Lewisham Choral Society

Transcription

1

2 Lewisham Choral Society Haydn Te Deum in C Mozart Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor Haydn Motet: Insanae et vanae curae Mozart Coronation Mass Nico de Villiers Piano Susannah Hardwick Soprano Forest Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Dan Ludford-Thomas

3 Sounds Imperial The land of Austria has had a long and complex history over the centuries, often linked to that of neighbouring lands such as Germany and Hungary and with the invading armies of Napoleon s First French Empire. By the time of Joseph Haydn s birth in 1732 and throughout the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart it was an Archduchy within the vast Holy Roman Empire and inextricably linked with the imperial House of Habsburg. And it was for the Austrian-born Holy Roman Emperor and Austrian Archduke Rudolf II ( ) that the Imperial Crown of Austria shown on this programme s front cover was made in 1602 as Rudolf s personal crown. It continued to be used by succeeding Emperors of Austria right up until the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in It was therefore very much in an imperial setting that both Haydn and Mozart were to thrive, often under direct patronage from their monarchs. Haydn wrote his Te Deum in C, Hob.XXIIIc:2 after receiving a commission from the Viennese court to compose music in honour of the Italian-born Empress Maria Theresa ( ), wife of the double Emperor who reigned over the Holy Roman Empire as Francis II and over Austria as Francis I. During his last years in the Austrian capital, Mozart speedily penned several of his most masterly piano concertos, including his Piano Concerto No 20, K.466 in D minor. In the audience for the work s first performance was Mozart s father, Leopold, on what was to be his final visit from Salzburg to his son. It was during this visit that Haydn was to sing Mozart s praises to Leopold: Before God and as an honest man I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name: he has taste and furthermore the most profound knowledge of composition. It is to Haydn s music that the choir returns after tonight s interval for his short motet Insanae et vanae curae which started life as part of an initially successful Italian oratorio that quickly became unfashionable. Some years later the composer extracted this music from the whole work, changed the words to a Latin text and this choral gem was the result. The evening s final and principal work is Mozart s Mass in C major, K.317, which came to be known as the Coronation Mass, having become a favourite setting of the imperial court in Vienna. It started life however in 1779 in the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg, where the composer had been born some 23 years earlier. We hope you will agree that this evening s concert is the crowning achievement of Lewisham Choral Society s autumn term!

4 TONIGHT S PROGRAMME Joseph Haydn: Te Deum in C, Hob.XXIIIc:2 Te Deum laudamus; te Dominum confitemur. Te æternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur. Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi cæli et universæ potestates. Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant : Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra majestatis gloriæ tuæ. Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus, Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitemur Ecclesia, Patrem immensæ majestatis; Venerandum tuum, verum et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque Paracletum Spiritum. Tu Rex gloriæ, Christe. Tu Patris sepiternus es Filius. Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruist Virginis uterum. Tu, devicto mortis aculeo aperuisti credentibus regna cælorum. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris. Judex crederis esse venturus. Te ergo quæsumus, famulis tuis subveni, quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. Æterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hæreditati tuæ. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in æternum. Per singulos dies benedicimus te. Et laudamus nomen tuum in sæculum, et in sæculum sæculi. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri. Fiat Misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in æternum. We praise Thee, O God: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father everlasting. To Thee all Angels cry aloud; the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of Thy glory. The glorious company of the Apostles praise Thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets praise Thee. The noble army of Martyrs praise Thee. The Holy Church throughout all the world doth acknowledge Thee; The Father, of an infinite majesty; Thine honourable, true and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost the Comforter. Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father. When Thou tookest upon Thee to deliver man, Thou didst not abhor the Virgin s womb. When Thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death Thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge. We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting. O Lord, save Thy people and bless Thy heritage. Govern them and lift them up for ever. Day by day we magnify Thee; And we worship Thy Name ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us. O Lord, let Thy mercy lighten upon us as our trust is in Thee. O Lord, in Thee have I trusted: let me never be confounded.

