Telling Tales with Telemann - November

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TELLING TALES WITH TELEMANN

TELEMANN Der Harmonische Gottesdienst: 1st Sunday of Advent 'Erwachet zum Kriegen' TWV 1:481 AESOP The Lion and the Donkey

TELEMANN Sonata for Violin in F Major TWV 41:F4 TELEMANN Trio Sonata in G minor TWV 42:g5 Recorded at St Giles, Cripplegate November 2021

We are grateful for the support of Jenny and Tim Morrison and our friends at St Giles, Cripplegate


Alto Solo Bethany Horak-Hallett Violin Henry Tong Oboe Katharina Spreckelsen Cello Jonathan Manson Organ/harpsichord Steven Devine

Technical director and post Production Zen Grisdale Vision Mix Crispin Woodhead

Camera Operators Sophie Adams Ed Ault Pasha Mansurov Edward Shaw Sound Engineer David Hinnit Music Producer Andrew Roberts Grip Adrian Bending




PROGRAMME NOTES DER HARMONISCHE GOTTESDIENST: 1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 'ERWACHET ZUM KRIEGEN' TWV 1:481 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

Aria

Recitative

Aria

As well as playing the organ and directing the choir, the kantor (or music director) of a church in Germany in the early 18th century was expected to compose and perform appropriate music for each Sunday and every feast day of the liturgical year. It’s no wonder, then, that they maintained a formidable work-rate. Bach’s 200-odd church cantatas are the best-known result, but Christoph Graupner, in Hesse-Darmstadt, composed some 1400 cantatas over his career and Georg Philipp Telemann, in Hamburg, wrote well over 1000.

Telemann had a good head for business. He realised that if he composed and published a year’s worth of attractive, adaptable and easily-performed cantatas, he’d find an enthusiastic market among kantors desperate for fresh music (or just a week off now and then). Der Harmonische Gottersdienst was published in 1726, and each of its 72 short cantatas used just a single singer, a solo instrumentalist and a continuo – making them performable in even the smallest churches.

This is the cantata for the 1st Sunday in Advent. It’s set to verses by the Hamburg poet Matthaeus Wilckens, and the message is stirring: awake to war! Believers are knights of the spirit! Telemann’s vivid, vigorous music turns the worshippers into the heroes and heroines of their own spiritual adventure.


SONATA FOR VIOLIN IN F MAJOR TWV 41:F4

TRIO SONATA IN G MINOR TWV 42:G5

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767)

Allegro

Allegro

Andante Siciliana Allegro

Telemann learned the violin the hard way. When his parents banned him from studying music, he pieced together his own musical education: learning from folk-musicians as well as from his contemporaries Bach and Handel (both of whom would become lifelong friends). He was tireless, and in his twenties, directing the court orchestra in Eisenach, he redoubled his efforts. “I used to shut myself away for several days beforehand, the violin in my hands, my left sleeve rolled up and my nerves rubbed with a fortifying balm,” he recalled. It paid off: by the time he was a successful composer in Hamburg, he knew from the inside what made enjoyable, playable music for the violin. That was the whole point of the collection of chamber music that he published as Essercizii Musici in 1740. It contained two solo sonatas and two Trio Sonatas apiece for each of six different instruments – so whatever the instruments available when you gathered friends for a soirée, you’d find something enjoyable to play. And something fashionable too: port cities are often ahead of musical trends, and the lilting, bittersweet Siciliana of this fresh and inventive F major sonata will have brought a taste of Italy into Hamburg drawing rooms.

Mesto

Andante Vivace

Georg Philipp Telemann was a composer with a lively mind; and when he was not working as general director of music in the port city of Hamburg he enjoyed gardening – cultivating the rare plants that his equally green-fingered friend Handel sent him from London. There’s something of the gardener in the way that he’d take the conventional musical forms of his day and nurture them, drawing out their potential and mingling new and colourful strains of music to create hybrids that were fresh, robust, and a constant source of delight to experts and amateurs alike.

