This year, the music world commemorates the anniversaries of three great composers, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847), Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and the revered baroque master Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759). In the second concert celebrating these composers, the Chamber Music Society of Colombo (CMSC) have put together a superb combination of the unfamiliar, accessible, tuneful and musically rewarding. The concert, at the Lionel Wendt Theatre in Colombo will be on Thursday 26 November 2009, commencing 7:30pm sharp. Tickets went on sale on 06 November 2009 at the venue and at Titus Stores Liberty Plaza. The concert is made possible by the German Embassy (Deutsche Botschaft) in Colombo, who supplied the rare editions, and they also serve as the exclusive sponsor.

The program will include:
Haydn: Overture to L’Incontro Improvviso, Hob Ia:6
Mendelssohn: String Symphony no. 3 in E minor (1821)
Händel: Excerpts from “Hercules”, HWV 60: 1. Overtura, 2. Menuetto, 19. March, 31. Sinfonia (Act 3)
Händel: Overture to Agrippina, HWV6
Haydn: Symphony no. 82 in C major, Hob I:82 “The Bear”

The concert begins with the overture to Haydn’s sixth opera, “The Unexpected Encounter”. It is based on a Turkish subject and features a lively Presto middle section. Those who missed the third String Symphony of Mendelssohn in August, would be pleased to hear that this tuneful minor mode masterpiece by a precocious 12 year old, shall be repeated. Every listening should further inspire and make one marvel anew at the creativity and detail of the string writing. We then have four excerpts from a Musical Drama written 3 years after the famous “Messiah”. The excerpts from Händel’s “Hercules” selected, are an overture with a contrapuntal central section, a truly Olympian minuet, a brass-rich March and a Sinfonia that is at turns brooding and bordering on hysterics. Händel’s overture to his sixth opera “Agrippina” is among the very finest of his overtures. Imperial Rome and the dangers of greed and political ambition are characterised in music by the young composer. The pick of the evening would be Haydn’s Symphony no. 82 nicknamed “The Bear”, written in 1786 for a Parisian concert at which French royalty was present. Without a real “slow” movement and with touches of Haydn’s characteristic humour, this symphony will particularly delight audiences by its melodious bagpipe inspired, dancing bear evoking finale. 

October 29th, 2009 | Announcements