| In this concert the Aeolian Singers are
accompanied by the Hertfordshire Philharmonia who also
accompanied them in their acclaimed performance of Bruckner’s
Mass in F Minor at St Saviour’s in April 2006.
Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934) wrote The
Music Makers for first performance at
the Birmingham Festival of 1912. It is the last substantial work
of his for chorus and orchestra and sets the words of Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s
ode to music with unmistakable passion. There are very strong
elements of nostalgia in the work with many self-quotations
including the most obvious reference to 'Nimrod' from his ever
popular Enigma
Variations.
We are delighted to welcome back the mezzo soprano Ameral
Gunson who sang the solo part in the last performance of this
work by the Aeolian Singers.
Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907) wrote his Piano
Concerto in A minor in 1869 and it
very quickly became one of the most popular pieces in the piano
repertoire.
In this performance the soloist, Anna Le Hair, is the Aeolian
Singers’ rehearsal pianist and is well known to Hertfordshire
audiences as an accomplished soloist and accompanist.
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958) completed
Toward
the Unknown Region in 1906. It is a
setting of some poetry by the American Walt Whitman which
expresses a mystical awareness of nature and humanity. His
former teacher C.V. Stanford conducted its first performance at
the Leeds Festival on 10 October 1907. |
