Baroque Festival

5 – 7 October 2018

The European Union is Presenting Partner for the concert on 6 October 2018

VICTO RIA

CONCERT HALL HOME OF THE SSO

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5 Oct 2018

BACH THE KAPELLMEISTER Eudenice Palaruan, conductor* Stefan Kießling, organ Wang Zihao, cello* Singapore Symphony Chorus*

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BWV 651 5’ Organ Sonata No. 3 in D minor, BWV 527 12’ 1. Andante 2. Adagio e dolce 3. Vivace

Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 12’

Organ Concerto in C major, BWV 594 17’ 1. Allegro 2. Recitativo 3. Allegro

Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230* 7’

This concert (5 October 2018) is supported by the Singapore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

6 Oct 2018 Celebrating EU-ASEAN Friendship in Singapore

MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS This concert is also dedicated to the late Dr. Goh Keng Swee, founding patron of the SSO, to mark his 100th birthday.

Guest-of-Honour: Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Social and Family Development Sofi Jeannin, conductor Stefan Kießling, organ/continuo organ Singapore Symphony Orchestra Singapore Symphony Chorus* Eudenice Palaruan, choral director

HENRY PURCELL

Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary* 20’

Chacony in G minor, Z.730 4’30

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Coronation Anthem: Zadok the Priest* 5’30 Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major, “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” 13’ 1. Larghetto 2. Allegro 3. Larghetto 4. Allegro

Presenting Partner

European Union

Coronation Anthem: My Heart is Inditing* 12’

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Me s s ag e f r om T he Minis t e r f or f or e ig n a f fa ir s Of Sing a p or e

I wish to extend my thanks to the European Union Delegation to Singapore and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for putting together this concert. Music is a universal language that can be shared across cultures – I believe this concert is a fitting way to celebrate Europe and Asia’s rich cultural heritages, and an excellent way to honour the Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s founding patron and our former Deputy Prime Minister, the late Dr Goh Keng Swee.

The Baroque was a rich and diverse period of musical experimentation and innovation in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. It marked the start of new forms of music, for example the invention of the piano and the beginnings of the opera in Europe. This same time period also saw remarkable developments in technology that greatly expanded Europe’s horizons – for instance, Galileo’s work introduced us to the cosmos, great European thinkers tackled the big questions of existence, and the development of trade and investment links started to connect Europe to the rest of the world.

While the Baroque period may have been centuries ago, the same tenets of innovation and connectivity that were hallmarks then still remain with us now. Singapore, as the Chair of ASEAN this year, selected “resilience” and “innovation” as our overarching themes. Through these themes, we hope to shape ASEAN into a cohesive organisation that can weather geopolitical changes, while seizing the opportunities afforded by technology and the digital revolution. As Singapore also enters the start of our three-year coordinatorship of ASEAN-EU dialogue relations, we hope to work with the EU in areas that exemplify the spirit of innovation and connectivity that has held strong till today.

I trust that you will enjoy the concert, and wish you a pleasant evening ahead. Thank you.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore

F or e wor d f r om t he E U A MB ASSADOR TO SINGAPORE

The Baroque, flourishing in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries and remarkable in its richness and diversity, served as a bridge in Europe’s cultural history. The period was distinctive for its illustrious architects and composers, pioneers of their time. They carried forth the innovation and novelty of the Renaissance, paving the way for the transition to the Classical era. Their spirit will be evoked in tonight’s concert of Baroque masterpieces.

It is fitting that by bringing together performers from both Europe and South-East Asia in this concert, we honour a pioneer, Singapore Symphony Orchestra’s founding patron and former deputy Prime Minister, the late Dr Goh Keng Swee. On the 100th anniversary of his birth, we celebrate not just SSO’s remarkable story but also its spirit of inclusivity and diversity in music.

The spirit of building bridges finds expression in the ensemble this evening, led by Swedish-French conductor Sofi Jeannin and performers from Austria, France, Germany, Poland and various parts of South-East Asia, most notably Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. We celebrate tonight the friendship and close ties between the people of the European Union and ASEAN, marking Singapore’s chairmanship of ASEAN as well as the beginning of a three-year period in which Singapore will be ASEAN’s coordinator of the ASEAN-EU dialogue partnership.

