Spring Concert 2010

Saturday 27 March 2010

St Marys Church, Banbury
Music by Walton, Elgar and Arnold

Programme 1

Welcome to our concert!

Hello and welcome to our Spring 2010 concert.
Our programme this evening comprises some wonderful 20th-century
symphonic music by Walton, Elgar and Arnold :

Walton Spitfire Prelude and Fugue

Walton's 'Spitfire Prelude and Fugue' was written for a film about the
designer of the Spitfire fighter aircraft called The First of the Few. Walton is
one of Britain's most successful composers, especially for film music, and
this piece tells a fine story while at the same time being a successful concert
piece in its own right.
Elgar Nursery suite
Elgar's charming 'Nursery Suite' is in fact one of his last compositions - and
has everything that makes his music so popular.
Interval
Arnold Symphony No.4
Arnold's Symphony No.4, which features Caribbean instruments and
rhythms was inspired by the 1958 Notting Hill race-riots. It has violent
outbursts of brass and percussion and, in places, is reminiscent of
Bernstein's West Side Story.
Thanks again for being with us, and please make a note in your diary to join
us again at St Marys on Saturday 10 July 2010, 6pm for our Family concert
of Music from the Movies and on Saturday 15 May, 7.30pm for our
Chamber Orchestra Concert at St Peters Church, Hook Norton featuring
music by Mendelssohn, Pachelbel, Vaughan Williams and Beethoven.

Paul Willett Conductor

Paul Willett studied violin, singing and piano as
a student but his main instrument was the
French horn. When Paul was 16, he gained his
Performance Diploma from The Royal College
of Music playing French horn. Paul then went
on to read music on scholarship at The Queens
College, Oxford, and studied for his teaching
certificate in Music and Physical Education at
Reading University.
For several years Paul combined teaching and freelance playing. He has given solo
recitals and performed concertos throughout the country. He was a member of The
Five Winds, a group that performed both at home and abroad, and also on BBC
radio. Paul also worked as a brass teacher for Oxfordshire Music Service and was
director of a Saturday Music School of 200 students.
Paul now combines class teaching with conducting various ensembles, both adult
and youth. He is also in demand as an adjudicator for both adult and student
competitions. Paul is currently acting deputy head teacher at Didcot Girls School.
Jenny Maynard - Leader
Jenny Maynard started playing the violin at the age of
eight. She led her County Youth and University
Symphony Orchestras, and has subsequently always
played an active part in local orchestras and other
musical ensembles wherever she has lived. She has
recently studied the violin with Roger Coull of the Coull
Quartet. Jenny leads a busy life as Principal Lecturer in
Accounting at Coventry University, together with other
professional accountancy appointments plus plenty of
playing, including the Banbury Symphony Orchestra,
the Cherwell Orchestra and a quartet.
Anna Fleming will return to the position of Leader in the summer.

Walton Spitfire Prelude and Fugue

Sir William Turner Walton OM (29 March 1902 8 March 1983)

During World War II, Walton was granted leave from military service in order to
compose music for The First of the Few (1942), and Laurence Olivier's adaptation of
Shakespeare's Henry V (1944), which Winston Churchill encouraged Olivier to adapt
as if it were a piece of morale-boosting propaganda.
Waltons style was influenced by the works of Stravinsky and Prokofiev as well as
jazz music, and is characterized by rhythmic vitality, bittersweet harmony, sweeping
Romantic melody and brilliant orchestration. His output includes orchestral and
choral works, chamber music and ceremonial music, as well as notable film scores.
His earliest works, especially Edith Sitwell's Faade brought him notoriety as a
modernist, but it was with orchestral symphonic works and the oratorio Belshazzar's
Feast that he gained international recognition.
Walton was also commissioned to write the score for the 1969 film Battle of Britain.
The music was orchestrated and conducted by Walton's friend and colleague
Malcolm Arnold, who also secretly helped Walton compose several sequences. In
the end, one segment of the Walton score, titled The Battle in the Air, which framed
the climactic air battles of 15 September 1940, was retained in the final cut. The
Walton score was played with no sound effects of aircraft motors or gunfire, giving
this sequence a transcendent, lyrical quality.

Elgar's Nursery Suite

Image AFW

The Nursery Suite is one of the last compositions by Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934).
Like Elgar's Wand of Youth Suites it makes use of sketches from the composers
childhood.

