The
Pennine
Chamber Ensemble
With
Special Guest
John
Turner
‘….a pristine account of Alfred Uhl’s Trio for guitar,
violin and viola.
Darwent was on a different plane, his confident delivery
of the often
difficult textures fully reflecting the enthusiasm for the
work…….
an enterprising and highly rewarding innings from an
ensemble
whose future I will follow with great interest’.
Paul Fowles: Classical Guitar Magazine June
2006
REVIEWS
THE PENNINE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
WITH JOHN TURNER
Haworth Parish Church, West Yorkshire.
2 September 2006.
Not that long ago, a chamber
recital with guitar almost invariably meant a pleasant but less than arresting
confection of baroque and Boccherini. For the Pennine Chamber Ensemble,
whose permanent line-up includes the highly able guitarist and lutenist Neil
Darwent, such routine offerings tend not to be on the menu. With Darwent in the
company of regular members Duncan Druce (violin) and Vivienne Campbell (viola),
tonight’s agenda featured three 20th century rarities and marked the
first of what I hope will be many collaborations with recorder virtuoso and
tireless champion of new music, John Turner.
Following three early 18th
century appetisers by Nicola Matteis, the main substance of the first half was
provided by Alfred Uhl’s Trio (for violin, viola and guitar) and even
less frequently performed Divertimento OP.86c for recorder, violin and
guitar (originally two recorders and guitar) by Hans Gal (1890-1987). Of these,
the Uhl is an established PCE speciality. The Gal proved an equally
rewarding innings, it’s richly harmonised central Andante emerging as one of
several highpoints of the evening. Unfortunately, the concluding Allegro
giocoso reaches what could be misheard as an understated final cadence before
the start of the guitar cadenza, causing several audience members to obliterate
Darwent’s opening move with a premature ripple of applause. OK, I was one of
them, but I swear it was someone else who started it……
After the interval a further
neglected gem was unveiled in the Trio for recorder, violin and guitar
by Paul Angerer (b. 1927). Although a large chunk of the program was devoted to
recent repertoire, this was the only item by a living composer. Conservative
yet imaginative in language, Angerer’s quietly reflective Allegro tranqillo and
ensuing Andante tranqillo led to an engagingly boisterous final Allegro. Here
and elsewhere the ensemble was tight and the delicate balance between
instruments maintained.
An earlier conversation with
John Turner had given rise to a certain anxiety concerning Matiegka’s Notturno
Op.25 for recorder, viola and guitar, the combined duration of it’s five
movements having been estimated at half an hour9inc.repeats). My fears proved
unfounded, the jovial Marcia that both opens and close the proceedings
establishing a mood of tuneful conviviality that remains in place throughout.
Nowhere, was this more prominent than in the splendid Rondo in the form of a
Pot-Pourri, where popular tunes of the day are bounced between instruments in a
spirit of what is perhaps best termed as ‘planned spontaneity’.
A return to the more compact
writing of Nicola Matteis, including a wonderfully Knockaround Scaramuccia
with some dazzling recorder lines from Turner, ended and outstanding
contribution to this years Haworth Arts Festival, proof in itself that
there is more to cultural life in this Historic Yorkshire village than gift
shops selling leather bound copies of Wuthering Heights and pop-eyed posters of
Kate Bush.
Paul Fowles: Classical
Guitar Magazine. Nov 2006
For
more details about bookings please contact:
Duncan Druce composer and violinist
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As a notable composer and
performer, Duncan Druce has performed at the highest level with many of
England's finest Orchestras and ensembles including Sir Harrison Birtwistle’s
Pierrot Players, named after Schoenberg's ‘Pierrot Lunaire’ because the group
consisted of the same instrumental forces, Alexander Goehr's Music Theatre
Ensemble, Peter Maxwell Davies's Fires of London, Christopher Hogwood's Academy
of Ancient Music, and was one of the original players in the first concerts
during the early 1970s of Peter Seymour's Yorkshire Baroque Soloists. In 1991
he chose to resign his post as Senior Lecturer at Leeds University's Bretton
Hall College, in order to devote time to increasing demands on his freelance
work when he entered the BBC as a music programme producer. Duncan’s latest
string quartet was performed by the Fitzwilliam Quartet at the Swaledale Music
Festival in the Spring 2005.
Vivienne Campbell Viola
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Vivienne Campbell studied at
the Royal Northern College of Music and went on to play with the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester and then the BBC Symphony Orchestra in
London. Vivienne now lives in Huddersfield and has been principle violist for
Opera North for the last 20 years. Vivienne also teaches viola at the
University of Huddersfield and is actively involved with music department
concerts and festivals.
