Saturday 31 August 2013

Grand Baroque update, Day Two: 30 August 2013 The second rehearsal (and a glimpse of the concert) More snapshots and details of the amazing musicians

Emily White
Sackbut

(see: Margaret Faultless at Dartington March 2012)
playing beautifully with
The English Cornet & Sackbut Ensemble
Adrian France: Bass Sackbut
Phil Dale & Emily White: Sackbuts
Sam Goble & Gawain Glenton: Cornetti
. . . and sitting directly behind Gawain . . .
Soprano: Zoë Fitzsimmons
and Tenor: Keith Wainwright
waiting for their cue from
JanJoost van Elburg
to sing with the international choir of
Blackdowns Early Music Projects
and founders Geoffrey & Catherine Bass
with Bass Soloist: Jonathan Arnold
and Soprano: Amy Haworth
followed by -
350 bars rest!
while the Montiverdi String Band
rehearse Heinrich Biber's
"Sonata No 11"
Bass Violin: Mark Caudle
Chamber Organ: Steven Devine
Cathedral stewards point out
a historic memorial to
chamber organ, lutes, sackbut & cornet
as part of the life of the Cath
edral
Looking up to the minstrel's gallery
angels play
cornet and baroque trumpet
Back on stage
the return of the baroque trumpet!
Jean-François Madeuf (playing 'Clarion')
leads the Altenburg Ensemble
in Johann Christoph Pezel's
"Intraden 73 & 74"
(Second Clarion: Katie Hodges)
Muted Tromba:
Richard Thomas
Stephen GilbeyTom Lees
Georg Muffat's "Missa in Labore Requies"

(Baroque Tympani: Stephen Burke)
Jean-François Madeuf
analyses the sound from the nave.
Cornettist Sam Goble takes an active interest
Jean-François returns for the full fanfare
with sackbuts and cornetti!
After the rehearsal
Steward Malcolm Walker
takes everyone up to the organ loft
to see an extraordinary discovery
Steven Devine and Emily White
are particularly interested
The seventeenth century organ console
installed by John Loosemore
has been removed and sent to Durham
for repair and refurbishment
revealing an inscription by a former choral scholar
- baroque composer MATTHEW LOCKE!
Beneath the inscription
the original seventeenth century
floor tiles!
The loft also has some relatively modern
but equally fascinating decorations
Malcolm points out
the vertiginous walkway
under the clerestory
leading to the West Front
In the opposite direction:
The East Window
- as seen from inside the
seventeenth century organ console
Malcolm explains the history of the console
during the English Civil War
to a very interested visitor:
Organist Steven Devine
The concert?
Friday evening was fabulous.
So many beautiful voices
breathtaking baroque instrumental music
and those tremendous trumpets.
JanJoost van Elburg
and the Blackdowns Early Music Projects choir
take a bow
A wonderful evening
for Blackdowns choral singer
Soprano Zoë Fitzsimmons
and her father
Bass Rick Fitzsimmons
And in the audience
more musicians:
Emma Bettany and Ben Pennington
(plus mystery guest - 'your name here'!)

Many thanks to Catherine and Geoffrey Bass

and their creation, Blackdowns Early Music.

A very impressive and enjoyable evening of music, perfect for the traditional setting of Exeter Cathedral.

Here's hoping for more in the future . . . 



Talking of Matthew Locke:

Margaret Faultless
Lympstone Entertainments
Lympstone Parish Church
(Nativity of the Virgin Mary)
Saturday 7 September 7.45pm
GLI AMICI
Leader: Margaret Faultless
(Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment)
'Cello Soloist: Jonathan Rees
Antonio Vivaldi
('Cello Concerto in A minor)
George Frideric Handel
Georg Muffat
Matthew Locke
John Dowland
Tickets: £10
John Welton: 01395 271915

Friday 30 August 2013

Grand Baroque is TONIGHT (Friday 30 August 2013) Tickets available for the baroque concert of the year! A few snapshots of rehearsals in Exeter Cathedral

JanJoost van Elburg
at Exeter Cathedral
to conduct 'Grand Baroque'

Yesterday and today, Exeter Cathedral has been resounding to the combined excellence of an extraordinary combination of baroque musicians.

