Musical Revolutions: dawn of the cantata

Musical Revolutions:
Dawn of the cantata
Anna Prohaska soprano
James Gilchrist tenor
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Jonathan Cohen director & keyboards
26 April
28 April
Wigmore Hall, London, UK
West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge, UK
Welcome to tonight’s performance, during
which we’ll take you on a journey through a
time of intense musical exploration in early
seventeenth-century Italy. In the context
of mellifluous renaissance polyphony, the
declamatory style you’ll hear tonight was
revolutionary. Indeed the new-found directness
with which powerful texts were communicated
is closely linked to the birth of opera itself.
The music Jonathan Cohen has chosen
draws particular inspiration from the title of
Monteverdi’s eighth book of madrigals, ‘love
and war’, from which the work that stands at the
climax of tonight’s concert — Il combattimento
di Tancredi e Clorinda — is taken. Read more
about the music and the innovations of
Monteverdi and his contemporaries on page 3.
We’re honoured to be joined by a host of
wonderful musicians. Star soprano Anna
Prohaska and polymathic musician Jonathan
Cohen make their AAM debuts; Benjamin
Hulett joins us again, following a performance
of Haydn’s Nelson Mass in Macau in 2009; and
James Gilchrist makes a swift and welcome
return after a deeply moving appearance as
Evangelist in JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion at
King’s College, Cambridge last month.
The Wigmore Hall performance is being
recorded by BBC Radio 3 for live broadcast. You
can listen again until 3 May at bbc.co.uk/radio3.
In other news, we’re delighted to announce
both the launch of our forthcoming season and
an appearance as part of the 2012 BBC Proms;
turn to page 18 to find out more.
Michael Garvey
Chief Executive
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 1
Programme
ANDREA FALCONIERI (1585/6–1656)
Ciaccona in G major (c.1616)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
‘Zefiro torna’ from Madrigali e canzonette a due e tre voci (1614)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
’Se vittorie sí belle’ from Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1638)
DARIO CASTELLO (c.1590– c.1658)
Sontata No.15 à 4 from Sonate Concertate in Stil Moderno Libro Secondo (1629)
FRANCESCO CAVALLI (1602–76)
‘Restino imbalsamate’ from Act 3 Scene 1 from La Calisto (1651)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
’Ardo e scoprir’ from Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1638)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
Act 1 Scene 2 from Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria (1639–40)
Interval of 20 minutes
Please check that your phone is switched off, especially if you used it during the interval
BIAGIO MARINI (1594–1663)
Passacalio in G minor from Sonata da Chiesa e da Camera (c.1655)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
‘Ohimé ch’io cado’ from Quarto scherzo delle ariose vaghezze (1624)
GASPARO ZANETTI (fl.1626–45)
Saltarello della Battaglia from Il Scorlaro (1645)
CLAUDIO GIOVANNI ANTONIO MONTEVERDI (1567–1643)
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda from Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi (1624)
Would patrons please ensure that mobile phones are switched off. Please stifle coughing
as much as possible and ensure that watch alarms and any other devices that may become
audible are switched off.
Tonight’s performance will end at approximately 9.45pm
2 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Stephen Rose introduces the dawn of the cantata
Around 1600 a set of musical revolutions
occurred in Italy. Inspired by accounts of
the music of ancient Greek civilisation,
philosophers and composers sought new ways
to convey emotion in music. Their innovations
emphasised the solo voice, creating such
genres as the aria and the recitative — genres
that would form the building-blocks of opera
and the solo cantata. Instrumental music was
also transformed, gaining a new emphasis on
soloistic and virtuosic writing.
The initial impetus for change came from the
so-called Florentine Camerata, a group of
intellectuals and dilettantes who during the
1570s and 1580s gathered in the salon of Count
Giovanni de’ Bardi in Florence. Members of the
Camerata believed that singers and composers
should seek to recapture the emotional power
that the ancient Greeks had described in their
music. For the Camerata, all music should
represent emotions: as Girolamo de Mei said,
“nature gave a voice to animals and to man for
the expression of inner states.” Furthermore,
they believed that music should imitate speech:
thus in 1581 Vincenzo Galilei advised that
musicians should “observe in what manner
the actors speak, in what range, high or low,
how loudly or softly, how rapidly or slowly they
enunciate their words... From these diverse
observations, one can deduce the way that
best suits the expression of whatever meanings
or emotion may come to hand.” Such a desire
to mimic speech led the Camerata to favour
vocal monody — a solo speech-like melody
declaimed above a simple accompaniment
for lute or keyboard. This texture is found in
the song collection Le nuove musiche (1602) by
Giulio Caccini.
Monody had only a limited appeal for
the leading composer of the era, Claudio
Monteverdi (1567–1643), who preferred the
expressive effects achievable with groups
of voices and instruments. Yet even in his
polyphonic works, Monteverdi took a radical
approach to musical expression. In the 1600s
one of his five-voice madrigals, ‘Cruda Amarilli’,
was criticised by the Bolognese monk Artusi for
breaking the rules of counterpoint. Describing
the madrigal as “a tumult of sounds, a confusion
of absurdities, an assemblage of imperfections”,
Artusi fumed that “compositions of this sort are
born of ignorance”.
Monteverdi retaliated by asserting that the
contrapuntal liberties were a new way of
composing — a seconda pratica (second
practice). As his brother Giulio Cesare
Monteverdi went on to explain, the prima
pratica (first practice) comprised the traditional
style of polyphonic counterpoint, in which “the
harmony is not the servant but the mistress of
the words”. By contrast, the seconda pratica is
“one that turns on the perfection of the melody,
that is, the one that considers harmony not
commanding, but commanded, and makes
the words the mistress of the harmony”. (With
the term ‘mistress’, Giulio Cesare referred to the
authority that a wife had over her household
and servants.)
Despite devising this powerful manifesto for
a new type of musical expression, Monteverdi
rarely composed in a style that truly belonged
to the seconda pratica. From the 1610s
Monteverdi’s music is characterised by his
mingling of voices with instruments, and by
his love of contrasting styles and textures. He
seldom wrote for a solo voice, preferring the
texture of a vocal duet above the continuo.
His works increasingly have a strong tonal
urge, using harmonic patterns from popular
music of the time to drive inexorably towards
cadences. In his later compositions, the words
are rarely ‘the mistress of the harmony’; rather,
Monteverdi delights in the huge range of
musical effects possible from his eclectic
compositional vocabulary.
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 3
Monteverdi’s madrigals
From the 1610s Monteverdi redefined the
madrigal. What was formerly a polyphonic
genre for four to six unaccompanied voices
became in his later compositions a genre
incorporating solo singers and instrumentalists.
His favoured scoring was for a duo of tenors or
sopranos over the continuo. Frequently he built
his songs upon the bass-lines used by street
entertainers, thereby gaining an infectious
momentum and a popular tone that continues
to appeal even to today’s audiences. Little could
be further from the Camerata’s ideal of music as
heightened speech.
‘Zefiro torna’ (1614, published in Madrigali
e cannzonette a due e tre voci) is built upon
the bass pattern known as the ciaccona, a set
of chords driving to a cadence. This chord
progression is repeated 60 times in the piece,
while the two tenors sing exuberant melismas
and syncopations about the Zephyr’s return to
a pastoral paradise. Only towards the end does
the ciaccona disappear briefly, when the tenors
momentarily sing of the narrator’s lovesickness.
A repeating bass-line also forms the foundation
of ‘Ohimé ch’io cado’, published in a 1624
anthology of Scherzo delle ariose vaghezze. Here,
however, the bass consists of a smooth walking
line. The vocal line is just for a solo soprano, and
ritornellos for string ensemble are added. The
text speaks of distress and lovesickness, but the
brisk music shows no sign of languishing. Only
the opening fall of a fifth in the vocal line is a
symbolic reference to the ‘Ohimé’ (‘Alas!’).
Yet more revolutionary in terms of its aesthetic
agenda was Monteverdi’s Eighth Book of
Madrigals, Madrigali guerrieri et amorosi
(Madrigals of love and war, 1638). The pieces in
this book are exercises in musical contrast, in
particular between lyrical triple-time arias and
a new war-like style that Monteverdi claimed to
have invented. As he explained in the preface to
his Eighth Book:
4 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
“I have reflected that the principal passions or
affections of our mind are three, namely, anger,
moderation, and humility or supplication; so the
best philosophers declare, and the very nature
of our voice indicates this in having high, low
and middle registers. The art of music also points
clearly to these three in its terms agitated, soft
and moderate. In the works of earlier composers
I have found examples of the soft and the
moderate, but never of the agitated, a genus
described by Plato as “the harmony that would
fittingly imitate the utterances and the accents of
a brave man who is engaged in warfare.””