Nichola
Hunter Flute
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Nichola
Hunter has a widely acclaimed reputation as a flautist, piccolo and alto flute
player. Her professional engagements have included regular work with the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, Glyndebourne Touring Orchestra,
the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Welsh National Orchestra, the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Northern Chamber Orchestra, City of
Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English National
Ballet and the Viva Orchestra. Nichola began her studies at Chethams School of
Music, before taking a Bachelor in Education course at Bretton Hall in
Wakefield. Nichola has appeared as a soloist on many occasions, and has
appeared on a number of CD recordings with the Northern Chamber Orchestra for
the Naxos label, playing music by Mozart, Haydn and Mendelssohn. She also
teaches at Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Metropolitan Universities.
Neil Darwent Guitar
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Neil Darwent studied the guitar
with David Taplin at the University of Huddersfield from 1989 and graduated
there in 1992 with distinction in performance, Neil and David have remained
close friends and regularly perform together as a guitar duet. Since then he’s
been performing and teaching throughout West Yorkshire specializing in 19th
and 20th century music for guitar and guitar in the chamber
ensemble. As well as being a distinguished classical guitarist Neil also plays
in a 1940’s jazz quintet for voice, 2 guitars, clarinet and double bass with
clarinetist Alan Haydock.
Special Guests:
John
Turner Recorder
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John Turner is one of the leading recorder players of today. He was Senior
Scholar in Law at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge before pursuing a legal career,
acting for many distinguished musicians and musical organisations, alongside
his many musical activities. These included numerous appearances with David
Munrow's pioneering Early Music Consort of London. He now devotes his time to
playing, writing, reviewing, publishing, composing and generally energising. He
has played and broadcast as recorder soloist with the Academy of St
Martin-in-the-Fields, the Academy of Ancient Music, the English Chamber
Orchestra and the English Baroque Soloists, amongst other leading chamber
orchestras. His recordings include no less than five sets of the Brandenburg
Concertos, but lately he has made numerous acclaimed recordings of the
recorder’s contemporary concerto and chamber music repertoire. In the last year
or two he has played in Germany, Switzerland, Poland, France, New Zealand,
Japan and the USA, and given many recitals on Radio 3 with pianist Peter
Lawson. In all, he has given the first performances of over 400 works for the
recorder, many of which have now entered the standard repertoire, and his own
recorder compositions are regularly set for festivals and examinations. He was
awarded an honorary Fellowship by the Royal Northern College of Music in 2002
for his services to British music.
Play
THE
REPERTOIRE:
Duos
for 2 Gtrs
Armin
Kaufmann
Josef Lechthaler
Joseph
Kronsteiner
Ernst
Ludwig Uray
Franz
Burkhart
Anton
Diabelli
Duos
for Flute & Guitar
Otto
Siegl
Alfred
Uhl
Johann
Nepomuk David
Friedrich
Neumann
Ferdinand
Weiss
Jeno
Takacs
Fridolin
Dallinger
Heimo
Erbse
Ernst
Kolz
Paul
Kont
Heinz
Kratochwill
Augustinus
Franz Kropfreiter
Balduin
Sulzer
Eberhard
Werdin
Duos
for Recorder & Guitar (Lute)
Johann
Nepomuk David
Friedrich
Neumann
Ferdinand
Weiss
Otto
Schneider
Duos
for Viola & Guitar
Eberhard
Werdin
Karl
Pilss
Paul
Kont
Thomas
Christian David
Duos
for Gtr & Vln
Otto
Siegl
Albert
Reiter
Waldemar
Bloch
Trios
for Violin, Viola & Guitar
Alfred
Uhl
Josef
Kreutzer
Trio
for Flute, Violin & Guitar
Ernst
Ludwig Uray
Josef
Kreutzer
Trios
for Flute, Clarinat & Guitar
Josef
Lechthaler
Josef
Kreutzer
Trio
for 2 Recorders & Guitar
Hans
Gal
Trio for
Recorder, Violin & Guitar
Paul
Angerer
Drei
Lieder for Voice, Clt & Gtr
Anton
Webern
Drei Adventlieder for Voice, Rec
& Gtr
Franz
Burkhart
Trios
for Flute, Viola & Guitar
Johann
Nepomuk David
Thomas
Christian David
Fritz
Skorzeny
Paul
Kont
Heinrich
Gattermeyer
Hans
Erich Apostel
Carl
Maria von Weber
Anton
Diabelli
Thomas Wenceslaus Matiegka
Josef
Kreutzer
Francesco
Molino
Trios
for Recorder, Viola & Guitar
Thomas
Wenceslaus Matiegka
The Pennnine
Chamber Ensemble is also actively seeking new compositions by British
composers for chamber groups with guitar. The Ensemble is currently in the
process of commissioning works from Patric Standford whose ‘Serenade’
for Violin and Guitar is dedicated to David Taplin and Duncan Druce;
David Beck whose concerto for recorder, harp and strings was recorded
last year by John Turner and the Camerata Ensemble with conducter Philip
Mckenzie and Stephen Dodgson who has had a long and succesful career as
a composer and has written many guitar works for John Williams.
