Friday 16 October, 7.30pm, Assembly Rooms Ballroom
PROGRAMME MENDELSSOHN Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) Op. 26
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64
EDWARD LODER Excerpts from Raymond and Agnes VIOLIN
CHARLIE SIEM SOLO VOICES
DONNA LENNARD JOE CORBETT John Colyn GyaenTey NARRATORS
MR & MRS LODER OF BATH (courtesy of the Natural Theatre Company) CONDUCTOR
JASON THORNTON BATH PHILHARMONIA IS GENEROUSLY Supported BY THE ROPER FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST
Mendelssohn Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave) Op. 26 In 1829, during his Grand Tour of Europe, Mendelssohn took a boat to the Hebrides and discovered the renowned Fingal’s Cave. This vast cave, open to the sea, measures 227 feet by 42, and rises to a height of 66 feet. The sea forms the floor and towering pillars of basal lava line the walls. Klingemann (Mendelssohn’s travelling companion) described the scene as “the interior of an immense organ. It lies there alone, black, echoing, and entirely purposeless - the grey waste of the sea in and around it.” Impressed by the beauty and immensity of the place, Mendelssohn jotted down 21 bars of piano score, what would become the opening notes of the overture, including them in a letter home written that same evening. The overture stands as one of the composer’s greatest achievements. Brahms commented, “I’d give all of my compositions if I could have written such a piece,” and even Wagner described it as “an aquarelle [with] wonderful imagination and delicate feeling presented with consummate art.” The most striking aspect of this overture is its successful tone-painting. We can hear the breaking of the waves, almost see the basalt columns and strange colours of the rocks, and above all experience the overwhelming vastness of the cavern. Many composers, before and since, have used music to depict the physical world, but in Fingal’s Cave, Mendelssohn set an example that has never been equalled. George Loder premiered this overture at the Philharmonic Society of New York on the 16 November 1844 at the Apollo Rooms.
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 I Allegro molto appassionato II Andante III Allegretto non troppo – allegro molto vivace. On July 30, 1838, Felix Mendelssohn wrote to his friend and German Violinist Ferdinand David, ‘ I’d like to write you a violin concerto next Winter; one in E minor sticks in my head, the beginning of which will not leave me in peace’. Although the intention to write the concerto was announced, it wasn’t until 1845 that the work was completed. The Violin Concerto turned out to be Mendelssohn’s last orchestral work and could be argued to be his most popular. Although making use of a standard classical structure, Mendelssohn makes his own adaptations to suit his own tastes and changing times. With such qualities as the opening drum taps; the soloist’s immediate entry; and an impulsive soaring coda, the first movement opens the work in a distinctive fashion. The second movement follows immediately, linked to the first by a single bassoon note. This second slow movement ends with a remarkable passage that not only signals its end but also prepares us for the finale. The last movement pays homage to the virtuoso tradition of the concerto, the soloist ranging over the instrument in a dazzling display of notes and fireworks to the very end.
Raymond and Agnes Music by Edward James Loder, libretto by Edward Fitzball Character List Raymond, a young Spaniard The Baron of Lindenberg Theodore& Francesco, two Italian valets Antoni, an old Italian brigand Roberto & Martini, his sons The Landlord of the Golden Wolf The Verger of the Nun’s Chapel Agnes, the Baron’s ward Madelina, her foster-sister Ravella, the dumb woman Archers, Peasants, Robbers, Nuns, Women, Domestics
Background to the plot The Baron of Lindenberg has a murky past. In his former guise as Inigo the erstwhile leader of a band of robbers, he killed Don Ferdinand in Madrid and abducted his wife, Ravella, leaving their small son Raymond behind. The Baron has another secret. An ancestor once threatened to rape a nun called Agnes, who killed herself and was made a saint. As a result the house of Lindenberg is cursed and the only way to remove it is for the Baron to marry the last relative of St Agnes, herself called Agnes, who has been brought up in the convent of St Agnes at the Baron’s order. While she was there she met and fell in love with Raymond. However, she is about to be taken to Lindenberg for her wedding to the Baron.