Monteverdi achieved this agitated style (stile
concitato) via rapid repeated notes in strings
or voices. Despite his reference to Plato,
Monteverdi’s inspiration for this warlike style
was more likely to have been the drum-rolls and
trumpet fanfares heard on European battlefields
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The tenor duets ‘Se vittorie sí belle’ and ‘Ardo
e scoprir’ exemplify the war-like and amorous
styles respectively. ‘Se vittorie si belle’ praises
the victories that can be won in ‘le guerre
d’amore’ (‘the wars of love’), and exhorts the
listener to be a warrior and even a martyr in
these battles. It opens with repeated notes
and simple harmonies for voice and continuo
— the sound of trumpets and drums have
here been transferred to voices — before
a sudden stillness descends on the words
“e non temer” (“and do not fear”). In ‘Ardo e
scoprir’ the poetic theme is the burning pain
of hidden or unrequited love. After the initial
exclamations of “Ardo”, both voices descend
via a slow chain of anguished dissonance that
represents this constant suffering. The end of
the madrigal portrays the tongue-tied lover’s
attempt to speak to his beloved: the voices rise
in anticipation, but as the words die away on
his lips, they droop in a throwaway triple-time
ending.
Concluding this concert is the piece in which
Monteverdi pioneered his stile concitato:
Il combattimento di Tancredi et Clorinda,
premiered in Venice in 1624. It is a setting of
part of Torquato Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata,
an epic poem about the crusades. Aspects of
the combattimento anticipate opera: there are
two characters, Tancredi and Clorinda; and the
first performance (in the palazzo of Girolamo
Mocenigo) was semi-staged, with the singers
performing “steps and gestures in the way
expressed by the oration”. Yet unlike opera, most
of the singing is done by the narrator (Testo).
The vocal lines are primarily set to recitative,
punctuated by the string ensemble providing
battle-like noises. Particularly remarkable is the
section starting with the words “Non schivar,
non parar” (“Not to dodge, nor to parry blows”),
where the narrator’s evocation of battle is
accompanied by string writing of increasing
intensity, culminating in four bars of non-stop
repeated semiquavers then sudden pizzicato.
So revolutionary was Monteverdi’s string writing
that the musicians at the premiere refused
to play it. As Monteverdi recounted in the
published version (1638) of the combattimento:
“It seemed at first to the musicians, especially
to those who were called on to play the basso
continuo, more ridiculous than praiseworthy
to strum on a single string sixteen times in
one bar, and for that reason they reduced this
multiplicity to one stroke in a bar... destroying the
resemblance to agitated speech.”
Operas by Cavalli and Monteverdi
One of the most significant consequences of
the musical revolutions in early seventeenthcentury Italy was the rise of opera. As a way of
representing dialogue and characters in music,
opera arguably contained the culmination of
the Florentine Camerata’s ideals. Indeed, the first
operas — written in Florence in the 1600s —
consisted mainly of monodic recitation that can
sometimes sound dreary to modern listeners.
By the 1640s, however, a style of opera had
emerged in Venice that combined melodious
triple-time arias with short recitatives and
instrumental interludes.
The opera La Calisto by Francesco Cavalli (1602–
76) was premiered in 1651 in Venice. ‘Restino
imbalsamente’ is sung by the nymph Calisto
as she awaits her lover Diana (who is actually
Jove in disguise). In the opening recitative,
she remembers the kisses and caresses she
received from her lover; and then she breaks
into a triple-time aria, where her patience turns
to mock anguish on the words “Moro nella
tardanza” (“the wait is killing me”).
Lyrical arias are also prominent in Monteverdi’s
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, premiered in Venice
in 1640. In Act 1 Scene 2, the court servants
Melantho and Eurymachus sing of their love for
each other. Initially they sing separately, with
triple-time outpourings as they compliment
each others’ looks and attributes. Then on the
words “De’ nostri amor concordi” (“the flame of
our mutual love”) the lovers come together in a
duet, united by the lilting refrain “Dolco mio vita
sei” (“you are my sweet life”), which is built on a
repeating bass-line.
Instrumental music:
Falconieri, Castello, Marini, Zanetti
Parallel with the rise of the cantata was the
development of virtuosic genres for stringed
instruments. These instrumental pieces used
many of the same techniques as vocal music
of early seventeenth-century Italy, such as the
texture of two upper parts over the continuo,
repeated patterns in the bass (often taken from
popular music of the time), and passionate and
virtuosic solo writing. Indeed the Ciaccona in G
major by Andrea Falconieri (1585/6–1656) is an
instrumental equivalent to Monteverdi’s ‘Zefiro
torna’: it is built upon the same bass-line, over
which the violinists spin elaborate roulades (like
the singers in Monteverdi’s version).
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A more learned style of instrumental music is
heard in the Sonata No.15 à 4 from Sonate
Concertate in Stil Moderno Libro Secondo
by Dario Castello (1621). Castello was one of
the wind players at the basilica of St Mark’s in
Venice, and extremely little is known about
his biography. His sonata for four bowed
instruments avoids dance rhythms, starting
instead with slow and solemn chords. There
then are four fugal sections, in which Castello
shares the melodic interest among the players.
The first fugue is begun by the first violin, the
second fugue by the viola, the third fugue by
the second violin, and the last fugue by the
continuo. The themes of the third and fourth
fugues contain tattoos of repeated notes
reminiscent of Monteverdi’s stile concitato, and
near the end all instruments break into streams
of semiquavers. Castello was renowned for
the virtuosity of his music: in 1629 he issued
instructions that his sonatas needed to be
rehearsed before performance, explaining that
such rehearsals would not deprive the works of
their soul.
The Passacalio in G minor by Biagio Marini
(1594–1663) is another piece based on a
repeated bass pattern. The genre of the
passacaglia arose as guitar improvisations over
a descending bass-line, often with idiomatic
strumming rhythms. Marini’s Passacalio contains
a more complicated version in which the
bass theme itself is subject to variation. His
Passacaglia is in three sections, framed by a
short ‘Introdutione’ and ‘Finale’. Each of the three
sections starts with the descending theme in
the bass, before the bass line is varied with
melodic ascents or unexpected digressions
to flattened chords. The upper parts contain
a constant stream of melody, sometimes in
parallel and sometimes in contrary motion with
the bass.
6 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Finally, the Saltarello della Battaglia by
Gasparo Zanetti (fl.1626–45) is from his guide
to violin-playing, Il scolaro … per imparar a
suonare di violino. As its name implies, this
Battaglia features the same repeated notes that
Monteverdi used in the stile concitato. Perhaps it
was a homage to Monteverdi’s combattimento,
or simply a recognition that these war-like
sounds were the stock-in-trade of army
trumpeters and drummers throughout Western
Europe.
Stephen Rose © 2012
Dr Stephen Rose is Lecturer in Music at
Royal Holloway, University of London
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Texts and translations
‘Zefiro torna’
Zefiro torna e di soavi accenti
l’aer fa grato e’il pié discioglie a l’onde
e, mormoranda tra le verdi fronde,
fa danzar al bel suon su’l prato i fiori.
‘Return O Zephyr’
Return O Zephyr, and with gentle motion
make pleasant the air and scatter the grasses in waves
and murmuring among the green branches
make the flowers in the field dance to your sweet sound;
Inghirlandato il crin Fillide e Clori
note temprando lor care e gioconde;
e da monti e da valli ime e profond
raddoppian l’armonia gli antri canori.
Sorge più vaga in ciel l’aurora, e’l sole,
sparge più luci d’or; più puro argento
fregia di Teti il bel ceruleo manto.
Crown with a garland the heads of Phylla and Chloris
with notes tempered by love and joy,
from mountains and valleys high and deep
and sonorous caves that echo in harmony.
The dawn rises eagerly into the heavens and the sun
scatters rays of gold and of the purest silver,
like embroidery on the azure mantle of Thetis.
Sol io, per selve abbandonate e sole,
l’ardor di due begli occhi e’l mio tormento,
come vuol mia ventura, hor piango hor canto.
But I, in abandoned forests, am alone.
The ardour of two beautiful eyes is my torment;
as my Fate wills it, now I weep, now I sing.
‘Se vittore si belle’
Se vittorie sì belle
han le guerre d’amore,
fatti guerrier mio core.
E non temer degl’amorosi strali
le ferite mortali.
Pugna, sappi ch’è gloria
il morir per desio de la vittoria.
