Cornucopia: An Autumnal Musical Feast
An opportunity to hear bassoon and horn, in the rarely heard roles as solo instruments and featuring internationally renowned local musicians Katrina Russell and Andrew Clark.
As befits the season, we have organized the concert around the theme of an autumnal feast, reflecting the plenty of the harvest season in a tumbling profusion of wonderful music from the 17th and 18th centuries.
EMSI’s resident ensemble, Island Temperament, under the keen direction of violinist Paul Luchkow, will provide the table setting for serving up the musical banquet.
Andrew Clark’s background includes many years of performing with top orchestras in and around the UK, including principal positions with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, London Classical Players and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.
As a soloist he has recorded for EMI, Hyperion, Archiv, Linn and Redshift labels, including the premieres of the Sonata da Caccia by Thomas Adès (1998) and the Concertino for horn and string orchestra by Stephen Chatman (2020); horn concertos by Vivaldi and Crusell; and chamber works by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Czerny.
His specialisation in performing on historical instruments has led to many interesting engagements, highlights of which include:
• Playing all of Bach’s works with a horn part, most of which can be heard on recordings with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir (Challenge Classics)
• Using a Vienna horn to perform the four Brahms Symphonies with both Sir Roger Norrington and London Classical Players (recorded for EMI) and Sir Charles Mackerras and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (recorded for Telarc)
• Sixteen seasons at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, including runs of Handel: Giulio Cesare, Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Idomeneo, Magic Flute, Figaro, Beethoven: Fidelio
• A live broadcast on BBC radio of the concert aria Pieta di Me by Haydn which contains the highest notes written for the horn in classical repertoire, performed with the Hanover Band, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras
As a specialist in historical performance, Katrina Russell has played and recorded with many of the premier period instrument ensembles in the UK and Europe, including The English Concert, The King’s Consort, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, The Academy of Ancient Music, The Hanover Band, The Gabrieli Consort and Players, L’Orchestre de la Champs Elysees, The Orchestra of “The Sixteen”, and The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, amongst others.
As a member of many of these groups Katrina has toured widely, appearing at many leading festivals around the world including Perth (Australia), Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart (Lincoln Center, New York), and the BBC Proms. She has also performed with The London Chamber Orchestra, and in North America with New York Philomusica, the Vancouver Symphony, Victoria Symphony and the Vancouver Island Symphony.
Katrina and Andrew Clark) relocated to the West Coast in late 2010 and established themselves near Ladysmith where they have a speciality instrument making workshop producing horns and trumpets. They continue to be in demand as performers both locally and abroad.
Here’s our imagined “menu” for an international musical feast:
MENU
Procession – À table!
Marc-Antoine Charpentier
March from Te Deum
Appetizer – Germany: Spargelsuppe (white esparagus soup)
Andreas Oswald
Sonata for Bassoon
1st Course – England: Stargazy Pie
George Frideric Handel
Suite in D HWV 341 from
“The Watermusic”
2nd Course – Italy: assorted antipasti
Antonio Vivaldi
Bassoon/CelloConcerto
in D min RV 481/406
3rd Course – Germany: Strudel mit Sauerkraut und Bratwurst
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto in F TWV 43:16
Loosen your belt or corset!
INTERMISSION
Main Course – Germany: Weihnachtsgans (roast goose) mit Spätzle
Georg Philipp Telemann
Overture à 5 TWV 44:7
Palate cleanser – England: blackberry sherbert
Henry Purcell
Fantasia on One Note
Dessert – Bohemia: Koláče (sweet bread with fruit filling)
Antonín Reichenauer
Concerto in G minor for Bassoon
Sweets – Germany: verschiedene Marzipansorten (assorted marzipan)
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for 4 violins TWV 40:202a
Digestif – England: Taylor Fladgate 10-year Port
George Frideric Handel
Water Music Selections:
Concert #5 HWV 302b and
HWV 331.2 (hornpipe)
