Roman River Festival 2009

Introduction

2008-10-14T04:29:00.000-07:00

Five out of the six ticketed concerts sold out this year.

Six outstanding churches along the Roman River valley in Essex – Copford, Peldon, East Mersea, Layer Marney, Abberton and Fingringhoe - will resonate with music played by leading national and international classical, jazz, folk and world musicians.

Copford Church, whose frescoes are an architectural treasure of international repute, is the setting for an intimate folk recital by 25-year-old Bella Hardy, whose mesmerising voice and heart-aching lyrics are already making a stir.

Our chamber concert features the young horn virtuoso Katie Pryce (who won the brass section of the BBC Young Musician of the Year aged 15), James Willshire and Daisy Jopling in Brahms’ majestic Horn Trio and Britten's beautiful setting of some of the most evocative English poetry - the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Piano, with the silvery voice of Christopher Lemmings, who also gives a recital of songs on Sunday morning in East Mersea.

Don't miss the amazing improvisations of David Gordon on Sunday morning, part of the song and cello recital in East Mersea.

The festival opens with the collaboration of two fizzing performers: a rap/funk violinist from New York and a choir specialising in soul music, and closes with the infectious rhythms and brilliant improvisations of the irrepressible Brass Volcanoes. James Willshire is the classical artist spotlight at our candlelit concert in Fingringhoe.

Our festival artist this year is the renowned water-colourist and etcher Charles Bartlett, who has generously given us use of this image for our festival publicity.

We will be offering £3 tickets to anyone under 30 years old. We continue the tradition of our popular social evening at the village hall and of a free concert at one of the churches. In the words of a festival-goer last year: “We are so lucky to be able to hear and watch first class musicians in our rural setting ... a wonderful feast.”

Click here to book tickets

QUIRE AND DAISY JOPLING

2008-09-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Wednesday 7 October, 7.30pm
Peldon Church, by candlelight

Jazz & soul classics inspired by nature

RETURNS ONLY

Daisy Jopling, violinist from Fingringhoe turned New York gospel reggae star, is used to playing to crowds thousands, but has never yet partnered a choir. And this is no ordinary choir – their fizzing performance and life-affirming energy is a perfect match for Daisy’s unique spirit, and we think the combination will produce fireworks.

St Mary's Church, Church Road, Peldon CO5 7PT MAP

£11/£9/£3

BELLA HARDY

2008-09-28T06:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday 8 October, 7.30pm
Copford Church

A moonlit walk - songs of the forest
Voice, fiddle and guitar

LESS THAN 20 TICKETS REMAINING

Though only 25, Bella is already one of the shining lights of the folk scene, famed for entwining her hypnotic voice with her own fiddle accompaniment. The stunning 12th century wall paintings at Copford Church are one of our national treasures.

St Michael and all Angels Church, Copford Green, ESSEX CO6 1DG MAP Directions

£10/£8/£3

CHAMBER CONCERT

2008-09-28T06:51:00.000-07:00

Friday 9 October, 7.30pm
Layer Marney Church

Evgeny Chebykin horn
James Willshire piano
Christopher Lemmings tenor
Daisy Jopling violin

Britten Serenade for Tenor, Horn and piano
Brahms Trio for violin, horn and piano

"Sublimely gifted musician" Time Out Magazine
"Brilliantly entertaining" Evening Standard
"dazzling us with musicianship" Independent on Sunday

Two masterpieces inspired by the natural world: Brahms at his most lyrical, and Britten at his most melodic, setting beautiful poetry inspired by the English landscape.Christopher Lemmings is an outstanding musician with a silvery voice, who has taken leading roles in all of the major opera houses in the UK.

St Mary the Virgin, Layer Marney Tower, ESSEX CO5 9US

MAP Directions

BACH AT ABBERTON

2008-09-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday 10 October, 11.30am
St Andrew’s Church, Abberton

Jennifer Morsches cello

Bach Suites in D minor and Eb major
Gabrielli Ricercare No 2 in A minor and No 5 in C major

This promises to be an intimate and mesmerising recital in the very special atmosphere of Abberton Church, overlooking the reservoir.

