Cambridge Philharmonic Society

Saturday 10 July 2010 � Ely Cathedral

Joan Rodgers

Soprano

Roderick Williams

Baritone

Timothy Redmond

Conductor

Steve Bingham

Leader

Verdi Overture �I Vespers Siciliani

Te Deum Stabat Mater

Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of

Thomas Tallis Dona Nobis Pacem

Verdi Overture �I Vespers Siciliani

Te Deum Stabat Mater

Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of

Thomas Tallis Dona Nobis Pacem

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Programme

VERDI Overture �I Vespri Siciliani�

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis

Interval

VERDI Stabat Mater

Te Deum

VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Dona Nobis Pacem

Overture �I Vespri Siciliani� Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

Les Vêpres Siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers) is a five Act opera composed by Verdi for the Paris Exhibition of 1855. The French libretto was adapted from the text of an earlier incomplete Donizetti opera, Le Duc d'Alba, set at the time of the Spanish occupation of Flanders in the late 16th century. However Verdi changed the setting to late 13th century Sicily, when the Sicilians were struggling to free themselves from French rule. After the initial success of the French version, the libretto was then hurriedly translated into Italian, but with the setting being changed again, this time to Portugal under Spanish rule in the 17th century, in deference to the sensitivities of the Italian censors at a time when Italy was again in conflict. As a result the 1856 première of the Italian version was given under an alternative title, and it was not until 1861 that the situation was sufficiently relaxed to allow the setting finally to be changed back to Sicily, with the opera now being given the title I Vespri Siciliani. The opera takes its title from the War of the Sicilian Vespers. This began with an uprising by the local inhabitants of Palermo against the French on Easter Monday 1282, and was only finally ended by the signing of the Peace of Caltabellotta in 1302. Accounts differ as to what exactly started the 1282 revolt, but tradition has it that it was whilst the bells rang for vespers (evening prayer) that the Sicilians finally rose up against the occupying French. In the opera, the smouldering conflict also provides the background for a romance between Elena, sister of Duke Frederick of Austria, who has been executed by the French for treason, and Arrigo, a young Sicilian, who turns out to be the son of the island's French governor, Guy de Montfort. The opera ends with two being married, and in this case it is the ringing of the vespers bell at the wedding that signals the beginning of the Sicilian revolt. Despite its initial successes, interest in I Vespri Siciliani soon waned, and although it is still performed, it has never been fully accepted into the international repertoire. By contrast, however, the overture to I Vespri Siciliani is widely acknowledged to be one of Verdi�s best. In the score, Verdi deliberately refers to the overture as a sinfonia rather than a preludio, emphasising that it was intended not merely as an introduction to the opera but as a reflection of its spirit. And with its dark, threatening opening, seemingly foretelling the horrors about to be unleashed, its broad, sweeping themes and spirited ending, it has gained lasting success as a powerful and evocative orchestral piece in its own right.

Chris Fisher

Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

This year in a poll of the most popular classical music works run by Classic FM the Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis came third. First performed a hundred years ago, this work seems to have become a firm favourite, embedded in the hearts not only of those of eclectic tastes but of those who take their music lightly. So much so that it has been used in various films, including Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World, that moving and thrilling depiction of a British vessel searching for an elusive French privateer during the Napoleonic wars. As the French ship Acheron is tantalisingly spotted looming and disappearing in the mist, it seems not inappropriate to have chosen to include the Fantasia, a work of hints and suggestion, echoes and memory, though the excerpt played actually accompanies the dreadful moment when the crewmen are forced to cut the lifeline attached to a sailor who has fallen overboard. The original theme by Thomas Tallis is a melody in the Phrygian mode (equivalent of a scale played on the white notes of the piano starting on E). Tallis had contributed this tune to the Psalter of 1567 compiled for the first Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker. The words of Psalm 2 begin:

Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite, in fury raging stout? Why tak'th in hand the people fond, vain things to bring about? The Kings arise, the Lords devise, in counsels met thereto, against the Lord with false accord, against His Christ they go.

It can thus be seen that Tallis's psalm setting must be deliberately dark and brooding. When Vaughan Williams was editing The English Hymnal, which was published in 1906, he included Tallis's psalter tune, but to words by Joseph Addison, once again reflecting sombre thoughts:

When, rising from the bed of death O'erwhelmed with guilt and fear, I see my Maker face to face, O how shall I appear?

