re:connect – Overcoming Distance

26 September 2020
St. Martin-in-the-Fields

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26 September
Saturday
St. Martin-in-the-Fields

 The online stream is now live and will remain online until 7.30pm on Saturday 31 October.

Book tickets to the online concert

OVERVIEW

The second concert in our re:connect series features a series of pieces for solo instrument – performed by soloists from the Academy – followed by Mozart’s Symphony No.29.

Written for solo Clarinet, the Abîme des oiseaux (Abyss of the birds) by Messiaen is the third movement of his 1941 chamber work Quatuor pour la fin du temps which the composer wrote whilst a prisoner of war. He wrote ‘The abyss is Time with its sadness, its weariness. The birds are the opposite to Time; they are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows, and for jubilant songs.’

Premiered at the 2012 Edinburgh International Festival, Sir James MacMillan‘s chamber work Since it was the Day of Preparation – a setting of the resurrection narrative – has been hailed as a modern masterpiece. Throughout the piece are instrumental interludes which MacMillan describes “Instead of having a chorale, such as Bach would have done in his Passions as reflections points, my reflections are provided by these solo instruments.” In this concert, you will hear the interlude for Horn, performed by Academy Principal, Stephen Stirling.

Mozart‘s Symphony No.29 is an exhilarating work which breaks with convention at almost every turn. Its proportions are more expansive than any previous symphony by Mozart, and despite being cast in the major mode, there is an underlying sense of agitation and unease that occasionally breaks to the surface.

Tap here to view the concert programme
 

PROGRAMME:

      • Bach Sarabande from Suite No.5 for Cello solo
      • Messiaen Abîme des oiseaux for Clarinet solo
      • MacMillan Interlude from ‘Since it was the day of Preparation…’ for Horn solo
      • Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.4
      • Copland Quiet City
      • Mozart Symphony No.29

       

MUSICIANS:

Violin I
Tomo Keller
Robert Salter
Amanda Smith
Sijie Chen

Violin 2
Martin Burgess
Jennifer Godson
Mark Butler

Viola
Ian Rathbone
Nicholas Barr

Cello
Will Schofield
Juliet Welchman

Bass
Lynda Houghton

Flute
Michael Cox
Sarah Newbold

Oboe
John Roberts

Oboe/Cor Anglais
Rachel Ingleton

Clarinet
Thomas Lessels

Horn
Stephen Stirling
Jo Hensel

Trumpet
Alan Thomas

Harpsichord
John Constable

 

HEALTH AND SAFETY

The concert will adhere to government guidelines on permitted audience numbers and social distancing.
For the safety of all involved, concert attendees will be required to wear a mask on arrival and throughout the performance.
More information is available on the St. Martin-in-the-Fields website