Bless'd Isle concert programme

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON

Richard Egarr

director, organ and harpsichord

Carolyn Sampson soprano

Bless’d Isle with Carolyn Sampson

Wednesday 01 November 2017 DOWLAND West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge

Lachrimae Pavan (1604)

Thursday 02 November 2017

In darkness let me dwell (c.1610)

Milton Court Concert Hall, London Broadcast live on

DOWLAND LAWES

PURCELL

Suite of Instrumental Music from The Fairy Queen, Z.629 (1692) Chacony in G minor, Z.730 (c.1680)

HANDEL

Arias Fantazy (from Consort Sett a 6 “to the Organ”) Concerto for Organ, No.13 in F major (c.1635) “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” HWV295 (1739) BLOW and PURCELL Songs 20-minute interval

ARNE Songs

Bless’d Isle

Academy of Ancient Music

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Welcome A very warm welcome to tonight’s concert, celebrating the mastery of English composers and their setting of words to music. Just a fortnight ago we enjoyed a brilliantly performed Academy of Ancient Music programme exploring the influences of the Italian concerto grosso on music from our own “Bless’d Isle”; tonight Carolyn Sampson brings her exceptional artistry to the songs of Dowland, Blow, Arne, Purcell and Handel. Nominated for Gramophone’s “Artist of the Year” award earlier this year, Carolyn makes a welcome return to AAM following her spectacular Monteverdi programme with us last season.

If you heard Frank de Bruine’s beautiful oboe playing in our last concert you’ll be delighted to see that he returns to play with us tonight; and after a great King Arthur to start our season, I’m very pleased to welcome back lutenist William Carter.

Our effervescent Music Director, Richard Egarr takes centre-stage for Handel’s Organ Concerto No.13, with its charming cuckoo and nightingale imitations.

Altogether it promises to be a beautiful and playful evening.

I am also very pleased to let you know that we have added a concert to our autumn series, with a performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor on 25 November at the British Museum in London.

Together with Tenebrae, this performance will take place in the breath-taking Parthenon Gallery under the baton of Nigel Short (tickets available from the British Museum’s website).

I’m pleased to have received positive feedback on our new programme design too: please do get in touch with any thoughts you might have on any aspect of our concerts via support@aam.co.uk. I hope that you enjoy this evening’s concert and will visit us again for another – this season features some superb artists, and there are numerous treats in store!

Alexander Van Ingen

Chief Executive, Academy of Ancient Music

AAM Quick Pick Each concert Lars Henriksson picks out one key thing to listen out for The best known of Handel’s organ concertos, ”The Cuckoo and Nightingale”, delivers what it promises. In the second movement, after a lively orchestral introduction, the organ enters with a series of descending thirds recognisable to everyone as the Cuckoo.

However, the Nightingale, unmistakeable in its natural habitat, is trickier to pin down on a sheet of music paper.

Handel opts for warbling gestures designed to resemble the virtuoso songster. Can you spot them?

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Surveying the Past Robert Levin, inaugural Hogwood Fellow, places tonight's music in context Tonight’s programme celebrates two domains in which English composers shone – consort music and songs – in the context of two of England’s greatest song composers, John Dowland and Henry Purcell, and England’s most famous adopted citizen, Handel.

For centuries Continental composers wrote most of their instrumental music for the dance, and indeed the instrumental music of Dowland and fellow English composers likewise featured the dance, in particular the combination of pavan and galliard. Thomas Morley defined the pavan as “a kind of staide musicke, ordained for grave dauncing” and the Galliard as “a lighter and more stirring kind of dauncing than the Pavane.”

Alongside the dances were free fantasias (or fantazys, as they were then titled), often displaying feats of counterpoint and audacity of harmony. The six-part Fantazy by William Lawes heard tonight is a luminous example of the art of English consort music, in which musical ideas are passed from instrument to instrument in a conversation of exalted eloquence amid a seductive richness of harmony.

The two Purcell instrumental works offered this evening show two contrasting sides of Purcell’s genius. In the Chacony Purcell confounds convention by passing the bass line to the upper strings, and changing keys, rather than containing it to a ground bass. This suggests it is not

necessarily a dance. The Suite from The Fairy Queen, on the other hand, was designed for the short masques presented within the semi-opera (so called, because much of the work is spoken): dance reigns supreme.

The vocal music this evening has apt juxtapositions. Both of the Dowland pieces display his exquisite poignance; John Blow was probably one of Henry Purcell’s teachers, revealing the genealogical influence of one generation upon the next. As for Thomas Arne, his was the generation after Handel, with whom he overlapped in London, and if Handel’s genius for the theatre has placed him in a unique historical position, Arne is surely the finest English composer of music for the theatre in the 18th century.