We are also delighted to take part in the SSO’s Baroque Festival in the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, celebrating the universality of the arts through the appealing language of music.

I deeply appreciate the support extended to us by the SSO in making this evening possible and I look forward to more ways of promoting our shared heritage in the years ahead.

Barbara Plinkert Ambassador of the European Union to Singapore

European Union

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7 Oct 2018

ROYAL FIREWORKS Sofi Jeannin, conductor Stefanie Quintin, soprano* Singapore Symphony Orchestra

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Music for the Royal Fireworks 8’ 1. Overture

Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon 4’

“Un pensiero voli in ciel” from Il Delirio Amoroso* 5’30

Music for the Royal Fireworks 7’30 2. Bourrée 3. La Paix: Largo alla siciliana 4. La Réjoussance: Allegro

“Ombra mai fu” from Serse* 4’

HENRY PURCELL

Chaconne from The Fairy Queen, Z.629 3’

Dido and Aeneas, Z.626* 7’ Overture Thy hand Belinda When I am laid in earth

Symphony from The Indian Queen, Act II, Z.630 4’

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion” from Messiah* 4’30 Music for the Royal Fireworks 3’ 5. Menuets I and II

S of i Je a nnin

conductor

Renowned for her beautifully clear and succinct technique, and with a formidable repertoire knowledge and understanding across all genres, Swedish-born Sofi Jeannin has established herself as one of the finest and most respected choral specialists around today.

Currently Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers, and Music Director of la Maîtrise de Radio France, Jeannin was previously Music Director of the Choeur de Radio France, a post she took up in 2015.

In September 2018, Sofi Jeannin formally began her tenure with the BBC Singers as their new Chief Conductor, embarking on a series of innovative and exciting choral projects that sees the chorus working with a variety of different collaborative partners on a diverse assortment of repertoire.

Alongside her work with the BBC Singers, Jeannin has a busy and fulfilling guest career, with future engagement highlights including appearances with the Swedish Radio Chorus, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Chamber Choir Ireland, NFM Choir, Wroclaw, and Coro Casa da Musica, Porto.

St e fa n K ie ßl ing

organ

Stefan Kießling is a world-wide active concert organist, having been invited to more than 20 countries across the European, American, Asian and Australian continents within just a few years of his career. He serves as Assistant Organist at the St. Thomas Leipzig, world-renowned for its tradition of Bach’s music.

Kießling regularly plays for services, performs solo recitals and has performed with the Thomas Boys’ Choir, the Gewandhaus Orchestra and many others. He worked at the Braunschweig Cathedral and the Klosterkirche Cottbus, where he held the position of Artistic Director for an international concert series. He has also taught at the Conservatory Cottbus and has made several recordings for broadcast and TV. Kießling is regularly invited to give masterclasses, a platform which allows him to share his own experiences with young organists.

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Eu de nic e Pa l a r u a n

choral director

Eudenice Palaruan studied composition and choral conducting at the University of the Philippines College of Music, having trained under Joel Navarro. In Germany, he studied under Martin Behrmann at the Berliner Kirchenmusikschule.

He was Assistant Choir Master and resident composer/arranger of the Philippine Madrigal Singers under Andrea Veneracion and the Principal Conductor of the San Miguel Master Chorale. For the past seven years, he was the Resident Conductor of the International Bamboo Organ Festival – where he directed many of the Philippines’ leading choirs in the performance of early European choral music and the revival of Latin American Baroque choral music. As a composer and arranger, Palaruan introduced choral works that exhibit the traditional Filipino vocal sound. Many Asian and European choirs perform his works in international festivals and competitions. He is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Church Music in Singapore Bible College.

St e fa nie Q uin t in

soprano

Quintin’s repertoire ranges from Renaissance Music to premiere performances of Contemporary Music. She attended masterclasses at the Vielklang Akademie für Alte Musik, and studied early music performance with renowned early music specialists: lutenist Lee Santana and soprano Sybilla Rubens. She has collaborated with classical guitarist Carsten Linck for the performance of Renaissance music, and held concerts in Europe.