5 1. Allegro 2. Romanze Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Concerto No 20 in D minor for piano & orchestra, K Allegro assai Interval Joseph Haydn: Motet Insanae et vanae curae, Hob.XXI :1/13c Insanae et vanae curae, invadunt mentes nostras, saepe furore replent corda privata spe. Quid prodest, o mortalis, conari pro mundanis, si coelos negligas, Sunt fausta tibi cuncta, si Deus est pro te. Insane and stupid worries invade our minds, often mad fury fills the heart, robbed of hope. O mortal man, what good does it To strive for worldly things if you neglect the heavens? All things work in your favour, If God is on your side. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mass in C major, K.317 Coronation Mass Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good will towards men.

6 Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. We praise Thee. We bless Thee. We worship Thee. We glorify Thee. We give thanks to Thee for Thy great glory. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis. Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. O Lord God, heavenly King. God the Father Almighty. O Lord, The only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Lamb of God, Son of the Father. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris. Amen. Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, factorem caeli et terrae, visibilium omnium, et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum. Et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero. Genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri: Per quem omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem, descendit de caelis. Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine. Et homo factus est. Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus et sepultus est. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. For Thou only art holy, Thou only art the Lord, Thou only art most high. With the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son of God. Begotten of His Father before all worlds. God of God, light of light, very God of very God. Begotten, not made, one in being with the Father: through whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary. And was made man. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.

7 Et resurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit in caelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris. Et iterum venturus est cum gloria, judicare vivos et mortuos; cujus regni non erit finis. Et in Spiritum sanctum, Dominum, et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit. Qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur: qui locutus est per Prophetas. Et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum. Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum. Et vitam venturi saeculi. Amen. Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Osanna in excelsis Deo. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis Deo. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem. And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; His kingdom shall have no end. I believe in the Holy Ghost, Lord, and giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified: who spake by the Prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I await the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen. Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna to God in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to God in the highest. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

8 TONIGHT'S COMPOSERS & THEIR WORKS JOSEPH HAYDN ( ) It was 1 April 1732 when Mathias and Maria took their new-born son to their local village church to be baptised as Franciscus Josephus Haydn, before returning to their single-storey thatched cottage in the Austrian village of Rohrau. Neither Mathias (a wheelwright by profession), nor Maria (previously a cook to the local aristocrat) could read music but nevertheless were enthusiastic folk musicians. The parents soon noticed their son s musical gift: Joseph had a fine singing voice. And so, at the age of six, Joseph Haydn was sent away to study with a relative who was both a school teacher and a choirmaster. The child learnt to play the harpsichord, the violin and the kettledrum. One story has it that Haydn in 1791 the boy was brought in to perform at a big civic occasion after the death of the timpanist. He practised on an upturned bread basket but at the performance the drum had to be held for him as he was too small to hold it himself. The boy s singing impressed the director of music at Vienna s St Stephen s Cathedral, who was in the area looking for prospective choirboys. Joseph passed his audition and moved to the capital, where he worked as a chorister for nine years. Despite his talents, the boy was not exactly a model of good behaviour. At Schönbrunn Palace he was given a good thrashing when he was caught by the Empress no less climbing up the outside scaffolding. And by the age of 17 things allegedly were no better: after he was said to have snipped off the pigtail of a fellow chorister, he was dismissed from the choir. Following a succession of jobs as a freelance musician and his having as Haydn himself put it the good fortune to learn the true fundamentals of composition from the famous [Italian composer Nicola] Porpora, he finally obtained aristocratic patronage, a necessity for a composer at that time. In 1761 Haydn came under the wing of the immensely wealthy Esterházy family, to whom he would remain connected for almost 30 years. Te Deum in C In fact Haydn was to remain in the employ of the Esterházy family to the end of his days, although the nature of his employment changed over the years. After 18 years had passed, the Esterházys finally allowed him to compose for others as well as the

