Tilford Bach Festival -Archive
Tilford Bach Festival 2020 - Live recordings
Information on Previous Concerts
London Handel Players
Tilford Festival Bach Cantatas
September 6th 2020
Click here to watch and listen to this concert https://youtu.be/m7WUgt-6H1s
Performed live on 6th September at 4pm at All Saints’ Church, Tilford
The Gospel text for the 13th Sunday after Trinity, from St. Luke, chapter 10, relates how a lawyer questions Jesus as to what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what the Law stipulates and the reply was: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy strength and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself'. Jesus tells him he is correct and when asked, 'And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus tells him the parable of The Good Samaritan.
Johann Sebastian Bach’s first response to this text, in August 1723 during his first year in Leipzig, is the Cantata BWV 77, Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben and it is quite staggering in its beauty and complexity. The opening chorus includes a trumpet playing a chorale tune for which Martin Luther had written a 12-stanza text detailing the 10 Commandments. The trumpet is placed at the top of the musical texture and, no doubt intentionally, it has 10 entries. The basso continuo players play the same melody but in canon and augmentation at the interval of a fifth at the bottom of the ensemble (a reference to ‘canon' as ‘law’). In between first the upper strings and then the voices employ music derived from the chorale theme to express the text of the New Testament law described by the lawyer in the Gospel.
Bach wrote two further cantatas, in 1724 and 1725, for this particular Sunday in the Lutheran Church Year, Allein zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ BWV 33 and Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet BWV 164.
Joanne Lunn, soprano, Tim Mead, alto, Charles Daniels, tenor, Jeremy Kleeman, bass
The London Handel Players directed by Adrian Butterfield
London Handel Players
Tilford Virtual Bach Festival
Bach trios and obbligato sonatas June 2020
Click here to watch and listen to the concert https://vimeo.com/426485385/16792de628
LIVE CONCERT IN ALL SAINTS TILFORD
ON SUNDAY 6th DECEMBER AT 3pm
We are delighted to host a live Violin Recital at All Saints’ Church, Tilford, Surrey, arranged by Tilford Bach Society.
This is a one hour recital without interval. To comply with Government Guidelines we ask the audience to be socially distanced and wear masks and there will be no refreshments available.
Adrian Butterfield, violin
Sarah McMahon, cello
Silas Wollston, harpsichord
Adrian Butterfield, Professor of Baroque Violin at the Royal College of Music in London and Musical Director of TBS, recorded the first two of Jean-Marie Leclair’s four books of 12 violin sonatas a few years ago to great acclaim and in December he will be recording Book 3 for Naxos. In preparation for that recording he and his London Handel Players colleagues present three of those exquisite sonatas and a rarely-heard work by Francesco Geminiani.
Born in Lyon in 1697, Leclair became the first great violin virtuoso of France. A trained dancer as well as instrumentalist, he embodied the elegant dance culture established by Louis XIV but also absorbed the virtuosity of the Italian style of Corelli, Vivaldi and Locatelli.
“Leclair’s manner was one of simplicity, almost always accompanied by a serious and reflective spirit” (Fonténay, 1776).
Programme
Leclair - Violin Sonata No.1 in A major (Troisième livre)
Adagio; Allegro; Aria Gratioso; Allegro
Leclair - Violin Sonata No.6 in C minor 'Le Tombeau' (Troisième livre)
Grave; Allegro ma non troppo; Gavotta Gratioso Andante; Allegro
Geminiani - Violin Sonata in C major, Op.4 No.3
Adagio; Allegro; Affettuoso; Allegro
Leclair - Violin Sonata No.4 in B flat major (Troisième livre)
Adagio; Allegro ma non troppo; Sarabanda Largo; Chaconna
This programme will not be streamed. We hope you will feel able to join on the 6th
Tickets are NOT sold in advance.
Donations are invited as a thank offering after the recital.
Click on the image, left, to see the complete festival 2021 programme
The 2021 TIlford Bach festival celebrates two significant anniversaries this year:
firstly, the 300th anniversary of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos
and, secondly, the centenary of the birth of our Festival’s Founder, Denys Darlow.
In 1721 Bach made a fair copy of the manuscript of his Six Concerts à plusieurs instruments which he presented to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, and in our final concert of the weekend all six will be performed by The London Handel Players.
In a programme that concludes with the Kyrie and Gloria, the ‘Missa’, of Bach’s B minor Mass, two cantatas will also be performed, both of which contain music related to the Brandenburg Concertos.
The opening concert, given by students from the Royal College of Music, will include two of Bach’s concertos and the ensemble will be joined by the soprano, Joanne Lunn who will sing a beautiful, pastoral work called ‘High Hills’ which was written specially for her to sing by Denys Darlow in 2005.
(Season Ticket for All Three Concerts £60)
Concert 1
Saturday, 12th June, 12 noon
Joanne Lunn, soprano
Ensemble of students from the Royal College of Music, directed by Tolga Un (harpsichord)
Programme
J.S. Bach Harpsichord Concerto in D minor BWV 1052
J.S. Bach Triple Concerto for flute, violin and harpsichord in A minor BWV 1044
Denys Darlow (1921-2015) ‘High Hills’ for soprano, flute and strings
Tickets £15
Concert 2
Saturday, 12th June, 7.30pm
The London Handel Players directed by Adrian Butterfield (violin)
Ffion Edwards, soprano
Jessica Cale, soprano
Rebecca Leggett, alto
Laurence Kilsby, tenor
Jack Comerford, bass
Programme
J.S. Bach
Cantata BWV 52 Falsche Welt, dir trau ich nicht
Cantata BWV 174 Ich liebe den Höchsten von ganzem Gemüte
Missa in B minor BWV 232
Tickets £25
Concert 3
Sunday, 13th June, 4pm
The London Handel Players directed by Adrian Butterfield (violin)
Programme
J.S. Bach Complete Brandenburg Concertos BWV 1046-1051
Tickets £30