There are seven movements and a coda:

1. Aubade (Awake)
2. The Serious Doll
3. Busy-ness
4. The Sad Doll
5. The Wagon (Passes)
6. The Merry Doll
7. Dreaming Envoy (Coda)

The composition of The Nursery Suite came about when Elgar mentioned in
September 1930 to HMV (the Gramophone Company) that he had lately run across
a box of musical sketches from the days of his youth. HMV suggested that as Master
of the King's Musick he might suitably draw on them for a work to mark the recent
birth of Princess Margaret Rose (then fourth in line to the throne). The suite was
dedicated to Princess Margaret, her older sister Princess Elizabeth (the future Queen
Elizabeth II) and their mother.
Most of the movements appear light, in the style of The Wand of Youth suites, and
predominantly sunny in character. Some commentators have made an exception of
'The Wagon (Passes)': the Elgar authority Michael Kennedy suggests that as the
wagon rumbles towards us the music takes on a sinister quality like that of the
moment in the Scherzo of the Second Symphony, when the wheels go over my
head. Anthony Payne drew on the form of this movement for the ending of his
elaboration of the Third Symphony sketches.
The Nursery Suite was one of the first pieces of orchestral music to receive its
premire in a recording studio (Kingsway Hall, London) rather than a concert hall. At
its premire on 23 May 1931, all but the two last movements were recorded under
the baton of the composer. The last two movements were added when the whole
suite was performed on 4 June 1931 before an invited audience including Princess
Elizabeth, aged 4, and her parents. The piece takes about 25 minutes to perform.
The choreographer Frederick Ashton used The Nursery Suite for a new ballet (his
last) in 1986 for the Queens sixtieth birthday gala.

Malcolm Arnold Symphony No. 4, Op. 71

The Symphony No. 4, Op. 71 by Malcolm Arnold was finished on 13 July in 1960. It is
in four movements:
1. Allegro
2. Vivace ma non troppo
3. Andantino
4. Con fuoco
The work was commissioned by William Glock for the BBC. The composer conducted
the first performance with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on 2 November 1960 at the
Royal Festival Hall.
The composer wrote in 1971 that the symphony was a reaction to the Notting Hill
race riots of 1958. He was appalled that such a thing could happen in Britain. And
expressed his hope that it might help to spread the idea of racial integration.
Symphony No. 4 was commissioned by the BBC, completed in 1960, following the
Notting Hill race-riots which perhaps influenced scoring for the symphony. It
includes Caribbean instruments (and rhythms as well): marimba, bongos and tomtoms, all used in a rather menacing way. The first of the four movements has violent
outbursts of brass and percussion with extensive interplay between instrumental
clusters. The movement includes a rather sad "pop" tune that appears several
times, each time with different orchestration. A "pop" tune usually consists of 32
bars, but this one has only 31, an effect that puzzled many listeners. This movement

ends with a huge brass outburst which to me is reminiscent of West Side Story. A
short, gossamer scherzo follows, all pianissimo except for the fortissimo last chord,
leading to one Arnolds most imaginative achievements, a 13 minute Andante.
Christopher Palmers notes in the Hickox Chandos recording describe the
movement perfectly: "...slow, sensual sexy, steamy, sultry -- and the atmosphere is
trance-like, almost hypnotic. Where are we? In a Turkish Bath, opium den (if they
still exist) or night-club, very late at night?" Its an incredible listening experience
which sets an exotic mood totally devastated by the fourth and final movement.
This begins with a fugue, continues with marches, dissonance, more Caribbean
percussion, bells and ending in a cataclysmic blaze of percussion. A remarkable
symphony!
SIR MALCOLM ARNOLD AND HIS NINE SYMPHONIES
Surely the most underrated contemporary composer is Sir Malcolm Arnold (b. Oct.
21, 1921), at least in regard to his major symphonic works. His versatility is
extraordinary. He has written music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles,
numerous concertos for a multitude of friends (guitarist Julian Bream, trumpeter
John Wilbraham, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, cellist Julian Lloyd-Webber, recorder
virtuoso Michaela Petri, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler, oboist Leon Goossens, et
al). Arnold also wrote music for more than 80 films, including The Bridge on the
River Kwai, Whistle Down the Wind, Hobson's Choice, and Inn of the Sixth
Happiness (he was approached to write the score for Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A
Space Odyssey, an offer he declined). However, to me his greatest achievement is a
series of nine extraordinary symphonies.
Sir Malcolm Arnold was born in Northampton. His father was a well-to-do shoe
manufacturer, amateur pianist and organist, his mother a fine pianist. They
encouraged his musical interests which were wide-ranging. He absorbed the classics
as well as jazz, and studied the trumpet, which he quickly mastered. In the 1950s
he began composing music for films and for the first time had the opportunity to
conduct. In 1969 he was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorseth, and was awarded the
C.B.E. in 1970. He also has Honorary Doctorates of Music from Exeter University
(1969), Durham University (1982) and Leicester University (1984). Arnold was made
a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1983 and is an Honorary R.A.M. In 1986 he
received the Ivor Novello Award for "outstanding service to British music," and
received a knighthood in the New Year Honours List 1993 for his services to music.
All programme notes taken from Wikipedia

