aam - the english school

The English SchoolFour centuries of English music

James Gilchrist tenorMichael Thompson hornRichard Egarr director & harpsichord

17 June West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge18 June Wigmore Hall, London

Welcome! Tonight’sconcert takes us on ajourney spanning fourhundred years ofEnglish music, from thebaroque golden age of

Purcell, Handel and Christopher Gibbons to thewartime sound-world of Benjamin Britten’sSerenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. I’m thrilledto welcome James Gilchrist, with whom theAAM has enjoyed a fruitful relationship overmany years, and Michael Thompson, whose

illustrious career as a horn player began whenhe was appointed principal horn of the BBCScottish Symphony Orchestra at the tender ageof eighteen.

These concerts are the last in our 2009–2010London and Cambridge seasons. I hope youhave enjoyed this year’s performances as muchas I have; and that we’ll see you on manyoccasions in 2010–2011.

Richard Egarr Music Director

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AAM 2010–2011 London & Cambridge seasonThe AAM has just announced its 2010–2011season. At its heart will be The Bach Dynasty, aseries of concerts exploring masterworks by JS Bach alongside less well-known works by threeof his forebears and his four composer-sons.Other highlights will include Mozart’s early operaLa Finta Giardiniera, and South AmericanConnections, a programme full of the vibrantsounds of South American baroque and classicalmusic. On page 17 there’s an at-a-glance view ofthe season to whet your appetite; but be surealso to pick up a copy of our new seasonbrochure, and to complete a mailing list form ifyou’d like to be among the first to hear aboutAAM concerts in the future.

Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and BarbicanCentreBooking for AAM concerts at Wigmore Hall,Cadogan Hall and the Barbican Centre is now open.

West Road Concert HallSubscription tickets can be purchased at thesubscription booking desk after theCambridge performance, and subscriptionbooking remains open until Monday 21 June.By subscribing to all five concerts at WestRoad, you are guaranteed the same seats foreach performance, and you benefit from a15% reduction on the cost of your tickets. General booking for individual concerts opensat noon on 24 June through the CambridgeArts Theatre box office on 01223 503333 oronline at www.aam.co.uk/cambridge.

Programme June10_AAM programme April 2010 09/06/2010 15:49

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685 –1759) Sonata à 5

HENRY PURCELL (1659–1695) ‘Lord, what is Man?’‘In the black, dismal dungeon’An Evening Hymn

CHRISTOPHER GIBBONS (1615–1676)Fantasy à 4

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Four arias for John Beard:‘Where’er you walk’ from Semele‘Total Eclipse’ from Samson‘Waft her angels’ from Jephtha‘Call forth thy Pow’rs’ from Judas Maccabaeus

GERALD FINZI (1901–1956) Romance in E flat for strings Op.11

BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913–1976) Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings Op.31

Programme

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Would patrons please ensure that mobile phones are switched off. Please stifle coughing as muchas possible and ensure that watch alarms and any other electronic devices which may becomeaudible are switched off.

Interval of 20 minutesPlease check that your mobile phone is turned off if you used it during the interval.

The violinists and violists in the orchestra willbe performing on two different instruments inthis concert. For the works by C Gibbons, Purcelland Handel they will use baroque instrumentsand bows with gut strings. After the interval, theworks by Britten and Finzi will be performed onmodern instruments and with modern bows,but we will use at least two gut strings on each

instrument — as was common practice duringthe first half of the twentieth century.

The cellists and double bassists will use thesame instrument throughout the concert, withat least two gut strings. They will use a baroquebow in the first half and a modern bow in thesecond half.

A note on tonight’s instruments


In past centuries, English composers havesporadically suffered from a sense of inferiorityto continental developments. These perceptionsof inferiority were strongest in the decadesaround 1900. At the start of the First World War,Oskar Schmitz described England as ‘Das Landohne Musik’ (‘The Land without Music’), a jibe atthe country’s failure to produce a composer inthe previous two generations of the stature ofChopin or Liszt, Wagner or Verdi. Indeed, formuch of the nineteenth century, ambitiousEnglish musicians went overseas for theirtraining. Around 1860, for instance, thecomposer Arthur Sullivan studied in Leipzig, andthe composer and violinist Alexander MacKenziestudied in Sondershausen.

Even in the seventeenth century, Englishcomposers fretted about their country’s over- reliance on foreign styles. In 1683, writing in thepreface to a publication of his chamber sonatas,Henry Purcell (1659–1695) complained aboutthe fashion for the “levity and balladry of ourneighbours” — a reference to the royal court’sliking for the dance rhythms and suave melodiesof French composers. In instrumental music,Purcell’s solution was to advocate “a justimitation of the most fam’d Italian masters”, bywhich he meant sonatas by the generation ofItalian composers before Corelli. In vocalcompositions, however, Purcell established anunmistakably English style via his distinctivetechniques of text- setting.

The English language is not an easy one to setto music. Lacking the mellifluous vowels ofItalian, it has often been thought to beunmusical. The prevalence of consonances andthe hissing ‘shh’ sound are challenges to thecomposer and singer alike. Purcell, however,overcame these apparent disadvantages withaplomb. As his publisher, Henry Playford, wrotein the posthumous anthology of Purcell’s songs,Orpheus Britannicus (1698): “The Author’sextraordinary Talent in all sorts of Musick issufficiently known, but he was especially admir’d

for the Vocal, having a peculiar Genius to expressthe Energy of English Words, whereby he mov’dthe Passions of his Auditors.”