In the midst of this broad canvas of English musical history the Handel Organ Concerto (“The Cuckoo and the Nightingale”), HWV295, takes a delectable place. It is dated by Handel April 2. 1739 and appears to have been premiered in its original version on 4 April 1739 during the first performance of Handel’s oratorio Israel in Egypt HWV54 at the King’s Theatre, Haymarket. Indeed, Handel’s organ concertos, the first of which he wrote in 1707, were designed as interludes in his oratorios. Its nickname, not original, is due to the cuckoo calls and dotted rhythms in the second movement, which has been identified as borrowing motifs from music by Giovanni Porta and Johann Kaspar Kerll (Capriccio Cucu).

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Programme Notes John Dowland (1563-1626) Lachrimae Pavan (1604) John Dowland (1563-1626) In darkness let me dwell (c.1610) William Lawes (1602-45) Fantazy (from Consort Sett a 6 “to the Organ”) (c.1635) Henry Purcell (1659-95) When first Amintas sued for a kiss (1687) Man is for the woman made (1695) From silent shades (1694) John Blow (1649-1708) Lovely Selina (c.1680) Philander, do not think of arms (1700) Clarona, lay aside your lute (1700) Boasting fops who court the fair (c.1700) 20-minute interval

Henry Purcell (1659-95) Suite of Instrumental Music from The Fairy Queen (1692) Second music: Aire and Rondeau – Dance for the fairies – Dance for the green men – Dance of the haymakers – Monkeys’ dance – Night – Prelude (i) – Prelude (ii) – Chaconne: Dance for Chinese men and women Henry Purcell (1659-95) Chacony in G minor (c.1680) George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) O sleep, why dost thou leave me? (1743) No, no! I’ll take no less (1743) George Frideric Handel Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” (1739) Larghetto – Allegro – Ad libitum – Larghetto – Allegro Thomas Arne (1710-78) Young I am (1762) When daisies pied (1741) Rule, Britannia! (1740) Song texts start on page 10

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“The court about this time entertained only the theatrical music and French air in song, but that somewhat softened and variegated; so also was the instrumental more vague and with a mixture of the caprice …At length the time came off the French way and fell in with the Italian, and now that holds the ear. But still the English singularity will come in and have a share.’”

That valuable musical commentator Roger North, writing in the 1690s, hit the nail on the head in his assessment of music in England in the second half of the 17th century.

Throughout the 1700s English music blew with the fashionable winds from the two musical powerhouses of the day, Italy and France. First it was the urgently expressive new vocal styles coming from Italian composers such as Monteverdi, Grandi and Caccini; then it was France’s own naturally pliant mode of lyrical expression and its lightly elegant way with the dance, as demonstrated in the operas and ballets of Jean-Baptiste Lully; and then, as North noted, Italy hit back again with a vigorous and virtuosic new manner coupled with formal clarity and balance, and exemplified by the sonatas and concertos of Corelli and opera arias of the likes of Alessandro Scarlatti and Agostino Steffani. Yet through it all, English composers kept something of their own, a distinct but recognisable streak of national character.

This concert pays homage to the staying power of that “English singularity”.

In the first two decades of the 17th century, English music was certainly in a healthy state. Two of the great masters of late-Renaissance vocal music, William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons, were still alive and working, while another, Thomas Tallis, lived on in the collective awareness. In secular music, too, there were some excellent composers: the English madrigal, though consciously derived from Italian models, thrived with a distinctive manner of its own, and the solo song, too, had a rich repertoire. In fact, they were often two sides of the same coin, since a vocal piece in contrapuntally conceived parts could be converted into a solo song by putting a singer on the top line while instruments – a consort of viols perhaps, or a lute – played the other ones; alternatively, all the parts could be played on instruments.

It is thus that we get a piece like Dowland’s Lachrimae Pavan, the first component in a unique cycle of subtly varied pieces for a consort of “Lute, Viols, or Violins”, published in 1604 under the title Lachrimae, or Seaven Teares figured in Seaven Passionate Pavans, in which the composer explored the many and subtle shadings of that most English of humours, melancholy. The pavan was a slow dance – “a kind of staid

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William Lawes, a rather dashing cavalier figure from the court of Charles I who was killed by a stray bullet at the Siege of Chester in 1645. Lawes’s highly individual and experimental use of carefree dissonance, fragmented melody and harmonic unorthodoxy is nowhere better shown than in his extraordinary consorts “to the organ”, written in the second half of the 1630s. Laid out in five or six parts with organ support, they focus on weighty forms from the previous generation such The most striking as the fantasy, pavan and In Nomine, but with the intention, so it seems, of pushing composer of consort them to the avant-garde limit. Thus the music was undoubtedly C major “Sett a6” opens with a broad, Lawes, a rather dashing beautiful but gnarly Fantazy which swells mightily from its gentle opening before cavalier figure from the coming to a close in a sleepy section court of Charles I. seemingly based on the long-long-short speech rhythm of Lawes’s own name.

musicke, ordained for grave dauncing” wrote Thomas Morley – that was popular in England at the time and offered composers opportunities for their most substantial and emotive music. Dowland was in his element in it, and Lachrimae duly won international fame, especially in its version for voice and lute known as “Flow my tears”.

