Agony and Ecstasy in Ealing at St Barnabas Church, London on Saturday 14th July 2018

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

Agony and Ecstasy in Ealing

Add to my Calendar 14-07-2018 19:30 14-07-2018 21:30 36 Agony and Ecstasy in Ealing Britten's early work, the Sinfonia da Requiem, was originally commissioned by the Japanese Government in 1940. While they did not in the end accept the piece for the occasion, it enjoyed great success for general performance across the world. A performance in New York even led to the commissioning of Peter Grimes. The work is Britten's largest purely orchestral work; he himself denied the 'alleged glumness' of the piece, feeling it was more celebratory in nature. Kodaly's opera, Hary Janos, is rarely performed in its entirety nowadays. However, the orchestral suite remains popular. The story is of a veteran hussar in the Austrian army in the first half of the 19th century who sits in the village inn regaling his listeners with fantastic tales of heroism. His supposed exploits include winning the heart of the Empress Marie Louise, the wife of Napoleon, and then single-handedly defeating Napoleon and his armies. Nevertheless, he finally renounces all riches in order to go back to his village with his sweetheart. Also timeless is Debussy's beautiful Prelude, oft-appearing in many a flautist's audition pack, and for good reason! We look forward to our flute section shining for this impressionist piece. We finish our season of 'Fourths' with Scriabin's sublime The Poem of Ecstasy - while not titled as such it is in fact his fourth symphony. Played as a single continuous movement, the whole-tone scales dervied from Scriabin's own 'mystic chord' lend the work a timeless beauty. St Barnabas Church, London DD/MM/YYYY

Details

St Barnabas Church
Pitshanger Lane
Ealing
London
W5 1QG
England

Saturday 14th July 2018
7:30 PM

Programme

Benjamin Britten – Sinfonia da Requiem, Op.20
Zoltán Kodály – Háry János Suite
Claude Debussy – Prelude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Aleksandr Scriabin – Symphony no.4 'Poem of Ecstasy', Op.54

Performers

John Gibbons – Conductor

Ealing Symphony Orchestra

Programme Note

Britten's early work, the Sinfonia da Requiem, was originally commissioned by the Japanese Government in 1940. While they did not in the end accept the piece for the occasion, it enjoyed great success for general performance across the world. A performance in New York even led to the commissioning of Peter Grimes. The work is Britten's largest purely orchestral work; he himself denied the 'alleged glumness' of the piece, feeling it was more celebratory in nature.

Kodaly's opera, Hary Janos, is rarely performed in its entirety nowadays. However, the orchestral suite remains popular. The story is of a veteran hussar in the Austrian army in the first half of the 19th century who sits in the village inn regaling his listeners with fantastic tales of heroism. His supposed exploits include winning the heart of the Empress Marie Louise, the wife of Napoleon, and then single-handedly defeating Napoleon and his armies. Nevertheless, he finally renounces all riches in order to go back to his village with his sweetheart.

Also timeless is Debussy's beautiful Prelude, oft-appearing in many a flautist's audition pack, and for good reason! We look forward to our flute section shining for this impressionist piece.

We finish our season of 'Fourths' with Scriabin's sublime The Poem of Ecstasy - while not titled as such it is in fact his fourth symphony. Played as a single continuous movement, the whole-tone scales dervied from Scriabin's own 'mystic chord' lend the work a timeless beauty.

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