One technique used by Purcell was to intensifythe most important words of a text with dottedrhythms or piquant discords. Take the exampleof his devotional monologue ‘In the blackdismal dungeon’ (1688). With the voicedeclaiming over a static bass, this monologueresembles some of the earliest Italianexperiments in recitative; but Purcell energisesthe most important words, using Scotch snaps(short–long rhythms) on “dismal” and “horrid”,and melismas either short (on “pin’d”) or long (on“great neglect”). ‘Lord, what is Man?’ (1693) isanother account of human despair, emphasisingthe “tormented” state of mortal life with Scotchsnaps and appoggiaturas on such words as“abode” and “lost”. But the mood then lightens,with a triple- time section calling for a quill “towrite the praises” and “a voice like yours to singthat anthem here which once you sung above”.In the concluding Hallelujah, Purcell combinesshort one- bar or two- bar phrases in sequences,a technique of musical organisation he hadlearned from those “most fam’d Italian masters”.

Purcell could even energise an English textwhen the words were secondary to anoverarching musical logic. In An Evening Hymn(1688) he creates an intrinsically musicalmomentum via the lilting triple- time rhythmsand the five- bar repeated theme in the bass.Despite the insistent repetition of the groundbass, Purcell colours the harmonies according tothe words, with a sharpening of the harmoniesand an eventual modulation to D major on“sweet security”. Then in the closing Hallelujah,Purcell delights in the melismas possible on thismost un- English of words, with as much as sixbars of the vocal line sung to one syllable.

Within fifteen years of Purcell’s death, musicaltaste in London had changed utterly. Now thepublic preference was for Italian opera, sung by

Dr Stephen Rose charts the development of the English School



imported divas and castratos. Foremost inpromoting this Italianate genre was GeorgeFrideric Handel (1685–1759), who arrived inLondon in 1710. Born and trained in Germanyand with several years’ experience of working asa composer in Italy, Handel might seem anunlikely figure to contribute to an ‘EnglishSchool’ of composition. Yet in 1726 he becamean English citizen, and by the early 1740s he hadabandoned Italianate opera for English- textedoratorios, in which religious words were set toarias and recitatives in operatic style.

Tonight’s concert includes four arias written byHandel for the leading tenor of the age, JohnBeard (c.1717–1791). Beard appeared in Handel’soperas of the 1730s and then sang leading rolesin almost all of Handel’s oratorios, creating theroles of Samson, Judas and Jephtha. As such,Beard challenged the dominance that castratosingers had previously held within Handel’svocal output. These four arias show how Handelin his oratorios tempered the vocal fireworks ofthe Italian operatic tradition with a melodicsimplicity that appealed powerfully to English audiences.

‘Where’er you walk’ from Semele (1744) is sungby Jupiter as he grants Semele a companion inthe form of Ino. Over a gentle walking bass, thevocal line is mainly stepwise and syllabic.Completely renouncing the roulades of Italiansingers, the aria has a bewitching simplicity.‘Total Eclipse’ from Samson (1743) is ameditation on the blindness of the protagonistand, by extension, the piteous state of allmankind. The aria opens with a harmonicambiguity as to whether the key is E minor or Gmajor, an uncertainty that continues in theunaccompanied entry of the tenor. Suchambiguity allows Handel to colour the mostimportant words (“glorious”, “sun”) with seventhchords that imply harmonic movement, yetcould resolve in different directions. The ariaallegedly brought tears to the elderly composeras his own sight failed. As Mary Delaney wrote in

1752: “Poor Handel! How feelingly must herecollect the ‘total eclipse’.”

‘Waft her angels’ is from Handel’s last oratorio,Jephtha (premiered in 1752). It is sung by theeponymous protagonist as he contemplates thesacrifice of his own daughter. The angularupward phrases anticipate the sight of her risingup to heaven, while the stately tempoemphasises the solemnity of the occasion.Finally, ‘Call forth thy Pow’rs’ from JudasMaccabaeus (1748) is a rare example of Handeltransferring the full pyrotechnics of the Italianaria da bravura to the English oratorio. Bothvoice and orchestra have flurries of semiquavers,reinforcing the text’s proclamation that “Great isthe glory of the conq’ring sword”. The martialmood of the aria is a reminder that the oratoriowas written to celebrate the Duke ofCumberland’s victory over the Jacobites atCulloden the previous year.

Two centuries after Handel wrote these arias,Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) urgently felt theneed to revitalise an English school of vocalcomposition that had been interrupted by thedevelopments of the nineteenth century. In1945, on completion of his opera Peter Grimes,Britten stated his aim “to try and restore to themusical setting of the English language abrilliance, freedom and vitality that have beencuriously rare since Purcell”. Much the samecould be said of his Serenade for Tenor, Hornand Strings (1943), a setting of six poemschosen from the copy of Quiller Couch’s OxfordBook of English Verse that Britten had beenawarded as a school prize in 1930. Here Brittenshowed his ability to set a range of verse formsand styles ranging from an anonymous fifteenth- century lyric to the Romantic imageryof Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Throughout most of the Serenade, the tenorsoloist sings in dialogue with the horn. This wasan innovative pairing that raised some eyebrowsin the 1940s, for few people had realised that a




horn could perform with the expressivity of asinger. However, Britten wrote the horn part forthe young soloist Dennis Brain, who (as Brittenobserved) “plays as flexibly and accurately asmost clarinettists”. The work is framed by theunaccompanied horn- calls in the Prologue andEpilogue, where the natural harmonics give asense of space and echoing distance. In thePastoral (‘The day’s grown old’) the voice andhorn imitate each other closely, in a four- strophesetting where each verse is a variation of theothers. The horn regains its old associations offanfares in the Nocturne (‘The splendour falls’),providing the bugle calls that reverberate andthen die away at the movement’s climaxes.