‘Since such fine victories’
Since such fine victories
are to be won in the wars of love,
make yourself a warrior, my heart,
and do not fear the mortal wounds
of love’s arrows.
Fight on, and know how glorious it is
to die desiring victory.
‘Restino imbalsamate’
Restino imbalsamate nelle
memorie mie le delizie provate.
Fonti limpide, e pure al vostro gorgoglio la mia divina ed io,
coppia diletta e cara,
ci baceremo a gara, e formeremo melodie soave,
qui dove con più voci Eco risponde
unito il suon de’ baci, al suon dell’onde.
‘Let pleasures remain embalmed’
Let the pleasures we have experienced
remain embalmed in my memory.
At your bubbling, clear and pure springs, my goddess and I,
the beloved and dear couple,
will compete in kissing, and compose gentle melodies,
here where with many voices Echoes reply,
comparing the sound of the kisses to that of the waves.
T’aspetto, e tu non vieni, Pingro, e lento, mio contento;
m’intorbidi I sereni;
Anima, ben, speranza, moro nella tardanza.
T’attendo e tu non giungi.
Luminosa, neghittosa, con spine il cor mi pungi.
Deh, vieni e mi ristora; moro nella dimora.
I wait for you but you do not come, idle and slow, my delight;
you’re clouding my clear skies
my soul, my beloved, my hope, I’m dying because of your delay
I wait for you but you do not come.
Luminous, idle, with thorns you pierce my heart.
Hurry, come and revive me; the delay kills me.
‘Ardo e scoprir’
Ardo e scoprir, ahi lasso, io non ardisco
e quel che porto nel sen, rinchiuso ardore,
e tanto più dolente ogni hor languisco
quanto più sia celato il mio dolore.
Fra me tal’hor mille disegni ordisco
con la lingua discior anco il timore.
E all’hor fatto ardito io non pavento
gridar soccorso al micidial tormento.
‘I burn, and, alas, I dare not reveal’
I burn, and, alas, I dare not reveal
the ardour that I bear concealed in my breast,
and the more I languish in constant suffering,
the more my pain remains hidden.
Then I devise for myself a thousand schemes
so that my tongue may overcome its fear,
and thus emboldened, I am no longer afraid
to cry for help against this deadly torment.
Ma s’avvien ch’io m’appresso a lei davante
per trovar al mio mal pace e diletto,
divengo tosto pallido in sembiante,
e chinar gl’occhi a terra costretto.
Dir vorrei, ma non oso; indi tremante
comincio, e mi ritengo alfin l’affetto.
Yet when I come before her
seeking peace and balm for my illness,
at once my face grows pale
and I must lower my eyes.
I would speak, but cannot; then, trembling,
I begin. Finally my feelings find expression.
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 7
S’aprir, nuntia del cor la lingua vole,
si troncan su le labbra le parole.
Messenger of the heart, my tongue flies off,
and the words die away on my lips.
Il ritorno di Ulisse in patria
MELANTO
Duri e penosi
son gli amorosi
fieri désir;
me alpin son cari,
se prima amari,
gli aspri martir;
chè s’arde un cor
è d’allegrezza un foco,
nè mai perde in amor
chi compie il gioco.
Chi pria s’accende
procelle attende
da un bianco sen,
ma corseggiando
trova in amando
porto seren.
Si piange pria,
ma alfin la gioia ha loco,
nè mai perde in amor
chi compie il gioco.
The return of Ulysses to his homeland
MELANTHO
Bitter are the torments
that the lover suffers
in his desire;
but at last the harsh sufferings,
though bitter at first,
are cherished;
if a heart is burning
it is a fire of joy,
and he never loses
who plays the game of love.
Whoever is first inflamed
by a white bosom
can expect storms,
but riding them out
he finds in loving
a serene harbour.
First there is weeping,
but at last joy takes its place,
he never loses
who plays the game of love.
EURIMACO
Bella Melanto mia, graziosa Melanto,
il tuo canto è in incanto,
il tuo volto è magia.
Bella Melanto mia!
È tutto laccio in te ciò ch’alteri ammaga,
ciò che laccio non è fa tutto piaga.
EURYMACHUS
My beautiful Melantho, delightful Melantho,
your song is enchantment,
your face is magic.
My beautiful Melantho!
Everything in you is captivating,
and those who you inflame are held enslaved.
MELANTO
Vezzoso garruletto,
o come ben tu sai
ingemmar le bellezze,
illustrar a tuo pro
d’un volto i rai.
Lieto vezzeggia pur
le glorie mie
con tue dolci bugie.
MELANTHO
Loquacious flatterer,
O how well you know
how to sing beauty,
to describe to your own advantage
the radiance of a face.
Yet sweetly flatter
my glories
with your gentle lies.
EURIMACO
Bugia sarebbe
s’io lodando non t’amassi,
chè il negar d’adorar
confessata deità
è bugia d’empietà.
EURYMACHUS
It would be lies
if I, praising, did not love you,
for refusing to adore
an acknowledged deity
is an impious lie.
MELANTO, EURIMACO
De’ nostri amor concordi
sia pur la fiamma accesa,
ch’amato il non amar arreca offesa,
nè con ragion s’offende
colui che per offese amor ti rende.
S’io non t’amo, cor mio, che sia di gal o l’alma
ch ho in sen a’tuoi begli occhi avante.
MELANTHO, EURYMACHUS
May the flame of our mutual love
rise upward,
love not returned is an offence,
but it is not fitting
to reward love with offences.
If I do not love you, my heart, my soul,
shall turn to ice before your eyes.
8 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Se in adorarti cor non ho costante,
non mi sia stanza il mondo o tetto il cielo.
Dolce mia vita sei,
lieto mio ben sarai,
nodo sí bel non si disciolga mai.
Come, oh, come il desio m’invoglia,
Eurimaco, mia vita,
senza fren, senza morso
dar nel tuo sen alle mie gioie il corso!
Come, oh, come volentieri
cangerei questa reggia in un deserto
ove occhio curioso
non giungesse a veder i nostri errori;
chè ad un focoso petto
il rispetto è dispetto.
If my heart does not desire you continually,
the world shall no longer be a room, the sky
no more a roof for me.
You are my sweet life,
you will be my greatest happiness,
may such a beautiful knot never be loosened.
Oh, how the wish inspires me,
Eurymachos, my life,
to fulfil without any regret or restraint
my dream of love with you!
O how gladly I would exchange
this royal palace for a desert,
where curious eyes could not pursue us,
for a fiery bosom
despises every obstacle.
EURIMACO
Tu dunque t’affatica,
suscita in lei la fiamma!
EUYMACHUS
So try again now
to kindle her fire of love!
MELANTO
Ritenterò quell’alma pertinace ostinata,
ritoccherò quel core
ch’indiamanta l’honore.
MELANTHO
I will attempt again that obstinate soul,
touch again that heart
which is a temple of chastity.
MELANTO, EURIMACO
Dolce mia vita sei,
lieto mio ben sarai,
nodo sí bel non si disciolga mai.
MELANTHO, EURYMACHUS
You are my sweet life,
you will be my greatest happiness,
may such a beautiful knot never be loosened.
‘Ohime ch’io cado’
Ohimè ch’io cado, ohimè
ch’inciampo ancor il piè
pur come pria,
e la sfiorita mia
caduta speme
pur di novo rigar
con fresco lagrimar
hor mi conviene.
‘Alas for me, I tumble down’
Alas for me, I tumble down, alas for me,
my foot slips again
just as it did before,
and my lost
and withering hope
I must water
with fresh tears
once again.
Lasso, del vecchio ardor
conosco l’orme ancor
dentro nel petto;
ch’ha rotto il vago aspetto
e i guardi amati
lo smalto adamantin
ond’armaro il meschin
pensier gelati.
I again feel this old passion
in my heart,
now that a beautiful face has broken,
as well as the loved glances,
the hard enamel of these icy thoughts
with which I, the unfortunate,
have armed myself.
Folle, credev’io pur
d’aver schermo sicur
da un nudo arciero;
e pur io sí guerriero
hor son codardo
ne vaglio sostener
il colpo lusinghier
d’un solo sguardo.
I was fool enough to think
I should have a sure shield
against the naked archer;
and yet I who am so warrior-like,
what a coward I am,
I who will not endure
the enticing blow
of a single glance.
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 9
O Campion immortal
sdegno; come sí fral
hor fuggi indietro;
a sott’armi di vetro
incanto errante
m’hai condotto infedel
contro spada crudel
d’aspro diamante.