The origins of “Flow my tears” as a dance-piece are there to hear in its formal structure of three sections (or ‘strains’), each repeated. “In darkness let me dwell”, however, is a different matter.

This magnificently expressive song shows the influence of the latest Italian solo vocal music in its freer declamatory style, through-composed over a supportive accompaniment, and amounting to a kind of heightened speech.

The viol consort, though quickly being replaced by the violin band throughout Europe in the first half of the 17th century, remained a popular ensemble in England, especially in private houses and among amateur players. Not that that precluded originality and daring. The most striking composer of consort music in this period was undoubtedly

By the end of the 17th century, English song had long moved on from the consort style and fully embraced the modern baroque idiom of melody with the species of semi-improvised harmonic accompaniment known as basso continuo. In the hands of composers such as Blow and Purcell it had reached an exalted level of sophistication, and the

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songs by them in tonight’s programme demonstrate their range, from “high-art” declamatory word-setting inspired by Italian music to dance-songs in more popular English style.

Henry Purcell has long been acknowledged as one of the finest of all English song composers, revered for his searching expressiveness and for the sophistication and sensitivity of his word-setting. Many of his best-known songs were written for the London theatres, where they could as easily conjure profound madness, for instance in the disturbing “From silent shades” from Thomas D’Urfey’s play The Comical History of Don Quixote (the mad song, giving unusually free reign to a composer’s ability to portray powerful emotion, was a popular genre at this time), or the outright comical, as in the deliberately clumsy “Man is for the woman made” from The Mock Marriage. It is not known if the amusing “When first Amintas sued for a kiss” was originally written for a play, but its first publication was a collection entitled The Theater of Music in 1687.

John Blow, Purcell’s teacher as well one of the most respected musicians of late-17th-century England in his own right, considered himself more of a church composer than a songwriter, but nevertheless around 90 songs of his survive, 50 of them from a single published collection, the

Amphion Anglicus of 1700. They include “Philander, do not think of arms” and the French-tinged “Clarona, lay aside your lute’”. “Lovely Selina, innocent and fair”, set touchingly over a descending ground bass pattern, is one of Blow’s rare theatre songs, originally composed for Nathaniel Lee’s play The Princess of Cleve, while the satirical “Boasting fops” was published in D’Urfey’s lighthearted song miscellany Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy.

The time of Charles II was when French music exerted its strongest influence in England, partly because the king had developed a taste for it in his years of exile during the Commonwealth period. His court orchestra, the Twenty-Four Violins of the King, was modelled on Louis XIV’s famous Vingtquatre violons du roi, and Londoners in the lively theatrical period of the Restoration were lucky enough to find that this band also did duty in the playhouses. Thus it was that the various dances that would have emerged from the pit at a production such as The Fairy Queen – a lavish musical and theatrical extravaganza based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream mounted in 1692 with music by Purcell – might well have put them as much in mind of French opera as Italian. Purcell’s elegant and wistful “Chacony” (a typical English mangling of the French word ‘Chaconne’, signifying variations over an unchanging bass-line) possibly has origins

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had actually been written for an opera by another composer nearly 40 years earlier. The story tells how the vain and flighty Semele, daughter of the King of Thebes, becomes the lover of Jupiter, much to the chagrin of his wife Juno. Things eventually end badly for Semele, although in the drowsy aria With the new century came a renewed interest in things “O Sleep, why does thou leave me” her only concern is the Italian, and in particular opera. Hopes for English all-sung tiresome one of not always having opera had undoubtedly been weakened Jupiter at her side in bed. Later, when

by Purcell’s early death in 1695, and while Juno has tricked Semele into the fatal some attempts at it were made in the 18th mistake of asking Jupiter to appear to century’s first decade, desire for the real thing Handel was astute her in his full guise as a god, “No, no!

– opera in Italian, by Italian composers and enough to realise that I’ll take no less” shows her pressing with Italian singers – quickly grew too strong. oratorios’ chances could her case in blissful ignorance of its The tipping-point was the arrival in London consequences. in 1710 of Handel who, though not an Italian, be improved by the odd had spent three years in Italy and already added attraction.