Sombre thoughts indeed, but the writer goes on to find not judgement but forgiveness. It is not a hymn much sung in Anglican churches today; nevertheless it is interesting to look at it (no. 92 in the English Hymnal), as on the opposite page is Tallis's original version with the melody in the tenor. Vaughan Williams, already familiar with this melody, and having spent time studying with Ravel in Paris, returns to it and creates a work (first performed in 1910) that recalls 16th century English melody and harmony, reflects the influence of impressionistic French modulations and sound colour, but yet is undeniably original. He uses three groups of string instruments: a first orchestra, a second orchestra (of 2 players per section except for a single double bass) and they should if possible sit apart from the first orchestra, and

then a string quartet formed of the leader of each string section. Sometimes all three groups play together and the parts are not differentiated, at others different combinations are found. The smaller second orchestra often echoes the previous phrase, or may sustain a chord just played by the first orchestra, giving a sense of ambiguity to the ending of a phrase. The Fantasia has an immediate emotional appeal: the passionate fortissimi, the whispered pianissimi, the changes of tempo, the sorrowful resonances of the Phrygian mode, and the simplicity of Tallis's measured tune contrasting with the lilting, 6/8 theme, which almost sounds like a snatch of a tune whistled by a country lad. Then there is the soaring sweetness of the solo viola followed by the solo violin (recalling for us that other Vaughan Williams favourite The Lark Ascending). There is a feeling of phrases swirling and reverberating not only in space but down the centuries, and for this the building of Ely Cathedral is ideal. Vaughan Williams was not a conventional believer, however he was a deeply spiritual man. He surely catches the essence of Tallis and Addison as he moves from solemnity to a closing upward-floating violin solo and the reassurance of a final G major chord.

Jennifer Day

Stabat Mater and Te Deum Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

from Quattro Pezzi Sacri, Four Sacred Pieces Giuseppe Verdi was born at Le Roncole, near Busseto, in the region of Parma, in 1813. The son of an innkeeper/grocer, he showed musical ability as a child and, encouraged by his father, he was already deputising as an organist at the local church by the age of seven. His early schooling and musical training took place in Busseto where he received support from Antonio Barezzi, in whose house he lived from the age of eighteen. Verdi gave music lessons to Barezzi's daughter Margherita and later married her. He applied for entry to the Milan Conservatory, but was rejected. After studying counterpoint in Milan, he returned in 1835 to Busseto and was offered the job of municipal master of music. Four years later he returned to Milan, to arrange for the performance of the opera Oberto, Conte di S Bonifacio, at La Scala, a work that led to a commission for three more operas. Pleasure in any success was tempered by the death of his baby son and in 1840 by the death of his wife.

In 1842, Verdi won his first major success with the opera Nabucco. His personal life too was transformed after his meeting with the soprano Giuseppina Strepponi, who became his mistress, and later his wife. By 1859 Verdi had written some twenty more operas which became essential to international repertoire: Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata, La forza del destino, and many others.

It was not until the twilight of his life that Verdi, aged 84, published a heterogeneous collection of four pieces entitled Quattro Pezzi Sacri. Composed over perhaps eight years prior to their publication, they reveal the eyes of Italy's most famous opera composer looking toward the afterlife through the sacred texts of the Catholic Church. Much of the music is quite progressive: the style reflects the great tonal expansion of the latter nineteenth century, as well as his own advances in operatic composition. .

The two pieces of the Quattro Pezzi Sacri which are performed today, Te Deum and Stabat Mater, deploy the full range of choral and orchestral forces. Stabat Mater (1896-1897) sets the complete drama of the Passion as seen through Mary's eyes; it does so in a series of pointillist images from the ancient Latin text. In preparation for the composition of the Te Deum (1895), Verdi studied the music of both Victoria and Purcell, though he ultimately created something quite different. His intention was a musically adventuresome portrayal of his own emotional responses to the traditional text. The "immense father" is also the "king of glory" born in human flesh of a Virgin, and will return as "Judge." Mankind trembles before this judge.