O immortal champion
I am angry that you
are fleeing so weakly;
like an enchanted man
who has lost his way
in glass armour, you have led me.
disloyal one. against a sword
made of hard diamond.
O come sa punir
tirann’amor l’ardir
d’alma rubella!
una dolce favella,
un seren volto
un vezzoso mirar,
sogliono rilegar
un cor disciolto.
How powerfully tyrannous love
punishes the daring
of a rebellious soul;
a kind word,
a serene face,
a charming wonderment
can tie again
a liberated heart.
Occhi belli, ah se fu
sempre bella virtù
giusta pietate!
Deh voi non mi negate
il guardo e’l viso
che mi sa la prigion
per sí bella cagion
il Paradiso.
Eyes, beauteous eyes if for you
virtue has always been fair
and mercy true,
O, do not deny me
the glance and the laughter;
so that my prison
on such a beautiful ground
should become a paradise.
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda
Tancredi che Clorinda un uomo stima
vuol ne l’armi provarla al paragone.
Va girando colei l’alpestre cima
ver altra porta, ove d’entrar dispone.
Segue egli impetuoso, onde assai prima
che giunga, in guisa avvien che d’armi suone
ch’ella si volge e grida: - O tu, che porte,
correndo sì? - Rispose: - E guerra e morte.
The battle of Tancredi and Clorinda
Tancredi, believing Clorinda is a man,
desires to challenge her in single combat.
She, skirting round the mountain peak, is heading
for a city she intends to enter.
So impetuous is his chase that well before
he reaches her she hears the noise of armour
and, turning, cries, “You there, what is the cause
of such great haste?” He answers, “War and death.”
- Guerra e morte avrai: - disse - io non rifiuto
darlati, se la cerchi e fermo attende. Ne vuol Tancredi, ch’ebbe a piè veduto
il suo nemico, usar cavallo, e scende.
E impugna l’un e l’altro il ferro acuto,
ed aguzza l’orgoglio e l’ira accende;
e vansi incontro a passi tardi e lenti
quai due tori gelosi e d’ira ardenti.
“War and death you’ll have,” she said. “I’ll not
deny your object if you’ll stand and face me.”
Tancredi, who saw his enemy on foot,
declines to stay on horseback, and dismounts.
Both grasp their sharp-edged swords,
prick on their pride, whip up their fury.
and advance upon each other with slow steps
like two rival bulls inflamed with fury.
Notte, che nel profondo oscuro seno
chiudesti e nell’oblio fatto sì grande,
degne d’un chiaro sol, degne d’un pieno
teatro, opre sarian sì memorande.
Piacciati ch’indi il tragga e’n bel sereno
a le future età lo spieghi e mande.
Viva la fama lor, e tra lor gloria
splenda dal fosco tuo l’alta memoria.
Night, who hath enclosed in thy dark breast
and in obscurity a deed so great,
since the light of day and of a crowded
theatre feats so memorable are worthy,
grant that I may illuminate them thus,
transmitting them to future generations.
May their fame live on, and may their glory
shine out, a noble memory, from your darkness.
Non schivar, non parar, non pur ritrarsi
voglion costor, ne qui destrezza ha parte.
Non danno i colpi or finti, or pieni, or scarsi:
toglie l’ombra e’l furor l’uso de l’arte.
To dodge, to parry blows or to retreat
they do not strive, for skill has here no part.
They do not feint, nor strike now hard, now soft;
darkness and rage preclude all subtlety.
10 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Odi le spade orribilmente urtarsi
a mezzo il ferro; e’l piè d’orma non parte:
sempre il piè fermo e la man sempre in moto,
né scende taglio in van, ne punta a voto.
Hark to the horrifying clash of sword
on steel; their feet cleave the ground;
their feet are still, their hands move constantly,
no cut but finds its mark, no thrust goes wide.
L’onta irrita lo sdegno a la vendetta,
e la vendetta poi l’onta rinova:
onde sempre al ferir, sempre a la fretta
stimol novo s’aggiunge e piaga nova.
D’or in or più si mesce e più ristretta
si fa la pugna, e spada oprar non giova:
dansi con pomi, e infelloniti e crudi
cozzan con gli elmi insieme e con gli scudi.
Indignation fuels their vengeful fury,
vengeful fury fuels more indignation,
whence to their fierce exchange, their frenzy,
comes a new stimulus to inflict more wounds.
From time to time they close, and then the fight
is more restricted, sword blades are no use;
they strike with pommels and, more savage now,
clash their casques and their shields together.
Tre volte il cavalier la donna stringe
con le robuste braccia, e altrettante
poi da quei nodi tenaci ella si scinge,
nodi di fier nemico e non d’amante.
Tornano al ferro, e l’un e l’altro il tinge
di molto sangue: e stanco e anelante
e questi e quegli al fin pur si ritira,
e dopo lungo faticar respira.
Thrice does the knight the woman grip
in his strong arms, and as oft does she
break free from those tenacious bonds,
the bonds of bitter enmity, not love.
Now they resume their swords, and each the other
bathes in streams of blood;weary and panting,
both he and she must draw apart at last,
and after labouring long, regain their breath.
L’un l’altro guarda, e del suo corpo essangue
su’l pomo de la spada appoggia il peso.
Già de l’ultima stella il raggio langue
sul primo albor ch’è in oriente acceso.
Vede Tancredi in maggior copia il sangue
del suo nemico e se non tanto offeso,
ne gode e in superbisce. Oh nostra folle
mente ch’ogn’aura di fortuna estolle!
They eye each other, and lean exhausted bodies
upon the pommels of their swords.
The last remaining star is fading now
as dawn’s first rays illuminate the east.
Tancredi sees his enemy’s copious loss
of blood, and his own injuries less grave.
Well pleased, he preens himself. Oh human folly,
that fortune’s every offering refuses!
Misero, di che godi? Oh quanto mesti
siano i trionfi e infelice il vanto!
Gli occhi tuoi pagheran (s’in vita resti)
di quel sangue ogni stilla un mar di pianto.
Così tacendo e rimirando, questi
sanguinosi guerrier cessaro alquanto.
Ruppe il silenzio al fin Tancredi e disse,
perchè il suo nome l’un l’altro scoprisse:
Poor man, what joy is this! How tragic is
your victory, how ill-conceived your pride!
These eyes of yours will pay — if you survive —
a sea of tears for each drop of that blood.
So silently and thoughtfully they stood,
these bloody warriors, and paused awhile.
At last Tancredi broke the silence, saying,
because he wished them to disclose their names:
“Nostra sventura è ben che qui s’impieghi
tanto valor, dove silenzio il copra.
Ma poi che sorte rea vien che ci nieghi
e lode e testimon degni de l’opra,
pregoti (se fra l’armi han loco i preghi)
che’l tuo nome e’l tuo stato a me tu scopra,
acciò ch’io sappia, o vinto o vincitore,
chi la mia morte o vittoria onore.”
“Our true misfortune is that we employ
such valour here, where it must go unsung.
But, since our cruel destiny denies us
the admiration worthy of such feats,
I pray you — if in combat prayers have place —
to reveal your name and status to me
so that, as victor or as vanquished, I know
who has honoured me with life or death.”
Rispose la feroce: - Indarno chiedi
quel c’ho per uso di non far palese.
Ma chiunque io mi sia, tu innanzi vedi
un di quei due che la gran torre accese. Arse di sdegno a quel parlar Tancredi
e: - In mal punto il dicesti; (indi riprese)
e’l tuo dir e’l tacer di par m’alletta,
barbaro discortese, a la vendetta.
The warrior maid replies: “You ask in vain
that which it is my custom to conceal.
But whoever I may be, you see before you
one of the two who set the great tower ablaze.”
Hearing these words Tancredi is insensed:
“Inopportune were those words!”
“Your speech and silence spur me on alike,
uncouth barbarian, to retribution.”
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 11
Torna l’ira ne’ cori e li trasporta,
benchè deboli, in guerra a fiera pugna!
Ù’l’arte in bando, ù’già la forza è morta,
ove, in vece, d’entrambi il furor pugna!
O che sanguigna e spaziosa porta
fa l’una e l’altra spada, ovunque giugna
ne l’armi e ne le carni! e se la vita
non esce, sdegno tienla al petto unita.
Their anger now rekindles, and propels them
back, though weak, to war, to that fierce fight
where skill is outlawed, strength is dead,
and naked fury takes the place of both.
O what bloody gaping openings
the sword of each inflicts where’er it strikes
on armour and on flesh, and life would issue
forth did fury not retain it in the breast.
Ma ecco omai l’ora fatal è giunta
che’l viver di Clorinda al suo fin deve.