As a soloist, she has performed in various international festivals such as the Asia-Europe New Music Festival (Vietnam), La Biennale di Venezia (Italy), soundSCAPE Festival (Italy), C-ASEAN International Music Festival (China), International Arts Festival (Taiwan), and the International Bamboo Organ Festival (Philippines). In 2007, she received the Delphic Lyra Award at the 3rd International Junior Delphic Games. She was also a recipient of the PGMA Presidential Award for Culture and the Arts. Quintin graduated with a Degree in Voice Pedagogy and Vocal Performance from the University of the Philippines College of Music.

S ing a p or e S y mp hon y Or c he s t r a Founded in 1979, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is Singapore’s flagship orchestra, led by Music Director Lan Shui. We play a hundred concerts a year showcasing a wide range of music: from Baroque to modern, to cutting-edge world premieres by contemporary composers Singaporean and international.

The SSO has performed to acclaim in Europe, Asia and the USA, including at the Dresden Music Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie and the BBC Proms in London. Some of the great artistes we have collaborated with include renowned conductors Vladimir Ashkenazy and Lorin Maazel, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Martha Argerich, soprano Diana Damrau, and violinists Janine Jansen and Gil Shaham.

The SSO’s performing home is the 1,800-seat Esplanade Concert Hall. For a more intimate experience, we return to the place of our beginnings, the 673-seat Victoria Concert Hall – the home of the SSO. The VCH is host to our popular Children’s, Family and Christmas concerts, the SSO Chamber Series and our biannual free Lunchtime Concerts. In addition, we travel to various outreach locations in Singapore for our community and outdoor performances. Through the beauty of classical music, we aim to touch the hearts and lives of everyone, regardless of age, culture or background.

S ing a p or e S y mp hon y C hor u s The Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) made its debut in 1980, under Choo Hoey, then Music Director of the SSO. In 1981, Singaporean conductor Lim Yau was appointed its Choral Director. Under his tutelage, the chorus amassed a wide repertoire, performing such works as Macmillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, Arvo Pärt’s Te Deum, Britten’s War Requiem, and Bach’s St John Passion.

The chorus is recognised as one of the finest in the region and one of the few symphony choruses in Southeast Asia. It has performed with such renowned conductors as Peter Erdei, Eric Ericsson, John Nelson, Claus Peter Flor, Okko Kamu and Masaaki Suzuki.

Today, presiding Choral Director Eudenice Palaruan leads the choristers, who come from a myriad of nationalities and backgrounds. In 2017, the chorus went on its first tour with the SSO, performing at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas in Kuala Lumpur.

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SSO Mu sic i a n s MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS

FIRST VIOLIN Kong Zhao Hui* Duan Yu Ling Jin Li Cindy Lee William Tan Xu Jue Yi*

OBOE Hu Qiuzi^ Elaine Yeo

SECOND VIOLIN Hai-Won Kwok Nikolai Koval* Margit Saur Shao Tao Tao Yin Shu Zhan* Zhang Si Jing*

TRUMPET Jon Paul Dante Lau Wen Rong Sergey Tyuteykin

VIOLA Gu Bing Jie* Shui Bing Tan Wee-Hsin Wang Dandan Yang Shi Li CELLO Yu Jing Guo Hao Song Woon Teng Wu Dai Dai DOUBLE BASS Yang Zheng Yi Jacek Mirucki Wang Xu

BASSOON Liu Chang Christoph Wichert

TROMBONE Damian Patti Wang Wei TIMPANI Jonathan Fox

SSO Mu sic i a n s R O YA L F I R E W O R K S

FIRST VIOLIN Chan Yoong-Han Cao Can* Chen Da Wei Foo Say Ming Karen Tan Wei Zhe SECOND VIOLIN Michael Loh Lee Shi Mei^ Chikako Sasaki* Wu Man Yun* Ye Lin* Yeo Teow Meng VIOLA Guan Qi Marietta Ku Luo Biao Julia Park Janice Tsai CELLO Chan Wei Shing Wang Yan Wang Zihao* Zhao Yu Er

