Where the Water Flows…

Sheffield Chamber Orchestra’s 75th anniversary concert features a collection of works connected with water, including the world première of Dominic McGonigal: ‘Sunset at Sea’

Where the Water Flows…
TICKETS: £12.00, STUDENTS/UNDER 18S £6.00

Ecclesall Parish Church

Conductor: Laurence Perkins
Leader: Ralph Dawson

We are absolutely delighted to perform for you the world première of a new composition by Dominic McGonigal — ‘Sunset at Sea’. Dominic’s work has been described as having “great textures and a perfect sense of spacing and pacing” and his ‘Ave Maris Stella Takes Flight’ recently won the Palimpsest Competition at Canterbury Cathedral.

Mendelssohn’s overture ‘Die Schöne Melusine’ loosely illustrates a German legend of a Melusine, or a water-nymph who who marries a Count Raymond, on the condition that he never enter her room on a Saturday as that is the day she takes on the form of a mermaid!! The opening passages seem to evoke ripples on water, but in complete contrast you would also be right to conjure up the perfect coffee — the Starbucks logo features a Melusine at its centre.

Telemann’s Water Music is the common name of an orchestral suite with the full title ‘Hamburger Ebb und Fluth’ (Hamburg’s ebb and flood) reflecting the town’s intimate links with its river Elbe. Despite Hamburg being nearly 100 miles from the coast its river is tidal, and the overture begins by representing the physical movement of the ocean. There follows several movements with nautical themes including: Thetis, a sea goddess; Neptune, a sea god; playful water nymphs; Neptune’s son and sea messenger Triton; as well as one depicting the tides of Hamburg and another its happy sailors.

Wagner composed ‘Siegfried Idyll’ as a Christmas present for for his wife after the birth of their son in 1869. It was originally scored for 13 players, but Wagner expanded it to 35 when it was published.

Seascape, by the English composer Ruth Gipps, conjures up the beauty as well as the stormy nature of the sea. It is thought to have been inspired by a trip she took to Kent where she was giving lectures; and during her stay in a coastal hotel in Broadstairs she would hear the sea from her bed. The work which has a wonderfully rich rhythmic and percussive central section and was composed in 1958 for an ensemble of ten wind players.

William Sterndale Bennett was born in Sheffield in the early 19th century — a nice local connection. When you’ve listened to his piece ‘The Naiades Overture’ you’ll understand why he was admired by both Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. Naiades are a type of female spirit or nymph in Greek mythology, who preside over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.

Johann Strauss II is the famous Strauss and we are performing his water themed waltzes the ‘Nordseebilder’. This was inspired by his visit to the North Frisian island of Föhr. The slow introduction suggests a calm sea scene, while swirling waves are captured in later themes. The coda incorporates a ‘sea storm’ scene, with furious chords and fierce brass instruments suggesting the North Sea at the time of a severe gale.

The full programme for the evening is:

Mendelssohn: ‘Die Schöne Melusine’

Wagner: Siegfried Idyll

Telemann: Water Music

Ruth Gipps: Seascape

William Sterndale Bennett: The Naiades

Johann Strauss II: Nordseebilder

The world première of Dominic McGonigal: ‘Sunset at Sea’

THIS CONCERT IS SPONSORED BY AGINCARE and TURNER VIOLINS