Rectory Lane, Abberton Essex CO5 7NJ MAP

Retiring collection. This recital is likely to sell out, so please arrive early so you can park easily and choose your seat.

CANDLELIT RECITAL - JAMES WILLSHIRE

2008-09-28T06:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday 10 October, 7.30pm
St Andrew's Church, Fingringhoe

James Willshire piano

RETURNS ONLY

Programme to include
Ravel Miriors
Schubert Sonata in B flat D960

In this concert, we showcase an exciting new talent. James Willshire shone in a performance of Grieg’s piano concerto in London earlier this year. Here, he plays three pieces from different musical traditions, which all reflect the natural world.

£12/£10/£3

St Andrew's Church, Fingringhoe CO5 7BG (MAP)

PURCELL SONGS AT EAST MERSEA

2008-09-28T06:47:00.000-07:00

CHRISTOPHER LEMMINGS SONG RECITAL
WITH LIVE IMPROVISATION BY DAVID GORDON
AND CELLO SOLOS BY JENNIFER MORSCHES

Sunday 11 October, 11.30am
East Mersea Church

Christopher Lemmings tenor (R)
Jennifer Morsches 'cello
David Gordon harpsichord

Songs by Purcell and his contemporaries

'dazzling' (Los Angeles Times)
'beauty of tone, power and theatrical response' (Gerontius, London 2008)

David Gordon will perform amazing feats of improvisation, and Jennifer Morsches will play some of the most beautiful Purcell cello pieces in this concert celebrating the 350th anniversary of the birth of this great English composer.

St Edmund's Church, East Mersea CO5 8TJ (MAP)

£5/£3

JAZZ AND SUPPER

2008-09-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday 11 October, 6pm
Fingringhoe Village Hall CO5 7BG (MAP)

The Brass Volcanoes

RETURNS ONLY

This year, our popular jazz supper event features New Orleans, blues, salsa, calypso, rumba, tango and more from an irrepressible band of virtuoso musicians. No two performances are the same, as ideas, solos and riffs are thrown between the players. Infectious rhythms and a mixture of well-known melodies and brilliant improvisations will make you want to get up and dance.

Caroline Bindloss Catering will again be providing a delicious two-course supper. Wine may be bought by the glass or bottle.

£20/18/13 (including supper)
Please note the earlier starting time of this event.

“fantastic band and did you see the bar staff standing on the bar to get a better view” Robert Coles – photographer – Bude Jazz Festival

"Never have there been so many people, young and old, dancing for sheer joy. It was a wonder to behold." Goring Gap Jazz Club

" ...have not enjoyed a gig so much in years, including all the big names I have seen at the Barbican and so on. Thank you very much!" Dragon Hall, London

Quire programme

2007-10-02T04:08:00.001-07:00

Tonight’s programme will include from Octavia: Edwin Fawcett’s lovely Magnificat with close harmonies, perhaps reminding us of the Detroit Supremes (though Fawcett works in London).

My own contributions (as another English ‘Soul’ composer) include a version of the Ave Maria - Be Glad Mary (with hints of my misspent youth in jazz record clubs in the early 1960’s) and the more raunchy Soul Queen - a new look at the Salve Regina. This hammers away at the very same chords that excited Debussy 100 years ago and then inflamed Miles Davis and the band leaders of the 60’s to create the new BeBop Jazz that replaced the traditional jazz of the 30s and 40s. Discerning listeners will spot the ‘homage’ to my favourite bass players and pianists. But our special offering is a version of the classic You are the Living Word, from Fred Hammond’s Radical for Christ Album produced as recently as 2000; yet already it seems timeless - 14,000 hits on U tube and rising.

Towering Angels will offer from the Appalachians: O sing to me of Heaven, a piece that reminds us that for poor whites the agonies of this life were worth it for the joy of the next; and from the ‘Heavenly Gospel Quartet’ of Nashville: Go ye prodigal, which shows that, like the poor whites, the poor blacks too were anxious for the reward when they ‘go back home’. At some point we hope to feature Will Tamblyn in a couple of numbers made popular by the Rat Pack and more recently by Michael Bublé, Jamie Cullen and Diana Krall – Fly me to the Moon (Bart Howard’s wonderful theme song to the 1954 movie Once around) and van Heusen’s soaring Come fly with me of 1958.

