| Noël! Noël! |  |
Featuring the Brandenburg Choir and Orchestra
Joyous, spiritual, unique, eventful, festive
Noël! Noël! concerts always provide a perfect full stop to the year, a time to take in a deep breath and reflect upon the year. This concert is an ideal way to launch into the festive celebrations and to gather with your loved ones. Join the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir to mark this occasion and share a special moment with your family and friends. These concerts make ideal early Christmas gifts.
Each year, Noël! Noël features the ever popular Brandenburg Choir
"[The Brandenburg Choir is] one of the finest choruses one could put together in this town" The Sydney Morning Herald
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra also performs Noël! Noël! concerts within regional centres and churches, such as Cremorne and Newcastle, Parramatta, Paddington and Wahroonga.
Noël! Noël! concerts were performed between 11 Dec and 18 Dec 2007.
BRANDENBURG SERIES 2007, Concert 5
| Baroque Beat | |
Guest director and soloist, theorbo Christina Pluhar (Austria)
Guest artists, members of L'Arpeggiata (France)
Lucilla Galeazzi – voice
Gianluigi Trovesi – clarinet
Anna Dego – theatrical dancer
Margit Übellacker – psaltery
Adventurous, inventive, creative, limitless, expressive, colourful, magical
Deliciously entertaining songs and dances from the renaissance and baroque periods fused with jazz and toe-tapping improvisations.
"If you haven't met baroque harpist Christina Pluhar and her group L'Arpeggiata, then it's time you did." BBC UK
An immediacy and freshness will grab you right from the first few moments. With toe-tapping continuos on baroque guitars, harp and theorbo, you will be uplifted like never before.
Featuring pastiches from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, with an ancient Middle Eastern flavour, mixed with jazz, improvisation and folk, where the character of the music and the musicians can express their inner voice.
Guest director Christina Pluhar founded the orchestra L'Arpeggiata, and is synonymous with exploration of harmonic and rhythmic possibilities, conveying the essence of music, allowing the musician freedom which inevitability touches the listener in a way never achieved before. Improvisation has been described as the most direct form of communication with the listener.
Program
Mediterranean. Chaconnes, folias, romanescas and a little bit of madness...
| G.B Buonamente Emilio de' Cavalieri Lucilla Galeazzi |
Intrata Sinfonia "A vita bella" |
| Claudio Monteverdi Maurizio Cazzati/Improvisation Improvisation Tradionelle pugliese |
Sinfonie Ciaccona Follia "Pizzicarella mia |
| Huete/ Improvisation | Tarantella Napoletana |
| Maurizio Cazzati Traditionelle pugliese Improvisation Antonio Bertali |
Passacaglia "La Carpinese" Bergamasca Ciaccona |
| G.F Sances Luigi Rossi Luigi Rossi G.B. Buonamente |
Sinfonia Ritornello Ballo Poi che noi rimena |
| Lucilla Galeazzi/ Improvisation | "Voglio una casa" |
| Santa Cruz/Improvisation | Jacaras |
| Mattei /Rossi/ Improvisation Girolamo Kapsberger Lucilla Galeazzi Traditonelle |
La dia spagnola/ Passacaglia Arpeggiata "Sogna, fiore mio" Tarantella Italiana |
| Marco Uccelini Luigi Rossi Tradionelle Santiago de Murcia |
Sonata a 6 Dormite, begl'occhi "Lu Gattu" Fandango |
| Improvisation | "Turlurù" |
| Kapsberger/Improvisation Improvisation |
Kapsberger Ciaccona |
| Gianluigi Trovesi Improvisation |
Animali in Marcia "Ninna, nanna sopra la Romanesca" |
City Recital Hall, Angel Place
Fri 2, Sat 3, Wed 7, Fri 9, Sat 10 November 2007 all at 7pm
BRANDENBURG SERIES 2007, Concert 4
| Vivaldi Violin Velocity | |
Guest director and soloist, baroque violin Hiro Kurosaki (Austria)
Jealousy, passion, fury, frantic, imaginative and inventive
"Kurosaki's violin seems to take on a life of its own, giving the music plenty of breadth and emotional variety."
Early Music America
Great concertos of the baroque. A rare opportunity to hear the great concertos for violin and rare combinations of instruments by baroque masters in the one concert, delivered with all the excitement and immediacy of the baroque violin. Introducing composers new to the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra - Zavateri and Pisendel
Featuring two concertos by Vivaldi with several instruments sharing solo billing. Concerto in F features violin, hunting horns, oboes, bassoon and solo cello - truly evocative. Amazingly, the opening of the first movement for Concerto in D sounds remarkably modern. Typical Vivaldi - with a rhythmic drive and energy with jazz-like syncopations.
