Handel's Brockes-Passion April 2019

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Handel Brockes-Passion

18-19

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Friday 19 April 2019 3pm Barbican Hall, London

There will be a 20-minute interval after No.50 "Die ihr Gottes Grad' versäumet"

Brockes-Passion Der für die Sünden der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus aus den vier Evangelisten in gebundener Rede vorgestellt, HWV 48 (171) Jesus suffering and dying for the sins of the world, presented in verse out of the four Evangelists Music GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1759) Libretto BARTHOLD HEINRICH BROCKES (1680-1747)

Handel's Brockes-Passion

Academy of Ancient Music

Handel's

A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2018 - 19 S E A S O N

Handel's Brockes-Passion

Credits

Richard Egarr director and harpsichord Robert Murray Evangelist Cody Quattlebaum Jesus Elizabeth Watts Daughter of Zion Ruby Hughes Faithful Soul (soprano); Maid 1 Rachael Lloyd Mary; Faithful Soul (mezzo-soprano);

Editor Leo Duarte with additional input from Richard Egarr Proofing Chad Kelly

Maid 2; A Soldier

Deutsches Kurrentschrift, orthographic work Joanna Raisbeck English (Charles Jennens), orthographic work Dr Ruth Smith

Tim Mead Judas Gwilym Bowen Peter Nicky Spence Faithful Soul (tenor) Morgan Pearse Pilate; Centurion; Faithful Soul (bass); Caiaphas Step-out Soloists Philippa Hyde Maid 3 Cathy Bell James Kate Symonds-Joy John

Gerhard Gall German Language Coach

Translation Moritz Grimm with additional input from Sandy Burnett, Dr Ruth Smith,

Prof David Cardin

Additional contributors Prof H.J. Marx, Prof R Strohm,

Dr Graham Pont

with thanks to the British Library Richard Chesser,

Stephanie Keen

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H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

Welcome from Chief Executive, Academy of Ancient Music Welcome to a very special Good Friday Passion at the Barbican. This performance of Handel's little-known Brockes-Passion celebrates the 300th anniversary of the work's first known performance (Hamburg, Monday of Easter week, 1719), and is the culmination of more than a year of research to explore and preserve this superb piece.

The last critical edition of Handel's Brockes-Passion was published in 1965, and since then Handel scholarship has progressed and new manuscript sources have come to light.

The British Library has two manuscript copies that differ from each other – our primary source (RM.19.d.3) has an additional 63 bars of music at the beginning, for example, as well as a different chorus setting, some recitative changes, and so on. New sources are of significance too, in particular the discovery and study of Elizabeth Legh's copy. In due course we will make this new AAM edition publicly available so that other performing groups – professional and amateur – can use it freely to encourage more people to explore this piece wherever in the world they might be.

Over the last year or so, the Academy of Ancient Music has worked alongside a team of scholars and musicologists

to create our new edition of this Brockes-Passion, and I am grateful to them all for their expertise, input and generosity of time. In particular I'd like to thank Leo Duarte, the editor of this edition; Dr Ruth Smith, whose knowledge of Handel, texts, Passions, music and much more has been invaluable; Moritz Grimm for his new translation; and our Music Director, Richard Egarr, for driving the idea of re-visiting and revealing this incredible piece of music. Thank you too to Richard Chesser, Head of Music at the British Library, and to our Hogwood Fellow, Sandy Burnett, for their help in putting this project together; as well as to a superb team of soloists, orchestra and chorus bringing this music to life.

A project of this scale – a major new edition and translation in addition to a recording and performance – takes considerable resources, and we are in debt to all those who have sponsored arias, recits, roles, and more. AAM receives not a penny of public subsidy, so thank you to you all for your generous support, and our thanks to Roger Mayhew who has led the fundraising for this project. If you haven't yet, it isn't too late to be involved and sponsor one of the six ariosos, handful of recits, or major roles that remain (see page 6).

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Foreward In the autumn we will release our brand new recording of this work. All sponsors will receive a copy and be credited inside; and if you would like to buy one or more you can order in advance at the AAM desk this afternoon or online at www.aam.co.uk/brockes. This will be a beautiful deluxe product containing a wealth of information, and will include Charles Jennens' own partial translation of Brockes' text alongside the original Kurrentschrift, modern German, and our new translation, in addition to the music and more.

My renewed thanks to our supporters, scholars and performers for everything they have done to bring this major project alive. It has been a fascinating journey of discovery, and that journey isn't over yet. I hope you will enjoy this amazing work by one of the finest composers of the 18th century, and we wish you all a very happy Easter.

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Alexander Van Ingen Chief Executive Academy of Ancient Music

Š Marco Borggreve

Richard Egarr

This AAM performance of Handel's phenomenal setting of the Brockes-Passion is the culmination of a massive amount of collaborative investigation, thought and passionate input from both within and without the AAM. I can only thank all those involved in this fabulous team effort. I am sure that the result will help put this masterpiece firmly in its rightful place as perhaps the most extraordinarily vivid and gripping Passion text.

Richard Egarr Music Director Academy of Ancient Music

The Academy of Ancient Music is enormously grateful to the following for their support of our Handel's Brockes-Passion recording project General Support Bernarr Rainbow Trust Sir John Fisher Foundation Matthew Ferry Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie Jean Gooder The Handel Institute Mr C. Holbrook Roger Mayhew Kimberly Schumacher Madeleine and John Tattersall And other anonymous donors Daughter of Zion Terence Sinclair Evangelist Sir Konrad and Lady Schiemann Jesus Richard and Elena Bridges Judas Anonymous Mary John and Hilary Everett Pilate Roger Mayhew James NoĂŤl Harwerth John Peter and Frances Meyer

Soprano Chorus The Loveday Charitable Trust Alto Chorus Elizabeth and Richard de Friend Tenor Chorus Chris and Ali Rocker Bass Chorus Miles and Anna Hember Translation John and Hilary Everett Printing Stephen Thomas Research Ben Broadbent Jane and Darius Panahy Dr Joseph E. Pesce, PhD John and Joyce Reeve Trio The Lady Juliet and Dr Christopher Tadgell Sinfonia Janet Unwin Duet Ruth and Dominic McLoughlin And other anonymous donors Chorus Aileen Adams David Colver and Kimberly Schumacher Walter Frans and Linda Hofkens

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

John Hutchinson Eric W. Nye and Carol D. Frost Patricia C. Yeiser USA

John and Jacky Still Fred Walski Jr. And other anonymous donors

Arioso Tim and Jenny Shanagher In memory of Jonathan Horsfall Turner Judith Van Ingen And other anonymous donors

Chorale In memory of Betty Breeden Dr Karl Georg Jane Ridley Tony and Jackie Yates-Watson And other anonymous donors

Aria Dr Michael H. Arshagouni John and Hilary Birks George and Kay Brock Cynthia Butterworth Jo and Keren Butler David Colver and Kimberly Schumacher Joseph Crouch Kate Donaghy Julia Ellis Madeleine Gantley Malcolm and Polly Haines Kate and Michael Henchman Edward R. Johnson Mr Alessandro Orsaria Alan Sainer Thomas and Joyce Seaman Mr Michael Smith Laurie van Someren and Heidi Lichterman Marion Stadler

Recitative Di Allison Mary Antcliff Nicolas Bell Stephanie Bourne In memory of Philip Brett Mr Edward Brown Philip Chklar Mark Dennison Mark and Margaret Edwards Vera Frieling In memory of Hilary Gornall Conroy Harrowby Celia Milstein Dr Eva Novotny Dr Laura Cecilia Porro Vivienne Rowden Alan Sainer James Stratford Fred Walski Jr Alan Ward And other anonymous donors

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Handel's Brockes-Passion: Sponsor an Aria

A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2018 - 19 S E A S O N

AAM aims to produce a definitive recording of this work taken from our concert at the Barbican – but we can only do it with your help.

and send you a copy as soon as it is released. There are now only a limited number of sponsorship options available (please see table below) so please contact Ellen Parkes, Development Manager on ellen.parkes@aam.co.uk or 01223 341 097 as soon as possible to secure your choice! Achieving support for every musical component of this work – recitatives, arias, choruses and characters – will make this project feasible, and we hope you will join us in this project.