At the centre of this musical maelstrom is Musical Director, JanJoost van Elburg, who has come from Amsterdam to conduct the Blackdowns Early Music Projects choir in their performance of 'Grand Baroque' TONIGHT.

Geoffrey and Catherine Bass, founders of Blackdown Early Music Projects have arranged for JanJoost (or 'J.J.' as he's affectionately known) to have an army of baroque voices and instruments at his disposal for one of the most impressive Cathedral concerts of the year.

The Blackdown Early Music Projects choir will be joined by several local choral singers - including Zoë Fitzsimmons (soloist with the Exeter University Choral Society) and Keith Wainwright (Exeter Chamber Choir). The Altenburg Ensemble will provide majestic baroque trumpets (and Steve Burke's baroque tympani) while the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble will add three sackbuts and two 'cornetti'. (See below, if you're not sure what cornetti are.)

The string section is provided by Monteverdi String Band, led by Oliver Webber. In addition to their baroque violins and violas, and bass violin, there will also be Peter McCarthy's violone and Eligio Quinteiro's theorbo for a fabulous combination of sounds.

Fronting the choir and orchestra are eight international choral soloists - a fabulous line-up.

The concert will include ten amazing baroque choral and instrumental masterpieces. 'The first half of the programme will feature five short works followed by a major choral mass, 'Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis' by Johann Joseph Fux

The second half of the concert will be 'Missa in Labore Requeis' by Georg Muffat.

The Altenburg Ensemble of baroque trumpeters will introduce the mass with 'Intraden 73 & 74' by Johann Christoph Pezel. The mass itself will be interspersed with two baroque organ works performed by Steven Devine on his Kenneth Tickell chamber organ.

Rehearsals continue in the Cathedral this afternoon, and everything will come together for the main event at 7.30pm tonight. The best tickets (if there are any left!) are £25, but unreserved aisle seats can be bought in advance for £10 - and 'on the door' they are only £12.

Follow the most popular link to the right of this post for full details of how to get involved.


The Altenburg Ensemble
Trumpet Fanfare
Gawain Glenton & Sam Goble
Cornetti
and Sackbuts!
Oliver Webber
Montiverdi String Band
Peter McCarthy
Violone
Eligio Quinteiro
Theorbo
Geoffrey & Catherine Bass
B
lackdowns Early Music Projects
have created a mighty double choir
(spot Keith Wainwright & Zoë Fitzsimmons!)
Not just one chamber organ
(Steven Hollas)
but two!
Organist, Steven Devine
Finally, courtesy of the Altenburg Ensemble,
BAROQUE KETTLEDRUMS
Played by - Stephen Burke
Ready!

Wednesday 28 August 2013

Four amazing concerts coming up at Lympstone Church starting next Saturday 7th September 2013 with Margaret Faultless and 'Gli Amici' many thanks to John Welton and 'Lympstone Drumbeat' for these details...

Ruth Molins
flautist & community radio star
prepares her own concert series

Lympstone Entertainments



D R U M B E A T


Handel, Vivaldi, John Dowland, Matthew Locke


A new ensemble chooses Lympstone
for its first performance

FAULTLESS FRIENDS 
Lympstone Parish Church
Saturday 7 September 7.45pm

The well-known violinist Margaret Faultless,
co-leader of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,
has formed a new ensemble, Gli Amici (The Friends),
to play a repertoire of Baroque music.

Their programme includes music by:

Georg Frideric Handel
(London 1685-1759 - court composer to Anne, George I & George II)

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi
(Venice 1678-1741 - composer in residence, Ospidale della Pietà)

(Cello soloist for Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in A minor: Jonathan Rees)

John Dowland
(London 1563-1626 - court composer to Christian IV of Denmark)

Matthew Locke
(Exeter 1621-1677 - Exeter Cathedral chorister & court composer to Charles II)


Margaret Faultless
Regularly directs the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
& European Union Baroque Orchestra.
A passionate chamber musician,
she is Head of Historical performance
at the Royal Academy of Music
Matthew Locke 1621 - 1677

Born in Exeter, where he trained
as a chorister in the Cathedral.
He carved his name in the organ loft,
where it can still be seen
(BBC interview with David Davies)

Tickets: £10      
John Welton: 01395 271915




After the success of our Summer Music series
we are pleased to present


ONE FLUTE 
MANY VOICES 


An Autumnal Concert series
led by the flautist

Ruth Molins


Ruth Molins
at St Stephen's Church with Dorothy Worthington
plays Graham Fitkin's "Jim & Pam & Pam & Jim"
on the legendary alto flute

In the summer, the cellist Hilary Boxer presented a very successful series of four concerts, in which she played with some of her musical friends.

