Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson – Performing Handel

oae — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:31:37 +0000

On 3 June, we take to the stage at Royal Festival Hall for a tribute to the great mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. The programme will feature some of Handel’s most dramatic arias, conducted by William Christie and performed by three up and coming opera stars. Here’s a look back at Lorraine herself, performing some of these arias.

Handel L’angue offeso mai riposa from Giulio Cesare

Handel Ah! Whither should we fly…As with rosy steps the morn from Theodora

Handel Lord, to Thee each night and day from Theodora

Handel Svegliatevi nel core from Giulio Cesare

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Bach Cantatas and Brandenburg Concertos – Audience Reactions

oae — Fri, 24 May 2013 12:04:57 +0000

A chance to hear some of the audience reactions to the third and final part of our Kings Place ‘Bach Unwrapped’ series ‘Cantatas and Brandenburg Concertos’. The concert was conducted by Bach expert John Butt and featured performances from soprano Helen-Jane Howells, countertenor David Allsopp, tenor Guy Cutting and bass Matthew Brook.

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Current Distractions

oae — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:04:22 +0000

This week, Communications Intern Pep Gorgori tells us his Current Distractions. Pep is a musicologist and journalist from Barcelona who, after working some years in Spain, is now studying an MA at Goldsmiths College, to improve his knowledge in Arts Administration and Cultural Policies. When he is not studying, working, running or trying to Skype his family and friends, he finds things like this on the Internet:

Space Jam

The massive success of astronaut Chris Hadfield’s version of Bowie’s Space Oddity, has reminded us that, in 1977, NASA launched the twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecrafts, to explore the galaxy beyond the Solar System. Each of them included a Golden Record, featuring 90 minutes of music, just in case some ET found one and wanted to know what the most trendy music on our planet was. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Stravinsky and different samples of world music, will be the first sounds aliens will listen to before invading us. You can see the complete list here.

Smart(?) headphones

Have you ever experienced difficulty choosing what music to listen to on your iPod? Well, worry no more! These headphones will decide for you: they’re able to detect if you’re focused, sleepy or stressed and play the best music according to your mood. Apart from the annoying fact that they don’t contemplate you might be happy someday… I wonder what happens if you’re trying to focus, while also stressed because you haven’t slept?

Tate-oo

I know we have the best audience in the world –and that not all audiences are the same, but I’m still impressed by this girl, who has decided to get her favourite gallery, Tate Modern, etched onto her skin.

Kill da wabbit!
And we can’t finish this post without mentioning Richard Wagner, who would have turned 200 on May 22. Lots of tributes, we know, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy Walt Disney’s one:

Pep Gorgori
Communications Intern

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A Way Forward

oae — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:50:56 +0000

This week, as part of our collaboration with National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), we’ve been working with students from Years 7 and 8 from Beverly Grammar School, as well as York University MEG students, recreating Purcell’s Fairy Queen. Students have been learning parts of the original music, as well as composing and devising new parts, around the theme of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Education Director Cherry Forbes fills us in on how it’s going.

‘Yesterday was one of those days that you would put in your bank of memories – pupils singing with a clear and unaffected tone, staff delighted to see how their students react to a new challenge and colleagues who are flexible and inspiring. In times when creativity is being squashed in favour of league tables and progress reports, a day like this expands minds and clearly shows the importance of music in the curriculum, on many levels’.

Find out more and book tickets here.

Cherry Forbes
Education Director

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We Sang That Song

oae — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:56:32 +0000

Presented by Scott Stroman and OAE Education Director Cherry Forbes, this family concert will feature Vivaldi’s Gloria, excerpts from Handel’s Water Music and other musical treats. A chance for the whole family to listen to youngsters from King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and the New Foundling Choir, singing with local adults from the Thetford Singers and members of the London Youth Choir.

The concert will last for approximately an hour and a quarter, and is suitable for children aged 7 and up and their parents or carers.

Vivaldi Gloria
Handel Water Music (Excerpt)

Scott Stroman presenter
Cherry Forbes presenter

The Thetford Singers
New Foundling Choir
London Youth Choir

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Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn

oae — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:20 +0000

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Mozart – Performance and Punchlines

oae — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:23:44 +0000

We return to Kings Place for the 2013 Festival with a concert celebrating one of the masters of the classical genre; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. OAE leader Kati Debretzeni directs from the violin with a programme including Mozart’s Horn Quintet in E Flat, written for Austrian virtuoso horn player Joseph Leutgeb in 1782, a gentle, yet spirited piece often described as a miniature horn concerto, with the horn frequently taking a starring role. We follow this with four-part fugues by Bach, Mozart and his contemporary Franz Xaver Richter. The evening finishes with Mozart’s Musical Joke, a work in which he combined unexpected elements, including clashing notes, with satirical passages designed to mimic the effects of inept performance. However, underneath the seemingly clumsy surface, Mozart is wielding his usual wit in this technically challenging, yet light-hearted work.

Kati Debretzeni director

Mozart Horn Quintet in E Flat, K407
Bach/Mozart/Richter Four-part fugues
Mozart A Musical Joke K522

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St Mary’s Church, North Bar Within, Beverley

oae — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:28:03 +0000

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Gamechangers: Symphonic Greats

oae — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:39:21 +0000

Two landmark symphonies make up this Gamechangers concert, which starts with the music of one of the great musical revolutionaries – Beethoven. His compositions, and particularly his symphonies, echoed his eras prevailing spirit of individualism and freedom. Tonight’s seventh symphony is one of his most daring and explosive, a thrilling musical roller-caster ride. Schubert’s epic Symphony 9 concludes the concert, a piece which bridges the gap between Beethoven and Bruckner. Its ‘Great‘ nickname is derived from its size and proportions rather than being a critical judgment, its continued place in musical history and concert programmes being the best proof of its worth and popularity.

Beethoven Symphony No. 7 in A major
Schubert Symphony No. 9 in C major, Great

Semyon Bychkov conductor

Concert finishes at approximately 9pm.
Listen to a taster of the music on Spotify below:

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A Northern Treat!

oae — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:51:29 +0000

Education Director Cherry Forbes is currently up in Beverley, working on an exciting project based on Purcell’s Fairy Queen. Here, Cherry tells us about the first day of the project; the quirks of staying in this beautiful historic town and what to expect from the rest of the week.

‘Today the OAE started its educational residency in Beverley, in collaboration with the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM). Alongside composer and animateur James Redwood, we have worked with 52 year 7 and 8 lads from Beverley Grammar School – fabulous singers and creative thinkers. The project ‘Fairy Queen Revisited‘ includes 100 secondary students and students from the University of York, and on Thursday evening, we will be sharing our new compositions, as well as movements from Purcell.

Our cottage is behind the vicarage and we are treated to the bells of Beverley Minster every 15 minutes (day and night) and bizarrely, I am sleeping in a converted stable!

Tomorrow we are with the girls at Beverley High School and on Wednesday both groups come together – looking forward to more crazy ideas tomorrow. One highlight from today was a song we composed called ‘I love your furry ears‘ – OAE as you have never heard them before….

Free Wednesday 22nd or Thursday 23rd May?

In or near Beverley? Do join us!

Cherry Forbes
Education Director

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