We invite you to sponsor an aria, or more – we will credit you in the beautifully presented hardback CD booklet,

Thank you for supporting our exploration, revelation and preservation of Handel's Brockes-Passion.

Overtaken by many of Handel's more famous choral works, the Brockes-Passion is (undeservedly) a lesser-known piece: there are very few performances, and even fewer recordings. But we believe this work merits much greater recognition.

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Recitative (42 11 available) £ 60 Chorale (5 available) £115 Aria (28 available) £200 Accompagnato (2 available) £200 Arioso (7 2 available) £225 Chorus (11 5 available) £260 Duet (2 available) £320 James £400 John £400 Surtitles (2 available) £400 Research (new edition) (6 2 available) £475 Chorus – Soprano £600 Chorus – Alto £600 Chorus – Tenor £600

Chorus – Bass £ 600 Libretto Editing £ 800 £ 950 Faithful Soul (tenor) Pilatus £1,000 Maria & Soldier £1,100 Printing (new edition) £1,200 Centurion & Maids £1,400 Judas £1,400 Libretto (new translation) £1,600 £1,800 Faithful Soul (sop.)

Peter £2,000 Jesus £2,500 Evangelist £4,000 Daughter of Zion £5,000

“It's astonishing that there are so few performances and recordings of this profoundly stirring work, unique in Handel's output… I suspect it's a work that will speak more tellingly to the present century than to any since it was written and it's exciting to think that the Academy of Ancient Music's recording plans will engage new audiences with this masterpiece."

Dr Ruth Smith (Cambridge): Handel scholar, author of Handel's Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought (CUP)

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

Sources Primary Sources RM.19.d.3 From the British Library, this is our primary source, copied by the scribe known as "RM4". Recent research suggests the copyist for this could be none other than William Babel, which would give this manuscript good authority.

1965's HHA / Bärenreiter dispenses with the opening 63 bars, believing that RM.19.d.3 dates from after 1734 given that the opening is also used by Handel in the Sinfonia of his Op.3 No.2; but since we now know the Legh manuscript (below) also includes this music, and dates from c.1728, the HHA's dating of RM.19.d.3 is likely to be inaccurate.

Jennens Charles Jennens (Handel's librettist for Messiah and several other works) had a copy made, and given the close relationship between Handel and Jennens it is reasonable to assume that this would have had good provenance; this copy is at Manchester Public Library.

Legh A copy owned by Elizabeth Legh (who was collecting manuscripts 1715-34), available on microfilm at the Hampshire Record Office, has the first page copied by J.C. Smith (senior), Handel's own copyist, (and the rest by the

scribe known as "S1"), which gives a sense of good authority and provenance. Dated c.1728, this copy later came to the Earl of Malmesbury via John Robartes, the 4th Earl of Radnor.

RM.20.g.13 A British Library source which contains the autograph manuscript of the opening bars, in addition to variant opening and closing sections.

These sources (RM.19.d.3, Jennens and Legh) are all in close agreement. Given the strong provenance of these manuscripts (and with RM.20.g.13 agreeing, in the limited material it presents, with these three fuller sources) we believe these to represent the closest to Handel's original.

Additional Sources RM.19.g.3 The British Library's other manuscript of this work.

Copied by "RM3", of whom Dean writes "so far as it is known, RM3 and BM1 copied a single Handel score each‌ there is little to connect them closely to the composer". This source omits the opening 63 bars and displays further differences.

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Sources continued

Forces

D-B Mus. ms 9002 (10) Housed in Berlin, this is "the Bach score", dating from the late 1740s in Leipzig. It would appear to originate from the same place as RM.19.g.3, and has instrumentation changes to suit performance conditions in Leipzig. It is believed to have been copied by three composers – J.S. Bach up to page 45, and C.P.E. Bach and J.N. Bammler the remainder.

There has been much discussion in recent years about the limited forces that J.S. Bach had available to him in Leipzig, and it might be tempting to assume that the same would be true of Hamburg. However, not only would this be speculative, but it would overlook differences between the two cities and the question of what Handel himself wanted.

(The source D-B Mus. ms 9002 (10) has instrumentation changes to facilitate a performance in Leipzig which is just one indication that performance conditions were different in the two cities.) Mattheson, who was in charge of Cathedral music in Hamburg, staged four composers' settings of Brockes' libretto in quick succession during Lent in 1719, repeating the multi-composer format at least twice more in the years after, with Handel's work featuring frequently in other years too. The multi-composer events, advertised prominently in the Hamburger Relations Courier, were surely major occasions in the church calendar, not simply routine music-making for worship, and this would warrant greater investment.

BRD-HS M B / 1592 In Hamburg, this manuscript was formerly owned by F. Chrysander, who published his edition of the Brockes-Passion in 1863 (based on a selection of sources, including this one).

S. m. 9874 Manuscript in the Austrian National Library, Vienna.

H-Bn, Ms. mus. IV.517 Manuscript in the Hungarian National Library, Budapest. This is believed to be a contemporary copy of the Brockes-Passion, owned by Queen Charlotte, a copy which she gave to Haydn during his visit to London in 1795.

A fuller commentary on sources will be published in AAM's new edition of the score, and with the CD release.

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Evidence from the manuscript sources suggests that oboe lines were at least doubled (minimum four oboes rather than two) and there's no doubt that two bassoons are necessary as a minimum rather than one (there being two individual

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

bassoon lines in two of the numbers). This, in turn, suggests more than just a bare minimum of strings (Quantz suggests four oboes with twelve violins to balance in his On Playing the Flute) and we know that Handel was conceiving music for, and directing, sizeable orchestras in London both before and after the time of his Brockes-Passion's composition.

Johann Scheibe, familiar with the conditions of Hamburg church music, wrote in 1740 (in the weekly magazine Critischer Musicus) "Die Singstimmen sollen auch, wo möglich, mehr, als einmal, bestellet seyn, weil sich die Chöre sonst gar nicht ausnehmen" – "where possible more than one voice to a part should be engaged, otherwise the choruses can’t make themselves heard". Mattheson would have had easy access to the choral forces of all the parish churches in addition to the Cathedral, and Keiser (whose setting was also performed) could easily have brought in singers from the Hamburg opera house where he was in charge of the music. We know that Mattheson made use of singers from the opera house, including women, and Professor H.J. Marx remarks that for some performances the Cathedral's own eight singers were supplemented by those of the opera, who were also around eight (the Gänsemarkt opera also had an orchestra of c.20 players itself, plus additional freelancers; the evidence suggests

that a good number of musicians were available in Hamburg at the time), which would allow for a chorus of a minimum of 16, plus extras who could have been brought in by the nature of the festive, special occasion.