A darker tone is encountered in the Elegy (‘ORose, thou art sick’), where the melodies forboth horn and voice reiterate a sinisterdownward step of a semitone, possibly symbolicof the destructive power of the poem’s “dark,secret love”. Also ominous is the Dirge, wherethe singer has a continuous incantation over atense fugue in the orchestra. Much lighter is theHymn (‘Queen and huntress, chaste and fair’),where the pure diatonic harmonies and thegigue rhythms recall the horn’s origins as ahunting instrument. A quieter tone prevails inthe Sonnet (‘O soft embalmer of the stillmidnight’), where lush string harmoniesunderpin the tranquil vocal line. This is the onlyvocal movement where the horn does not play,partly because the player needs to moveoffstage for the concluding Epilogue.Throughout the Serenade, Britten successfullytranslated the intonation and rhythm of spokenpoetry into memorable musical phrases,creating an unforgettable union between wordsand notes.

Across the centuries the ‘English School’ ofcomposition has largely focussed on settings ofEnglish texts; but there have also been strongtraditions of instrumental composition in thiscountry. From the sixteenth to seventeenthcenturies, one of these traditions was theperformance of intricately contrapuntal fantasiason string consorts. Viol consorts were found inthe country houses of the nobility as well as intowns. Indeed, in March 1652 a Dutch visitor, theson of Sir Constantijn Huygens, heardChristopher Gibbons (1615–1676) play consortmusic at the house of a London violinist.Gibbons Fantasy à 4 is a typical example of theEnglish consort tradition, offering a studious working- out of a succession of different themes.

Handel’s Sonata à 5 is something of aninterloper in an otherwise all- Englishprogramme. It was probably written in 1707,when he was 22 years old and living in Italy. Butsome of the themes were among Handel’sfavourites and are much more familiar fromwhen he re- used them in his English works: thesolo violin melody from the start of the Andanterecurs in the vocal works ‘I will magnify thee’(HWV 250) and Belshazzar (HWV 61). Finally, theRomance in E flat for strings Op.11 (c.1928) byGerald Finzi (1901–1956) recalls the lush stringwriting of Edward Elgar’s Serenade for StringsOp.20, even to the extent of using a solo violin.Finzi’s orchestral style is warm and euphonious,recalling the tradition of pastoral compositionsby English composers at the start of thetwentieth century.

© Stephen Rose 2010Dr Stephen Rose is Lecturer in Music at RoyalHolloway, University of London


HENRY PURCELL

‘Lord what is Man?’

Lord, what is Man, lost Man,That thou shouldst be so mindful of him?That the Son of God forsook his glory, his

abode,To become a poor, tormented man!The Deity was shrunk into a span,And that for me, O wound’rous love, for me.Reveal, ye glorious spirits, when ye knewThe way the Son of God took to renew lost

Man,Your vacant places to supply;Blest spirits tell,Which did excel,Which was more prevalent,Your joy or your astonishment,That man should be assum’d into the Deity,That for a worm a God should die.

O! for a quill, drawn from your wingTo write the praises of th’Eternal Love;O! for a voice like yours to singThat anthem here, which once you sung above.

Hallelujah!

DR. WILLIAM FULLER, LORD- BISHOP OF LINCOLN(1608–1675)

‘In the black, dismal dungeon’

In the black, dismal dungeon of despair,Pin’d with tormenting care,Wrack’d with my fears,Drown’d in my tears,With dreadful expectation of my doomAnd certain horrid judgement soon to come:Lord, here I lie,Lost to all hope of Liberty,Hence never to remove,But by a miracle of love,Which I scarce hope for or expect,Being guilty of so long, so great neglect.Fool that I was, worthy a sharper rod,To slight thy courting, O my God.For thou did’st woo, entreat and grieve,Did’st beg me to be happy and to live;But I would not; I chose to dwellWith death, far from thee, too near to hell:But is there no redemption, no relief?Thou savedst a Magdalen, a thief —O Jesu! Thy mercy, Lord, once more advance;O give me such a glanceAs Peter had! Thy sweet, kind, chiding lookWill change my heart, as it did melt that Rock.Look on me, sweet Jesu, as thou didst on him!’Tis more than to create, thus to redeem.

DR. WILLIAM FULLER, LORD- BISHOP OF LINCOLN

An Evening Hymn

Now, now that the sun hath veil’d his lightAnd bid the world goodnight;To the soft bed my body I dispose,But where shall my soul repose?Dear, dear God, even in thy arms,And can there be any so sweet security!Then to thy rest, O my soul!And singing, praise the mercyThat prolongs thy days.

Hallelujah!

DR. WILLIAM FULLER, LORD- BISHOP OF LINCOLN

Texts



GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL

‘Where’er you walk’ from Semele

Where’er you walk, cool gales shall fan the glade;

Trees, where you sit, shall crowd into a shade;Where’er you tread, the blushing flow’rs shall

rise;And all things flourish, where’er you turn your

eyes.

WILLIAM CONGREVE (1670–1729) AFTER OVID’S METAMORPHOSES

‘Total Eclipse’ from Samson

Total Eclipse! No sun, no moon, All dark, amidst the blaze of noon!O glorious light! No cheering ray,To glad my eyes with welcome day!Why thus depriv’d thy prime decree?Sun, moon, and stars are dark to me!

NEWBURGH HAMILTON (1691–1761) AFTER JOHN MILTON’SSAMSON AGONISTES

‘Waft her angels’ from Jephtha

Waft her angels, through the skies,Far above yon azure plain;Glorious there, like you, to rise,There like you forever reign.