Handel’s oratorio seasons in London won recognition as one of Europe’s most from the late 1730s onwards were talented composers of Italian opera. Opera on the whole a great public success, was to be his main activity in England right but the composer was astute enough to realise that their through to the 1730s, when its popularity began to wane chances could be improved by the odd added attraction. and, more by accident than design, he found that there was Thus it was that he formed the habit of performing organ a larger audience to be had from writing oratorios in English. concertos in the intervals; the Concerto in F – nicknamed Thereafter oratorio took over his attention, but one work, Semele, had a foot in both camps; when it was first performed “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” for reasons that will need no explanation – was first heard at a performance of Israel in in 1743 it was advertised as being given “after the manner of Egypt in April 1739. an oratorio”, but its libretto by playwright William Congreve in a theatre piece too; in French operas chaconnes often appeared near the end, when the “general rejoicing” is taking place.

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Explore While all this was going on, English musical theatre continued to plough its own path, whether in ballad operas mixing satirical operatic parodies and popular song, such as John Gay’s enormously successful Beggar’s Opera, or in more serious attempts at dramatic opera. And there was still time for a good song in a spoken play. The leading British theatre composer of the middle part of the century was Thomas Arne, who wrote music for around 90 stage works that showed both a willingness to experiment and the skills of a born songwriter with a natural and attractively folk-like melodic style. This can be seen in his settings of “When daisies pied” from Shakespeare’s Love’s Labours Lost, and “Young I am” from the ballad opera Love in a Village, while the staying-power of a good tune is nowhere better shown than in the song he wrote to conclude his 1740 masque Alfred – “Rule Britannia!’”

Programme note © Lindsay Kemp

If you enjoyed tonight’s concert, you may be interested in the following recordings

Bach Cantatas for Soprano

Carolyn Sampson / Freiburger Barockorchester / Petra Müllejans [Harmonia Mundi, HMM902252]

Handel Organ Concertos, Op.4

Richard Egarr / Academy of Ancient Music [Harmonia Mundi, HMU807446]

Purcell Music for Queen Mary

Academy of Ancient Music / Choir of King’s College, Cambridge / Stephen Cleobury [Warner Classics, 3444382]

Blow and Lawes An Ode and English Songs

Yamamoto, der Speek, Bowman, Jacobs, Van Altena, van Egmond [Sony, G010002746987K]

The Echoing Air – Music of Henry Purcell Sylvia McNair / Academy of Ancient Music / Christopher Hogwood [Philips, 4460812]

Purcell The Fairy Queen, Z6297

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / William Christie [DVD, BluRay: Opus Arte, OABD7065D]

Emma Kirkby Sings Handel, Arne, Haydn & Mozart Emma Kirkby / Academy of Ancient Music / Christopher Hogwood [Decca, 4580842]

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Song Texts In darkness let me dwell (Anon) In darkness let me dwell; the ground shall sorrow be, The roof despair, to bar all cheerful light from me; The walls of marble black, that moist’ned still shall weep; My music, hellish jarring sounds, to banish friendly sleep.

Thus, wedded to my woes, and bedded in my tomb, O let me living die, till death doth come, till death doth come.

When first Amintas sued for a kiss (Thomas D’Urfey) When first Amintas sued for a kiss, My innocent heart was tender, That though I push’d him away from the bliss, My eyes declar’d my heart was won.

I fain an artful coyness would use, Before I the fort did surrender, But love would suffer no more such abuse And soon, alas! my cheat was known.

He’d sit all day, and laugh and play, A thousand pretty things would say; My hand he’d squeeze, and press my knees, ‘Till further on he got by degrees.

My heart, just like a vessel at sea, Would toss when Amintas came near me, But ah! so cunning a pilot was he, Through doubts and fears he’d still sail on.

I thought in him no danger could be, So wisely he knew how to steer me, And soon, alas! was brought to agree To taste of joys before unknown.

Well might he boast his pain not lost, For soon he found the golden coast, Enjoyed the ore, and touched the shore Where never merchant went before.

Man is for the woman made (Peter Anthony Motteux) Man is for the woman made, And the woman made for man; As the spur is for the jade, As the scabbard for the blade, As for digging is the spade, As for liquor is the can, So man is for the woman made, And the woman made for man.

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As the scepter to be sway’d, As for night’s the serenade, As for pudding is the pan, And to cool us is the fan, So man is for the woman made, And the woman made for man.

Be she widow, wife or maid, Be she wanton, be she stayed, Be she well or ill array’d, Whore, bawd or harridan, Yet man is for the woman made, And the woman made for man.

“Bright Cynthia kept her revels late While Mab, the Fairy Queen, did dance, And Oberon did sit in state When Mars at Venus ran his lance.