Hamburg Cathedral and the former Refectory (where BrockesPassion performances were held in 1719 and subsequently) are no more (the Cathedral being demolished in the early 1800s), but we know from Mattheson that 1,000 people attended one of these Brockes-Passion concerts. This gives an idea of the scale of the performance space, such a venue needing a sizeable number of performers for the music to work and to be heard adequately by those present. Indeed, a contemporary performance at Hamburg's Drill-Haus is described "von welchem sich ein Orchestre von 40 Musikanten hören liess", i.e. at which an orchestra of 40 musicians could be heard; and a 1713 performance of Handel’s "Utrecht" Te Deum and Jubilate in the large space of St. Paul’s Cathedral involved a choir of c.20 singers (13 men and around six boys according to Burrows in Handel and the English Chapel Royal), from an estimated 50 or so performers (Andrew Parrott in Composers’ Intentions).

In London between 1720 and 1728 Handel was "Master of the Orchester" as well as principal composer of the Royal Academy

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Forces continued

AAM Quick Pick

of Music at the King's Theatre, Haymarket (capacity c.940 for opera and more for concerts), where initially he had an orchestra of c.35 musicians, comprising 17 violins, four oboes, and other forces proportionate. For his previous Easter composition about salvation through Christ, La Resurrezione (Rome, 1708), he had 22 violins and four oboes, and a year earlier for Il trionfo del Tempo he had 17 violins and four oboes. Such forces, then, were not unusual for Handel either in his conception of the music he was writing, or in his practice when he was performing.

To most concert-goers Handel's Brockes-Passion is a completely unknown composition, but having recognised the considerable qualities of this music, it is hard to understand why it hasn't acquired mainstream status – it's a composition brimming over with amazing music.

It seems to us that it is plausible on a practical level for the forces to have been on a bigger scale than "one voice per part"; that Handel is likely to have had this in mind given his performances in London and his knowledge of the potentially available forces in Hamburg; and that the music works well (pragmatically in terms of soloist workload, dramatically by way of dividing the roles, and musically and emotionally for its impact) when performed with Handelian oratorio forces: a generous and healthy approach which was certainly possible at the time, and which we believe works well today.

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Each concert Lars Henriksson picks out one key thing to listen out for.

It seems J.S. Bach has claimed the Passion format for posterity, but he was in fact much influenced by Handel's composition, which was performed each year in the five years before Bach first performed his St. John Passion. We know Bach had a copy in his possession.

With this in mind, it is interesting to consider how Bach has been affected. There are many similarities: one of the most obvious is the aria "Eilt, Ihr angefochten Seelen" ("Hurry, you tormented souls") for solo and chorus, which exists in both Passions. In the St. John Passion it's a bass aria, whereas in the Brockes-Passion it is for soprano. But Bach copies Handel's treatment of the chorus “wohin?” (“where to?”) interjections exactly and uses the same key and metre. This is no coincidence!

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Handel's Brockes-Passion: a unique masterpiece

by Dr Ruth Smith During the Easter fortnight of 1719 the citizens of Hamburg could hear four different settings of the same Passion oratorio text by their eminent poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680-1747). The compositions were by Reinhard Keiser (1712), Georg Philipp Telemann (1716), George Frideric Handel (?1716) and Johann Mattheson (1718).

This "compare and contrast" event was organised

by Mattheson, since 1715 Hamburg Cathedral's director of music; the Handel and Telemann performances took place in the cathedral's refectory. Handel's setting, so far as we know, was receiving its premiere (in the absence of the composer), on 3 April 300 years ago.

All four composers had connections with Hamburg, with each other, and with the librettist.

Keiser had been the director of Hamburg opera when Handel, a teenager fresh out of Halle, played in its orchestra; Mattheson had been Handel's colleague at the opera; and Telemann, who was

to become music director at the city's five main churches two years later, had been friendly with Handel and Brockes for nearly 20 years. Brockes, himself a Hamburg native, was at school with Mattheson, and at Halle University he was a fellow student of Handel.

Brockes and his Passion Text

Brockes was independently wealthy and Handel had to earn his keep, but in other respects their careers interestingly coincide. Both were intensely eclectic, drawing for their compositions on a wide range of traditions and styles; both were experimental, pushing at the boundaries of established genres; both focused their skill on the expression of human character and feelings; and both wanted to communicate to a wide public. Exact contemporaries at Halle University, both studied law, but both left to pursue an

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Programme Note continued

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arts education elsewhere in Europe. Brockes' grand tour took in Prague, Paris, London and the Low Countries, but, like Handel, he was most influenced by Italy, like him absorbing and engaging with its culture.

established to host its first performances in his own house, to an audience (so he reported) of all the upper echelons of Hamburg society and "the entire foreign nobility, all the ministers and residents with their ladies", numbering over 500.

Nevertheless, when Brockes returned to Hamburg, he forged a profile as a leading German poet at a time when German was at its lowest ebb as a literary language. The Society of German Practitioners which he co-founded in 1715 was a trailblazer, discussing the roles of language and rhetoric and collaborating in translations of Italian, French and English into German. Brockes himself produced translations of Marino's La strage degli innocenti ("Massacre of the Innocents"), Pope's Essay on Man and Thomson's The Seasons. He also engaged fully in civic life, becoming a respected senator and holder of several important civic positions. Already by the time of Keiser's setting of his Passion text (1712) he was sufficiently

Der fĂźr die SĂźnden der Welt gemarterte und sterbende Jesus aus den vier Evangelisten in gebundener Rede vorgestellt ("Jesus suffering and dying for the sins of the world, presented in verse out of the four Evangelists"): the title of Brockes' libretto declares that it belongs to the genre known as Passion oratorio, a freely paraphrased, versified and amplified dramatisation of the Passion story based on chosen elements of all four gospels ("harmonisation" of the gospels; principally, in Brockes' case, St. John's). Hamburg was the birthplace of this form of Passion text, and Brockes was its chief instigator. He was preceded only by Christian Friedrich Hunold (who wrote under the pseudonym "Menantes"), whose text

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

was set by Keiser and performed in Holy Week as "oratorio Passion", comprising biblical text of 1704, probably with Handel in the orchestra, and one gospel (recitative) interspersed with poetic

by Georg Bronner, whose Geistliches Oratorium responses and meditations (arias, choruses, (1710) was banned by the city government. chorales).

Brockes' text is an incomparably finer production than Hunold's, and, though intensely dramatic, it By comparison with Bach's Passion texts, Brockes' incurred far less criticism than its predecessors for is startlingly dramatic, and very deliberately so. impropriety. If the number of He makes the participants in the printings and settings is a guide, story rounded, impassioned human Both Brockes and it was the most celebrated beings, with invented utterances Handel were intensely voicing a huge range of emotions: libretto Handel ever set apart from the texts of Messiah. fear, anger, grief, remorse, despair, eclectic, experimental According to one 18th-century outrage, joy, defiance, love, and focused their skill contemporary, it had had over compassion, resolve and more. on the expression of 30 printings by 1727; by 1750 There is hardly any third-person human character. it had been given over 50 narrative, the Evangelist making performances that we know of, few interventions: for example, in settings by nine composers and as a pasticcio during Jesus' arrest, three individuals and two

by Bach. Bach's own Passions not only came later, groups have between them nine exchanges but are in a different tradition from Brockes' text without any commentary. We are not told that and Handel's setting. Theirs is the genre known Peter cuts off the high priest's servant's ear,

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Programme Note continued

we are given an outburst of rage from him ("Gift und Glut") before hearing Jesus reprove him.

