16 JUNE 2018
CELESTIAL PIPES VICTORIA CONCERT HAL L
CELESTIAL PIPES Winfried Bönig, organ Lawrence Koh, sand artist
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 5’00 CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Bach’s Memento 8’00 Sicilienne Mattheus-Final GUSTAV HOLST The Planets 24’00 Mars Venus Jupiter CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Organ Symphony No. 5, Op. 42 No. 1 19’00 Allegro Cantabile Adagio Toccata
Concert duration: 1 hr All timings are approximate
To learn more about the Klais organ, visit www.sso.org.sg/klais-organ With support from the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, www.singaporeago.org
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WINFRIED BÖNIG
Organist-Titulaire of the Cathedral of Cologne since 2001, Winfried Bönig holds one of the most prestigious organ appointments in the world. He is a Professor of Organ and Improvisation at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne as well as the Dean of the department of Catholic Church Music. Bönig was born in Bamberg in 1959 and studied organ, conducting and church music at the Munich College of Music. He studied with Franz Lehrndorfer, who was, for many years, Cathedral organist in Munich. Bönig passed his exams with distinction and received a prestigious master class diploma. In 1993, Bönig earned a Doctorate Degree in Musicology at the University of Augsburg. His research was in performance practice of Baroque music, as well as the performance of Romantic and contemporary French organ music. Since the early 1990’s, he has lectured at various universities as well as conducted music courses and seminars both at home and
abroad. From 1984 to 1998, he was organist at the St. Josef Church in Memmingen, Bavaria. Bönig has appeared at concerts as organist, harpsichordist and conductor all over the world, and is frequently invited to perform in organ inaugurations. He has performed numerous premieres of works dedicated to him, including those by Jean Guillou, Enjott Schneider, Naji Hakim, Stephen Tharp, Christopher Tambling, Daniel Roth and Colin Mawby. The integral performance of the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Max Reger and Olivier Messiaen are cornerstones of his career. He has completed numerous recordings and radio broadcasts. His recordings on the large organs at Cologne Cathedral are one of the most popular organ recordings in Europe.
SAND ARTIST
Lawrence Koh is an international sand art virtuoso and multi-disciplinary artist specialising in both the visual art and performing arts. Utilizing an awe-inspiring combination of sand, music and light, Koh has created countless stories as a sand artist during his local and international performances. Koh’s performance is often graced by foreign delegates, local VIPs and international guests; receiving positive responses from notable guests such as the former President of Singapore Mr S.R Nathan, Prime Minister Mr Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Mr Goh Chok Tong. Being a celebrated artist in Singapore’s entertainment and art scene, Koh’s career spans across theatre productions, cultural fusion performances, short films, corporate videos, television programmes, television commercials,
KOH documentaries, corporate functions, ASEAN meetings, international meetings, company dinner & dance, official launch, festive celebrations, global seminars, live concerts and many more. Amidst his sand art journey, Koh and his sand art has received numerous article features and write-ups in The Straits Times, LianHe ZaoBao, Business Times, AsiaOne.com, Yahoo News, 8 Days Magazine and Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery’s “Awaken Magazine”. Bringing sand art to a whole new level, Koh has collaborated with many types of art forms and artists of various fields such as performances with live orchestra, Philharmonic Winds, pipe organ music, fusion music, Indian orchestra and dance, DJ, singers, Shaolin martial arts, contemporary dancers, storytelling, Chinese music ensemble and many more.
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NOTES JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750) Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR (1844–1937) Bach’s Memento
In 1731, Bach composed a new cantata for the inauguration of the Leipzig Town Council. It is one out of a handful of cantatas that open with an orchestral sinfonia. Scored for three trumpets and timpani as well as oboes and strings, it also features a solo organ. Today, our transcription of that cantata dispenses with the orchestra and gives the organist the role of both soloist and tutti.
On 13 August 1926, the French organist and composer, Charles-Marie Widor wrote to his pupil Albert Schweitzer that he had recently orchestrated six pieces of Bach for the organ. In fact, Widor not only transcribed the works for organ, he paraphrased and improvised his way through all six pieces of this work. Movement V The Sicilienne is an arrangement of the 2nd movement of the Flute Sonata BWV 1031. Movement VI Mattheus-Final is an arrangement of the final chorus from St Matthew Passion, BWV 244, “We sit down in tears, and call to thee in the tomb”.
