia be the goddess driv'n, Or be she, with her priests and pageants, hurl'd To the remotest corner of the world, Ne'er to delude us more with pious lies. Duet Israelitish Woman and Man Oh, never, never bow we down To the rude stock or sculptur'd stone. We worship God, and God alone. Chorus of Israelites We never, never will bow down To the rude stock or sculptur'd stone. We worship God, and God alone. PART THREE Air Israelitish Priest Father of Heav'n! From Thy eternal throne, Look with an eye of blessing down,
Recitative Israelitish Woman Oh, grant it, Heav'n, that our long woes may cease, And Judah's daughters taste the calm of peace, Sons, brothers, husbands to bewail no more, Tortur'd at home, or havock'd in the war. Air Israelitish Woman So shall the lute and harp awake, And sprightly voice sweet descant run, Seraphic melody to make, In the pure strains of Jesse's son. Recitative Messenger From Capharsalama, on eagle wings I fly, With tidings of impetuous joy: Came Lysias, with his host, array'd In coat of mail; their massy shields Of gold and brass, flash'd lightning o'er the fields, While the huge tow'r-back'd elephants display'd A horrid front. But Judas, undismay'd, Met, fought, and vanquish'd all the rageful train. Yet more, Nicanor lies with thousands slain; The blasphemous Nicanor, who defied The living God, and, in his wanton pride, A public monument ordain'd Continued on page 25
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T W E N T Y - T H R E E
P A G E
T W E N T Y - F O U R
JUDAS MACCABAEUS - Handel Of victories yet ungain'd. But lo, the conqueror comes; and on his spear, To dissipate all fear, He bears the vaunter's head and hand, That threaten'd desolation to the land. Chorus Youths See, the conqu'ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums. Sports prepare, the laurel bring, Songs of triumph to him sing. Virgins See the godlike youth advance! Breathe the flutes, and lead the dance; Myrtle wreaths and roses twine, To deck the hero's brow divine. Israelites See, the conqu'ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums. Sports prepare, the laurel bring, Songs of triumph to him sing. See, the conqu'ring hero comes! Sound the trumpets, beat the drums.
March Chorus of Israelites Sing unto God, and high affections raise, To crown this conquest with unmeasur'd praise. Recitative Judas Maccabaeus Sweet flow the strains that strike my feasted ear. Angels might stoop from Heav'n to hear The comely song we sing, To Israel's Lord and King. But pause awhile: due obsequies prepare To those who bravely fell in war. To Eleazar special tribute pay. Through slaughter'd troops he cut his way To the distinguish'd elephant, and, ‘whelm'd beneath The stabbed monster, triumph'd in a glorious death. Air Judas Maccabaeus With honour let desert be crown'd, The trumpet ne'er in vain shall sound; But, all attentive to alarms, The willing nations fly to arms,
‘The Friends of the Huddersfield Choral Society’ was established in 1995 and provides a link with The Society, support of The Society’s activities and benefits for its members. • Priority booking for Public Concerts at the Town Hall (limited in the case of Public Messiah tickets).
And, conquering or conquer'd, claim the prize Of happy earth, or far more happy skies. Recitative Eupolemus Peace to my countrymen; peace and liberty. From the great senate of imperial Rome, With a firm league of amity, I come. Rome, whate'er nation dare insult us more, Will rouse, in our defence, her vet'ran pow'r, And stretch her vengeful arm, by land or sea To curb the proud, and set the injur'd free. Air Israelitish Woman and Man O lovely peace, with plenty crown'd, Come, spread thy blessings all around. Let fleecy flocks the hills adorn, And valleys smile with wavy corn. Air Simon Rejoice, O Judah, and, in songs divine, With cherubim and seraphim harmonious join! Chorus Israelites Hallelujah! Amen.
• Subscriber Friends who are unable to attend the ballot given priority in the subsequent allocation of tickets.
F R I E N D S
BENEFITS INCLUDE:
continued
• Priority on returned tickets for subscription concerts. • Regular Newsletters covering the life of The Society. • Prize Draws. • Discounted recordings of the Huddersfield Choral Society.