All the main biblical characters (Christ, Peter, Judas, Mary) and the two allegorical characters, the Daughter of Zion and the Faithful Soul, have extended solo scenas, marked "soliloquy"

by Brockes.

The Daughter of Zion and the Faithful Soul, like the other characters, are actively present at and engaging in the events as they unfold. They relate Jesus' experience and purpose to us; but they do more, they respond not only as we should do now but as we might have done, should have done, had we been there then. They even try to change the course of the action. The Daughter of Zion implores Pilate to pause, be quiet and consider before passing judgement, and challenges Jesus himself when he remains silent before his accusers (he replies to her); the Faithful Soul at the moment of crucifixion cries out that she will herself expire

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from horror. Brockes continually places his characters, and us, in the moment. So we share both Peter's and Judas' anguished remorse – and note the difference. Most strikingly, in Jesus' long soliloquy in Gethsemane, we witness a completely human being: God made man, in an agony of pain and fear. Brockes puts us alongside him: "One saw his weak limbs tremble…".

None of the myriad elements which Brockes draws together was original to him: to name a few, Erdmann Neumeister's innovative religious cantata sequences (first published 1704), Lutheran celebration of the triumph of the cross mediated by Pietism's cultivation of the individual believer's compassionating relationship with Christ, Hamburg Passion plays and operas, Italian oratorio – but his text is distinctive in fusing such a wide range of influences to create such powerful drama.

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The closeness of Brockes' text to opera is one likely reason for its neglect in Britain. Another is its language. Again Brockes fuses styles and traditions, creating a treasury of sophisticated rhetoric. Hamburg drama, and the poetry of Giambattista Marino which he admired in his youth, rejoiced in metaphysical, antithetical, ornate language. Brockes celebrates the Christian paradox of salvation in phrases that compel us to stop and think, as in the opening chorus ("To unbind me from the bonds of my sins Christ himself must be bound"), or, as the Faithful Soul protests to Christ's interrogators, "You are denying life to life itself, through you the death of death will die". In stark contrast is the close-focus, graphic, unsparing representation of physical suffering and mental anguish. In the agony in the garden, a terrified Christ feels engulfed by a muddy morass and eviscerated by burning coals; he gasps for breath, his mouth is dry, his heart pounds and his sweat is not (as in Luke's

gospel) like drops of blood, but is drops of blood forced from every vein. During his scourging, his tormentors score his back with nailed whips; the thorns of the crown pierce his brain.

Brockes also, with truly baroque ingenuity, fuses abstract and pictorial styles in astonishing metaphysical conceits. Christ sweats bloody drops which for us are rubies to bejewel our souls; his flogged back appears like a rainbow and likewise brings us hope; his blood waters the furrows ploughed in his back, causing a living harvest to spring from the dead world. Such contemplation of Christ's wounds – and devotion to it of the longest section of the work – is another instance of Brockes' eclecticsm, recalling Roman Catholic mysticism (and for English readers, the poetry of Crashaw), and anticipating Moravian Pietism and some of Charles Wesley's hymns. The brutality and rawness of his text may also be a legacy of the Thirty Years War, in which four times as many

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died in Europe as in World War I, and maybe in this respect the Brockes-Passion's hour has come, now that our daily news graphically shows us barbaric cruelty and human suffering on an unprecedented scale.

Handel's Setting

Handel responds with all his capacity, unrivalled among Baroque composers, to dramatise human character and evoke human feeling. His music here is not academic, not extensively worked, not demanding to follow; above all it understandingly, imaginatively, serves the text.

The text that Handel set was Brockes' preferred version, his 1713 revision of his original of 1712.

Handel followed Brockes' directions for da capo arias (in the form A-B-embellished-A; fewer than a third of the arias) and chorales (only four) and

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kept the choruses short (all but one last less than a minute), thus setting a far swifter and more gripping pace than in his later English oratorios. In this and other respects Handel, so often noticed overriding his librettists' texts or intentions, almost wholly obeys Brockes' very specific demarcations of recitative, accompagnato, arioso, strophic song, da capo aria, chorus and chorale.

More generally, he adheres to existing traditions for vocal register – tenor Evangelist, bass Jesus, male alto Judas – perhaps mindful of his intended audience's expectations, and concerned to avoid any negative comparisons with the other three settings being heard alongside his.

The events of the first half of the work deliver a preponderance of male voices, whereas once Peter has withdrawn into prayerful remorse, Judas has hanged himself and Christ begins to withdraw through suffering into divinity, the voices of women have more scope. Was Handel striving for

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gender balance, to appeal to all of his audience?

The Daughter of Zion is necessarily as well as traditionally a female role, but the Faithful Soul is not. In fact, though most of the latter's arias are for soprano, one is in the tenor clef, and one of the chorus' identities is Faithful Souls: we can all become Jesus' followers, as in the solo-and-chorus that Bach imitated, urging us toward Golgotha.

In the cantata-soliloquies Handel follows Brockes' indication of strophic ABA setting (rather than with embellished reprise of the first section), often with telling dramatic effect. In Jesus' soliloquy in Gethsemane, the two aria strophes either side of a recitative are identical, emphasizing the inescapability of his torment: even God's son is ineffectual in his appeal against his destiny.

Characteristically, Handel's markings intensify drama with detail, the first three bars being "adagio, staccato e forte" but thereafter "piano", with repeated reminders, and "pianissimo" on

Jesus' last words, while the strings' aggressive dotted rhythm is the harsher for being "senza cembalo" (without harpsichord). Handel is constantly alive to Brockes' immediacy. When Jesus finds the disciples asleep, and anxiously (ängstlich) rouses them, he does not wait for the accompaniment's phrase to finish but interrupts it and their sleep; whereas, a few bars later, the musical phrase is not broken when his betrayer arrives: foreknowing all, he is unsurprised.

Telemann scored his setting for an orchestra that included oboes, recorders, flutes, bassoons and horns. Handel's slender instrumental range of oboes, bassoons, strings and continuo almost seems designed to display his ability to conjure colours and meaning from a limited palette. As always, he uses oboes to summon up almost unbearable pathos – notably in Peter's self-castigation, "Heul, du Schaum", and in the otherwise barely accompanied vocal line of the

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final aria – but also, trumpet-like, to evoke furious belligerence (as in Peter's "Gift und Glut").

A master composer for orchestral bassoons, he gives them two independent lines that chillingly convey Judas' eternal desolation in the Daughter of Zion's haunting "Die ihr Gottes Gnad' versäumet", further pointed by the piercing oboe, agonised suspensions and throbbing, relentless string undertow.

Conversely, Handel's style of frequently opening an aria not only without orchestral introduction, but without any accompaniment at all for the first vocal phrase, both foregrounds the text and spotlights the character's emotion. An example is Peter's plangent "Nehmt mich mit", where we also hear his situation: Peter is suddenly isolated, Jesus having been taken away and the other disciples having fled. Here too, and throughout, Handel deploys not only vivid pictorialism and "enactment" but heartstopping melody, balancing

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the horror with tenderness, the anguish with assurance, and matching Brockes' fervour. But melody is never indulged at the expense of the thoughts and feelings that Christ's Passion should instil and Brockes' text so potently aims for. To take just one example, the Faithful Soul at the foot of the cross could have been given a vivid lament, but "Hier erstarrt mein Herz und Blut" ("Now my heart and blood congeal") is a series of desperate gasps. Handel's composition is a pattern-book illustration of Orazio Griffi's precept for Italian oratorio: "to draw sinners to holy exercises by a sweet deception".