OBOE Rachel Walker Carolyn Hollier Hu Qiuzi^ BASSOON Wang Xiaoke Christoph Wichert CONTRABASSOON Zhao Ying Xue HORN Han Chang Chou Gao Jian Marc-Antoine Robillard TRUMPET David Smith Lau Wen Rong Sergey Tyuteykin TIMPANI Christian Schiøler HARPSICHORD Shane Thio^

DOUBLE BASS Guennadi Mouzyka Karen Yeo Olga Alexandrova

* With deep appreciation to the Rin Collection for their generous loan of string instruments ^ Musician on temporary contract

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C omb ine d C hor u s Soprano Au Zexian Karen Aw Iris Boehmer Chin Li Han Alexis Chen Mairi Fernandez-ares Grace Goh Karin Hesse Shiho Higuchi Deborah Lee Eleesha Lewis Ng Beng Choo Sara Norton Avoni Odyuo Sarah-Tabea Sammel* Sarah Santhana Patricia Teng Natsuko Tohyama* Sachiko Tomimori Agnieszka Veriga* Anne Wightman*

* Performing only on 6 October 2018

Alto Päivi Aalto Chan Mei Yoke Friederike Herrmann Truly Hutapea Susan Kurniawati Evelyn Lee Wendy Lim Lin Wei Sharon Low Eunice Ng-Chee Natividad Solaguren Ena Su Elsie Tan Helena Whalen-Bridge Karen Yau Tenor Jean-Michel Bardin Calvin Chin Chng Chin Han Edwin Cruz Norman Lee Ronald Ooi Ryan Padgett Yann Perron Qi Jian Alan Smith Ian Tan

Bass Ang Jian Zhong Marcus Chan William Chua Arthur Davis Gerald Goh Joseph Kennedy Khor Gui Wei Paul Kitamura David Neal Kevin Neeson Jared Robertson James Shin-Gay Raymond Wu

The Modern Man — “Carrying the harpsichord into the next generation.”

- Bachtrack

28 Nov 2018

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7.30pm

Victoria Concert Hall

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BACH THE KAPELLMEISTER | 5 Oct

Joh a nn S e b a s t i a n B ac h (16 8 5 –175 0) Bach is perhaps best known as a composer for the keyboard, as his works for harpsichord have been borrowed to become part of the core repertory for pianists at every level from beginner to performer, but it is often forgotten that Bach’s day job was cantor and kappellmeister (master of the chapel, or choirmaster) at the St Thomas Church in Leipzig. In other words, he was a choirmaster for the boys’ choir, directing their musical education, on top of writing new music for services, preparing and rehearsing music, and conducting the music during the daily cycle of sung services. In church, his instrument would have been the organ.

One of Bach’s standard compositional techniques was to take a hymn melody and improvise around it. His Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BWV 651 is an example of this, based on Martin Luther’s hymn ‘Come, Holy Ghost, Lord God’ for Pentecost, with the hymn played in slow notes on the pedals with fast rushing winds of the Holy Ghost depicted in the faster music on the manuals.

The Organ Sonata No. 3 in D minor, BWV 527 starts with a melancholy fugal movement that leads into an easy and sweet majorkey middle movement with long-breathed phrases. The real surprise is the fugal finale, with plenty of scope for virtuoso playing.

His “Great” Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 is an example of Bach’s

monumental and flashy style, showing off the pedals, and may have been played by Bach himself to Buxtehude’s contemporary Reincken, when Bach was auditioning for an organist post in Hamburg in 1720 – the choice of a Dutch folktune (“Ik ben gegret van…”) perhaps being a motif being a reference to Reincken Netherlandish origins.

BWV 542 is often considered among Bach’s best pedal pieces. The Fantasia is marked by mighty chords and rhetorical flourishes, while the Fugue is expressive and thoughtful, yet the contrast between the two is executed with masterful ease.

