vancouver bach festival 2019 - early music vancouver

earlymusic.bc.ca Purcell: Hail, Bright Cecilia Vancouver Bach Festival 2019 1

PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA IS SUPPORTED BY THE

the artists

purcell: hail, bright cecilia

Pacific Baroque OrchestraAlexander Weimann

music director

soloists:

Suzie LeBlanc &

Dorothee Mields sopranos

Alex Potter alto

Samuel Boden tenor

Sumner Thompson baritone

Matthew Brook bass-baritone

ripienists:

Nicholas Burns alto

Jonathan Quick tenor

THE UNAUTHORISED USE OF ANY VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDING

DEVICE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED

Pre-concert chat with host Matthew White at 6:45:

Alexander Weimann

VANCOUVER BACH FESTIVAL 2019

friday august 9 at 7:30 pm | chan centre

in association with

Chan Endowment Fund at the University of British Columbia

Matthew Locke (1621-1677)Excerpts from “The Tempest”

Introduction Galliard, Gavot, Sarabande, Lilk Curtain Tune

John Blow (1649-1708)Welcome, Every Guest

Matthew LockeExcerpts from “The Tempest”

Rustick Air, A Martial Jigge Conclusion

INTERVAL

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)Hail, Bright Cecilia

Symphony Hail! Bright Cecilia Hark, each Tree its silence breaks ‘Tis Nature’s Voice Soul of the World Thou tun’st this World below With that sublime Celestial Lay Wondrous machine! The Airy Violin In vain the Am’rous flute The Fife and all the Harmony of War Let these amongst themselves contest Hall! Bright Cecilia

Generously supported by

The Drance Family, Bryan & Gail Atkins,

andAdèle Lafleur

2 Vancouver Bach Festival 2019 Purcell: Hail, Bright Cecilia [email protected]

PARTNERSboard of directors

Chris Guzy president

Fran Watters vice president

Ron Kruschentreasurer

Tony Knoxpast president

Ilia Korkhsecretary

Kathleen BourchierSpencer Corrigal cpa,ca

Sherrill GraceMelody Mason

Tim Rendell cpa,caJohanna Shapira Ingrid Söchting

Vincent Tan÷

José Verstappen cmartistic director emeritus

÷

staffMatthew White

executive & artistic director

Nathan Lorchbusiness manager

Michelle Herrewynen development manager

Jonathan Evansproduction manager

Laina Tanaharamarketing & volunteer coordinator

Mei Chi Chinsummer production assistant

Jan Gatesevent photographer

Murray Paterson Marketing Group

marketing & media relations

Trevor Mangionand

The Chan Centre Box Office Staffemv ticket office: 604.822.2697

1254 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver BC, V6H 1B6

tel: 604.732.1610 fax: 604.732.1602

[email protected]

We also gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our many donors and volunteers.

thank you!

We acknowledge the support ofthe Province of British Columbia

EMV’s performances at the Chan Centre are presented in partnership with the Chan Centre for the Per-forming Arts, with the support of the Chan Endowment Fund at the University of British Columbia.

pacificbaroque

orchestraalexander weimann

MUSIC director

THE BRENNAN SPANO FAMILY FOUNDATION

Early Music Vancouver gratefully acknowledges the assistance and support of:

government support

foundations

2019-20 production partners

production partners in victoria bc

corporate supportRosedale on Robson

Suite HotelVANCOUVER, BC Tony Knox

Barrister & Solicitor, Arbitrator

1291 West 40th Avenue,Vancouver, B.C. V6M 1V3 Canadawww.knoxlex.com

Knox & Co. denotes D.A.Knox Law Corporation

Tel: 604 263 5766Cell: 604 374 7916Fax: 604 261 1868Email: [email protected]

THE DRANCE FAMILYEARLY MUSIC VANCOUVER FUND

You can be in good company too!The corporate sponsors of Early Music Vancouver give back to their community through the support of our performances and education & outreach programmes. Their efforts make a meaningful difference for concertgoers and musicians alike.Our wide range of activities offers unique sponsorship opportunities for both large and small companies to support us while also reaching their corporate goals. A range of sponsorship advantages is available, including logo recognition, complimentary tickets for your clients, employee discounts, and many other benefits tailored to your specific needs.