Handel's great Concerto grosso Op 6 No 10 is operatic, with a dramatic opening movement in the French style. Elegant, restrained second and fifth movements contrast the intellectual rigour of the third and the wild energy of the fourth.
Zavateri's Tempesta di mare (storm at sea) depicts no less than two storms, with a beautiful calm in between. Featuring virtuosic writing for solo violin that is highly imaginative and inventive.
Heinichen mixed idioms of German, French and Italian music but followed Vivaldi's Italian concerto model which can be heard in Concerto for Oboe. Evocative pizzicato accompaniment to sinuos oboe in slow movement. If you loved the Albinoni and Marcello concertos, you will love this.
Pisendel was one of the most famous violinists of his time - Telemann, Albinoni and Vivaldi all dedicated works to him. He was a student of Heinichen and a friend of Vivaldi, but his own style is highly original - edgy and spectacular with breathtaking writing for virtuoso violin.
Program
| Vivaldi Handel Zavateri Vivaldi Heinichen Pisendel |
Concerto in F major, RV 569 Concerto grosso in D minor, Op 6 No 10 Concerto a Tempesta di mare, Op 1 No 12 Concerto in D major, RV 564 Concerto for oboe in G minor, S237 Concerto for violin in D major |
BRANDENBURG SERIES 2007, Concert 3
| French Passion and Italian Masters | |
Guest soloist, countertenor Philippe Jaroussky (France)
Voted France's 2007 Opera Singer of the Year
Stirring, infectious, danceable, exciting, brilliant, passionate, haunting, grand, majestic
"Jaroussky. Remember this name: his star is clearly in the accent"
Gramaphone
French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky was voted "Operatic Revelation of the Year" at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2004.
The first half of this programme is devoted to songs and instrumental works from the great Italian masters of the very, very early Baroque from the early 1600s, some with derivations from dance music - infectious and stirring, such as the Ciaccona. While Stradella, with his brilliant powers of invention and beautiful melodic lines, links the early with the late Baroque.
The second half of the programme features works from the 18th century, including two of the greatest composers of the later Baroque, Handel and Vivaldi.
Program
| Valente | Improvisation on Gallarda Napolitana |
| Ferrari | Aria:Amanti, io vi sò dire |
| Merula | Ciaccona from Canzoni Libro Terzo, Op 12 |
| D'india | Piangono al pianger mio |
| Falconieri | La suave melodia y su corrente |
| Rossi | Sonata sopra l'Aria di Ruggiero (Libro III) |
| Monteverdi | Si dolce è il tormento |
| Anon | Improvisation on Folias Antiguas |
| Stradella | Excerpts from the oratorio San Giovanni Battista Sinfonia to Part I Soffin pur rabbiosi fremiti Sinfonia to Part II Io, per me non cangerci |
| Vivaldi | String Concerto in D minor, RV 128 Vedro con mio diletto from the opera Giustino, RV 717 Se in ogni guardo from the opera Orlando finto pazzo, RV 727 |
| Handel | Concerto grosso in A major, Op 6 No 11, HWV 329 Che più si tarda omai … Stille amare from the opera Tolomeo, Re di Egitto, HWV 25 Venti, turbini from the opera Rinaldo, HWV 7 |
BRANDENBURG SERIES 2007, Concert 2
| Young Romantics | |
Marc Destrubé and Paul Dyer talk about their great friendship and the Young Romantics series. Read article >>
Guest director and soloist, period violin Marc Destrubé (Canada)
Precocious, dazzling, dramatic, romantic, youthful, serious, brilliant, lyrical, expressive
A new adventure for the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, launching into the period of the romantics with Beethoven. The Brandenburg has never performed something this modern before, so brace yourself for a journey into new territory.
Marc Destrubé has been praised by Strad Magazine (London) for the "stylish solo playing..., individual yet unselfconcious".
The Romantic period was not only defined by a time period but also by characteristics. Romantic composers are known for transforming symphonies and sonatas, pushing boundaries through their individual expressions, breaking free from restrictions.
All these composers were young when they wrote these pieces; Arriaga aged 13, Mendelssohn 14, Schubert 19, and Mozart and Beethoven were both - for once - not featured as child prodigies as they were relatively old at 29.
Arriaga's overture to the opera Los Esclavos Felices, with his colourful orchestration, features a large wind section including flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, as well as drums, with a beautiful melody which is simply exquisite.
Mozart's Andante is so meltingly beautiful, Paul Dyer could not resist including this to showcase the Orchestra's newly commissioned fortepiano.
Mendelssohn's Sinfonia No 7 is dazzlingly accomplished for a 13 year-old and already shows his distinctive blend of Mozartean formal poise, fugal writing modelled on JS Bach, and the drama and passion of Carl Maria von Weber.
