The Lark Ascending Centenary concert programme

Programme notesBristol Beacon & Bristol Ensemble present

THE LARK

ASCENDING CENTENARY

Programme notes

Bristol Beacon and Bristol Ensemble Present

The Lark Ascending Centenary Concert Tuesday 15 December 2020 at 7.30pm Filmed at Shirehampton Public Hall Programme Jennifer Pike violin Roger Huckle violin Simon Kodurand violin Helen Reid piano Marcus Farnsworth baritone David Ogden conductor Bristol Ensemble Members of Exultate Singers Dr Jonathan James compère Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending (arr. for violin and piano) J S Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D minor BWV 1043 Parry Choral song “Jerusalem”

Programme notes

Fantasia on Christmas Carols Ralph Vaughan Williams This single-movement work for baritone, chorus and orchestra consists of a selection of English folk carols collected in southern England by Vaughan Williams and his friend Cecil Sharp to whom the work is dedicated. From Herefordshire ‘There is a fountain’ and The Truth sent from above; from Somerset Come all you worthy gentlemen and from Sussex On Christmas night all Christians sing. These carols are interposed with brief orchestral quotations from other carols, such as The First Nowell. The piece was first performed on 12 September 1912 at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford Cathedral, conducted by the composer.

The Lark Ascending Ralph Vaughan Williams In the composition of this iconic, 100-year-old work, Ralph Vaughan Williams sought an escape from the onset and effects of war. His knowledge of violin technique, a love of nature, and folk music combine in a piece that has been popular since its composition.

He wrote the first draft in 1914. Initially written for violin and piano, the piece was called A Romance for Violin, an instrument he had studied in his youth. After completing it, he put the manuscript away when he enlisted in the army after the outbreak of the First World War. In 1919, when he returned to composition, he revised the piece and the first performance took place in Shirehampton, Bristol on 15th December 1920 at a concert of the Avonmouth and Shirehampton Choral Society. A year later he made an orchestral version.

The work takes its title from a poem by George Meredith (1828–1909), from which Vaughan Williams chose twelve lines to preface the score: He rises and begins to round He drops the silver chain of sound Of many links without a break, In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake For singing till his heaven fills, ‘Tis love of earth that he instills And ever wringing up and up Our valley is his golden cup And he the wine which overflows To lift us with him as he goes.

Till lost on his aerial rings In light, and then fancy sings.

From its opening bars, this composition has a magical quality to it. The orchestra plays a soft and peaceful introduction, then quietly sustains a chord. The solo violin, which represents the lark, enters tentatively, with four-note singing motives reminiscent of bird song. Gradually, the notes rise and the violin soars above a gentle and delicate orchestral accompaniment.

The middle section is more folk-like and restless at times, but the change is short-lived, and the lark soon takes to the sky again, gradually spinning and floating out of sight and hearing.

In the early 20th century, the sound of the lark in the clear air was a feature of the summer landscape. Written on the eve of a war which was to wipe out a whole generation in the mud and blood of the trenches, the piece depicts a lark singing in a landscape already devoid of people. The lark song represents a yearning and nostalgia for the untarnished English countryside and lifts us out the turmoil into a place where there is peace and serenity.

Programme notes

Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 Johann Sebastian Bach Vivace Largo ma non tanto Allegro Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) composed the Concerto for Two Violins between 1720 and 1730 while Director of Music for Leopold, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen. It is possible that he wrote the work for the two principal violinists in Prince Leopold’s orchestra - Joseph Speiss and Martin Friedrich Marcus who were both known as talented players at the time.

Bach was clearly influenced by the collection of violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, L’estro armonico (The Harmonic Inspiration). Prime examples of the Baroque concerto grosso form, these pieces feature a solo instrument, or small group of instruments, engaging in continuous dialogue with a larger ensemble. Around 1713, Bach studied Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Violins in A minor RV 522, transforming it into the Organ Concerto in A minor BWV 593. While Vivaldi’s ‘double’ concerto feels open and breezy, with sunny, virtuosic solo lines often soaring above a sonic expanse, Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins is filled with dense, exhilarating counterpoint and layers of intricate moving parts.

The concerto is characterized by a subtle yet expressive relationship between the violins throughout. The first movement (Vivace) springs to life with a vigorous fugue statement, heard first in the second violin, then in the first violin, and finally deep in the basso continuo. Themes emerge in one voice, and then are taken up by another.

The second movement has resonances of a Handelian opera duet in its breath and intensity. Propelled forward by the heartbeat of the continuo, the movement begins with a sensuous and lamenting statement in the second violin. The first violin’s answer moves the dialogue to a new world and dimension.