THOMAS MORELL (1703–1784) AFTER JUDGES 11 ANDGEORGE BUCHANAN

‘Call forth thy Pow’rs’ from Judas Maccabaeus

Call forth thy Pow’rs, my soul,And dare the conflict of unequal war.Great is the glory of the conq’ring sword,That triumphs in sweet liberty restor’d.

THOMAS MORELL (1703–1784) AFTER 1 MACCABEES 2- 8

BENJAMIN BRITTEN

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

PastoralThe day’s grown old; the fainting sunHas but a little way to run,And yet his steeds, with all his skill,Scarce lug the chariot down the hill.

The shadows now so long do grow,That brambles like tall cedars show;Molehills seem mountains, and the antAppears a monstrous elephant.

A very little, little flockShades thrice the ground that it would stock;Whilst the small stripling following themAppears a mighty Polypheme.

And now on benches all are sat,In the cool air to sit and chat,Till Phoebus, dipping in the West,Shall lead the world the way to rest.

CHARLES COTTON (1630–1687)

NocturneThe splendour falls on castle wallsAnd snowy summits old in story:The long light shakes across the lakes,And the wild cataract leaps in glory:Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,Bugle, blow; answer, echoes, answer, dying,

dying, dying.

O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,And thinner, clearer, farther going!O sweet and far from cliff and scarThe horns of Elfland faintly blowing!Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:Bugle, blow; answer, echoes, answer, dying,

dying, dying.

O love, they die in yon rich sky,They faint on hill or field or river:Our echoes roll from soul to soulAnd grow for ever and for ever.Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying;And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying,

dying.

ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON (1809–1892)



ElegyO Rose, thou art sick;The invisible wormThat flies in the night,In the howling storm,Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy;And his dark, secret loveDoes thy life destroy.

WILLIAM BLAKE (1757–1827)

DirgeThis ae nighte, this ae nighte,Every nighte and alle,Fire and fleet and candle- lighte,And Christe receive thy saule.

When thou from hence away art past,Every nighte and alle,To Whinnymuir thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.

If ever thou gav’st hos’n and shoon,Every nighte and alle,Sit thee down and put them on;And Christe receive thy saule.

If hos’n and shoon thou ne’er gav’st nane,Every nighte and alle,The whinnies shall prick thee to the bare bane;And Christe receive thy saule.

From Whinnymuir when thou may’st pass,Every nighte and alle,To Brig o’ Dread thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.

From Brig o’ Dread when thou may’st pass,Every nighte and alle,To Purgatory fire thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.

If ever thou gav’st meat or drink,Every nighte and alle,The fire shall never make thee shrink;And Christe receive thy saule.

If meat or drink thou ne’er gav’st nane,Every nighte and alle,The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;And Christe receive thy saule.

This ae nighte, this ae nighte,Every nighte and alle,Fire and fleet and candle- lighte,And Christe receive thy saule.

ANONYMOUS

HymnQueen and huntress, chaste and fair,Now the sun is laid to sleep,Seated in thy silver chair,State in wonted manner keep:Hesperus entreats thy light,Goddess excellently bright.

Earth, let not thy envious shadeDare itself to interpose;Cynthia’s shining orb was made,Heav’n to clear when day did close:Bless us then with wished sight,Goddess excellently bright.

Lay thy bow of pearl apart,And thy crystal shining quiver;Give unto the flying hartSpace to breathe, how short so- ever:Thou that mak’st a day of night,Goddess excellently bright.

BEN JONSON (1572–1637)

SonnetO soft embalmer of the still midnight,Shutting with careful fingers and benignOur gloom- pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the

light,Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, closeIn midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes,Or wait the ‘Amen’ ere thy poppy throwsAround my bed its lulling charities.Then save me, or the passèd day will shineUpon my pillow, breeding many woes,Save me from curious Conscience, that still lordsIts strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;Turn the key deftly in the oilèd wards,And seal the hushèd Casket of my Soul.

JOHN KEATS (1795–1821)




Richard Egarr director & harpsichord

Richard Egarr, acclaimed Music Director of theAcademy of Ancient Music, is one of the mostversatile musicians performing today. He hasworked with all types of keyboards, performingrepertoire ranging from fifteenth-century organmusic to Berg and Maxwell Davies on modernpiano. He is in great demand as a soloist and achamber musician as well as a conductor.

Richard enjoyed his musical training as achoirboy at York Minster, at Chetham’s School ofMusic in Manchester, and as organ scholar atClare College, Cambridge. His studies withGustav and Marie Leonhardt further inspired hiswork in the field of historically- informed performance.

As a conductor, Richard has directed repertoireranging from JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion toJohn Tavener’s Ikon of Light. Numerous opera,oratorio and orchestral performances havetaken him to venues ranging from

Glyndebourne to the Beijing Concert Hall toCarnegie Hall. On top of a busy schedule ofconcerts worldwide with the Academy ofAncient Music, he has recently collaboratedwith the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, theBrabant Orchestra, the Flemish Radio Orchestraand Choir, the Netherlands Bach Society andthe Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Richard has given innumerable soloperformances around Europe, Japan and theUSA. Recent USA tours have included JS Bach’s Well- Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations.As an orchestral soloist he has appeared withthe AAM, The English Concert, the Orchestra ofthe Age of Enlightenment, the Orchestra of the18th Century, the Dutch Radio ChamberOrchestra and the Netherlands Wind Ensemble.

In chamber music, Richard forms an “unequalledduo for violin and keyboard” (Gramophone) withviolinist Andrew Manze, performing music fromthe Stylus Phantasticus to Mozart and Schubert.They have toured extensively throughoutEurope, North America and the Far East.

