Concert Calendar

Friday August 22nd 8:00pm (ends approx. 9:15)

St John's College, St. Giles, Oxford

Stephen Burrows - countertenor
Nick Hewlett - tenor
Matthew Vine - tenor
Duncan Saunderson - bass
Julian Littlewood - organ

F. Schubert (1797-1828) Salve Regina
A. Brumel (c. 1460-1512) Lamentations
W. Byrd (1540–1623) Mass for 4 Voyces

A selection of traditional English part-songs

Music will be performed on the new organ at St. John’s
College Chapel. The organ was commissioned from one
of the world's best organ builders, Bernard Aubertin.
It is the first French organ in Oxford or Cambridge,
and the first Aubertin in England.

Imagine a boy born one of 16 children to a father of peasant stock and a mother who was a housemaid before becoming a housewife. He reluctantly became a teacher but loved to compose. He had few commissions, very little of his music was published in his lifetime and he was always short of cash. His 2 attempts at opera were unsuccessful and he was neither an outstanding conductor nor performer. He frequented cafés and taverns and died at the age of 31. His “estate” of old clothes and music barely covered a modest funeral. This man was Franz Schubert, one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition with an unsurpassed gift for melody. Of his 600 songs, “Who is Sylvia”, for example, was quickly written in a tavern and “Erlkönig” was instantly rejected by the publisher Breitkopf and Härtel. His “Salve Regina” D 811 for 4 male voices is written in a deceptively simple and jolly style for such a sacred text. As the piece progress however, Schubert’s genius and wit begin to shine brightly.

The Frenchman Antoine Brumel was compared favourably to Josquin des Prez, and Palestrina ordered his music to be performed in The Sistine Chapel. His exquisite “Lamentations of Jeremiah” follow the unusual convention of setting letters from the Hebrew alphabet (e.g. Aleph, Beth, Teth etc) to elaborate abstract music. Like illuminated initials in a medieval manuscript, they contrast with the more syllabic narrative of Jeremiah’s bitterness on the destruction of Jerusalem.

William Byrd was a Catholic under the Protestant reign of Elizabeth I: he was tolerated because of the sheer quality of his music. His “Mass for 4 Voyces” was written for the intimate, even secretive atmosphere of domestic worship. During the anti-Catholic frenzy of the Gunpowder plot in 1605 it was banned under penalty of imprisonment.

Tickets £10 on the door. Reservations .

Discounted rates for group bookings - please enquire.

Saturday August 23rd 2008. Hambledon Recital Series, Hambledon, nr. Henley.