The cost of membership of The Friends is £18 joint membership, £12 single membership. Further details and an application form can be obtained from:
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T W E N T Y - F I V E
Choir Members SOPRANO: Margaret Atkinson* Susan Baines Sheila Baker** Jill Bamford Esme Barber Lydia Bayliss Charmaine Beaumont** Jill Benn Patricia Berry* Janet Booth Chrissie Bosworth Elly Bosworth Elizabeth Boyle Dorothy Bradbury Christine Broadbent Louise Brown Sarah Brown Colleen Brown Derrianne Byrne Mary Cadwaladr Barbara Carroll Joanna Cole Tricia Commons Gwyneth Cooper Rosemary Cooper Andrea Crawshaw* Eleanor Davies Jenny Ellis Sue Ellis Linda Fellows Sheila Garside* Katherine Hall Julia Harvey* Margaret Henry* Hilary Hibbin Kate Hyland-Collier Caroline Jones Georgia Katsiroumpa Helen Kettlewell Emma Kilroy Fiona Law Elaine Lee* Anne Lockwood Helen Martin Jules Mehten
Wendy Moores Cath Murgatroyd Megan Nelson Pamela Pal Jean Parker* Leah Pattison Carol Randerson* Christine Roberts Katrina Robinson-Brown Jane Sargent* Hannah Saxon Chanelle Schofield Sue Shepherd Thelma Simpson Debbie Skipper Susan Smith Doreen Smurthwaite Nan Steinitz Ruth Stones* Marilyn Sutcliffe Sarah Wickham Denise Wilkes Glynis Wilkinson Susan Wilkinson* Mary Wilson ALTO: Ruth Aldred Helen Ashley-Taylor Anna Bailey Thelma Bateman Ann Boswell Barbara Brook* Rowena Burton Sandy Cole** Margaret Collison Jean Collison* Cynthia Daniel** Janet Dransfield* Christine Durham** Winifred Ellis* Janet Gabanski Alison Hale Julie Hale Gaynor Haliday Richard Hallas
Andrea Hindson Pam Hird* Jane Hobson* Sue Hornby Susan Kirby Hilary Laurie Sylvia McGee* Hilary McLean Elizabeth Mortimer Kath Northern* Marjorie Norton* Audrey O'Hara Alison Owen - Morley Jayne Preston** Frances Priestnall Caroline Robinson Jennifer Sanderson Susan Sandford Katie Saunders Vicki Scurrah Eileen Sheller Suzanne Smelt Alexandra Soden Marjorie Swift** Pam Sykes Vera Thompson Anna Thompson Lettice Thomson* Susan Turnbull Sandra Twitchett Alex Vickers Michelle Walker Jean Walters* Rebekah Wheeler Sue Wilman** Jenni Wohlman Glenda Wray TENOR: Michael Benn* Jonathan Brigg Stephen Brook* Tom Chilton David Croft** Malcolm Fairless* Chris Fawcett
P A G E
Graham Fearnley* Jeremy Garside Ronald Gee David Gee Steven Grant Malcolm Hinchliffe Roy Hirst Norman Hirst Martin Jenkins Martin Kettlewell Gregory Knaggs Alex Kyle Timothy Lewis** John Ling David Lunn Richard Myhill Arthur Quarmby* Philip Ratcliffe Stuart Rudd Gerald Savage Ian Smith Alan Stephens Charles R. Sykes David Vickers Harvey Walsh David Ward Michael Widdall Tim Wilkes BASS: Femi Aboaba Richard Ainley Christopher Arnold** David Atkinson Gareth Beaumont** James Blagbrough Graham Boyle John Brown* David Burgess Mike Corney Jim Cowell Martyn Crossley* James Curran** Ian Daniel* Peter Dawson P.J. Dodd
T W E N T Y - S I X
Granville Dransfield* Raymond Ellis Daniel Fields John Harman David Hartley*** David Hoddle Dennis Holmes Keith Horner William Kirby Martin Luke Andrew Marsland John McGahey Barrie Mortimer Robin Owen - Morley Angus Pogson** Geoffrey Priestley David Robinson Howard Sandford John Sandland Graham Smelt Terry Smurthwaite Paul Spencer Jim Stafford* Alan Stirk Neil Stones Mark Taylor Richard Thompson Lyndon Wilkinson* Barrie Williams Conrad Winterburn**
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Simon, Andrew and the team are pleased to announce the opening of their new shop
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FUTURE CONCERTS • SATURDAY 12 JUNE 2010 • ST PAUL’S HALL HUDDERSFIELD PRESIDENT’S GALA CONCERT Conductor - Joseph Cullen - Organ - Darius Battiwalla • SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2010 • HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL - 7.30pm HEPWORTH BAND GALA CONCERT ‘A NIGHT AT THE CLASSICS’ • FRIDAY 29 OCTOBER 2010 • HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL - 7.30pm (Subscribers’ Concert) VERDI REQUIEM ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Conductor - Vasily Petrenko • FRIDAY 10 DECEMBER 2010 • HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL - 7.30pm CHRISTMAS CONCERT • MONDAY 20 DECEMBER 2010 • THE SAGE GATESHEAD MESSIAH NORTHERN SINFONIA Conductor - Jane Glover • TUESDAY 21 DECEMBER 2010 • HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL - 7.15pm (Subscribers’ Concert) MESSIAH NORTHERN SINFONIA Conductor - Jane Glover • WEDNESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2010 • HUDDERSFIELD TOWN HALL - 7.15pm (Public Concert) MESSIAH NORTHERN SINFONIA Conductor - Jane Glover
