Orchestra Goes for Baroque with Three-Concert Splendour Series

Audiences can embark on a lush, musical journey through one of the most opulent eras in music and art – the Baroque period – with three concerts by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at the Auckland Town Hall in November.



The Splendour of the Baroque Series sees internationally renowned baroque music specialist Roy Goodman leading the orchestra through three glittering concerts over three weeks. Each concert focuses on a specific region, beginning with the Italian Baroque which features three pieces by Vivaldi including music from The Four Seasons. The French Baroque presents lively excerpts from the operas of Lully in tandem with Charpentier’s Te Deum and the Series closes with the titans of the German Baroque, featuring J S Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s joyful Music for the Royal Fireworks.



Soloists include Luigi de Filippi (violin), Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba), Miriam Allan (soprano), Jane Edwards (soprano), Kate Spence (alto), Christopher Saunders (tenor), David Griffiths (bass), Luca Manghi (speaker) and the University of Auckland Chamber Choir.



“The Splendour series is a mini music festival with three concerts over three consecutive weeks giving audiences the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in this opulent age,” says APO Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser. “The APO is delighted to be joined by such a renowned expert in the genre as Roy Goodman for these concerts.”



Those who wish to enhance their Splendour of the Baroque experience further are encouraged to attend a seminar at the University of Auckland Centre for Continuing Education held over two Sunday afternoons on October 28 and November 4. Roy Goodman will be joined by APO Manager of Artistic Planning, Antony Ernst, and art historian Jessica Lane to take an in-depth look at the art and history of the period as well as the music. For more information about the seminar phone 0800 864 266 or email conted@auckland.ac.nz.



Meanwhile, subscriptions to the full three-concert series are still available. Save up to 33% on ticket prices. Phone the APO Ticket Office on 09 623 1052. Single tickets are available to each concert from Ticketek, Ph 09 307 5139, www.ticketek.co.nz.



The Splendour of the Baroque Series is proudly supported by the Community First Foundation. 

THE SPLENDOUR OF THE BAROQUE SERIES

8pm, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE



Glory Renewed: The Italian Baroque – Thurs 8th November

The Muse of Versailles: The French Baroque – Thurs 15th November

Princes & Pastors: The German Baroque – Thurs 22nd November 

Glory Renewed – The Italian Baroque
Thurs 8th November, 8pm
Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE

Gabrieli
Canzon à 8 septimi toni II

Vivaldi
Spring from The Four Seasons

Albinoni
Concerto in C for two oboes Op.9/9

Vivaldi
Concerto in B minor for four violins Op.3/10

Corelli
Concerto grosso in D Op.6/4

Interval


Geminiani
Variations on La Follia

Vivaldi
Gloria RV589


The Muse of Versailles – The French Baroque
Thurs 15th November, 8pm
Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE

Charpentier
Prelude to Te Deum H.146

Leclair
Violin Concerto in A minor

Marais
Sarabande from Alcione

Rameau
Suite & soprano Air from Dardanus

Interval


Rebel
Le Chaos et Chaconne from Les Elemens

Couperin
Troisième leçon des tenèbres

Marais
Le Tableau de l’Operation de la Taille

Lully
Marche des Turcs from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Lully
Les Démons from Alceste

Rameau
Ouverture Naïs


Princes & Pastors – The German Baroque
Thurs 22nd November, 8pm
Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE

J S Bach
Prelude & Fugue in G BWV541

Händel
Concerto Grosso in Bb Op.3/2

Pachelbel
Canon & Gigue in D

J S Bach
Alles mit Gott BWV1127

Fux
Rondeau for violino piccolo, bassoon & strings

Händel
Overture from Music for the Royal Fireworks

Interval


Telemann
Overture & Rejouissance from Tafelmusik I

J S Bach
Magnificat


If it aint baroque…

The English word ‘baroque’ is derived from the Italian barocco, meaning bizarre, although ‘exuberant’ would be more accurate. The usage of this term originated in the 1860s to describe the highly decorated style of 17th and 18th century religious and public buildings in Italy, Germany and Austria. Later, during the early-to-mid 1900s, the term baroque was applied by association to music of the 17th and early 18th century, and today the term baroque has come to refer to a very clearly definable type or genre of music which originated, broadly speaking, around 1600 and came to fruition between 1700 and 1750.

Roy Goodman - Conductor

Roy Goodman is Principal Guest Conductor of the English Chamber Orchestra and for the past few years has been Principal Conductor of Holland Symfonia and the Bachkoor Holland. He has worked as guest conductor with 90 orchestras and opera companies worldwide.

Goodman is well known for his work as director and founder of the Brandenburg Consort (1975-2001), as co-director of the Parley of Instruments (1979-1986), Principal Conductor of the Hanover Band (1986-1994), Music Director of the European Union Baroque Orchestra (1989-2004) and as Music Director of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra in Winnipeg (1999-2005).

Born in 1951, Roy Goodman achieved international fame as the treble soloist with the choir of King’s College Cambridge in Allegri’s Miserere. In 1970 he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, but from 1977 Goodman worked in Europe as a violinist, playing as concertmaster or soloist with Ashkenazy, Brüggen, Ivan Fischer, Gardiner, Herreweghe, Hogwood, Jacobs, Koopman, Mackerras, Marriner, Norrington and Rattle. During the 1980s he conducted for CD with the Hanover Band the first ever performances on historic instruments of the complete symphonies by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Weber, as well as 14 symphonies by Mendelssohn and 60 symphonies by Haydn. An invitation in 1989 to conduct a televised Sibelius ‘birthday’ programme with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra was the catalyst for his flourishing career as an international conductor. Goodman has directed over 120 CDs ranging from Monteverdi to Copland and has also directed more than 40 world premières of contemporary music. In 2006 he made his debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and returned to San Francisco Opera to conduct a new production of Mozart’s Figaro. Roy Goodman has three children and four grandchildren.