Christmas Concert 2013

Sun, 8 Dec 2013

Conductor - Bjorn Bantock

Leader - Tina Bowles

Featuring the children of King Catholic Primary School

In support of the work of The Comboni Sisters

The Concert Programme

  • The Santa Express - Alun Cook

  • España - Alexis Chabrier

  • Christmas Medley (with 'rubber chickens') - Stephen Latham

  • Carols with audience

     

    • Ding Dong Merrily on High

    • O Little Town of Bethlehem

    • Good King Wenceslas

  • Somewhere over the Rainbow - Harburg and Arlen

    Sung by the choir of Christ the King Catholic Primary School
     

  • Interval

    with mulled wine and mince pies


     

  • Carmen Suite No 1 - Georges Bizet

     

    • 1. Prelude

    • 1a. Aragonaise

    • 2. Intermezzo

    • 3. Seguedille

    • 4. Les Dragons d'Alcala

    • Les Toreadors

  • Sleigh Ride Fantasia Christmas Medley - Alfie Pugh

  • Taking Off - Edmund Jolliffe

    London Premiere


     

  • Carols with audience

    • Deck the Hall arr. Tony Royse

    • Silent Night

    • Hark, the Herald Angels Sing

Performance Notes

Alexis Emmanual Chabrier (1841 - 1894) was a French composer and pianist. He began working life as a civil servant until, in 1883, he wrote his rhapsody España and took Paris by storm. With its throbbing rhythms and exotic themes it opened up a new era in orchestral virtuosity, and set a vogue for Spanish dance tunes.

The work originated during a holiday that Chabrier took in Spain in 1882 where he was thrilled by the sound of Spanish dance music. He wrote to the conductor Charles Lamoureaux that he would compose an 'extraordinary fantasia' which would incite Paris audiences to a fever of exitement, and that even Lamoureux would feel compelled to hug the orchestra's leader, so voluptuous would be his melodies. España lived up to Chabrier's promise and became one of the best loved pieces in the orchestral repertoire.

Georges Bizet (1838 - 1875) was another French composer who was inspired by Spanish music. He had little success in his lifetime until his final work Carmen, though he died soon after its premiere in 1836 and never enjoyed its immense popularity. Carmen is loosely based on the novel by Prosper Mermée about the gypsy girl Carmen and her fatal attraction to men, particularly the dragoon guard Don José and the toreador Escamillo. All ends in tragedy when the embittered lover Don José stabs Carmen to death, as the sound of cheering rises from the arena acclaiming his rival Escamillo.

The orchestral version of the opera consists of six movements containing many of its best loved tunes.

Edmund Joliffe is a contemporary London-based composer whose music covers a range of styles from contemporary classical to show songs. 'Taking Off' was composed for a group of pupils at King's High School for Girls, Warwick, and was premiered at their final speech day in 2011.

Jolliffe wanted to write somehting that captured the idea of leaping into the unknown, taking steps into an exciting future. He originally called it 'Jumping Off' but one of the players said the title suggested suicide! The rythym moves constantly forward and often teeters over itiself which lends the piece an exciting and festive air.  This concert is its London premiere.

Harold Arlen (1905 - 1986) composed the music for 'The Wizard of Oz' in 1938, whose most famous number was 'Over the Rainbow', forever associated with Judy Garland. Born in New York, Arlen moved to California to specialise in writing musicals.

Alfie Pugh is a 24-year-old composer from Exeter who is largely self-taught, and writes music for professional, univerisity and county youth ensembles

Carols. The carols in this concert are arranged by Tony Royse, a British Canadian composer and conductor who has written ballet, orchestral and choral works. Notable among them are Hark the Herlad Angels Sing which was composed u Felix Mendelssohn with words by John Wesley, and Silent Night by Franz Gruber, a 19th century Austrian church organist who wrote the tune the night before Christmas 1818 ona  guitar because the church organ had broken down.

The Concert Charity

The Comboni Sisters

St Mellitus Parish supports the Comboni Sisters' work in Palestine-Israel. They provide a mobile clinic and train health care workers in Bedouin communities excluded from normal medical services. In Tel Aviv two nursing sisters volunteer alongside Israeli doctors ina  clinic run by Physicians for Human Rights - Israel for refigees (mainly from Eritrea or Sudan) many of whom have been kidnapped and tortured by criminal trafficking gangs as they cross the Sinai desert to see asylum in Israel. One of these sisters, Sister Aziza, campaigns to increase awareness of the plight of thse refugees, and an interview with her can be found on www.stopsinaitorture.org

The Concert Players

Conductor: Bjorn Bantock

First Violins

  • Tina Bowles (Leader)
  • Rachel Barbanel
  • Steve Dobson
  • Adrian Garfoot
  • Natalie Kent
  • Emmy Kerkvliet
  • Nataliya Mandzhekova
  • Gwyn Rhydderch
  • Richard Smith
Second Violins
  • Cathy Fox (Principal)
  • Emma Brant
  • Sonya Kalyniak
  • Mei Lee
  • Sabrina Pathan
  • Mary Ruddy
  • Emily Taylor
  • Jan Toporowski
  • Ayesha Wynne
Violas
  • Geoff Irwin (Principal)
  • Tom Boswell
  • Richard Clarembaux
  • Nigel Franklin
  • Nancy Hadjievangelou
  • Thea Hoskin
  • Natalie John
  • Ellie Nichol
Cellos
  • David Robinson (Principal)
  • Sue Bird
  • Helen Butler
  • Carmel Dillon
  • Fiona Dunn
  • Hilary Evans
  • Anna Woodward
Double Basses
  • Clarissa Dann
  • Francois Moreau
  • Ingele Weekes
Flutes
  • Ian Bradford
  • Joanna Bosanquet
  • Emma Higham
Oboes
  • Sumitra Lahiri
  • Sue Bulmer
Clarinets
  • Lindsey Kaye
  • Ian Merryweather
Bassoons
  • Rosalind Hedley-Miller
  • Richard Griffiths
French Horns
  • Mike Fage
  • Netia Lascelles
  • Julie Rooke
  • Amy West
Trumpets
  • Antony Brian
  • Ollie Haines
Trombones
  • Sian Herlihy
  • Chris Pass
  • Paul Weaving
Tuba
  • Paul Miller
Timpani
  • Stuart Delve
Keyboard
  • David Lascelles
Percussion
  • John Holland
  • Sharon Moloney