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Bulletin No 9, January 2007

Last term saw the launch of Ufton Court as an independent educational trust in a crowded barn, with an appropriate owl and other birds of prey, the local MPs competing in the new indoor archery range, and notable worthies including Sir Richard Benyon, while figures in Elizabethan costume circulated with goodies and played 16^th century music.  They are determined to continue with school children visiting in term and would like to cater for disadvantaged children in the holidays too, so we wished them well and were delighted to be back a week later for our traditional annual weekend as ever.

At Ufton C¾sar Franck's Symphony in D minor was the main work under Steve and it gave every department grand sweeping tunes, though gruelling for the strings in the short time available.  On the lighter side, we enjoyed Strauss' Thunder and Lightning Polka, Raymond's contribution of Britten's arrangement of Rossini's  Soir¾es Musicales, and Patsy's special arrangement for our mixed forces of a magnificent 10-part Canzona by Giovanni Gabrieli.  Choirs are familiar with this sort of music, but such free instrumental writing is not usually available to us.  The strings had a happy session with Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik under John Tims, while the wind rejoiced in Nick's excellent arrangement of Brahm's Variations on a theme of Haydn directed by Martin.

During the term, Rossini's Barber of Seville overture under Steve emphasized the composer's love of Mozart and made us strive for our greatest neatness and sensitivity between the crashing opening and closing chords, while Brahms' s Symphony No. 2 under John was greatly relished for its warm geniality, the composer relaxing after having proved himself as the stern successor to Beethoven with his great First.   Our offerings to our Friends and Loved Ones opened with a great blaze of our brass in Sibelius' Finlandia and made them sit up before each section sang that enviable national anthem in turn.  It was good then to turn to the traditional sherry and mince pies, with the addition of another of Lynne's cakes iced to celebrate our 35^th Anniversary, as if she had not already done enough for us by organising a well-attended lunch at the Fox & Hounds the week before.  We were just sorry that Raymond and Leonora were not well enough to join us for another milestone in the further development of his creation.

Dates for your Diary

Spring Term:  January 13,  20,  27, February 3, 10, (17 Half-term), 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24 FALO.

Another Skittles evening has been arranged at the Gardeners' Arms, Caversham on Saturday evening, February 24^th  2007, at £10 a head.

Summer Term:  April 21,  28,  May 5,  12,  19,  (26 Half-term,   June 2 Holybrook Festival),  June 9,  16,   23 FALO.

Programme Notes

Steve Wellman writes:     Mendelssohn        Symphony No 5 in D minor

The 'Reformation symphony' was composed to mark the 300^th anniversary of Luther's  publication of the articles of faith known as the Augsburg Confession. Although Mendelssohn had been baptised and raised in the Lutheran church, his Jewish ancestry may have played a large part in preventing the performance of this work in official events celebrating the anniversary.  After a couple of unsuccessful performances, he set the work aside, and it was not published until after his death in 1847.

The symphony begins with a slow introduction which alternates between brass fanfares and responding strings playing the Dresden Amen.  The theme from the fanfare is used throughout the remainder of the first movement. The second movement takes the form of an upbeat dance built around a variant of that first theme.  Mendelssohn then uses a much more restrained third movement, which features a theme played by strings and a small woodwind section at an andante tempo.  Finally, the fourth movement, built almost exclusively around Luther's chorale A Mighty Fortress is our God from the Augsburg Confession, begins with a simple and direct introduction of the chorale by the flute. Various elements of the woodwind section, followed by strings and bass, are added until the full orchestra plays the chorale. Immediately the tempo increases to allegro, as various instruments repeat the chorale theme until a final statement with an accompanying trumpet fanfare.

John Tims writes:   Mozart       Overture, The Magic Flute.

The last of Mozart’s operas, The Magic Flute was first performed in 1791 in Vienna. The libretto was by the impresario Emanuel Schikaneder and carries many references to Freemasonry, at that time a controversial subject, to which both Mozart and Schikaneder subscribed. Being very late Mozart, the scoring demands both clarinets and trombones, which, together with its sparkling quality, commends it to the SMO.

Elgar          Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra, Op.62.

This short piece, fulfilling a promise to Edwin James, principal bassoon of the LSO, was written concurrently with the Violin Concerto in 1910.  The opening figures for both orchestra and soloist are anagrams of the orchestral and solo opening appearing in the violin concerto. Like many of Elgar’s short pieces it is a little gem, and wholly characteristic of his style and genre.

Wagner      Prelude and Liebestod from ‘Tristan and Isolde’.

This work links the beginning and end of ‘Tristan and Isolde’ and was first performed in 1865. The opera is modelled on the ancient legend in which Tristan, who is taking Isolde from Ireland to Cornwall to marry King Mark, falls disastrously in love with her, under the influence of a love potion. The lovers are surprised by the king’s retainers and Tristan is severely wounded.  Isolde holds him in her arms as he dies and then breathes her last over his corpse. This is the Liebestod, or Death in Love.

It is intensely passionate music, written for a large orchestra, and is generally thought to have initiated the rise of chromaticism in European music of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

 From the Bass Section  was included in this bulletin and can be found on the Individual members page

A final reflection

Music teachers always welcome adults for they are soundly motivated, unlike many children who may rather be fulfilling a parent's ambition, and David Short's experiences should encourage any late learner with such a great stock of music already in their head..

Antony