We may join forces and give you Mary’s Canticle (another version of the Magnificat,) written in 1993 by the great Leon Roberts, classically trained African American Roman Catholic composer of Gospel and Soul so tragically taken from the world by cancer at the age of 36. And if there is time, People get Ready, written 1964, recorded Chicago 1965 by the Impressions, and another great, Curtis Mayfield, the creator of ‘funky soul’ who died in 1999 after a long illness following paralysis in 1990 after an accident on stage when a lighting rig fell on him during a performance.

Britten Serenade

2007-10-02T04:08:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Serenade for Tenor, Horn and piano (1943)
Composed during the Second World War at the request of the horn player Dennis Brain, Britten's Serenade is a setting of a selection of six poems by British poets on the subject of night.
The Prologue and Epilogue which frame the songs are performed by the horn alone, and in these movements Britten instructs the player to use only the horn's natural harmonics. This lends these short movements a distinctive character, as some harmonics sound sharp or flat to an audience accustomed to the western chromatic scale. The Epilogue sounds from afar, and to this end the final song does not include a part for the horn in order to allow the player to move off-stage.
Britten's lifelong companion Peter Pears was the tenor in the first performances, and they recorded it together more than once. It was the first large-scale work he had written specifically for Peter Pears, and it was also a response to the extraordinary artistry of the horn player Dennis Brain.

1. Prologue (solo horn)
2. Pastoral
The day’s grown old; the fainting sunHas but a little way to run,And yet his steeds, with all his skill,Scarce lug the chariot down the hill.The shadows now so long do grow,That brambles like tall cedars show;Mole hills seem mountains, and the antAppears a monstrous elephant.A very little, little flockShades thrice the ground that it would stock;Whilst the small stripling following themAppears a mighty Polypheme.And now on benches all are sat,In the cool air to sit and chat,Till Phoebus, dipping in the west,Shall lead the world the way to rest.
Charles Cotton (1630-1687)
3. Nocturne
The splendour falls on castle wallsAnd snowy summits old in story:The long light shakes across the lakes,And the wild cataract leaps in glory:Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,Bugle blow; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,And thinner, clearer, farther going!O sweet and far from cliff and scarThe horns of Elfland faintly blowing!Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.O love, they die in yon rich sky,They faint on hill or field or river:Our echoes roll from soul to soul,And grow for ever and for ever.Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)
4. Elegy
O Rose, thou art sick!The invisible worm,That flies in the nightIn the howling storm,Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy:And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy.
William Blake (1757-1827)
5. Dirge
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,Every nighte and alle,Fire and fleet and candle‑lighte,And Christe receive thy saule.When thou from hence away art past,Every nighte and alle,To Whinny‑muir thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon,Every nighte and alle,Sit thee down and put them on;And Christe receive thy saule.If hosen and shoon thou ne’er gav’st naneEvery nighte and alle,The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;And Christe receive thy saule.From Whinny‑muir when thou may’st pass,Every nighte and alle,To Brig o'Dread thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.From Brig o’ Dread when thou may’st pass,Every nighte and alle,To Purgatory fire thou com’st at last;And Christe receive thy saule.If ever thou gavest meat or drink,Every nighte and alle,The fire sall never make thee shrink;And Christe receive thy saule.If meat or drink thou ne’er gav’st nane,Every nighte and alle,The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;And Christe receive thy saule.This ae nighte, this ae nighte,Every nighte and alle,Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,And Christe receive thy saule.
Lyke Wake Dirge, Anonymous (15th century)
6. Hymn
Queen and huntress, chaste and fair,Now the sun is laid to sleep,Seated in thy silver chair,State in wonted manner keep:Hesperus entreats thy light,Goddess excellently bright.Earth, let not thy envious shadeDare itself to interpose;Cynthia’s shining orb was madeHeav’n to clear when day did close:Bless us then with wishèd sight,Goddess excellently bright.Lay thy bow of pearl apart,And thy crystal shining quiver;Give unto the flying hartSpace to breathe, how short so-ever:Thou that mak’st a day of night,Goddess excellently bright.
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)
7. Sonnet
O soft embalmer of the still midnight,Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,Our gloom-pleas’d eyes, embower’d from the light,Enshaded in forgetfulness divine:O soothest Sleep! if so it please thee, close,In midst of this thine hymn my willing eyes.Or wait the “Amen” ere thy poppy throwsAround my bed its lulling charities.Then save me, or the passèd day will shineUpon my pillow, breeding many woes,Save me from curious conscience, that still lordsIts strength for darkness, burrowing like a mole;Turn the key deftly in the oilèd wards,And seal the hushèd casket of my Soul.
John Keats (1795-1821)
8. Epilogue (solo horn)