9 family and to sell his music to publishers. And thus he soon became Europe s leading composer, although still physically confined to the family s remote palace of Esterháza in the Hungarian countryside, with occasional sorties to Eistenstadt, their other palace near Vienna. Haydn had to wait until the age of 58 to obtain his full freedom, when his patron Prince Nikolaus I died and Nikolaus s son Anton left him free to travel. In 1790 he set off for England where he became an enormous success, was described as the Shakespeare of music and spent what he himself called the happiest time of his life. In the final years of the 18 th century Haydn now back in Vienna was asked to compose a work for Maria Teresa, the wife of Franz, the last Holy Roman Emperor and the first Emperor of Austria. She was the eldest daughter of the King of Naples and Sicily and had been named after her maternal grandmother the Empress regnant Maria Theresa with whom Haydn had had that unfortunate encounter as a young boy (see above!). Her granddaughter was a fervent music lover and Haydn was a frequent caller at the royal palace to accompany her singing on the piano and to give her music lessons. It was only natural then that Empress Maria Teresa he should write a number of works to celebrate her reign, including this Te Deum in C, Hob.XXIIIc:2. Most scholars agree that the words of the original Te Deum were penned at the beginning of the fifth century, although some ascribe them to the earlier saints Ambrose and Augustine among others. Haydn had first written a setting of this hymn of praise towards the very start of his time with the Esterházys, around That version was also in the key of C major but had parts not only for a four-part Eisenstadt Palace chorus and orchestra but also for soprano, alto, tenor and bass solos. The later version however is for chorus and orchestra alone. Its first recorded performance was at Eisenstadt in Some think this performance coincided with a visit to the palace by the hero of the hour, Horatio Lord Nelson, together with his mistress Emma Lady Hamilton and her husband, the British ambassador to Naples Sir William Hamilton. Others place it rather more prosaically perhaps to coincide with the name day of Princess Marie Ermenegild Esterházy, wife of the reigning prince,

10 Haydn s last patron. This was however perfectly appropriate, as a Te Deum is often sung in thanksgiving at a significant event such as a patroness s name day. After Haydn s death the work sank into oblivion and it was not until the 1950s that it reappeared in concert programmes, thanks to the work of the American Haydn scholar, H.C. Robbins Landon. This second Te Deum then soon became and remains one of its composer s most popular choral works. For it is very much a choral piece: aside from the lack of soloists, there are only a few purely instrumental bars in the whole work. Nevertheless the splendour of the orchestral accompaniment matched to raw energy and ringing melodies from the chorus amply demonstrate the mastery of Haydn s mature style and approach which is shown in his masterpiece The Creation. The H.C. Robbins Landon music follows the traditional pattern for a Te Deum: the opening spirited allegro contrasts with a more prayerful adagio to follow, before the allegro con spirito brings the work to a rousing conclusion. Insanae et vanae curae Despite its brevity, this motet has a long and complicated history. In 1775, then in mid-career, Haydn wrote his first oratorio, Il ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias), which has been described as his most extended and ambitious composition in any genre up to that time. The miraculous story of Tobias was drawn from the Apocrypha and adapted as a libretto by composer Luigi Boccherini s brother. Haydn s patron Prince Nikolaus Esterházy had taken up a passion for opera that year, so a dramatic oratorio was just right for the Prince and apparently for the Viennese musicians benevolent society which had sponsored its creation. Despite the initial success of its premiere on 2 April, the work soon fell victim to changes in musical taste, so that another performance in 1781 was cancelled due to lack of interest. So the composer set about substantially revising and modernising his work with cuts to some parts and the addition of two new choruses. The original Burgtheater The benevolent society put on this new version in Vienna s Burgtheater in March It is thought that Haydn first met Mozart at that concert and the two became good friends.

