We invite musicians from near and far to share their musical talent with us. All are welcome!
This Wednesday we look forward to welcoming mezzo soprano Madeleine Lake, accompanied by Alan Eost on piano.
During her teenage years Madeleine Lake was a part of Vivien Pike's internationally renowned choir - Cantores Novae - where she was exposed to a great range of music and wonderful choral tours and competitions including Sainsbury's Choir of the Year and trips to Estonia and Finland. Madeleine competed in the David Clover Festival Weekend and was awarded the Doug Crossland Memorial Shield and Prize as the most promising female singer between the ages of 16 and 21. When she went to university in Cardiff, she became part of the BBC Chorus of Wales and sang with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Chorus at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
Madeleine had some time away from singing on a regular basis as she moved to Australia to work as an Exploration Geologist, as there aren't many classical music performance opportunities in the West Australian Bush! She came back to singing in the past few years as she returned to the UK - living with her husband in Chesterfield with their dog Heather, a golden retriever - and continues to have singing lessons with Vivien. Following further success in the Opera and Aria/Sacred Song classes she was asked to represent the David Clover Festival at The British and International Federation of Festivals regional competition in Leeds, where she won the Vocal Prize. In this year’s David Clover Festival Weekend, she won both the English Words and Song Class earning her The Petrie Rose Bowl, and the Lieder Class. Madeleine was also awarded The City of Sheffield Teachers' Choir Silver Salver and Prize for the most outstanding performance by a winner from Non-Recital Classes.
Programme
Cangio d’aspetto (from Admeto, re di Tessaglia HWV22)
George Friederich Händel, 1685-1759
6 English Songs
Like to the Damask Rose
Pleading (Op 48 No1)
Edward Elgar, 1857-1934
Linden Lea
Silent noon (No. 2 from The House of Life)
Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958
Come to me in my dreams (H71)
So perverse (H61)
Frank Bridge, 1879-1941
3 Lieder
Die Forelle (D550)
An die musik (D547)
Die Junge Nonne (Op 43 No 1 - D828)
Franz Peter Schubert, 1797-1828
Che farò senza Euridice?
(Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30: Atto III)
Christoph Willibald Gluck, 1714-1787
In Cangio d’aspetto (How changed the vision), King Admeto rejoices in his recovered health, not knowing that his wife, Alceste, has sacrificed herself to spare his life. Admeto will later beg Ercole (Hercules), who once rescued Theseus from the underworld, to perform the same service for Alceste; a plot line from Greek mythology that is repeated in the final aria of this recital.
Like to the Damask Rose is a setting by Elgar of a 17th century poem about the briefness of life, starting with the early summer Damascus Rose. Pleading is another, more melancholy, poem set to music by Elgar in 1908. At the time Elgar was working on his First Symphony and encountering various setbacks. In September of that year he returned home from a depressing meeting with his publisher and opened his post to find a slim volume of verses sent to him by Arthur L Salmon (b1865). The loneliness expressed in Pleading fitted his mood.
Linden Lea is a setting of William Barnes’ poem My Orcha'd in Lindèn Lea, written in Dorset dialect. The peace and tranquility, combined with the familiarity of the rural scene, provide a feeling of security. Silent noon features another pastoral scene, this time with two lovers enjoying their moment isolated in a grassy meadow.
The poem Come to me in my dreams is thought to have been written by Matthew Arnold in the period after he had been forbidden from becoming engaged to a young lady - his future wife – so this was the only way they could meet. All women born are So Perverse is the opening line and sentiment of Robert Bridges triolet (an eight-line poem) with the set ABaAabAB rhyme scheme.
Die Forelle is another example where the composer and lyricist have almost the same name. This time Schubert set the first three verses or Christian Schubart’s poem to music. Omitting the final stanza removes the moral tale and leaves a story about fishing for trout. In An die Musik the strong piano line moves to the left hand in this celebration of the art of music. The storm raging outside in Die junge Nonne mirrors the inner torment of doubt and temptation felt by the young nun. After the final ringing of the angelus bell, she finds peace in her chosen path.
In Che farò senza Euridice?, Orpheo has been allowed to travel into the underworld to recover his dead wife Euridice on the condition that he doesn’t look at her. Euridice cannot understand Orfeo’s apparent coldness. If he looks at her, he will lose her forever.