Click on the link to overview EUBO Programmes 2011 in pdf.

Bach and Sons

Director & harpsichord Lars Ulrik Mortensen (DK)

Concertmaster Huw Daniel (UK)

Performance dates: 28 July to 7 August 2011

 Some concerts will include:

This programme is an example of not only the musical differences between “father” Johann Sebastian Bach and the generation that came after him, but also an example of the stylistic differences that can be found between his sons.

Johann Christian Bach, who was a mainstream world-famous composer active in London, wrote in a style which was very “a la mode”, very modern, but not musically very adventurous; he didn’t feel the need to experiment or to push back boundaries, as did for instance Wilhelm Friedemann Bach.

Wilhelm Friedemann had a much more volatile, extreme temperament. This was reflected in his life that encompassed a series of misfortunes, alcoholism and being fired from various important posts. This aspect of his character is very clearly reflected in the capricious Sinfonia in F.

Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach had a bit of both temperaments. He started his life as a court employee with Frederic the Great and was a loyal servant to this very conservative sovereign within a narrow musical establishment. The king knew what he wanted and got it. After working for him for several years, Carl Philipp Emmanuel decided “enough was enough” and moved to Hamburg to pursue a career as an independent composer, which very unusual at that time. He then wrote music of astonishing personal power. His sinfonies are contemporary with Mozart, but very different, very eccentric.

With this programme the aim is to show, from one of JS Bach’s most famous pieces, Brandenburg Concerto No 3, to some of the best examples of the works of his sons, the development of music from baroque to classical.

Lars Ulrik Mortensen

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Archi in Battaglia

Director & violin Enrico Onofri (IT)

Concertmaster Johannes Pramsohler (IT)

Performance dates: 5 to 17 October 2011 

Music can describe two kinds of "battle": the first one is a real battle, with instruments imitating a real struggle. The second one is something related to the concept of the "battle of love" (the "battaglia amorosa", a theme very common in early Italian poetry and music), which mixes two opposite trends: attraction and repulsion, hatred which becomes love. So, on the one hand I wanted to deride the violence of war through the ridiculous effects produced by the instruments when they try to imitate guns and swords; on the other hand I wanted to show that music can transform violence and competition into something more positive, even completely opposite. The word "concerto" comes probably from two different words: the main Latin root seems to be "concentus", which comes from "conserere" ("to braid", or also "to interweave") but most probably also from "concertare", which means "to fight" or also "to compete". In fact, the instrumental concerto is a real battle between one or more soloists opposed to the orchestra, but at the same time it's an attempt to join together the voices of all the instruments through the dialogue created by that contrast. What's more modern than a meaning like that? Perhaps this wonderful music can help us to transform mankind’s violent tendencies into something more useful and enlightening for all of us...

Enrico Onofri

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Joy and Sorrow Unmasked

Director Lars Ulrik Mortensen (DK)

Concertmaster Huw Daniel (UK)

Soprano Maria Keohane (SE)

Trumpet Sebastian Philpott (UK)

Performance dates: 11 to 22 November 2011

The title “Joy and Sorrow unmasked” refers primarily to the vocal pieces in this programme which will be performed by Swedish soprano Maria Keohane, with whom EUBO has worked with great success during previous seasons. Joy refers to the cantata by JS Bach “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen”, which is a hymn, a song of praise to God. It is a very spectacular piece, one of the most extrovert by Bach with a wonderful obbligato trumpet as its second solo instrument. It expresses through a series of recitatives and arias Bach at his most joyful, positive and optimistic. In addition, EUBO will perform Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No 3, a favourite piece of the Orchestra and one which is as demanding as it is exciting to perform. The first half of the programme consists of music by Handel. The combination of Handel and Bach is always interesting because the audience is able to hear not only the similarities between the two composers but also the differences. Handel’s vocal pieces speak more about sorrow; both are Marian hymns, both were composed during Handel’s time in Italy in his early years, at the beginning of the 18th century. The soul is personalized by the figure of Maria who prays for forgiveness. Unlike Bach, whose work looks forward to man’s release from sorrow, Handel composes sorrow itself very strongly. Here is the catholic world of Handel versus the protestant world of Bach – the two are very different. These vocal items will be interspersed with instrumental music: a concerto grosso by Handel from his London set opus 6, and a sonata for strings with trumpet obbligato by Handel’s contemporary, Giuseppe Torelli. This is, I suggest, a varied programme with lots of light and shadow, joy and sorrow.

Lars Ulrik Mortensen

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A Breath of Enlightenment

Director & flute/recorder Alexis Kossenko (FR)

Concertmaster Zefira Valova (BG)

Performance dates: 9 to 18 December 2011

Some concerts will include :

From Bach to Locatelli via Pisendel, the programme I’ve selected takes us through 18th century Europe, and through an important period of change between the formal baroque style (typified by the Bach Suite) and the emerging classical style which shakes off the rules of baroque structure. The orchestra is given a more important role to play, and soloists stand out from the rest of the orchestra only occasionally.

In addition to showing the evolution of styles, this programme highlights how instruments have evolved: the recorder meets head-on with the flute, which itself was re-popularised, mainly by Bach, at the beginning of the 18th century. The flute adds an extra colour to the range of colours offered by the string orchestra. This programme shows the different ways solo instruments can be used: pieces with one solo instrument like the Sammartini Concerto are followed by pieces with a number of solo instruments.

The Badinerie from Bach’s Second Orchestral Suite, which has become emblematic of the piece and is now esteemed for its virtuosity, ends the programme with a light and cheerful movement for the listener.

The rest of the programme emphasizes more emotions and melody. In the Concerto in F by Sammartini, for instance, the wind instrument has more freedom of expression. In the Graupner Ouverture the flute and violin answer each other in equal measure. Pisendel takes his sonata beyond the typical baroque ornaments and expresses feelings and emotions that are very dark, almost desperate. As for the Concerto Pastorale by Locatelli, which is probably inspired by Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, and the Geminiani Concerto Grosso, their structure is very different from the usual structure of the three-movement concerto.

Alexis Kossenko

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