Arias and recitatives in bold to be performed this evening.
Overture ACT I, Scene 1 (‘The Hunter’s Fête’) In ‘The Golden Wolf’, an ancient hostelry in a forest, girls are dancing and hunters firing at a target whose centre is a golden wolf. The brigand Antoni and his sons Roberto and Martini are also there. A stranger enters and, taking up the challenge, hits the target in the centre. The Landlord announces supper and the hunters hurry off. Left behind are Theodore and Francesco, Italian valets, the former to the mysterious stranger, revealed as Don Raymond from Madrid, the latter to a German Baron. Theodore reveals that his master is in love with a young Andalusian lady, whose guardian has locked her up in the nearby St Agnes Convent with the intention of marrying her and imprisoning her in his castle of Lindenberg. Francesco responds in surprise that Lindenberg is the home of his own master, who is shortly arriving to marry the very Agnes who is the object of Raymond’s affections. Madelina, Agnes’s foster-sister in Andalusia and maid at the Baron’s castle, arrives with others and is persuaded by Francesco to tell how the Castle of Lindenberg is haunted by the ghost of a young Prioress. The Baron of the time had fallen in love with her at Lindenberg, and when he became persistent in his attentions she seized his dagger and stabbed herself through the heart. Now, at dead of night, the ghostly Spectre-Nun wanders through the castle dressed in white and with dagger in hand. Re-entering after this gruesome tale, Raymond discharges a rifle, scaring away all but Theodore, who tells him of the Baron’s imminent arrival. Raymond forms a plan to elope with Agnes. ACT I, Scene II In the antique Chapel of the Convent of St Agnes, Agnes comes to decorate the shrine (Recit: ‘Sadly thro’ the lonely aisle’). She then prays to St Agnes (Air: ‘O Agnes, martyr fair’). Madelina enters and, after informing Agnes of the impending marriage to the Baron, fondly recalls their childhood days in Andalusia. When Madelina has left, Raymond enters, disguised as the verger. The two reaffirm their devotion (Recit: ‘Agnes! Oh Terror!’; Duet ‘Oh, Agnes, can’st thou now forget?’). The real verger then enters and forces Raymond off as Agnes rushes off, after which the Baron himself arrives. He reveals himself full of remorse for events of the past. When Agnes appears with Madelina, the Baron declares himself about to take her to Lindenberg. Raymond – in the background and still in disguise – vows to save her (Terzetto: ‘Now in her eyes those trembling tears’). The doors then open. Hunters, women with bouquets and the two valets look on with Raymond as the Baron leads Agnes to his carriage while Agnes, Madelina and Raymond reflect on the turn of events. Present too are Antoni and his sons, disguised as peasants and plotting foul deeds in the forest depths.