Richard records exclusively for Harmonia MundiUSA. His solo output includes works byFrescobaldi, Couperin, Purcell, Froberger, Mozartand JS Bach. His award- winning recordings withManze include sonatas by JS Bach, Biber, Rebel,Pandolfi, Corelli, Handel, Mozart and Schubert.With the Academy of Ancient Music he hasrecorded JS Bach’s harpsichord concertos, JSBach’s complete Brandenburg Concertos, and aset of Handel’s complete instrumental musicOpp.1–7.

“It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Egarr the ‘Bernstein of Early Music’”USA NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO



James’ musical education began in churchchoirs, and as a cellist. He went on to become atreble in the Choir of New College, Oxford and atenor in the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge.He began working life as a doctor, before in1996 turning to a career as a musician.

Since then, James has had a vibrant andfrequent association with the Academy ofAncient Music. He sang Damon in Handel’s Acisand Galatea at the BBC Proms under PaulGoodwin, Ugone in Flavio in Birmingham andLondon, and recently took the part of the tenorsoloist in Mozart’s Requiem at Symphony Hall,Birmingham with Richard Egarr. As a keenexponent of contemporary music, James sangin the world premiere performance andrecording of John Taverner’s Total Eclipse withthe AAM.

James’ musical appearances have, however,been eclectically broad, ranging in scale fromVaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge with theEndellion String Quartet to Britten’s WarRequiem and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius atthe Three Choirs Festival. As a recitalist he hasperformed music by Schumann, Finzi andPoulenc on BBC Radio 3 with pianist AnnaTilbrook, as well as maintaining a partnershipwith harpist Alison Nicholls. He has recentlyreleased a disc of Finzi song cycles “Oh Fair toSee”, and a disc of Elizabethan lute songs “WhenLaura Smiles” with Matthew Wadsworth.

James’ appearances on the concert stage arenumerous. Highlights from the twentieth- century repertoire include Britten’s Serenade forTenor, Horn and Strings at The Sage, Gatesheadand Owen Wingrave with the City of LondonSinfonia at Cadogan Hall. He has also performedworks by Gilbert and Sullivan and Tippett. He isalso well known for his performances ofbaroque and classical repertoire. He appearedwith the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra underSir John Eliot Gardiner in their celebrated BachPilgrimage, and has performed the ChristmasOratorio with Ton Koopman and Mendelssohn’sarrangement of JS Bach’s St Matthew Passionwith the OAE. James has performed manyHandel operas, including Alexander’s Feast inSalzburg, Saul in Hamburg and Athalia inCologne, and he has appeared in Messiah withboth the San Francisco and Detroit symphony orchestras.

James Gilchrist tenor

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“I believe the arts are in some profound wayessential to all of us. Artistic expression andendeavour are what makes us human, andthe most visceral and basic of our modes ofcommunication.” JAMES GILCHRIST


Internationally acknowledged as one of theworld’s leading horn players, Michael Thompsonis also a charismatic and inspirational teacher.As a conductor he is known as a fine orchestraltrainer and has received acclaim for his workwith young musicians.

After studies at the Royal Academy of Music hewas appointed principal horn with the BBCScottish Symphony Orchestra at the age ofeighteen. Within three years he was offered theprincipal horn positions of both thePhilharmonia and Royal PhilharmonicOrchestras. He remained at the Philharmonia forten years before leaving to concentrate on his

solo and chamber music career. His work as adirector, soloist and conductor has seen himperform in Japan, Australia, the USA andEurope. In the UK he has directed the LondonSinfonietta, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, Britten- Pears Orchestra, Ulster Youth Orchestra and theRoyal Academy’s Sinfonia and Concert orchestras.

His concert schedule takes him worldwide andhis discography includes the major solo hornrepertoire, period- instrument recordings and anumber of critically acclaimed CDs with hiswind quintet and horn quartet. As a member ofthe London Sinfonietta he is at the forefront ofnew music and has given many premieres,including the UK’s first performance of Ligeti’sHamburg Concerto and Richard Ayres’ Noncerto.In addition to his classical work, he is very activeas a studio musician, playing on sound tracksincluding The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter andthe Bond films.

His work for Sir Paul McCartney resulted in thecomposition of Stately Horn — which theMichael Thompson horn quartet premiered inthe Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall.

Michael is Aubrey Brain Professor of Horn at theRoyal Academy of Music, and gives regular master classes and lectures throughout the world.


“Thompson is not only technically brilliant,but plays with delectable lightness”GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE

Michael Thompson horn



Academy of Ancient Music

Recently hailed as “a superb period instrumentband” by the New York Times, the Academy ofAncient Music is a household name renownedworldwide for its energized, passionateperformances of baroque and classical music.Since it was founded by Christopher Hogwoodin 1973 the AAM has reached music lovers on aglobal stage with over 250 recordings and liveperformances on every continent except Antarctica.

The AAM specialises in performing oninstruments and in styles dating from the timewhen the music was composed. UnderHogwood’s stewardship it established itself as aleading authority on how music was originallyperformed. This pioneering work had atransformative impact on the world of classicalmusic, and lies at the heart of the AAM’sreputation for musical excellence.

In 2006, Hogwood passed leadership of theAAM on to Richard Egarr. In his first three yearsas Music Director, Egarr led tours to fourcontinents, released CDs which have alreadywon Gramophone, MIDEM and Edison awards,and founded the award- winning Choir of the AAM.

Concerts with Egarr in 2009–2010 have seenthe orchestra performing music ranging fromMonteverdi to Britten around the world.Highlights have included a tour of music byanniversary composers Purcell and Haydn toAfrica and the Far East, a Christmas tour ofHandel’s Messiah around Europe, and afascinating programme showcasing the musicof Monteverdi’s little- known contemporaryDario Castello.

