POWDERHAM CASTLE - Concert on Friday 8 March An Evening of French Baroque Music - An exciting Press Release from Kapellmeister George Pratt

The Coat of Arms of King Louis XIV of France
(D'Azure, trois fleurs de lis)
with the cry of the French Kings
"Montjoie Saint Denis!"

To all Friends of the 1769 Powderham Castle Organ Restoration Fund

Our next concert is of profoundly alluring music yet it’s relatively little known. We’ve entitled the programme:

The Musical Splendour of the French Courts of Louis XIV and XV

*********

It’s on Friday 8^th March at 7.30pm, in the James Wyatt Music Room of the Castle

Everyone has heard of the German Bach, of the adopted Englishman Handel, and of the Italian who plays to us every time we are left waiting on the phone – Vivaldi. But curiously, French composers of the 18^th century are much less familiar to most audiences.

We’re planning to redress the balance in this concert. The programme has been devised by Josie Walledge, a soprano well known to all of you who came to Messiah and to Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu nostri among last year’s concerts.  She has focused on François Couperin, the greatest French composer of his age. He lived and worked in Paris, appointed to the court of the all-powerful King Louis XIV.

The centre-piece of the concert will be ‘Three Readings for Holy Week’, exquisitely passionate music for two sopranos and an instrumental bass part with harpsichord or organ.  Each one starts with a magical meditation on the first letter of the Hebrew text, breathtakingly beautiful, and perfect for the intimate 18^th century setting at Powderham.

Josie together with soprano Louise Hardy will be accompanied by Clare Garton-Sprenger, cello, and myself, harpsichord and organ. We’ll also be playing a French cello sonata by Boismortier and two captivating ‘Rondeaux’ for harpsichord, the opening music coming round again and again to haunt the ear.

As usual, I would be most grateful for all the help you can offer me as I publicise the concert largely on my own.  The most useful assistance is for you to print off one or more copies of the attached concert details to put up in local shops, post offices, churches, public notice-boards, and anywhere else you can think of.

Tickets are again £14, and we’re continuing our drive to encourage the next generation of listeners by offering the first 10 student tickets FREE.  ‘Students’ include any young people in full- or nearly full-time education, at school, college or university.  

All ‘Friends’ have priority booking.

For you, tickets will be available from this coming Monday, 4^th February.
(They will go on public sale a week later.)

Ring Powderham Castle (01626 890243) for tickets.

I look forward to seeing you there.

The Trustees of

the 1769 Powderham Castle Organ Restoration Fund

present

The Musical Splendour of

the French Courts

of Louis XIV and XV

François Couperin

Trois Leçons de Ténèbres

and music by Clérambault,

Boismortier & Charpentier

Josie Walledge                 Soprano
Louise Hardy                   Soprano

Clare Garton-Sprenger        Cello

George Pratt               Harpsichord

                                               / organ

The James Wyatt Music Room

Friday, 8th March 2013 at 7.30pm

Tickets £14.00

from Powderham Castle: 01626 890243

FREE tickets for the first 10 student to apply

With generous sponsorship from TOTAL Event Hire, Newton Abbot