The Blake Ensemble

Evening Recital Programme 1

Alexis and Belinda: The Mutual Pair

Vaughan Williams' masterpiece, Ten Blake Songs, is supported by the music of Handel and his contemporaries, to form a concert of many contrasts.

This programme is scored for tenor, oboe, oboe d'amore, cello and harpsichord

G.F. Handel (1685-1759)  Sonata in F Op1/5

for oboe and continuo

J.C. Pepusch (1667-1752) Cantata II 'Alexis'

for tenor and continuo

G.F. Handel (1685-1759) Air and Variations from Suite no. 5 in E 'The Harmonious Blacksmith'

for solo harpsichord

G.F. Handel (1685-1759) Non Lo Diro from 'Ptolemy'

W. de Fesch (1687?-1757) Belinda

W. de Fesch (1687?-1757) The Mutual Pair

for tenor, oboe and continuo

G.F. Handel (1685-1759) Kunft Ger Zeiten Eitler Kummer:
German Aria no.1

for tenor, oboe and continuo

Interval

R. Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) 10 Blake Songs (1958)

for tenor and oboe

L. Boccherini (1743-1805) Sonata no.6 in A-minor

for cello and continuo

J.S. Bach (1685-1750)  "Lass Mich Kein' Lust": Aria from Cantata 177"

for tenor, oboe d'amore, cello and continuo

 

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Evening Recital Programme 2

"Where the Bee Sucks"

In this pan-European programme, the focus is exclusively on the eighteenth century. Beautiful virtuoso vocal cantatas are set in the context of lively instrumental sonatas and a Bach solo cello suite. The expressive qualities of both the oboe d'amore and the cor anglais can be heard alongside that of the oboe. The concert finishes with some of the century's most popular and memorable songs.

This programme is scored for tenor, oboe, oboe d’amore, cor anglais, cello and harpsichord

Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Cantata ~ Pensieri notturni di Filli

for tenor, oboe and continuo

Josef Boismortier (1691-1775) Trio Sonata in E-minor 

for oboe, cello and harpsichord

Guilio Caccini (1545-1618) Svogava con le stelle

Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676) Cantate Domino

for tenor, oboe and continuo

Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Due Sonate K87 & K492

for solo harpsichord

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Lass mich kein' Lust from
Cantata 177

for tenor, oboe d'amore, cello and harpsichord

Interval

Henry Eccles (1671-1742) Sonata in G-minor f

or cor anglais and continuo

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Transports of Delight and The Sailor's Song

for tenor and harpsichord

J.S. Bach (1685-1750) Selected Movements from Suite for Solo Cello (TBA)

for solo cello

William Boyce (1711-1779)  Rural Beauty

Tomasso Giordani (1733-1806)  Caro mio ben

Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-1778) Where the Bee Sucks

for tenor, oboe, cello and harpsichord

 

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Evening Recital Programme 3

Of Flames, Flowers and Lessons in Love

English Music from the 17th, 18th and 20th centuries

In this exclusively English programme, two great twentieth-century works - Vaughan Williams' Ten Blake Songs and Britten's Six Metamorphoses after Ovid - are placed in the framework of haunting love songs from the past.

This programme is scored for tenor, oboe, cor anglais, cello and harpsichord

Henry Eccles (1671-1742) Sonata in G-minor 

for cor anglais and continuo

Henry Lawes (1596-1662) Sweet, Stay Awhile and Fire, Fire

Nicholas Lanier (1588-1666) No more shall meads be decked
with flowers

for tenor and continuo

Benjamin Britten (1913-76) Six Metamorphoses after Ovid Op. 49 (1952)

for solo oboe

William Byrd (1543-1623) Lady Monteagle’s Pavan
and Callino Casturame

for solo harpsichord

Georg Frideric Handel (1685-1759) Flammende Rose from Nine German Arias

for tenor, oboe and continuo

Interval

Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)  Ten Blake Songs (1958) 

for tenor and oboe

Francesco Geminiani (1680-1762) Sonata no.2 in D-minor

for cello and harpsichord

John Dowland (1563-1626) Awake, Sweet Love,

Can She Excuse My Wrongs and Come Again, Sweet Love

for tenor and harpsichord

Michael Arne (1740-1786) The Lover's Lesson: A cantata from "The Flow'ret",

A New Collection of English Song Sung at Publick Gardens

for tenor, oboe and continuo

 

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