 A Shakespearean quotation about the ancient God Apollo - pictured here, not without reason, with his little side-kick Amor in tow - inspired both name and contents of these word and music programmes. Reflecting three millennia of cultural heritage, they look into subjects that concern us all, from the mundane to the philosophical. Whilst being informative and educational in an unobtrusive way, they aim, above all, to be entertaining in the best sense of the word.
To blend the two kindred fields of music and literature breaks down fences between disciplines, and also other human divisions - social, national, racial. On these grounds, our offers have been recognized as opening up new dimensions of understanding for everyone who cares to listen.
Join me and my fellow artists in our appreciation, enjoyment and gratitude for the riches - sensual, mental and spiritual - that are entrusted to us, and to share our awareness that they belong to everyone, irrespective of cultural or social background - personified as they are by Apollo, God of Art, of Light and of Healing.
Our relationship between the Civic Hall and the Rudolf Kempe Society will continue this year with a programme of five new works devised by Cordula Kempe and performed by the country’s finest musicians and actors.
This season we are introducing a special subscription package which will enable you to pre book your seats for all five shows at a 20% discount. Please contact our box office for details.
Titles in the series include:
The Life and Times of Franz Schubert
A deceptively light-hearted blend of Schubert’s rarely performed Minuets and German Dances
Dvorák’s ‘Cypresses’ for String Quartet
with love poetry - ancient, modern and post-modern
from around the globe
Bach’s Goldberg Variations in the Sitkovetsky string trio adaptation with reflections on sleep and dream in drama, prose and poetry of four Millennia
Haydn’s String Quartet Op.51
With Reflections on Biblical Text in Drama and Poetry
The last words of Jesus Christ from the cross as related in the Gospels represent a climax in Haydn’s oeuvre, musically reflecting what are now two millennia of Christian culture and its drama of innocence and guilt, crime, punishment and expiation, forlornness and despair suffered by the individual in the face of death - but also testifying to the power of the human spirit to overcome, and to what may be its divine origin.
Historians, philosophers, dramatists and poets of all cultures - religious believers, agnostics and atheists alike - have studied this subject and its consequences and, in the face of all its horror, sorrow and distress, pointed to sources of hope, comfort and strength, often found in human relationships and even in the sense of humour that is so conspicuously absent from the narrative of the Gospels.
Drawing on these authors’ reflections, the programme offers thought-provoking texts blended with music of exceptional poignancy and beauty as a tribute to Life, possibly after death - certainly before.
A retrospective of his centenary
For 250 years Mozart has been loved like no other major composer before or since.
In a delightful sequence of musical pictures, actors Tim Pigott-Smith, Pamela Miles and Simon Trinder as Mozart with the Bergonzi Quartet and clarinettist Rela Spyrou will explore the reasons why.
A selection of Mozart’s greatest master-works are interwoven with readings from his own hugely entertaining letters as well as comments by fellow artists of his as well as our own time.
The Life and Music of Antonin DvorakA Great Peoples Pasion for Music, Poetry, Life and FreedomA Lighthearted Summer Garden Entertainment
The Joys and Tribulations of Wolfgang and Konstanze MozartRe-Joyce in the poet's own chamber musicThe Final Debate on the Question of Priority between Word and MusicA Midsummer NIght's Musical MagicJewish Poetry and Music from Biblical Times to the PresentChristmas afterthoughts for today by Yeats, Auden and othersMusic and Poetry in Praise of Kingship - Spirit - Love - Music
Jewish and Music from Biblical Times to the Present
Variations on a Familiar Theme in less Familiar Poetry and Music
A Passionate encounter with Great Russian Writers and Composers
All programmes and their titles are copyright of Cordula Kempe
"Enjoy these wonderful prorgrammes of great words and music put together by Cordula Kempe!" Dame Judi Dench
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