The final movement (Allegro) explodes with ferocious, unrestrained energy with the solo violins following closely on each others’ heels in a snarling and playful game of musical tag. In the final moments, the solo violins revel in the pure ecstasy of the harmony, while the orchestra lines rise to the forefront.

Choral song ‘Jerusalem’ Words: William Blake (1757 –1827) Music: Hubert H. Parry (1848 –1918) And did those feet in ancient time is a poem by William Blake from the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books, one of a collection of writings known as the Prophetic Books written in 1804. Today it is best known as the hymn Jerusalem, with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916.

The song was quickly taken up by various groups, most notably by Millicent Fawcett of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies. The song had been taken up by the Suffragists in 1917 and Fawcett asked Parry if it might be used at a Suffrage Demonstration Concert on 13 March 1918. After the concert, Fawcett asked if it might become the Women Voters’ Hymn. Parry wrote back, “I wish indeed it might become the Women Voters’ hymn, as you suggest. People seem to enjoy singing it. And having the vote ought to diffuse a good deal of joy too. So they would combine happily”.

The hymn has been an unofficial national anthem ever since being adopted not only by the Woman’s Institute but also by schools around the world, and sung at royal weddings, the funerals of US Presidents, the London 2012 Olympics, and annually at the Last Night of the BBC Proms.

Programme notes

Jennifer Pike Renowned for her unique artistry and compelling insight into music from the Baroque to the present day, Jennifer Pike has firmly established herself as one of today’s most exciting instrumentalists.

She made her concerto debut with the Hallé Orchestra aged 11, and her international career was launched the following year when she won the BBC Young Musician and became the youngest major prize winner in the Menuhin International Violin Competition.

Appearing as soloist in the world’s top concert halls, she has performed with eminent conductors including Sir Andrew Davis Jirí Belohlávek, Sir Mark Elder, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons, Sir Roger Norrington, Alondra de la Parra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, Tugan Sokhiev, Mark Wigglesworth and Vladimir Fedoseyev.

Her broad repertoire has included performances of Dvor�ák with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Sibelius with Tokyo Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic and Oslo Philharmonic, Mozart with Rheinische Philharmonie, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Singapore Symphony, Brahms with the Nagoya Philharmonic, Tchaikovsky with the Tchaikovsky SO of Moscow, Hallgrímsson with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and The Lark Ascending at New York’s Carnegie Hall. She also appears regularly with all the BBC orchestras as well as the Royal Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. As a guest director her credits include the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata and English Chamber Orchestra.

Equally sought after as a recitalist and chamber musician, Jennifer Pike has collaborated worldwide with artists including Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nikolaj Znaider, Nicolas Altstaedt, Maxim Rysanov, Igor Levit, Martin Roscoe and Mahan Esfahani. She has curated concert series at LSO St Luke’s for BBC Radio 3 and the Wigmore Hall where she celebrated her Polish heritage with three recitals of Polish music, including several UK and world premieres.

A disc of Polish works for violin followed in January 2019, released on Chandos, and was richly rewarded by the press.

Her critically-acclaimed discography on Chandos includes the Sibelius, Rózsa and Mendelssohn concertos, the Chausson Concert, Brahms and Schumann sonatas, Debussy, Ravel and Franck sonatas and the complete violin and piano works of Janáček. Her latest disc for Chandos, of Elgar and Vaughan Williams violin sonatas, was described as “an irresistible release”, received fivestar reviews from major publications and won Limelight Magazine’s Recording of the Year award in the Chamber category.

Jennifer Pike is an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust and Foundation for Children and the Arts, and patron of the Lord Mayor’s City Music Foundation. In October 2020, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to classical music. She plays a 1708 violin by Matteo Goffriller. www.jenniferpike.com www.facebook.com/jenniferpikeviolinist www.twitter.com/JenniferPikeVLN

Programme notes

Bristol Ensemble The Bristol Ensemble is the city’s only professional orchestra, comprising a core of 25 musicians and a further 50 musicians, all experienced players in a range of musical genres. The Ensemble has flexible configurations, from a piano trio through to full symphony orchestra.

The orchestra holds a pivotal position in South West music, presenting a varied programme of concerts and events in the region’s major venues. It was founded in 1994 by its Artistic Director and lead violinist Roger Huckle. Roger studied with Frederick Grinke, and was a regular member of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic. Roger now dedicates his time to directing and developing the Bristol Ensemble as well as spending time in Norway.

The Ensemble has worked with outstanding international artists and soloists, including Nicola Benedetti, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Freddy Kempf, Peter Donohoe, Andrei Gavrilov, Chloë Hanslip, Matthew Barley, Alan Schiller, Willard White, Emma Kirkby, James Bowman, Andy Shephard, Wayne Marshall, Leslie Garrett, Emma Johnson, Natalia Lomeiko and Jiafeng Chen. The orchestra is known for collaborations with other art forms including film and media work, as well as its highly acclaimed contemporary music series Elektrostatic at

Bristol Beacon, working with artists such as Gabriel Prokofiev, Juice, Get The Blessing, Charles Johnston, USA group Eighth Blackbird and Bhangra group RSVP. Through Elektrostatic Bristol Ensemble has commissioned over 50 new works by British composers.