The vitality of the AAM’s music makingcontinues to be fostered by a range of guestdirectors. This season the orchestra has workedwith Pavlo Beznosiuk, who directed a

programme contrasting the Pergolesi andVivaldi settings of the Stabat Mater; violinistGiuliano Carmignola, who directed earlymasterpieces by Schubert and Mendelssohn;and Stephen Layton, who conducted the AAM’straditional Good Friday performance of JS Bach’sSt John Passion with Polyphony. Over thesummer Stephen Cleobury conducts a majorEuropean tour of Monteverdi’s Vespers with theChoir of King’s College, Cambridge.

The AAM’s pioneering recordings underHogwood for Decca’s L’Oiseau- Lyre label covermuch of the baroque and classical orchestralcanon. They include the first recordings onperiod instruments of Mozart’s completesymphonies and Beethoven’s piano concertos,and prize- winning opera recordings starringCecilia Bartoli, Emma Kirkby and JoanSutherland. Further projects have resulted inrecordings for EMI, Chandos, Erato andHarmonia Mundi, and the orchestra hasreleased award- winning recordings with thechoirs of King’s College, Cambridge, TrinityCollege, Cambridge and New College, Oxford.

With Richard Egarr, the orchestra has recentlycompleted a landmark new cycle of Handel’scomplete instrumental music published asOpp.1-7. Other recent releases include JS Bach’scomplete Brandenburg Concertos with Egarr,Purcell and Handel discs with Stephen Laytonand the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge onHyperion, and, for EMI, Handel’s Messiah withStephen Cleobury and the Choir of King’sCollege, Cambridge.

The AAM is Orchestra- in- Residence at theUniversity of Cambridge.

“The peerless Academy of Ancient Music”BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2010



Violin 1Pavlo Beznosiuk*Liz MacCarthyIwona MuszynskaPersephone GibbsStephen Pedder

Violin 2Rebecca LivermoreWilliam ThorpMarianna SzücsPauline Smith

Viola Rachel ByrtMarina Ascherson*Emma AlterThomas Kirby

CelloJoseph Crouch*Andrew Skidmore*Gabriel AmherstEmily Robinson

Double BassJudith EvansDawn Baker

TheorboWilliam Carter

HarpsichordRichard Egarr

*Sponsored chairs

Leader Mr and Mrs George Magan

Principal cello Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell

Principal fluteChristopher and Phillida Purvis

Sub- principal violaSir Nicholas and Lady Goodison

Sub- principal celloNewby Trust Ltd

Board of DirectorsAdam BroadbentKay Brock LVO DLJohn EverettMatthew FerreyJohn GrievesChristopher Hogwood

CBEHeather JarmanChristopher Purvis CBE

(Chairman)Dr Christopher TadgellSarah Miles Williams

Development BoardAdam BroadbentKay Brock LVO DLDelia BrokeJohn EverettMatthew FerreyJohn GrievesMadelaine GundersElizabeth Hartley- BrewerAnnie NortonChristopher Purvis CBEChris Rocker Dr Christopher TadgellMadeleine TattersallSarah Miles WilliamsAlison Wisbeach

Music DirectorRichard Egarr

Emeritus DirectorChristopher Hogwood

CBE

Chief ExecutiveMichael Garvey

Orchestra ManagerAndrew Moore

Marketing &Development ManagerSimon Fairclough

Concerts & Tours ManagerKate Caro

Assistant Marketing &Development ManagerToby Chadd

Finance ManagerElaine Hendrie

AdministratorSamantha Fryer



The AAM Society

The Academy of Ancient Music has been abyword for musical excellence for over 35 years.The orchestra has enriched the lives of millionsof music lovers with its ground- breakingperformances and recordings of baroque andclassical music on period instruments; and it hasattained an important position as one ofBritain’s most active cultural institutions on theglobal stage. Today over 50,000 people attendAAM performances annually; and the orchestrareaches hundreds of thousands more throughits recordings and broadcasts.

As its 40th anniversary approaches, the AAM isseeking to build upon and develop itsdistinctive traditions of excellence andinnovation for the music lovers of the future —but year by year the cost of sustaining thesetraditions is increasing. Only a modestproportion of the cost of staging concerts liketonight’s is covered by ticket income, and theAAM receives no regular public funding. Overthe next year, the AAM needs to raise £400,000to make its plans possible.

One way in which you can help the Academy ofAncient Music to transform its ambitious visioninto reality is to join the AAM Society. TheSociety is the orchestra’s closest group ofregular supporters. It was established ten yearsago by a committed group of foundermembers who appreciated the orchestra’s

superb artistry and wanted to secure its future.Membership ranges from £250 to £20,000+ perannum, and members’ annual contributionsprovide the vital core funding required if theorchestra is to continue to perform.

Society members enjoy a very closeinvolvement with the life of the AAM. Afterperformances in London, members dine withthe director, soloists and AAM musicians.Members have the chance to become a part oforchestral life behind the scenes by sitting in onrehearsals for concerts and recordings, and fromtime to time by accompanying the orchestra oninternational tours.

Those at the Principal Benefactor level andabove receive invitations to special events inLondon; those at the Principal Patron level andabove have the opportunity to sponsor aspecific position in the orchestra; and those atthe Hogwood Circle level have the opportunityto support a specific concert each season.

If you want to get closer to the AAM’s musicmaking while helping to secure the orchestra’sfuture, do be in touch with me.

Simon Fairclough Development Manager01223 [email protected]



The AAM is indebted to the following trusts, companies, publicbodies and individuals for their support of the orchestra’s work:

AAM Funders & Supporters

Special giftsThe Academy of Ancient Music extends itsgrateful thanks to Lady Sainsbury of Turville,who has supported the orchestra’s work at aparticularly significant level this year.

