Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
| Ballade | Frank Martin (1890 - 1974) |
| Stuart Brennan, Trombone | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| Frank Martin's Ballade, originally with orchestral accompaniment has become a genuine staple of the trombone repertoire. Martin composed quite a number of works under the title "Ballade" for a variety of instruments, most of which are related in some way. A Swiss composer, he wrote this work in 1938, at a time when Europe was on the cusp of war. Martin's compositional style managed to combine elements of both the avant garde trend and conservatism, developing his own version of twelve-tone technique, without totally abandoning tonality. This work highlights Martin's mature style, animated rhythmic fluency, and complex harmonic language. | |
| Sonatina for Flute and Piano | Eldin Burton (1913 - 1979) |
| I. Allegretto grazioso II. Andantino sognando III. Allegro giocoso quasi fandango | |
| Adam Richardson, Flute | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| Burton's Sonatina for flute & piano is his best-known and almost only known work. The first Allegretto grazioso movement dances gracefully with its agile tempo and song-like melody, lyrically toying with scales and arpeggios against a rich harmonic structure. Andantino Sognando, with its playful and quirky passages, is at some moments bold and at others, inquisitive; a contrast to the lively and humorous triple-metered third movement, Allegro giocoso quasi fandango, that begins with lightly spirited burst of energy and races off in interesting and animated directions. | |
| L\\\\\\\'invitation au voyage | Henri Duparc (1848 - 1933) |
| Dorcas Lim, Voice | |
| Having destroyed most of his music, \\\'l\\\'invitation au voyage\\\' was one of the few works of Henri Duparc that remained. This piece was composed in 1870, and the title translates to \\\'invitation to a journey\\\'. The poetry illustrates a mysterious paradise, with imageries of setting sun and the calmness and beauty of this other world. The poetry further depicts the longing of the protagonist to dwell and live in this world of order and beauty. | |
| Les filles de Cadix | Léo Delibes (1836 - 1891) |
| Dorcas Lim, Voice | |
| This piece composed by Léo Delibes showcases exotic materiel, mainly elements of the Spanish Bolero. Set to text by Alfred de Musset, the piece tells of the girls of the city of Cadiz and their flirtatious character. | |
| Petite Suite | Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) |
| Edited by Henle Verlag | |
| I: En Bateau (Andantino) and IV: Ballet (Allegro Giusto) | |
| Nicole Ng, Piano | |
| Jessie Fong, Piano | |
| In Debussy's Petite Suite's one piano, four hands composition, it was one of his early works that became the most popular and frequently heard pieces. In the first movement, En Bateau (In a Boat) has a beautiful, long-spanning melody that glides above the accompanied rolled chords. While in the fourth movement, Ballet, is an energetic dance with a contrasting central section rooted in the world of French popular theatre music of the day. | |
| Great Train Race (The Flute As You Don’t Usually Hear It!) | Ian Clarke (1964 - ) |
| Sean Edward Paul Marantelli, Flute | |
| This piece, as the title suggests, is a programatic work detailing the story of a train racing along it’s tracks. Whilst the details of this race are never quite clear, the flute is pushed and manipulated through the use of extended techniques such as multiphonics, harmonics, percussive slap tonguing, singing whilst playing, and microtonal movements, to simulate typical train sounds, such as whistles blowing and the sound of the train as it rocks along a track. This highly virtuosic work is for unaccompanied flute. | |
| Five Betjeman Songs | Madeleine Dring (1923 - 1977) |
| 1. A Bay In Angelsey 2. Business Girls 3. Undenominational 4. Upper Lambourne 5. Song Of A Nightclub Proprietress | |
| Rosemary Cocklin, Voice | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| With her typically light and unpretentious style, British composer and actress Madeleine Dring expertly sets these wonderful poems to music. Her compositional style is often compared to that of Gershwin's, with noticeable references to jazz harmony through-out. John Betjeman was a well-loved British poet, broadcaster and journalist. His great love for his country and its heritage is reflected in his charming, lyrical and patriotic poetry. | |
| Songs of the Sun | Eric Ewazen (1954 - ) |
| II. Valleys and Mist | |
| Jessica Gregory, Trombone | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| "Valleys and Mist" is the beautiful, lyrical middle movement of Eric Ewazen's "Songs of the Sun." Written in memory of one of Ewazens former students, the Brazilian trombonist Radagundis Feitosa, this piece draws inspiration from Brazil's natural beauty and dance rhythms. | |
| Ave Maria | Charles Gonoud (1818 - 1893) |
| Samantha Robertson, Voice | |
| Konrad Olszewski, piano | |
| The Ave Maria by Bach/Gounod is a popular and much-recorded setting of the Latin text Ave Maria, originally published in 1853 as Méditation sur le Premier Prélude de Piano de S. Bach. The piece consists of a melody by the French Romantic composer Charles Gounod that he superimposed over an only very slightly changed version of the Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846, from Book I of J.S. Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, written 137 years earlier. | |