Banbury Symphony Orchestra

Management Committee:
Jonathan Rowe (Chair), Kathryn Hayman (Secretary), Jenny Maynard (Treasurer)
Emma Callery, Estevan Ellul, Anna Fleming, Helen Payne, Andrew Waite
Conductor - Paul Willett
Violin I
Jenny Maynard (Leader)
Geoff Kent
Penny Tolmie
Kathryn Hayman
Marianne Robinson
Heidi Robertson
Emma Blunt
Norman Filleul

Violin II
Ian Smith
Emma Callery
John Thomson
Andrew Waite
Rachel Sansome
Rachel Saunders
Sue Christie
Christine Morley
Bryony Yelloly
Viola
David Bolton-King
Jonathan Rowe
Anna Fleming
John Maksinski

Cello
Miranda Ricardo
Sarah Turnock
Peter Button
Janet Parsons
John Pimm
Ruth Mankelow
Paul Morley
Jennifer Hubble
Double Bass
Robert Gilchrist
Jo Hammond
Jane Martin
Flute
Rachel McCubbin
Nick Planas
Amy Lockwood
Piccolo
Nick Planas
Oboe
Estevan Ellul
Lyn Gosney
Clarinet
Helen Payne
Alice Palmer

Bassoon
Ian McCubbin
Rachel James
Contra bassoon
Ian White
Horn
David Settle
Richard Hartree
Edward Bolton-King
Helen Barnby-Porritt
Trumpet
Tony Chittock
Ron Barnett
Terry Mayo
Martin Mills
Trombone
Paul Macey
Gary Clifton
Malcolm Saunders
Tuba
John Beer
Percussion
Justin Rhodes
Sue Woolhouse
Dave Martin
Dave Hadland
Huw Morgan
Harp
Nia Williams
Celeste
Kathryn Hayman

Dates for your diary

Saturday 15 May, 7.30pm St Peters Church, Hook Norton.
Chamber Orchestra Concert featuring
Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave Overture
Pachelbel's Canon
Vaughan Williams' Lark Ascending
Beethoven's Symphony No. 1
Saturday 10 July 2010, 6pm St Marys Church, Banbury.
Our Family concert of Music from the Movies
Pirates of the Caribbean
Lord of the Rings
Ireland Overlanders Suite
Harry Potter
Barber Adagio for Strings
James Bond medley
Britten Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra

Website
Please visit our website for more information
www.banburysymphony.org

Patrons of Banbury Symphony Orchestra

S. E. Corsi, Esq.

Mrs H. M. W. Rivett

Lady Saye and Sele

We are very grateful to our patrons for their financial support.

If you would like to make a donation, please send a cheque made payable to
Banbury Symphony Orchestra to the treasurer Jenny Maynard, The White House,
Hill, Leamington Hastings, Rugby, CV23 8DX or email her on
j.maynard@coventry.ac.uk
Please also fill in a Gift Aid declaration that can be obtained from Jenny, which
enables the orchestra to claim an additional 25p for every 1 donated by taxpayers.

Our Sponsors

Banbury Symphony Orchestra has welcomed Spratt Endicott as sponsors since the
start of 2006. Spratt Endicott is pleased to be associated with Banbury Symphony
Orchestra.
We place particular emphasis on delivering effective legal solutions to the
problems faced by businesses and private clients alike. Our approach is proactive
and we listen to our clients and take pride in our efforts to achieve their objectives.
Spratt Endicott
Become a Friend of the orchestra. Its FREE!
Friends of the Banbury Symphony Orchestra enjoy the following benefits:
Regular updates on the orchestra
Information about forthcoming concerts
If you would like to become a friend or would like to know more, please visit our
website, or contact Emma Callery on 01608 737249 or e-mail her:
emma@caller.demon.co.uk.
Are you interested in joining the orchestra?
If you play an instrument to a standard of Grade 7 or above and would like to play
with the orchestra, find out more by contacting Anna Fleming on 01295 780017. All
rehearsals take place at Banbury School during term time on Tuesday evenings,
7:309:30pm.