Telemann considered himself a particular master of the Trio Sonata, in which two musical voices converse to the accompaniment of a third, the continuo (which could comprise several instruments – typically a harpsichord and a cello). But this was also an age of Sensibility – the new fashion for uninhibited emotional directness. So in this sonata for oboe and violin from his Essercizii Musici (1740) Telemann introduces a new kind of sentiment, diving straight in with a Mesto (Sad) slow movement in which the two instruments lament and sigh before getting down to the kind of lively, intelligent musical conversation that 18th century musicians loved to perform, and audiences loved to hear. Richard Bratby



AESOP'S FABLE The Lion and the Donkey

read by Imani Bennett, student at Acland Burghley School, Camden.

One day as the Lion walked proudly down a forest aisle, and the animals respectfully made way for him, an Ass brayed a scornful remark as he passed. The Lion felt a flash of anger. But when he turned his head and saw who had spoken, he walked quietly on. He would not honour the fool with even so much as a stroke of his claws.



BEETHOVEN OCTET IN E FLAT

BACH ST JOHN PASSION

HANDEL MESSIAH

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

HANDEL APOLLO E DAFNE

BRAHMS VIOLIN CONCERTO

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TRANSLATION DER HARMONISCHE GOTTESDIENST: 1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 'ERWACHET ZUM KRIEGEN'

1. Arie Erwachet zum Kriegen! Ihr Seelen, ruestet euch! Auf, auf! Die Sinnen zu betaeuben! Uebet, in des Geistes Kraft, eine gute Ritterschaft! Sucht, durch Wachen, Beten, Blaeuben, euren Feinden ob zu siegen, sonst verliehrt ihr Zions Reich! 2. Rezitativ Der Tag erscheinet; die Stund‘ ist da, vom Schlaf und Schnarchen aufzustehen und in dem Kampf mit Fleisch und Blut zugehen! Das Heil ist nah; Doch auch Gefahr und Fall sind naeher, als ihr’s meinet; Denn, wer Heil mit Fuessen tritt, wird, statt des Heils, Verderben und statt des Segens Fluch ererben, der Gnadenkoenig bringt den Frieden Gottes mit; doch denen, die mit sich im faulen Frieden leben, wird dieser Friede nicht gegeben. Darum, zu guter Nacht, o Freundschaft, die mir Gott zum strengen Feinde macht! Dir sei ein steter Hass, ein steter Kampf, geschworen, bis mit dem Leben sich zugleich auch deine Macht verloren. Du aber, der du mich zum Wollen angeflammt, von dem auch mein Vollbringen stammt, mein Koenig gib, bei diesen Toben mir Kraft von oben, und sei, da mir allein der Ansatz viel zu heftig, durch deinen Geist in meiner Ohnmacht kraeftig!


1. Aria Awake for the battle! Ye souls, gird yourselves! Up, up! Quell your senses! Show, in the power of the spirit, a noble gallantry. Seek, through vigilence, prayer, faith either to conquer your foe Or else lose the kingdom of Zion 2. Recitative The day dawns; the hour is there, to rise up from sleep and snoring, and enter the battle with flesh and blood! Salvation is near; yet danger and fall are also closer than you think; for, whoever tramples on salvation, will not be saved but will perish, and will not be blessed but cursed. The King of Grace brings the peace of God with him; but to those, who live in indolence, this peace will not be given. So, goodnight, O friendship, that makes God my sworn enemy! To you be sworn a steady hate a steady battle, until your power is lost along with your life. But you, who inflame my desire, who are the making of me, my King, amid this raging, grant me strength from above, and, since the burden is too heavy for me alone, be strong, through your spirit, in my frailty.