The Organ Concerto in C major, BWV 594, is largely a transcription of Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in D, RV 208 “Grosso Mogul” (“The Great Moghul”). In the extended first movement, solo textures dominate. The second movement, an Adagio, is described by Danish commentator Peter Ryom as unique among Vivaldi’s concerti, perhaps based on a vocal original. The final movement has been rewritten by Bach with a clear intention to enhance the contrasts of texture in the original.

As cantor and kappellmeister, Bach was in charge of training, rehearsing, and presenting music for the services. Choral music was central to Bach’s work, and in the Christian tradition the voice is the instrument par excellence for praising God. Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230, a setting of the short Psalm 117 (Praise the Lord), could have been sung at any service on any major church holy day, saving rehearsal and composing time for stressed composers, choirmasters, and choirs – a useful recycling act still used

BACH THE KAPELLMEISTER | 5 Oct

today. Vigorous, compact yet expansive, the series of contrapuntal points leads into a contrasting triple-time Alleluia.

Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden; preiset ihn, alle Völker!

Denn seine Gnade und Wahrheit waltet über uns in Ewigkeit. Halleluja!

O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.

For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.

Alleluia.

Programme notes by Edward C. Yong

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MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS | 6 Oct While musicians, both composers and performers alike, are artists, it is often forgotten that they are also professionals who need to be paid – ‘exposure’ does not pay the bills.

Artistic inspiration is a fickle and unpredictable thing, so payment has always been a far more powerful motivating factor for composers.

Composers of the past (and present) accepted random commissions as useful income, but most composers needed a patron, and what better patron than a monarch?

HENRY P URCELL (16 59 –16 95) Henry Purcell was the most famous English composer of his time, and sang as a child in the Chapel Royal, the private chapel choir of the King of England. Thus, his formative years were spent in the context of royal music-making, where he would not only have sung works by many composers, he would have played and heard works by the best composers of the time from all over Europe. As an adult, he became organist of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal.

Purcell’s style, while largely French, also incorporates some Italian features, making for a uniquely English product. His output includes several operas, vocal works (including drinking and bawdy songs), a vast quantity of sacred music, music for 42 plays, as well as works for instruments.

Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary 20’ His Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary was written for the March 1695 funeral of Queen Mary II, and sets a text taken from the Book of Common Prayer, the standard service book of the Church of England. Scored for SATB chorus, four trumpets and basso continuo, it employs chromaticism to a degree that was unusual in English music of the time, and shows Purcell at his simplest and most moving, almost note-against-note without contrapuntal elaboration, unfolding with dignity and pathos.

1. Man that is born of a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery.

He cometh up, and is cut down like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and ne'er continueth in one stay.

2. In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased?

Yet, O Lord, O Lord most mighty, O holy and most merciful Saviour, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal death.

3. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not thy merciful ears unto our pray'rs; but spare us, Lord most holy, O God most mighty.

MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS | 6 Oct

O holy and most merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, for any pains of death, to fall from thee.

Amen.

Chacony in G minor, Z.730 4’30 A chacony, or chaconne (to use the more familiar French term), is a dance or set of variations based on a harmonic progression.

Originally the xacona, a suggestive and fast dance of the African slaves in Latin America, it became tamer and slower as it reached Europe, becoming the Italian ciacona, considered vulgar and inappropriate by the older generation and hence all the more desirable to the younger crowd – much like the Tango. Eventually it reached France and became the respectable chaconne, a lyrical slow dance which was a favourite of high society and court, the standard danced ending to every French baroque opera. Purcell was a master of this variation technique, adding harmonic interest by subtly altering the subsequent repetitions of the ground bass tune, modulating to different keys.

Set for three violins above a groundbass, it is instructive to compare his Chacony in G minor, Z.730, with Pachelbel’s Canon in D, also composed for the same instrumentation and a similar ground bass.

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MUSIC FOR KINGS AND QUEENS | 6 Oct

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (16 8 5 –1759)

Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major, “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” 13’

Handel is perhaps the epitomé of the Baroque as a pan-European phenomenon – a composer of German origin (born Georg Friedrich Händel), writing Italian music in the British capital. One of the last acts of King George I before his death in 1727 was to sign an act naturalising Handel (among others) as a British citizen, and Handel’s first commission was to compose music for the coronation of King George II and Queen Caroline on 11 October 1727. Zadok the Priest and My Heart is Inditing come from this set of majestic Coronation Anthems, and the former has been sung at the coronation of every British monarch since 1727.