11 As for Il ritorno di Tobia, it was not until 1808 that the work was performed again, this time in a further revised version which the now elderly Haydn had reluctantly entrusted to his pupil Sigismund Neukomm. That concert, on 22 December, by its use of most of the best musicians Vienna had to offer, had unfortunate consequences for another great composer of the age. For on the same evening, elsewhere in the city, a number of works by Haydn s erstwhile pupil Ludwig van Beethoven including his fifth and sixth symphonies were being premiered in what turned out to be a somewhat disastrous concert, in part due to the lack of top class musicians! Nevertheless it was Haydn s oratorio rather than Beethoven s symphonies which was soon consigned to oblivion, against the strong competition of Haydn s other choral works The Creation and The Seasons. Not wanting to lose sight of a good tune however, Haydn then chose to adapt one of those two new choruses originally added to the oratorio in 1784 Svanisce in un momento to become a sacred motet with a Latin text Insanae et vanae curae. The title page calls this a contrafactum, a term used to describe the substitution of one text for another without substantial change to the music. The instrumentation was also changed here: horns were replaced with trumpets and timpani were added. The original chorus had compared a storm at sea followed by calm with the troubles of life followed by the calm which faith can bring. The new words make a similar contrast between the futility of worldly cares with the balm of salvation and the music of the motet begins in atmosphere of fear and dread which is finally resolved in lyrical calm. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART ( ) On 27 January 1756, the 35-year old Anna Maria, wife of the minor composer and music teacher Leopold Mozart, gave birth to their seventh child in the couple's apartment on the third floor of number 9, Getreidegasse in the capital city of the princely Archbishopric of Salzburg. Five of their children had not lived beyond infancy and Anna Maria herself nearly died giving birth to this their second but sole surviving son. Nevertheless both mother and son were saved and the next day the child was baptised in St Rupert's Cathedral as Joannes Mozart in 1782 Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, later known to the world as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was not long before Wolfgang began to show signs of his musical genius, faultlessly playing keyboard surprised his father with his prowess and

12 Leopold soon pieces from the age of four and composing small pieces from the age of five. He realised that his own work as a composer had been far outshone by his son's output. Father and son joined by Wolfgang's sister Nannerl (also a child prodigy) then set off on the first of many travels to display their musical expertise to royalty and the aristocracy across Europe. In his late teens Wolfgang followed his father's example by taking up employment as a court musician to his home town's Prince-Archbishop, Count Hieronymus von Colloredo. Nevertheless, Colloredo s autocratic and dictatorial style clearly grated with the 17-year old not to mention what Wolfgang saw as a paltry salary of 150 florins per annum and he continued his concert tours and sought alternative employment around Europe. Meanwhile his father found him a job as court organist and concertmaster back in Salzburg which Wolfgang was reluctant to accept, despite the increased annual salary of 450 florins. Eventually however, in 1779, he was forced to take up the offer, Hieronymus von Colloredo although he was hardly happy to be back in his birthplace where fine music appeared not to be high on the agenda of his fellow citizens. He wrote that whenever I or someone else play one of my compositions, it was as if the table and the chairs were the only listeners. Coronation Mass Nevertheless this situation didn t stop Mozart from producing fine music. On 23 March 1779 he finished his Mass in C major, K.317, which was given its first performance on Easter Sunday that year in the city s imposing Baroque cathedral, where he himself had been baptised some 23 years earlier. Mozart had already composed more than a dozen settings of the Mass but this particular one was to obtain especial favour, particularly after its creator s death, when in the early 19 th century it acquired the nickname Coronation Mass. One reason given for this Salzburg Cathedral