Call Nathan Lorch to discuss how our audience profile may fit with your company’s objectives: 604 732 1610.

Early Music Vancouver acknowledges that we are gathered on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples – Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səlilwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam) Nations.


Pacific Baroque Orchestra

Alexander Weimann music director

violins

Chloe Meyersconcertmaster

Christi MeyersOlivier Brault

Christine Wilkinson Beckman

Linda Melstedprincipal 2nd violin

Elyssa Lefurgey-Smith Tanya LaPerriere

violas

Mieka MichauxJoanna Hood

violoncello

Nathan Whittaker

violoneNatalie Mackie

double bass

Curtis Daily

organ & harpsichordChristina Hutten

lute

John Lenti

oboeCurtis Foster

MaryAnn Shore

bassoonNate Helgeson

trumpets

Alexis BasqueChristopher Price

timpani

Bill Linwood

PACIFIC BAROQUE ORCHESTRA

The Pacific Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is recognized as one of Canada’s most exciting and innovative ensembles performing “early music for modern ears”. PBO brings the music of the past up to date by performing with cutting-edge style and enthusiasm. Formed in 1990, the orchestra quickly established itself as a force in Vancouver’s burgeoning music scene with the ongoing support of Early Music Vancouver.

In 2009, PBO welcomed Alexander Weimann as Artistic Director. His imaginative programming and expert leadership have drawn in many new concertgoers, and his creativity and engaging musicianship have carved out a unique and vital place in the cultural landscape of Vancouver.

PBO regularly joins forces with internationally celebrated Canadian guest artists, providing performance opportunities for Canadian musicians while exposing West Coast audiences to a spectacular variety of talent. The Orchestra has also toured BC, the northern United States and across Canada as far as the East Coast. The musicians of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra have been at the core of many large-scale productions by Early Music Vancouver in recent years, including many summer festival performances led by Alexander Weimann.

Alexander Weimann music director

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists, and chamber music partners of his generation. After traveling the world with ensembles like Tragicomedia, and as frequent guest with Cantus Cölln, the Freiburger Barockorchester, Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, he now focuses on his activities as conductor of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver, music director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra and regular guest conductor of ensembles including the Victoria Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal and the Portland Baroque Orchestra.

Weimann was born in 1965 in Munich, where he studied the organ, church music, musicology (with a summa con laude thesis on Bach’s secco recitatives), theatre, mediæval Latin, and jazz piano, supported by a variety of federal scholarships. From 1990 to 1995, Weimann taught music theory, improvisation, and Jazz at the Munich Musikhochschule. Since 1998, he has been giving master classes in harpsichord and historical performance practice at institutions such as Lunds University in Malmö and the Bremen Musikhochschule, and at North American universities such as The University of California in Berkeley, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, McGill University, Université de Montréal, and Mount Allison in New Brunswick. Since 2007, he has conducted several acclaimed opera productions at the Amherst Early Music Festival. He now teaches at the University of British Columbia and directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme there.

A multiple Juno and Grammy nominee, Weimann can be heard on some 100 CDs. Recent highlights include an Opus and Juno award winning CD of Handel oratorio arias with soprano Karina Gauvin, a recording of Bach’s St. John’s Passion with Les Voix Baroques/Arion Baroque Orchestra, and a Juno nominated recording of Handel’s Orlando with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra that was also awarded a Gramophone Editor’s Choice award. . n


MARI BOINEDAKHABRAKHAWE SHALL OVERCOME

chancentre.com

SEP 28 Rosanne CashOCT 5 Mari BoineOCT 19 DakhaBrakhaNOV 2 Flamenco Legends: The Paco de Lucía ProjectNOV 16 Orquesta AkokánFEB 29 We Shall Overcome: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.MAR 8 Dianne Reeves: Beleza BrazilAPR 4 La Santa CeciliaAPR 18 Kalabanté: Afrique en Cirque

ROSANNE CASH


VOCAL SOLOISTS

Suzie LeBlanc soprano

Born in Acadia, Suzie LeBlanc fell in love with the Baroque early in life. Now an international star, the charismatic soprano is well-known for her passionate performances of Early Music, art song, contemporary music and Acadian traditional repertoire.

