Brahms: A German Requiem Programme

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Brahms: A German Requiem

Sunday 11 November 2018 Royal Festival Hall 7pm

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Introduction

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

The American Declaration of Independence

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Thomas Jefferson’s immortal words were inspired by the brilliant energy of the Enlightenment in 18th century Europe. Even now they cast an optimistic beam over humanity and the challenges it faces.

Questions about the state and the individual beat in the hearts of many in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Their answers still define our lives and what freedoms, if any, we might enjoy.

Some of the music in this Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness season is overtly about the grand question of human freedom. Some works have a historical context, and we can pinpoint them as reactions to particular flashpoints, such as the failed revolutions in Germany in 1848. Many pieces relate the conflict between external forces and individual identity, and sing with a voice of undaunted independence.

All relate to a notion of intrinsic freedom set out

by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the decade before Jefferson and his committee sat down to draft the Declaration of Independence. “L'homme est né libre, et partout il est dans les fers,” he wrote in Du contrat social (1762): “Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains”.

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Contents Introduction 03 Soloists and concert information 06 Orchestra & choir 08 Programme notes Thomas Short and Richard Wigmore 10 Vaughan Williams' triple ensemble John Holmes 14

A German Requiem text 15 Support us 18 Biographies 20 Interview with Marin Alsop 22 OAE education 24 OAE team 29 Supporters 30 Future concerts 33

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Repertoire and soloists

Sunday 11 November 2018 Royal Festival Hall 7pm

Marin Alsop conductor

This concert will finish at approximately 8.45pm.

There will be no interval.

Elizabeth Watts soprano James Newby baritone Choir of the Age of Enlightenment

Pre-concert talk with Dr Martin Ennis, Cambridge University at 6pm Clore ballroom, Royal Festival Hall

Vaughan Williams - Fantasia on a Theme

by Thomas Tallis Brahms - A German Requiem

This concert is being recorded

by BBC Radio for broadcast on Monday 12 November at 7.30pm.

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Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Matthew Truscott violin leader

Also featured on front cover, left to right: Katharina Spreckelsen - co-principal oboe Amelia Shakespeare - flute, Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience scheme

Back cover: David Blackadder - principal trumpet Annette Isserlis - viola Henry Tong - violin

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Orchestra Violin 1 Margaret Faultless Jane Gordon Sophie Barber Alice Evans Henry Tong Florence Cooke Simon Kodurand Dominika Feher Stephanie Childress Laure Chan Debbie Diamond Alba Encinas*

Basses Cecelia Bruggemeyer Christine Sticher Matthew Gibson Pippa Macmillan Eva Euwe*

Violin 2 Rodolfo Richter Roy Mowatt Iona Davies Silvia Schweinberger Diana Lee Jayne Spencer Claudia Norz Veronique Matarasso Gabi Jones Aliza Vicente*

Oboes Daniel Bates Michael O’Donnell

Viola Max Mandel Simone Jandl Nicholas Logie Annette Isserlis Kate Heller Marina Ascherson Victoria Bernath* Emma van Schoonhoven*

Contrabassoon David Chatterton

Cello Richard Lester Catherine Rimer Penny Driver Bianca Riesner Daisy Vatalaro Camilla Morse-Glover*

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Flute Lisa Beznosiuk Katy Bircher Piccolo Neil McLaren

Clarinets Antony Pay Katherine Spencer Bassoons Meyrick Alexander Sally Jackson

Horn Roger Montgomery Martin Lawrence Finlay Bain Amanda Emery Trumpets David Blackadder Phillip Bainbridge Trombones Philip Dale Tom Lees Edward Hilton Tuba Martin Jarvis Timpani Scott Bywater Harps Alison Martin Patrizia Meier

*Participants in the Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience Scheme.

Help the next generation of gifted period instrument players.

To find out more visit oae.co.uk/support or contact: Marina Abel Smith Head of Individual Giving marina.abelsmith@oae.co.uk Telephone 020 7239 9380

Choir list Sopranos Miriam Allan Tara Bungard Rosemary Galton Angharad Gruffydd Jones Kirsty Hopkins Hannah King Helen Lacey Rebecca Outram Katie Trethewey Daisy Walford Emma Walshe Louise Wayman

Tenors Matthew Beale John Bowen Ross Buddie Tom Herford Nicholas Madden George Pooley James Robinson Edward Ross Daniel Thomson

Basses Richard Bannen James Birchall Robert Clark Michael Burke Jack Comerford Michael Craddock Stephen Kennedy Brian McAlea Richard Savage Philip Tebb

Altos Ian Aitkenhead Lucy Ballard David Clegg Lara Rebekah Harvey Ruth Kiang Amy Lyddon Eleanor Minney Martha McLorinan Kim Porter

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Programme Notes

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis The Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis is widely revered as a kind of musical time travel, opening a portal into a mystical English past – a Times critic reviewing its premiere observed that ‘it seems to lift one into some unknown region, where one is never quite sure whether one is listening to something very old or very new’.