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VCH ORGAN SERIES
GUSTAV HOLST (1874–1934) The Planets
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR Organ Symphony No. 5, Op. 42 No. 1
Between 1914 to 1916, Gustav Holst composed a seven-movement suite that was named after each of the planets of the Solar System. Holst originally scored the suite for four hands on two pianos before arranging the music for a full orchestra. Transcribed for the organ, the three movements that will be performed today are:
Charles-Marie Widor was appointed organist of the church of St. Sulpice at the tender age of 25. This is one of the most prominent positions for a French organist and he remained there until his death in 1933, all the while teaching organ and composition studies at the Paris Conservatoire. He composed ten symphonies for solo organ of which the fifth is the most famous. Today, we will hear the Allegro cantabile and Adagio, two lyrical and intimate movements, which will set the stage for the dazzling final Toccata. Fondly known as Widor’s Toccata, this piece is widely recognised as the second most famous piece in all organ repertoire. I am sure you know which organ piece is the most famous of all, right?
Mars, the Bringer of War Holst opens the music with a foreboding, persistent, percussive pulse accentuated by harsh dissonant outbursts, depicting the god of war. Venus, the Bringer of Peace In contrast, Venus is calm and peaceful. The strings shimmer, accompanying the beautiful melodies played by the flutes, harp, and solo violin. Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity Jupiter, the King of the Gods rules majestically over all. This movement is famous for the wonderful tune that closes the movement; the tune we know as “I vow to thee, my country”.
Programme notes by Margaret Chen
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The moon has thus far only showed us one side of its face
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Our heavy sun is actually a lightweight star
We can still take a photo of the Milky Way in Singapore
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FUN FACTS ABOUT OUR UNIVERSE
6 The Universe is ~13.8 billion years old and stars are usually between 1 and 10 billion years old
3 Our Milky Way galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy
4 There are at least 200,000 neutron stars in our galaxy 5 The “North Star�, or Polaris may appear stationary, but it actually moves
Find out more at the planetarium tour in the VCH atrium!
STELL ARIUM stellarium.org Free and interactive planaterium. Realistic 3D sky
GALAXY ZOO zooniverse.org/projects/ zookeeper/galaxy-zoo
In collaboration with National University of Singapore Faculty of Science
World research contribution: classifying galaxies
Photo (2) by Justin Ng, (3) Universe Today, (6) NASA on Unsplash
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VCH ORGAN SERIES
THE KL AIS ORGAN The Victoria Concert Hall’s Klais organ is Singapore’s only fully mechanical organ, and has strong emotional links with generations of audiences. It was first installed in 1987 through fundraising efforts from the then-newly formed Singapore Symphony Orchestra Ladies’ League. The Klais organ, built by German organ-builder Orgelbau Klais, replaced the St. Clair organ that had been built in the Victoria Concert Hall (VCH) some 50 years earlier in 1931. The St. Clair organ was named after Major W. G. St. Clair, founder of the old Philharmonic Society and the first editor of the Singapore Free Press, and its façade was retained after the installation of the Klais organ. In 2010, with the redevelopment of the VCH and Victoria Theatre, the organ – consisting of a total of 2,012 pipes – was methodically removed piece by piece, repaired and stored in climate-controlled warehouses during the refurbishment period. Many donors and supporters of classical music, notably the Lee Foundation, stepped forward to provide financial support for the restoration. When the VCH reopened in the second half of 2014, the organ once again took centrestage, providing awe-inspiring and delicate strains of music to old and new audiences. The Singapore Symphony Group started the VCH Organ Series in 2014 as a set of concerts to showcase the beauty and power of the Klais organ to the people of Singapore.