His compositions coincided with the popular spirit of the day, as Italy struggled to free herself from foreign domination and to achieve some form of political unity. Musically and technically his achievement was one of great power and considerable variety. Verdi died in Milan in 1901, and his death was an occasion of national mourning. He asked to have the personally expressive score of the Quattro Pezzi Sacri buried with him.

Binnie Macellari

Text and translation

Stabat Mater

Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius.

Cuius animam gementem, contristatam et dolentem pertransivit gladius.

O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta, mater Unigeniti!

Quae moerebat et dolebat, pia Mater, dum videbat nati poenas inclyti.

Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio?

Quis non posset contristari Christi Matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio?

Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis, et flagellis subditum.

Vidit suum dulcem Natum moriendo desolatum, dum emisit spiritum.

Eia, Mater, fons amoris me sentire vim doloris fac, ut tecum lugeam.

Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam.

Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide.

At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to her son to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed was that Mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs, she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that Mother's pain untold?

For the sins of His own nation, She saw Jesus wracked with torment, All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child, Saw Him hang in desolation, Till His spirit forth He sent.

O thou Mother! fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew of my Saviour crucified:

Tui Nati vulnerati, tam dignati pro me pati, poenas mecum divide.

Fac me tecum pie flere, crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero.

Juxta Crucem tecum stare, et me tibi sociare in planctu desidero.

Virgo virginum praeclara, mihi iam non sis amara, fac me tecum plangere.

Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, passionis fac consortem, et plagas recolere.

Fac me plagis vulnerari, fac me Cruce inebriari, et cruore Filii.

Flammis ne urar succensus, per te, Virgo, sim defensus in die iudicii.

Christe, cum sit hinc exire, da per Matrem me venire ad palmam victoriae.

Quando corpus morietur, fac, ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.

Let me share with thee His pain, who for all my sins was slain, who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee, mourning Him who mourned for me, all the days that I may live:

By the Cross with thee to stay, there with thee to weep and pray, is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!, Listen to my fond request: let me share thy grief divine;

Let me, to my latest breath, in my body bear the death of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound, steep my soul till it hath swooned, in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh, lest in flames I burn and die, in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence, by Thy Mother my defence, by Thy Cross my victory;

When my body dies, let my soul be granted the glory of Paradise. Amen.

Te Deum

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur. Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur. Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates; Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

We praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting. To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein. To thee Cherubin and Seraphin : continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of Sabaoth;

Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae. Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus, Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus, Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus. Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia, Patrem immensae maiestatis: Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium; Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum. Tu Rex gloriae, Christe. Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius. Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum. Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum. Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris. Iudex crederis esse venturus. Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti. Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum. Per singulos dies benedicimus te; Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire. Miserere nostri domine, miserere nostri. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty : of thy glory. The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee. The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee. The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee. The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee; The Father : of an infinite Majesty; Thine honourable, true : and only Son; Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter. Thou art the King of Glory : O Christ. Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father. When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb. When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death : thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers. Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the glory of the Father. We believe that thou shalt come : to be our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy servants : whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting. O Lord, save thy people : and bless thine heritage. Govern them : and lift them up for ever. Day by day : we magnify thee; And we worship thy Name : ever world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us. O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee. O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded.