This is no coincidence, since its creator was thoroughly immersed in his nation’s musical history. Early on in his career, Ralph Vaughan Williams was often to be found tramping through villages, collecting folk songs from labourers in pubs and meeting halls before they faded from memory. This led him to be given the formidable task of editing The English Hymnal, a wide-ranging attempt to collect the finest English Hymns. While researching, he stumbled across the haunting theme composed by Thomas Tallis for the Archbishop of Canterbury's Psalter of 1567. It’s easy to understand the appeal of Tallis’ music for Vaughan Williams, since he was also in tune with the folk song of his time. Although he was an ‘unreformed Roman Catholic’, he was employed by Elizabeth I’s clergy to assist with the restructuring of the Anglican Church, using melodies drawn from popular song to make church music more accessible to untrained worshippers.

The theme itself is immensely suggestive, being in the ‘eastern sounding’ Phrygian mode. Vaughan Williams’ genius is to elaborate on it to the fullest, breaking up each phrase into a gorgeously realised sub-theme, using a new palette of colours drawn from his studies under Ravel, and employing cutting-edge orchestration.

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An 18th century engraving of Thomas Tallis

As explored on p16, the Fantasia is written for a ‘double-string orchestra with string quartet’, comprised of a ‘general choir’, a second orchestra, and a quartet. The second orchestra is intended to be placed as far apart from the general choir as possible, acting as a sort of halo, with the potential for creating rich spatial effects.

Despite Vaughan Williams’ agnosticism, it’s this aspect of the work which some commentators have used to argue that the Fantasia has an essentially religious mood – the sweep of registers seems to evoke the lofty heights of Gloucester cathedral, where it was first performed. The fantasia style is derived from the madrigal form – we hear the announcement of each sub-theme, before they are developed in more or less independent sections. This gives the Fantasia a slightly vacillating quality, yet ultimately it means that when we finally reach it, the climax packs a mighty emotional punch.

Vaughan Williams begins with a series of lush, harmonically ambiguous 'magic chords', before hinting at the three major themes. This is followed by seven large sections during which these sub-themes are echoed, developed, and annotated by each band, much like the way in which melodies are shared between the different manuals of a church organ. When the original hymn is finally restated, it’s as though we are closing the book of a fairy tale. We have experienced a profound, visionary dream.

Such is the Fantasia’s popularity, and it’s associations for some with a certain nostalgic vision of rolling English countryside, that it sometimes receives a short shrift when compared with other 20th century repertoire. Yet Vaughan Williams’ remarkable feat is to summon forth the mysticism of ancient English folk-song and the music of common worship, preserving it, while elevating it to Wagnerian proportions. It’s not a safe, pastoral postcard, but a revelation.

Thomas Short

J ohannes Brahms (1833-1897) A German Requiem Brahms found in the Lutheran Bible a lifelong source of wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. But as a defiant agnostic he selected the texts for Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) for their personal rather than their specifically Christian associations. The conductor Carl Rheinthaler, who prepared the choir and orchestra for the premiere in 1868, was uncomfortable that the work contained no reference to Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and suggested that Brahms make amends in the sixth movement, after the passage 'O death, where is thy sting?' But, true to form, the composer remained unyielding.

He replied that he had chosen certain Biblical passages - from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha - and omitted others 'because I am a musician, because I needed them'. And while Christ's words are quoted in the first and fifth movements, there is not a single mention of his name throughout the work. Elsewhere the composer wrote of the Requiem that 'I could happily omit the "German" and simply say "human" '. And this is the key to the work's meaning.

Alone of the great 19th-century Requiems, Brahms' is essentially humanist, less a prayer for the dead than a personal meditation for the consolation of the living: on the evanescence of life, the need for patience and forbearance in times of sorrow, the rewards of hard work, and the assurance of joyous renewal.

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By this time the first and second movements were already completed, and the third partly sketched. In the summer of 1866 four movements had become six.

Performances were arranged in Vienna (of the first three movements only) and in Bremen, where Brahms conducted the first complete performance on Good Friday, April 10, 1868. Where the Viennese reception had been mixed (one commentator said the music was 'too Protestant-Bachish' for the city's taste), the Bremen premiere was a triumph, and paved the way for the Requiem's progress through Germany and beyond.

Brahms in 1866

The history of the German Requiem goes back as far as 1854, when the 21-year-old Brahms grappled with a Two-Piano Sonata that he planned to orchestrate as a symphony. As so often with this most unforgivingly self-critical of composers, the project was abandoned. But he later refashioned the first movement as the opening movement of the D minor Piano Concerto, while a decade later he returned to the sonata's 'slow scherzo' (as one of Brahms's friends described it) as the basis of the funeral-march second movement of the Requiem. Brahms's earliest reference to the work was in a letter to Clara Schumann of April 1865, when he enclosed the fourth movement, 'Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen', commenting with his usual ironic defensiveness, 'it is probably the weakest part of the said German Requiem'.

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A month or so after the Bremen performance Brahms finished an additional movement, for soprano solo and chorus, which became No. 5 in the final, published order. Despite the composer's claim that he conceived the Requiem with 'the whole of humanity in mind', Clara Schumann and other close friends were convinced he wrote it in memory of his mother, who had died in February 1865. And the maternal link is made explicit in this added fifth movement, the most intimate in the work.

Brahms designed the Requiem as a broad arch. At its centre are the lyrical, luminous fourth and fifth movements, with their unalloyed message of hope, joy and comfort. No. 4 celebrates the blissful tabernacles of the Lord in a mellifluous, transfigured waltz, made more 'ecclesiastical' by a vigorous fugato over the words 'Die loben dich immerdar' - 'they will still be praising thee'. Scored with exquisite delicacy and refinement, No. 5 tenderly alternates and enlaces solo soprano and chorus; after the mysterious remote modulations of the central section, the ideas of reunion and comfort are beautifully fused when the soloist sings the main theme against an augmented version of the melody in the chorus.

