Dr Jonathan Clinch

BACH @ Hatfield

Posted on January 19, 2012 by jonathanclinch

When eminent biologist and author Lewis Thomas was asked what music he thought mankind should take to other civilizations in space he replied:

‘I would take the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach

…..but that would be boasting’

Throughout the Epiphany term, Hatfield College will be hosting a series of eight recitals of J.S. Bach’s music.

They are free to the public and will last around 35 minutes each.

Epiphany Term – Fridays at 1.10pm

Durham University

Hatfield College Chapel

on the 1883 Harrison & Harrison Organ

January:

20^th: Michael Haynes (Newcastle Cathedral)
27^th: Dame Gillian Weir (International Recitalist)

February:

3^rd: Michael Stoddart (Newcastle Cathedral)

10^th: James Lancelot (Durham Cathedral)

17^th: Jonathan Clinch (Durham University)

24^th: Francesca Massey (Durham Cathedral)

March:

2^nd: David Ratnanayagam (Durham Cathedral)

9^th: David Stevens (Newcastle Cathedral)

FULL PROGRAMME

January

20^th – Michael Haynes

Prelude in B minor, BWV 544i

Chorale Prelude: Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr 662

Fantasia in G (Pièce d’Orgue), BWV 572

Chorale Prelude: Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr 664

Fugue in B minor, BWV 544ii

~

27^th – Dame Gillian Weir

The manualiter Chorales from the Clavier-Übung III:

Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit, BWV 672

Christie, aller Welt Trost, BWV 673

Kyrie, Gott heilger Geist, BWV 674

Allein Gott in der Höh sie Ehr’, BWV 675

Allein Gott in der Höh sie Ehr’ – Fugetta, BWV 677

Dies sind die heil’ gen zehn Gebot’, BWV 679

Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott, BWV 681

Vater unser in Himmelreich, BWV 683

Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 685

Aus tiefer Not’ schrei’ ich zu dir, BWV 687

Jesus Christus unser Heiland, BWV 689

Partita sopra “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu gütig”, BWV 768

February

3^rd – Michael Stoddart

Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541

Schmücke Dich BWV 654

Dies sind die heiligen zehn Gebot BWV 678

Prelude and Fugue in A minor BWV 543

10^th – James Lancelot

Einige kanonische Veränderungen über das Weihnachtslied

Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her, BWV 769

Contrapunctus I, II, XIII, XI (Die Kunst der Fuge), BWV 1080

17th – Jonathan Clinch

Trio Sonata no 5 in C major, BWV 529

Allegro, Largo, Allegro

Trio Sonata no 3 in D minor, BWV 527

Andante, Adagio e dolce, Vivace

Valet will ich dir geben, BWV 736

24th – Francesca Massey

Fantasia in C minor, BWV 562

O Mensch, bewein dein sünde gross, BWV 622

Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir, BWV 686

Vater unser im Himmelreich, BWV 682

Toccata in E, BWV 566

March:

2nd – David Ratnanayagam

Fuga in G minor BWV 578

Partite diverse sopra il chorale O Gott, du frommer Gott BWV 767

Trio Sonata No. 4 in E minor BWV 528

Adagio-vivace, Andante, Un poc’allegro

Fantasia and Fugue in C minor BWV 537

9^th – David Stevens

Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 733

Ich ruf zu dir, BWV 639

Allen Gott in der Hoeh’ Sei Ehr, BWV 662

Wo soll ich fliehen, BWV 646

Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659

Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 535

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‘Beauty Springeth Out of Naught’: Interpreting the ChurchMusic of Herbert Howells

Posted on January 10, 2012 by jonathanclinch

British Postgraduate Musicology
Volume 11

http://www.bpmonline.org.uk/bpm11/

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Southwark Cathedral

Posted on December 8, 2011 by jonathanclinch

9th January 2012 @ 1pm

Organ Recital

Music by Herbert Howells, Vierne & Franck

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St Michael’s Cornhill

Posted on October 21, 2011 by jonathanclinch

City of London

Organ Recital

Monday 28th November – 1pm

http://www.st-michaels.org.uk/

Liszt – Excelsior!

Georg Böhm – Praeludium in d

Heiller – Variations On ‘Nun Komm’, der Heiden Heiland’

Hansen – Interlude to the memory of David Sanger

Parry – Fantasia & Fugue in G (1882)

Darke – Organ Suite (Prelude, Pastoral, Toccata)

Howells – Psalm Prelude – Set 2 no. 3

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Posted on September 27, 2011 by jonathanclinch

Organ Works of Herbert Howells

17th October 2011 – 1pm

Newcastle Cathedral

On the 119th anniversary of the birth of Herbert Howells, a rare oppotunity to hear his first and last major organ works: the Sonata no.1 in C minor (1911) and the Partita (1971).

