England’s musical tradition is like a parchment on which voices have been superimposed over the centuries – from the Renaissance to the present day, from Thomas Tallis to Edward Elgar and Joanna Marsh. The RIAS Kammerchor from Berlin and the Ensemble Resonanz make these layers resound and address the questions of farewell and transience as part of this year’s Hamburg International Music Festival with the motto »Ende«. An evening of requiem-like depth, in which the past resonates and the present pauses.
In his »Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis«, Vaughan Williams draws on the depths of 16th century English choral music and transforms a song from a distant time into a floating, spherical web of sound that fills the room with an almost meditative expanse. Hubert Parry’s »Songs of Farewell« are characterised by a different kind of reverberation – they carry the melancholy of a leave-taking. The haunting choral songs interweave psalms with English poetry and condense into a poignant dialogue about transience, grief and consolation. In contrast, Edward Elgar’s »Introduction and Allegro« bursts forth with wild energy, a »veritable devil’s fugue with all kinds of jokes and counterpoints«. Joanna Marsh’s new work »Threadlands« tells of the fine threads that connect people across distances and breaks – inextricably linked.
PERFORMERS
Ensemble Resonanz chamber orchestra
RIAS Kammerchor Berlin choir
Justin Doyle conductor
PROGRAM
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Hubert Parry
Songs of Farewell (selection):
My soul, there is a country
I know my soul hath power to know all things
Never weather-beaten sail
Lord, let me know mine end
Edward Elgar
Introduction and Allegro for String Orchestra, Op. 47
Joanna Marsh (Libretto: Mark Fiddes)
Threadlands