TRANSLATION CONTINUED 3. Arie Wappne mich mit deiner Staerke, Gott mein Retter, meine Burg! Hilf mir kaempfen! Hilf mir ringen! Hilf mir die wallenden Lueste bezwingen! Heilige mich durch und durch! 3. Aria Arm me with your strength, God my saviour, my stronghold! Help me fight! Help me struggle! Help me to conquer surging desires! Cleanse me through and through! Translation by Crispin Woodhead




BETHANY HORAK-HALLETT Laban Conservatoire.

Brisith soprano Bethany Horak- Hallett read Music at Leeds University and went on to gain a Masters in Music Performance followed by a Masters in Vocal Studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire. She currently studies with Sherman Lowe. Bethany is a Rising Star of the Enlightenment ,was a finalist in the 2020 Cesti Competition at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and recently won Second Prize in the 2021 International Handel Singing Competition. Bethany’s opera engagements have included Kitchen Boy Rusalka for Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester / Robin Ticciati; Woman Katya Kabanova at Glyndebourne; Cupid Venus and Adonis, Venere Il Ballo delle Ingrate and Enchanted Lady in Caccini La Liberazione di Ruggiero at the Brighton Early Music Festival; Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro with the Merry Opera Company, Dorabella Cosi fan Tutte with London Young Sinfonia, Second Witch Dido & Aeneas at the Milton Abbey International Music Festival, Taa in Lewis Coenen-Rowe Collision at the Grimebourne Festival and Nerone L’Incoronazione di Poppea at Trinity

On the concert platform Bethany has appeared with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment singing Bach cantatas directed by Steven Devine, the St John Passion with Mark Padmore and Elijah with Masaaki Suzuki. She recently made her BBC Proms début with the Monteverdi Choir / Sir John Eliot Gardiner singing Handel Dixit Dominus and appeared with the English Chamber Orchestra / James Sherlock. Bethany recorded Cupid in John Eccles Semele with the Academy of Ancient Music / Julian Perkins. Her recent and future engagements include a tour with Holland Baroque, Bach and Handel with the Academy of Ancient Music, filming Messiah for the Voces8 Foundation Live from London festival plus Bach Cantatas and Aci in Handel Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with the OAE.


ABOUT THE OAE “Not all orchestras are the same” Over three decades ago, a group of inquisitive London musicians took a long hard look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. And as this distinctive ensemble playing on period-specific instruments began to get a foothold, it made a promise to itself. It vowed to keep questioning, adapting and inventing as long as it lived. Those original instruments became just one element of its quest for authenticity. Baroque and Classical music became just one strand of its repertoire. Every time the musical establishment thought it had a handle on what the OAE was all about, the ensemble pulled out another shocker: a Symphonie Fantastique here, some conductor-less Bach there. All the while, the Orchestra’s players called the shots. In some small way, the OAE changed the classical music world too. It challenged those distinguished partner organisations and brought the very best from them, too. Symphony and opera orchestras began to ask it for advice. Existing period instrument groups started to vary their conductors and repertoire. New ones popped up all over Europe and America.

And so the story continues, with ever more momentum and vision. The OAE’s series of nocturnal Night Shift performances have redefined concert parameters. Its association at London’s Kings Place has fostered further diversity of planning and music-making. The ensemble has formed the bedrock for some of Glyndebourne’s most ground-breaking recent productions. In keeping with its values of always questioning, challenging and trailblazing, in September 2020, the OAE became the resident orchestra of Acland Burghley School, Camden. The residency – a first for a British orchestra – allows the OAE to live, work and play amongst the students of the school. Of the instrumentalists, many remain from those brave first days; many have come since. All seem as eager and hungry as ever. They’re offered ever greater respect, but continue only to question themselves. Because still, they pride themselves on sitting ever so slightly outside the box. They wouldn’t want it any other way. ©Andrew Mellor