13 attribution now thought to be mistaken was that Mozart had written the work to mark the anniversary in 1779 of the crowning in 1751 of an image of the Virgin Mary. The image had been miraculously saved from a disastrous fire and moved to the specially built Shrine of Our Lady of Maria Plain, overlooking the city of Salzburg. Some sources claim that the composer Antonio Salieri conducted the Mass in Prague at the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia on 6 September 1791 but there is no conclusive evidence for this. Mozart was present in Prague at the time for the premiere that same day of his opera La Clemenza di Tito and it was during this stay that he showed the first signs of what would be a fatal illness. He was dead before the year was out. Leopold himself died the following year, to be succeeded by Francis II. Another claim is that the Mass was also performed at one of the three coronations which Francis underwent in 1792: as King of Hungary in Buda, as Holy Roman Emperor in Frankfurt (using the crown pictured on this programme s cover) and as King of Bohemia in Prague. But again this claim is unsubstantiated. Nevertheless, the Coronation Mass clearly became a favourite of the imperial court in Vienna and the name has stuck to this day. To both go back to the work s origins and to bring the story right up to date, a word should be said about the autograph manuscript. This was thought to be lost after World War II but was then discovered on the shelves of the vast Jagiellonian Library in Kraków, Poland, where it is still preserved amongst many other treasures. Autograph manuscript of the Mass s opening page A solemnly majestic statement from the chorus begins the Mass with its opening Kyrie, contrasted with lyrical interventions from the soprano soloist and the tenors. The pace then quickens but remains stately and opulent in character for the following Gloria. The energy of the Credo is suddenly interrupted by its rapt Et incarnatus est section. Such musical breaks have clearly been included to match the progress of the celebration of the Mass at these points. For example, the rubrics, or rules laid down for the Mass, require the congregation standing at the time to kneel at the Et incarnatus est out of respect for the incarnation of Christ. Hence the musical break here.

14 Then comes a brief moment of solemnity from the chorus with the word Crucifixus before a return to a speedy tempo at Et resurrexit and an exultant conclusion to the Credo. The Sanctus is especially marked by its concluding, jubilant choral declamation of Osanna which itself returns after a dose of ravishing sweetness in the Benedictus. In tonight s performance, the Benedictus will be sung by the choir s semichorus. Calmness returns as we come to the emotional heart of the Mass with a lengthy solo from the soprano in the Agnus Dei, before she is joined by the chorus who bring the work to a close. Piano Concerto No 20 Mozart still felt himself poorly paid and unappreciated in Salzburg and, after a long quarrel with Archbishop Colloredo, finally settled in Vienna. Here in 1782, with the first performance of his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail, he firmly established a position as a leading composer. He was already seen as Vienna's finest keyboard player. And he developed a settled home life, having married Constanze, the sister of his first love Aloysia Weber, a relative of the composer Carl Maria von Weber. Constanze gave birth to six children in all but as with her husband's parents, only two of her children lived beyond infancy. Otherwise, life was good for Wolfgang and Constanze: in 1784 they moved to a fine apartment, bought costly furnishings, employed servants and sent their eldest son to boarding school. The same year, Mozart succeeded Gluck as chamber composer to the Holy Roman Emperor, the Austrian monarch Joseph II. Despite his great success with opera composition, Mozart now chose to turn his attention to piano concertos, as both their interpreter and their composer; this was probably so as to raise sufficient funds, in a relatively easy and speedy way, to support his new self-employed status. Between 1782 and 1785, he produced three or four new concertos each season, all with great popularity. To play these concertos as soloist, Mozart acquired a fine fortepiano made by Anton Walter for the princely sum of 900 florins (almost twice the yearly rent for his plush apartment!). The same instrument is now on display at the Mozart Residence in Salzburg. Mozart's fortepiano

15 In February 1785 Mozart finished composing his Concerto No 20 for piano & orchestra in D minor, K 466. His father, whom he hadn t seen for a couple of years, was on what proved to be his final visit to Vienna and the last time the two were to meet. The two had had a difficult relationship in the last few years: Leopold had not initially supported either his son s split from the Prince-Archbishop or his marriage to Constanze. So Wolfgang clearly wanted to impress Leopold with his new concerto. And it seems he was impressed. The first performance, with the composer as soloist, took place on 11 February in the ballroom of the Mehlgrube restaurant, which Mozart was using as The Mehlgrube restaurant on the right the venue for his currently ongoing series of weekly subscription concerts. A few days later Leopold reported to his daughter that he had heard an excellent new piano concerto by Wolfgang, on which the copyist was still at work when we got here and your brother didn't even have time to play through the rondo because he had to oversee the copying operation. The very pace of Wolfgang s life bedazzled his father, who also wrote that we never get to bed before one o'clock. Every day there are concerts; and the whole time is given up to teaching music, composing and so forth If only the concerts were over! It is impossible for me to describe the rush and bustle. The concerto begins with the orchestra creating a palpable sense of tension in the dark key of D minor. The piano appears to calm the atmosphere somewhat but then rushes into a forceful allegro. The tension soon returns, emphasised by the timpani, before a closing cadenza from the keyboard. Mozart s own cadenza was never written down because of the rush to finish the work in time for its premiere. A number of composers subsequently wrote their own cadenzas for the work, including Brahms and Beethoven, who particularly admired the concerto and kept it in his repertoire. The lilting melody from the piano which opens the second movement again calms the tension and the orchestra blends into this calmer mood. But the peace does not last: at midway point there is a sudden feeling of turbulent agitation, even rage, from both piano and orchestra. And yet the movement finally closes with a return to the simple calm melody from the solo keyboard. The final movement starts with the excitement of a mad dash from piano and orchestra which on this occasion continues on the keyboard when the orchestra drops away. The concerto closes with the sound of joy and jubilation in the major key. Tonight Nico will play his own cadenzas.

