Accent on Youth Summer Concert

Emma Rae Ward will be singing from the “Chants d'Auvergne" ("Songs from the Auvergne"), a collection of folk songs from the Auvergne region of France arranged for soprano voice and orchestra by Joseph Canteloube between 1923-1930. Under summer skies, the Auvergne is a land of skylarks, butterflies and lush carpets of wildflowers. This all comes across in the lilting strains of the folk song "Baïlèro" a shepherd's call.

Cellist Perris Heath is playing Fauré’s Élégie. Said to be one of the last works in which the composer allowed himself to express pathos so directly, this deeply emotional piece begins with a sad and sombre theme, climaxes with an intense, tempestuous central section before returning to that elegiac opening theme.

Mabel Bailey will delight on her flute with a Ballade by Carl Reinecke. Reinecke was a highly influential and versatile musician — musically, think Robert Schumann (one of his teachers together with Mendelssohn and Liszt) and you’ll get the idea. The Ballade is charming and tuneful — Reinecke understood the instrument very well — he may not have set the world on its ear, but he was an expert musician.

Daniella Arnold joins us to share Massenet’s “Méditation”. The piece was originally composed as a symphonic intermezzo from the opera Thaïs. This piece is when Thaïs is meditating on the idea of leaving her life of luxury and pleasure to find salvation through God and is considered to be one of the great encore pieces.

In addition to this feast, the orchestra will be playing Bonis’s Bourrée and Mendelssohn’s first Symphony. Mélanie Hélène "Mel" Bonis (21 January 1858 – 18 March 1937) was a prolific French late-Romantic composer. The Bourrée that you’ll hear tonight is from a "suite in the ancient style” — It’s a short piece with a mysteriously playful mood, beautifully and subtly orchestrated.

Mendelssohn’s composed his first symphony at the age of 15! The premiere was in London in 1829 and the review from “The Harmonicon” includes “... Fertility of invention and novelty of effect, are what first strike the hearers of M. Mendelssohn's symphony; but at the same time, the melodiousness of its subjects, the vigour with which these are supported, the gracefulness of the slow movement, the playfulness of some parts, and the energy of others, are all felt…."

The full programme for the evening is: – Fauré: Élégie (Cello) Bonis: Bourrée (Orchestra) Massenet: Méditation from Thaïs (Violin) Reinecke: Ballade (Flute) Canteloube: Songs of the Auvergne (Soprano) Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 1 (Orchestra)