Why did Handel write his Brockes-Passion?

By the time Handel set Brockes' text he had been in England for five years, and he had been continually successful there. The annual retainer awarded him by Queen Anne was continued by the new government when his erstwhile employer, the Elector of Hanover, became

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George I of Britain in 1714. Mattheson recorded in objections to Messiah when he first performed it his Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte (1740) that Handel in London). All the religious, literary and musical wrote the Passion setting in England and sent it to influences that Brockes drew on and fused would him in Hamburg by post "in an unusually closely have made his Passion problematically alien to written score". That manuscript Handel's Londoners. Moreover it is lost, and while Handel was was in the language of the ruling Handel's composition is a family, who were widely disliked normally a careful curator of his own performing scores, it would pattern-book illustration of for being German. Handel wrote not be surprising if he never Orazio Griffi's precept for no settings of German texts for asked for the return of this one.

Italian oratorio: “to draw public performance in Britain; He could not have intended the only other German settings sinners to holy exercises by he made in England were also of to perform his Brockes-Passion a sweet deception". for his British audience, and he Brockes' verses, the lovely Nine never did.

German Arias (1724) drawn from Brockes' principal poetic work, Irdisches VergnĂźgen In Baroque Germany the Kapellmeister of a in Gott, which celebrates the immanence of God city or court was expected to produce Passion in nature. music every year for Holy Week services and extra-liturgical performances. In Britain no such Why, then, did Handel write his Brockes-Passion? performance tradition existed; Handel's normal The presumed date of c.1716 is triply suggestive. performance space, a theatre, was too secular (see He wrote no new operas that year, so the Passion

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setting may be what filled his composing time.

Moreover he may have travelled in Germany that year, possibly encountering Brockes again, and possibly encountering Telemann's setting.

Perhaps most significantly, the British Hanoverian regime, which had been ruling Britain for only two years, had just survived a Jacobite rebellion (1715), intended to restore the ousted Stuart dynasty.

What if there were another such rebellion, this time successful? Handel, Hanoverian pensioner, would probably have to return to Germany with his employers. So a work with a secure place in the German repertory – a good likelihood, given Mattheson's admiration for Handel's music and directorship of Hamburg Cathedral's music – would keep his reputation bright till such time as it might be useful to appear as an established German composer of Lutheran music, as well as a composer of Italian opera (his Rinaldo was performed in Hamburg in November 1715). If that was his rationale, it was justified. His setting

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received at least 13 performances in German cities in the next 15 years. Bach himself had a copy (partly copied out by himself) and performed it in Leipzig on Good Friday 1746; and as well as setting versions of Brockes' verses in eight arias of his St. John Passion (1724) he absorbed the music of Handel's "Eilt, ihr angefochten Seelen" into it.

Handel's Brockes-Passion is unique among his works, except in one respect. The score suggests that a further attraction of undertaking its composition was its two-way benefit to Handel the master recycler. For the Hamburg audience, which knew few of his Italian and English compositions, Handel could and did draw on the Birthday Ode for Queen Anne, the Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate, Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, Apollo e Dafne and several other cantatas. Equally safely assuming that he would never perform the Passion in Britain, he drew on it for his subsequent English works, especially his oratorios Esther,

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“Feasting Reconciles Everybody" Samuel Pepys Deborah and Athalia, but also for some operas and later works – as late as The Triumph of Time and Truth (1757). Elements of nearly half the arias, duets and choruses come from or go into other works, and for audiences more familiar with those other works, Handel's Brockes-Passion can have unintended resonances or disconnects.

For instance, a pre-echo of "Mourn all ye muses" (Acis and Galatea) in "O Donnerwort!" – both being bystanders' outcries at the hero's death – is closely followed by a forerunner of "Cara speme" (Giulio Cesare) in "Sind meiner Seelen", and the duet of Jesus and his mother as he hangs on the cross is a source of the duet of Esther and Ahasuerus in Esther. We need to try to listen with the unaccustomed ears of the Hamburg citizenry of 1719. © Dr Ruth Smith, 2019

It has been noted in a previous AAM concert programme that Handel was known for his overindulgence but following extensive research, David Hunter, a Handel specialist, has concluded that the composer was most likely suffering from an compulsive eating disorder, its effects – including that of lead poisoning through imbibing too much wine – may have even influenced his composition choices. It's assumed that during 1719 a relatively young Handel of 34 was still hale and hearty, and eager to enjoy "tansy", a traditional Easter dish now forgotten. Here is a recipe "Mrs Hayne's Way" taken from The Cookbook of Unknown Ladies, a Westminster City Archive project.

How to make a Tansy: Mrs Hayne's way Take 12 yolks of eggs and beat them very well. Put half a pound of naple biscuit, a quarter of a pound of white sugar, a pint of spinach and tansy juice, a quart of cream, a nutmeg […] into a gill [¼ pint] of sack, the same of rose water. So, beat it up, put it into a skillet and put it over the fire till it is thick. So put it in the pan and fry it.

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Richard Egarr director and harpsichord

Š Patrick Allen

Orchestra in Minnesota. He will become Music Director Designate of Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale in 2020-21 and assume Music Directorship from 2021-22.

Richard Egarr brings a joyful sense of adventure and a keen, enquiring mind to all his music-making – whether conducting, directing from the keyboard, giving recitals, playing chamber music, or, indeed talking about music at every opportunity.

Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music since 2006, in September 2019 he adds two new responsibilities: Principal Guest Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague and Artistic Partner of the St Paul Chamber

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Highlights this season include his debut with the Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra and a return to Seattle Symphony, St. Paul Chamber, the Scottish Chamber, and the Seoul Philharmonic orchestras.

As a soloist he performs harpsichord recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Tokyo Spring Festival and the Madrid Auditori.

Season highlights with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican Centre include Handel's rarely performed Brockes-Passion and his first collaboration with The Grange Festival (a staged Le nozze di Figaro). Early in his tenure with AAM Egarr established the Choir of the AAM. Operas and particularly Handel's oratorios lie at the heart of his repertoire.

He made his Glyndebourne debut in 2007 and has directed Mozart's La Finta Giardinera, a Monteverdi cycle and Purcell operas with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican, and staged productions of La clemenza di Tito and Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino at the Netherlands Opera Academy.

Richard's extensive discography on Harmonia Mundi includes solo keyboard works by Bach, Handel, Mozart and Couperin. His long list of recordings with the Academy of Ancient Music includes seven Handel discs (2007 Gramophone Award, 2009 MIDEM and Edison awards), and JS Bach's St John and St Matthew Passions on the AAM's own label. His latest recital disc of Byrd and Sweelinck appeared in May 2018 on Linn Records.

He has a long-standing teaching position at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and is Visiting Professor at the Juilliard school.

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Robert Murray

Cody Quattlebaum

Robert Murray was a Jette Parker Young Artist and has sung for the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Opera North, Garsington Opera, Welsh National Opera, Norwegian Opera, Hamburg State Opera and Salzburg Festival.

Currently performing Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow at ENO, other stage highlights include Benvolio Roméo et Juliette (Salzburg); Ferrando Così fan tutte (Opera North); the title role in Jephtha (WNO); Essex Gloriana (Hamburg State Opera); and a European tour of George Benjamin's Written on Skin (Mahler Chamber Orchestra). Concert engagements include Bach's St. Matthew Passion (Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/ Nézet-Séguin); Britten's Serenade (Orchestre National de Lyon/ McCreesh); and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (CBSO/Gardner).