16 Hob. NUMBERS & K NUMBERS In case you were wondering...the Hob. numbers attached to Haydn s compositions come from the enormous catalogue compiled by the Dutch musicologist Anthony van Hoboken ( ), begun in 1934 and finally completed with the publication of its third volume in And for Mozart, K. numbers relate to the chronological catalogue first compiled in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel ( ). TONIGHT'S PERFORMERS Nico de Villiers Piano South African-born pianist Nico de Villiers is a coach, accompanist and researcher based in London. He holds degrees from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the University of Michigan, as well as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Regularly performing as collaborative pianist to singers and chamber musicians Nico performed in recital at: the Terrace Theatre at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC; Birmingham Symphony Hall; the Barbican and St. Martin-inthe-Fields in London; the Kammermusiksaal in Bonn, Germany; and the Mozarteum Grosser Saal in Salzburg. Festival performances include performances at the Salzburg Festival, Edinburgh Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, Chopin Birthday Festival in Warsaw, Poland, and the International Johannesburg Mozart Festival in South Africa. As repetiteur Nico worked with various groups including the BBC Singers, Cumbernauld Choir (Glasgow), opera scenes performances for the Oxenfoord Summer Programme (Scotland), the Aderley International Music School (England) and Queens Park Singers. Nico has been the assistant director of music of the Lewisham Choral Society since 2009.

17 Nico worked as vocal coach at various institutions including the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, Trinity Laban Conservatory, Royal College of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, UK. Masterclasses and Workshops include institutions such as Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, University of Portland, Portland, Oregon (USA), the Birmingham Conservatory (UK), Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm (Sweden) and the Universities of Stellenbosch, Pretoria and the Free State (South Africa). He has been on the faculty of various summer programmes including the Oxenfoord Summer Programme in Scotland, the Abingdon Summer School of Solo Singers, Aderley International Music School in England, the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria and the International Music Academy in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Nico is currently a coach on the vocal faculty of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As researcher Nico has a particular interest in the unearthing and performance of neglected and undiscovered composers. In 2008 Nico performed a complete series of the piano chamber music of Hungarian pianist-conductor-composer Ernst von Dohnányi at the Guildhall School or Music and Drama. Nico made the first recording of Polish pianist-composer André Tchaikowsky s Piano Sonata, and features in the documentary Rebel of the Keys which focuses on Tchaikowsky s life and the revival of his opera The Merchant of Venice at the Bregenz Festival. Nico performed some of Tchaikowsky s piano works and songs in the UK, Poland and South Africa. At the moment Nico is in the final stages of his doctoral candidacy at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, focusing on the songs of Richard Hageman. In 2011 Nico founded the Richard Hageman Society (RHS) to focus scholarship and research into the work and life of this Dutch-born American composer. As director of the RHS Nico opened the Richard Hageman Aqueduct as well as unveiled a memorial plaque at Hageman s birthplace in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Nico widely performed Hageman s songs, curated exhibitions of the RHS archives, and presented various lecture recitals and presentations at conferences and symposiums in the UK, the USA, and the Netherlands.