The Chairman’s Circle(Donations £20,000–£49,999 per annum)CHK Charities LtdDunard Fund

The Hogwood Circle(Donations £10,000 - £19,999 per annum)Matthew FerreyMr and Mrs George MaganChristopher and Phillida Purvis *Mrs Julia RosierDr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell

Principal Patrons (Donations £5,000 – £9,999 per annum)Lady Alexander of WeedonSir Nicholas and Lady Goodison *Richard Bridges and Elena VorotkoChristopher Hogwood CBE *Newby Trust Ltd *and other anonymous Principal Patrons

Patrons (Donations £2,500 – £4,999 per annum)Adam and Sara BroadbentMr and Mrs Graham BrownMr and Mrs JE EverettJohn and Ann GrievesMark and Liza LovedayJohn and Joyce ReeveMark WestChristopher Rocker and Alison WisbeachSarah and Andrew WilliamsSVG Capitaland other anonymous Patrons

Principal Benefactors (Donations £1,000 – £2,499 per annum)George and Kay BrockMrs D BrokeClive and Helena ButlerJo and Keren ButlerSir Charles Chadwyck- Healey BtKate Donaghy

The Hon Simon EcclesElizabeth Hartley- BrewerElma Hawkins and Charles RichterLord HindlipJohn McFadden and Lisa Kabnick *Mr and Mrs C NortonLionel and Lynn PerseyNigel and Hilary Pye *Mr and Mrs Charles RawlinsonMichael and Sophia RobinsonSir Konrad and Lady Schiemann *Sir David and Lady ScholeyJG StanfordJohn and Madeleine TattersallMarcellus and Katharine Taylor- JonesStephen ThomasMrs R Wilson StephensCharles Woodwardand other anonymous Principal Benefactors

Benefactors (Donations £500 – £999)Maureen Acland OBE *Dr Aileen Adams CBEBill and Sue BlythElisabeth and Bob Boas *Claire Brisby and John Brisby QC *Mr and Mrs Edward Davies- GilbertCharles DumasMr and Mrs Jean- Marie EveillardMarshall FieldAndrew and Wendy GairdnerWilliam GibsonThe Hon Mr and Mrs Philip HaversProfessor Sean HiltonMr and Mrs G and W HoffmanHeather Jarman *Michael and Nicola KeaneSusan LathamTessa MayhewMrs Sheila MitchellMr and Mrs Hideto NakaharaRodney and Kusum Nelson- JonesNick and Margaret ParkerTimothy and Maren RobinsonBruno Schroder and FamilyPeter ThomsonPeter & Margaret Wynnand other anonymous Benefactors

Donors (Donations £250 – £499)Angela and Roderick Ashby- JohnsonMrs Nicky BrownDr and Mrs S ChallahDavid and Elizabeth ChallenThe Cottisford TrustDerek and Mary DraperSimon FaircloughBeatrice and Charles GoldieSteven and Madelaine GundersGemma and Lewis Morris HallMrs Helen HiggsLord and Lady Jenkin of RodingRichard LockwoodYvonne de la PraudièreRobin and Jane RawAnnabel and Martin RandallArthur L Rebell and Susan B CohenMichael and Giustina RyanMiss E M SchlossmannTom Siebens and Mimi ParsonsRt Hon Sir Murray Stuart- Smith *Robin VousdenPippa WicksPaul F. Wilkinson and Associates Inc.and other anonymous Donors* denotes founder member

Members of the AAM Bach PatronsLady Alexander of WeedonRichard Bridges and Elena VorotkoMr and Mrs Graham BrownJo and Keren ButlerCHK Charities LtdMatthew FerreyDunard FundThe Hon Simon EcclesGraham and Amanda HuttonMark and Lisa LovedayMr and Mrs Charles RawlinsonJohn and Joyce ReeveDr Christopher and Lady Juliet TadgellJohn and Madeleine TattersallStephen ThomasMark WestCharles Woodwardand other anonymous AAM Bach Patrons

The AAM Society

AAM Business ClubCambridge University PressKleinwort BensonRBC Wealth ManagementSVG Capital

CHK Charities LtdDunard FundJohn Ellerman FoundationEsmée Fairbairn FoundationFidelity UK Foundation

Goldsmiths’ Company CharityThe Idlewild TrustThe Michael Marks Charitable TrustAnthony Travis Charitable Trust

Arts Council England through theSustain programmeOrchestras LiveCambridge City Council



At the heart of the AAM’s London andCambridge seasons in 2010–11 will be The BachDynasty — a groundbreaking concert seriescelebrating the output of history’s mostimportant musical family.

Johann Sebastian was just one of a great lineageof distinguished composers active inseventeenth- and eighteenth-century Germany.In modern times, the outstanding music of hisrelatives has been neglected. The Bach Dynastywill breathe new life into works by Heinrich,Johann Christoph, Johann Michael, JohannChristian, Johann Christoph Friedrich, CarlPhilipp Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann Bach— as well as including music by JS Bach himself.Guest soloists will include the world-famouscellist Steven Isserlis and four AAM Young Artists.

Funding of £120,000 is needed if this landmarkproject is to go ahead, over £75,000 of which hasbeen raised since this appeal was launched inFebruary. Those supporting the series with giftsof £500 or more will become members of theAAM Bach Patrons — an inner circle ofsupporters whose special association with theseries will include the exclusive opportunity to sitin on rehearsals for concerts, the chance to joinmusicians for dinner after performances and aninvitation to The Bach Dynasty launch party.Patrons may choose to make a general gift of anyamount over £500, or to target their contributiontowards one or more of the areas listed belowwhich are in particular need of support.