Recitals include appearances at the Aldeburgh Festival and Wigmore Hall.

Forthcoming highlights include Belshazzar at The Grange Festival; Peter Grimes in London and Bergen (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner), and return appearances with Garsington Opera and ROH.

Jesus bass-baritone

© Dustin Chan

© Sussie Ahlburg

Evangelist tenor

American Cody Quattlebaum, revered

by Opera News as “a powerhouse, commanding of presence, virile of sound, and articulate even in the swiftest exchanges”, is earning a reputation as a unique and captivating interpreter of music.

This season, Cody joins the Dutch National Opera studio and will appear in a new production of Tannhäuser directed by Christof Loy, a revival of Il Matrimonio Segreto, and will be featured in the world premiere of Caruso a Cuba. In 2018 he was a finalist in the first biennual Glyndebourne Opera Cup, and made his London debut as Christus in St. John Passion with AAM. He also recently made his debut at the Händel-Festspiele in

Göttingen, appearing as Segeste in Handel's Arminio and as the bass soloist in the Dettingen Te Deum.

In concert and recital, Cody has appeared in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, The Alhambra in Granada, Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, and the Taube Atrium at the Wilsey Center for Opera in San Francisco. Cody was the featured bass soloist in the premiere recording of Douglas Knehans' Symbolum Apostolorum under the Ablaze Records label.

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Ruby Hughes

Elizabeth Watts

Fairthful Soul, Maid 1 soprano

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Elizabeth was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and studied archaeology at Sheffield University before studying singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She became a Fellow of the RCM in 2017.

Performances this season include Britten Spring Symphony with the London Symphony Orchestra; Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Brahms German Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony with Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Mozart arias with the Bremen Philharmonic; Ligeti Le Grand Macabre with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester; and a return visit to Wigmore Hall.

She will appear at the 2019 BBC Proms performing Beethoven arias with the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Manze.

Opera roles have included Donna Elvira and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Marzelline in Fidelio; Countess and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro; Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte for companies including the Royal Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Glyndebourne on Tour and Welsh National Opera.

© Phil Sharp

© Marco Borggreve

Daughter of Zion soprano

Winner of both First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 London Handel Singing Competition, Ruby Hughes is also a former BBC New Generation Artist. She has sung major roles at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, BBC Proms, Buxton Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, English National Opera, Garsington Opera, Musikfestspiel Potsdam, Schwetzinger Festspiel, Scottish Opera and Opera de Toulon, as well as in Jonathan Miller's acclaimed production of Bach's St. Matthew Passion at the National Theatre.

Ruby has broadcast and recorded extensively under many leading conductors. She is a passionate recitalist and in 2016 released her debut solo recital disc Nocturnal variations, with pianist Joseph Middleton for Champs Hill, named BBC Music Magazine's Choice of the Month. A champion of women composers, she recently recorded Heroines of Love and Loss which was Editor's Choice in Gramophone magazine, and awarded a Diapason D'or. In 2018 she released a disc for Chandos Records with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment dedicated to Giulia Frasi, Handel's lyric muse.

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Rachael Lloyd

Tim Mead

British mezzo-soprano Rachael Lloyd continues to enjoy success in the UK and is also establishing herself as an artist in mainland Europe. Recent engagements include Amastre in Serse for the Classical Opera Company and English Touring Opera; the title role in Carmen for Raymond Gubbay Ltd; the title role, Dido and Aeneas for TPT Theater Thüringen; Meg Page in Falstaff for Glyndebourne on Tour and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare In Egitto for the Glyndebourne Festival.

Counter-tenor Tim Mead is praised for his “alluring” and “consistently excellent” interpretations (New York Times). Highlights of the 2018-19 season include Endimione in Cavalli La Calisto for Teatro Real Madrid; Bertarido in Handel Rodelinda for Opera de Lille; Oberon in Britten A Midsummer Night's Dream for Opera of Philadelphia, and a major European recital tour with Emmanuelle Haim and Le Concert d'Astrée.

At the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Rachael has sung Selene in Handel's Berenice; Wellgunde in Der Ring Des Nibelungen; Kate Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly; Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor and Woman in Philip Venable's 4:48 Psychosis.

Upcoming engagements include Woman 4:48 Psychosis at Opera National du Rhin; Dido; and Aglaonice in Orphee at English National Opera, and Grimgerde in Die Walküre with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Judas counter-tenor

© Andy Staples

© Christina Raphaelle Haldane

Mary, Fairthful Soul, Maid 2 mezzo-soprano

Recent highlights include his debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Hamor in Handel's Jephtha; Oberon in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Bergen National Opera; the title role in Philip Glass's Akhnaten and Ottone in Handel's Agrippina at Opera Vlaanderen. On the concert platform Tim recently appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées singing Monteverdi and Pergolesi for Les Grandes Voix; Bach St. John Passion at the BBC Proms; and solo recitals at Wigmore Hall accompanied by James Baillieu, and at La Sainte Chapelle with Les Accents and Thibault Noally.

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Gwilym Bowen

Nicky Spence

Exacting musicianship and a voice of remarkable clarity are qualities which have distinguished Gwilym Bowen as a next generation tenor with great potential. Ensembles such as the Academy of Ancient Music, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Concerto Copenhagen have played a significant role in establishing Gwilym's speciality in earlier repertoire, with Handel, Monteverdi and Bach amongst his most in demand repertoire.

This season Gwilym sings Messiah with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; St. Matthew Passion (Evangelist) with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, and St. John Passion (Evangelist) with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under Stephen Layton. Elsewhere he sings Britten's War Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Richard Egarr. On stage Gwilym makes his debut with Classical Opera and Ian Page as Giove in Gluck's Le feste d'Apollo.

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Faithful Soul tenor

© David Bebber

© Benjamin Ealovega

Peter tenor

Hailed by the Daily Telegraph as “a voice of real distinction,” Nicky Spence's unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty in his musicianship are earning him a place at the top of the profession.

Highlights this season include returns to the Paris Opera as Shepherd/Sailor, Tristan und Isolde under Philippe Jordan; to La Monnaie, Brussels as Nikita, From the House of the Dead, and as Sergeant Johnny Strong in the world premiere of Iain Bell's Jack the Ripper at English National Opera. In concert, he sings his first Parsifal (Act III) with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder. In recital, Nicky sings regularly with the Myrthen Ensemble and enjoys collaborations with leading artists such as Malcolm Martineau, Julius Drake, and Roger Vignoles; highlights this season include Leeds Lieder with Malcolm Martineau and Middle Temple Hall with Julius Drake.

Nicky's vast discography includes the final disc of Roger Vignoles' Strauss Song Series (Hyperion); works by Schumann, Wolf and Britten, and world premieres of Jonathan Dove and Pavel Haas. His most recent recording is his Mime, Das Rheingold with the Hallé Orchestra.

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Morgan Pearse

© Eric Melear

Pilate; Centurion; Faithful Soul; Caiaphas baritone London-based Australian baritone Morgan Pearse is making his mark in both hemispheres. He completed the renowned Houston Grand Opera studio programme in 2014-15 and made his professional debut with English National Opera in 2015-16 singing Figaro in The Barber of Seville.

Recent and future engagements include performances of the title role in Verbier Festival Academy's Don Giovanni, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte for the Badisches Staatstheater and Sid in Albert Herring for the Buxton Festival, as well as making his New Zealand Opera debut as Belcore in The Elixir of Love where he will return in 2019. He performed in Russia with Moscow Philharmonic and Musica Viva orchestras; Don Giovanni with the Auckland Philharmonic; Messiah with West Australian, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony orchestras and Mozart with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Morgan has won a number of prestigious competitions including the Cesti Competition, the Lies Askonas prize and the Royal Overseas League's Music Competition.