Film and TV engagements include music for BBC Bristol Natural History Unit and TV productions such as the David Attenborough series Life in Cold Blood. The Ensemble has also recorded soundtracks for several computer games, and produced several CDs. Among recent films, Any Human Heart won a BAFTA and an Ivor Novello award for best music score for Bristol composer Dan Jones.

In addition to its public performances, the Bristol Ensemble runs Preludes, an inspirational, long-term classical music education project in which primary school children learn to read music, sing and play a range of instruments in an inclusive and supportive setting. Its success has been celebrated with the award of the inaugural St George’s Prize For Music. www.bristolensemble.com www.facebook.com/bristolensemble www.twitter.com/bristolensemble www.instagram.com/bristolensemble

Programme notes

Exultate Singers

David Ogden

Exultate Singers was founded in 2002 and has gone on to give over 200 concerts, broadcasts and other appearances in the UK, Spain, Germany, Poland, Italy, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Portugal.The choir has performed on BBC One’s Songs of Praise and The One Show, on Classic FM and on BBC Radio in broadcasts on Radios 2, 3 and 4 and the World Service.

David Ogden is a professional conductor and composer.

He conducts Exultate Singers, City of Bristol Choir, choirs at Royal Mail, Airbus and Sawday Publishing, and in his post of Head of the Bristol Choral Centre, he conducts the Bristol Youth Choirs. He also conducts choirs at several schools around Bristol and he is Director of Music at Holy Trinity Church, Westbury-on-Trym.

The choir has recorded five CDs, four on its own label and one, All Shall Be Well, for Naxos, which features the title track by Roxanna Panufnik. The choir also appears on Signum Classic’s CD Love Abide, performing Roxanna Panufnik’s Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. Exultate Singers has commissioned music from Sir James MacMillan, Toby Young, Roxanna Panufnik, Philip Moore, Ian Carpenter, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, David Bednall, and Naji Hakim.

For 30 years he has worked with numerous professional and amateur groups of all shapes and sizes in many fields of music making, including church music, concerts, musical theatre and opera, community projects, primary and secondary level educational workshops, from small children’s groups to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Over lockdown, choir members kept in touch with each other via the magic of Zoom meetings, chats and quizzes, and made an individually-recorded video of Pearsall’s Lay a garland. They gave their first concert back in the gardens of St George’s in August, and streamed an online Remembrance Sunday concert.

Exultate Singers is grateful for the support of the Friends of Exultate Singers, Richard Pedlar Architects, and the choir’s Patrons, Jill White and Toby Young. www.exultatesingers.org www.facebook.com/exultate www.twitter.com/exultatesingers www.instagram.com/exultatesingers

David has conducted choirs on BBC Radios 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the World Service, and worked as conductor, arranger and music adviser on BBC TV’s Songs of Praise.

He is Choral Music Adviser for the BBC’s hit series Call The Midwife, and worked with the Royal Mail Choir in the BBC Two series The Choir: Sing While You Work.

His compositions are published by the RSCM and White Light Publishing, and are performed in schools and churches worldwide. His music is broadcast frequently on BBC radio and television. In October 2015 David was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal School of Church Music in recognition of his service and contribution to choral music and the RSCM. www.davidogden.co.uk www.twitter.com/mrdavidogden

Programme notes

Marcus Farnsworth

Roger Huckle

Marcus Farnsworth was awarded first prize in the 2009 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and the Song Prize at the 2011 Kathleen Ferrier Competition. He sang as a chorister at Southwell Minster and went on to study at Chetham’s School of Music and the University of Manchester.

Marcus is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music where he completed his postgraduate studies as a member of Royal Academy Opera. He has appeared as a principal artist with major opera companies in the UK and abroad including English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Bergen National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Aix en Provence and Teatro Real Madrid. He has given recitals at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, La Monnaie, the Oxford Lieder Festival and Leeds Lieder and has appeared many times at the Wigmore Hall. In concert, he has performed extensively with ensembles including BBCSO, BBCSSO, LSO, Aurora Orchestra, the Gabrieli Consort and the Academy of Ancient Music.

Roger Huckle has been the inspiration and Artistic Director of The Bristol Ensemble since its foundation in 1994.

