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Baroque and roll with Bach and Beethoven
PREVIEW: AUTUMN CANTATA SERIES
St Martin-In-The-Fields
THE Feinstein Ensemble’s Autumn Cantata Series returns to St Martin’s this September with three concerts showcasing some of the most sublime compositions of the Baroque.
These concerts offer a rare opportunity in London to hear Bach’s magnificent cantatas presented in a perfect setting in historically accurate performances.
Choosing cantatas from a collection of more than 200 surviving works is a daunting task. Although Bach was required to write these devotional works as a routine part of his employment, each one of them is a masterpiece in its own right.
Some of the cantatas, however, transcend the form and take their place alongside Bach’s very greatest compositions and these works will form the basis of the Autumn Cantata Series.
All three concerts will feature cantatas from Bach’s Leipzig period.
His first few years as musical director of Saint Thomas’s in Leipzig (starting in 1724) were extraordinarily productive and this period can be considered the golden age of his cantata composition.
The first two concerts will feature cantatas for solo soprano, sung by Julia Gooding, which will be performed alongside solo cantatas by Telemann and Vivaldi and virtuoso concerti featuring Martin Feinstein and other principal players in the ensemble.
The third cantata programme includes two larger-scale compositions, each with four soloists.
As is usual with Feinstein Ensemble cantata performances, and almost certainly in Bach’s own performances, the soloists sing the choruses.
The central work in the final concert is the extraordinary Cantata 125, Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin.
This work resembles in style, religious intensity and easy flow Bach’s St Matthew Passion, which was written around the same time.
PREVIEW: SONG AND SYMPHONY
St Martin-In-The-Fields
A SECOND series at St Martin’s, this one featuring six concerts by the London Musical Arts Orchestra, also kicks off in September.
Conductor John Landor, with soloists Evelyne Berezovsky (piano) and Joshua Fisher (violin) open the series, which promises to provide “melody and harmony” for all the family.
The Song and Symphony series features three evening concerts of works by three of the great classical melodists – Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
An educational afternoon family concert precedes each event, offering a laid-back discussion in which the primary work of the evening’s performance is explored.
Symphony and Song Part One (Saturday September 20) highlights Schubert’s Symphony No5, an early work written at the tender age of nineteen. The symphony is also the focus of the afternoon’s family concert (suitable for ages 5 and above).
The programme also features Mozart’s Salzburg Symphony in D and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No2, with young soloist Evelyne Berezovsky (piano).
The concert on Saturday October 18 focuses on Mozart and his glorious Requiem, including an exploration of this great choral work in the afternoon’s family concert.
The evening event also features choral greats including Schubert’s Magnificat and Ave Maria and Beethoven’s Creation Hymn.
The final concert in the series (Saturday November 15) concludes with Mozart’s Symphony No 40 and features Schubert’s Rondo for violin and orchestra with soloist Joshua Fisher.
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