ACT II, Scene 1 Agnes and Raymond look round the Castle of Lindenberg and reaffirm their wish to elope. Theodore enters, advising Raymond that the Baron wishes to speak to him alone. It is ten o’clock on St Hallow’s Eve, the night when the ghost of the Nun does her midnight round, and when Francesco and Madelina appear they shudder at the prospect (Duet: ‘All Hallow’s Night’). They draw back the black curtains over the altar to reveal a portrait that they note is strangely like Agnes. The Baron enters and shoos them away, commenting on Agnes’s striking likeness to the portrait. It causes him to reflect on a lady he snatched in Madrid when he stabbed her husband to death (Air: ‘When others at the watchfire slept’). As he sits lost in thought, Raymond enters. The Baron’s carriage had been attacked by robbers on the way to Lindenberg, and Raymond had come to their aid. Now the Baron wishes to reward him. However, to the Baron’s fury, all Raymond wants is Agnes’s hand. The Baron explains the curse that rests on his family until the last of the family line marries the last of St Agnes’s, who is none other than Agnes herself. Raymond in turn tells of his mother’s abduction and his father’s murder by brigands led by one Inigo. As they argue the Baron draws his dagger. However, Raymond grabs it and finds on it the name “Inigo”. He recognises the Baron as his father’s killer and his mother’s abductor. As they fight, servants arrive and force Raymond into a dungeon. ACT II, Finale It is almost time for the Spectre Nun to appear, and in the castle the assembled folk are huddled together in terror. A door in the gallery opens and Agnes enters in white flowing veil, a lamp in one hand, a dagger in the other, scaring the company away. She then lifts her veil and kneels before the portrait, begging forgiveness for impersonating her saintly predecessor. Madelina and Theodore now appear. The latter obeys Agnes’s demand to unbolt the dungeon door, thus freeing Raymond, who embraces Agnes anew. However, the main door is locked and the key missing. The Baron now enters in his robe de chambre, his features ghastly, his hair wild, a sword in his hand, and uttering the name of Ferdinand, Raymond’s father. The others recognise that he is sleep-walking. Suddenly the Baron turns and, as the clock begins to strike twelve, sees the Nun apparently step out of the painting behind the other protaganists. Terrified, he produces the key and demands the main doors be opened for her. Too late he discovers that his prisoner has escaped and accuses Madelina, who begs for mercy. Raymond and Agnes cross the drawbridge, with Theodore following. The Baron orders a pursuit. The figure of the Nun reappears in the canvas and Madelina offers up a short prayer for her to protect the fleeing pair. ACT III, Scene I On a stormy night in a forest near the castle, Antoni reflects how he will soon reveal to the Baron a secret concerning the dumb woman Ravella. Antoni had actually taken Ravella when Inigo had departed rather than leave her with him. ACT III, Scene II In the brigands’ cave the dumb Ravella is spinning thread, while Martini and Roberto play dice. Antoni enters, soaked by the storm, and confides to his sons that the stranger they robbed
the previous evening was the Baron of Lindenberg and none other than Inigo, their old bandit chief in Andalusia. Roberto looks outside, utters surprise at what he sees, and whispers to Antoni. They turn their table into a rude altar bearing a cross, and Antoni disguises himself as a hermit with a long white beard. He motions to Ravella to open the door, through which Raymond enters, bearing Agnes in his arms and with Theodore in attendance. Gazing at Raymond, Ravella totters back in astonishment, while the disguised Antoni, recognising Raymond as the Baron’s rescuer, welcomes him and the exhausted Agnes. However, Theodore recognises Antoni’s voice and snatches off his false beard. Antoni swears vengeance and blows his whistle, whereupon bandits rush in. Theodore conceals himself, and Raymond rushes at Roberto, only to be set upon by the other bandits. Agnes, at the cross, despairs of men’s behaviour. At the sound of thunder the robbers fall on their knees, and in the confusion Ravella discovers a miniature, which she shows to Antoni. He realises that Raymond is her and Fernando’s son and orders his release (Melodramatic music). Raymond rushes to Agnes as the Baron arrives with soldiers. The robbers flee and, recognising his best chance of rescuing Agnes, Raymond submits to the Baron (Trio: ‘Hear me! Not a word!). The soldiers lead him away. ACT III, Scene III Inside the castle, Antoni, now disguised as a monk begging charity, vows revenge on the Baron for renouncing him years before. Brought in by guards, Raymond envisages his own doom. As he is led out again, the Baron enters, exultantly announcing that he will take Agnes to the chapel within the hour. However, Antoni reveals himself as the Baron’s recent assailant in the forest and the one-time assistant of Inigo. He recalls how he carried off the Baron’s lady-love, Ravella, who was thereupon struck dumb. The Baron silences him by offering a thousand ducats for Antoni to shoot the man who now stands in the Baron’s way. The Baron will place the gold by a statue in the chapel, and