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Harold Darke

Posted on July 4, 2011 by jonathanclinch

Jonathan is currently editing some of Harold Darke‘s unpublished instrumental works. An extract from his First Violin Sonata op.2 (MIDI) can be heard by clicking on the player below.

http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F18398803&show_comments=false&auto_play=false&color=0050ff

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Organ Recital – Canterbury Cathedral

Posted on June 3, 2011 by jonathanclinch

Saturday 25th June – 7.30pm

Sonata Eroica – Joseph Jongen
Sonata in F – C P E Bach
Psalm Preludes (Set 1) – Herbert Howells
Cathédrales – Louis Vierne
Interlude in memory of David Sanger – Flemming Chr. Hansen
Tu es Petra – Henri Mulet

Tickets: £8/£6

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Herbert Howells: An English Mass

Posted on May 13, 2011 by jonathanclinch

With this year’s English Music Festival featuring two major works by Herbert Howells, it’s well worth checking out. On Sunday 29^th May The City of London Choir with The Holst Orchestra will be giving a concert that includes An English Mass. The next day Howells’ Second Violin Sonata features in the form of a new edition by Paul Spicer. If you can’t get to Dorchester, the mass is being repeated in a concert on Thursday 23 June 2011 at 7.30pm in St John’s, Smith Square.

And if you can’t get to either of them, Hyperion released a very good CD of the mass in 1992 with Vernon Handley and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra which is available for download here.

Programme Note

An English Mass – Herbert Howells (1892-1983)

Kyrie, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, Agnus Dei, Gloria

Despite considerable interest in Herbert Howells’ early works, it took until he was nearly sixty, with the first performance of Hymnus Paradisi (at the 1950 Gloucester Three Choirs Festival), for him to score a major success with the critical press. Following this, the Festival was very keen to commission another large scale work for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Howells’ response was the Missa Sabrinensis (Mass of the Severn), highly similar in style, equally complex but considerably longer than Hymnus. The size of the work proved too much for the performers and the first performance in Worcester was followed by an even bigger disaster during the London premiere, during which they had to stop at one point.

Howells, ever sensitive to the critics, followed the Missa Sabrinensis with another mass setting, again for chorus and orchestra, but this time with a number of major differences. An English Mass is half the length (at around 35 minutes) and scored for chorus, strings and organ, with optional parts for flute, oboe, timpani and harp for concert performance and a short ‘Sursum Corda’ for liturgical use. The ‘English’ descriptor refers to the language of the text from the Book of Common Prayer (although, as usual, the Kyrie is in Greek). The Mass was completed in early 1956 and dedicated to Harold Darke and his St Michael Singers who gave the first performance in June 1956 during a concert to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Darke’s appointment at St Michael’s Church, Cornhill. Alongside the Mass were Hierusalem by Sir George Dyson and A Vision of Aeroplanes by Ralph Vaughan Williams. After the concert, Howells wrote praising the choir: “They were grand; quick to learn the bulk of my strange notes, and inspired in finding better ones when mine didn’t fit”.

The Mass contains a huge variety of styles and moods, from the rhapsodical, delicate unfolding of the Kyrie to the blazing fortissimos and highly arresting rhythmic fanfares that occur in the Gloria, Credo (particularly when the chorus burst in following the opening intonation) and Sanctus (the enormous build up to ‘Lord most high’). Regardless of Howells’ own lack of faith, the Mass is characterised by the assertiveness of (in his words) the “personal and creative reaction to a text of immense, immemorial significance”. One can hardly fail to sense a personal optimism with moments such as the solo line ‘I look for the resurrection of the dead’ in the Credo; even after the passing of over twenty years, Howells’ works were still deeply influenced by the death of his son, Michael.

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Howells @ The Bate Collection, Oxford University

Posted on April 10, 2011 by jonathanclinch

GALLERY RECITAL

A Historical Keyboard recital with Jonathan Clinch

Come hear keyboard works by Herbert Howells at Oxford University’s Bate Collection, one of the most magnificent collections of musical instruments in the world.

Tuesday 10 May 1.00pm – 1.45pm

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Before me, Careless lying

Posted on March 18, 2011 by jonathanclinch

View from Leith Hill Tower

Leith Hill Music Festival have announced their forthcoming programme, including a very rare piece by Herbert Howells on Day 3 (9th April) of the Festival, ‘Before me, Careless lying’.

One can only wonder at what Christmas was like in the Howells’ household as several of his works, including the madrigal ‘Before me, Careless lying’ (1918) and the coronation anthem ‘Behold O God our defender’ (1952), were completed on Christmas Day.

The text by Austin Dobson (1840-1921) was initially set to music by C H Lloyd and published by Novello in 1901. Howells would have found Dobson’s style, his use of forgotten French forms from earlier ages and revelment in a golden age of poetry, was in perfect parallel to his own love of music from the golden age of Byrd and Tallis. Howells first set the text in 1916 as part of a collection of four solo songs (which included the popular King David) giving it the title ‘A Madrigal’. This piece is available online from the University of Rochester.

The five part version dates from a period when Howells was working for Dr R R Terry at Westminster Cathedral, editing Tudor music for publication. The pastiche madrigal follows the form of the solo song. There are four verses, three of which are light and rhythmically energetic contrasting with a slower and more expansive setting of the penultimate verse (Nay child, I cry). Howells dedicates the work ‘To my friend Dr R R Terry’. It was recorded by The Finzi Singers under Paul Spicer in 2006.

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Tuesday 10 May 1.00pm – 1.45pm

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