from The Book of Common Prayer

Dona Nobis Pacem Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

I. Agnus Dei II. Beat! Beat! Drums! III. Reconciliation IV. Dirge for Two Veterans V. Untitled When Vaughan Williams was asked to write a work for the centenary of the Huddersfield Choral Society in 1936 he did not come up with a glorious celebratory work. Quite the opposite: Dona Nobis Pacem is a plea for peace from someone who has seen the horrors of warfare close at hand and fears that the sky is darkening with the storm clouds of other wars as various European dictators rattle their sabres and turn up the rhetoric. The words Dona nobis pacem is the final phrase of the Agnus Dei which itself is the concluding section of the Latin Mass. These words have been set many times by many composers (Bach's B Minor Mass is probably one of the first to spring to mind), but Vaughan Williams does not use them as the close of the Mass: they form the frame of this choral work. A solo soprano both opens and closes the piece with her plea for peace (in translation, Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world grant us peace), a lone voice in the stillness begging on behalf of humanity. Within this frame come words from a variety of sources: the poems of Walt Whitman, a speech by John Bright and a number of Biblical quotations, mainly from the psalms and the prophets. Vaughan Williams had long been drawn to Walt Whitman's poetry, which he had used some thirty years earlier in A Sea Symphony. Both had experienced the horrors of war. Whitman had not fought in the American Civil War nor seen fighting at first hand, although his two brothers had. However, when he set off to look for his injured brother and care for him, he was so shocked by the grotesque scenes of wounded men in a makeshift field hospital that the rest of the war found him caring for and befriending wounded soldiers, so often far from home and abandoned. Out of this experience came the poems Drum Taps, which found a kindred spirit in Vaughan Williams, who although forty-two years of age at the outbreak of the Great War volunteered and served with the Army Medical Corps. He too came face to face with the ghastliness of warfare, when he had to evacuate the wounded and sick from the trenches in northern France. The cantata Dona Nobis Pacem is set for chorus, large orchestra and soprano and baritone soloists, and is divided into six sections. The soprano's opening plea for peace, which opens so softly and is echoed by the chorus gradually becomes more urgent before fading away before the brutal reality of war as depicted in the second section which interrupts the pleading. A suggestion of a bugle call, and then the chorus enters with Whitman's violent apostrophe: Beat! Beat! Drums! This whole movement is a depiction of the ruthless impersonal destruction of mechanised modern warfare. It seems like a nightmare in which not only soldiers but civilians are caught up. Next follows the section Reconciliation, a gentler, more reflective passage, suggesting that one day war will be over, leaving not just a �soiled world� but compassion for the enemy

too. The Dirge for Two Veterans starts with the rhythmic slow march of a moonlit funeral procession, which leads into Whitman's poignant description of a father and son being carried to their �new-made double grave�. Although the military music rises to a fortissimo as the cortege passes, the mood changes to one of quiet grief and tenderness. In Section 5 Vaughan Williams turns to an unusual source for his text, the Victorian Liberal politician and reformer John Bright. The words are stern in tone and directly refer to the passage in Exodus Chapter 12, (which would be well-known to his biblically schooled listeners) where the children of Israel are told to mark their lintels so that their children will be spared when the Angel of Death passes over the houses to strike down the first-born of Egypt. Bright was speaking in the House of Commons in a debate on the Crimean War, and warning that, far from being spared, the first-born (and of course others) would very likely be slaughtered. This passage leads directly to Jeremiah Chapter 8, which directly reinforces Bright's message warning of the horrors of war, and the chorus ends with another plea for peace. The final section leads on without a pause, and Vaughan Williams leaves the horrors of war behind as he assembles a variety of biblical quotations. Although he never professed Christian belief, he nevertheless drew inspiration from much of the Bible, from hymns and from the liturgy. Certain texts held meaning and poetry for him, and here he has chosen those expressing a hope for peace and for nations to live together in harmony. The mood has changed, and the rhythmic swing carries the music forward, with at times the ambiguity of a 4/4 pulse going against a suggested 3/4. The final Glory to God in the Highest is reminiscent of his Fantasia on Christmas Carols of 1912 with its ebullient folksy tune and its optimism, yet as the movement slows and stills the solo soprano returns, with more than a hint that this may be a dream of what is to come rather than the reality.

Jennifer Day

Text

I.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem.

Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, grant us peace

II. (Walt Whitman)

Beat! beat! drums! � blow! bugles! blow! Through the windows � through the doors � burst like a ruthless force, Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation, Into the school where the scholar is studying; Leave not the bridegroom quiet � no happiness must he have now with his bride, Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field, or gathering in his grain, So fierce you whirr and pound you drums � so shrill you bugles blow.

III. Reconciliation (Walt Whitman)

Word over all, beautiful as the sky, Beautiful that war and all its deeds of carnage must in time be utterly lost, That the hands of the sisters Death and Night incessantly, softly, wash again and ever again this soiled world; For my enemy is dead, a man divine as myself is dead, I look where he lies white-faced and still in the coffin � I draw near, Bend down and touch lightly with my lips the white face in the coffin.

IV. Dirge for Two Veterans (Walt Whitman)

The last sunbeam Lightly falls from the finished Sabbath, On the pavement here, and there beyond it is looking Down a new-made double grave.