For more information, please contact SimonFairclough, AAM Development Manager, on01223 301509 or [email protected].

AAM Bach Patrons

Support towards Steven Isserlis’ appearances in the series Now fully fundedSupport towards the Choir of the AAM’s appearances in the series £2,500 per concert £12,500 for 5 concertsSupport towards Richard Egarr’s appearances in the series £2,000 per concert £16,000 for 8 concertsSupport of the AAM Young Artists £1,400 per Young Artist £5,600 for four

Young ArtistsProvision of sheet music for the series Now fully funded Provision of free programme booklets, each including a newly-commissioned scholarly essay £1,000 per concert £8,000 for the seriesProvision of harpsichords and chamber organs appropriate to the repertoire being performed £750 per concert £6,000 for the seriesConcert sponsorship By negotiation

WOODCUT OF JS BACH, AT THE CLAVICHORD, WITH HIS FAMILY. ONE SON PLAYS THE VIOLIN WHILE ANOTHER SINGS.©

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London & Cambridge2010–2011 Season Academy of

Ancient Music

WEST ROAD CONCERT HALLCambridge Arts Theatre Box Office01223 503333www.aam.co.uk/cambridgeGeneral booking opens 24 June

WIGMORE HALLWigmore Hall box office020 7935 2141www.wigmore-hall.org.ukBooking open

CADOGAN HALLCadogan Hall box office020 7730 4500www.cadoganhall.comBooking open

BARBICAN CENTREAdvance box office, Silk Street020 7638 8891www.barbican.org.ukBooking open

CAMBRIDGE LONDON

The Bach Dynasty: JS Bach’s forebears 23 September 24 Septemberwith Richard Egarr and the Choir of the AAM West Road Concert Hall Wigmore Hall

The Bach Dynasty: 19 OctoberJS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Cadogan Hall

South American connections 24 November 25 NovemberMusic by South American composers and West Road Concert Hall Wigmore Halltheir European contemporaries

The Bach Dynasty: JS Bach at Christmas 23 DecemberRichard Egarr directs JS Bach’s Magnificat and other works Cadogan Hall

The Bach Dynasty: JS Bach’s sons 24 January 26 Januarywith Richard Egarr and Steven Isserlis West Road Concert Hall Wigmore Hall

Handel’s tragic muse 18 March 16 Marchwith Bernard Labadie and Karina Gauvin West Road Concert Hall Wigmore Hall

The Bach Dynasty: JS Bach’s St John Passion 19 April 20 Aprilwith the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge King’s College Chapel Cadogan Hall

Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera 24 Junedirected by Richard Egarr Barbican Centre

The Bach Dynasty: JS Bach’s cantatas 19 July 18 Julywith Richard Egarr and the Choir of the AAM West Road Concert Hall Wigmore Hall

Booking information

Booking for the concert on 19 April opens in January 2011



Handel Opp.1–7 recording cycle

Solo Sonatas Op.1“The AAM’s delightful playing is warmly recommended” GRAMOPHONE AWARDS ISSUE 2009

“The soloists slide easily from austerity to opulence, and Brown’s dewy- toned recorder is enchanting” INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, JUNE 2009

Trio Sonatas Opp.2 & 5“the subtleties and nuances of the playing, coupled with the sheer varietyof Handel’s fertile imagination, never pales over two hours of continuouslistening... These are outstanding accounts”BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE, DECEMBER 2009

Concerti Grossi Op.3; Sonata à 5WINNER OF 2007 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FOR BAROQUE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

“The Academy of Ancient Music is in world- beating form” GRAMOPHONE, APRIL 2007

Organ Concertos Op.4WINNER OF 2009 EDISON AWARD

WINNER OF 2009 MIDEM AWARD

SHOR TLISTED FOR 2008 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FOR INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Concerti Grossi Op.6“The AAM are on sparkling form...an issue of joyous vitality” GRAMOPHONE AWARDS ISSUE 1998

“It is impossible not to admire the precision of these spit- and- polish performances”EARLY MUSIC AMERICA, 1998- 9

Organ Concertos Op.7“a valuable addition to the Handel discography” GRAMOPHONE, OC TOBER 2009

“an outstanding achievement”ANDRE W MCGREGOR, BBC RADIO 3 , AUGUST 2009



Wigmore Hall

36 Wigmore StreetLondon W1U 2BPDirector: John GilhoolyThe Wigmore Hall TrustRegistered Charity No.1024838

Wigmore Hall is a no-smoking venue.

No recording or photographic equipment may be taken into theauditorium, nor used in any other part of the Hall without theprior written permission of the Hall Management.

Wigmore Hall is equipped with a ’Loop’ to help hearing aid usersreceive clear sound without background noise. Patrons can usethe facility by switching their hearing aids over to ’T’.

In accordance with the requirements of City of Westminster,persons shall not be permitted to stand or sit in any of thegangways intersecting the seating, or to sit in any of the othergangways. If standing is permitted in the gangways at the sidesand rear of the seating, it shall be limited to the numbersindicated in the notices exhibited in those positions.

Facilities for Disabled People:

Please contact House Management for full details.

EXPERIENCE HANDEL’S WORLD INLONDON’S ONLY COMPOSER MUSEUM

Handel House Museum is a beautifully restored eighteenth-century house where Handel livedfor thirty-six years and composedtimeless masterpieces such as Messiah and Zadok the Priest

Regular Thursday evening recitals,special exhibitions and events bringHandel’s world to life.

Handel House Museum25 Brook Street W1K 4HB020 7495 1685www.handelhouse.org

Closed Mondays.


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