She has sung with many of the world’s leading early music ensembles in concert and opera performances as well as on film and on disc. Concerts have taken her to festivals all over the world and on the opera stage, she has performed for De Nederlandse Opera, Festival de Beaune, Opéra de Montréal, the Boston Early Music Festival, Tanglewood, Festival Vancouver and Early Music Vancouver.

Recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her contribution to Acadian culture and to the performance of Early Music, she has also earned four honorary doctorates and a career grant from the Conseil des Arts du Québec.

Suzie’s recordings have received several prestigious awards, including a Grammy award for a recording of Lully’s Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival, an Opus award for best world music recording – “Tempi con Variazioni” – and best contemporary album, for a disc of early songs by Olivier Messiaen. In 2014, she was awarded ECMA’s Best Classical Album (2014) for “I am in need of music”, which was also a finalist for the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Award.

In 2019, she premiered MOUVANCE, a multidisciplinary work by Jerôme Blais supported by the Canada Council and made her debut as a conductor with the Studio de Musique Ancienne in a programme of music from 17th century Italian convents. She performed with Vancouver’s Elektra, Constantinople and toured Fiorè with Elinor Frey. She frequently performs with Ensemble Constantinople and Elinor Frey, celllist.

Suzie is vocal coach and director of Cappella Antica at McGill University and the founder and co-artistic director of Le Nouvel Opéra, an organisation presenting early and contemporary chamber opera in Montreal.

Dorothee Mields soprano

Dorothee Mields is one of the leading interpreters of 17th- and 18th-century music and is beloved by audiences and critics alike for her unique timbre and moving interpretations.

She appears regularly with the Collegium Vocale Gent, Netherlands Bach Society, L’Orfeo Barockorchester, Freiburger Barockorchester, RIAS Kammerchor, Bach Collegium Japan, Orchestra of the 18th Century, Lautten Compagney Berlin, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra Toronto, The English Concert and Klangforum Wien under conductors such as Stefan Asbury, Beat Furrer, Michi Gaigg, Paul Goodwin, Philippe Herreweghe, Emilio Pomàrico, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Andreas Spering, Masaaki Suzuki and Jos van Veldhoven.

Dorothee Mields is a welcome guest at international festivals, including the Leipzig Bach Festival, Suntory Music Foundation Summer Festival in Japan, Boston Early Music Festival, Flanders Festival, Wiener Festwochen, the Handel Festival in Halle, Musikfestspiele Potsdam, Styriarte Graz, Niedersächsische Musiktage, Musikfest Bremen, Mainzer Musiksommer and Mosel Musikfest.

She is a devoted chamber musician and offers a range of highly interesting projects such as “Lord Nelson at the river Nile” (music by Haydn and contemporaries dealing with the battles of Lord Nelson), “White as Lillies was her Face” with songs by John Dowland combined with texts by Heinrich Heine, “Mort exquise, mort parfumée” with French impressionistic compositions, “Duft und Wahnsinn” (fragrance and lunacy) together with Hille Perl, viola da gamba, and Lee Santana, lute, as well as “Birds” with flutist Stefan Temmingh.

A steadily growing discography with several award-winning recordings documents her artistic achievements. “Inspired by Song” and “Birds” with Stefan Temmingh, “Handel” with Hille Perl, Monteverdi “La dolce vita” with the Lautten Compagney Berlin and Wolfgang Katschner (all DHM), Bach “Kantaten für Solo-Sopran” with L’Orfeo Barockorchester and Michi Gaigg and Boccherini Stabat mater with the Salagon Quartett (both Carus) have been especially well received.

In 2018/19, Dorothee Mields is artist in residence at the Heinrich-Schütz-Musikfest. Upcoming highlights include appearances in Japan with the RIAS Kammerchor, at the Wigmore Hall with The English Concert, with Seattle Symphony, and at the Internationale Orgelwoche Nürnberg, as well as tours with Collegium Vocale Gent, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gli Angeli Genève and Holland Baroque.