Patric Standford
Composer
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http://www.impulse-music.co.uk/standford.htm
Patric
Standford was born in 1939 in Yorkshire, England. He studied at the Guildhall
School of Music in London with Edmund Rubbra and Raymond Jones, played the
violin and viola in the orchestras and chamber music classes, and learned the
craft of conducting with Lawrence Leonard and Norman de Mar. He won the 1964
Mendelssohn Scholarship which enabled him to extend his studies in Italy with
Gianfrancesco Malipiero and in Poland with Witold Lutoslawski.
After gaining a Masters degree at London University, he became involved in the
world of commercial music, writing and arranging for films, television and West
End shows through which he acquired practical experience and skills he has
always valued. During this time he made several recordings as a conductor of
light music, including an album for the jazz group Continuum which he composed
and directed.
During the 1970s he established himself as a concert composer with his
'Symphony No 1 (The Seasons)', which was awarded the Premio Citta de Trieste, a
Cello Concerto (a homage to Brahms), and significantly the oratorio 'Christus
Requiem' which drew wide critical acclaim, including the 'Yugoslavian
Government Arts Award' after a performance in Skopje. His 'Symphony No 3
(Toward Paradise) was awarded the 1985 City of Geneva Ernst Ansermet Prize, and
in 1997 he received the First International Composers' Award of Budapest for
his choral masque 'The Prayer of Saint Francis'. In 1999 he was awarded the
first prize of the Belgian International ClarinetFest for his Clarinet Quintet.
Symphony No 5 was commissioned for the BBC Philharmonic in 1986. His choral
works attracted many European performances, and he became a frequent visitor to
France (Tours), Hungary (Budapest and Debrecen) and Estonia (Tallinn) as a jury
member for International Choral Festivals.
He was professor of composition at the Guildhall School of Music until 1980,
when he was appointed Head of the Music School at Bretton Hall, a college of
Leeds University. He has also played a major role with many British
organizations. He was chairman of the Composers' Guild of Great Britain
(1977-1980) and chairman of the British Music Information Center (1980-1993).
He is a Council member of the Musicians' Benevolent Fund, a board member of the
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and Chairman of the Hinrichsen
Foundation. He is currently completing a sixth symphony, an opera about the
15th century poet François Villon, and a book about the private lives of the
great composers. His reputation as an entertaining lecturer and occasional
radio broadcaster remains strong, and he still visits universities in Europe
and USA as a conductor, and to direct composition seminars and workshops.
Recent CDs of his music include the Ballet Suite 'Celestial Fire' on ASV (Light
Music Discoveries 3) and 'A Christmas Carol Symphony' out in October 2002 on
Naxos.
David Beck Composer
David Beck was born in 1941 near Mansfield, but spent the greater part of his schooldays in Kent, receiving his musical education at the Kent Junior Music School on Saturday mornings. Subsequently he was a music scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. (M.A., Mus B.). He received some helpful encouragement from Herbert Howells when in the N.Y.O, and won a college prize for a musical composition. For many years he was a violinist, holding positions in various professional orchestras.
He has written arrrangements and original pieces for the Hallé Brass and Wind Quintets, the Northern Chamber Orchestra and other groups.
Detals of his compositions can
be found on the North West Composers website. http://www.dwsolo.com/beck.htm
Paul Fischer. Luthier
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Neil
Darwent plays guitars exclusively by the great English Luthier, Paul Fischer.
Beginning his instrument making career in 1956, Paul Fischer has remained true
to his art and is now the most famous British living classical guitar maker and
is widely acknowledged throughout the world as one of the finest exponents of
the craft of the luthier. Born in the Isle of Man but brought up in the city of
Oxford, it was here that he began his career under the tutelage of the renowned
harpsichord maker Robert Goble, making instruments within the finest European
tradition. Further study at the Oxford College of Art and Technology completed
his training. Making harpsichords, spinets and clavichords gave him an added
perspective and fresh thoughts on the quality of craftsmanship and value of the
history of instrument making. Paul is rare in having this skill with different
instruments but his love of the guitar led him to a chance meeting with the
late David Rubio, at Duns Tew, Oxfordshire, a renowned place visited by Julian
Bream. As chief instrument maker and manager he remained with Rubio for a
number of years. Success with his own instruments during this period under the
Rubio label and stamped P.F (which can still be seen in use today), led him to
establish his own studio, where he still dedicates his life to making fine
instruments with a panoramic view of the Cotswolds from his workbench.