Brahms Horn Trio

2007-10-02T04:07:00.001-07:00

The Horn Trio in E flat major (1865) commemorates the death of Brahms’ mother, Christiane, earlier that year. Nineteenth century listeners associated the sound of the natural horn with nature and the calls of the hunt. Fittingly, Brahms once said that the opening theme of the first movement came to him while he was walking through the woods. Brahms also learned natural horn (as well as piano and violin) as a child, which may be another reason why he chose to write for these instruments following the death of his mother.
In the first movement, Brahms emphasizes the simplicity of the opening theme by abandoning the structure of sonata form. Instead, he introduces three slow sections offset by two shorter, more rhapsodic segments. Brahms deviates from the classical style of opening a work with a fast movement, continuing with a slow movement, a scherzo, and closing with a lively finale; instead, he uses an earlier structure from the Baroque era, ordering the movements slow-fast-slow-fast.
Since the work as a whole simulates the stages of mourning, the Scherzo serves as the reminder of happy memories. As in the first movement, Brahms uses the pitches of the E flat overtone series to establish the theme. (This theme is found in some variation in every movement, most directly in the Finale: Allegro con brio.) The playfulness that the tempo suggests, offers a break from the slow and somber surrounding movements.
The opening solo piano bars of the Adagio mesto set up the solemn, contemplative mood of the movement that is emphasized by the entrance of the violin and horn. The Adagio from the Horn Trio is known to be one of Brahms’ most impassioned and heartfelt slow movements.
The Finale contains the main theme that is present in the previous three movements, but it is prominently displayed in E-flat major in a lively tempo. The joy felt in the Finale symbolizes the recovery at the end of mourning.

Bach and Gabrielli cello works

2007-10-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

In 1713 the new Duke of Brandenburg, the self-styled ‘King in Prussia’, was crowned. Friedrich Wilhelm I proved to be an efficient administrator but was an autocratic and humourless leader, uninterested in the trifling diversions of high culture. One of his first actions was to disband, without warning, the famous court orchestra in Berlin. Brandenburg’s most talented performers were dissipated throughout the loosely aligned states and principalities of Germany. However, for Bach's employer, the young, cultured Prince Leopold of Cöthen (a lovely small town in the rolling countryside southwest of Berlin), this was a heaven-sent opportunity to augment his own capella by securing some of the most accomplished players in the country, among them the finest cellist of his generation, Christian Ferdinand Abel, for whom Bach wrote the Suites.
Domenico Gabrielli (1651-1690) was a member of the group of elite cellists that operated in Bologna, Italy in the seventeenth century. Along with his teachers, Petronio Francheschini and Giovanni Battista Vitali, Gabrielli was one of the pioneers of baroque cello playing. Gabrielli's Seven Ricercare for Violoncello Solo represent the first works to be published for a lone cello. Gabrielli was a busy cellist and composer, maintaining employment in Bologna's two premier instrumental groups: the Accademia Filarmonica, and the orchestra of the Basilica San Petronio.

Scarlatti Sonatas

2007-10-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (1685 –1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. Although chronologically classified as a Baroque composer, his music was influential in the development of the Classical style. His influential 555 sonatas were almost all written for the harpsichord.

He was born in Naples in the same year as Bach and Handel. At the age of sixteen he became a composer and organist at the royal chapel in Naples, and less than ten years later went to Rome in the service of the exiled Polish queen Marie Casimire, where he met Thomas Roseingrave who later led the enthusiastic reception of the composer's sonatas in London. He undertook a trial of skill with George Frideric Handel at the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni in Rome where he was judged possibly superior to Handel on the harpsichord, although inferior on the organ. Later in life, he was known to cross himself in veneration when speaking of Handel's skill.