Alex Potter alto & leader

My mother always sang to me when I was a small child, which is why I began to sing. Her voice for me was intensely bound together with emotion, which will always remain with me. As a cathedral chorister, this emotional basis became intertwined with a fascination for text and symbolism in music, expanded upon and deepened during studies in Oxford and Basel. Remaining faithful to these origins over nearly twenty years in the profession, I continue to develop as a singer, musician and human, changed and enriched by the joy and sadness which life brings.

Nowadays you are most likely to hear me somewhere with Bach, although I also love to sing other music. When not performing, you will find me at home with my family, reading something geeky, wasting time on the internet, or cooking. Sharing and exchanging with other people, be it music, food, or conversation, is one of the great pleasures of life.

Samuel Boden tenor

British tenor Samuel Boden began his career as a chef and then went on to study singing with John Wakefield at Trinity Laban Conservatoire.

Samuel has sung roles in the operas of Monteverdi, Cavalli, Charpentier, Rameau, Purcell, Handel, Glück, Britten, George Benjamin and Thomas Larcher. He has appeared in productions at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Glyndebourne, Dutch National Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Badisches Staatstheater, Karlsruhe; Nederlandse Reisopera, Musica Viva, Moscow; Theater St Gallen, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney; Opéra de Dijon, Opéra de Lille and the Aldeburgh Festival. In addition he has performed operas in concert at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Salzburg Mozart Week.

On the concert platform Samuel has appeared with many highly-regarded period ensembles as well as symphony and chamber orchestras: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Giovanni Antonini;


Gabrieli Consort / Paul McCreesh; Ex Cathedra / Jeffrey Skidmore; the Royal Northern Sinfonia / Thomas Zehetmair; Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Harry Bicket; Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra / Nicholas Kraemer; Les Arts Florissants / William Christie and Jonathan Cohen; BBC Symphony Orchestra / Sir Andrew Davis, John Storgårds, Sakari

Oramo, Giancarlo Guerrero and John Butt; Frankfurt Radio Orchestra / Emmanuelle Haïm; Collegium Vocale Gent / Philippe Herreweghe; Wiener Akademie / Martin Haselböck; Salzburg Camerata / Teodor Currentzis and the Rotterdam Philharmonic / Nathalie Stutzmann.

His growing discography includes discs of Monteverdi, Charpentier, Daniel Purcell, Rameau, Bach, and Blow alongside Berlioz, George Benjamin, Davies, Alec Roth on Hyperion, Erato, Archiv, Chandos, OAE Released, Nimbus, Resonus Classics, NMC and Signum.

Sumner Thompson baritone

Described as possessing “power and passion,” and “stylish elegance,” Sumner Thompson is in high demand on the concert and opera stage across North America and Europe. He has appeared as a soloist with many leading ensembles and orchestras including the Britten-Pears Orchestra, the National Symphony, the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, Apollo’s Fire, Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Les Voix Baroques, The Handel and Haydn Society, Tafelmusik, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Gli Angeli Genève, and the orchestras of Phoenix, Memphis, Indianapolis, Buffalo, and Charlotte.

Recent engagements include a repeat performance of Handel’s Messiah with Boston’s Handel and Haydn Society, Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with the critically acclaimed Green Mountain Project, Britten’s War Requiem with the Boston Philharmonic, Bach’s St. John Passion at the National Cathedral, and the title role in Britten’s Saint Nicolas with Philadelphia Choral Arts. On the operatic stage he performed the role of El Dancaïro in Carmen with the Cincinnati Opera, and the role of Siegmund in a concert version of Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre in Boston.

Mr. Thompson can be heard on the Boston Early Music Festival’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s Psyché on the CPO label, with the Handel and Haydn Society on their recording of Handel’s Messiah on the Coro label, and also with Les Voix Baroques on “Canticum Canticorum”, “Carissimi Oratorios”, and “Humori”, all on the ATMA label.

In addition to his musical pursuits, Mr. Thompson spends his time restoring his 1885 Stick-style Victorian home, building various types of bass guitars, and entertaining his 4 year old daughter.

Matthew Brook bass-baritone

Matthew Brook has appeared widely as a soloist, and has worked extensively with conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Hickox, Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Christophers, Christophe Rousset, Paul McCreesh and Sir Mark Elder, and many ensembles including the Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the English Baroque Soloists, the Gabrieli Consort & Players, the Sixteen, the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Orchestre National de Lille.

