The Song of the Earth

This Tuesday (27th March) we performed the premiere of Reverend Professor June Boyce-Tillman's new work The Song of the Earth. The rehearsal and performance took place in Winchester Cathedral, which was as beautiful as ever.

The project involved over 300 local primary school children, who sang in the choir. The choir was not stationary however, oh no! - these amazing children were moving, singing and walking all over the cathedral. During the performance, the entire length of the building was used, with African drums at one end and singers at another. Each of the schools involved were one of the four elements (earth, wind, fire and water), so all the children had a different coloured glowstick that represented their element- so it made for a very colourful display.

This young choir was accompanied by our (Southern Sinfonia's) players, as well as key members of Hampshire Youth Orchestra. This was as part of one of our side-by-side projects, which provide the opportunity for young musicians to play alongside our professionals, who mentor and guide them through a professional performance experience.

The performance was an amazing success (there were a lot of very proud parents in the audience), with a standing ovation and an encore of the 8th Movement.

We took some photos during the rehearsal that you can see below...

A very empty stage...

Not any more...the children are at the back and our players are in the foreground

Double Bass from Hampshire Youth Orchestra, as well as our Celli and Perc players

Reverend Professor June Boyce-Tillman (in blue) conducting the rehearsal

A Few Things you Never Knew About Beethoven's 7th Symphony

Ok, so you might know a few of them already, but hopefully there are a few interesting bits in here for you.

• At its debut, Beethoven was noted as remarking that it was one of his “best works”

• The second movement Allegretto was instantly popular, resulting in its frequent performance separate from the complete symphony.

•  The first performance of the piece included some of the finest musicians of the day, including violinist Louis Spohr who made particular mention of Beethoven's antics on the rostrum: "as a sforzando occurred, he tore his arms with a great vehemence asunder ... at the entrance of a forte he jumped in the air"

•  The symphony was premiered at a concert, given on 8th December 1813, to benefit soldiers wounded in the battle of Hanau a few months earlier. Paired with the Seventh at this concert was the first performance of Wellington's Victory, also known as the "Battle Symphony."

•  Richard Wagner’s expressive account of the work is particularly well known: "All tumult, all yearning and storming of the heart, become here the blissful insolence of joy, which carries us away with bacchanalian power through the roomy space of nature, through all the streams and seas of life, shouting in glad self-consciousness as we sound throughout the universe the daring strains of this human sphere-dance. The Symphony is the Apotheosis of the Dance itself: it is Dance in its highest aspect, the loftiest deed of bodily motion, incorporated into an ideal mould of tone."

To book tickets or for more information about The Genius that is Beethoven at St. Nicolas Church, Newbury, please follow the link.

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Alexander's Playlist

Hopefully you saw Alexander's interview on the News page of our website (if not, take a look here - A Quick Interview with Alexander Hohenthal). In it (among other things) he chatted about his favourite music and the most played CDs in his collection, so we thought we'd put together an Alexander Hohenthal playlist for your listening pleasure. 

Please just follow this link to Spotify - Alexander's Playlist

The Four Seasons and Visual Art (Winter)

The Glory of Vivaldi is fast-approaching. So, to round off our series on The Four Seasons and Visual Art, we take a look at Winter:

Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8  "L'inverno" (Winter)

1. LS Lowry (1887-1976)

Winter in Broughton 1969-72

 

2. Sir Terry Frost (1915-2003)

Winter 1956, Yorkshire  1956

3. Ben Nicholson (1894-1982)

1928 (foothills, Cumberland) 1928

 

4. Alfred Manessier (1911-1993)

-12°  1956

We'd love to see you at the concert, so if you would like to book tickets please click here. If you buy your tickets in advance (rather than buy them on the door on the night), you get 10% off.