Spinge egli il ferro nel bel sen di punta
che vi s’immerge e’l sangue avido beve;
e la veste che d’or vago trapunta
le mammelle stringea tenere e lieve,
l’empiè d’un caldo fiume. Ella già sente
morirsi, e’l piè le manca egro e languente.
But lo, the fatal hour has now arrived
that to Clorinda’s life must put an end.
He thrusts the blade straight into her fair breast
where, immersed, it avidly drinks her blood.
And her tunic, exquisitely gold-embroidered,
that clings around her dainty, tender breasts,
fills with a tepid stream. She knows at once
that she must die, and staggers, weak and faint.
Segue egli la vittoria, e la trafitta
vergine minacciando incalza e preme.
Ella, mentre cadea, la voce afflitta
movendo, disse le parole estreme:
parole ch’a lei novo spirto addita,
spirto di fè, di carità, di speme,
virtù che Dio le infonde, e se rubella
in vita fu, la vuole in morte ancella.
Victory in his grasp, he throws himself
menacingly upon the wounded maiden.
She, while falling, with her failing voice
speaks her dying words which indicate
a change of heart, a spirit new to her,
one of faith, of charity, of hope;
virtues inspired by God, intent that she,
rebellious in life, in death will be his handmaid.
- Amico, hai vinto: io ti perdon... perdona
tu ancora, al corpo no, che nulla pave,
a l’alma sì: deh! per lei prega, e dona
battesmo a me ch’ogni mia colpa lave. In queste voci languide risuona
un non so che di flebile e soave
ch’al cor gli scende ed ogni sdegno ammorza,
e gli occhi a lagrimar invoglia e sforza.
“Friend, you have won. I pardon you. Your pardon
grant me too, not for my fearless body,
but for my soul; o pray for that, and give me
baptism to cleanse me of all sin.”
In this languid utterance he hears
a strange appeal, a plaintive gentleness
that to his heart descends and melts all anger,
making tears sting, then gush forth from his eyes.
Poco quindi lontan nel sen d’un monte
scaturia mormorando un picciol rio.
Egli v’accorse e l’elmo empiè nel fonte,
e tornò mesto al grande ufficio e pio.
Tremar sentì la man, mentre la fronte
non conosciuta ancor sciolse e scoprio.
La vide e la conobbe: e restò senza
e voce e moto. Ahi vista! ahi conoscenza!
Not far off, from the bowels of a mountain
welled a little murmuring stream.
Thither he ran, his casque filled at the spring,
and, grieving, began the great and sacred rite.
His hand was trembling as he loosened the vizor
and raised it from the face as yet unknown.
He saw and recognised her; then was he bereft
of speech and movement. Ah tragic revelation!
Non morì già, ché sue virtuti accolse
tutte in quel punto e in guardia al cor le mise,
e premendo il suo affanno a dar si volse
vita con l’acqua a chi col ferro uccise.
Mentre egli il suon de’ sacri detti sciolse,
colei di gioia trasmutossi, e rise:
e in atto di morir lieta e vivace
dir parea: “S’apre il ciel: io vado in pace”.
He did not die; but marshalled his forces
and posted them around his heart to guard it,
and stifling his grief, he sought to restore, with water,
life to the one his sword had slain.
While listening to the holy words he uttered,
she was transformed by happiness, and smiled;
as she died, her spirit filled with joy,
she seemed to say: “Heaven opens; I go in peace.”
12 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Jonathan Cohen director & keyboards
Jonathan enjoys a close relationship with Les
Arts Florissants and has recently been appointed
Associate Conductor. For the 30th anniversary
season of the orchestra, Jonathan collaborated
with William Christie in performances of Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas and The Fairy Queen, as well as a
programme of Gluck, Haydn and Mozart.
“under the direction of Jonathan Cohen,
the fluid arioso of Monteverdi’s music
is admirably vitalised — coloured, but
never distorted, and paced like a thriller.”
T h e t i m e s , 2011
Jonathan Cohen is rapidly developing a
reputation as one of Britain’s finest and most
versatile musicians. A conductor, cellist and
keyboardist, he has wide-ranging interest and
experience in music from the early baroque to
the contemporary.
After completing his undergraduate degree
at Clare College, Cambridge, Jonathan began
his career as a cellist. He performed as guest
principal with many of the UK’s foremost
orchestras and ensembles, including the
Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestra of the
Age of Enlightenment, the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra and The King’s Consort.
With this experience Jonathan developed a
broad specialism in the field of early music and
an interest in period instruments. He was a
founder-member of the London Haydn Quartet
and with them recorded two discs of Haydn
Quartets on Hyperion. He continues to enjoy
chamber music projects, collaborating regularly
with violinists Daniel Hope and Barnabas
Kelemen. With countertenor Iestyn Davies,
Jonathan has launched his orchestra Arcangelo
with a disc for Hyperion of cantatas by Porpora.
Jonathan has recently conducted Monteverdi’s
L’incoronazione di Poppea with Glyndebourne
Touring Opera and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with
English National Opera, the latter of which was
met with widespread critical acclaim. Musical
Criticism wrote of the performance: “Three
components have made this joint production
by ENO and the Young Vic remarkable:
Monteverdi’s music, Jonathan Cohen’s musical
direction and the ensemble work on stage.
Cohen clearly knows every ounce of the score in
depth and he lives the music while he superbly
directs his forces. There are no histrionic devices;
communication with singers and orchestra is
governed by knowledge and respect for text
and music. Notwithstanding the contradiction
in terms, I would describe Jonathan Cohen as a
humble star...”
These performances mark Jonathan’s AAM
debut.
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 13
Anna Prohaska soprano
James Gilchrist tenor
Anna Prohaska is acclaimed as one of the most
exciting singers of her generation. In concert she
has appeared with the Berliner Philharmoniker
with Sir Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado;
the Bayerische Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester
with Daniel Harding, Mariss Jansons and Pierre
Boulez; and the Wiener Philharmoniker with
Pierre Boulez and Sir Simon Rattle. She has given
recitals with Eric Schneider in Schwarzenberg,
Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt and London.
James Gilchrist began his working life as a
doctor, turning to a full-time career in music in
1996. His musical education began in church
choirs and as a cellist, before becoming a treble
in the Choir of New College, Oxford and a tenor
in the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge.
Anna is a member of the Deutsche Staatsoper
Berlin, where she has sung works from Handel
to Stravinsky with conductors such as Daniel
Barenboim, Philippe Jordan, Ingo Metzmacher
and Rene Jacobs. Her engagements at the
Salzburg festivals include Zerlina in Mozart’s
Don Giovanni, as well as concerts with the
Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker
and the Cleveland Orchestra.
Anna’s recordings include Pergolesi’s Stabat
Mater with Bernarda Fink and a DVD release of
Berg’s Lulu Suite with the Simon Bolivar Youth
Orchestra of Venezuela and Claudio Abbado. Her
first solo album “Sirene” has just been released.
This season she appears in concert with Gustavo
Dudamel in Los Angeles, Nikolaus Harnoncourt
in Vienna and Lucerne and in recital with
Maurizio Pollini in Berlin and New York.
14 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
James has had a vibrant and frequent
association with the AAM, including
performances of Handel at the BBC
Proms, Mozart’s Requiem at Symphony
Hall, Birmingham, and the world-premiere
performance and recording of John Taverner’s
Total Eclipse. In March 2013 he will perform the
role of Evangelist in a Good Friday performance
of JS Bach’s St John Passion at the Barbican.
James is a prolific recitalist, enjoying successful
relationships with accompanists Anna Tilbrook
and Julius Drake and harpist Alison Nicholls.
Recent acclaimed recordings include Schubert’s
Die Schöne Mullerin, Schwanengesang and
Winterreise, the latter winning BBC Music
Magazine’s Recording of the Month award.
Recent performances include Britten’s Serenade
for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Amsterdam
Sinfonietta, Handel’s Messiah with National
Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC, and
Septimius in Handel’s Theodora with Concert
Spirituel.
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Handel’s Alcina at the Bavarian State Opera and
in a new commission by Johannes Kalitzke for
Theater an der Wien.
Benjamin Hulett was a choral scholar at New
College, Oxford and trained on the opera course
at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
As a principal with Hamburg State Opera, he
appeared in works by Handel, Mozart and
Britten. Since then he has appeared at opera
houses around Europe, including as Oronte in
His concert appearances include performances
at the BBC Proms with Sir Andrew Davis and
the BBC Symphony Orchestra and with Sir
Roger Norrington and the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, and concerts this season include
Britten’s Serenade for tenor, horn and strings with
Beethoven Orchester Bonn under AAM founder
Christopher Hogwood, Schumann’s Das Paradies
und die Peri under Norrington at the Edinburgh
Festival, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis under
Philippe Herreweghe.