The most complex and dramatic movements are Nos. 2, 3 and 6, with their alternations of hope and anguish, and their searching musical response to the tragedy of mortality (Nos. 2 and 3), the Last Judgement and the triumph over death (No. 6). Each of these mighty structures moves from the minor to the major mode, from fear or awe to a mighty choral climax in fugal texture.

The triple-time funeral march that opens No. 2, and later erupts in a shattering fortissimo, is based on a Lutheran chorale that also appears, more obliquely, in the sixth movement.

No. 3 begins with the baritone's grave, imploring solo, somewhere between recitative and aria, and culminates in a tremendous fugal tour de force over a sustained pedal deep in the bass - a powerful musical symbol of God's steadfastness. No. 6 opens with restless shifting harmonies in response to the words 'For here we have no continuing city', then moves through a swift and thrilling evocation of the last trump ('Posaune' - 'trombone' - in German, duly illustrated by Brahms) to a turbulent, tonally unstable reworking of No. 2's funeral march. Then the tension is grounded by another, looser fugue, developing in majestic, striding sequences across the entire texture, and interspersed with episodes in Brahms' tenderest lyrical vein.

The Requiem's two pillars, each in F major, reiterate the work's central idea: the promise of a state of blessedness, for the mourners in No. 1, and for 'they that die in the Lord' in No. 7. Both these intensely reflective movements share common musical themes and close in almost identical fashion. But No. 7 is more serenely confident in tone than

No. 1, with broader, more sweeping phrases and brighter orchestral colouring (No. 1 omits violins altogether); and where the central section of No. 1 dips to the dusky third-related key of D flat (at 'Die mit Tranen (a umlaut) saen' (a umlaut) - 'They that sow in tears'), that in No. 7 (at 'Dass sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit' - 'that they may rest from their labours') moves in the opposite direction, to a gleaming A major. F major is restored via a glimpse of the D flat from the first movement. And the Requiem ends with sustained, pianissimo repetitions of the key word 'Selig' - 'Blessed' - to the ethereal sonority of high flutes and harps. Š Richard Wigmore

Clara Schumann

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Vaughan Williams' triple ensemble John Holmes

The conventional symphony orchestra you might see on stage at a concert is neatly divided into sections by instrument.

The leader (a violinist) is the person you see striding on stage to greet the orchestra before the conductor arrives. They are the co-pilot, acting as a conduit to help communicate the conductor’s intentions to the rest of the orchestra, particularly the string players. Then there is a principal providing direction to the players of each instrument type, and a separate principal for the second group of violins that usually sits on the opposite side of the stage to leader.

This arrangement had been evolving for several hundred years before Vaughan Williams ripped it up for Fantasia on a Theme

by Thomas Tallis. To perform this piece, Vaughan Williams asks for three separate string ensembles to play together in a manner which, if managed correctly, evokes the sound of a church organ.

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The first orchestra is relatively conventional, made up of 28 players for tonight’s concert.

A second, smaller orchestra of nine players is deliberately positioned apart from the first.

Then a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) sits at the front of stage.

The effect is to give a much more dynamic experience than on a recording, with sound emerging from different locations. The string quartet introduces melodies drawn from old English folksongs, and the smaller second orchestra provide ghostly echoes of the first.

It poses an unusual challenge for the conductor who, rather than relying on one leader, now has three different ensembles and three different leaders through which to communicate their message.

Below: our stage plan for Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis

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Brahms: A German Requiem

A German Requiem texts and translations I Selig sind, die da Leid tragen, denn sie sollen getröstet werden.

(Math. 5, 4.)

I Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.

(Matthew 5:4)

Die mit Tränen säen, werden mit Freuden ernten. Sie gehen hin und weinen und tragen edlen Samen, und kommen mit Freuden und bringen ihre Garben.

(Ps. 126, 5.6.)

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

(Psalm 126:5,6)

II Denn alles Fleisch ist wie Gras und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen wie des Grases Blumen. Das Gras ist verdorret und die Blume abgefallen.

(Petri 1, 24.)

II For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.

(1 Peter 1:24)

So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder, bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn. Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde und is geduldig darüber, bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und Abendregen.

(Jacobi 5, 7.)

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandmen waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

(James 5:7)

Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.

(Petri 1, 25.)

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.

(1 Peter 1:25)

Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wieder kommen, und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen; ewige Freude wird über ihrem Haupte sein; Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen.

(Jessias 35, 10.)

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isaiah 35:10)

III Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende mit mir haben muß, und mein Leben ein Ziel hat, und ich davon muß.

III Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am.

Siehe, meine Tage sind einer Hand breit vor dir, und mein Leben ist wie nichts vor dir.

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee....

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Ach, wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen, die doch so sicher leben. Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen, und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe; sie sammeln und wissen nicht wer es kriegen vird.

Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.

Nun Herr, wess soll ich mich trösten? Ich hoffe auf dich.

(Ps.39, 5.6.7.8.)

And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

(Psalm 39:4-7)

Der Gerechten Seelen sind in Gottes Hand und keine Qual rühret sie an.

(Weish.Sal.3, 1.)