OAE TEAM Chief Executive Crispin Woodhead

Projects Officer Ed Ault

Life President Sir Martin Smith

Finance and Governance Director Pascale Nicholls

Orchestra Consultant Philippa Brownsword

Board of Directors Imogen Overli [Chairman] Daniel Alexander Steven Devine Denys Firth Adrian Frost Max Mandel David Marks Rebecca Miller Andrew Roberts Katharina Spreckelsen Matthew Shorter Dr. Susan Tranter Crispin Woodhead

Development Director Emily Stubbs Projects Director Jo Perry Education Director Cherry Forbes Communications Director Elle Docx General Manager Edward Shaw Head of Individual Giving and Digital Development Marina Abel Smith Education Officer Andrew Thomson Projects Manager Sophie Adams Finance Officer Fabio Lodato Digital Content Officer Zen Grisdale Marketing and Press Officer Anna Bennett Box Office and Data Manager Paola Rossi Development Manager Kiki Betts-Dean Development Officer Luka Lah

Choir Manager David Clegg Librarian Roy Mowatt Leaders Huw Daniel Kati Debretzeni Margaret Faultless Matthew Truscott Players’ Artistic Committee Adrian Bending Steven Devine Max Mandel Andrew Roberts Katharina Spreckelsen Principal Artists John Butt Sir Mark Elder Iván Fischer Vladimir Jurowski Sir Simon Rattle Sir András Schiff Emeritus Conductors William Christie Sir Roger Norrington

OAE Trust Adrian Frost [Chairman] Mark Allen Paul Forman Steven Larcombe Alison McFadyen Caroline Noblet Imogen Overli Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Maarten Slendebroek Sir Martin Smith Caroline Steane Honorary Council Sir Victor Blank Edward Bonham Carter Cecelia Bruggemeyer Nigel Jones Stephen Levinson Marshall Marcus Julian Mash Greg Melgaard Susan Palmer OBE Jan Schlapp Diane Segalen Susannah Simons Lady Smith OBE Rosalyn Wilkinson Mark Williams




THANK YOU OAE Experience scheme Ann and Peter Law Corporate Partners Champagne Deutz Mark Allen Group Marquee TV Swan Turton Corporate Associates Gelato Season Patrons John Armitage Charitable Trust Julian and Annette Armstrong Denys and Vicki Firth Adrian Frost Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones Selina and David Marks Haakon and Imogen Overli Sir Martin and Lady Smith OBE Philip & Rosalyn Wilkinson Mark and Rosamund Williams Project Patrons Bruce Harris Ian S Ferguson CBE and Dr Susan Tranter Aria Patrons Madeleine Hodgkin Steven Larcombe Peter and Veronica Lofthouse Stanley Lowy Gary and Nina Moss Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Maarten and Taina Slendebroek Caroline Steane Eric Tomsett Chair Patrons Mrs Nicola Armitage - Education Director Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter - Principal Trumpet Katharine Campbell - Violin Anthony and Celia Edwards - Principal Oboe

James Flynn QC - Co-Principal Lute/Theorbo Jonathan and Tessa Gaisman – Viola Michael and Harriet Maunsell - Principal Keyboard Jenny and Tim Morrison - Second Violin Caroline Noblet – Oboe Professor Richard Portes - Principal Bassoon Christina – Flute John and Rosemary Shannon - Principal Horn Sue Sheridan OBE – Education Roger and Pam Stubbs - Clarinet Crispin Woodhead and Christine Rice - Principal Timpani Associate Patrons Charles and Julia Abel Smith Noël and Caroline Annesley Sir Richard Arnold and Mary Elford Hugh and Michelle Arthur David and Marilyn Clark Damaris Albarrán David Emmerson Jonathan Parker Charitable Trust Elisabeth Green in memory of June Mockett Roger Heath MBE and Alison Heath MBE Peter and Sally Hilliar Moira and Robert Latham Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd Roger Mears and Joanie Speers Rebecca Miller David Mildon in memory of Lesley Mildon John Nickson and Simon Rew Andrew and Cindy Peck Stephen and Penny Pickles Peter Rosenthal Emily Stubbs and Stephen McCrum Shelley von Strunckel Mr J Westwood