In yonder cowslip lies my dear, Entomb’d in liquid gems of dew; Each day I’ll water it with a tear, Its fading blossom to renew.

For since my love is dead and all my joys are gone, Poor Bess for his sake A garland will make, My music shall be a groan.

From silent shades (Anon) From silent shades and the Elysian groves Where sad departed spirits mourn their loves From crystal streams and from that country where Jove crowns the fields with flowers all the year, Poor senseless Bess, cloth’d in her rags and folly, Is come to cure her lovesick melancholy.

I’ll lay me down and die within some hollow tree, The rav’n and cat, The owl and bat Shall warble forth my elegy.

Did you not see my love as he pass’d by you?

His two flaming eyes, if he comes nigh you, They will scorch up your hearts: Ladies beware ye, Lest he should dart a glance that may ensnare ye!

Please turn the page quietly

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Song Texts continued Hark! Hark! I hear old Charon bawl, His boat he will no longer stay, And furies lash their whips and call: Come, come away, come, come away.”

Poor Bess will return to the place whence she came, Since the world is so mad she can hope for no cure.

For love’s grown a bubble, a shadow, a name, Which fools do admire and wise men endure.

“Cold and hungry am I grown.

Ambrosia will I feed upon, Drink Nectar still and sing.”

Who is content, Does all sorrow prevent?

And Bess in her straw, Whilst free from the law, In her thoughts is as great, great as a king.

Lovely Selina (Nathanial Lee) Lovely Selina, innocent and free From all the dangerous arts of love, Thus in a melancholy grove Enjoy’d the sweetness of her privacy.

Till envious gods, designing to undo her, Depatch’d the swain not unlike then to woo her.

It was not long e’er the design did take: A gentle youth, born to persuade, Deceiv’d the too, too easy maid.

Her scrip and garland she did forsake, And rashly told the secrets of her heart, Which the fond man would ever more impart.

False Florimel, joy of my heart, said she, ‘Tis hard to love, and love in vain; To love, and not be lov’d again.

And why should love and prudence disagree?

Pity ye pow’rs, that sit at ease above, If e’er you know what ‘tis to be in love!

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Philander, do not think of Arms (Anon)

Clarona, lay aside your lute (Anon)

Philander, do not think of Arms; War is for the bold and strong, Can Danger, Toile and rude Allarms, Be pleasing to the Soft and Young?

Clarona, lay aside your lute, You need not learn the charming arts; Your bloom does promise so fair fruit, As must attract all eyes and hearts; Where is there purer red and white, Or such a show of sense and wit ?

Who reads your face must take delight In ev’ry line Dame Nature writ;

Philander, do not think of Arms; This Arm’s too tender for a weighty Sheild, To fine that Face is for the Dusty Field: Philander, do not think of Arms; Philander, stay, make your Campaign Where you’ve been us’d to Conquor Hearts; Where Troops of Beauties you have slain, Those Eyes have shot such pointed Darts: Philander stay, Myrtila begs you’d stay, Though you should reap fresh Laurels ev’ry day.

Clarona, lay aside your lute, You need not lear the charming arts, Your bloom does promise so fair fruit, As must attract all eyes and hearts: The features of the finest face Never never composed a sweeter air; How captivating ev’ry grace !

Come give your lute to those less fair.

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Song Texts continued Boasting fops who court the fair (Thomas D’Urfey)

No no! I’ll take no less (William Congreve)

Boasting fops who court the fair, For the Fame of being lov’d; You who daily prating are Of the Hearts your Charms have mov’d, Still be vain in talk and dress, But while Shadows you pursue; Own that some who boast it less, May be blest as much as you.

No, no! I’ll take no less, Than all in full excess!

Your oath it may alarm you.

Yet haste and prepare, For I’ll know what you are, With all your powers arm you.

Love and Birding are Ally’d, Baits and Nets alike they have; The same Arts in both are try’d, The unwary to inslave; If in each you’d happy prove, Without Noise still watch your way; For in Birding and in Love, While we talk it flies away.

O sleep, why dost thou leave me (William Congreve) O sleep, why dost thou leave me, Why thy visionary joys remove?

O sleep, again deceive me, To my arms restore my wand’ring love!

Young I am (Isaac Bickerstaff) Young I am, and sore afraid: Wou’d you hurt a harmless maid?

Lead an innocent astray?

Tempt me not, kind sir, I pray.

Men too often we believe, And shou’d you my faith deceive; Ruin first, and then forsake, Sure my tender heart would break.

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When daisies pied (William Shakespeare)

Rule, Britannia! ( James Thomson)

When daisies pied and violets blue And lady-smocks all silver-white And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue Do paint the meadows with delight, The cuckoo then, on every tree, Mocks married men; for thus sings he: “Cuckoo; Cuckoo, cuckoo!”