18 Susannah Hardwick Soprano Susannah is training at Royal College of Music with Rosa Mannion, and has previously trained with Lisa Wilson and Helen Ludford-Thomas. She was formerly a choral scholar with the choir of Merton College, Oxford, a highlight of which was performing as the soprano soloist in the first broadcast of Robin Holloway s Christmas Sequence on BBC Radio 3. Recent roles include Ottavia in L Incoronazione di Poppea (Ensemble Orquesta/Woodhouse Opera) and Johanna in Sweeney Todd (RicNic Theatre). She recently originated the roles of Annalyn 1 in the premiere of new opera Autopilot Saves Model S (Faded Ink Productions) and Kitty in the premiere of Anna Karenina the Musical (Prickly Productions). Susannah also performed in the premiere of Act II of The Hive at the Tête à Tête Opera Festival this year. Forest Philharmonic Orchestra Under the direction of Artistic Director Mark Shanahan, Forest Philharmonic Orchestra has gained an impressive reputation for the high quality and vitality of its performances, and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014/15. Originally the Leyton Municipal Orchestra, it was reconstituted under its current name in 1964 by its first Artistic Director, Frank Shipway. The first President was Zoltan Kodály, followed by Sir John Barbirolli, with an illustrious list of patrons including Leonard Bernstein, Sir William Walton, Benjamin Britten and Lorin Maazel and soloists including pianists John Lill and Stephen Kovacevich. Today, the orchestra continues to perform with top artists such as soprano Susan Bullock and pianist Stephen Hough, and also gives opportunities to young musicians in the local Waltham Forest community through open rehearsals and a participation

19 programme. Each string section is led by a professional player, whose input in rehearsals enables the orchestra to fulfil its aim of coaching the musicians of tomorrow while providing a platform for the leading amateur players of today. In addition to its regular season at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Philharmonic performs within the borough and surrounding areas, including at the Stow Festival and chamber concerts in local churches. It was invited by Waltham Forest Council to perform for HM The Queen for her visit to Walthamstow as part of her Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012, and recently performed the live music accompaniment to Hitchcock s film Blackmail as part of Beyond Barbican. The orchestra has also performed in the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Centre, St John s, Smith Square and St Albans Cathedral, featuring works such as Mahler s Symphonies nos. 2, 3 and 8, Tippett s A Child of Our Time and Britten s Spring Symphony. Recent soloists include Ronan O Hora, Fenella Humphreys, Gemma Rosefield, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Paul Archibald, Gareth Hulse, Anne-Marie Owens, Linda Richardson, Julian Gavin and Andrew Greenan. The orchestra regularly performs with choral societies and also took part in the BBC 2 programme Maestro. Dan Ludford-Thomas Conductor Dan enjoys a busy schedule as a conductor, chorus master and singing teacher in London. He directs a wide variety of choirs from professional ensembles, church choirs, chamber choirs and large symphonic choruses. He performs regularly in major concert venues across the country including Birmingham Symphony Hall and The Royal Albert Hall. In 2012 he conducted over 300 singers and the Forest Philharmonic in a performance of Handel's Messiah in the Royal Festival Hall. In 2014 he conducted over 200 singers in a performance of Verdi's Requiem in the Fairfield Halls, returning with the same forces to put on Mendelssohn's Elijah in In 2017 he conducted over 300 Singers and the London Mozart Players in a performance of Bach's B minor Mass at the Royal Festival Hall.