Education Patrons Mrs Nicola Armitage Sir Victor Blank Stephen and Patricia Crew John and Sue Edwards Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd Andrew and Cindy Peck Professor Richard Portes Sue Sheridan OBE Rising Stars Supporters Annette and Julian Armstrong Denys and Vicki Firth Bruce Harris Ms Madeleine Hodgkin Mrs Sarah Holford Nigel Jones and Francoise Valat-Jones Peter & Veronica Lofthouse Mr Andrew Nurnberg Old Possum's Practical Trust Imogen and Haakon Overli Gold Friends Michael Brecknell Gerard Cleary Mr and Mrs C Cochin de Billy Chris Gould Michael Spagat Silver Friends Dennis and Sheila Baldry Haylee and Michael Bowsher Tony Burt Christopher Campbell Mr and Mrs Michael Cooper David Cox Anthony and Jo Diamond Suzanne Doyle Rachel and Charles Henderson Malcolm Herring Patricia Herrmann Stephen Hodge Rupert and Alice King Alison and Ian Lowdon Anthony and Carol Rentoul Bridget Rosewell David and Ruth Samuels Leslie Scott Susannah Simons Victor Smart Her Honour Suzanne Stewart Simon and Karen Taube


Bronze Friends Tony Baines Penny & Robin Broadhurst Graham and Claire Buckland Dan Burt Michael A Conlon Roger Easy Mrs SM Edge Mrs Mary Fysh Simon Gates Stephen and Cristina Goldring Martin and Helen Haddon Ray and Liz Harsant The Lady Heseltine Mrs Auriel Hill Val Hudson Stuart Martin Patricia Orwell Paul Rivlin Alan Sainer Matthew and Sarah Shorter Mr and Mrs Tony Timms John Truscott Mrs Joy Whitby David Wilson Young Patron Ed Abel Smith David Gillbe Elizabeth George Henry Mason Peter Yardley-Jones Young Ambassador Patron Marianne and William Cartwright-Hignett Jessica and Alex Kemp Breandán Knowlton Trusts & Foundations Apax Foundation Arts Council England Ashley Family Foundation Boshier-Hinton Foundation Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement CAF Resilience Fund The Charles Peel Charitable Trust Chivers Trust Derek Hill Foundation Dreamchasing Dyers Company Ernest Cook Trust Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Fidelio Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation

Garfield Weston Foundation Garrick Charitable Trust Geoffrey Watling Charity Henocq Law Trust John Lyon’s Charity Linbury Trust Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust Michael Marks Charitable Trust National Foundation for Youth Music Old Possum’s Practical Trust Orchestras Live Paul Bassham Charitable Trust The Patrick Rowland Foundation Peter Cundill Foundation Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity Pitt-Rivers Charitable Trust Radcliffe Trust Rainbow Dickinson Trust Stanley Picker Trust The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust The Loveday Charitable Trust The R&I Pilkington Charitable Trust The Shears Foundation The Vernon Ellis Foundation

APPEAL DONORS We have been overwhelmed by the support of our audiences since the beginning of the pandemic. Many of you have generously helped us tackle this challenging time by donating to our Regeneration Appeal. The Appeal runs to 31st December 2021 and every donation will be matched. If you would like to contribute, please contact: Emily.Stubbs@oae.co.uk Charles and Julia Abel Smith Mark and Sue Allen Deborah Anthony Julian and Annette Armstrong Hugh and Michelle Arthur John Birks Sir Victor Blank Bob and Elisabeth Boas A & FDW Boettcher William Bordass Mr Roger Bowerman Ms Susan Bracken Neil Brock

