THE BELFAST MUSIC SOCIETY <<-< C ELEBRITY CONCERTS -1990-91- DR.V AT THE ELMWOOD HALL

225 Aapist todo siaos-ogzal sno besog NEIL MACKIE (tenor) ed esterne SIONED WILLIAMS (harp) Three Arias 1 ******** Gesange des Harfners Fantasia edul 88 The Noon's Repose op.39 INTERVAL - Canticle V op.89 Divertissement a' L'espagnole Nocturne op.43 Folk song settings ******** Saturday 19 January 1991 Elmwood Hall reve 26 7.30 p.m. Handel Schubert Thomas Holloway Britten Caplet Hasselmans Britten

Three Arias 2 For many people, Handel's one large-scale choral work is The Messiah, but of course he composed a large number of oratorios and cantatas, both sacred and secular. Most of these are rarely performed complete nowadays, but the best choruses and arias have stayed in the repertoire, ensuring that the works are not totally forgotten. Where'er you walk is the most familiar excerpt from the sacred oratorio Semele, first performed in London in 1744; Let me wander not unseen is from Handel's 1740 setting of Milton's L'Allegro, while Love in her eyes sits playing is from his earlier secular cantata, Acis and Galatea. Gesange des Harfners, D 478-480 Wer sich der Einsamkeit Wer nie sein Grot An die Türen George Frederick Handel 1685-1759 Fantasia for harp Franz Schubert 1797-1828 Schubert's settings of the three Harper's Songs from Goethe's Wilhelm Meister were composed in 1816, a year in which he wrote over 100 songs, many of them masterpieces. The set was published in 1822 as 'opus 12'. John Thomas 1826-1913 Pensive Joyous The harp is traditionally associated with Wales, and Thomas was one of the leading concert harpists in that country in the 19th century. He began to study the instrument from an early age, won an important Eisteddford competition at the age of 12 and at 14 went to the Royal Academy of Music. He toured widely as a performer, but never forgot his Welsh roots, being involved regularly at every major Eisteddford. In 1871

he was appointed harpist to Queen Victoria. He composed a number of works, largely, but not exclusively, for his own instrument. The Noon's Repose, op. 39 La figlia che piange Another weeping woman On a drop of dew 3 Holloway is one of the best known of the middle generation of English composers. Many of his works reveal a close affinity with the German romantics of the early 19th century, notably Schumann (in, for example, his Scenes from Schumann of 1970). This is filtered, however, through a 20th century technique. The Noon's Repose was composed in 1978/9. Robin Holloway b. 1943 INTERVAL E. Canticle V, The Death of St Narcissus, op 89 541 Benjamin Britten 1913-76 The five Canticles occupy a major place in Britten's vocal music output and all were composed for singers especially dear to him. The first of the set, My Beloved is mine, was written for Peter Pears in 1947; the fifth canticle is a late work, also composed for Pears, written in 1974 and first performed by him in January 1975. The text is, like that of the fourth canticle, by T.S. Eliot. The preoccupation with death is a spectre common to the late works of both Britten and his friend Shostakovich. Tonally the work swings between the two dramatically unrelated keys of C minor and C sharp minor; at the end, however, peace is restored as the music settles on their one common note,

4 Divertissement à L'espagnole, for harp Nocturne, op 43 André Caplet 1878-1925 Caplet began to concentrate on composing after ill-health, brought about by his experiences in World War 1, forced him to abandon conducting as a career. As a close friend of Debussy, he was in his earlier music much influenced by the Impressionists; later his music tended to be more esoteric and contemporary in idiom. The harp features in one of his most important compositions, the Conte Fantastique for harp and strings, based on a horror story by Poe (1919), and also in two Divertissements, one French, the other Spanish, both written in 1924. Alphonse Hasselmans 1845-1912 The Belgian harpist Hasselmans studied with his father, himself a famous performer on the instrument, teacher and conductor. Later, in his turn, Alphonse himself became teacher, and Professor at the Paris Conservatoire. As a virtuoso he was a significant force in the revival of harp playing at the turn of the century. Many important compositions were inspired by his playing and dedicated to him, and he also wrote some fifty pieces that have remained an important part of the harpists' repertoire. Benjamin Britten Folk song settings Britten's folksong settings immediately established themselves in the repertoire, where they have remained. Most often heard, however, are the settings with piano accompaniment, of which Britten made five volumes, from Britain, Ireland and France. Less familiar are the two other sets that continue the high standards of the earlier arrangements: those with guitar accompaniment, and the final set, with harp, completed in 1976. Notes by Alec Macdonald

