An introduction to our February concert by Hallam Sinfonia cellist and Sheffield-based composer, Benjamin Jackson.
Come and meet The New Romantics, in a concert exploring visionary works that delve into the beauty, emotion, and drama of Romantic music.
The first half features Fanny Hensel’s vibrant Overture in C and Louise Farrenc’s epic and powerful Symphony No. 3. Both are brimming with energy. The Hensel begins gently and then explodes into life, and Farrenc’s symphony offers a passionate, often dark intensity that’s truly gripping.
While these two pieces have received recognition in more recent years, they remain underrepresented in the classical canon. It seems strange that there are so many masterpieces by women that are still overlooked (as indeed are the women who wrote them!), but that’s also why it’s exciting for us to be able to explore them and share them with you now.
I am a particularly big fan of the Farrenc and am so pleased to have had the chance to discover more of her music, which I think offers a unique kind of emotional depth and grit within the music of the Romantic era.
And it’s great to be exploring the work of Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn), who has unfortunately languished for so many years in the shadow of her younger brother Felix, a composer in her own right who deserves to be recognised as a definitive voice of the era.
In the second half, we’ll perform Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 (‘Rhenish’). With its unusual five-movement structure, it showcases a remarkable range of moods and colours—from triumphant and playful to hauntingly beautiful.
This is also my first time leading the cello section, and in preparation for it I’ve been struck by the huge variety of roles which all three composers ask the cellos to take, and how quickly this can change. We’re sometimes playing something which supports the higher instruments, and then will suddenly rise out of the texture to play something melodic. Or we might be playing with the violins and then switch to the horns. This variety and creativity is true for the whole orchestra, working together to create a kaleidoscope of interesting textures and colours.
We look forward to seeing you at the concert where you can discover these wonderful pieces and composers for yourself! You’ll find us at High Storrs School on Saturday 1st February at 7.30pm.
Opmerkingen