Conservatorium of Music
Thursday Concert Class
Thursday Concert Class
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| Concert Class Welcome/Q&A, - | |
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| La bonne chanson, Op.61. | Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) |
| I. Une Sainte en son auréole VIII. N\'est-ce pas | |
| Mia Robinson, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Une Sainte en son auréole ("A Saint in her halo") and N'est-ce pas? ("Is it not so?") act as the first and eighth songs of Gabriel Fauré's La bonne chanson, Op.61. Composed between 1892-94 for voice and piano, the song cycle of nine mélodies explores the emotional journey of happiness and love, with Une Sainte depicting the beginning of a love story and N'est-ce pas? being a reflection of a couple's ideal future. | |
| The New Ghost - From Four Poems by Fredegond Shove. No.3 | Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958) |
| Matthew O\'Leary, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Completed alongside the rest of his release, Four Poems by Fredegond Shove, Vaughan Williams composed a considerably British interpretation of mysticism articulated gently in nature. Set to music in the early 1920s, The work articulates Shove's mysterious story about a reposed soul who greets their Divine in the spring. The exchange concludes with the ghost following off into the heavens, “holding the sun’s handâ€. | |
| Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise, Op.22 | Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Zhihan Jiang, Piano | |
| Beginning with nocturne-styled lyricism, Chopin poetically interweaves a serene middle section which resembles a Mazurka, a Polish folk dance distinguished by its accentuation off the second or third beat. This is then strikingly contrasted with a brilliant Polonaise which follows, one of heroism and virtuosity. | |
| Poem for Flute and Orchestra | Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920) |
| Elissa Koppen, Flute | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| Charles Tomlinson Griffes composed Poem for Flute and Orchestra for flutist Georges Barrère, It was completed and first performed in 1919, shortly before Griffes collapsed from exhaustion due to influenza. The piece opens with a melody sounding in the low register before passing to the solo flute. A second theme, announced by the flute, adds a sense of oriental mystery, something found often in Griffes' music. These themes are transformed in several lively dance-like episodes, but the languorous mood of the opening returns and the work concludes in tranquil reverie. | |
| È amore un ladroncello, Aria from Cosi fan tutte) | (1790), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791) |
| Kate Pengelly, Voice | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| È amore un ladroncello ("Love is a little thief") is Dorabella's second aria, performed in Act II of the opera. In the piece she admits her feelings towards her "Albanian suitor" - who is in fact Guglielmo, Fiordiligi's lover in disguise. Dorabella implores her sister to accept her suitor's advances, and succumb to the whims of love. | |
| Wind in the Bamboo Grove | Keiko Abe (1937 - ) |
| Leah Columbine, Marimba | |
| This piece is a western version of typical Japanese Marimba music and displays imagery of walking through a path of bamboo shoots. “Listening to the bamboo leaves rustling against each other in the occasional whip of the breeze, I seemed to hear the song of the wind…I sensed the dynamic and powerful nature of life forcesâ€. (K. Abe). | |
| Concerto in B minor Op.104 | Antonin Dvorak (1841 - 1904) |
| Movement 1 | |
| Katrina Wang, Cello | |
| Rhodri Clarke, piano | |
| In his later years, Dvorak moved to the US to teach at the National Conservatory of America. Whilst he was in America, his friend and cellist Hanus Wihan premiered Victor Herbert's Cello Concerto No.2. Wihan's performance inspired Dvorak to write the B minor Cello Concerto which was dedicated to Wihan and was premiered in 1895. This piece is known to be the pedestal of cello repertoire due to its high demand in virtuosity. This piece incorporates demanding techniques that were suggested by Wihan alongside folk tunes from Dvorak's homeland which reflected nostalgia and longing for his hometown whilst living in America. | |
| Ballade No. 4 | Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849) |
| Tae Han Kim, Piano | |
| Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F minor is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Romantic music of the 19th century. It is renowned for its melancholic opening and virtuosic middle section. Composed in 1842, it is one of Chopin’s greatest works, summing up his accomplishments and mastery of piano composition. The piece, written in sonata form, features recurring themes that are developed and transformed, concluding with a slow and contemplative return to the opening mood. | |