5 TONIGHT'S ARTISTS NEIL MACKIE te Since making his London debut with the English Chamber Orchestra under Raymond Leppard, Neil Mackie has pursued an international career, making his New York debut at the Lincoln Centre in 1986. in gen Outside the UK Neil Mackie has appeared at the Flanders and Savonlinna Festivals, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and in Rome for the RAI. He is heard regularly in Scandinavia, where he has sung in Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki and toured Sweden for the British Council. With 'La Petite Bande' under Kuijken he has toured Holland and Belgium, and recorded both the Mozart Requiem and Haydn's Die Schöpfung. He is a regular visitor to the Cheltenham and Aldeburgh Festivals, and has sung with the Hallé, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony and Scottish Chamber Orchestras and with the London Sinfonietta under Simon Rattle. Neil Mackie has a close association with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. His recording of Into the Labyrinth (which was written for him) was voted by the critics as the best contemporary recording of 1985. He created the title role in The Martyrdom of St Magnus and the role of Sandy in The Lighthouse and has performed both works throughout the world. In June 1988 he performed Into the Labyrinth at the Ojai Festival in America. In the 1988/89 season Mr Mackie toured America with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra including concerts in Chicago and Carnegie Hall, New York; and he toured Mexico for the British Council. His appearance that season also included concerts in Paris, Copenhagen and Brussels and he worked for the first time with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under James Conlon, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields under

6 Sir Neville Marriner and the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under John Eliot Gardiner. He has recently given his first recital at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, taken part in a series of recordings of Mozart Masses from King's College, Cambridge for Decca and travelled to Moscow to give a performance of Les Illuminations with the Moscow Virtuosi. His historic recording for EMI of unpublished songs by Benjamin Britten was released to tremendous critical interest. With EMI and Barry Tuckwell he has now recorded Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the recently discovered unpublished movement. This recording was hailed in 'The Guardian' as "the most beautiful, most intense performance of the Serenade since Pears himself recorded it, actually outshining that inspirer of the work in the heady purity of tone". Plans include Les Illuminations in Istanbul and further concerts and recitals throughout Europe. SIONED WILLIAMS Sioned Williams is one of this generation's leading harpists. As her career developed, she achieved great success in major competitions and in gaining awards and scholarships. The most notable of these was the ada Concert Artists' Guild Award which led to a Carnegie for Hall debut. Sioned appears regularly throughout Britain in particular on the South Bank, and in major Festivals including Bath, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Greenwich etc. Her engagements abroad have taken her to America, Canada, Spain, Austria, France, Germany, Holland and Denmark. In 1988, Sioned took part in two major events the 3rd World Harp Congress in Vienna and the 2nd European Harp Festival in Berlin, premiering a British work in both places. Other performances in 1988

7 included the St David's Day Celebrations at the Albert Hall; a recital of 18th Century music at the Barbican; and with Neil Mackie at the T.S. Eliot Celebrations in the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. In 1989 Sioned premiered four British works: Samplers by Patrick Piggott and Folk Song Suite by Michael Neaum with Cantamus - a broadcast from St George's Brandon Hill Bristol; Noon's Repose by Robin Holloway with Neil Mackie, and Fantasia by John Marson - both live on Radio 3 from the Cheltenham Festival, and Songs of the Marches by Gareth Glyn with John Williams Barker. Other Radio 3 performances included the Mozart Flute and Harp Concerto and William Mathias' Melos with Susan Milan and the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra; Panufnik's Sinfonia Concertante with Judith Hall and the Langham Chamber Orchestra, and a live recital with James Dower in which they gave the British Premiere of a work by a Soviet composer. Sioned can be heard regularly on Radios 2, 3 and 4 - her own series Affairs of the Harp was heard on Radio 4 and the World Service. Sioned's schedule for 1990 includes a concerto appearance with William Bennett and the English Chamber Orchestra at the Barbican, a solo concerto with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra live on television from Cardiff; duo recitals in the Edinburgh Harp Festival with Caroline Franklyn, the Criccieth Festival with Michael Chance, and in Leamington Hastings with Malcolm Messiter, and a solo recital in the Fourth World Harp Congress in Paris. Sioned's teaching continues at her own department at Trinity College of Music and on specialist courses e.g., 'Coleg Telyn Cymru' in the summer, and later in the year she aims to add to her impressive list of commercial recordings and research projects.

8 Sioned is Principal Harpist of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and will travel with them to Japan and Hong Kong in the spring. This position has enabled her to work closely with many of the greatest living composers including Berio and Boulez. NEXT RECITAL BELFAST 1991 GALA CONCERT AMADEUS PIANO TRIO Saturday 26th January 1991 7.30 p.m. 2235 Elmwood Hall RS GIVING MUSIC ITS DUE Representing music creators & publishers. We are pleased to have the support of PRS esw 6.12 2013