Antoni will shoot the man leaving the castle with a female on his arm. ACT III, Scene IV In a chamber of the castle Agnes expresses anew her love for the missing Raymond. Suddenly she sinks onto a couch. The figure of the Nun is seen to bend over and bless her, after which a Chorus of Spectre-Nuns kneels at an illuminated altar at which Raymond and Agnes are being united. As the vision fades, Agnes rises from the couch. Madelina enters with Raymond and Theodore to advise that, in a fit of generosity, the Baron has declared that the four of them can leave the castle. They vow to depart for Madrid without delay. ACT III, Finale At nightfall in a wing of the castle, just outside the chapel, the Baron leaves the gold for Antoni (Finale: ‘All is silent! Darkness reigneth’). Antoni is ready in hiding, but at that point Ravella enters and is grabbed by the arm by the Baron. Obeying his instructions to shoot a man with a female on his arm, Antoni fires and hits the Baron. All rush in, and Ravella, recovering her speech, reveals herself as Raymond’s long-lost mother. As the Baron dies, begging forgiveness, Agnes and Raymond express their joy. Notes by Andrew Lamb
Charlie Siem Charlie Siem is one of the brightest young stars in classical music. Born in London to a Norwegian father and British mother, Charlie began to play the violin at the age of three after hearing a broadcast of Yehudi Menuhin playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Charlie has appeared with orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra alongside conductors such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Yuri Simonov, Sir Roger Norrington, Ed Gardner, Libor Pes k and Michal Nesterowicz. Charlie’s recent touring activity includes performances in Holland with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra as well as critically acclaimed performances with the Moscow Philharmonic playing Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No. 1. His festival appearances include Spoleto, St Moritz, Gstaad, Bergen, Tine@Munch and Windsor. Charlie is a great believer in giving back to worthwhile causes and is honoured to be an ambassador of the Prince’s Trust and VisitingProfessor at Leeds College of Music, making Charlie the youngest Professor in the UK. In addition Charlie has revived the age-old violinistic tradition of composing virtuosic variations of popular themes, which he has done alongside artists including Bryan Adams, Jamie Cullum and The Who. Most recently Charlie wrote his first piece for string orchestra, ‘Canopy’ which was recorded with the English Chamber Orchestra and is featuring on his latest CD with Sony Classical. Charlie has had numerous collaborations with brands including Dior, Dunhill, Armani and presently for Boss. Charlie Siem plays the 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin, known as the ‘D’Egville’.
John Colyn Gyaentey (Tenor) British tenor John Gyeantey is steadily gaining a reputation as a fine exponent of the bel canto repertoire. As a high tenor, he has a facility to sustain the tessitura essential for the speciality roles of Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Accademia Rossiniana, Pesaro, where he worked closely with Alberto Zedda, and began his training at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio as a Peter Moores Foundation Major Scholar. His Rossini roles include Ruodi Guillaume Tell and Aronne Mosé in Egitto (covers for Welsh National Opera); Comte Ory Le Comte Ory (Opera South); Almaviva Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Welsh National Opera, Diva Opera and Festival Musique Cordiale); Zefirino Il viaggio a Reims, Adelberto (cover) Adelaide di Borgogna (both for the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro); Alberto L’occasione fa il ladro (OperaMinima); Gernando/Ubaldo Armida (St. John’s, Smith Square). For Glyndebourne, he covered Don Ramiro
La Cenerentola and was the recipient of the Erich Vietheer Prize. He has sung Nemorino L’elisir d’amore for the Anghiari Festival; Arnalta The Coronation of Poppea and Egeus Jason by Cavalli for English Touring Opera. Other roles include Romeo Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Opera); Don Ottavio Don Giovanni (Mid-Wales Opera); Judge in Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane, recorded for Virgin/EMI; Camille de Rosillon The Merry Widow (Scottish Opera); Tamino The Magic Flute (Swansea City Opera). On the concert platform, Gyeantey is sought after as a sensitive and versatile artist with performances taking him across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Appearances include the title roles in Acis and Galatea (The Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace) and Thomas Arne’s Judgment of Paris and Alfred (Wigmore Hall); Carmina Burana; Messiah, St Matthew Passion for Spanish TV; Mozart Requiem (Royal Albert Hall); Mahler Das Klagende Lied with the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski (Royal Festival Hall); Haydn Creation (Cairo Opera House) and Haydn Stabat Mater recorded for Luxembourg Radio. Future engagements include the title role in Jephtha by Maurice Greene; Oko The Crossing by Odaline de la Martinez; Vogelgesang Die Meistersinger; and Luke in Tippett’s The Ice Break for Birmingham Opera.