Sir Anthony Cleaver Professor Susan Cooper Ms Harriet Copperman Dr David Cox Gill Cox Stephen and Patricia Crew Mrs Melanie Edge Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Ms Margaret Faultless Denys and Vicki Firth Adrian Frost Jennifer Frost Jonathan N Gaisman, QC Dr David Glynn Roy Greenhalgh David Guthrie Martin Haddon Ray Harsant Roger Heath MBE and Alison Heath MBE Peter and Sally Hilliar Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones Jerome Karter Sue Lamble Steven Larcombe Sir Timothy Lloyd and Lady Lloyd Dr Alan Lord Stanley Lowy, MBE Ellie Makri Michael and Harriet Maunsell Tim and Jenny Morrison Mr Clive Murgatroyd, MBE Robert Nash John Nickson & Simon Rew Andrew Nurnberg Johanna Nusselein Imogen and Haakon Overli Andrew and Cindy Peck Mike Raggett Ruth and David Samuels Laura Sheldon Sue Sheridan OBE Maarten and Taina Slendebroek Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE Michael Spagat Caroline Steane Para Sun Iain Taylor Christopher Tew Lady Marina Vaizey, CBE Eva Maria Valero Mark and Rosamund Williams Peter Williams


WE MOVED INTO A SCHOOL A little over a year ago we took up permanent residence at Acland Burghley School in Camden, North London. The residency – a first for a British orchestra – allows us to live, work and play amongst the students of the school. Three offices have been adapted for our administration team, alongside a recording studio and library. We use the Grade II listed school assembly hall as a rehearsal space, with plans to refurbish it under the school’s ‘A Theatre for All’ project. The school isn't just our landlord or physical home. Instead, it allows us to build on twenty years of work in the borough through OAE’s long-standing partnership with Camden Music. Having already worked in eighteen of the local primary schools that feed into ABS, the plans moving forward are to support music and arts across the school into the wider community. Our move underpins our core ‘enlightenment’ mission of reaching as wide an audience as possible. A similar project was undertaken in 2015 in Bremen, Germany. The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie moved into a local comprehensive school in a deprived area and the results were described as “transformational”, with improved academic performance, language skills, mental health and IQ scores; reputational benefits; greater interest in and engagement with music among pupils; strengthened links between school, orchestra and community; and even, according to some of the musicians who took part, an improvement in the Kammerphilharmonie’s playing. Margaret Faultless, OAE leader and violinist, said: “The members of the Bremen Kammerphilharmonie said their experience actually improved them as an orchestra and I think the same will happen to us over the next five or so years, and it will remind all of us of the reasons we make music, which are sometimes easy to forget, especially in our strange and troubled times.” Continues Margaret: “I am certainly looking forward to learning from the young people at Acland Burghley and in turn introducing them to the joys of our music and music-making.” The move has been made possible with a leadership grant of £120,000 from The Linbury Trust, one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts.


OAE EDUCATION A PROGRAMME TO INVOLVE, EMPOWER AND INSPIRE Over the past twenty years OAE Education has grown in stature and reach to involve thousands of people nationwide in creative music projects. Our participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and we pride ourselves in working flexibly, adapting to the needs of local people and the places they live. The extensive partnerships we have built up over many years help us engage fully with all the communities where we work to ensure maximum and lasting impact. We take inspiration from the OAE's repertoire, instruments and players. This makes for a vibrant, challenging and engaging programme where everyone is involved; players, animateurs, composers, participants, teachers, partners and stakeholders all have a valued voice.

SUPPORT OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMME The work we do could not happen without the support of our generous donors. If you would like to support our education programme please contact Marina Abel Smith, Head of Individual Giving and Digital Development marina.abelsmith@oae.co.uk 0208 159 9319


orchestraoftheageofenlightenment  theoae  oae_photos YouTube.com/OrchestraEnlighten The OAE is a registered charity number 295329. Registered company number 2040312. Acland Burghley School, 93 Burghley Road, London NW5 1UH 0208 159 9310 | info@oae.co.uk


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