The Society would like to thank the ‘Friends of the Huddersfield Choral Society’ for their generous donation towards the cost of the recently released recording of Stainer’s Crucifixion. P A G E
Legacies Including a legacy to The Huddersfield Choral Society in your Will is a practical way to make a lasting contribution to our future. Please help us remain one of the most inspiring and vibrant Choral Societies in Britain for the next generations. The Society is a registered charity, Number 1100851. Enquiries may be directed to the Society’s Treasurer Mr. Adrian J. Lee: -∞72 Benomley Road, Almondbury, Huddersfield, HD5 8LS Telephone: 01484 450321 Email: adrian.lee@huddersfieldchoral.com
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Many of you will by now be aware of our plans to celebrate the 175th anniversary of our Society. We have been delighted by the response to our ‘£175 for 175’ appeal and to date over 65 of our members and supporters have pledged their support. You can do so if you wish by contacting our treasurer Adrian Lee on 01484 450321 or by e-mailing: Adrian.lee@huddersfieldchoral.com. Full details are also on our website www.huddersfieldchoral.com Choral members have entered into the fundraising spirit with monies raised from two meals at local restaurants, a collection of 20p pieces, a Christmas quiz, an Evening at Lupton Square Gallery, a highly successful coffee morning and a concert with our conductor Joseph Cullen and organist Darius Battiwalla. We now have a set of six display boards documenting the history and development of the choir and these will be touring local libraries, galleries and museums. They will also be on display at concerts. Our programme of workshops is taking shape, the first one booked for 8th October at Greenhead College. The new edition of 'And the Glory' is now with the printers and will be launched at a Civic Reception on September 28th.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS APRIL TO OCTOBER Sunday 25th April Sunday Lunch with Brian Kay - Fully booked
points, and there are also some shortcuts if needed. Anybody can walk - not just singing members, so we would encourage Friends, Subscribers, spouses, partners, friends and dogs to join in helping us make this a big success. We also need good walkers who are happy to lead groups. There will be 3 singing stops en route, where we shall be singing hymns which are included on our Hymns CD. The stops will be Almondbury Methodist, Shelley Methodist and Thurstonland Church. Andrea Crawshaw will play the organ at all three, and will be sponsored to do so! A refreshment and lunch stop at Shelley Village Hall has been arranged, so no need to carry a large packed lunch! As we want this to be a big inclusive event, those not walking can participate by joining us for the singing or helping with the refreshments as tea and cake makers! Our aim is to raise £10,000 - which, if we get 100 walkers each raising £100, is achievable. For more details about the route and timings, please contact Gaynor Haliday on 01484 667849 It is a beautiful walk and quite flat in places, so please sign up for this - it will be fun!! Saturday July 3rd Auction of Promises 7.30 pm at Crow Nest Golf Club Tickets and further details from Michelle Walker 01484 718316 Saturday October 2nd Picnic and Proms at the North Light Gallery Armitage Bridge 6.30 for 7pm. Tickets £10 each - Tables of 10 (but we can make up tables for smaller parties). This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear individual members of the choir sing a very different repertoire. Guest appearance of the Huddersfield Choral Society Junior Choirs.
Saturday 15th May Ceilidh at Holmfirth Civic Hall 7.30 pm Tickets £10 (children £5) including supper Tickets and further details from Fiona Law 01484 685354 Monday 17th May The President's Lunch and Bridge Day - Fully booked
Further details and tickets from Jenny Lockwood on 01484 666827or Janet Booth on 01484 602445
Saturday 29th May Plant Sale at 82a New North Road Huddersfield (200m above Waverley). 10am - 4pm. A variety of summer bedding plants, perennials, shrubs, herbs etc will be on sale. Light refreshments served.