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ABOUT THE KLAIS ORGAN The manuals refer to the keyboards of the organ. The Klais organ is equipped with two manuals, with the upper and lower manual called the Swell and the Great respectively. In addition, there is a pedal board where the organist will play with his or her feet. A ‘stop’ is one of many knobs on the sides of the organ keydesk. When one ‘pulls out all the stops’, the different ‘colours’ of the organ are all of a sudden engaged and ready to play. A ‘stoplist’ contains all the different ‘colours’ of the organ. SWELL (Upper Manual)
GREAT (Lower Manual)
PEDAL
Rohrflöte 8’ Gamba 8’ Vox Coeleste 8’ Principal 4’ Blockflöte 4’ Octavin 2’ Sesquialter 2 Ranks Scharff 4 Ranks Basson 16’ Hautbois 8’ Tremulant
Quintaton 16’ Principal 8’ Offenflöte 8’ Octave 4’ Traversflöte 4’ Superoctave 2’ Larigot 1 1/3’ Mixture 4 Ranks Trompete 8’ Cromorne 8’ Tremulant
Principal 16’ Subbass 16’ Octave 8’ Bourdon 8’ Choralbass 4’ Rauschpfeife 3 Ranks Posaune 16’ Trompete 8’
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VCH ORGAN SERIES
UPCOMING C VICTORIA 3 August 2018, 7.30pm
30 September 2018, 4pm
SSO CHAMBER SERIES: ROSAMUNDE AND THE NIGHTINGALE
VCH EXCITE! PROJECT: WORLD
The SSO Chamber Series begins with the introspective musical thoughts of Schubert and Brahms. Open your heart to the smiling melancholy and intimate passion of Schubert’s Rosamunde Quartet, and the ephemeral joy and meditative musings of Brahms’ Clarinet Trio. TICKETS AT $20
Drawing from his experience as a member of the Grammy Award-winning Silk Road Ensemble, Project: World is conceptualised by Singapore Symphony Orchestra percussionist Mark Suter. Exploratory by nature, the first half features Mark and his friends in speciallycommissioned energetic and inspiring pieces involving a wide range of percussion. End the evening with Mark and his jazz piano trio in a fascinating discovery of jazz. TICKETS FROM $20
7 October 2018, 4pm
13 October 2018, 7.30pm
SSO CHAMBER SERIES: BAROQUE FESTIVAL: ROYAL FIREWORKS
SSO CHAMBER SERIES: BORODIN QUARTET – ELEGY
Rejoice greatly through the jubilant tunes of Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks and bare your hearts to the poignant strains of Purcell’s theatre music as acclaimed choral conductor Sofi Jeannin leads you through a jewel-studded tour of the English Baroque. Soprano Stefanie Quintin joins the SSO in an expressive selection of arias, including the radiant serenity of Handel’s “Ombra mai fu”. TICKETS FROM $20
In this first of a pair of unmissable recitals, the Borodin Quartet is joined by SSO musicians in two of the finest quintets ever written. Schubert’s sublimely crafted C major Quintet is among the composer’s final compositions, regarded not only as his greatest chamber work, but as one unparalleled in all of chamber music history. The poignant lyricism of Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet won it the Stalin Prize in 1941 – this is your chance to connect with its legacy: members of the Borodin Quartet played it with the composer himself in 1947. TICKETS FROM $20
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ONCERTS AT CONCERT HALL 5 October 2018, 7.30pm
6 October 2018, 7.30pm
VCH ORGAN SERIES: BAROQUE FESTIVAL: BACH THE KAPELLMEISTER
SSO CHAMBER SERIES: BAROQUE FESTIVAL: MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS
Connect directly with the legacy of J.S. Bach with German organist Stefan Kießling, who hails from the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig where Bach was Kapellmeister for the final decades of his life. The Singapore Symphony Chorus joins Kießling to complete this tribute to the grand master of the Baroque. FREE ADMISSION
Witness the royal majesty of the greatest of English Baroque composers, Purcell and Handel, whose unparalleled mastery of setting the English language to music will be showcased in magnificent choral tributes to kings and queens. My heart is inditing of a good matter; and all the people rejoiced! TICKETS FROM $20
14 October 2018, 4pm
23 October 2018, 7.30pm
VCH PRESENTS: BORODIN QUARTET – EPILOGUE
VCH PRESENTS: MASTER OF VIOLIN: JAMES EHNES
On their second outing, the Borodin Quartet present a spellbinding pairing of Tchaikovsky’s melodic String Quartet No. 1 with the heartstoppingly beautiful String Quartet No. 15 by Shostakovich – his final string quartet. Steeped in history and honed to perfection, ‘the Russian Grand Masters’ make a welcome return to the Victoria Concert Hall. TICKETS FROM $20
Canadian violinist James Ehnes, performs Beethoven’s vigorous Violin Sonata No. 1 together with acclaimed pianist Andrew Armstrong. Their artistry continues with a programme of virtuosic works by Ravel and Brahms, culminating with John Corigliano’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, the first of his works that brought him success as a composer. TICKETS FROM $20
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