In 2011 Benjamin appeared as a soloist in
Jonathan Miller’s acclaimed production of
JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion at the National
Theatre.
Detail from engraving entitled “Entertainment which Ciarlatin (street performers) give every day on the Piazza San Marco
(Venice)”, from Habiti d’huomini e donne (1609) by Giacomo Franco (1550–1620)
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 15
Academy of Ancient Music: our ethos
The history of the AAM is the history of a
revolution. When Christopher Hogwood
founded the orchestra almost forty years ago, he
rejected the decades-old convention of playing
old music in a modern style. Hogwood and the
AAM were inspired by original performances
and, along with musicians across Europe, were
beginning to discover the sound worlds which
Bach, Handel and Haydn would have known.
These bold initial steps would lead to a radical
transformation in musical performance, allowing
baroque and classical masterworks to be heard
anew from that day to this.
So what’s different about the AAM? Partly it’s
the instruments, which are originals (or faithful
copies of them). The stringed instruments
have strings made of animal gut, not steel;
the trumpets have no valves; the violins and
violas don’t have chin-rests, and the cellists grip
their instruments between their legs rather
than resting them on the floor. The result
is a sound which is bright, immediate and
striking. Additionally, the size of the orchestra
is often smaller, meaning that every instrument
shines through and the original balance of
sound is restored; and where possible we
play from first edition scores, stripping away
the later additions and annotations of editors
and getting back to composers’ initial notes,
markings and ideas.
There’s also a difference in the way we approach
our music making. Composers prized the
creativity of musicians, expecting them to make
the music come alive and to communicate its
thrill to the audience — an ethos we place at
the heart of all that we do. Very often we don’t
have a conductor, but are directed by one of
the musicians, making for spontaneous, sparky
and engaged performances. It’s not just about
researching the past; it’s about being creative in
the ­present.
“a band that, for nearly 40 years, has
consistently established a benchmark
of veracity and authority in getting
composers’ music played as it was
intended to be played: free of accretions,
stripped of varnish, and as straight and
true as an arrow”
G L A S G O W HE R A L D, 2010
In everything we do, we aim to recapture the
intimacy, passion and vitality of music when it
was first composed. The result? Performances
which are full of energy and vibrancy, the
superb artistry and musical imagination of our
players combined with a deep understanding
of the music’s original context.
NEW IMAGE HERE
o n 1 9 jan u ary we ret u rne d f o r an A A M plif y si d e - by - si d e w o rksh o p at the u niversity o f cambri d ge , e x pl o ring
c o relli ’ s c o ncerti gr o ssi o p .6 t o gether with st u d ents . V isit www . aam . c o . u k / aampli f y t o f in d o u t m o re .
16 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Academy of Ancient Music: our past, present and future
The AAM was founded in 1973 by Christopher
Hogwood, under whose leadership the
orchestra developed the global reputation for
inspirational music making which continues
today. In its first three decades the AAM
performed live to music lovers on every
continent except Antarctica, and millions more
heard the orchestra through its astonishing
catalogue of over 300 CDs: Brit- and GrammyAward-winning recordings of Handel operas,
pioneering accounts of the Beethoven, Mozart
and Haydn symphonies, and revelatory discs
which championed neglected c­ omposers.
This artistic excellence was fostered by a
stunning roster of guest artists: singers Dame
Emma Kirkby, Dame Joan Sutherland and Cecilia
Bartoli and pianist Robert Levin were among
those performing regularly with the AAM. A
range of collaborations continue to inspire the
group with new ideas and fresh approaches.
The current relationship with the Choir of King’s
College, Cambridge recently produced the
world’s first live classical cinecast, with Handel’s
Messiah streamed live into hundreds of cinemas
across the globe; and ongoing work with the
likes of soprano Elizabeth Watts, tenor Andrew
Kennedy and cellist Steven Isserlis lies at the
heart of the AAM’s present-day artistic success.
In 2006 Richard Egarr succeeded Hogwood as
Music Director, and the orchestra continues
its tradition of enthralling audiences old and
new. Already Egarr has directed the first-ever
performances in China of Purcell’s Dido and
Aeneas and JS Bach’s complete Brandenburg
Concertos, and has led tours throughout
Europe and to Australia, America and the Far
East. Recent recordings, including a complete
cycle of Handel’s instrumental music Opp.1-7,
have won MIDEM, Edison and Gramophone
Awards. In 2007 Egarr founded the Choir of the
AAM, which a year later was awarded the title of
‘Choir of the Year’ at the Beijing Classical E­ lites.
The future is just as bright. Performances in
2011–12 feature music from Monteverdi to
Beethoven, with outstanding artists including
Alina Ibragimova and Shunské Sato making
their AAM debuts. From September 2012, the
AAM will become Associate Ensemble at the
Barbican Centre in London.
Meanwhile the AAMplify new generation scheme
continues to flourish: hundreds of young music
lovers will be welcomed to AAM concerts this
season, and the musicians of the future will
rehearse and perform side by side with the
orchestra in Cambridge and, for the first time, in
London.
Visit www.aam.co.uk to find out more, or pick
up a season brochure tonight.
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 17
Latest news at the AAM
AAM to perform at 2012 BBC Proms
On Saturday 21 July, we will perform JS Bach’s
The Art of Fugue as part of the BBC Proms at
Cadogan Hall, London. The performance will
be directed by brilliant young harpsichordist
Mahan Esfahani, who makes his AAM debut. In
2011 Mahan gave the first-ever solo harpsichord
recital at the BBC Proms, performing JS Bach’s
Goldberg Variations.
The Art of Fugue is an incomplete series of
variations, and uncertainty surrounds the
original instrumentation. For this performance,
Mahan has worked with AAM musicians to
arrange the original ‘open scoring’ of the
variations (whereby no instrument is specified)
for different combinations of stringed, wind and
keyboard instruments.
The performance will be broadcast live on BBC
Radio 3, and tickets will be on sale from 12 May
on bbc.co.uk/proms or 0845 401 5040.
AAM announces future collaborations
with Andreas Scholl and the Choir of King’s
College, Cambridge
We are delighted to announce a series of future
collaborations with the Choir of King’s College,
Cambridge, following a sold-out performance
of JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion at King’s earlier
this month. In November 2012 counter-tenor
Andreas Scholl makes his AAM debut in an
all-Bach programme including the solo cantata
‘Ich habe genug’ and motet ‘Lobet den Herrn’;
and in March 2013 Scholl returns to sing in two
performances of the St Matthew Passion which
also feature Christoph Genz as Evangelist.
Booking for the November performance opens
on 1 July 2012 via The Shop at King’s (01223
769340).
18 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
AAM 2012-13 Cambridge season:
subscription booking
Subscription booking for our Cambridge season
opens on 15 May. Subscribers receive a 15%
discount and guarantee their seats throughout
the year.
If you’d like to become a subscriber, call 01223
341092, email [email protected], or leave
your details at the CD sales desk tonight. We will
write to current subscribers soon with the chance
to renew their seats.
Cambridge Festival of Ideas:
sponsor a street piano
In October 2012, the University’s Faculty of
Music will be installing 31 pianos throughout
Cambridge. As well as being available for
anyone to use, there will be free music lessons
and performances by professional musicians.
The project is being run as part of the 2012
Cambridge Festival of Ideas, and represents an
innovative way to spread music throughout the
community.
We are inviting our Cambridge audience to
sponsor one piano, and hope to raise £450
through a collection after tonight’s concert.
Any donation will be gratefully received; you
can also enclose a cheque in the envelope
on your seat tonight, payable to CAMEO. For
more information, contact Ruth Hardie, Music
Outreach Officer at the Faculty of Music, 11 West
Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP.
AAM in the press
Visit aam.co.uk to read all the latest press reviews
and features. The archive includes reviews
from our UK-wide tour with Alina Ibragimova
earlier this year; and a piece by conductor
and composer James Macmillan reflecting on
“why Bach Passions still speak to modern man”,
following our recent performance of the St
Matthew Passion.
