Summer Concert 2022 at St Mellitus

Sun, 3 Jul 2022

Conductor - Oliver Till

Leader - Tina Bowles

In aid of Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research.

The Concert Programme

  • Joyeuse Marche - Emmanuel Chabrier

  • Violin Concerto in D major Op 61 - Ludwig van Beethoven - Soloist Emmanuel Bach

  • Symphony No 7 in C major Op 105 - Jean Sibelius

Programme Notes

Emmanuel Chabrier (1841 - 1894) - Joyeuse Marche

Chabrier was a French Romantic composer and pianist, a close friend of painter Edouard Manet. Until the age of 39 he only composed in his spare time; he studied law in Paris and then worked as a civil servant. His lack of academic training left him free to create his own musical language and many later composers regarded him as an important innovator and catalyst who paved the way for French modernism.

The work that became Joyeuse Marche began life in 1885 as a piano duet. The final orchestral version had its first performance in 1890. Chabrier described the piece, with his characteristic good-natured humour, as 'idiotically comical; the musicians were in stiches'.
 

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) - Violin Concert Op 61

Beethoven was a German composer and pianist, one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music. He was born in Bonn, then at age 21 he moved to Vienna where he studied composition with Haydn, performed on the piano, and also learned violin. By 1800 he had composed his first symphony and 6 string quartets, Op 18, and was regarded as one of the most important of a generation of young composers following on from Haydn and Mozart.

Beethoven wrote the violin concert ion 1806 for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day. The opening with the beat of the timpani follows the style of French music at the time. The premiere was not a success; it is believed that Beethoven finished the solo part so late that Clement had to sight-read part of his performance! Subsequently the Violin Concerto was little played, then after Beethoven's death it was revived after a stunning performance in 1844 by 12 year old violinist Joseph Joachim.
 

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957) - Symphony No 7 in C major Op 105

Sibelius was a Finnish composer and violinist, widely recognised as his country's greatest composer, thanks in part to some of his early music that helped Finland develop a national identity during its struggle for independence from Russia.

The 7th Symphony was Sibelius' last, premiered in Stockholm in 1924 as Fantasia Sinfonica, then published in 1925 as 'Symphony No 7 (in one movement)'. The form of this symphony, all in a single continuous movement, is highly original. It's construction is very clever; variety is achieved by an almost constantly changing tempo to encompass the variety of tone and colour one would normally find in the different movements of a symphony.  The 'tune' snakes from one section of the orchestra to another, each player receiving then passing on the main theme, rather than playing a melody or an accompaniment.

Sibelius first described his plans for this symphony in 1918 as involving 'joy of life and vitality with appassionato sections', but it remained a work in progress until after he had completed Symphony No 6. 

The Concert Charity

Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research (SMSR) is an independent charity based at the National Spinal Injuries Centre. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for the 50,000 people living with spinal cord injury in the UK.

We do this by tackling the day to day, and often unseen, complications of paralysis, including pain, pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, and problems with upper limb function.

Our UK wide research projects are selected through a robust peer review process, led by our Scientific Advisory Board. As well as being chosen for their scientific merit, they are chosen for their potential to make real changes to clinical practice and therefore improve a person's quality of life.  Since 2019 we have committed over £400,000 to life-changing research.

The Concert Players

Conductor: Oliver Till

First Violins
  • Tina Bowles (Leader)
  • Rachel Barbanel
  • Dominie Craddock
  • Mary Dentschuk
  • Steve Dobson
  • Serena Leader
  • Catherine Menon
  • Lucinda Platt
  • Gwyn Rhydderch
  • Amy Till
Second Violins
  • Nichola Blakey (Principal)
  • Louisa Burden
  • Athénaïs Gagey
  • Susan Grayeff
  • Eve Naftalin
  • Gerry Shortall
  • Catherine Sides
  • Jan Toporowski
  • Pearl Williams
Violas
  • Geoff Irwin (Principal)
  • Tom Boswell
  • Richard Clarembaux
  • Nigel Franklin
  • Jamie Masters
Cellos
  • Josh Salter (Principal)
  • Hilary Evans
  • Tekij Fernandez
  • Hannah Franklin
  • Helen Mabelis
  • Nicholas Singer
  • Charlotte Youngs
Double Basses
  • Darren Edwards
  • Francois Moreau
  • Tom Skrinar
Flutes/Piccolos/Bass Flute
  • Graeme Scott
  • Natalie Ryan
Oboes
  • Sumitra Lahiri
  • Adrian Hall
Clarinets
  • Lindsey Glen
  • Ian Merryweather
Bassoons
  • Rosalind Hedley-Miller
  • Louise Johnston
French Horns
  • Susie Laker
  • Julie Rooke
  • Todor Trankarov
  • Grace Watkinson
Trumpets
  • Annie Dehaney-Steven
  • Glyn Jones
  • Charlotte Webb
Trombones
  • Peter Gough
  • Rob Heath
  • Lukas Schmidt
Timpani
  • Stuart Delve
Percussion
  • David Coronel
  • Sharon Moloney