Recent and future highlights include Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas with the Handel and Haydn Society, Bach’s St John

Passion with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, Haydn’s Creation with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Magnificat and Brahms’ Triumphlied with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Il Rè di Scozia in Ariodante with the Staatstheater Stuttgart and on tour with the English Concert, Bach’s B minor Mass at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut and with Les Violons du Roy in Québec, Fauré’s Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, a tour of Bach cantatas with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Early Music Vancouver, a tour of Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and with Gli Angeli Genève, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at Festival Saint-Denis, and the roles of Herod and Father in Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis.

RIPIENISTS

Nicholas Burns alto

Vancouver-born countertenor Nicholas Burns has been described as possessing a “thrilling voice”, and past performances have been called a “revelation” (Opera Canada). Recent appearances include performances of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers with the American Bach Soloists, music by Henry Purcell at le Festival international de musique baroque de Lamèque, Handel’s Messiah with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and Bach’s St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, and B Minor Mass with Ensemble Caprice. On the opera stage Nicholas has performed roles such as Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda, Polinesso in Handel’s Ariodante, and Lichas in Handel’s Hercules. No stranger to singing major choral works one per part, Nicholas has performed numerous Bach cantatas one per part with both Les idées heureuses and le Bande Baroque Montréal including the solo cantata Gott soll allein mein Herze haben (BWV 169) and Bach’s fugal masterpiece Ein feste Burg (BWV 80). Later this season Nicholas will perform Bach’s St. Matthew Passion one voice per part with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco as well as the music of Henry Purcell with Arion Baroque Orchestra. Nicholas appears regularly with le Studio de musique ancienne, with whom he has recorded an album of music by Lassus on ATMA Classique. Aside from singing, Nicholas is an accomplished bagpiper winning the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow in 2012.

Jonathan Quick tenor

Jonathan Quick has been a prominent part of the Vancouver choral music scene for many years. He received his B.Mus and B.Ed degrees from UBC, studying voice with David Meek. His wide range of musical interests has allowed him to work as a conductor, composer and arranger, sound engineer, music typesetter, and singer. He has directed vocal workshops with ensembles of all ages and experience levels, and currently directs the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir and the Gallery Singers.

Jonathan has been featured on numerous recordings with local ensembles, and has appeared as a soloist with the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the Vancouver Cantata Singers, the West Coast Mennonite Chamber Choir, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Kawasha’s Crew, the Burney Ensemble, Early Music Vancouver, and New Music Vancouver. n


“The Lovers of Music, where of many are Persons of the first Rank, meet at Stationers-Hall in London, not thro’ a Principle of Superstition, but to propagate the advancement of that divine science. A splendid Entertainment is provided and before it is always a performance of Music by the best Voices and Hands in town; the Words, which are always in the Patronesses praise, are set by some of the greatest Masters in Town.” A Gentleman’s Journal

The person of Saint Cecilia and her association with music is shrouded in mystery. She had been venerated among the saints since the fifth century, but only began to be regularly identified as patroness of music in the sixteenth century. The first documented music festival held in her honour occurred in Normandy in 1570. In 1585, Pope Sixtus V established one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, issuing a papal bull invoking Gregory the Great and Saint Cecilia as the two saints most prominent in the history of western music. Yet, it was in Protestant Restoration England that the celebration of Saint Cecilia flourished especially colourfully. Between the years 1683 and 1703, the Musical Society of London hosted annual festivities including a service at St. Bride’s Church featuring an anthem for choir and orchestra and a sermon in defence of music, followed by a performance at Stationer’s Hall of a newly composed ode in praise of music.

The celebratory ode, a genre of formal lyric poetry borrowed from antiquity, had become extremely popular in the court of Charles II. The times were unsettled; the monarchy newly re-established amid persistent conflicts over succession and religion. The ode served to express political power and loyalty, linking the security of the developing British nation to the king and his divinely ordained authority. Ancient Greece and Rome were often elevated as models for the modern state. Odes written in praise of Saint Cecilia similarly connected English artistic achievement with Cecilia’s patronage and with divine blessing. She became a secular figurehead, conflated with the muses of antiquity.