In 1719, after ten years in Rome, Scarlatti left for Lisbon to teach the Portuguese princess Maria Magdalena Barbara. In 1729 he moved to Sevilla, staying for four years and imbibing the flamenco style. In 1733 he went to Madrid as music master to Princess Maria Barbara, who had married into the Spanish royal house. When the Princess became Queen of Spain Scarlatti remained in the country for twenty-five years.

Ravel Miroirs

2007-10-02T04:05:00.000-07:00

Ravel (1875-1937) Miroirs (1904-5)

1st performance Ricardo Viñes 1906

Noctuelles ("Night Moths"), dedicated to Léon-Paul Fargue and inspired by his lines ‘Les noctuelles des hangars parent, d’un vol gauche, Cravater d’autres pouters’ (The night moths in
their barns launch themselves clumsily into the air, going from one perch to another).
Oiseaux tristes ("Sad Birds"), dedicated to Ricardo Viñes. The idea for the melodic kernel of the piece came when Ravel was in the forest at Fontainbleau. Vuillermoz explains:

He was staying with friends and one morning he heard a blackbird whistling a tune and was enchanted by its elegant, melancholy arabesque. He had merely to transcribe this tune accurately, without changing a note, to produce the limpid, poetic piece which spiritualises the nostalgic call of this French brother of the Forest Bird in Siegfried. (Quoted in Nichols 1995: 6)
Une barque sur l'océan ("A boat on the Ocean"), dedicated to Paul Sordes This work successfully develops the scope of Jeux d’eau, which describes the splashings of a fountain, into a full scale
seascape.

Alborada del gracioso ("The Comedian's Aubade"), dedicated to M. D. Calvocoressi, provider of the text to Ravel's Cinq mélodies populaires grecques and someone who described himself in the following words, ‘I was (and have remained) a vile bungler at the piano’. The most popular and most often performed of the Miroirs.

Alborada literally means a song of the dawn and is a type of serenade originating from the mountain region of Galicia in Northern Spain, while gracioso is a character in Spanish comedy, a jester. Ravel wrote a letter to Ferdinand Sinzig of Steinway and Sons in New York in which he spoke about this title:

I understand your bafflement over how to translate the title ‘Alborada del gracioso’. That is precisely why I decided not to translate it. The fact is that the gracioso of Spanish comedy is a rather special character and one which, so far as I know, is not found in any other theatrical tradition. We do have an equivalent, though, in the French theatre: Beaumarchais’s Figaro. But he is more philosophical, less well-meaning than his Spanish ancestor. The simplest thing, I think, is to follow the title with the rough translation ‘Morning Song of the Clown’. That will be enough to explain the humoristic style of this piece.

La vallée des cloches ("The Valley of Bells"), dedicated to Maurice Delage, Ravel's first pupil, and according to Robert Casadesus, inspired by the sound of the bells in Paris at midday.

These five piano pieces draw on a wide range of sources and conventions across nearly two centuries - a fascinating meshing of historical and contemporary influences that range from Mozart to Chabrier and Fauré. The pieces are also interestingly and very personally related to their cultural and social contexts, in that each individual piece was dedicated to a member of the Apaches, a group of young artists and intellectuals residing in Paris of whom Ravel was himself one.

The name, like the term impressionism, was initially given as a derogatory description of its members. The group started around 1902 when Paul Sordes, a painter and music-lover, began inviting a small group of his friends to his studio on Saturdays. Among these were his brother,Charles Sordes, the poets Tristan Klingsor and Léon-Paul Fargue, the painters Edouard Benedictus and Séguy, Charles Guérin, the critic M.D. Calvocoressi and, of course, Ravel.
They were soon joined by the musician Maurice Delage, who became Ravel’s student and most intimate friend; Ricardo Vines, the Spanish pianist and Ravel’s childhood friend, and the conductor D.E. Inghgelbrecht. Also members of Les Apaches were Lucien Garban, Marcel Chadeigne, the decorator Georges Mouveau and the designer Pivet.