The Organ Concerto No. 13 in F major, “The Cuckoo and the Nightingale” was first performed in 1739 between the first and second acts of his oratorio Israel in Egypt. It begins with the gentle warblings of a graceful Larghetto, followed by the tuneful second movement, an Allegro that incorporates a series of descending thirds – the cuckoo motif, as well as a warbling motif to represent the nightingale. As Handel played the organ solos in the concerti, he marked the middle movement ‘ad libitum organo’ for himself to improvise. The third movement is a gentle and rocking slow movement, followed by a vigorous and cheerful Allegro finale.

Coronation Anthem: Zadok the Priest, HWV 258 5’30 Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King.

And all the people rejoiced, and said: God save the King! Long live the King!

May the King live for ever, Amen, Alleluia.

Coronation Anthem: My heart is Inditing 12’ My heart is inditing of a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made unto the King.

Kings daughters were among thy honourable women Upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in vesture of gold and the King shall have pleasure in thy beauty.

Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and queens thy nursing mothers.

Programme notes by Edward C. Yong

Royal Fireworks | 7 Oct

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (16 8 5 –1759) Perhaps Handel’s best-known instrumental works are his Water Music and his Music for the Royal Fireworks. The latter was written for an evening fireworks display in April 1749 to celebrate the October 1748 Treaty of Aix-laChapelle, which brought an end to the War of the Austrian Succession. It was a war which England had entered with some reluctance and from which she gained very little, but she had acquitted herself fairly honourably.

Fireworks experts from Italy were engaged for the occasion, and a crowd of some 12,000 attended, but the fireworks turned out a disappointment, and the musicians’ pavilion caught fire during the display and being all wood, burned to the ground, a woman’s clothes were set alight by a stray rocket, other fireworks burned two soldiers and blinded a third.

Originally written for a large wind band of 24 oboes, 12 bassoons, nine natural trumpets, nine natural horns, three pairs of kettledrums, and side drums, the music would have made a loud and festive outdoor evening. Our version this evening is Handel’s rescoring for full orchestra.

Handel was a great writer for the stage, both for opera (where his heart lay) and the oratorio (which overtook opera in popularity in London).

His very famous Arrival of the Queen of Sheba is a sinfonia for two oboes and strings, opening the third Act of Handel’s oratorio Solomon (1748) and heralds the arrival of King Solomon’s eagerly awaited guest.

Three arias for soprano display Handel’s genius. Un pensiero voli in ciel from his Italian

cantata Il Delirio Amoroso was written when Handel spent four years in Italy a young man, and in addition to the showy vocal runs, it has an extensive part for solo violin, one of the most elaborate that Handel ever wrote, possibly for the violinist and composer Arcangelo Corelli to play.

Un pensiero voli in ciel, se in cielo è quella alma bella che la pace m'involo.

Se in sverno è condannato, per avermi disprezzato, io dal regno delle pene il mio bene rapirò.

Let a thought soar into the sky, if in Heaven is that fair soul which robbed me of my peace.

But if he is condemned to Hell because he scorned me, I from the realm of punishment my beloved shall rescue.

Ombra mai fu, sung by the Persian king Xerxes I, opens Handel’s 1738 opera Serse, and despite the opera being a commercial flop, this aria has become one of Handel’s best-known pieces.

Ombra mai fu di vegetabile, cara ed amabile, soave più.

Never was a shade of any plant dearer and more lovely, or more sweet.

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Royal Fireworks | 7 Oct

Returning to oratorio, Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion is one of the most beloved soprano arias from Messiah, undoubtedly Handel’s best known oratorio.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, thy King cometh unto thee!

He is the righteous Saviour, and He shall speak peace unto the heathen.

