Davies Music

A mixed concertos programme celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Frederick the Great in January 1712

8 players: flute, 3 violins, viola, cello, bass, harpsichord

Quantz Flute Concerto in B minor
CPE Bach Harpsichord Concerto
Quantz Flute Concerto in A major

Quantz Flute Concerto in G major
Benda Violin Concerto
JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.5

A marathon flute recital, typical of Frederick the Great’s musical soirées, with flautist Rachel Brown

7 players: flute, 2 violins, viola, cello, bass, harpsichord

Quantz Flute Concerto in B minor
Frederick the Great Flute Sonata in C (or C minor)
Quantz Flute Concerto in G minor
Quantz Flute Concerto in G major
Quantz Flute Sonata in B flat major
Frederick the Great Flute Concerto in C major
Quantz Flute Concerto in A major

Rachel Brown                flute
Adrian Butterfield          violin
Katharine Sharman         cello
Laurence Cummings      harpsichord

An Evening at the Palace of Reason

A special programme to mark the 300th anniversary of the birth of Frederick the Great

Trio Sonata in A major Wq 146 for flute, violin and continuo   C.P.E. Bach (1714-88)
Allegretto, Andante, Vivace

Sonata in C major for flute and continuo                      Frederick the Great (1712-86)
Grave, Allegro, Tempo giusto

Sonata in Eb major for violin and continuo                            Franz Benda (1709-86)
Allegretto, Adagio moderato, Allegro assai