Academy of Ancient Music
Violin I
Pavlo Beznosiuk*
Double bass
Judith Evans Lirone
Erin Headley
Violin II
Bojan Čičić
Viola da gamba
Reiko Ichise
Theorbo
William Carter
Viola
Rachel Byrt
Baroque harp
Frances Kelly
Cello
Joseph Crouch*
Keyboards
Jonathan Cohen
*Sponsored c­ hairs
Leader
Lord and Lady ­Magan
Principal cello
Dr Christopher and
Lady Juliet ­Tadgell
Principal flute
Christopher and Phillida ­Purvis
Sub-­principal viola
Sir Nicholas and Lady G
­ oodison
Sub-­principal cello
Newby Trust L­ td
Reiko Ichise viola da gamba
“
This may sound a bit odd, but it’s thanks to Martha Agerich that
I started playing the viol. I went to hear her recital in Tokyo as a
piano student and was totally stunned by her power and beauty.
I was speechless... On the way back hope that night, I saw a flyer
with a photo of a lady playing a strange-looking instrument. I
learned that there was a ‘musicology’ course at my music college
and that the strange instrument was a bass viol. Sated in the
most wonderful way by Agerich’s playing, I decided to change my
course to musicology, where I picked up the viol for fun; fun quickly
became love. I am still in love and so grateful to be here playing
with the wonderful musicians of the AAM.
”
Board of D
­ irectors
Adam ­Broadbent
Kay Brock LVO ­DL
John ­Everett
Matthew ­Ferrey
James Golob
John ­Grieves
Heather J­ arman
Christopher Purvis CBE
(Chairman)
John Reeve
Terence Sinclair
Dr Christopher ­Tadgell
Janet Unwin
Development ­Board
Adam ­Broadbent
Kay Brock LVO ­DL
Delia ­Broke
Elizabeth de Friend
Kate Donaghy
John E­ verett
Matthew ­Ferrey
James Golob
­ rieves
John G
Madelaine ­Gunders
Annie N
­ orton
Christopher Purvis ­CBE
John Reeve
Chris ­Rocker
Terence Sinclair (Chairman)
Dr Christopher T­ adgell
Madeleine ­Tattersall
Sarah Miles ­Williams
Alison ­Wisbeach
­ irector
Music D
Richard E­ garr
Finance M
­ anager
Elaine ­Hendrie
Emeritus ­Director
Christopher Hogwood
­CBE
External Relations Manager: ­
Development
Oriel Williams
Chief ­Executive
Michael ­Garvey
Concerts & Administration
­Manager
Samantha ­Fryer
Orchestra ­Manager
Andrew ­Moore
Head of External ­ Relations
Simon ­Fairclough
External Relations Manager: ­
Communications
Toby ­Chadd
Communications Officer
Anna Goldbeck-Wood
Concerts & Administration
­Trainee
Graham Sale
PR Management
Rebecca Driver Media Relations
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 19
Supporting the Academy of Ancient M
­ usic
Having fun, getting closer to the music and
securing the future of a great tradition. That’s
what supporting the Academy of Ancient Music
is all about.
The music we are enjoying tonight came into
being only through a tradition of patronage. JS
Bach composed his instrumental masterpieces
at the courts of Weimar and Köthen; Haydn
enjoyed the backing of the Esterházy family;
Mozart’s patrons included the Archbishop of
Salzburg and Emperor Joseph II.
The AAM exists to keep this music alive — but
income from ticket sales covers only a third of
the cost of staging concerts like tonight’s. Just
like the composers of old, the orchestra relies
on generous support from those who value its
work and care about its future.
Over the next few years the AAM will be
doing more than ever to develop the
audiences, musicians and arts managers of the
future through its AAMplify new generation
programme, to bring baroque and classical
music to a global audience through recordings
and online work, and to enrich people’s lives
through its concerts. In order to do so it must
raise a total of £2.8 million by 2015. Through
the generosity of individual philanthropists,
Arts Council England and other funders and
supporters £1.3 million has already been
secured. £1.5 million remains to be raised.
The future of ancient music is in our hands.
Read on to find out how you can help.
Join the AAM Society
The AAM Society is the AAM’s core group of
regular supporters. Members’ annual gifts
provide the vital ongoing support without
which the orchestra would be unable to
continue to perform.
Members enjoy a close and ongoing
involvement with the life of the orchestra: they
dine with the musicians after performances
in London; they receive regular invitations
to open rehearsals, private recitals and other
special events; and at least once each year they
are invited to travel with the orchestra on tour
internationally.
Membership starts from £250 per annum (£100
for young supporters aged up to 40) and goes
up to £20,000+. Gifts can be made annually or
by regular standing order. Those giving over
£1,000 receive invitations to regular recitals
and other special events held in the homes of
fellow members. Those giving over £5,000 have
20 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
“The AAM’s Porto-Lisbon trip was memorable.
We socialised with the players, heard
wonderful music twice over with soprano
Carolyn Sampson, had an exclusive tour and
tasting of Graham’s Port, and were introduced
to Porto’s extraordinary churches by an expert
— with an optional trip to the Gulbenkian
thrown in. All smoothly organised, relaxed
and with the bonus of excellent company,
meals and wine”.
E lizabeth d e Frien d A A M S ociet y member
the opportunity to sponsor a specific position
in the orchestra, and are invited to join the
Council of Benefactors which meets annually
to receive an update on the orchestra’s
performance from the Chief Executive and
Chairman.
To join the AAM Society, please either
contact the AAM or complete and return the
membership form on page 23.
Support a special project
From time to time, syndicates are formed to
support special artistic projects. Members enjoy
a particularly close involvement with the work
they are supporting. It’s not too late to get
involved with Musical Revolutions, the concert
series at the heart of the AAM’s 2011–12
London and Cambridge season. Please contact
the AAM to find out more.
Invest in the AAM Tomorrow Fund
The AAM Tomorrow Fund has been established
for those who want to invest at a substantial
level in the long-term future of the orchestra.
Support from the Fund is making major
strategic initiatives possible, including the
development of the AAMplify new generation
programme and the revitalisation of the
AAM’s recording programme. The Fund was
established by a generous leading gift from
Lady Sainsbury of Turville, and major gifts
have subsequently been received from other
individual and institutional supporters.
Leave a legacy
Over the last four decades the AAM has
brought joy and inspiration to millions of
people. Our aim over the next is to begin to
build an endowment which will ultimately
enable it to do so in perpetuity.
Leaving a legacy is one of the most enduring
ways in which you can support our work: gifts
of any size have a real impact in enabling the
AAM to keep baroque and classical music alive
for generations to come. By supporting our
work in this way you may also be able to reduce
the overall tax liability due on your estate.
Tax-efficient giving
Generous tax incentives exist for UK taxpayers
supporting charities like the AAM. Under the
Gift Aid scheme the eventual cost of making
a gift could be as little as half of its value to
To find out more
• Contact Simon Fairclough, Head of External
Relations, on 01223 341096 or s.fairclough@
aam.co.uk
• Visit www.aam.co.uk and click
“Support the AAM”
the AAM — and for donors who make gifts of
shares the cost could be lower still. Further
information is available from the AAM.
“We love the AAM’s excellent performances,
academic depth and innovative programming,
and as AAM Society members we share the
musical life of this superb ensemble project by
project. The AAM is as welcoming and friendly
as it is enlightening, and as professional behind
the scenes as it is on stage!”
R ichar d an d E lena B ri d ges A A M S ociet y members
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 21
AAM Funders & Supporters
The AAM is indebted to the following trusts, companies, public
bodies and individuals for their support of the orchestra’s work:
AAM Business Club
Cambridge University ­Press
Kleinwort ­Benson
Royal Bank of Canada
Public funders
Arts Council England
Orchestras ­Live
Cambridge City ­Council
Trusts and foundations
The Backstage Trust
CHK Charities ­Ltd
Dunard ­Fund
John Ellerman ­Foundation
Esmée Fairbairn ­Foundation
Fidelity UK ­Foundation
Gatsby Charitable Foundation
J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable ­Trust
Newby Trust ­Ltd
Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary ­Settlement
Constance Travis Charitable ­Trust
Garfield Weston ­Foundation
and other anonymous trusts and foundations
The AAM S­ ociety
Special gifts
The Academy of Ancient Music extends its
grateful thanks to Lady Sainsbury of Turville,
who has supported the orchestra’s work at a
particularly significant level this y­ ear.