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

(Wisdom of Solomon 3:1)

IV Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth! Meine seele verlanget und sehnet sich nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn; mein Leib und Seele freuen sich in dem lebendigen Gott. Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen, die loben dich immerdar.

(Ps.84, 2.3.5.)

IV How amiable are they tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee.

(Psalm 84:1,2,4)

V Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit; aber ich will euch wieder sehen und euer Herz soll sich freuen und eure Freude soll neimand von euch nehmen.

(Ev. Joh. 16, 22.)

V And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

(John 16:22)

Sehet mich an: Ich habe eine kleine Zeit Mühe und Arbeit gehabt und habe großen Trost funden.

(Sirach 51, 35.)

Ye see how for a little while I labor and toil, yet have I found much rest.

(Ecclesiasticus 51:27)

Ich will euch trösten, wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.

(Jes. 66, 13.)

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you....

(Isaiah 66:13)

VI Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt, sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.

(Ebr. 13, 14.)

VI For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

(Hebrews 13:14)

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Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis: Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen, wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden; Iund dasselbige plötzlich, in einem Augenblick, zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune. Denn es wird die Posaune schallen, und die Toten wervandelt werden.

Dann wird erfüllet werden das Wort, das geschrieben steht: Der Tod is verschlungen in den Sieg.

Tod, wo ist dein Stachel? Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?

(1. Korinther 15, 51-55.)

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ...then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is they sting? O grave, where is they victory?

(1 Corinthians 15:51,52,54,55)

Herr, du bist Würdig zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft, denn du hast alle Dinge geschaffen, und durch deinen Willen haben, sie das Wesen und sind geschaffen.

(Off. Joh. 4, 11.)

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

(Revelation 4:11)

VII Selig sind die Toten, die in dem Herrn sterben, von nun an. Ja, der Geist spricht, daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit; denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.

(Off. Joh. 14, 13.)

VII ...Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

(Revelation 14:13)

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Images opposite, left to right: Matthew Truscott – violin/co-leader Ursula Paludan Monberg – horn Henry Tong – violin

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Adriane White

Marin Alsop Marin is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a Music Director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives”. She is recognised across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages. Her outstanding success as Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) since 2007 has been recognised by two extensions in her tenure, now confirmed until 2021. Alsop became Principal Conductor and Music Director of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) in 2012. In September 2019, Alsop becomes Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Marin Alsop conducts the world’s major orchestras, with recent and forthcoming European highlights including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO). In September 2013, Marin Alsop made history as the first female conductor of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms, which she returned to conduct in 2015. Her extensive discography has led to multiple Gramophone awards and includes highly praised Naxos cycles of Brahms with the LPO and MDR Leipzig, Dvořák with the BSO, Prokofiev with OSESP, and further recordings for Decca Classics, Harmonia Mundi and Sony Classical.

Among her many awards and academic positions, Marin Alsop is the only conductor to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music and Royal Philharmonic Society, and was recently appointed Director of Graduate Conducting at the Johns Hopkins Peabody Institute. Marin was the first woman to be awarded the Koussevitzky Conducting Prize from the Tanglewood Music Center.

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Hugo Bernard

Biographies

Elizabeth Watts Elizabeth was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and studied archaeology at Sheffield University before studying singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She was awarded an Hon DMus by Sheffield in 2013 and became a Fellow of the RCM in 2017.

She is a prolific recording artist, and her recordings include critically acclaimed discs of Lieder by Schubert and Strauss; Bach Cantatas; Mozart arias with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; works

by Alessandro Scarlatti with the English Concert; Couperin Leçons de Ténèbres with La Nuova Musica; and CPE Bach Magnificat with the RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, which won the Gramophone Award for Best Baroque Vocal Recording. Plans this season and beyond include Britten Spring Symphony with the LSO and Sir Simon Rattle; Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle with the LPO and Gustavo Gimeno; Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony with the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Nicholas Carter; Fauré Requiem with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Christian Vasquez; Mozart arias with the Bremen Philharmonic and Christian Zacharias; and Ligeti Le Grand Macabre with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Alan Gilbert. Forthcoming Bach performances include St John Passion with RIAS Kammerchor Berlin. She will also make appearances with the Academy of Ancient Music and Bachakademie Stuttgart; and a return visit to Wigmore Hall. Recent concerts have included Bach St John Passion with NDR Hannover and Andrew Manze, and with the Oslo Philharmonic and Herbert Blomstedt; Ligeti Le Grand Macabre with the LSO and Rattle; MahlerSymphony no. 4 with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; and Mahler Symphony no. 2 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sakami Oramo for the 2017 BBC Proms. She won the 2007 Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and the Outstanding Young Artist Award at the Cannes MIDEM Classique Awards as well as the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Award. She is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.

Ben McKee

James Newby British baritone James Newby is the winner of the 2016 Kathleen Ferrier award. That same year he was the recipient of the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera Voice Fellowship, and in 2015 was awarded the Richard Tauber Prize (for best interpretation of a Schubert Lied) and overall Third Prize at the Wigmore Hall/Kohn International Song Competition.

In 2017 he was awarded the Trinity Gold Medal by the board of Trinity Laban Conservatoire. James is a BBC New Generation Artist from 2018-2020. In the 2016/17 season James sang the role of Mercurio in La Calisto with La Nuova Musica and David Bates, and made his BBC Proms debut in 2016 singing in Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music conducted by Sakari Oramo. James was a 2017 Jerwood Young Artist at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and appeared in La Traviata, Hamlet, La Clemenza di Tito and the role of the notary in Don Pasquale during the 2017 Festival, for which he won the prestigious John Christie Award.