Every Saturday the group met and, in Léon-Paul Fargue’s words: ‘We all read or played whatever we had recently written or composed, in the most friendly atmosphere I have ever experienced’. At Sordes’ house it was necessary to stop playing at around one in the morning as the neighbours complained about the noise. Thus in 1904 the group moved their meetings to Delage’s summer-house which was separated from other homes so they could make music all night long.

Schubert Sonata in B flat D960

2007-10-02T04:04:00.000-07:00

Schubert (1797-1828) Sonata in B flat D960

The last year of Schubert's life was marked by growing public acclaim for the composer's smaller works (none of his symphonies were performed in his lifetime), but also by a marked deterioration of health. On March 26, 1828, together with other musicians, Schubert gave a public concert of his own works, which was a great success and earned him a considerable profit. In addition, two new German publishers took an interest in his works, leading to a short period of financial well-being. However, by the time the summer months arrived, Schubert was again short of money and had to cancel some journeys he had previously planned.

Schubert had been struggling with syphilis since 1822, and suffered from weakness, headaches and dizziness. However, he seems to have led a relatively normal life until September 1828, when his symptoms worsened, forcing him to move from the Vienna home of his friend Franz von Schober to his brother Ferdinand's house in the suburbs. This seems to have actually worsened his condition, but up until the last weeks of his life in November 1828, he continued to compose an extraordinary amount of music, including the three last piano sonatas of which this is the final one.

Schubert probably began sketching the sonatas sometime around the spring months of 1828; the final versions were written in September. These months also saw the appearance of the String Quintet and the songs published posthumously as the Schwanengesang collection, among others. The final sonata was completed on September 26, and two days later, Schubert played from the sonata trilogy at an evening gathering in Vienna. In a letter to Probst (one of his publishers), dated October 2, 1828, Schubert mentioned the sonatas amongst other works he had recently completed and wished to publish. However, Probst was not interested in the sonatas, and Schubert died less than two months later.

Christopher Lemmings

2007-10-02T03:41:00.000-07:00

Christopher Lemmings studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Johanna Peters and Margaret Lensky, and currently studies with Michelle Wegwart.

He is one of the UK’s most in-demand tenors, and has sung leading roles at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and other houses in the UK and Europe, working with Sir Simon Rattle and Daniel Barenboim among others. He has a strong reputation for his work in twentieth century and contemporary music, and has collaborated with composers such as Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Thomas Adès and Nicholas Maw, and given concert performances of new opera with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Radio France and the Concertgebouw as well as many of the major UK symphony orchestras.

Recent recordings include the critically acclaimed Rorem Auden Songs with Chamber Domaine and a disc of lesser known music by the Italian born film composer Nino Rota.

Christopher's website

Katie Pryce

2007-10-02T03:39:00.001-07:00

Katie Pryce was born in 1981. She won a scholarship to the Purcell School aged eight, and five years later performed Mozarts 4th horn concerto at the festival hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the Brass winner of the Audi young musician of the year and a finalist of the BBC Young Musician of the year in 1996.

Katie then studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Conservatorium Van Amsterdam. After graduating in 2003 she was appointed principal horn of the Kwa Zulu Natal Philharmonic Orchestra in Durban, South Africa.

Since returning to London in 2005 Katie has been a busy freelancer working with major orchestras. She is also a member of the Camarrilla wind quintet, who have recently won the Royal Over Seas League competition and whose future engagements include concerts at Edinburgh Festival 2010 and a recital at the Wigmore hall.

The Brass Volcanoes

2007-10-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

The Brass Volcanoes consists of a mixture of brass, saxophones and drums, who work together to create fabulous arrangements of popular and less well known tunes on the spot.

The idea of the modern jazz brass band developed from the original New Orleans parade bands over a century ago. They were, and still are, essential to any form of celebration in New Orleans: from parties, to parades, to weddings and funerals.

Over time new rhythms were added to the original marches, absorbing new styles of music over the decades - latin rythms, funk, blues, soul, rock, etc. Many great bands became known worldwide (The Dirty Dozen, Lester Bowie's, Olympia, Rebirth...)