The Chairman’s C
­ ircle
(Donations £20,000–£49,999 per annum)
Matthew ­Ferrey
CHK Charities ­Ltd
Dunard ­Fund
The Hogwood C
­ ircle
(Donations £10,000 - £19,999 per annum)
Lord and Lady M
­ agan
Christopher and Phillida Purvis *
Mrs Julia ­Rosier
Dr Christopher and Lady Juliet ­Tadgell
Lady Linda Wong Davies (KT Wong Foundation)
Principal ­Patrons
(Donations £5,000 ­– £9,999 per annum)
Richard and Elena Bridges
Christopher Hogwood CBE *
Mrs Sheila ­Mitchell
Newby Trust Ltd *
Chris Rocker and Alison ­Wisbeach
Terence and Sian Sinclair
and other anonymous Principal P
­ atrons
Patrons
(Donations £2,500 – £4,999 per annum)
Lady Alexander of ­Weedon
Adam and Sara ­Broadbent
Richard and Elizabeth de Friend
Mr and Mrs JE E­ verett
Mr and Mrs James G
­ olob
Sir Nicholas and Lady Goodison *
John and Ann ­Grieves
Graham and Amanda Hutton
Mark and Liza ­Loveday
John and Joyce Reeve
Mark West
and other anonymous ­Patrons
Principal ­Benefactors
(Donations £1,000 – £2,499 per annum)
George and Kay ­Brock
Mrs D ­Broke
Mr and Mrs Graham Brown
Clive and Helena ­Butler
Jo and Keren ­Butler
Sir Charles ­Chadwyck-­Healey ­Bt
Peter Stormonth Darling
Kate Donaghy
The Hon Simon ­Eccles
Elma Hawkins and Charles R
­ ichter
Lord Hindlip
John McFadden and Lisa Kabnick *
David and Linda Lakhdhir
Steven Larcombe and Sonya Leydecker
Mr and Mrs C ­Norton
Lionel and Lynn ­Persey
Nigel and Hilary Pye *
Mr and Mrs Charles R
­ awlinson
Mark and Elizabeth Ridley
Sir Konrad and Lady Schiemann *
JG ­Stanford
Mr Michael Stump
John and Madeleine ­Tattersall
Marcellus and Katharine Taylor-­Jones
Stephen Thomas
Sarah and Andrew ­Williams
Mrs R Wilson ­Stephens
­ oodward
Charles W
and other anonymous Principal B
­ enefactors
Benefactors
(Donations £500 – £999)
Dr Aileen Adams ­CBE
­ lyth
Bill and Sue B
Claire Brisby and John Brisby QC *
Mr and Mrs Edward Davies-­Gilbert
Charles Dumas
Mr and Mrs ­Jean-­Marie E­ veillard
Simon Fairclough
Marshall ­Field
Michael and Michele Foot CBE
Andrew and Wendy ­Gairdner
Hon William ­Gibson
The Hon Mr and Mrs Philip H
­ avers
Professor Sean ­Hilton
Dr and Mrs G and W Hoffman
Heather Jarman *
Susan L­ atham
Tessa M
­ ayhew
Mr and Mrs Hideto Nakahara
Rodney and Kusum Nelson-­Jones
Nick and Margaret ­Parker
Bruno Schroder and ­Family
Peter ­Thomson
Janet Unwin
Pippa Wicks
Oriel Williams
22 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
Peter and Margaret ­Wynn
Julia Yorke
and other anonymous ­Benefactors
Donors
(Donations £250 – £499)
Angela and Roderick Ashby-­Johnson
Elisabeth and Bob Boas *
Mrs Nicky Brown
Jeremy J ­Bunting
Mr Alexander Chadd
Dr and Mrs S C
­ hallah
David and Elizabeth ­Challen
Cottisford Trust
Stephen and Debbie ­Dance
Derek and Mary Draper
Beatrice and Charles ­Goldie
Steven and Madelaine ­Gunders
Gemma and Lewis Morris H
­ all
Mrs Helen H
­ iggs
Lord and Lady Jenkin of R
­ oding
Alison ­Knocker
Richard L­ ockwood
Yvonne de la Praudière
Jane Rabagliati and Raymond Cross
Robin and Jane ­Raw
Annabel and Martin ­Randall
Arthur L Rebell and Susan B C
­ ohen
Denys ­Robinson
Mr and Mrs Timothy Robinson
Michael and Giustina R
­ yan
Miss E M ­Schlossmann
Michael Smith
Rt Hon Sir Murray S­ tuart-­Smith *
Janet ­Unwin
Robin ­Vousden
Paul F. Wilkinson and Associates I­nc.
and other anonymous ­Donors
* denotes founder ­member
Musical ­Revolutionaries
Hilary Barton
Cottisford Trust
Hon William Gibson
Heather Jarman
Mark and Lisa Loveday
Mrs Sheila Mitchell
Mr and Mrs Charles R
­ awlinson
Michael and Giustina Ryan
Robin Vousden
Mr Charles ­Woodward
and other anonymous Musical Revolutionaries
Join the AAM Society
I would like to join the AAM Society
I would like to give membership of the AAM Society to
someone else as a gift
Your details
Name: ........................................................................................................................................
Address: ....................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
Telephone: .............................................................................................................................
Email: ..........................................................................................................................................
Gift membership — member’s details
Please complete this section only if you are giving Society
membership to someone else as a gift.
Member’s name: ................................................................................................................
Member’s address: ............................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
Member’s telephone: ......................................................................................................
Member’s email: .................................................................................................................
Membership level
The Chairman’s Circle
The Hogwood Circle
Principal Patron
Patron
Principal Benefactor
Benefactor
Donor
Young Supporter (under 40 only)
£20,000+
£10,000–£19,999
£5,000–£9,999
£2,500–£4,999
£1,000–£2,499
£500–£999
£250–£499
£100–£249
Date of birth: ..................................................................................................................
Three-year pledge
By pledging to support the AAM over a three-year period, you can
help the orchestra to plan for the future with confidence.
Please tick here if you are able to pledge to support the
orchestra at this level for three years.
Leaving a legacy
Please tick here if you would be willing to receive information
about remembering the AAM in your will.
Matched giving
My firm operates a matched giving policy. Please contact me
to discuss this further.
Gift Aid declaration
Please complete this section if you pay UK income tax and/
or capital gains tax at least equal to the tax which the AAM will
reclaim on your donations in the appropriate tax year.
Please treat this donation and all donations that I make from the
date of this declaration until I notify you otherwise as Gift Aid
donations.
Signed: .....................................................................................................................................
Date: ...........................................................................................................................................
Donations made by standing order
Please complete this section if you would like to make your
donation to the AAM by standing order.
Name of bank: .....................................................................................................................
Bank address: ........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................
Account number: ...............................................................................................................
Sort code: ................................................................................................................................
Acknowledgement
Please acknowledge my gift using the following form of
wording
Please pay Academy of Ancient Music, Lloyds TSB, Gonville
Place Branch, Cambridge, sort code 30-13-55, Account number
02768172 the sum of
.......................................................................................................................................................
£......................................................................................................................................................
I would prefer to remain anonymous
Payment details
I would like to make my donation by
I enclose a cheque for £................................
(please make payable to ‘AAM’)
I enclose a CAF cheque for £................................
(please make payable to ‘AAM’)
I would like to pay by standing order
(please complete the standing order section below)
I would like to make a gift of shares (please contact the AAM)
per
month
quarter
year
starting on: .............................................................................................................................
Signed: ......................................................................................................................................
Date: ...........................................................................................................................................
Full name: ...............................................................................................................................
Please return your completed form to:
Simon Fairclough
Head of External Relations
Academy of Ancient Music
11b King’s Parade
Cambridge CB2 1SJ
A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n 23
Lufthansa Festival
of Baroque Music
in association with
Rolls-Royce plc
Contests, Competitions and the Harmony of Nations
London | 18 – 26 May 2012 | St. John’s, Smith Square
Dunedin Consort & Players · John Butt
Tuesday 22 May, 7.30pm
J. S. Bach | Brandenburg Concerto No.3
J. S. Bach | Cantata No.207
J. S. Bach | Cantata No.201 (The Contest of Phoebus and Pan)
‘No performance could better justify small-scale Bach…’
BBC Music Magazine
www.lufthansafestival.org.uk | www.sjss.org.uk | 020 7222 1061
All tickets from the Box Office, St. John’s, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HA
Mark Padmore brings
all his artistry to this
Viennese programme of
beguiling song including
Mahler’s captivating
Rückert-Lieder.
Padmore
sings Mahler
Cambridge
London
West Road Concert Hall
Southbank Centre’s
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Wednesday 16 May 2012, 7.30pm
Box Office: 01223 357851
www.brittensinfonia.com
Thursday 17 May 2012, 7.30pm
Box Office: 0844 847 9910
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
24 A ca d emy o f A ncient M u sic , 2 0 1 1 - 2 01 2 S eas o n
For full programme details
scan the code on your
smartphone (using freeto-download QR reader)
Tickets £15 – £35