Hereford
	String
	Orchestra

RECENT CONCERT

Leominster Priory, 16^th November 2002

 

Sir William Walton (1902-1983)

This year marks the centenary of the birth of Sir William Walton, one of Britain's most illustrious twentieth-century composers. Walton was born in Oldham, Lancashire, in 1902. Initially taught music by his father, he became a boy chorister at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. He began composing music during this period, and at sixteen became the youngest person ever to become an undergraduate at Christ Church. He was encouraged by the Dean and the university's professor of music, H. P. Allen, but he seems to have had little actual tuition and, along with Elgar, he belongs to that curiously English tradition of self-taught composers.

His first publicly performed work was a string quartet, in Salzburg in 1923, and he followed this with a wide range of music, including opera, ballet, two symphonies and choral, vocal and instrumental pieces. Much of his work is well-established in the repertoire, such as Belshazar's Feast and Façade (which arose from his long friendship with the Sitwell family). He is particularly well known for his splendid marches and other works written for ceremonial occasions, and for his film scores, mainly written during the 1939-45 war.

We shall be performing two of Walton's works this evening: pieces from the film of Henry V and Siesta, a composition particularly suited for small orchestra.

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Gioachino ROSSINI (1792-1868) Overture: Il Signor Bruschino

Rossini's contribution to the development of opera was immense - indeed, he dominated the world of opera for the first half of the nineteenth century. Technically, he extended the range of both instrumental textures and lyric ornamentation, and he introduced us to the 'Rossini crescendo', where the same passage is repeated again and again, each time with more instruments joining in. The effect created is of mounting excitement. Few of his operas have maintained their place in the repertoire, and his music is most widely familiar today through a handful of overtures which consistently sparkle with wit, melodic charm and infectious vitality. Such is the Overture to Il Signor Bruschino, a one-act opera to a libretto by Guiseppe Foppa, based on the well- tried theme of mistaken identity, commissioned for the Teatro San Moise in Venice, and first performed there in 1813.

William WALTON (1902-1983) Siesta

Although perhaps better known for his large orchestral works, Walton also wrote a number of miniatures for small orchestra. Such is Siesta, composed in 1926, and scored for strings, woodwind and two horns. It is a reflective and serene work, in which the various themes are mainly presented by solo instruments against a gentle accompaniment. There is a more richly scored central section. The piece was used for a ballet, Pas de Deux, choreographed by Frederick Ashton, and premiered at Sadler's Wells on 24th January 1936, when Walton himself conducted the orchestra.

Josef Haydn (1732-1809) Cello Concerto in D

i Allegro moderato

ii Adagio

iii Allegro

Haydn spent much of his life in charge of the music at the Esterházy court. The principal cellist in the orchestra was Anton Kraft and it was for him that Haydn wrote this concerto. It is known that Kraft gave him help and advice over the solo part; it was even held in some quarters chat he actually wrote the concerto, but it was never credited to him in performance. A copy of the original score in Haydn's own handwriting was rediscovered in the 1950s.

The work was probably written around 1783. The first movement is in fairly regular sonata form. Violins state the first subject and are joined by oboes in presenting the second. The first entry of the soloist sees the first theme simply restated, then ornamented. Much of the writing which follows shows the cello in its highest register, and there is a cadenza for the soloist towards the end of the movement, which ends by horns and violins reminding us briefly of the opening theme.

Having demonstrated the capacity of the cello to sing in the first movement, Haydn emphasises it in the second. The soloist begins with a lyrical tune of charming simplicity. Once again, throughout the movement there is effective writing in the cello's expressive upper register. A new tune is heard in the cello before the movement returns contemplatively to its original material.

The main theme of the last movement is in a jaunty 6/8 and is developed mostly from two themes, with the soloist introducing a new idea towards the end. Then the light-hearted first subject returns, with the wind instruments enjoying an episode which only they share with the soloist.

Tonight's soloist is Jenny Curtis.

 

William WALTON (1902-1983) Two Pieces from Henry V

Passacaglia: Death of Falstaff

Touch Her Soft Lips and Part

The two pieces from Henry V date from 1943-4 and form a small part of the film score for the first of Lawrence Olivier's three Shakespeare films. The success of the score, not by any means Walton's first, led to three more famous film scores: Hamlet (1947), Richard III (1955) and The Battle of Britain (1969). Walton said of these scores: 'Doing films gave me a lot more fluency'. Certainly these two miniatures seize on the appropriate mood vividly, immediately and beautifully illustrating the required situations.

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791) Symphony No 40 in G minor

i Allegro molto

ii Andante

iii Minuetto

iv Allegro assai

Mozart came to Vienna at the emperor's request to write operas and court music. But the emperor's patronage did not stabilise his finances, so he involved himself with other commissions and concert tours. His last three symphonies (39 in E flat, 40 in G minor and 41 in C) were completed in three successive months in the summer of 1788. Composed so close together, the three may be seen as a remarkable cycle, moving from the warmth of the E flat, through the restlessness and pathos of the G minor to the nobility and joy of the C major symphony.

The first movement of the G minor symphony begins without an introduction; merely three beats of a restless accompaniment before the first subject enters. The first theme is expounded entirely by strings, with the melody played by violins to a pulsating accompaniment from violas and basses. The second theme is a sighing melody from strings and woodwind.

The slower second movement is still full of jerking rhythms. It opens with the strings in a lovely introduction of the first theme, with horns offering a strange coloration of the background. The second theme is presented by full orchestra, and is mainly passage work marked by the fluttering figure accompaniment of the coda, expressed by various combinations of instruments.

The third movement is a strongly rhythmic minuet, with canonic overtones. It opens with an elaborately contrapuntal treatment of a strong theme in G minor, followed by a trio of tremendous contrast: light-textured and delicate, with fascinating effects from the horns.

The finale returns to the restless feeling of the first movement. It begins with the exposition of the first theme, a figure of very regular, though agitated character, which is followed by subsidiary and even more agitated passage work, leading to a statement by strings of the rather more relaxed second theme. Only at the beginning of the second half does the movement lose momentum and tonality at the same time, in a passage in which some have seen an early example of a tone row.

Our thanks go to Margaret Worsley, of the Beauchamp Sinfonia, for kindly providing some of the programme notes.

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The Shire Hall, Hereford

Hereford String Orchestra is delighted to be back in Leominster Priory for tonight's concert. It gives us great pleasure to be able to play in Leominster, and we also aim to visit other towns around the county frequently. However, it can be difficult to find an appropriate venue for the size and type of concert we give. When we give concerts in Hereford itself, we often turn to the Shire Hall, but because of the limitations of the facilities there we are sometimes unable to use this fine old building. We believe there may well be other organisations in a similar position.

We should like to be able to help initiate a scheme to improve the facilities at the Shire Hall, to make it more suitable as a concert venue, but need to know if others would be interested in such a project. If you know. of anyone or any organisation interested, please ring the H.S.O. secretary on 01568 760633.