Magical Mendelssohn and More!

On June 14th at St. Nicolas Church, Newbury, the enchanting and fairytale atmosphere of a Midsummer Night’s Dream will come to life through grand surroundings and a beautiful piece of music.

Choral Director David Hill will conduct Southern Sinfonia, Downe House Junior Choral and two local actors in a performance of ‘Mendelssohn - A Midsummer Night's Dream: Overture, Op.21 and Incidental Music, Op. 61’.

The original concert overture (not then associated with a performance of the Shakespearian play) was composed by Felix Mendelssohn in 1826 when he was just 17 years old and starting his career. The piece has always been described as romantic, using a series of chords that many audiences have found spell bounding. In 1842, only 5 years before his death, Mendelssohn wrote incidental music for a production of the play, incorporating the original overture that was referred to by George Grove as “the greatest marvel of early maturity that the world has ever seen in music”.

June’s performance will contain the instantly recognisable Wedding March; a piece that many may not realise originates from Mendelssohn’s work. As well as many musical delights, Shakespeare’s words are performed. Ellie Selby, one of the local actors performing in the piece states;

“The idea of acting to music is incredibly daunting, especially when the dialogue is written by one of the worlds greatest playwrights and the music is written by one of the worlds greatest composers. However, that is what makes this so exciting, it’s a huge challenge and that will be very rewarding.”

Not only have the actors involved met this challenge head first, the children that make up Downe House Junior Choral have worked incredibly hard, making sure they are rehearsed and ready to create the gentle lullabies that run through the piece. Mr. Stasio Sliwka, Teacher of Music at Downe House, commented:

“It is an incredible privilege for the girls to experience singing such wonderful music with a professional orchestra, especially under the baton of one of this country’s most respected Choral Directors.”

As always, Southern Sinfonia are thrilled to be working with David Hill to bring this iconic piece to those that may not have had the chance to hear it before. Southern Sinfonia’s Lady Kay Norrington, is particularly excited about the event, stating:

“Thanks to the support of Lady Mary and David Russell and Evenings at Combe, we are able to mount this lovely piece involving not just our magnificent musicians but soloists, actors and the choir, a real community initiative which we know all will enjoy.”

The event promises to be a very special evening, with a combination of choir, orchestra and actors in one of Newbury’s most cherished and visually stunning spaces.

Southern Sinfonia will also be performing Mendelssohn - Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90 (Italian) and more information about the event and ticket details can be found by clicking here.

More information about Downe House Junior Choral can be found here and MAXX Design, the local design agency whose social media team is made up of actors Chris Billingham and Ellie Selby can be found here.

More information on Southern Sinfonia can be found through our website or blog and of course, we would love to speak to you on Facebook and Twitter!