HENRY P URCELL (16 59 –16 95) The best-known English composer of opera before Handel, Henry Purcell, was no less talented than Handel, and left a large body of music for the stage, despite dying at the age of 35. Purcell’s semi-opera The Fairy Queen is a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and this lilting Chaconne occurs in Act Five, and bears the subtitle Dance for Chinese Man and Woman.

His 1739 chamber opera Dido and Aeneas was written for and produced by a boarding school for young gentlewomen in London. It may surprise us today – but being accomplished in singing and dancing were considered essential for young educated ladies in Purcell’s day, and Mr Josias Priest’s Boarding-School at Chelsey was an establishment where the girls were trained to the highest levels.

Dido’s recitative “Thy hand, Belinda” and the following aria “When I am laid in earth” are often referred to as Dido’s Lament – it may be one of the finest moments in all opera.

Deserted by her Trojan lover Aeneas (who has gone on to found Rome), Dido, the Queen of Carthage, sings her final lament, knowing that she must die without him. The aria is built on a five-bar chaconne ground bass, making for a continuous sigh.

Recitative Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me, On thy bosom let me rest, More I would, but Death invades me; Death is now a welcome guest.

Aria When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in thy breast; Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate.

Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.

Purcell’s The Indian Queen is a largely unfinished semi-opera based on Dryden’s play of the same name, set in Central America, during a conflict between the kings of Peru and Mexico, some years before the Spanish Conquest. The Symphony preceding Act Two is a one-movement piece that later would be called ‘entracte’ or ‘overture’, as the word ‘symphony’ (along with ‘concerto’ and ‘sonata’) in this period simply meant an instrumental piece, with none of the connotations of the multiple-movement ‘symphony’ later. The Symphony sets the scene for a victory parade - the Mexicans are victorious, with the Inca King of Peru and his daughter captured by Montezuma.

Programme notes by Edward C. Yong

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M ANAGE MEN T CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Mr Chng Hak-Peng

CEO OFFICE

PROGRAMMES (SSO)

CORPORATE SERVICES

Ms Shirin Foo Mr Lim Yeow Siang Mr Edward Loh Mr Chris Yong

Ms Kua Li Leng (Head) Ms Teo Chew Yen

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HUMAN RESOURCES & ADMINISTRATION Mr Desmen Low Ms Melissa Lee Ms Evelyn Siew

Ms Peggy Kek (Head)

SINGAPORE NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA

Corporate Communications Ms Leong Wenshan Mr Chris Yong

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Development Mr Anthony Chng Ms Chelsea Zhao Ms Nikki Chuang MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS & CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Ms Cindy Lim (Head) Mr Chia Han-Leon Ms Myrtle Lee Ms Jana Loh Ms Hong Shu Hui Ms Melissa Tan Ms Dacia Cheang Ms Nur Shafiqah bte Othman

ABRSM Ms Hay Su-San (Head) Ms Patricia Yee Ms Lai Li-Yng Mr Joong Siow Chong

W h at ’s N ex t a t t h e Vic t oria Concert Hall 23 Oct 2018

Master of Violin: James Ehnes

10 Dec 2018 FREE ADMISSION

Pipe Up! ISaac LEE & Lau Wen Rong

15 Feb 2019

Thomas Trotter – Arrival, 1819

3 Mar 2019

THE BEST DAY With LOCO MOTIVE TRIO

13 Oct Elegy | 7.30pm With Musicians of the SSO SCHUBERT String Quintet in C major, D. 956 SHOSTAKOVICH Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 Open Rehearsal: 13 Oct | 10am (Open to public)

14 Oct Epilogue | 4pm TCHAIKOVSKY

WOLF SHOSTAKOVICH

String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 Italian Serenade String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144

Tickets from $20 | Concessions: $15

sso.org.sg/borodinquartet

2-Concert Package: 20% off* *VCH 2018/19 season tickets. Exclusions apply.

OPEN CALL FOR SINGERS

Audition Details For ages 16 to 35 Fee: refundable $50 deposit Registration closing date: 21 October 2018 Auditions will be held in November 2018.

Video Games Classics is on 5 April 2019.

SSO.ORG.SG/SSYCVIDEOGAMES

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Cover photo by Pawe Å‚ Furman / Unsplash

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