The John Rylands Library and the RNCM present: Neon Sonnets Programme of activity Manchester After Hours, 12 May 2016
Sonnet 116 Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth s unknown, although his height be taken. Love s not Time s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle s compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
The John Rylands Library and the RNCM would like to take you on this beautiful journey marking the 400th anniversary since Shakespeare s death. Walking through the Entrance, we are heralded by fanfares and greeted in the hall by a lyrical, yet witty work by Ned Rorem based on Shakespearean characters, evoking the contrasting female characters of Katherine and Portia. Our pied pipers and actors guide us along the way, as we walk towards the Rylands Gallery which is displaying the book we all want to see tonight Shakespeare s First Folio, whilst 16th century lute music is performed in the Gallery throughout the evening. Walking towards the splendid architecture of the Juliet balcony, we will be onlookers of the renowned Romeo and Juliet balcony scene as we make our way towards the, while, high above us, in the Lantern Gallery, a flute quartet will be performing the spirited Scherzo from Mendelssohn s A Midsummer Night s Dream. We are then led to a performance of a new work for mezzo-soprano and clarsach (a Gaelic harp dare I mention the Scottish play?), inspired by Sonnet 116. Still in the splendour of the, we go back to the 16th century with the use of Gabrieli s cori spezzati practice on brass, while actors roam around and guide us to Beethoven s impassioned Adagio from his first string quartet a movement inspired by the tomb scene of Romeo and Juliet. Concluding the evening will be an evocative work, playing on the enveloping quality created by the wonderful acoustic properties of this equally evocative neo-gothic architectural gem, with Song for Athene by John Tavener, with its Hamlet connection. Dr Michelle Castelletti Artistic Director: RNCM
Programme will start on the hour at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm but feel free to explore at your leisure Mins past the hour Where Performance Mins past the hour Where Performance 00 Entrance Hall Magnus Thomsen: Sonata (1598) Hannah Colville, Richard Kingon, Naomi Martin, Nina Pryce (trumpet) 33 Giovanni Gabrieli: Sonata pian e forte (1597) Hannah Colville, Richard Kingon, Naomi Martin, Nina Pryce (trumpet), Ross Marshall, Jack Percy, Rhiannon Symonds, Shaun Yin Chan (trombone) 01 Entrance Hall Ned Rorem: After Shakespeare (excerpts) Eliza Carew (cello) 38 William Shakespeare: Act 1 Scene 5 (excerpt) from Twelfth Night Louisa Haggerty as Olivia Elizabeth Barry as Viola 08 Rylands Gallery Shakespeare Folio Presentation Sara Salloum (guitar) performs lute music from 16th century England in the Gallery (throughout the evening) 42 Ludwig van Beethoven: Adagio from String Quartet Op 18 No 1 Marvelo String Quartet: Isabella Baker (violin), Jody Smith (violin), Natalia Senior-Brown (viola), Malcolm Goodare (cello) 19 Staircase William Shakespeare: Act 2 Scene 2 (excerpt) from Romeo and Juliet Jake Robson as Romeo Juliet Montgomery as Juliet 51 William Shakespeare: Sonnets 18 and 29 Elizabeth Barry, Louisa Haggerty, Juliet Montgomery, Jake Robson 23 29 Lantern Gallery Felix Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night s Dream Ivan Alekhin, Timothy Bingham, Lily Caunt, Jeremy Salter (flute) Melissa Douglas: An ever-fixed mark (based on Sonnet 116) (world première) Joanna Harries (mezzo-soprano) Kathryn Mason (clarsach) 53 John Tavener: Song for Athene James Hendry: conductor Freya Holliman, Helen Lacey, Erin Rossington, Xiang Teng, Abigail Williams, Margarita Wood (soprano) Charlotte Badham, Rebecca Barry, Joanna Harries, Lucy Vallis (mezzo-soprano) Ryan Davies, Ryan Hunt (tenor) Sam Jackson, Edwin Kaye, Liam McNally, Luke Scott (bass-baritone)
In association with the Royal Northern College of Music and Cundall Light4