Sonata in Bb major no. 275 for flute and continuo                   J.J. Quantz (1697-1773)
Allegro di molto, Affettuoso, Vivace

~~~~~~~~~~

Musical Offering BWV 1079                                                       J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Ricercar a 3
Ricercar a 6
Canons 1-10
Trio Sonata – Largo, Allegro, Andante, Allegro

Beg, borrow or steal

Rachel Brown, flute

Adrian Butterfield, violin/director

Oliver Webber, violin

Katherine Sharman, cello

Laurence Cummings, harpsichord

Baroque composers were often quite unscrupulous! In this programme, ‘Beg’ is represented by Leclair whose prefaces were particularly grovelling; ‘Borrow’ by Bach and Handel who rearranged their own music; and ‘Steal’ by Chedéville whose music was published using another composer’s name.

Telemann G major quartet for flute, 2 vlns and bc
Leclair Violin Sonata No.11 in B minor (Second livre)
Bach Trio Sonata in G major BWV1038 for flute, violin and bc
Telemann Paris Quartet No.3 in A major
——–
Handel arias “What tho’ I trace” from Solomon ”

“Myself I shall adore” from Semele
‘Vivaldi’/Chédeville Il Pastor Fido Recorder Sonata in G minor Op.13 No.6
Telemann Concerto a 4 in A minor for recorder, 2 vlns and bc 

Rachel Brown, flute
Adrian Butterfield, violin/director
Oliver Webber, violin
Peter Collyer, viola
Katherine Sharman, cello
Cecelia Bruggemeyer, double bass
Terence Charlston, harpsichord
with Emma Kirkby, soprano

Cecilia Young was born in 1711 into a musical family and had connections with many of the most important musicians in England such as Geminiani, Lampe, Thomas Arne (whom she married) and Handel. According to music historian, Charles Burney, she had “a good natural voice and a fine shake [and] had been so well taught, that her style of singing was infinitely superior to that of any other English woman of her time”. She met Handel in 1734 and he subsequently created several roles for her including Dalinda in Ariodante, Morgana in Alcina, the soprano solos in Alexander’s Feast and the title-role in Athalia. She featured regularly with her husband (whose 300th anniversary falls in 2010) at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, performing music that he had written for her. This programme features examples of these many roles interspersed with instrumental music of the time.

Handel                 Overture to Athalia
J.F. Lampe                   Pretty Warblers
Thomas Arne      By the rushy-fringed bank
Handel                 Trio in D major for 2 violins and continuo Op.5 No.2
Handel                 War, he sung, from Alexander’s Feast
Handel                 Softest Sounds from Athalia

———-

Handel                 Overture to Alexander’s Feast
Abel                     Quartet in D major (1776) fl, vln, vla, vlc
Arne                     Cantata: The Morning
Where the Bee Sucks
Giardini                Quartet in E flat major (1776) for 2 vlns, vla, vlc
Handel                 Gentle Morpheus from Alceste

Rachel Brown, flute
Adrian Butterfield, violin, director
Laurence Cummings, organ, harpsichord
Oliver Webber, violin
Clare Salaman, violin
Peter Collyer, viola
Katherine Sharman, cello
Cecelia Bruggemeyer, double bass

A feast of baroque music featuring solo keyboard concertos by Handel and Bach, the founders of this genre, and rarely heard virtuoso masterpieces for violin and flute.

Telemann Concerto for Flute and Violin in E minor 10′
Handel Organ Concerto Op.4 No.2 in B flat major 10′
CPE Bach Flute Concerto in D minor 25′
Leclair Violin Concerto Op.7 No. 4 in F major 14′
JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D major 21′

Orphée

Rachel Brown – flute
Adrian Butterfield – violin
Katherine Sharman – cello
Laurence Cummings – harpsichord
with Ruby Hughes – soprano

Handel: Trio Sonata in A major, op 5 no 1, HWV 396
Louis Couperin: Harpsichord Suite in D major
Nicholas Clérambault: Orphée
Rameau: Cinquième  Piece de clavecin en concert in D major/min
Handel: Harpsichord Suite in F sharp minor,HWV 431
Handel: Cantata ‘Del bel idolo mio’ HWV 104
Leclair: Violin Sonata No.5 in A major (Premier Livre)
Rameau: Orphée

Winner of both First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2009 London Handel Festival Singing Competition, Ruby Hughes is the daughter of the celebrated Welsh ceramicist Elizabeth Fritsch. She studied voice and ‘cello at Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, before gaining a First Class Distinction Concert Diploma in Concert and Song at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Munich, working with Edith Wiens. In 2005, she was a Prizewinner at the Mozarteum Sommer Akademie, Salzburg, and in 2006, gained a Royal Philharmonic Society Susan Chilcott Award. Her other awards include a Vocal Prize in the 2002 Gerald Moore Competition, and a full scholarship to study with Lillian Watson at the Royal College of Music, London, graduating in July 2009.  Selected by OPERA NOW as amongst “Who’s Hot in Opera” in November / December 2008, she sang the title role in Atalanta and Cleofide / Poro with Laurence Cummings at the London Handel Festival.

Adrian Butterfield, violin
Katherine Sharman, cello
Laurence Cummings, harpsichord

“Adrian Butterfield plays beautifully throughout…and is lent wonderful support by Katherine Sharman and Laurence Cummings (of whom Butterfield writes that he could have wished for no better companions). This should be required listening for anyone playing these works. Will this dream team now undertake some Geminiani or Corelli, please.”

Brian Clark, Early Music Review, February 2008

“Piers Burton-Page welcomed the London Handel Players’ Somm account of Handel’s Op.5 as “well-nigh perfect” (September 2005), a view from which I would not dissent regarding the current issue… Butterfield’s subtly nuanced, light-as-air reading…a special revelation. That could be said for everything in this richly enjoyable recital…Here these three outstandingly gifted players are at the peak of their collective form, pouncing on the third movement Furioso with gleeful abandon and stunning virtuosity (a special word of praise here for cellist Katherine Sharman’s staggering agility). There is lovely sound, too, from Siva Oke and Ben Connellan.”

Julian Haylock, International Record Review, March 2008

Sonata in A HWV361
Sonata in D HWV371
Sonata in G minor HWV364
Sonata in D minor HWV367
Sonata in D minor HWV 359
Sonata in G HWV358
Allegro (for unaccompanied violin) HWV407

SOMMCD 068

Rachel Brown, flute
Adrian Butterfield, Oliver Webber, violins
Peter Collyer, viola
Katherine Sharman, cello
Laurence Cummings, harpsichord/organ

“I find all the performances well-nigh perfect…the music is absolutely gorgeous”.

Piers Burton-Page, International Record Review (Handel Trio Sonatas Op.5)

“…Rachel Brown’s incomparable flute playing… The performances are uniformly excellent: they have the straightforward integrity that is essential for Handel, and yet they are full of delicacy and refinement. I was particularly taken with their subtle use of notes inégales in the French-style dance movements.”

Peter Holman, Early Music, May 2006 (Handel Trio Sonatas Op.5)

“The London Handel Players shine in immaculately prepared, finely balanced and lyrical performances.”

David Vickers, Early Music Today, August/September 2006 (Handel Trio Sonatas Op.5)

SOMMCD 044

Sonata I in A major HWV 396
Sonata II in D major HWV 397
Sonata III in E minor HWV 398
Sonata VI in G major HWV 399
Sonata V in G minor HWV 400
Sonata VI in F major HWV 401
Sonata VII in B flat major HWV 402

Rachel Brown, flute
Adrian Butterfield, Oliver Webber, violins
Peter Collyer, viola
Katherine Sharman, cello
Laurence Cummings, harpsichord

“This extremely attractive release is sure to find a wide audience; it’s as much fun as it is beautiful.” Robert Levett, International Record Review (“Handel at Home”)

“Their consummate musicianship is consistently delightful”

David Vickers, Gramophone Magazine

“This review could be reduced to just three words: ‘Buy this recording… On this disc Rachel Brown and the London Handel Players give performances that are perfection itself, with a dazzling beauty of tone and of phrasing, a breadth of colours and a range of dynamics that are employed to serve the music and to entertain the listener. More than that, this recording is full of the most delicious music you could ask to hear, and the players give every indication of loving every note they play.”

Robert Bigio, Pan

SOMMCD 055

Flute Concerto
Overture and movements from Alcina
Overture and movements from Solomon
Movements from Semele

all in instrumental versions

Rachel Brown, flute
Adrian Butterfield, Oliver Webber, violins
Katherine Sharman, cello
Laurence Cummings, harpsichord

“(Rachel Brown’s) contribution in Sonatas Nos 1 and 4 is a delight. It cannot be denied that what should be an equal relationship between treble instruments in a trio sonata texture is knocked a little off-balance when the pairing is flute and violin (one’s ear is always drawn to the flute), but when the playing is as gently breathed and musically refined as the kind Brown has to offer, there can be no reason for complaint.  Adrian Butterfield and Oliver Webber do not have the lyrical grace of Sonnerie, but there is perhaps more clarity of texture here, and their playing is stylistically confident, with plenty of intelligent interpretative detail to entertain the ear. The continuo section manages to be both punchy and resonant – a bold sense of line from Katherine Sharman, rich chords from Laurence Cummings – and the pair are not afraid to take centre stage when the time comes to stride around like pocket-Polyphemuses in the Larghetto of the Third Sonata. These are fine performances from players who really know their ground.”

Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone, July 2009

SOMMCD 084

Sonata no.1 in B minor
Sonata no.2 in G minor
Sonata no.3 in B flat
Sonata no.4 in F
Sonata no.5 in G minor
Sonata no.5 in G minor