In concert, Donna has performed as a soloist in Jocelyn Pook’s Anxiety Fanfare and Variations for Tête à Tête, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for Chester Music Society, Exsultate, Jubilate (Mozart) and Petite Messe Solennelle (Rossini) with the Skipton Camerata, Messiah (Handel) for the Bradford Festival Choral Society, and Elijah (Mendelssohn) and Dona nobis pacem (Vaughan Williams) with the Chester Bach Singers. Future engagements include a tour of new production May Contain Food with Protein Dance, a return to Skipton with the Skipton Camerata to perform Handel’s Messiah, and a debut at St John Smith’s Square with the Kensington Symphony Orchestra to perform Judith Weir’s Natural History.
VIOLIN I Rosie Wainwright Gill Austin Felicity Broome-Skelton Gisele Boll VIOLIN II Declan Daly Kerry Vaughan Mario Basilisco Lauren Abbott Alison Balfour-Paul Steph Niemira VIOLA Emma Sheppard Rachel Calaminus Iona Hassan Justin Ward
Joe Corbett (Baritone)
CELLO Miriam Lowbury Trevor Burley Erica Simpson Jonathan Few
Joe Corbett is from Cork. He studied at Cork School of Music, the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.
BASS Andy Vickers Harriet Scott
In Ireland he has sung Papageno/The Magic Flute, Guglielmo/ Così fan Tutte, Silvio/Pagliacci, Tarquinius/The Rape of Lucretia, Escamillo/Carmen, Harašta and Dog/The Cunning Little Vixen (Brno Festival), Argippo/ Erismena (Buxton Festival), Schaunard/La Bohème, and The Baritone/The Four Note Opera (Buxton and Düsseldorf Festivals) for Opera Theatre Company, Dancaïro/Carmen and Masetto/ Don Giovanni for Opera Ireland, Osmin/Zaïde for Wexford Festival Opera on tour, Rex/The Invader at the National Opera House in Wexford, and Cecil/Mary Stuart for Opera Northern Ireland. He has also sung the Narrator/ Gentle Giant for the Royal Opera at the Linbury Theatre, The Count /The Marriage of Figaro, Papageno/The Magic Flute, Schaunard/La Bohème and Starveling/A Midsummer Night’s Dream for English Touring Opera, Landry/Fortunio for Grange Park Opera, Sam/Trouble in Tahiti for Musiektheater Transparant, Antwerp, and Omar/The Siege of Corinth in Madrid. His other roles include the title role in Don Giovanni, Figaro/The Barber of Seville, Marcello/La Bohème, Dandini/La Cenerentola and Ping/ Turandot. His acting and music theatre credits include Side By Side By Sondheim at the Everyman Theatre, Cork, Petruchio in Kiss Me Kate at Norwich Playhouse, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls for Pimlico Opera, Uncle Tony in Theflowersplucked (Dublin Theatre Festival and Poland) and Tiresias in Oedipus Loves You (Canadian tour) for Pan Pan Theatre, and Leopold in Der Rosenkavalier for The Royal Opera House. He toured in Europe with Opera Circus as The Gigolo in Shameless and The Baritone in Kill Me, I Love You. He has recorded The County Mayo, a song cycle by Joan Trimble, and the roles of Sir Reginald in the Victor Herbert operetta Eileen, and General Clinton in Rodgers and Hart’s Dearest Enemy.