The wonderful acoustics of Lympstone Church contributed greatly to this.

For our autumn series, we have invited the gifted flautist Ruth Molins to put together a series of three concerts, and she too has turned to some of her musical friends to contribute to the programmes.

Ruth studied English and Music at Cardiff University, but is now based in Devon.

Phonic FM said of her playing:

Ruth enraptured the audience right up to the last tender note.


She has put together an attractive and varied programme:

The programme for the series

Susie Hodder-Williams
(photo: Chris Chapman)
Sunday 22 September 4~5pm
BAROQUE VOICES 
Johann Sebastian Bach
Georg Philipp Telemann 
Joseph Bodin de Boismortier
Trios & Quartets
Flute: Ruth Molins &
Susie Hodder-Williams
Emma Welton
Violin: Emma Welton
'Cello: Hilary Boxer 


Sunday 20 October 4~5pm
MUSIC OLD & NEW
Johann Sebastian Bach
Daniel Dorff 
Michael Colquhoun  
Tweets Special Birds
Solo flute, alto flute
Ruth Molins
& piccolo: Ruth Molins


Sunday 10 November 4~5pm
FESTIVE MUSIC
TO WARM YOUR SOUL!
Johann Sebastian Bach
Astor Piazzolla 
Heitor Villa-Lobos
FluteJet Whistle & Tango 
David Cottam
Flute: Ruth Molins 
Classical Guitar: David Cottam 
'Cello: Hilary Boxer

Lympstone Parish Church


Tickets: £7 (U16 £5)
All three concerts: £16 (U16 £10)
Shears’ Café, Lympstone (not Weds)
John Welton: 1 Harefield Cottages


For further details go to


And coming shortly . . .
An exciting evening of Bhangra Music
Saturday, 12th October in the Village Hall



HOW NEXT WEEKEND IS LOOKING:



Jane Greenwood & Hilary Boxer
Tasty Music
Exmouth Library
Wednesday 4 September 12pm
CELLO+CELLO
Hilary Boxer
Jane Greenwood
Luigi Boccherini
Thomas "Fats" Waller
Tickets: £5
exmouth.library@devon.co.uk
Tasty Music website





The Sixteen

conducted by

Harry Christophers
The Sixteen
Exeter Cathedral
Friday 6 September 7.30pm
(pre-concert talk 7pm)
THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN
Conductor: Harry Christophers
Gregorio Allegri:
Miserere Mei Deus
Giovanni Palestrina:
Stabat Mater
James MacMillan: Miserere
Tickets: £30/£20/£10
from the Ntaional Centre for Early Music
01904 651485  NCEM website



Courtlands House
Music for Luca
Courtlands House Exmouth
Friday 6 September 8pm
"FLUTE CAKE" flute trio:
Sophie Brewer, Ruth Molins, Jen Campbell
play light classics & songs from the shows
"Cut Purse Rascals" (Americana/blues)
play an acoustic set
Beautiful view. Bar open 7.30pm
Tickets: £8 (advance £6)
Jennifer Read: 07790 008839
music-dance@hotmail.co.uk
Proceeds to 'For Luca'
raising money to provide
continuing treatment for
Luca Williams - disabled by
Meningococcal Septicaemia







Margaret Faultless
Lympstone Entertainments
Lympstone Parish Church
(Nativity of the Virgin Mary)
Saturday 7 September 7.45pm
GLI AMICI
Leader: Margaret Faultless
(Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment)
'Cello Soloist: Jonathan Rees
Antonio Vivaldi
('Cello Concerto in A minor)
George Frideric Handel
Georg Muffat
Matthew Locke
John Dowland
Tickets: £10
John Welton: 01395 271915