The main theme of the Rondo shows Schubert at his most sunny and optimistic, and provides wonderful opportunities for the soloist to show off both technical brilliance and lyrical expressiveness.
The program culminates in Beethoven's first symphony full of youthful urgency and energy.
Program
| Arriaga Mozart Mendelssohn Schubert Beethoven |
Overture to the opera Los Esclavos Felices Andante from Piano Concerto No 21 in C major, K467 Sinfonia No 7 in D minor Rondo in A major, D 438 Symphony No 1 in C major, Op 21 |
| ENSEMBLE 1 - Postcard From Rome | |
Jamie Hey relishes the opportunity to select the ensemble program.
"The Brandenburg Ensemble presented music … with the refinement of playing and elegance of style that is only possible when each performer is a specialist in historical performance practice." The Sydney Morning Herald
Postcard from Rome offers a program that, like the city itself, excites the senses - enchanting, beautiful and romantic, spiritually introspective yet dramatically expressive.
In seventeenth-century Rome the wealthy and influential elite from amongst the nobility and the church were significant patrons of the arts. But finding the balance between the passions of love, art, power and religion was Rome's challenge.
Elsewhere in Italy, opera was taking everyone's interest, but in Rome public performance of opera was banned by the popes, who feared its excess. Nonetheless, the finest musicians and composers from all over Italy (many of whom led scandalous private lives) were attracted to Rome by the promise of employment by the powerful and wealthy. These great composers channelled their passions into new and acceptable forms of vocal music and increasingly important instrumental music.
Dramatic and romantic with a refined grace and haunting beauty, this concert features some rarely-heard works from the renowned musicians of the period, including Scarlatti and Corelli. A highlight will be the Brandenburg soloists demonstrating their talents for improvisation in Pasquini's sonata, the score of which consists only of two bass lines.
Program
| Corelli | Trio sonata, Op 3 No 12 |
| A Scarlatti | Cantata Bella madre dei fiori |
| Ciccolini | Sinfonia for the oratorio Assalone punito by Pietro Andrea Ziani |
| Durón | Cantada al Santísimo con violines Ay, qué me abraso de amor en la llama |
| Pasquini | Sonata III in D minor |
| D Scarlatti | Cantata Tinte a note di sangue |
| Monteverdi | Pur ti miro from the opera L'incoronazione di Poppea |
Performers
Guest soloists
| Tessa Miller | soprano |
| Fiona Campbell | mezzo-soprano |
The musicians on period instruments
| Lucinda Moon | violin |
| Ben Dollman | violin |
| Jamie Hey | cello |
| Kirsty McCahon | violone |
| Tommie Andersson | archlute/guitar |
| Rosemary Hodgson | theorbo |
| Linda Kent | organ/harpsichord |
For Sydney performances, your ticket includes a complimentary drink at interval. Musicologist Alan Maddox will also provide an insightful on-stage commentary during the performance.
BRANDENBURG SERIES 2007, Concert 1
| Classic Mozart | |
Guest artist, fortepiano Kristian Bezuidenhout (USA)
Charming, vibrant, vivid, melancholy, yearning, haunting, rousing, exhilarating
"Bezuidenhout played with vigour, variety and colour: extraordinary...and immensely expressive."
Boston Globe
A beautiful range of classical pieces to blend and contrast.
Mayr, a younger contemporary of Mozart and teacher of the next generation of Italian composers, exhibits vibrant orchestration and vivid dramatic harmonies with his overture to the oratorio Sisara.
Mozart's Rondo is one of Mozart's most beautiful concerto movements, showcasing limpid melodies, dramatic contrast and dazzling virtuosity - leaving you with a feeling of delicacy and beautiful expression.
Haydn, a contemporary of Mozart with a repertoire three times the size, is undeservedly often overlooked. This program features his Symphony No 82 in C major, known as 'The Bear'. It offers a cheeky, virtuosic half hour of intense playing which is as much fun for the audience as it is for the Orchestra.
Schuster's piano and string writings influenced the young Mozart and by 1792 he was recognized throughout Germany as "one of our most popular composers". Overture to Rübezahl has been described as "fiery instrumental accompaniment" with dramatic devices of the Sturm und Drang ("storm and stress") style, characterised by sudden fortes and unexpected pauses.
Mozart's Piano Concerto K467 is one of the most famous and best loved of Mozart's concertos, combining symphonic, chamber and operatic styles. Mozart's intentions were for the concerto to be "accessible and popular" and to fall pleasantly on the ear, with yearningly beautiful slow movements.
Program
| Mayr Mozart Haydn Schuster Mozart |
Overture to the oratorio Sisara Rondo in A major, K386 Symphony No 82 in C major Overture to the opera Rübezahl Piano Concerto No 21 in C major, K467 |