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Her operatic roles include Frog/Ensemble in How the Whale Became (Philips, ROH), Selene in Tycho’s Dream (Styles, Glyndebourne), Alice in Airborne (McDowall, Nova Music Opera), Despina in Così fan tutte (Cooper Hall Emerging Artists), Yellow in The Anatomy of Melancholy (Tassie/Beames, bodycorps), Catfish in The Catfish Conundrum (Lambert, The Music Troupe for Tête à Tête), Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Frasquita in Carmen, Pamina in The Magic Flute (Opera Loki), and Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld (Beds Youth Opera).
LEADER Madeleine Easton
FLUTE Ian Mullin Sarah Manship OBOE Victoria Brawn Jennie Lee Keetley CLARINET David Mackenzie Claire King BASSOON Martin Gatt Lois Au HORNS Richard Wainwright Matthew Cooke TRUMPET Matthew Wells Katie Hodges TIMPANI Ben Hoffnung
Player’s List
Donna Lennard grew up in Bedford, and completed a Masters degree at the GSMD with Distinction in 2012. She participated in ENO’s Opera Works 2012/13, subsequently performing the role of Dorinda in Orlando in the final performance, Postcards, at the Lilian Baylis Theatre, Sadlers Wells.
BATH PHILHARMONIA
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Donna Lennard (soprano)
THE EXTRAORDINARY LODERS OF BATH Written by Andrew Clarke
W
hen people think of Bath they think of fine buildings and the world of Jane Austen. It is easy to lose sight of the late Georgian period in Bath when those who had grown up in the city were eager to share that experience with a wider parish. Originally from Dorset Andrew Loder came to Bath in the mid-eighteen century where he established a wines and spirits business. But the family had hidden talents - they were musicians - and for the next one hundred years they developed that talent both in the city, and beyond to the metropolis and the New World.
A contemporary diarist explains that his son, another Andrew Loder and his younger brother John “play at the Theatre, Balls, Rooms, and amuse the Queen during dinner.” This Andrew played in the old Orchard Street theatre which is now managed by the Bath Masonic Hall Trust. Notwithstanding the exhausting travel arrangements between London and Bath he sang at the Handel celebrations in Westminster Abbey and at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. A generation later, violinist John David Loder led the band at the Theatre Royal for nearly thirty years. He lived in what is now Ted Baker’s in Milsom Street from which he sold music and musical instruments, concert tickets, writing papers and fancy goods. Indeed his home and shop doubled as a concert venue. It was in Milsom Street that he probably entertained the violinist Nicolo Paganini, for which hospitality he was sent a diamond ring from Paris. He was a founding professor of the Royal Academy of Music and frequently led the orchestra of the Philharmonic Society of London. He published the first violin tutor specifically for English students and his personal Stradivarius violin (1729) remains in a private collection. John David Loder travelled widely around the country leading the many music festivals of which the most famous continues as the Three Choirs Festival alternating between Hereford, Worcester and Gloucester. This was a risky operation and on several occasions family members were reported to be involved in road accidents. His son and composer Edward James Loder crafted his skills in Germany under Beethoven’s amanuensis Ferdinand Ries before returning to the city to write incidental music for the theatre. He has been described as the foremost composer of British opera in the early Victorian period. Though his operas are little known today he was masterful in exploring what is known as the Gothic genre, a theme exploited by Jane Austen in Northanger Abbey. Edward’s cousin George Loder, having served his apprenticeship under his aunt in her music shop in Orange Grove, emigrated to America and founded the New York Philharmonic. He was responsible for first performances of Beethoven and Mendelssohn in the New World. Later he sailed to the Californian Gold Coast via the Panamanian Isthmus where he introduced Verdi to the miners, often hauling a piano across mountains and valleys hitched