Inspired by this long tradition The Brass Volcanoes have their own interpretation of the style, but remaining at the heart of the music is the desire for everyone to have a good time through the excitement of creating and listening to great live music.

David Gordon

2007-10-02T03:38:00.001-07:00

David Gordon studied piano and harpsichord at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since then he has made a career playing harpsichord and jazz piano, and as a composer.

David has had several of his works broadcast on BBC Radio 3, including a commission from the London Oboe Band based on Paisible’s funeral march for the death of Queen Mary. He is currently co-writing a book on musical visitors to England which will be published next year.

David plays harpsichord with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and has toured with the European Baroque Orchestra. He regularly plays with recorder player, Evelyn Nallen, and leads Respectable Groove, an experimental early music/jazz band.

As well as leading his own Trio, David is a member of violinist Christian Garrick's quartet, and has performed with Andy Sheppard, Norma Winstone and Harry Allen among others.

David's website

Jennifer Morsches

2007-10-02T03:38:00.000-07:00

American cellist Jennifer Morsches lives in London and enjoys an active freelance career as chamber musician, continuo cellist and orchestral musician in the UK and on the Continent.
She is the principal cellist of Florilegium, with whom she records for Channel Classics Records.

She also performs and tours with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Academy of Ancient Music, and she has been invited to be guest principal cello for the Royal Flemish Philharmonic for several projects in 2009/10.

Jennifer graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, First Group Scholar from Smith College with degrees in Music History and German Literature, and was awarded the Ernst Wallfisch Prize in Music.

Recipient of the CD Jackson Prize for outstanding merit and contribution at Tanglewood, she has given world premieres of chamber music by David Matthews, Michael Wolpe and Ben Zion Orgad, among others.

Bella Hardy

2007-10-02T03:37:00.000-07:00

Though only 25 years old, Bella Hardy has already been nominated three times in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and has been well known on the folk circuit for many years, playing fiddle in a variety of popular line-ups as a teenager and reaching the finals of the BBC Young Folk Awards in 2004.

In July 2008, Bella was invited to perform in two concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall as part of the first ever Folk Prom. She was given the privileged but daunting task of opening the event with a set of unaccompanied traditional songs and met the challenge with remarkable composure, winning over a host of new admirers.

Bella's website

James Willshire

2007-10-02T03:36:00.001-07:00

James Willshire began his musical studies at the age of nine and two years later entered Chetham’s School of Music where he studied with Heather Slade-Lipkin. At fifteen he was a prize-winner in the 2000 World Piano Competition and was awarded an Educational Scholarship for a short period of study in Paris with the French pianist Dominique Merlet.

In 2002 James won a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he studied with Joan Havill, and where he won a number of important prizes. James has been awarded scholarships by the Julius Isserlis Scholarship, The Countess of Munster Musical Trust, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund and won the 2008 MBF Myra Hess Award. He was a prize-winner in the 2007 Scottish International Piano Competition and in 2008 won Making Music’s Philip and Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artists.

Quire

2007-10-02T03:36:00.000-07:00

Formed 5 years ago out of a music class at Greyfriars Adult Education, Quire, Colchester’s community choir and singing sensation, has continually grown over the years and now has over 60 voices.

Quire's website

Daisy Jopling

2007-10-02T03:35:00.000-07:00

Violinist Daisy Jopling grew up in Fingringhoe and now lives in New York, having spent 12 years living in Vienna and touring the world with the creative string trio “Triology”, with whom she has recorded 4 CDS. With Triology she also arranged and recorded Hans Zimmer's music for the films “Spanglish” and “The Road to El Dorado” in Hollywood.

Her solo work has included playing a concerto in the Royal Albert Hall in London at the age of 14, and playing before 30,000 people at the opening of the Vienna Festival in May 2004 and 2005.

Daisy has performed and toured with some of the world's leading musicians - Joe Zawinul, Bobby McFerrin, Omara Portuondo from the Buena Vista Social Club and Julian Rachlin in Festivals and concert halls throughout the world, including Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York, the Musikverein in Vienna, the Salzburger Festspiele, and the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. She has just released her first solo album, "Key to the Classics", with the NYC producer Bojan Dugic.

Daisy's website