A gala concert in honour of the Queen’s platinum jubilee will be held at Ripon Cathedral on Saturday March 5.
St Cecilia Orchestra will play some of the best-loved English orchestral music, compered by Nidderdale-based actor and playwright, Nevin Ward.
He promises:
“A glorious, thrilling programme that is not just some of the finest English music ever written, it’s some of the best music ever, full stop!”
The programme will open with Walton’s rousing Orb and Sceptre march, specially commissioned for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation.
This will be followed by Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, which takes the listener on a whistlestop tour of the orchestra by means of a cleverly adapted set of variations on a theme from Purcell’s Abdelazer.
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Mr Ward, a native Northumbrian who has lived in Nidderdale for 45 years, voices the narration in the evening concert and also in a special family highlights matinee at 5.00 pm – designed to give younger children the opportunity to take part in the celebrations and hear live orchestral playing.
Following the interval, the orchestra’s string section will feature in Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, written for double string orchestra with string quartet and based on a melody of the English Renaissance.
Conductor Xenophon Kelsey is looking forward to hearing the fantasia in the generous acoustic of Ripon Cathedral. He said:
“The Vaughan Williams work is glorious – so atmospheric and evocative, especially in the cathedral!”
Elgar finale
The concert will come to a close with one of Elgar’s musical masterpieces, the Enigma Variations, consisting of 14 pieces based on an original melody, each of which is a sketch depicting one of the composer’s friends.
Elgar himself explained that the work ‘commenced in a spirit of humour’, as he improvised at the piano one evening, but it ‘continued in deep seriousness’.
In naming the theme ‘Enigma’, the composer posed a challenge which has generated much speculation over the years but has never been definitively answered.
Tickets for the full evening performance are priced at £20 for adults and are free for under 18s. Available via the orchestra website, www.st-cecilia.org.uk, from the Little Ripon Bookshop and Henry Roberts, or reserve by phone: 01423 531062. The performance begins at 7.30pm.
Tickets for the short family matinee at 5.00pm (Walton and Britten only) cost £5 for adults and are free for under 18s, and are available from the same outlets.
Harrogate Choral Society will return to the concert stage after an absence of nearly two years on November 13.
The society will perform Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Brahms’ German Requiem at Harrogate Royal Hall under new conductor David Lawrence.
Mr Lawrence is a familiar face in Harrogate schools through his work as principal conductor of Young Voices choir.
In addition to holding the Guinness World Record for conducting the UK’s largest choir of 6,846 singers, he has adjudicated for international festivals.
He said:
“I’m thrilled to be Harrogate Choral Society’s new conductor and am very much looking forward to November’s concert programme, with its mix of well-loved uplifting and contemplative pieces.”
The concert opens with two choral works by Elgar, Give unto the Lord and Ave Verum, followed by the Enigma Variations, which are given an added twist by being arranged for two pianos played by brothers Thomas and Stephen Moore.
The brothers will again accompany the final work, Brahms Requiem, which also features soloists Laurie Ashworth (soprano) and Adam Green (bass).
More details are available here and tickets are on sale here.
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Harrogate empty shops to reveal town’s links to famous faces
Empty shops in Harrogate are to get a new lease of life by telling the story of the town’s links to famous people.
Harrogate Business Improvement District , which aims to drive footfall into the town centre, has collaborated with Harrogate historian Malcolm Neesam on the project.
It has already installed the first window vinyl in the former Hotter store on Cambridge Street.
The window features Sir Edward Elgar, The Beatles and Louis Armstrong, who all have connections with Harrogate.
The Beatles played at the Royal Hall in March 1963 and Louis Armstrong performed at the same venue in October 1933.
Elgar was a regular visitor to the town. He would often stay at the Crown Hotel and the Majestic Hotel. A walk in Valley Gardens is named after him.
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Over the coming weeks Debenhams on Parliament Street and Swarovski on James Street will also be transformed.
These will tell the stories of Harrogate’s connections to Agatha Christie, Sir Winston Churchill and Charles Dickens.
Creative agency The Lift Agency, and signs and graphic experts De-signs are also involved in the project.
Harrogate BID chair Sara Ferguson said:
“I think the first window looks absolutely fantastic, and will help instil pride in our town, and also give people another reason to visit.
“There is nothing worse than seeing empty shops and what we are doing is helping to create a town that is a fabulous place to shop, eat and drink, one that is interesting, and one that is proud of its history and heritage.
“I would like to thank Malcolm Neesam for penning the words, and our two other partners in this project, De-signs, and The Lift Agency for creating these superb vinyl graphics.”