Further, the texts of the Cecilian odes, always commissioned from Britain’s greatest poets, elevated music, particularly the collaborative process of music-making, as a model for the creation of a healthy civil society. Music unified the arts and sciences, involving diverse disciplines from poetry to instrument technology. Ensemble music harmonized the varied timbres and abilities of instruments and voices. Musical composition knit together a range of influences – music theories traced from antiquity, traditions of musical genre and style, the composer’s own inspiration… Emulating, adapting, reworking, or enriching existing music and text was, in fact, privileged over conspicuous originality. Artists situated themselves and their work within community. So,

Nicholas Brady’s text Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692) reworks John Dryden’s famous poem A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day (1687), and Henry Purcell’s setting of Brady’s text dialogues with the Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day (1691) composed by his teacher John Blow.

Hail! Bright Cecilia (1692) is a kaleidoscopic exploration of the power of music to move the emotions. Purcell uses an exceptionally large orchestra and all sorts of combinations of vocal solos, duets, trios, and choruses to paint the purported universal power and cosmic significance of music and the characters associated with different instruments and musical genres. The piece concludes with a bass duet and chorus encouraging the unity of disparate instruments and human voices with the music of Saint Cecilia and her heavenly ensemble.

Matthew Locke’s incidental music for The Tempest formed part of a similarly exemplary collaborative project. During the 1650s, the Commonwealth government forbade spoken theatre, though musical performances remained permissible. Lovers of Shakespeare “operatized” his plays as a way of circumventing the restrictions, and the new genre proved a winning combination of excellent spoken drama with music and spectacle. The most successful of these pieces was the reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, premiered in 1674. Poet John Dryden and playwright William Davenant revised the play line by line, modernizing the language and incorporating references to contemporary politics and recent scientific discoveries. Matthew Locke provided instrumental music, including the Curtain Tune, a realistic depiction of the storm so central the play’s plot, while Pelham Humphrey, Pietro Reggio, and John Banister all contributed vocal music.

Perhaps, amid the fantasy and myth associated with the Cecilia Day celebrations of the seventeenth century, there is a timely reminder for us too about music’s potential to model unity and to create links across the span of history. The hope that Nicholas Brady expressed in his sermon for St. Cecilia’s Day of 1697 remains rather poignant. “Peace then is restored to us within our Walls, Peace, that Banisher of Discord, that Mother of Harmony, that Band of Union to consenting Minds, that Nurse and Patroness of useful Arts and Sciences. And O! That all the several parties in this kingdom, however formerly divided by interest or design, would Resemble the Trumpeters and Singers in the Text! That they were as one!” n

PROGRAMME NOTESby christina hutten


Matthew Locke (1621-1677)Excerpts from “The Tempest”

IntroductionGalliard, Gavot, Sarabrand, Lilk

Curtain Tune

John Blow (1649-1708)Welcome, Every Guest

Welcome, every guest,Welcome to the Muses’ feast: Music is your only cheer,Music entertains the ear:Welcome, every guest. Welcome to the Muses’ feast.The sacred Nine, observe!

Observe the mode, And bring your dainties from abroad:The delicious Thracian lute,And Dodona’s mellow flute,With Cremona’s racy fruit:

At home you have the freshest air;Vocal, instrumental fare. Our English trumpet nothing has surpassed.

Welcome, every guest!…

Matthew LockeExcerpts from “The Tempest”

Rustick Air, A Martial JiggeConclusion

INTERVAL

Henry Purcell:Hail, Bright CeciliaText by Nicholas Brady

Symphony

Hail! Bright CeciliaHail! Bright Cecilia, Hail!Fill ev’ry Heart With Love of thee and thy Celestial Art;That thine and Musick’s Sacred LoveMay make the British Forest proveAs Famous as Dodona’s Vocal Grove.

Hark, each Tree its silence breaksHark, each Tree its silence breaks,The Box and Fir to talk begin.This is the sprightly Violin,That in the Flute distinctly speaks.‘Twas Sympathy their list’ning Brethren drewWhen to the Thracian Lyre with leafy Wings they flew.