Explore If you have enjoyed this afternoon's concert, you can pre-order AAM's new recording of Handel's Brockes-Passion at the AAM desk in the Barbican, or online at www.aam.co.uk/brockes. You may also be interested in the following releases:

Keiser Brockes-Passion

Les Muffatti & Vox Luminis / Van Heyghen [Ramée RAM1303]

Telemann Brockes-Passion

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor / Jacobs [Harmonia Mundi HMC902013/14]

Handel Brockes-Passion [from the “Bach" score] Kölner Kammerchor & Collegium Cartusianum / Neumann [Carus CARUS83428] You can find many of AAM's recordings at www.prestomusic.com/aam. Receive £5 off when you spend £25 or more at Presto Classical with voucher code AAM2018.

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AAM's Legacy Giving

Remembering AAM in your Will

Dame Emma Kirkby “I was so lucky to sing over many years with Christopher Hogwood and his Academy of Ancient Music. Christopher based his work on sound scholarship and was all his life a generous educator.

He also looked to AAM's future, choosing his successors carefully, so that the orchestra remains in excellent hands.

When Christopher died in 2014, a grievous loss to us all, his final gift was a generous legacy to AAM. Under Richard Egarr the orchestra and choir continue to flourish, bringing joy and inspiration to new audiences, and especially to young players, singers and listeners through the educational initiative, AAMplify.

I salute Christopher for his care and foresight, and also AAM's loyal Friends who have been with us throughout: thank you for all you have done up to now, and especially for any future bequests!”

Invitation to Legacy Lunch If you are interested in finding out more about legacy support for AAM, or if you are planning to leave AAM a legacy, you are very welcome to attend an informal lunch in late spring. To find out more please contact Ellen Parkes (ellen.parkes@aam.co.uk or 01223 341 097) for more details.

The Academy of Ancient Music is committed to bringing more early music experiences to more people every year, and we are determined to preserve our music and music-making so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come. Our music moves audiences now just as it did when first written, and the commitment and generosity of our supporters ensure it continues to be powerful and immediate for audiences of the future.

If AAM has enriched your life by performing music that you love, please consider remembering AAM in your Will; help us to pass on our extraordinary treasure house of early music to the next generation. There may also be tax benefits* for your estate should you wish to leave a percentage of your estate to charity.

Gifts that are left to the Academy of Ancient Music in Wills are one of the most important ways you can support our work.

Joining our Legacy Circle will bring you into AAM's unique and convivial supporting community, and you will be invited to an annual lunch as a thank you for your generosity, so that we can keep you updated with AAM's work. Your gift today is supporting AAM's artistic activities of tomorrow.

If you would like to find out more about AAM's Legacy Circle, please contact Ellen Parkes, Development Manager on ellen.parkes@aam.co.uk or 01223 341097.

Every gift in every Will makes a difference – however large or small. * as every individual situation is different, we recommend taking professional advice when assessing potential tax benefits.

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

Who we are and what we do The Academy of Ancient Music is an orchestra with a worldwide reputation for excellence in baroque and classical music. It takes inspiration directly from the music's composers, using historically informed techniques, period-specific instruments and original sources to bring music to life in committed, vibrant performances.

The ensemble was founded by Christopher Hogwood in 1973 and remains at the forefront of the worldwide early music scene more than four decades on; Richard Egarr became its Music Director in 2006.

The Academy of Ancient Music has always been a pioneer. It was established to make the first British recordings of orchestral works using instruments from the baroque and classical periods and has released more than 300 discs, many of which are still considered definitive

performances. (Among its countless accolades for recording are Classic BRIT, Gramophone and Edison awards.)

It has now established its own record label, AAM Records, and is proud to be the most listened-to orchestra of its kind online.

Programmes include large-scale vocal masterpieces such as Bach's St Matthew Passion, Handel's Israel in Egypt, and a rare performance of Handel's Brockes-Passion, as well as concert performances of operas including Dido and Aeneas and The Marriage of Figaro.

AAM's education and outreach programme, AAMplify, nurtures the next generation of audiences and musicians. With this expanding programme, working from pre-school through tertiary education and beyond, AAM ensures its work reaches the widest possible audience and inspires people of all ages, backgrounds and cultural traditions.

The AAM is based in Cambridge and is Orchestra-in-Residence at the city's university. Its London home is the Barbican Centre, where it is Associate Ensemble, and it is also Orchestra-inResidence at the Grange Festival, Chiltern Arts Festival, Music at Oxford and the Apex, Bury St Edmunds.

Visit www.aam.co.uk to find out more.

This season AAM collaborates with Michael Collins, VOCES8, Lucie Horsch, Nicolas Altstaedt, Tenebrae, the BBC Singers, the Choir of King's College, Cambridge, and the Grange Festival.

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A C A D E M Y O F A N C I E N T M U S I C 2018 - 19 S E A S O N

Academy of Ancient Music Violin I Bojan Čičić Elin White Persephone Gibbs Liz MacCarthy Sijie Chen Magdalena Loth-Hill Violin II Davina Clarke James Toll William Thorp Gabriella Jones Alice Earll Viola Jane Rogers Jordan Bowron Clare Barwick

32

Cello Sarah McMahon Imogen Seth-Smith

Double Bass Timothy Amherst Oboe Leo Duarte Lars Henriksson Bethan White Stephanie Oatridge Bassoon Ursula Leveaux Philip Turbett Theorbo Alex McCartney Keyboard Julian Perkins Keyboard Technician Malcolm Greenhalgh

Choir of AAM Soprano Penelope Appleyard Nina Bennet Helen Groves Philippa Hyde Eloise Irving

Tenor Rory Carver James Geer Edmund Hastings Matthew Sandy Julian Stocke

Alto Cathy Bell Judy Brown Ruth Kiang Susanna Spicer Kate Symonds-Joy

Bass Neil Bellingham James Geidt Adrian Horsewood Richard Latham Jonathan Stainsby

Step-out Soloists Maid 3 Philippa Hyde James Cathy Bell John Kate Symonds-Joy

H A N DE L' S B R O C K E S - PA S S ION

Music Director Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow Sandy Burnett Chief Executive Alexander Van Ingen General Manager Anthony Brice

Head of Concerts and Planning ChloĂŤ Wennersten Education and Outreach Manager Sue Pope Concerts and Projects Co-ordinator Alice Pusey

Librarian Emilia Benjamin

Finance Manager Elaine Hendrie

Development Manager Ellen Parkes

Development Consultant John Bickley

Fundraising and Marketing Assistant Kemper Edwards

PR Consultant Orchid Media PR Programme Editor Sarah Breeden

Board of Trustees

Development Board

Council

Paul Baumann CBE Hugh Burkitt Elizabeth de Friend Philip Jones (Chair) Ash Khandekar Graham Nicholson John Reeve Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall Janet Unwin Kim Waldock

Elise Badoy Dauby Hugh Burkitt Elizabeth de Friend (Chair) Andrew Gairdner MBE Philip Jones Agneta Lansing Roger Mayhew Craig Nakan Chris Rocker Terence Sinclair Madeleine Tattersall

Richard Bridges Kate Donaghy Matthew Ferrey Jonathan Freeman-Attwood CBE Nick Heath Lars Henriksson Christopher Lawrence Christopher Purvis CBE