tightly on the back of a mule. Following the decline of the mining industry in 1855 he travelled to the Antipodes where he stayed, save for a short return visit to London. George was not the only one to emigrate to Australia. Andrew Alleyne Loder is remembered through Loders Creek on the Queensland Coast. Ann Matilda Loder, confidante of the Lady Elizabeth Conyngham who was the last mistress of King George IV, is the great great great great grandmother to Australian actress Keddie Asher. George’s younger step-sister Kate Fanny Loder whose parents were organists at Bathwick Parish Church, was educated at the Royal Academy which institution appointed her their first lady Professor of Harmony at the tender age of eighteen. She accompanied the first performance of Brahm’s German Requiem on the piano at her London residence to a private audience. In Bath between 15-17 October, the Loder Celebration 2015 will provide a showcase for the music of this incredible family. Ranging from grand opera through chamber music to Victorian ballad songs the celebration is centred on a study day at the Holburne museum with concerts at the Assembly Rooms, St Mary’s Bathwick Parish Church and at the Holburne Museum itself. There will be an exhibition of Musicians of Bath at Work at Museum of Bath at Work during the autumn months. The celebration will appeal to musicologists, those interested in local history and to the extended Loder family, many of whom have already committed to join the celebration. Andrew Clarke is an independent researcher, a city guide and a member of the Bath Choral Society whose origins can be traced back to 1819 when it was founded by John David Loder.
Saturday 17 October, 2015 Assembly Rooms 9.30am The Mayor of Bath’s Corps of Honorary Guides will host a walking tour leaving from outside the Assembly Rooms at 9:30am and arriving at the Holburne Museum by 11:30am. This free walk will explore the life and times of musicians who have lived in Bath.
Retrospect Opera: Restoring Britain’s Musical Heritage When it comes to theatre and opera, few people will claim both more, and less, than the British. Triumphant assertions – “we produced a Shakespeare!” “we produced a Purcell!” – are followed by half-embarrassed murmurings: “… and three hundred years later, an Oscar Wilde;” “… and two hundred years later, an Arthur Sullivan.” The landscape conjured up consists of a handful of lofty peaks separated by great barren valleys. It’s a bit like saying to the foreign visitor: “London is the greatest city in the world, and Cornwall is beautiful. But there’s nothing worth visiting in between.” At Retrospect Opera we believe there is a great deal worth visiting in between. And we would love to have you visit it with us. Our first project was to record Ethel Smyth’s The Boatswain’s Mate (1916), a delightful comic opera, very popular in the 1920s, with a robust, earthy humour and beautiful melodies. Our recording of this opera will be released in early 2016. Our second project is to record Edward J. Loder’s Raymond and Agnes (1855), the great Victorian opera featured in tonight’s concert. It is a stirring melodrama complete with murder, incarceration, banditti and a ghost – and of course true love tested and triumphant. You will hear for yourself how lyrical, rich and vibrant Loder’s music is and understand why many critics judge Raymond and Agnes the greatest British opera of its period.
Producing a professional recording of a large-scale opera like Raymond and Agnes is expensive and we cannot do it without the support of music lovers. We ask you to support us. All profits from the recordings of the Smyth and Loder operas will go into funding future projects – and we would love to hear our supporters’ views on what those future projects should be. We have a range of membership options for supporters. Although we are delighted to receive donations of any size, people who give £30 or more qualify as “Supporters” and get their name on our website as well as copy of the recording when it is issued. Moreover, in recognition of the support Raymond and Agnes has finally found in Bath, Loder’s birthplace, we are reducing the costs of all these options for those who attended the concert. Simply tell us that you were at tonight’s concert and you can become a supporter for just £25 and help us revive a great opera which has been neglected for far too long. Please don’t go home without visiting the Retrospect Opera stand, where more information is available. But if that is not possible, do visit our website: www.retrospectopera.org.uk Our contact email is contact@retrospectopera.org.uk, our contact phone number 0161 486 6605.