Do visit our display in the area foyer this evening where alongside the sale of recordings we have our new commemorative mug, notelets and book of Choral memories.
Saturday June 5th The BIG WALK! Starting from Castle Hill with a rousing chorus of Jerusalem, the circular walk will be 13.5 miles. It is divided into 4 stages so participants can join in or drop out at certain P A G E
Do keep looking at our 175th anniversary page on the Huddersfield Choral Society website www.huddersfieldchoral.com or contact Jenny Lockwood on 01484 666827 or e-mail david.lockwood@huddersfieldchoral.com
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RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS Handel: Judas Maccabaeus The most stylish and alert overture comes from Robert King with the Kings Consort and in the first chorus the Choir of New College Oxford show they are predictably more accurate in intonation and diction than their Wandsworth counterparts for Mackerras. But once past the opening chorus, with the first appearance of the soloists the pendulum swings the other way. Catherine Denley sings well but her delivery is routine without any of the depth of feeling immediately conveyed by both Helen Watts and Janet Baker in the Johannes Somary and Mackerras recordings respectively. In the second half of this opening recitative although the text tells of distressful cries and loud laments one would never know from Emma Kirkby’s characteristically up-beat and optimistic delivery. And so they both continue in the ensuing duet. Here Janet Baker (Mackerras) takes the high Gs to thrilling effect rather than the lower octave alternative. One of the few criticisms of the Somary recording is that he omits this duet with no justification for, as far as I can tell, it was in the 1747 first performance and is not a later addition to the 1750 or 1758/9 revisions.
Russell Burgess (at that time assistant to the legendary Wilhelm Pitz at the Philharmonia Chorus) built up this inner-city school boys choir in the late 1960’s to the point where they made a number of recordings and attracted the attention of Benjamin Britten who wrote for them and used them on a number of occasions at the Aldeburgh Festival. Their diction could be clearer and under pressure the tone can become rather raw and the intonation suspect, but they certainly throw themselves into it and although they will not be to everyone’s taste, I wouldn’t be forgoing the glories of the Mackerras recording for the sake of the choral niceties of the Robert King recording. Somary’s mixed voice Amor Artis Chorale (after a very slow opening chorus which shows up some vibrato in the upper voices) acquit themselves well and will probably appeal most to tonight’s audience. After the opening chorus Somary proves a stylish Handelian with tempi frequently more alert even than Mackerras. The main drawback to his recording being a number of cuts, whereas the Mackerras version running to 3 CDs (at mid-price) offers the most complete text with some of the additions for later revivals.
In Act 2 (Handel referred to them as ‘acts’ rather than ‘parts’ in this dramatic oratorio) both Somary and Mackerras include Zion now her head shall raise, a duet for the Israelite women and man (Palmer and Baker quite marvellous here) leading into one of the more substantial choruses which was written for a revival of Esther in 1757 and included in the 1758/9 revision of Judas (this is not included in tonight’s performance). Mackerras also includes several items in the ‘Liberty’ sequence in Act 1 which are omitted from the Somary performance, where we cut to the final duet of this short sequence Come, ever smiling liberty.
Before I spent the last couple of weeks intensively re-acquainting myself with the somewhat neglected Judas Maccabaeus (the Choral performed it 14 times between 1836 and 1900 and once in the following 110 years!) I would have expected to go with the most recent ‘historically aware’ recording, but none of King’s four principal soloists quite compare to any of their rivals for Somary or Mackerras and side by side, several are a disappointment.