Recent engagements with the Orchestra include Christus in the world premiere of Sally Beamish’s The Judas Passion; and various Bach Cantatas as part of the OAE’s Bach, the Universe and Everything series at Kings Place, London. In 18/19 he sings in Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem under Marin Alsop, and St Matthew Passion under John Butt. Most recently he sang the role of Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro for Nevill Holt Opera and a staged Bach St John Passion with the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, directed by Calixto Bieito. He will also make his operatic debut at Châtelet Théâtre Musical de Paris in a revival of Bieito’s St John Passion and at La Monnaie Brussels for Howard Moody’s PUSH. James will also perform at the Ryedale, Chiltern Arts and Three Choirs Festivals and return to the Wigmore Hall in recital. James is a recipient of the Musicians’ Company Saloman Seelig Award, and is generously supported by the Drake Calleja Trust. James has just been announced as part of the Evening Standard's Progress1000 list of the most influential Londoners in 2018. James was selected for the prestigious OAE Rising Stars of the Enlightenment programme for the 17-18 and 18-19 seasons.

Choir of the Age of Enlightenment The Choir of the Age of Enlightenment is a group of professional singers, many of whom are soloists in their own right. Originally the choir had appeared exclusively with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment – at British and European festivals, as well as regularly as part of their concert series at London’s Southbank Centre. However 2016 saw the choir performing their first unaccompanied concerts, without the OAE by their side. The Choir has taken part in many of the OAE’s recordings over the years, including Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Bach Cantatas with Gustav Leonhardt, and Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Sir Simon Rattle.

During recent seasons the Choir of the Age of Enlightenment has performed with the Orchestra in the UK and further afield, working on a wide range of repertoire with conductors such as Richard Egarr, Emmanuelle Haim, John Butt, Sir Roger Norrington and Sir Mark Elder. In 2013 the Choir performed Brahms' Requiem at the BBC Proms with Marin Alsop and the OAE. One review praised ‘the most homogenous sound I think I’ve ever heard from a choir….they rightly received the loudest ovation of the night’.

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Three decades ago, a group of London musicians took a good look at that curious institution we call the Orchestra, and decided to start again from scratch. They began by throwing out the rulebook.

Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting.

Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born.

Since then, the OAE has shocked, changed and mesmerised the music world. Residencies at Southbank Centre and Glyndebourne haven’t numbed its experimentalist bent. Record deals haven’t ironed out its quirks. Period-specific instruments have become just one element of its quest for authenticity.

Today the OAE is cherished more than ever. It still pushes for change, and still stands for excellence, diversity and exploration. More than thirty years on, there’s still no orchestra in the world quite like it.

Written by Andrew Mellor.

To support our Rising Stars scheme please contact Marina Abel Smith marina.abelsmith@oae.co.uk 020 7239 9380

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Brahms: A German Requiem

Interview with Marin Alsop

Adriane White

OAE: The theme of our 18/19 Season is Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

Brahms’ Requiem has been described as a requiem of ‘sympathetic humanism’ which, written in the vernacular, focuses on comfort rather than despair. How do you think this music and these themes are relevant for present audiences?

Marin: The significance of a Requiem on Armistice Day is a clear one, but particularly with Brahms’ intention for a ‘people’s requiem’, speaking directly to them in their own language, humanistic as you say and arguably much more relatable than earlier, more liturgical requiems. Although we are commemorating the big world wars of the last century, one only has to look around to see the extent to which not only remembrance but hope and optimism is desperately needed in so many parts of the world today.

OAE: This piece also fits firmly into our season theme as it is indeed a requiem that celebrates life, brings beauty and comfort, and inspires hope, rather than fear and threats. You’ve conducted a number of Romantic programmes with us recently including other works by Brahms, Schumann and Beethoven. What made you decide to pair Brahms' Requiem this time with Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis?

Marin: I wanted to pay tribute to British music, especially with a piece written just around the time of WWI, as we mark 100 years since its ending. The Vaughan Williams beautifully complements the Brahms in terms of sound world, and its combination of reflection and passion is perfect to set up the requiem. Vaughan Williams’s referencing of the simple 16th century psalm melody in a contemporary context – this approach of one foot in the past and one in the future – also effectively mirrors the spirit and aims of Brahms, both in Brahms’s writing but also his outlook for the Requiem.

OAE: Since the start of your conducting career we have seen conductors such Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Susanna Malkki, Anu Tali and Elim Chan take on positions at some of the world’s leading orchestras and your Taki Concordia conducting fellowship has helped launch the careers of many young women. Do you think we are starting to see real change in the representation of women on the podium or is the situation still as challenging as ever?

I am extremely heartened by my colleagues’ successes, but we must continue to be vigilant in our quest for equality.

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OAE Education

OAE TOTS at Saffron Hall

A programme to involve, empower and inspire Over the past twenty years OAE Education has grown in stature and reach to involve thousands of people nationwide in creative music projects.

Our participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and we pride ourselves in working flexibly, adapting to the needs of local people and the places they live.

The extensive partnerships we have built up over many years help us engage fully with all the communities where we work to ensure maximum and lasting impact. We take inspiration from the OAE's repertoire, instruments and players.