Sir Konrad Schiemann Rachel Stroud Dr Christopher Tadgell The Lady Juliet Tadgell

(Honorary President)

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Handel

Mozart

Israel in

Eg ypt

Friday 10 May 2019, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall

Thursday 4 July 2019, 7pm Barbican Hall

Tickets £10-60 plus booking fee* £5 AAMplify tickets (students and under 26) barbican.org.uk 020 7638 8891 *£3 online, £4 by telephone, no fee when booked in person

Le nozze di Figaro

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

LSO DISCOVERY FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

Selected Fridays at 1pm

Selected Fridays at 12.30pm

Featuring the Nash Ensemble, Ashley Wass, Lucy Crowe, Adam Walker, Carolyn Sampson, Alice Sara Ott, Ray Chen & more

Drop in for 45 minutes of free music performed

by LSO and Guildhall School musicians, with introductions from presenter Rachel Leach.

lso.co.uk/lsostlukes 161 Old Street, EC1V 9NG

BAROQUE AT THE EDGE 4 to 6 January 2019 Leading musicians from all backgrounds take the music of the Baroque and see where it leads them.

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC Music Director Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow Sandy Burnett Founder Christopher Hogwood CBE

11b King’s Parade, Cambridge CB2 1SJ +44 (0)1223 301509 info@aam.co.uk | www.aam.co.uk Registered charity number 1085485

Associate Ensemble at the Barbican Centre Orchestra-in-Residence at the University of Cambridge Orchestra-in-Residence at The Grange Festival Orchestra-in-Residence at Chiltern Arts Orchestra-in-Residence at the Apex, Bury St Edmunds Associate Ensemble at Music at Oxford Partner: Culture Mile

All details correct at time of printing

Visit aam.co.uk to find out more and to watch and listen to us in action

West Road Concert Hall Cambridge Live Tickets Box Office Tel. 01223 357 851 www.cambridgelivetickets.co.uk

@AAMorchestra

academyofancientmusic

Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall Barbican Advance Box Office, Silk Street Tel. 020 7638 8891 www.barbican.org.uk

Explore We seek to engage with out audiences in numerous ways:

Concerts

• brilliant music, expertly performed • inspirational, engaging performers at the highest level • detailed, informative programmes, free of charge • pre-concert talks and discussions

Online

• past concert programme information • performance and educational video content on YouTube • news and updates through social media • developing playlists for leading streaming services such as Spotify

Recordings

• over 300 albums, creating a substantial resource of historically informed performance practice • our own record label, AAM Records • new Strategic Recording Fund enabling track-by-track recording of lesser-known works

Learning

• dedicated Education & Outreach Manager, curating programmes for schools and communities • working with the next generation of performers and audience members • open rehearsals; opportunities to engage with performers • high-level scholarship and research presented in informative ways

jan‘19 11 26

36 performances 18 locations 1 unique festival For tickets & more information:

vallettabaroquefestival.com.mt

MINISTRY FOR JUSTICE, CULTURE & LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Introducing our 2019-20 season:

Beethoven & Dussek Wednesday 2 October, 2019

Rejoice!

Thursday 24 October, 2019

Viktoria Mullova

Wednesday 20 November, 2019

Sacred Cantatas: Bach & the Divine Sunday 19 January, 2020

Jean Rondeau plays Bach Thursday 20 February, 2020

Handel’s Heroines Thursday 19 March, 2020

Glories of Venice Wednesday 22 April, 2020

Tickets £10-60 plus booking fee* £5 AAMplify tickets (students and under 26) barbican.org.uk 020 7638 8891 *£3 online, £4 by telephone, no fee when booked in person

Opera and dance in a jewel of a theatre with the most magical setting

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

FALSTAFF

BELSHAZZAR

DA N C E@ THEGRANGE

GERSHWIN & H O L LY WO O D

MOZART

VERDI

HANDEL

C U R AT E D BY

THE JOHN WILSON O RC H E S T R A

J U N E 6 - J U LY 6| + 4 4 (0)19 62 791 020

T H E G RAN G E F E S T I VA L . C O . U K

Johann Kuhnau

Magnificat The sacred works of the Leipzig St. Thomas Cantor Johann Kuhnau (1660–1722) have so far largely gone unnoticed in terms of research and performance practice. His »Magnificat« is considered Kuhnau’s most ambitious and best known vocal work.

Magnificat in C major with Insertion Movements for Performances over Christmas edited by David Erler

First Urtext edition, edited from authentic manuscript sources Detailed text sections, facsimiles as well as critical report Available for sale, complete

PB 32108 Score OB 32108 Performance material EB 32108 Piano vocal score by Andreas Köhs

18-19

concert programme

Tuesday 2 October 2018, Barbican Hall (semi-staged)

BBC Singers: Rameau & Lully

Friday 19 October 2018, Milton Court Concert Hall Sunday 21 October 2018, West Road Concert Hall

Wednesday 27 March 2019, West Road Concert Hall Thursday 28 March 2019, Milton Court Concert Hall Saturday 30 March 2019, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Bach’s St Matthew Passion

Mozart’s Requiem

Saturday 14 November 2018, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge

Monday 15 April 2019, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge Tuesday 16 April 2019, King’s College Chapel, Cambridge Wednesday 17 April 2019, Cadogan Hall, London

Michael Collins & Mozart

Handel’s Brockes-Passion

Friday 23 November 2018, Oxford Town Hall Sunday 25 November 2018, West Road Concert Hall Thursday 29 November 2018, Milton Court Concert Hall

Handel’s Messiah

2018-19 Season at a glance:

Nicolas Altstaedt plays Haydn

Saturday 17 November 2018, Antwerp, Belgium Monday 3 December 2018, Gresham Centre, London Wednesday 5 December 2018, Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge Sunday 9 December 2018, Fribourg, Switzerland

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Design by AproposCover photo: Patrick Allen

Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas

Good Friday 19 April 2019, Barbican Hall

Handel’s Israel in Egypt

Friday 10 May 2019, Milton Court Concert Hall Monday 13 May 2019, St James’ Church, Chipping Campden

Barbican Weekend: Sound Unbound

Saturday 18 - Sunday 19 May 2019, Barbican Centre

Handel’s Messiah

Saturday 1 December 2018, Vic, Spain Sunday 2 December 2018, Granada, Spain

Saturday 15 June 2019, Halle, Germany

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio

Thursday 6 June, Saturday 8 June, Friday 14 June, Wednesday 19 June, Sunday 23 June, Thursday 27 June, Tuesday 2 July, Sunday 7 July, Grange Festival, Hampshire Thursday 4 July 2019, Barbican Hall (concert performance)

Saturday 22 December 2018, St Luke’s, Chelsea (parts I, II & III) Friday 11 January 2019, St Luke’s, Chelsea (parts IV, V & VI)

Bach’s B minor Mass

Friday 1 February 2019, Oxford Town Hall

Lucie Horsch & Richard Egarr

Sunday 24 February 2019, Milton Court Concert Hall Monday 25 February 2019, Apex, Bury St Edmunds Tuesday 26 February 2019, West Road Concert Hall Thursday 28 February 2019, Groningen, Netherlands Friday 1 March 2019, Heerlen, Netherlands Saturday 2 March 2019, Rotterdam, Netherlands Sunday 3 March 2019, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro

Musick for the Royal Fireworks Friday 21 June 2019, Katowice, Poland

Partner, Culture Mile Network