O, word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear!

When Britain first, at Heaven’s command Arose from out the azure main; This was the charter of the land, And guardian angels sang this strain: “Rule, Britannia! rule the waves: “Britons never will be slaves.”

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws, And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks, When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, And maidens bleach their summer smocks, The cuckoo then, on every tree, Mocks married men; for thus sings he, “Cuckoo; Cuckoo, cuckoo!”

O, word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear!

The nations, not so blest as thee, Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; While thou shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all.

Still more majestic shalt thou rise, More dreadful, from each foreign stroke; As the loud blast that tears the skies, Serves but to root thy native oak.

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Richard Egarr

director, organ and harpsichord

© Patrick Allen

symphonic orchestras such as London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw and Philadelphia Orchestra, and regularly gives solo harpsichord recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall and elsewhere.

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, Egarr was recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague from 2019, and was Associate Artist of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra 2011-2017. He guests with major

Richard’s diverse musicianship is reflected in his projects for 2017-18, that include Purcell’s King Arthur (semi-staged) at the Barbican with AAM, St Matthew Passion with the Rotterdam Philharmonic; and Beethoven’s “Eroica” with the Luxembourg Philharmonic and Antwerp Symphony. He makes several trips to the US, returning to the Dallas Symphony and guesting with Philharmonia Baroque and Les Violons du Roy, and tours the East Coast with cellist Steven Isserlis.

Early in his tenure with AAM Egarr established the Choir of AAM. Operas and oratorios lie at the heart of his repertoire: he made his Glyndebourne debut in 2007 conducting a staged version of St Matthew Passion, directed Handel

oratorios at the Britten Pears Academy and staged productions at the Netherlands Opera Academy including Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, and Le nozze di Figaro.

Egarr has recorded many discs for Harmonia Mundi, notably Handel, Mozart and Louis Couperin, with JS Bach Partitas released in February 2017. His long list of recordings with AAM includes seven Handel discs (2007 Gramophone Award, 2009 MIDEM and Edison awards), and JS Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions on AAM’s own label, AAM Records.

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

Egarr trained as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge. His studies with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historical performance.

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Carolyn Sampson soprano

© Marco Borggreve

Gewandhaus, Vienna Symphony Orchestra and with numerous orchestras in the USA. Carolyn works with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Riccardo Chailly, Ivor Bolton, Markus Stenz, Philippe Herreweghe, Trevor Pinnock, Harry Christophers, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nezet-Seguin and William Christie.

On the opera stage Carolyn Sampson has appeared with English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Scottish Opera, Opéra de Paris, Opéra de Lille, Opéra de Montpellier and Opéra National du Rhin.

She performs regularly at the BBC Proms and with orchestras including the Bach Collegium Japan, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Leipzig

A consummate recitalist, Carolyn Sampson appears regularly at the Wigmore Hall (and was its “featured artist” in the 2014-15 season), Amsterdam Concertgebouw and at the Saintes and Aldeburgh Festivals. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2013.

Carolyn has an extensive discography appearing on the Harmonia Mundi, BIS, Hyperion, Virgin Classics, DG Archiv, Linn Records, BIS and Vivat labels. Her recording with Ex Cathedra on the Hyperion label, A French Baroque Diva won the recital award in the 2015 Gramophone Awards, and her recent disc of Bach Cantatas with Freiburger Barockorchester was awarded a Diapason D’or. Carolyn was also nominated for Artist of

the Year in the 2017 Gramophone Awards, and her recording of Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Exsultate Jubilate with Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan won the Choral Award. Her debut song recital disc, Fleurs, with Joseph Middleton was released early in 2015 featuring songs from Purcell to Britten, and was a Gramophone Awards nominee. They recently released their second recital disc together, A Verlaine Songbook, exploring settings of the poetry of Paul Verlaine for BIS Records.

This season she tours with Freiburger Barockorchester, Bach Collegium Japan and the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century; performs with Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, and Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, as well as concerts in the UK with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gabrieli Consort and Players, Academy of Ancient Music, and Ex Cathedra.

Recital highlights include those in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vienna, Japan and London.