This makes for a vibrant, challenging and engaging programme where everyone is involved; players, animateurs, composers, participants, teachers, partners and stakeholders all have a valued voice.

Last season we undertook

265 workshops 54 concerts in 33 towns, cities and villages with over 20,165 people across the country.

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A still from our film made with local schools in Darlington.

2018-19: Musical Communities To sit alongside Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, in 2018-19 we will be creating a programme of events inspired by the communities we live and work in, exploring how we can work together to build relationships and how music can be a fantastic tool for creativity.

Our FLAGSHIP project for 2019-21 will begin with preparation for our first community opera Regeneration, which will tour to County Durham, Norfolk, London, Suffolk and Plymouth over the three years of the project. Our TOTS programme will be inspired by the work of great masters Bach, Handel and Mozart in a series of concerts titled The World Around Us. Our Schools programme will focus on 'variations' and how things change. Our Special Needs programme will see culminations of our newly created Fairy Queen project for SEN settings and a new project for all six special schools in Ealing.

Our Nurturing Talent programme will see our OAE Experience students involved in projects throughout the year, a new composition project at Huddersfield University, teacher training and a new course for young musicians to delve into the world of baroque and classical music. Finally, Our Opera programme will continue with works inspired by the great masters and a collaboration with Glyndebourne education on a new community opera by Howard Moody called Agreed.

Support our education programme

The work we do could not happen without the support of our generous donors.

If you would like to support our Education programme please contact: Marina Abel Smith Head of Individual Giving marina.abelsmith@oae.co.uk Telephone 020 7239 9380

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Lubbock Fine is proud to support the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment We are a full service, contemporary firm of chartered accountants based in the city of London, and we’d like to meet you.

Along with proudly supporting the arts, our professional team provides specialist accounting, audit and tax advice to a wide range of clients across the full commercial and personal spectrum.

Our many clients rely on us to act as a “trusted advisor” across both their commercial and personal matters.

Why not give us a call to arrange a free, initial meeting or chat?

Please contact partner Russell Rich russellrich@lubbockfine.co.uk or feel free to call him on 020 7490 7766.

Paternoster House, 65 St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AB

T 020 7490 7766

www.lubbockfine.co.uk

Member of Russell Bedford International

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Annette Isserlis viola

To advertise in our programmes, please contact Catherine Kinsler Development Manager catherine.kinsler@oae.co.uk Telephone 020 7239 9370

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OAE team

Chief Executive Crispin Woodhead

Finance Officer Fabio Lodato

Director of Finance and Governance Ivan Rockey

Digital Content Officer Zen Grisdale

Development Director Emily Stubbs Director of Marketing and Audience Development John Holmes Director of Press Katy Bell Projects Director Jo Perry General Manager Edward Shaw Orchestra Manager Philippa Brownsword

Marketing and Press Officer Thomas Short Box Office and Data Manager Carly Mills Head of Individual Giving Marina Abel Smith Development Officer Helena Wynn Development Manager Catherine Kinsler Trusts and Foundations Manager Andrew Mackenzie Development Coordinator Andrea Jung

Choir Manager David Clegg Projects Officer Ella Harriss Librarian Colin Kitching Education Director Cherry Forbes Education Officer Andrew Thomson

The OAE is a registered charity number 295329 and a registered company number 2040312 Registered office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG Telephone 020 7239 9370 info@oae.co.uk Design and art direction –LucienneRoberts+ Photography – Alex Grace

Board of Directors Sir Martin Smith [Chairman] Luise Buchberger Steven Devine Denys Firth Nigel Jones Max Mandel David Marks Rebecca Miller Roger Montgomery Imogen Overli Olivia Roberts Susannah Simons Katharina Spreckelsen Mark Williams Crispin Woodhead OAE Trust Sir Martin Smith [Chair] Edward Bonham Carter Paul Forman Julian Mash Imogen Overli Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Diane Segalen Leaders Kati Debretzeni Margaret Faultless Matthew Truscott Players’ Artistic Committee Luise Buchberger Steven Devine Max Mandel Roger Montgomery (Chair) Katharina Spreckelsen Principal Artists John Butt Sir Mark Elder Iván Fischer Vladimir Jurowski Sir Simon Rattle Sir András Schiff Emeritus Conductors William Christie Sir Roger Norrington

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Supporters

The OAE continues to grow and thrive through the generosity of our supporters.

We are very grateful to our sponsors and Patrons and hope you will consider joining them. We offer a close involvement in the life of the Orchestra with many opportunities to meet players, attend rehearsals and even accompany us on tour.

OAE Thirty Circle We are particularly grateful to the following members of the Thirty Circle who have so generously contributed to the re-financing of the Orchestra through the OAE Trust.

