Saturday July 1st, 19:30

The Octavian Singers' Summer Concert 'Around the World in 80 Minutes' at Lord Pirbright's Hall on Saturday July 1st 2017 included an eclectic mix of musical styles: from the traditionally classical of Beethoven, the eastern spiritualism of Holst, through pastiche by Elgar and folksongs from all over the world, to the popular classical style of Bob Chilcott. And a few more international morsels too!

Beethoven’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage is a tiny masterwork and one of the most overlooked works in Beethoven’s output. Although Beethoven never sailed on a voyage, he knew well, through the difficult experience of his own life, the deeper meaning of the two poems by Goethe, which is why the beauty of Beethoven’s setting is not only its ability to paint a seascape of still winds, rippling waves, stirring swells and massive gusts, but also his understanding of the power of transformation, expressed in this work.

In 1890s, Elgar spent several summer holidays in the resort of Garmisch - the days were spent walking in the countryside and evenings involved music and dancing at the local Bierstube. His wife Alice wrote several poems depicting the scenes of Bavaria and Edward set them to music 'From The Bavarian Highlands'. The words and music are simple parodies of the style, rather than actual Bavarian folksongs and dances, however, his deep love for the landscape is sincerely shown.

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda. The years 1900-12 could be thought of as Holst’s 'Sanskrit' period as he developed an interest in the religious literature and poetry of India, going so far as to learn the rudiments of the Sanskrit language so that he could make his own translations. The Rig Veda (Sanskrit: a compound meaning “praise” + “knowledge”) is an ancient Indian sacred collection of hymns.

Matyas Seiber studied with noted composer Zoltan Kodaly, with whom he toured Hungary and collected folk songs. His 'Three Hungarian Folksongs' are all based on melodies collected 'in the field' with Kodaly. 

Furusato presents five evocative arrangements of Japanese songs. Each poem depicts the beauty of the Japanese landscape - and familiar melodies, with Bob Chilcott's original style combine to create an enchanting fusion of East and West.

Full Programme:

Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage/Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt (Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827)
- Meeres stille
- Glückliche Fahrt

Macushla (Dermot MacMorrough, 1868-1937)
- Baritone horn solo: Barry Audsley

Rusalka's Song to the Moon (Antonín Dvořák, 1841-1904)
- Soprano solo: Giselle Thorne

Three Hungarian Folksongs (Mátyás Seiber, 1905-1960)
- The handsome butcher
- Apple, apple (and reprise of The handsome butcher)
- The old woman

None but the Lonely Heart/Нет, только тот, кто знал (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
- Mezzo solo: Heather Cartwright

From the Bavarian Highlands (Edward Elgar, 1857-1934)
- The dance
- False love
- Lullaby
- Aspiration

Interval

Furusato/故郷 (Bob Chilcott, b.1955)
- Sand Mountain - Sunayama
- Village Festival - Mura Matsuri
- Hazy Moonlight - Oborozukiyo
- Home Town - Furusato
- Autumn Leaves - Momiji

Don't Wake Her At Dawn/На заре ты ее не буди (Alexander Varlamov, 1801-1848)
- Alto solo: Svetlana Barsky

And this is My Beloved (Alexander Borodin, 1833-1887)
- Soprano solo: Iris Leech

Waltzing Matilda (Australian traditional - arr. Wood)

Pokarekare Ana (Maori traditional - Tomoana)
- Soprano duet: Carrie Price and Karen Soulsby

Bésame Mucho (Consuelo Velázquez, 1916-2005)
- Alto solo: Susan Linsell

New York, New York (John H. Kander and Fred Ebb)
- Tenor solo: Barry Audsley

Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda (Gustav Holst, 1874-1934)
- To the unknown God
- Battle hymn