A Night at the Opera
This program contains a selection of some of the most beautiful aria's the history of opera. A perfectly balanced program for any festive night out or gala event.
Program |
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| Henry Purcell - | When I am laid in Earth (Dido and Aeneas) |
| Georg Friedrich Händel - | Ombra mai fu (Xerxes) Lascia ch'io pianga (Rinaldo) |
| Gioachino Rossini - | Cruda Sorte (L'Italiana in Algeri) |
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - | Voi che sapete (Le Nozze di Figaro) |
| Camille Saint-Saëns - | Mon Coeur s' ouvre à ta voix (Samson et Dalila) |
| Hector Berlioz - | Habanera & Seguidilla (Carmen) |
| Antonin Dvořák - | Song to the Moon (Rusalka) |
| Giacomo Puccini - | Vissi d'Arte (Tosca) O mio Babbino Caro (Gianni Schicchi) |
| Gaetano Donizetti - | Il segreto per esser felici (Lucrezia Borgia) |
| Giuseppe Verdi - | Stride la vampa! (Il Trovatore) |
Music in wartime
A special literary program with songs written by composers whose lives and works were deeply affected by destruction and loss of many loved ones. Several poets and composers actually fought in the trenches themselves and wrote some of the most poignantly beautiful poetry and music in English literary and musical history.
The poet and composer Ivor Gurney, his friends William Harvey and Herbert Howells play a central role in this program. All three grew up in their beloved Gloucestershire. Their works speak of longing for the beautiful Gloucestershire countryside and their loved ones left behind, thus pointing out the stark contrast with the situation they find themselves in. Jacobine van Laar started the Music in War Time program in 2014, celebrating and marking Ivor Gurney's life by giving concerts in the many places where he spent influential parts of his life. Jacobine performed Gurney's work at St. Michael's in High Wycombe, as well as in the very house and indeed the very same room where Gurney played during the many weekends with the Chapman family when he was organist at Christ Church. Since then this program has been complemented with songs by Dutch contemporary composers, each of them with their own personal link to the war. Jacobine performed this Anglo-Dutch program in Villa Gaudeaumus in De Bilt, The Netherlands. This historically significant concert venue but was built and inhabited by Dutch-German composer and concert pianist Julius Röntgen. Since its construction in 1924 the house has hosted many great musicians like Röntgens close friends Edvard Grieg and Percy Grainger, Pablo Casals and later also to Karlheinz Stockhausen, Luciano Berio and Louis Andriessen.
Program
| Ivor Gurney - | In Flanders (F.W. Harvey) Sleep (J. Fletcher) Down by the Salley Gardens (W.B. Yeats) Severn Meadows (I. Gurney) Captain Stretton's Fancy (J. Masefield) |
| Muriel Herbert - | The Lake Isle of Innisfree (W.B. Yeats) The Crimson Rose (Enid Clay) I hear an Army charging (James Joyce) |
| Herbert Howells - | King David (Walter de la Mare) |
| Vaughan Williams - | Silent Noon from Songs of Life (Dante G. Rossetti) |
| Edward Elgar - | The Damask Rose from Seven Lieder (Simon Wastell) |
| Noel Coward - | London Pride |
| Alphonse Diepenbrock - | Berceuse (Charles van Lerberghe) |
| Julius Röntgen - | Chinesische Lieder, Op. 66 (Hans Berthge) |
| Joseph Hollmann - | Berceuse |
| Matthijs Vermeulen - | La Veille (François Porché) |
The Anglo-Dutch Connection
A program featuring 20th Century British and Dutch composers. As a Dutch national with long standing ties to the UK, Jacobine enjoys exploring 20th Century British and Dutch composers and their sometimes lesser known body of work. When doing so she frequently stumbles upon interesting anecdotes, funny and surprising connections as well as a shared piece of history. The biggest reward of all this research is the rediscovery and the bringing back to life of some forgotten songs, which simply are too beautiful not to share.
Women in Love
A program centered around works by and anecdote about some of the most famous and infamous couples in musical history. The program includes music and words by Clara and Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner and Mathilde Wesendonck, and Alma and Gustav Mahler.
The Last Eccentrics
A lively program including music, anecdotes and poetry by Lord Berners, Peter Warlock, Vaughan Williams and John Betjeman.