After the open chorus of Act 2, Somary omits the recitative Victorious Hero and the following air So rapid thy course is, which Janet Baker dispatches magnificently for Mackerras and, together with his other soloists illustrates why, despite some reservations over the choir for some people, his recording is so successful. Both Heather Harper and especially Felicity Palmer are movingly eloquent in Ah! Wretched Israel, whereas Emma Kirkby left me unaffected. Sound an alarm is given an exciting rendering by Alexander Young and the mixed voice Amor Artis Chorale aided by Somary adopting a brisker tempo than Mackerras. At the start of Act 3 Helen Watts sing most eloquently in the gentle air Father of Heaven and Heather Harper shows what a fine Handel singer she is in the taxing air So shall the lute and harp awake. The Wandsworth Boys finally make their only appearance with See, the conquering hero comes. In the Mackerras recording, Oh lovely peace is sung in a conflation of two versions, Felicity Palmer delightfully sings the 1750 revision for solo soprano rather than the duet original (as in Somary) but at the da capo is joined by Janet Baker for the repeat in the duet version, a very pleasant surprise and what ravishing singing! I would like to be more enthusiastic about the Hyperion recording by the Kings Consort. My own natural inclination would be for a periodinstrument performance but not at the expense of the artistry and musical insights that are on display elsewhere. One of the best things about this performance is the Choir of New College, Oxford although they can sound rather under-powered in the lower voices (their vital statistics are 16 trebles, 4 counter-tenors, 5 tenors and 6 basses) they are impressively agile, true in intonation and produce a cultured sound typical of the best Anglican tradition. Mackerras’s Wandsworth School Boys are cut from a different cloth, but it is only fair to say how impressive their achievement is. Their choirmaster, P A G E
Alexander Young is the most heroic Judas followed closely by Ryland Davies who has an occasional tendency to approach higher notes from below. John Shirley-Quirk for both Somary and Mackerras is excellent. One shouldn’t be forced to choose between Heather Harper and Helen Watts for Somary (and how pleased I am to have been reminded what great singers they were) and Felicity Palmer and Janet Baker for Mackerras; but Baker is glorious and Palmer just makes me smile. When she sings And with his acts made Judah smile, not only did I hear the smile I can almost see it! Heather Harper Helen Watts Alexander Young John Shirley-Quirk Amor Artis Chorale Wandsworth School Boys Choir English Chamber Orchestra Johannes Somary Alto ALC2002 (recorded 1971)
Felicity Palmer Janet Baker Ryland Davies John Shirley-Quirk Wandsworth School Boys Choir English Chamber Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras Archiv 447 692-2 (recorded 1976)
Emma Kirkby Catherine Denley Jamie MacDougall Michael George Choir of New College, Oxford Kings Consort Robert King Hyperion CDA66641/2 (recorded 1992)
Graham D Bennett T H I R T Y
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Recordings
MESSIAH: £8.00
LBUM: £12.00
THE CAROLS A
THE CRUCIFIXIO
N: £12.00
OTHER RECORDINGS AVAILABLE: • The Hymns Album • A Christmas Fantasy • • A Christmas Celebration • Belshazzar’s Feast • Recordings will be on sale in the Area Entrance tonight or can be obtained from: David Lockwood (Telephone 01484 666827) E-mail: David.lockwood@huddersfieldchoral.com
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Contact Tel 01924 404737 or susan.wilkinson@huddersfieldchoral.com P A G E
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Huddersfield Choral Society Conductor Laureate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARTYN BRABBINS Chorus Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JOSEPH CULLEN Deputy Chorus Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DARIUS BATTIWALLA Accompanist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DANIEL GORDON Deputy Accompanist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MALCOLM HINCHLIFFE Agent: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PATRICK GARVEY (Tel 01904 621222)
OFFICIALS AND COMMITTEE President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .BRENDA MOSLEY Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . .CONRAD WINTERBURN General Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JIM COWELL Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ADRIAN LEE Choir Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . ANDREA CRAWSHAW Subscribers’ Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JULIE HALE Sponsorship Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . .TONY BOOTH Programme Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID LOCKWOOD Recruitment Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . GAYNOR HALIDAY Publicity Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SARAH WICKHAM Music Officer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID BURGESS Associates Members’ Secretary . . . . . JEAN PARKER Archivist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MALCOLM HINCHLIFFE Chairman 175 Committee . . . . . . . JENNY LOCKWOOD
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18/20 Acre Street Lindley Huddersfield www.lhmw.co.uk Tel: 01484 511088
Members’ Representatives Janet Booth David Croft David Gee Hilary McLean Jane Sargent Vicki Scurrah Mark A Taylor Sue Turnbull Subscribers’ Representatives Helen Marshall Cynthia Pratt Honorary Life Members Mr. R. Barraclough DL Mr. H. Clough Mr. D. Hartley Mr. J. D. Haywood DL Mr. K. Rothery Mr. G. Slater
Our Christmas gifts are now in
HUDDERSFIELD CHORAL SOCIETY PO Box B30, 35 Westgate, Huddersfield HD1 1PA Telephone: 01484 536968 www.huddersfieldchoral.com
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