Concert Details
| Title: | Lunchtime Concert St Leonard's Church Seaford. Julia Kemp, Soprano. Rosemary Kemp, Piano. |
| Promoted by: | St. Leonard’s Church, Seaford |
| Time: | Saturday, 12 March 2016, at 1:00pm |
| Place: | St Leonard’s Church, Seaford |
| Description: | PROGRAMME Sonata in D - Longo 164 - Allegretto Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in Eb - Longo 203 - Andante Cantabile Sonata in A minor - Longo 241 - Allegro Sonata in D - Longo 461 - Presto Sonata in E - Longo 23 - Andante Commodo “Se tu m’ami, se sospiri” (Canzonetta) - from Parisotti’s Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (attributed to) Arie Antiche “Where’er you walk” Aria from “Semele” George Frideric Handel Lascia ch’io pianga” Recitative and Aria from “Rinaldo” Impromptu in Eb - Opus 90 No. 2 - Allegro Franz Schubert “Batti batti, o bel Masetto” Aria from “Don Giovanni” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart “Voi, che sapete” Aria from “Le Nozze di Figaro” Valse no. 7 in C# minor opus 64 no. 2 Tempo giusto Frédéric Chopin “ Polonaise Militaire” - Opus 40 No. 1 - Allegro con brio “Die Forelle” (The Trout) - Opus 32, D 550 Franz Schubert “Ave Maria” Opus 52 no. 6 (Ellen’s dritter Gesang) D 839 Keyboard Sonatas (Domenico Scarlatti) Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified primarily as a Baroque composer although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style and he was one of the few Baroque composers to transition into the classical period. Today he is known mainly for his 555 keyboard sonatas. He began his career in Italy in 1701, but moved to Portugal in 1719 and Spain in 1729 and his sonatas are much influenced by Spanish and Italian popular dance rhythms. Scarlatti makes frequent use of hand crossing (e.g. the 3rd and 4th sonatas of today’s set), which some say was as much aimed at showmanship, as enhancing the music. . “Se tu m’ami, se sospiri” (Canzonetta) (Giovanni Battista Pergolesi) Although this canzonetta (or “little song”) is attributed to Pergolesi, it is thought by some to have been written by Parisotti in the nineteenth century as an addition to his own collection, Arie Antiche. The eighteenth-century style is nevertheless convincingly represented in this pastoral song. “Where’er you walk” Aria from “Semele” (George Frideric Handel) This aria is taken from Semele, a “musical drama” by Handel that fuses elements of opera, oratorio and classical drama. Sung by the god Jupiter to his mortal lover, Semele, it recounts the beauty of Arcadia, a utopian paradise. Lascia ch’io pianga” Recitative and Aria from “Rinaldo” (George Frideric Handel) Taken from Handel’s Rinaldo, this aria is the complaint of the titular knight’s lover as she lies imprisoned by the sorceress Armida. A well-known concert piece, this aria is one of Handel’s finest laments, making excellent use of harmonic tension and of melodic seufzers (“sighing” motifs). Impromptu in Eb - Opus 90 No. 2 (Franz Schubert) The Schubert Impromptus are a series of eight pieces for solo piano composed in 1827. The first four were published in the composer's lifetime as Op. 90. Op. 90 No. 2 is one of few single-movement pieces that begin in a major key and end in the parallel minor. Rapid passage work based on descending scales or arpeggios dominates the outer section whereas the middle section contains more lyrical material in the minor. “Batti batti, o bel Masetto” Aria from “Don Giovanni” (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) In this aria, Zerlina pleads with her lover, Masetto, to forgive her after Don Giovanni’s (almost successful) attempts to seduce her. By the time that the compound-metre second section arrives, the couple have reconciled and Zerlina sings of their love. “Voi, che sapete” Aria from “Le Nozze di Figaro” (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) One of the comic Cherubino’s arias in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, this aria recounts the character’s adolescent love for the Countess. The aria’s harmonic and melodic simplicity is fitting for the naivety of Cherubino’s expression. Valse no. 7 in C# minor opus 64 no. 2 (Frédéric Chopin) Chopin wrote twenty waltzes, which reflect the original simplicity of the Viennese dance, but at the same time transform the genre to a higher plane, whilst still retaining its popularity with contemporary society. Op. 62 No. 2 was composed in 1847 and was dedicated to Baroness Charlotte de Rothchild. This Waltz takes the form of a ternary dance with trio. In an orchestrated version, it forms part of the ballet Les Sylphides. Polonaise “Militaire” - Opus 40 No. 1(Frédéric Chopin) This Polonaise nicknamed the Military Polonaise was composed in1838 and has been said to be a symbol of Polish glory. During the September 1939 German invasion of Poland at the outset of World War II, Polski Radio broadcast this piece daily as nationalistic protest, and to rally the Polish people. The Polonaise is a Polish dance in 3/4 time, which has a distinctive rhythmic pattern, which this polonaise follows unflinchingly. The piece is almost entirely played forte, which makes for a bombastic performance. “Die Forelle” (The Trout) - Opus 32, D 550 (Franz Schubert) This lied is the precursor to the Trout Quintet, Op. 114, D. 667, whose fourth movement comprises a set of variations on the main themes of the lied. The lied recounts the story of a trout swimmingly merrily in a brook before it is spied and then, tragically, caught by a nearby fisherman. “Ave Maria” Opus 52 no. 6 (Ellen’s dritter Gesang) D 839 (Franz Schubert) It is common to hear the full Latin words of the Ave Maria set to this tune by Schubert. Nevertheless, the German version presented at today’s concert is Schubert’s original and draws on a different source of inspiration: Walter Scott’s epic poem, The Lady of the Lake. This lied is the appeal of the titular character, also known as Ellen, to the Virgin Mary as she is exiled to a hermit’s cave. . Julia Kemp read Music at Trinity College, Cambridge from 2011 – 2014 and was a choral scholar in the college’s chapel choir. During this time, Julia participated in two performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio which were broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 from St John’s, Smith Square and toured with the choir to the USA, Canada and Germany. She also appears on several of the choir’s recordings, including the recent Yulefest! collection of Christmas music and the choir’s recordings of music by Eriks Esenvalds, Kenneth Leighton, J.S. Bach and G. F. Handel. While studying at Trinity, Julia received singing lessons from Sheila Barnes. More recently, Julia has performed in the Cambridge University Opera Society’s production of chamber operas written by student composers, playing the Nightingale in Bertie Baigent’s The Nightingale and the Rose. Julia is currently training to be a secondary school music teacher. Rosemary Kemp, formerly a scholarship pupil and prize winner at the Royal College of Music London, performs and teaches piano, harpsichord and electronic and digital keyboard professionally. She is a qualified secondary school teacher with post graduate qualifications in special needs. She contributed to A Common Approach for the Federation of Music Services and has been a moderator for the ABRSM Music Medals. She was Keyboard Co-ordinator for East Sussex Music Service prior to her current position teaching piano for Brighton and Hove Music and Arts. Rosemary set up the SNAPPS Special Needs Advocates Group based in Seaford East Sussex and ran it for twenty years prior to its closure in 2012. Rosemary played professionally prior to having a family and she has continued to play at a local level for festivals, clubs and theatre groups as well as in recitals more recently. She has been a regular performer at the St. Leonard’s lunch time recitals. |
| Tickets: | Free Admission with a retiring Collection. Concert lasts approximately an hour. |
| Contact: | John Baker |