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON

18

Academy of Ancient Music Violin I Bojan Čičić Persephone Gibbs Sijie Chen Violin II Rebecca Livermore William Thorp Pierre Joubert Viola Jane Rogers Ricardo Cuende Isuskiza

Cello Joseph Crouch Imogen Seth-Smith Double Bass Judith Evans Oboe Frank de Bruine Lars Henriksson Bassoon Ursula Leveaux

Lute William Carter Keyboard Technician Malcolm Greenhalgh

Sponsored Chairs Principal Viola Richard and Elizabeth de Friend Sub-Principal Viola Nicholas and Judith Goodison Principal Cello Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell Sub-Principal Cello The Newby Trust

© Patrick Harrison

Principal Theorbo John and Joyce Reeve

BLESS’D ISLE

Our Team Music Director Richard Egarr Hogwood Fellow Robert Levin

Head of Concerts and Planning Chloë Wennersten

Chief Executive Alexander Van Ingen

Projects and Fundraising Co-ordinator Alice Pusey

General Manager Anthony Brice

Fundraising Assistant Leonore Hibou

Board of Trustees

Orchestra Librarian Hannah Godfrey

Artistic Consultant Lars Henriksson

Programme Editor Sarah Breeden

Finance Marianna Lauckner Palieskova

Development Consultant Harriet Lawrence

PR Consultant WildKat PR

Marketing Consultants Bethan Sheppard Chloë Priest Griffiths

Development Board

Philip Jones* Hugh Burkitt Delia Broke Matthew Ferrey Hugh Burkitt Philip Jones (chairman) Elizabeth de Friend Graham Nicholson Andrew Gairdner MBE John Reeve Peter Hullah Terence Sinclair Roger Mayhew Madeleine Tattersall Annie Middlemiss* Janet Unwin Craig Nakan Honorary President: John Reeve* Christopher Purvis CBE

Council Chris Rocker* Terence Sinclair* Madeleine Tattersall* Janet Unwin* *Fundraising committee member

Adam Broadbent Kate Donaghy Jonathan Freeman-Attwood Carol Grigor Tim Harvey-Samuel Nick Heath Lars Henriksson Christopher Lawrence Sir Konrad Schiemann Rachel Stroud Dr Christopher Tadgell The Lady Juliet Tadgell

ACADEMY OF ANCIENT MUSIC 2017-18 SEASON

20

Who we are and what we do Music

The Academy of Ancient Music is an orchestra and choir that perform music from the baroque and classical era in the way it was first intended.

This means taking inspiration from the composers themselves; through careful research and using first edition scores as often as possible. Our historically informed approach was groundbreaking when the orchestra was founded in 1973 by scholar-conductor Christopher Hogwood and AAM remains at the forefront of the early music scene today, under the leadership of Music Director Richard Egarr.

Recordings

Originally established as a recording orchestra AAM has an incredible catalogue of more than 300 CDs which have won numerous accolades, including Brit, Gramophone, Edison and MIDEM awards. On its own in-house label, AAM Records, the orchestra has released five critically acclaimed recordings. The most recent release, a stunning selection of instrumental works by Dario Castello, a Venetian composer from the early baroque period, was launched in October 2016.

Education

Since 2010 AAM has run its AAMplify education scheme, with the aim of nurturing the next generation of young artists and audiences. Working with partners around the country, AAM delivers workshops, masterclasses and other special projects for children and people of all ages.

2017-18 Season

The 2017-18 season began with a semistaged performance of King Arthur, the second instalment of AAM’s three-year Purcell opera cycle. Also this season the Choir of AAM takes centre stage at the Barbican for performances of Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St John Passion, joined by first class soloists; and Nicola Benedetti performs virtuosic Vivaldi and Telemann concerti on gut strings. In West Road and Milton Court concert halls, soloists from AAM feature in programmes exploring the musical impact of cross-European migration, and the "reversed fortunes" of Telemann and Bach. Soprano Carolyn Sampson celebrates English song from Dowland to Arne; and a programme of secular and sacred vocal music showcases the pairing of soprano Keri Fuge and countertenor Tim Mead.

AAM is Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican Centre and Orchestra in Residence at the University of Cambridge and at the Grange Festival.

Visit aam.co.uk to find out more.

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

TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS The Backstage Trust Constance Travis Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Garfield Weston Foundation Geoffrey C Hughes Charitable Trust The Goldsmiths' Company Charity Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust John Armitage Charitable Trust Newby Trust Ltd The Nicholas John Trust The Polonsky Foundation Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement and other anonymous trusts and foundations

BLESS’D ISLE

AAM SOCIETY The Chairman’s C ­ ircle Matthew Ferrey Mrs Julia Rosier The Hogwood C ­ ircle Christopher and Phillida Purvis * Terence and Sian Sinclair Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet Tadgell Principal ­Patrons Richard and Elena Bridges Richard and Elizabeth de Friend Christopher Hogwood CBE, in memoriam * Ralph Hullah, in memoriam Mrs Sheila Mitchell and other anonymous Principal ­Patrons Patrons Lady Alexander of Weedon Clive and Helena Butler Alan J Clark Mr John Everett Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie Nicholas and Judith Goodison * Graham and Amanda Hutton Philip Jones David and Linda Lakhdhir Mark and Liza Loveday Roger Mayhew Graham Nicholson Nigel and Hilary Pye John and Joyce Reeve Chris and Ali Rocker John and Madeleine Tattersall Mr Anthony Travis Mark West and other anonymous ­Patrons

