October 2007 - Concert Programme
Invitation to the Waltz Carl-Maria von Weber arr. Dan Godfrey
Barn Dance and Cowboy Hymn Philip Sparke
Blue Tango Leroy Anderson
Ballet Music Charles Gounod
from the opera Faust arr. Dan Godfrey
Three Dances from TerpsichoreMichael Praetorius
arr. Mark Keegan
Mamba and Cha-cha Leonard Bernstein
from West Side Story arr. Ian Polster
Berceuse and Finale Igor Stravinsky
from The Firebird Suite arr. Robert Longfield
Thunder and Lightning PolkaJohann Strauss II
arr. Milton E. Carey
Two Polotsvian Dances Alexander Borodin
from the opera Prince Igor arr. Dan Godfrey
Sandpaper Ballet Leroy Anderson
Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik Adam Gorb
Four Scottish Dances Malcom Arnold arr. John Poynter
Clog Dance Ferdinand Hérold
from the ballet La Fille Mal Gardee arr. Rodney Bashford
Riverdance Bill Whelan arr. Peter Cole
PROGRAMME NOTES
This popular piece was originally written by Weber as a piano solo, and later arranged for orchestra by Berlioz. However, tonight's excerpt is from Felix Weingartner's orchestration (considered by many experts to be better than Berlioz's!) transcribed for military band. It is an appropriate opener for our concert; we invite you to join us at the dance!
Philip Sparke is a renowned British composer for brass and wind bands and players always relish the challenge of his music. In Barn Dance, he has taken the famous Hoedown, but given it new twists and turns of rhythm and metre. Halfway through the cowboys are heard singing in the distance and everything stops for a moment. Dance interjections cut through the tranquillity and soon everything starts up again.
Leroy Anderson appears frequently on our programmes because his music is always great fun! His arrangements were standard fare for the Boston Pops Orchestra, which he often conducted when Arthur Fiedler took a break. Blue Tango is the first of two Anderson numbers tonight. Written in 1951, it was Anderson 's first big hit. To complete the 'firsts', it was also the first instrumental recording ever to sell 1 million copies.
Although the opera has fallen out of fashion over the last 50 years because of the cost of staging this extravagant work, the ballet that was inserted into Act V is still performed. In the opera, Mephistopheles takes Faust on Walpurgisnacht to a feast where he is entertained by Queens Helen (of Troy ) and Cleopatra and their assorted slaves and maidens. The ballet is itself a major work, lasting some 25 minutes; tonight we bring you 3 movements - the Valse for the Corps de Ballet, Cleopatra's Dance and the Bacchanale finale.
In Greek mythology Terpsichore was one of the nine Muses ruling over dance and dramatic chorus. Terpsichore (1612) is a compendium of over 300 instrumental dances by Michael Praetorius (1571 - 1621 ) and is his most widely-known, and sole surviving, secular work. Praetorius, a German composer , was one of the most versatile composers of his age, significant in the development of musical forms based on Protestant hymns . His mainly sacred works show the influence of contemporaries Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Schütz .
West Side Story was a landmark in the history of the musical. Musicals had previously been plays with interludes of song and dance, whereas West Side Story is really an opera with the narrative developed through the songs. Based on the Romeo and Juliet tragedy, it contains many memorable songs like "Maria" and "Somewhere" but Leonard Bernstein saves his most exciting writing for the dance sequences, of which we bring you two - the Mamba and the Cha-cha.
When Igor Stravinsky teamed up with Diaghilev in Paris in the 1900's the ballet world was in for a shock! Whereas in Russia ballet was highly regarded, in Paris it was held in very low esteem. Diaghilev revelled in the challenge to conquer Paris and in 1909 Les Ballets Russes was established. The Firebird, based upon a Russian folk tale, was the first co-operation between Diaghilev and Stravinsky and was followed by Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. All three works took Paris by storm.
Strauss, father and son, are accorded the title of "Waltz Kings". However, Johann Strauss the younger totally eclipsed the elder! He wrote 55 waltzes, 25 polkas and 41 marches as well as 17 operas and a ballet compared to his father who only managed 11 waltzes, 11 polkas and 2 marches, (one of which is the Radetsky March). The effects in "Thunder and Lightning" aptly capture the sounds of a mountain storm - no doubt quite exhilarating to dance to!
Prince Igor - Polotsvian Dances
These brilliantly evocative dances, notable examples of barbaric vigour in music, are found in Act 2 of Borodin's opera "Prince Igor". The opera tells of the legend of the struggles between the Russians and Tartars in the 11th Century, an important saga to Borodin, a native of the Caucasus . The dances take place in the camp of Khan Khoutchak where the Royal prisoners, Prince Igor and his son, are being entertained by the slaves. You will recognise the melodies as the music was popularised by the 1953 musical "Kismet".
This is our second offering from the pen of Leroy Anderson. Anderson delighted in making music using everyday objects - the penny whistle, the clock and the typewriter are examples. Sandpaper Ballet, composed in 1954, explores the sounds of different grades of sandpaper supported by delightful melodic themes. It recalls the "soft-shoe shuffle" of the vaudeville era, when the dancers would spread sand on the stage. Tonight's soloists, Lisa and John, demonstrate great virtuosity in the art of sanding blocks and their delicate footwork is much admired by choreographers worldwide!
Adam Gorb is a talented young British composer. Born in 1958, he studied music at Cambridge University and the Royal Academy of Music, where he gained a Mmus. degree and graduated in 1993 with the highest honours, including the Principal's Prize. His works include " Metropolis" for wind band, which won the Walter Beeler Memorial Prize in the USA , " Kol Simcha" , a ballet given over fifty performances by the Rambert Dance Company and " Awayday for Wind Band" which has had over a thousand performances. Adam Gorb is Head of Composition and Contemporary Music at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester . Much of his music reflects his Jewish heritage - "Ragmusik" is a synthesis of a Jewish traditional folk dance with Scott Joplin ragtime. The effect is haunting and reminiscent of 1930's Berlin .
Malcolm Arnold, who sadly died last year, is one of England 's greatest 20 th century composers. Renowned for his film scores, he also wrote symphonies, concertos and chamber works. His music is descriptive and witty, especially his dance suites - English, Irish, Cornish, Welsh and Scottish. Supplying his own programme notes for "Four Scottish Dances" Arnold wrote: "The first dance is in the style of a Strathspey, a slow dance. The second, a lively reel, begins in the key of E-flat and rises a semitone each time it is played until the bassoon plays it slowly in G; the final statement is at the original speed in the home key. The third is in the style of a Hebridean Song, giving an impression of the sea and mountain scenery on a calm summer's day. The last is a lively fling."
Hérold's ballet `La Fille Mal Gardee` was first performed at Bordeaux in 1879, on the eve of the French Revolution. Frederick Ashton`s version, with witty scenery and costumes by Osbert Lancaster, was first seen in January 1960 and has been regularly revived since. The Clog Dance has become a favourite with audiences and once more features the consummate skills of our percussion section.
'Riverdance' started in Dublin in 1995, as a brilliantly conceived spin-off from a seven-minute intermission piece in the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. It has danced a long way since then, becoming an international phenomenon. The concept of 'Riverdance' is both simple and adroit - a Celtic setting with a load of Irish music to Bill Whelan's brilliant score. Although Irish dancing is at the heart of the show, there are also elements of Spanish flamenco and American tap dance, two dance forms with which the Irish steps have much in common. To conclude tonight's concert, this arrangement by Peter Cole contains the opening song "Hear My Cry", the Caraçena from the Seville Suite and the finale, Riverdance.
Programme notes written by Peter Cole