20 Dan was the Chorus Master for the Choir of the Enlightenment, preparing them to sing Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, conducted by Marin Alsop at the 2013 BBC Proms. He returned as Chorus Master for Marin, preparing the Choir of the Enlightenment to perform Brahms Alto Rhapsody and Triumphlied at the 2015 BBC Proms. In 2012 Dan worked as a choirmaster on BBC2 s The Choir: Sing While You Work and then became the Artistic Director of the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir enjoying success as the co-producer and musical director for the Choir's 2015 Christmas Number One 'Bridge Over You'. He returned in 2013 to work on BBC2 s The Choir: Sing While You Work series 2 as choirmaster to Citibank Choir with whom he has continued as the Musical Director; highlights include performing at the Hammersmith Apollo and a series of concerts in New York. In 2015 Dan worked behind the scenes as choirmaster for The Choir: Gareth Malone's Great Choir Reunion. He is currently Head of Vocal Studies at Dulwich College, Musical Director of Concordia Chamber Choir, Musical Director of The Hackney Singers, Interim Artistic Director of the National Children s Choir of Great Britain and Director of Music of Lewisham Choral Society. Lewisham Choral Society Lewisham Choral Society is one of London s most popular community choirs, performing at local venues and major concert halls such as Southbank Centre s Royal Festival Hall, the Cadogan Hall and the Fairfield Halls. It is a large, lively communitybased choir, with almost two hundred singers. Founded in 1950 by a group based at Lewisham s parish church, it grew in size and ambition, marking its transformation by

21 a change of name to Lewisham Choral Society in the early 1980s. The Society is a member of Making Music the National Federation of Music Societies. It is a performing choir, staging four concerts a year, frequently collaborating with other choirs and taking part in other choral singing events when opportunities arise. Under the professional direction of Dan Ludford-Thomas and his deputy Nico de Villiers, the choir has a wide repertoire and performs music from the Renaissance to the twentyfirst century, ranging from Tallis and Monteverdi to Arvo Pärt, Cecilia McDowall and Eric Whitacre. LCS Semi-Chorus Sopranos Coleen Batson Laura Thompson Charlotte Jones Karen Parkes Lara Ruffle Coles Sue Schiavi Ann Taylor Lily Topham Rebecca Vicary Altos Rebecca Allen Dani Bizley Michelle Brockbank Anna Clarke Lucy Clarke Charlotte Davies Helen Farr Jennifer French Stella Jeffrey Jane Knight Mary Lee Wanda Polaszek Barbara Smith Tenors Ole Baxter Trevor Jarvis Ian Russell Jonathan Overett-Somnier Basses Oliver Mercer Christopher Aylwin Colin Turnbull Rob Brightwell John Chisholm Paul Gainford

22 Keep up to date with news from the choir and enter a draw to win a 20 voucher for John Lewis and Waitrose by joining our mailing list at or by completing the form in the hall tonight Entries for the raffle accepted until 30 December & the winner will be notified by 6 January Everyone not already on the mailing list is welcome to enter, apart from LCS members We hope you enjoyed tonight's performance. Please send us your feedback via our website (on the Reviews page), Facebook or Twitter!

23 WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN LEWISHAM CHORAL SOCIETY AS A SINGER? Lewisham Choral Society offers a warm welcome to new joiners. We are open to singers in all voice parts, but given the need to maintain a good balance across the choir we are targeting our recruitment at tenors and basses. Although we do not audition, the choir performs to a high standard and tackles some complex pieces which require a level of experience and musical ability. Rehearsals are relatively fastpaced, so may not suit complete beginners. We rehearse on Monday evenings from 8 to 10 at St Laurence s Church, 37 Bromley Road, Catford, SE6 2TS: five minutes walk from Catford and Catford Bridge stations; buses 47, 54, 136, 171, 199 and 208 stop outside. Parking is relatively easy on nearby residential streets and there is limited parking within the church grounds. Rehearsals of Elgar s The Dream of Gerontius for the Spring 2018 term start on Monday 8 January and continue until the concert on 17 March next year. We shall schedule additional rehearsals as and when necessary. Singers are welcome to join as new members on 8, 15 or 22 January. Introduction & programme notes by Martin Bull Design of concert posters and flyers by Ben Leslie No flash photography please Please switch off all mobile devices Lewisham Choral Society, Registered Charity Number acknowledges the support of the London Borough of Lewisham and is affiliated to Making Music

24 Lewisham Choral Society Future performances Saturday 17 March 2018 at 7.30 pm Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius Great Hall, Goldsmiths University of London, SE14 6NW Please visit our website for updates Ticket enquiries to or website