Principal ­Benefactors Carol Atack and Alex van Someren John and Gilly Baker Mrs D Broke Jo and Keren Butler Kate Donaghy The Hon Simon Eccles Ed Hossack and Ben Harvey Mark and Sophie Lewisohn Steven Larcombe and Sonya Leydecker Mr and Mrs C Norton Mark and Elizabeth Ridley Sir Konrad and Lady Schiemann * Julian and Anne Stanford Stephen Thomas Paul and Michi Warren Julie and Richard Webb Mr Andrew Williams Mrs R Wilson Stephens Christopher Stewart Charles Woodward and other anonymous Principal ­Benefactors

Benefactors Dr Aileen Adams CBE Cumming Anderson Elise Badoy Dauby Professor John and Professor Hilary Birks Mrs Stephanie Bourne Mr and Mrs John Brisby * Adam and Sara Broadbent Hugh Burkitt Jonathan and Belinda Davie Marshall Field Michael and Michele Foot CBE Andrew and Wendy Gairdner The Hon William Gibson Mrs Noel Harwerth and Mr Seth Melhado The Hon Mr and Mrs Philip Havers Professor Sean Hilton Heather Jarman Mr Peter and Mrs Frances Meyer Chris and Valery Rees The Hon Zita Savile Dr Robert Sansom Ms Sarah Shepley and Mr Kevin Feeney Mr Michael Smith Peter Thomson and Alison Carnwath Mrs Janet Unwin Peter and Margaret Wynn Oriel Williams and Mick Stump and other anonymous B­ enefactors Donors Angela and Roderick Ashby-Johnson Marianne Aston Elisabeth and Bob Boas * Lord and Lady Browne-Wilkinson Charles Bryant David and Elizabeth Challen

Derek and Mary Draper Nikki Edge Christopher and Jill Evans Tina Fordham Mr Patrick Foster Charlotte Fox Michael and Margaret Garner Mrs Marilyn Minchom Goldberg Miles and Anna Hember Elaine Hendrie Mrs Helen Higgs Mr and Mrs Charles Jackson Alison Knocker Mr and Mrs Evan Llewellyn Richard Lockwood Richard and Romilly Lyttelton Richard Meade Annie Middlemiss Nick and Margaret Parker Mr Edward Powell Jane Rabagliati and Raymond Cross Jane and Robin Raw Mr and Mrs Charles Rawlinson Michael and Giustina Ryan Mahnaz Safa Dr Alison Salt Mr Peter Shawdon Professor Tony Watts Tony and Jackie Yates-Watson and other anonymous D ­ onors * denotes founder m ­ ember

Meet the player: Rebecca Livermore violin How does a baroque violin differ from the modern instrument?

The main difference is the angle of the neck.

When stringed instruments started playing in larger halls and competing with brass instruments, they just needed to make more noise. The angle increased the pressure on the bridge and therefore the violin made more sound. We also use gut strings which are more temperamental, but produce a much rounder, warmer sound.

How did you start playing the baroque violin?

I took up the baroque violin in my last year of studying at the Royal Northern College of Music. I had always had an interest in it, but was so busy studying the modern violin, I hadn’t got around to it. Fortunately that year Andrew Manze, former Associate Director of AAM came to teach, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history!

What is your first musical memory?

I had a violin from the age of six months, as my mother taught the violin, so my earliest memories are from a very young age. I learnt from the Suzuki method books and I clearly remember the end of term concerts when you would get a packet of Maltesers if you had finished a book. No better incentive to a small child.

What has been your most memorable experience with AAM? The one that always springs to mind is playing on the barge for the Queen’s Jubilee, but probably the most personal one was playing the Bach Triple Violin Concerto with Richard Tognetti and Bojan Čičić. Richard is an exciting musician and incredible violinist and for me this was a really inspiring and special occasion.

What are you particularly looking forward to in tonight’s concert?

I don’t know much of the music on the programme, so that in itself is quite exciting.

However, we played another Lawes Fantasy in Utrecht a few weeks ago; it is little known music, but really awesome, so I’m really looking forward to that.

BACH & TELEMANN

Reversed

H A N D E L’ S

Fortunes MESSIAH Thursday 7 December 2017, 7.30pm Milton Court Concert Hall, London Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk

Tuesday 12 December 2017, 7.30pm West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Box Office: 01223 357851 cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/tickets

Wednesday 20 December 2017, 7.00pm Barbican Hall, London Box Office: 020 7638 8891 barbican.org.uk