Lo, the moon ascending, Up from the east the silvery round moon, Beautiful over the house-tops, ghastly, phantom moon, Immense and silent moon.

I see a sad procession, And I hear the sound of coming full-keyed bugles, All the channels of the city streets they�re flooding As with voices and with tears.

I hear the great drums pounding, And the small drums steady whirring, And every blow of the great convulsive drums Strikes me through and through.

For the son is brought with the father, In the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell, Two veterans, son and father, dropped together, And the double grave awaits them.

Now nearer blow the bugles, And the drums strike more convulsive, And the daylight o�er the pavement quite has faded, And the strong dead-march enwraps me.

In the eastern sky up-buoying, The sorrowful vast phantom moves illumined, �Tis some mother�s large transparent face, In heaven brighter growing.

O strong dead-march you please me! O moon immense with your silvery face you soothe me! O my soldiers twain! O my veterans passing to burial! What I have I also give you.

The moon gives you light, And the bugles and the drums give you music, And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans, My heart gives you love.

V. (John Bright)

The Angel of Death has been abroad throughout the land; you may almost hear the beating of his wings. There is no one as of old ... to sprinkle with blood the lintel and the two side-posts of our doors, that he may spare and pass on.

Dona nobis pacem.

(Jeremiah 8:15-22) We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing

of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land ... and those that dwell therein ... The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved ... Is there no balm in Gilead?; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

VI. (Daniel 10:19)

O man greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.

(Haggai 2:9) The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former ... and in this place will I give peace.

(Adapted from Micah 4:3, Leviticus 26:6, Psalms 85:10 and 118:19, Isaiah 43:9 and 56:18-22, Luke 2:14) Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And none shall make them afraid, neither shall the sword go through their land. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go into them. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled; and let them hear and say, it is the truth. And it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and they shall declare my glory among the nations. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so shall your seed and your name remain for ever.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men.

Dona nobis pacem.

JOAN RODGERS Soprano

Internationally renowned, Joan Rodgers is equally established in opera, concert, and as a recitalist. She has appeared in concert with conductors including Solti, Barenboim, Mehta, Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Ashkenazy, Salonen and Rattle and is a regular guest at the BBC Proms. Operatic engagements have included engagements at the Royal Opera House, English National Opera, Opera North and Glyndebourne in Britain, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam and Vienna in Europe, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Joan Rodgers has also appeared in recital throughout Europe and the USA including London, Paris, Vienna, Amsterdam, Moscow and New York.

Joan Rodgers� recordings include Mozart�s da Ponte trilogy with Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic, The Turn of the Screw (Virgin), solo discs of Tchaikovsky, Mozart and Wolf (Hyperion), The Creation (Philips), Rachmaninov songs with Howard Shelley (Chandos) and Shostakovich Seven Romances on Verses by Alexander Blok with the Beaux Arts Trio (Warner Classics) and most recently a recording of songs by Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich and Britten (Hyperion).

Recent and forthcoming engagements include the world première of Xavier Dayer�s Mémoires d'une jeune fille triste in Geneva, Gianni Schicchi with Richard Jones and Antonio Pappano, and also Adès� Powder her Face at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Saariaho�s L�amour de loin for English National Opera and a recital at the Edinburgh International Festival as well as numerous other concerts and recitals in England, Europe and Australia.

Joan Rodgers received the Royal Philharmonic Society award as Singer of the Year for 1997, the 1997 Evening Standard Award for outstanding performance in opera for her performance as The Governess in the Royal Opera's production of The Turn of the Screw and an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Liverpool University in July 2005. Joan Rodgers was awarded the CBE in the 2001 New Year�s Honours List.

RODERICK WILLIAMS Baritone

Roderick Williams encompasses a wide repertoire, from baroque to contemporary music, in the opera house, on the concert platform and in recital.

He has enjoyed close relationships with Opera North and Scottish Opera, and is particularly associated with the baritone roles of Mozart. In autumn 2007 he gave highly acclaimed performances of Papageno in The Magic Flute for English National Opera which he successfully reprised in 2009 and in 2008 sang in La bohème at Covent Garden. He has also sung world premieres of operas by, among others, David Sawer, Sally Beamish, Michael van der Aa and Alexander Knaifel.

