St Peter's Church Baroque Concert

BAROQUE EXTRAVAGANZA RECITAL at The Parish Church of St. Pierre du Bois

7pm drinks and canapés, 7.30pm concert

Free entry, collection to the Harpsichord Trust and Mercy Ships

Max Wong (baroque violin) Diana Galvydyte (violin) Francois Cloete (harpsichord) Ellen Steward (soprano) Joseph Edwards (baritone)

PROGRAMME*:

H. Purcell: Songs for baritone (baritone, harpsichord)
J. S. Bach: Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1001 (unaccompanied violin) J. S. Bach arr. G. Leonhardt: Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin (harpsichord)
--- INTERVAL ---
J. S. Bach: Sonata No. 5 for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1018 (violin, harpsichord)
G. F. Handel: Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord in D, HWV 371 (violin, harpsichord) G. F. Handel: Arias from Messiah (soprano, harpsichord)
J-M Leclair: Selections from Récréations de Musique (two violins, harpsichord) *Programme subject to adjustment.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
The programme centres around a fascinating pairing of J. S. Bach’s seminal sonata in G minor for unaccompanied violin (BWV 1001) and a harpsichord transcription of the same work by Gustav Leonhardt, the greatest harpsichordist in living memory. Bach is to composition as Leonhardt is to the harpsichord. Leonhardt’s transcriptions were printed by the definitive Bach publisher Bärenreiter in 2015, and they received acclaim from even the most purist of conservative musicologists.

This concert may be the first time a Bach unaccompanied sonata and its harpsichord transcription are performed together in juxtaposition anywhere in the world. Listening to them side by side promises an unprecedented experience that is at once sensory and intellectual. We see how violin music captivated a harpsichordist’s imagination who rendered it into his own medium with real craft and integrity.

Accompanying this pair of works are two contrasting violin sonatas by Bach and Handel, the Bach (played by Max) intricate but brooding in F minor, and the Handel (played by Diana) bright and energetic. We are delighted to welcome Ellen and Joseph to join us for some of the most well-known works from the Baroque era. Ending the programme is Jean-Marie Leclair’s Récréations. We are instantly transported to a grand French ball of the Sun King, Louis XIV, a journey from a majestic overture to a raucous double Tambourin.

PERFORMERS
Max Wong FRSM (Baroque violin). PhD candidate, Royal College of Music.
Recitalist in Berlin, Paris, Shanghai, New York. Baroque violin 1660 by J. Stainer.
Diana Galvydyte (violin). Winner of Windsor International. Recitalist at Wigmore, Buckingham Palace, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Konzerthaus.
Francois Cloete ARCO (harpsichord). Winner of School Organists’ Association Competition 2021. Organ Scholar, Hereford Cathedral and Merton College, Oxford.
Ellen Steward (soprano). Graduate of Wells Cathedral School. Scholar, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
*Joseph Edwards (baritone). Associate Artist, Tenebrae. Recitalist at Wigmore. DipRAM awarded for exceptional performance at the Royal Academy of Music.
*Subject to Tenebrae’s August European Tour, which may or may not proceed under circumstances.
Gustav Leonhardt at the French Academy of Villa Medici, Rome, in 2009. Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France, Commander of the Order of the Crown in Belgium, Medal of Honour for the Arts and Sciences from the Netherlands, Doctor of Music honoris causa from Harvard University. Asteroids named in his honour: 9903 Leonhardt and 12637 Gustavleonhardt.