‘Tis Nature’s Voice‘Tis Nature’s Voice; thro’ all the moving WoodOf Creatures understood:The Universal Tongue to noneOf all her num’rous Race unknown.From her it learnt the mighty ArtTo court the Ear or strike the Heart:At once the Passions to express and move;We hear, and straight we grieve or hate, rejoice or love;In unseen Chains it does the Fancy bind;At once it charms the Sense and captivates the Mind.

Soul of the WorldSoul of the World!Inspired by thee,The jarring Seeds of Matter did agree.Thou did’st the scatter’d Atoms bind,Which, by the Laws of true proportion join’d,Made up of various Parts one perfect Harmony.

Thou tun’st this World belowThou tun’st this World below, the Spheres above,Who in the Heavenly Round to their own Music move.

TEXTS


With that sublime Celestial LayWith that sublime Celestial LayCan any Earthly Sounds compare?lf any Earthly Music dare, The noble Organ may.From Heav’n its wondrous Notes were giv’n,(Cecilia oft convers’d with Heaven).Some Angel of the Sacred ChoirDid with his Breath the Pipes inspire;And of their Notes above the just Resemblance gave,Brisk without Lightness, without dulness Grave.

Wondrous machine!Wond’rous Machine!To thee the Warbling Lute,Tho’ us’d to Conquest, must be forc’d to yield:With thee unable to dispute.

The Airy ViolinThe Airy ViolinAnd lofty Viol quit the Field;In vain they tune their speaking StringsTo court the cruel Fair, or praise Victorious Kings.Whilst all thy consecrated LaysAre to more noble Uses bent;And every grateful Note to Heav’n repaysThe melody it lent.

In vain the Am’rous fluteIn vain the Am’rous flute and soft Guitar,Jointly labour to inspireWanton Heat and loose Desire;Whilst thy chaste Airs do gently moveSeraphic Flames and Heav’nly Love.

The Fife and all the Harmony of WarThe Fife and all the Harmony of War,In vain attempt the Passions to alarm,Which thy commanding Sounds compose and charm.

Let these amongst themselves contestLet these amongst themselves contest,Which can discharge its single Duty best.Thou summ’st their diff’ring Graces up in One,And art a Consort of them All within thy Self alone.

Hall! Bright CeciliaHail! Bright Cecilia, Hail to thee!Great Patroness of Us and Harmony!Who, whilst among the Choir aboveThou dost thy former Skill improve,With Rapture of delight dost seeThy Favourite ArtMake up a PartOf infinite Felicity.Hail, bright Cecilia, Hail to thee!Great Patroness of Us and Harmony!

Host an EMV Guest MusicianDo you have a guest room that often sits empty?

Do you enjoy well-educated, articulate houseguests from across the country and the world?

Do you like Classical music?

Would you like to get the ‘inside scoop’ about performing from a professional musician?

If your answer to any of these questions is ‘yes’, then I invite you to consider joining the growing number of

EMV supporters who house visiting guest musicians.

Get to know some of the wonderful musicians that come to Vancouver to bring you great music.

Host only when it is convenient for you; all you need to provide is a private room.

For more information please contact Jonathan Evans, Production Manager,

Early Music Vancouver:[email protected] or 604.732.1610, extension 2004

Special thanks to the following for hosting our guest musicians:

Honey & Tony Dawson, Martha Hazevoet, Delma Hemming, Margie & Tony Knox, Janice & J. Evan Kreider, Marlene & Al LeGates, Patricia Lim, Chloe Meyers & Alexander Weimann, Marc White & Joey Schibild, Judy & Bern Storr, Kimberly & Stuart Smith, Olivia & Nicholas Swindale, Rosemary & Alex Waterhouse-Hayward, Valerie Weeks & Barry Honda, and Penny Williams.


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White Rock Concertscongratulates Early Music Vancouver

on its 50th Anniversary and vitalcontribution to the revival of early musicand historically informed performance.

Now in our 63rd season, White RockConcerts Society offers a member-only

series of seven concertsMore information can be found at:

www.whiterockconcerts.com

White Rock Concertscongratulates Early Music Vancouver

on its 50th Anniversary and vitalcontribution to the revival of early musicand historically informed performance.

Now in our 63rd season, White RockConcerts Society offers a member-only

series of seven concertsMore information can be found at:

www.whiterockconcerts.com


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