Thirty Circle Patrons Bob and Laura Cory Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE Thirty Circle Members Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones Selina and David Marks Julian and Camilla Mash Mark and Rosamund Williams Our Supporters Ann and Peter Law OAE Experience scheme Ann and Peter Law Principal Sponsor

Corporate Partners E.S.J.G. Limited Lubbock Fine Chartered Accountants Mark Allen Group Parabola Land Stephen Levinson at Keystone Law Swan Turton Corporate Associates Aston Lark Belgravia Gallery Kirker Holidays Zaeem Jamal Event Sponsors Ambriel Sparkling Wine Markson Pianos

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Season Patrons Julian and Annette Armstrong Adrian Frost Bruce Harris John Armitage Charitable Trust Nigel Jones and Françoise Valat-Jones Selina and David Marks Sir Martin Smith and Lady Smith OBE Mark and Rosamund Williams Project Patrons Julian and Camilla Mash Haakon and Imogen Overli Philip and Rosalyn Wilkinson Aria Patrons Denys and Vicki Firth Madeleine Hodgkin Stanley Lowy Gary and Nina Moss Rupert Sebag-Montefiore Caroline Steane Eric Tomsett Chair Patrons Mrs Nicola Armitage – Education Director Hugh and Michelle Arthur – Viola Victoria and Edward Bonham Carter – Principal Trumpet Anthony and Celia Edwards – Principal Oboe Sir Vernon and Lady Ellis – Co-Principal Viola James Flynn QC – Co-Principal Lute/Theorbo Paul Forman – Co-Principal Cello, Co-Principal Bassoon and Co-Principal Horn Jenny and Tim Morrison – Second Violin Andrew Nurnberg – Co-Principal Oboe Jonathan Parker Charitable Trust – Co-Principal Cello Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA – Co-Principal Bassoon

Olivia Roberts – Violin John and Rosemary Shannon – Principal Horn Roger and Pam Stubbs – Sub-Principal Clarinet Crispin Woodhead and Christine Rice – Principal Timpani Education Patrons John and Sue Edwards – Principal Education Patrons Mrs Nicola Armitage Patricia and Stephen Crew Rory and Louise Landman Andrew & Cindy Peck Professor Richard Portes CBE FBA Rising Stars Supporters Annette and Julian Armstrong Mrs Rosamund Bernays Denys and Vicki Firth Mr Bruce Harris Ms Madeleine Hodgkin Mrs Sarah Holford Nigel Jones and Francoise Valat-Jones Mr Peter Lofthouse Mr Mark Loveday Mr Andrew Nurnberg Old Possum's Practical Trust Imogen and Haakon Overli The Reed Foundation Associate Patrons Julia and Charles Abel Smith Nick Allan Noël and Caroline Annesley David and Marilyn Clark David Emmerson Ian S Ferguson and Dr Susan Tranter Jonathan and Tessa Gaisman Peter and Sally Hilliar Noel De Keyzer Madame M Lege-Germain Sir Timothy and Lady Lloyd Michael and Harriet Maunsell Roger Mears and Joanie Speers David Mildon in memory of Lesley Mildon John Nickson & Simon Rew

For more information on supporting the OAE please contact: Emily Stubbs Development Director emily.stubbs@oae.co.uk Telephone 020 7239 9381 Andrew and Cindy Peck Emily Stubbs and Stephen McCrum Shelley von Strunckel Ivor Samuels and Gerry Wakelin Rev’d John Wates OBE and Carol Wates Mr J Westwood Young Ambassador Patrons Rebecca Miller William Norris Young Patrons Joseph Cooke and Rowan Roberts David Gillbe Nina Hamilton Marianne and William Cartwright-Hignett Sam Hucklebridge Alex Madgwick Natalie Watson Gold Friends Michael Brecknell Mr and Mrs C Cochin de Billy Geoffrey Collens Chris Gould Silver Friends Dennis Baldry Mrs A Boettcher Haylee and Michael Bowsher Tony Burt Christopher Campbell Michael A Conlon Mr and Mrs Michael Cooper Dr Elizabeth Glyn Malcolm Herring Patricia Herrmann Rupert and Alice King Cynthia and Neil McClennan Stephen and Roberta Rosefield David and Ruth Samuels Susannah Simons Her Honour Suzanne Stewart

Bronze Friends Tony Baines Keith Barton Mr Graham Buckland Dan Burt Anthony and Jo Diamond Mrs SM Edge Mrs Mary Fysh Ray and Liz Harsant The Lady Heseltine Auriel Hill Stephen Larcombe Julian Markson Stephen & Penny Pickles Anthony and Carol Rentoul Alan Sainer Gillian Threlfall Mr and Mrs Tony Timms Mrs Joy Whitby David Wilson Trusts and foundations Angus Allnatt Charitable Foundation Apax Foundation Arts Council England Catalyst Fund Arts Council England Ashley Family Foundation Arts Council England Barbour Foundation Boltini Trust Boshier-Hinton Foundation Brian Mitchell Charitable Settlement Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust The Charles Peel Charitable Trust Chapman Charitable Trust Chivers Trust Cockayne – Grant for the Arts London Community Foundation John S Cohen Foundation Derek Hill Foundation D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dunard Fund Ernest Cook Trust Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Fenton Arts Trust Fidelio Charitable Trust Foyle Foundation GarfieldWeston Foundation Geoffrey Watling Charity The Garrick Club Charitable Trust The Golden Bottle Trust Goldsmiths’ Company Charity Idlewild Trust

Jack Lane Charitable Trust JMCMRJ Sorrell Foundation J Paul Getty Jnr General Charitable Trust John Lyon’s Charity Lord and Lady Lurgan Trust The Mark Williams Foundation Michael Marks Charitable Trust National Foundation for Youth Music Nicholas Berwin Charitable Trust Old Possum’s Practical Trust Orchestras Live Palazzetto Bru-Zane Paul Bassham Charitable Trust The Patrick Rowland Foundation PF Charitable Trust Pitt-Rivers Charitable Trust PRS Foundation Pye Charitable Settlement RK Charitable Trust RVW Trust Schroder Charity Trust Sir James Knott Trust Small Capital Grants Stanley Picker Trust Strategic Touring Fund The Loveday Charitable Trust The R&I Pilkington Charitable Trust The Shears Foundation The Sobell Foundation Valentine Charitable Trust Violet Mauray Charitable Trust The 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust

We are also very grateful to our anonymous supporters and OAE Friends for their ongoing generosity and enthusiasm.