He has worked with orchestras throughout Europe, including all the BBC orchestras in the UK, and his many festival appearances include the BBC Proms, Edinburgh, Cheltenham and Aldeburgh.

His recital appearances have taken him to London�s Wigmore Hall and many European festivals. He has an extensive discography and his recordings of English song with Iain Burnside have received particular acclaim.

Future engagements include Olivier in Capriccio for Grange Park Opera, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro for Scottish Opera, Ned Keene in Peter Grimes for ROH and Pollux in Rameau�s Castor and Pollux for English National Opera, as well as concerts with Le Concert Spirituel, Manchester Camerata, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, The Sixteen, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Rias Kammerchor and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.

He is also a composer and has had works premiered at the Wigmore and Barbican Halls, the Purcell Room and live on national radio.

TIMOTHY REDMOND Conductor

Timothy Redmond has been principal conductor of the Cambridge Philharmonic since 2006. He conducts concerts with many of the UK's leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ulster and BBC Philharmonic Orchestras, Northern Sinfonia and the Orchestra of Opera North.

His 2009/10 season includes the world premiere of Peter Ash and Donald Sturrock�s The Golden Ticket with Opera

Theatre St Louis, concerts in Finland with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra and Slovenia with the Maribor Symphony Orchestra as well as regular appearances in this country with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Manchester Camerata. He returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for the revival of Thomas Adès' Powder Her Face and releases three new recordings with the Philharmonia, RPO and Northern Sinfonia.

Recently he made his debut at St Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre, conducting the Russian premiere of Powder Her Face, and was immediately invited back to conduct at Gergiev�s Stars of the White Nights festival. Other recent operatic engagements include Kurt Weill's Der Silbersee in Wexford, Richard Ayres' The Cricket Recovers in Bregenz and the world premiere of Raymond Yiu�s The Original Chinese Conjuror for Almeida Opera and the Aldeburgh Festival. He has also conducted opera for Opera North, English Touring Opera, Tenerife Opera, Glyndebourne, Strasbourg and in New York.

Engagements in 2010/11 include concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé and Sinfonia Viva, his debut with Italy�s Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, and returns to Finland, Slovenia and Wexford.

STEVE BINGHAM Leader

Steve Bingham studied violin with Emmanuel Hurwitz, Sidney Griller and the Amadeus Quartet at the Royal Academy of Music from 1981 to 1985, where he won prizes for orchestral leading and string quartet playing. In 1985 he formed the Bingham String Quartet, an ensemble which has become one of the foremost in the UK, with an enviable reputation for both classical and contemporary repertoire. The Quartet has recorded numerous CDs and has worked for radio and television both in the UK and as far afield as Australia. The Quartet has worked with distinguished musicians such as Jack Brymer, Raphael Wallfisch, Michael Collins and David Campbell.

Steve has appeared as guest leader with many orchestras including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, English National Ballet and English Sinfonia. He has given solo recitals both in the UK and America and his concerto performances include works by Bach, Vivaldi, Bruch, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius, given in venues as prestigious as St John�s, Smith Square and the Royal Albert Hall. Steve is also Artistic Director of Ely Sinfonia.

In recent years Steve has developed his interest in improvisation, electronics and World music, collaborating with several notable musicians including guitarist Jason Carter and players such as Sanju Vishnu Sahai (tabla), Baluji Shivastrav (sitar) and Abdullah Ibrahim (piano). Steve�s debut solo CD Duplicity was released in November 2005, and has been played on several radio stations including BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. The Independent gave it a 4-star review. Steve released his second solo CD, Ascension, in November 2008. You can find out more about Steve on his web site at www.stevebingham.co.uk.

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LEO TOMITA Chorus Master

Leo Tomita was Organ Scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where in addition to conducting and running the choir and playing the organ for services, he conducted the college orchestra. He is now a counter-tenor Lay Clerk at St John�s College, Cambridge, where he sings in the choir in their daily services (including weekly webcast services), Radio 3 broadcasts, concerts and tours.

Leo is Assistant Conductor of the Cambridge University Chamber Choir, and will be touring North Germany in July with them. Leo has been Assistant Conductor for several operas including a Yorke Trust production of Rameau�s Castor et Pollux and a Cambridge Festival production of Britten�s Noye�s Fludde.