A strong supporter of contemporary composers, he has sung works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Sally Beamish, Thomas Larcher and David Sawer. For the 2017 BBC Proms, Marcus performed Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, conducted by Sian Edwards. He was subsequently invited to perform the work with the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. Marcus is Head of Vocal and Choral Studies at Chetham’s School of Music and is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Southwell Music Festival. He lives in East London with his wife and son. He is a keen cook, a wine enthusiast and loves nothing more than exploring the British countryside on long hikes. www.twitter.com/mbjfarnsworth

Born in Bristol, Roger studied at Birmingham Conservatoire and with Fredrick Grinke, winning many prizes and scholarships. In 1985 he became a member of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway. He moved back to Bristol in 1990. Since then he has performed with all the major orchestras in the UK and is much in demand as soloist, chamber musician, Leader and recording artist. He also has a private teaching practice.

Programme notes

Simon Kodurand

Helen Reid

Simon Kodurand was born in Cardiff in 1980 and began playing the violin at the age of 13. He gave his concerto debut aged 17, before going on to study at the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music, where he was awarded a scholarship.

Helen Reid first came to public attention when she appeared on BBC2 in the National Keyboard Finals of the BBC Young Musician competition in 1998. In 2000 she won first prize in the Karic International Piano Competition. In 2006 she was hailed as a ‘rising star’ in The Independent magazine.

Since leaving the Academy Simon has pursued a busy career on both the modern and baroque violin, playing and recording with a number of groups including The Avison Ensemble, La Serenissima, The Academy of Ancient Music, The Sixteen, The Kings Consort, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Symphony Orchestra, London Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and he is currently leader of The London Charity Orchestra. As a soloist and chamber musician Simon made his debut at the Purcell Room in 2004, recorded Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht with the RAM Soloists whilst at the Academy and has recorded concerti by Vivaldi and Valentini with La Serenissima.

Helen has given recitals all around in England, at venues including the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Fairfield Halls and Blackheath Halls, London, St. George’s, Bristol, Cheltenham, the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and the Aldeburgh and Buxton Festivals. She has performed in Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic.

Concerto performances have included Rachmaninov’s second Piano Concerto with the Westmoreland Orchestra and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the Aurelian Ensemble at Blackheath Halls and the world premiere of David Matthews’ Piano Concerto, at Dartington International Summer School.

Helen has played a wide range of chamber music, with artists such as Paul Archibald - trumpet, John Kenny - trombone, Sheida Davis - cello, and Fenella Humphreys - violin.

Helen studied at Chetham’s School, Royal Holloway University and Cologne Music College, completing a Master’s Degree at City University and the Guildhall School of Music. She is currently professor of piano at Bristol University; runs the Professional Studies course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has been invited to give masterclasses at Gdansk Conservatoire, Wells Cathedral School; The Universities of Bath, Royal Holloway and Hull, Dartington International Summer School and Pro Corda.

Programme notes

Dr. Jonathan James Jonathan has been enthusing about music to concert audiences and in classrooms for over twenty years, ever since he started giving pre-performance talks as a conductor.

His freelance work as a presenter, interviewer and workshop leader takes him all over the UK and into Europe.

As a conductor, Jonathan has worked in London, Europe and the States, including with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Philharmonic (as a Zander Fellow) and City of Prague Symphony Orchestra. He was principal guest conductor with the Bristol Ensemble for four years and was founder-conductor of the New Bristol Sinfonia. He had training from John Forster, formerly head of conducting at the Royal College of Music and at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Weimar, Germany, as well as attending numerous international masterclasses.

With a PhD in Music Education and a qualified teacher, he founded and directs the Bristol Pre-Conservatoire, a prestigious evening school for talented young classical and jazz players. Whilst Head of Performing Arts for a Further Education college in Bristol (2007-12), he taught on a Rock and Pop performance course, and continues to teach jazz piano.

Programme notes

Credits Bristol Ensemble

Creative Team

Roger Huckle violin Simon Kodurand violin Helen Reid piano Hugh Blogg violin Carl Hill viola Jane Fenton cello Jub Davis double bass

Frazer Riches Technical Production Manager Ben Knowles Broadcast Production Manager Duncan Smith Producer Sam Garland PTZ Camera Operator Barry Wilkinson Camera Operator Tim Shapcott Camera Operator Tom Skeates Vision Mix Jon Fox Sound Engineer Jon Worsley Sound Engineer Alex Riley Photographer Heather Myatt Press Officer Beth Napier Social Media Manager Daniel Wood Covid-19 Officer Terry Danks Production Assistant Rhys Richards Production Assistant

Exultate Singers Lucy Hughes soprano Chloe Martindale soprano Jenna Brown alto Judith Ogden alto Gustavo Infante tenor Sam Mazzarella tenor Martin Le Poidevin bass Richard Bacon bass

With thanks to Kings Weston House and Shirehampton Public Hall