Help us help Britain’s musical and operatic heritage.
JOIN THE FRIENDS AND PATRONS OF BATH PHILHARMONIA If you have enjoyed this performance and would like to support us, why not consider becoming a Friend or Patron? Friends are the cornerstone upon which Bath Philharmonia is built. By supporting Bath Phil, you afford the orchestra the freedom to reach new heights of musical artistry with beloved classics, world premieres and renowned soloists. Join now by calling our office on 07525 857720. TRUSTEES AND STAFF CHAIR • Rod Morgan VICE CHAIR • Dr Charles Wiffen BOARD OF TRUSTEES • Robert Derry-Evans • Peter Gunning • Tony Howell • Andrew Mortimer • Mike Ralli • Jennifer Skellett ARTISTIC DIRECTOR • Jason Thornton GENERAL MANAGER • Simone Homes ORCHESTRA MANAGER • Ben Vleminckx
BATH PHILHARMONIA FRIENDS • C E Adams • C Andrews • Martin Bell OBE • Diana Bourdon Smith • Shiena Bowen • Joanna Cain • Alasdair Campbell • Guy & Jules Channer • G A S Collett • Graham & Marilyn Cox • Rosemarie Cunningham • Kate Elston • Philip & Marie Ennis • P M Franklyn • Jeremy Furber • Tony Garrett & Nancy Wise • Peter Goodden • Caroline Gosling • David Greenwood • Philip Harris • Gerry & Marina Hoddinott • Peter Ives & Pat Oakley • Jean King • Judy Kinsman • Neville D Lintern • W J M Mathias • Andrew & Jinny Matters • Rosemary Munro • Sam Priestman • Roger Purcell • Mike & Fran Ralli • Teresa Robinson • Jill Rowe • S Sawyer • Mary Tasker • M H Tinsley • Christine Walker • Paul & Elizabeth Whitehouse • John & Marianne Webb • Robert & Molly Worlidge BATH PHILHARMONIA PATRONS • Peter & Liz Ash • Marianna Clark • Peter Clegg • Rupert Cooper & Hilary Shekleton • J L Crane • Michael & Anne Davis • Roger & Mandy Eggleton • Jane Glaser • Steve & Fiona Gourley • Peter Gunning • Roy & Maureen Hatch • Peter Holland • Anthony & Sue Howell • Joy Isaac • Gladys Macrae • Bel Mooney • Peter Morrison • Jadis Norman • Robert & Barbara Tan • Richard & Margaret Turner • Richard & Teresa Wharton • Nigel Whiskin • Capt Brian Woodford BATH PHILHARMONIA PRINCIPAL PARTNERS Robert & Rebecca Derry-Evans • Elaine Marson • Andrew & Katherine Mortimer • Graham & Bridget Wakefield
BATH PHILHARMONIA BENEFACTORS • Ian Hay & Morny Davidson • Rod & Karin Morgan • Margaret Roper • Jennifer Skellett BATH PHILHARMONIA LIFE PATRONS • Tony Doughty • Denis & Tor Gamberoni • Rear Admiral & Mrs Austin Lockyer • Jill Rowe • Joanna Wiesner MBE TRUSTS • The Roper Family Charitable Trust • The Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust • The Brewster Maude Charitable Trust • The Oldham Foundation
Bathwick St Mary’s Parish Church Darlington Street, Bathwick BA2 4EB Phone 01225 447450
Lunchtime Recital Saturday 17 October, 2015 @ 1 pm
The DeSa Piano Trio Royal Academy of Music, London
Kate Loder Piano Trio in D Minor Mendelssohn Piano Trio No 1 Kate Loder (1825-1904) grew up in the parish of Bathwick, taught harmony at the Royal Academy and corresponded with Clara Schumann Tickets ÂŁ10 available at the door in aid of the organ fund appeal The event is part of the Loder Celebration 2015 https://sites.google.com/site/lodercelebration2015/home