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Fine selection of new and reconditioned upright, grand and digital pianos for sale Short term hire for all occasions Restoration, repairs, tuning, transport and maintenance

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Advice and valuation service

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Teaching and practice studios with recording facilities

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London Bechstein Centre

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Interest free credit

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Part exchange

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By tube: Regents Park, Great Portland St. or Warren St. By bus: Great Portland St. - 88, 453, C2. Euston Rd. - 18, 27, 30, 205 7-8 Chester Court, Albany Street, London, NW1 4BU

020 7935 8682

www.marksonpianos.com

Future concerts

Visit oae.co.uk for more details on all our upcoming concerts.

Bach, the Universe & Everything

The sounds of the 18th Century

Worlds Beyond

Pipedreams

Sunday 25 November 2018 Kings Place 11.30am

Monday 3 December 2018 Queen Elizabeth Hall 7pm

Marvel at our extraordinary universe and the beauty of classical music with our Sunday morning series for curious minds.

We rarely have more fun than when we are performing music from the 18th century and letting the unique sounds of our period instruments come to the fore.

We're joined by Professor Suzanne Aigrain, who looks for planets outside our solar system - known as exoplanets. She tells us how we go about detecting the ones that might harbour life. We perform a Bach cantata structured unlike any other. It's a deep mediation on facing death, with standout moments for oboe, tenor and bass.

Charlote Beament - soprano Nick Pritchard - tenor James Newby - bass Steven Devine - director Choir of the Age of Enlightenment With Professor Suzanne Aigrain, Professor of Astrophysics, Oxford University

To book, visit kingsplace.co.uk/btuae

You can enjoy those sounds with this brilliant Baroque programme, which is a pick’n’mix of Handel’s innovative organ music, Handel overtures and charming Telemann concertos.

Enjoy the sounds of the 18th century on the instruments of the time, performed by the musicians that play them best.

John Butt director/organ

To book, visit southbankcentre.co.uk/oae 033

KIRKER MUSIC FESTIVALS F O R

D I S C E R N I N G

T R A V E L L E R S

Kirker Holidays offers an extensive range of independent and escorted music holidays.

These include tours to leading festivals in Europe such as the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago and the Verdi Festival in Parma, as well as Glyndebourne, Buxton and opera weekends in Vienna, Milan and Venice.

We also host our own exclusive music festivals on land and at featuring internationally acclaimed musicians. For those who prefer to travel independently we arrange short breaks with opera, ballet or concert tickets, to all the great classical cities in Europe.

THE KIRKER MUSIC FESTIVAL IN TENERIFE A SEVEN NIGHT HOLIDAY | 12 JANUARY 2019 For our fourth exclusive music festival on the island of Tenerife, we will present a series of six concerts featuring the Gould Piano Trio, pianist Benjamin Frith, soprano Ilona Domnich and violist Simon Rowland-Jones.

Staying at the 5* Hotel Botanico, surrounded by lush tropical gardens, we shall also enjoy a programme of fascinating excursions. Highlights include the Sitio Litro Orchid Garden, a cable car journey to the peak of Mount Teide and a visit to the primeval cloud forest of the Anaga Mountains. We will also visit historic and picturesque villages along the spectacular north coast, including Garachico with its 17th century convent.

Price from £2,698 per person (single supp. £375) for seven nights including flights, transfers, accommodation with breakfast, six dinners, six private concerts, all sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

THE KIRKER MUSIC FESTIVAL IN MALLORCA A SIX NIGHT HOLIDAY | 29 MAY 2019 The works of Frédéric Chopin are central to our Festival in Mallorca and for our seventh visit we will be joined by the Phoenix Piano Trio, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, soprano and Lorena Paz Nieto, mezzo-soprano.

Based in the village of Banyalbufar, we will discover the gloriously unspoilt north coast of Mallorca. There will be visits to the picturesque artists’ village of Deia, the capital Palma and the villa of San Marroig. Our series of private concerts includes a recital in the monastery at Valldemossa where Chopin spent three months with his lover the aristocratic Baroness Dudevant, better known as the writer George Sand.

Price from £2,290 per person (single supp. £189) for six nights including flights, accommodation with breakfast, two lunches, six dinners, five concerts, all sightseeing and gratuities and the services of the Kirker Tour Leader.

Speak to an expert or request a brochure:

020 7593 2284 quote code GOG www.kirkerholidays.com

Perfectly tuned insurance

Because helping even the youngest musician strikes a chord with us Our Music policy has been carefully designed to allow you to enjoy playing your instrument with complete peace of mind, whatever your age. Lark Music is focused on protecting your possessions and supporting the musical arts.

www.larkmusic.com Lark Music is a trading name of Aston Lark Limited Registered in England and Wales No: 02831010.

Registered office: Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, London, EC3N 1DY Aston Lark Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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