Giuseppe Torelli
Sinfonia in D major for
Trumpet and Strings

George Frideric Handel
Concerto grosso, op.6 no. 10
in D minor

Jeremiah Clarke
Suite in D for Trumpet and Orchestra

Henry Purcell
The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Two Suites

William Boyce
Symphony no.5 in D major

Benjamin Britten
Sinfonietta, op.1

Sunday, November 4, 2007

St. Anne's Church, Tecumseh

Tickets: $32-$20   

John Morris Russell, Conductor
Ross Turner, Trumpet

Sinfonia in D major for Trumpet and Strings

Giuseppe Torelli
B. April 22, 1658, Verona, Italy
D. Feb. 8, 1709, Bologna, Italy

Approx. 10 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
Giuseppe Torelli was one of the leading figures of the Bologna violin school, a group of 17th-century composers and performers who worked at the Cathedral of San Petronio in that north Italian city. At the height of his career he appeared as violinist and conductor throughout Germany and northern Italy; his works for trumpet and strings (written in the 1680’s) provide some of the earliest examples of ritornello form, the basis of the mature baroque concerto.

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Concerto grosso, op.6 no.10 in D minor

George Frideric Handel
B. Friday 23 February 1685, Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
D. Saturday 14 April 1759, London

Approx. 16 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
Handel wrote the twelve concerti of Opus 6 for the publisher J. Walsh of London during September and October of 1739; the works were published by Walsh in April of the following year. Handel’s star was definitely in the ascendant; he had made the decisive change from Italian opera to English oratorio: “Saul” and “Israel in Egypt” had already been performed with great success in the early part of 1739;“Messiah”, “Solomon” and the other great oratorios would follow in the course of the 1740’s, as the composer approached and then passed his sixtieth birthday.

Like its companion works, Concerto no.10 is scored for a solo group (or “concertino”) of two solo violins and cello, plus a “ripieno” or full string orchestra. The three principal players divide their time between leading their respective sections of the orchestra and playing the solo passages.

Concerto no.10 is rather unusually structured: it begins with a slow and majestic introduction (in the manner of a French overture) followed by a lively fugue. Then comes a slow triple-time movement labelled“Air,” and then three lively movements, the first a gigue-like dance, the second a big ritornello movement (like the first movement of most normal concertos), and the third a gavotte-like dance movement and its ornamented repeat, or “double.”

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Suite in D for Trumpet and Orchestra

Jeremiah Clarke
B. c. 1674, London
D. December 1, 1707

Approx. 10 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
Jeremiah Clarke was a younger contemporary of Henry Purcell, born some fifteen years later and dying twelve years later than his famous compatriot—which is to say that he died (in 1707) at around the tender age of thirty-two, evidently by his own hand over a hopeless love affair with a pupil of high rank. Like Purcell he began as a boy chorister and ended up as a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal (the King’s own musical establishment), and like Purcell
he also served as a cathedral organist. His output was similar to Purcell’s—church music, occasional music for court celebrations, and theatre music—although much less of it survives.

The Suite in D for trumpet and strings consists of a series of short movements, mostly marches or dances. Some are in binary form (two sections, each repeated) and some are in rondeau form (a recurring section alternates with contrasting episodes). One of the movements, labelled“The Prince of Denmark’s March,” will be recognized as the trumpet voluntary formerly attributed to Purcell.

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The Fairy Queen, Z. 629, Two Suites

Henry Purcell
B. September 10 1659, Westminster, England
D. November 21, 1695, Westminster, England

First performed on May 2, 1692 at Queen’s Theatre, Dorset Garden in London. Approx. 15 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
Henry Purcell was born into a musical family: his father and uncle were both Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal. Henry began his apprenticeship as a choirboy and later became keeper of the King’s musical instruments; at the age of twenty he became organist of Westminster Abbey (his predecessor, John Blow, stepped aside and then, fifteen years later, resumed the post after Henry’s untimely death).

For the last six years of his life (1690-95) Purcell devoted himself to writing for the English stage. He produced hundreds of incidental songs and at least five large scores for what are now called “semi-operas.” These four and five-act works combined spoken dialogue with elaborate musical scenes: choruses and solo songs, processions, dances,“symphonies” (instrumental passages) to cover scene changes and the like.

Such a work was The Fairy Queen, premiered in 1692 and revived the following year. It was freely based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but included some new characters, situations and dialogue. The present orchestral suites provide a fascinating glimpse into what must have been a magnificent evening’s entertainment.

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Symphony no.5 in D minor

William Boyce
B. September 11, 1711, London
D. February 7, 1779, London

Approx. 8 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
William Boyce, organist of the Chapel Royal and Master of the Royal Band, published two sets of orchestral works in the course of his long career: Eight Symphonies in 1760 and Twelve Overtures a decade later. Despite the change of title, both sets consist of overtures that were originally written for stage works or for the large-scale choral cantatas that Boyce regularly produced on state occasions. Most of these works begin with a French overture and continue with two or more dance-like movements in contrasting tempos.

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Sinfonietta, op.1

Benjamin Britten
B. November 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England
D. December 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England

First performed on January 31, 1933, The Ballet Club (Mercury Theatre), London, Macnaghten-Lemare concert. English Wind Players, Macnaghten String Quartet, Iris Lemare conducting. Approx. 14 minutes.

By Dr. Ed Kovarik
Britten's first acknowledged work (he destroyed a quantity of juvenalia) was written in 1932 when the composer was just eighteen and still a student at the Royal College of Music in London. Originally conceived as a chamber piece for solo winds and strings, the work is usually performed nowadays by small orchestra (with doubled strings). It consists of three short movements.

The first movement is labelled “Poco presto ed agitato;” the second movment is a set of variations marked “Andante Lento;” and the finale is a lively tarantella labelled“Presto vivace.” The finale is marked to follow the slow movement without a break.

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Ross Turner

Ross Turner began his serious musical studies thorugh private lessons, studying classical trumpet and music history and theory. After high school, he then continued his classical stdies at the University of Victoria, earning a degree in Music History. From there, he went to the Utrechts Conservatorium in the Netherlands for Orchestral Studies, and then on to the Orchestral Training Program in Toronto.

Mr. Turner's most influential teacher was Louis Ranger, former co-principal of the New York Philharmonic. It was Ranger's musical insight that instilled in him a love of classical and modern classical music.

Mr. Turner has performed with several orchestras and chamber groups in Canada and has also performed in over sixty music theatre productions, touring North America and most of Asia.

Mr. Turner continues to enjoy playing in a variety of ensembles in addition to orchestras, and currently plays often in Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake and in one of Windsor's favourite rock bands, Nemesis.

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