In September, Leo begins studying for an MA in vocal studies at the Royal Academy of Music, and has been awarded a Postgraduate Performance Award administered by the Musicians Benevolent Fund.

Orchestra

First Violins Steve Bingham (leader) Kate Clow (co-leader) Graham Bush Ros Chalmers Naomi Hilton Merial Rhodes John Richards Sarah Ridley Nichola Roe Gerry Wimpenny Second Violins Emma Lawrence Jenny Barna Joanna Baxter Vincent Bourret Rebecca Forster Ariane Stoop Anne McCleer Edna Murphy Katrin Ottersbach Theresa Traynor Violas Ruth Donnelly Dominic de Cogan Alex Cook Jeremy Harmer Robert Heap Jo Holland Maureen Magnay Emma McCaughan Janet O�Boyle

Cellos Vivian Williams Sarah Bendall Angela Bennett Helen Davies Melissa Fu Clare Gilmour Helen Hills Katharine Mitchell Lucy O�Brien Amy Shipley Double Bass Sarah Sharrock Stephen Beaumont Joel Humann Susan Sparrow Flute Alison Townend Jonathan Slade Lyn Welland Piccolo Lyn Welland Oboe Jenny Sewell Rachel Dunlop Cor Anglais Rosalind Bubb Clarinet Graham Dolby Sarah Whitworth

Bassoon Kim Jenkins Simon Bond Kirsty Mc Arthur Horn Carole Lewis Martin Childs Laurie Friday Steven Orriss Trumpet Andy Powlson Mike Ball Naomi Wrycroft Trombones Denise Hayles Sarah Minchin Tuba Christopher Lawrence Timps Derek Scurll Percussion Zoe-Laura Bridel James Shires Ben Winstanley Harp Lizzie Scorah Organ Oliver Hancock

Chorus

First Soprano Jeanine Billinghurst Erica Bowler Sal Farquharson Hannah McCluskey Ros Mitchell Ruth Pegington Caroline Potter Amanda Price Mary Richards Anne Sales Pat Satori Paddy Smith Ruth Tricker Alison Vinnicombe Liz Werrell Rebecca Wood Second Soprano Cathy Ashbee Eleanor Bell Susannah Cameron Joanne Clark Jennifer Day Susan Earnshaw Christine Halstead Maggie Hook Caroline Jestaz Diana Lindsey Ursula Lyons Binnie Macellari Valerie Mahy Liz Popescu Ann Read Caroline Sivasundaram Pip Smith Clara Todd

First Alto Nicola Bown Margaret Cook Caroline Courtney Alison Dudbridge Jane Grey Ruth Jordan Janet Littlewood Marie Lynn Julia Napier Alice Parr Caroline Shepherd Sarah Upjohn Helen Wheatley Margaret Wilson Second Alto Elisabeth Crowe Alison Deary Tabitha Driver Jane Fenton Jane Fleming Hilary Jackson Kimmei Leung Sue Purseglove Gill Rogers Chris Strachan Amanda Van de Poel

Tenor Aidan Baker Jeremy Baumberg Colin Dewar Geoff Forster Ian MacMillan Alistair Morfey David Reed Martin Scutt Artha Sessions Michael Short Bruce Tate Margaret Thwaites Graham Wickens Bass Richard Birkett Magnus Borgh Neil Caplan Chris Coffin Brian Dawson Dan Ellis Chris Fisher Lewis Jones Patrick Hall Martin Pennell Harrison Sherwood Herve Van de Poel Mike Warren David White Patrick Woodburn

www.cam-phil.org.uk

Cambridge Philharmonic Society 2010 � 2011 Season Programme

6 November 2010 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Details to be confirmed

4 December 2010 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Details to be confirmed

29 January 2011 West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge Details to be confirmed

26 March 2011 King� College Chapel, Cambridge Verdi: Requiem

Joint Choral Concert with the Amersfoort Choral Society 3 April 2011 Concertgebouw, Amersfoort Verdi: Requiem

Joint Choral Concert with the Amersfoort Choral Society 9 July 2011 Ely Cathedral Details to be confirmed

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