[ Home | Concert Programme | Friends | Ticket Prices | How To Book | How To Join Us | Previous Years | ]

Why not sponsor one of these great concerts or advertise in the concertprogramme? Click here for details.

Children's Ticket vouchers for concerts in November and March and for Messiah are sent out to as many schools as we can in the area. There are also some vouchers available from Windblowers on Derby Road in Nottingham, if we have missed your school, or you need more than you have been sent.

Saturday 14th November 2009 7:30pm Albert Hall, Nottingham MENDELSSOHN Elijah Pumeza Matshikiza Soprano Catherine Hopper Mezzo soprano Benjamin Segal Tenor George von Bergen Baritone ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA Conductor - Richard Laing NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY Elijah was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn's Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he loved. In 1829, Mendelssohn had organized the first performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion since the composer's death, and was instrumental in bringing this and other of Bach's works to widespread popularity. In contrast, Handel's oratorios never went out of fashion (in England at any rate). Mendelssohn prepared a scholarly edition of some of Handel's oratorios for publication in London. Elijah is modeled on the oratorios of these two Baroque masters. However, the style clearly reflects, in its lyricism and use of orchestral and choral colour, Mendelssohn's own genius as an early Romantic composer. The work is scored for four vocal soloists, a full symphony orchestra and a large chorus singing usually in four, but occasionally eight or three (women only) parts. The part of Elijah is sung by the bass/baritone and is a major role. Mendelssohn originally composed the work with a German text, but upon being commissioned by the Birmingham Festival to write an oratorio, he had the libretto translated into English, and the oratorio was premiered in the English version.

Saturday 5th December 2009 7:00pm Royal Concert Hall HANDEL Messiah Laura Mitchell Soprano Lina Markeby Mezzo soprano Thomas Hobbs Tenor Simon Kirkbride Bass ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA Conductor - Richard Laing NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY This concert comes at the start of Advent, when we are all finally becoming aware that it really isn’t long until Christmas, even though the shops have been anticipating it for months. Come and have an evening to escape from the bustle and let Handel’s glorious music wash over you and renew you. Handel’s inspired Messiah, written in only 21 days, also looks forward to Christmas, telling the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, through prophetic, narrative and explanatory extracts from the Bible. Although Messiah is the work by which most people in the world know Handel, it is almost a misfit in his output. He was not generally a religious composer and was not employed as a church musician, but rather wrote operas and music for royal occasions. His oratorios appear to be simply operas with religious themes. At the time they were written in England, they were not allowed to be staged nor acted. They could only be performed in a church, not in a theatre. Handel’s operatic techniques are apparent in Messiah. The choir plays parts ranging from a vituperative mob hurling insults round the Cross to a choir of Angels singing of Jesus’ birth and praising Him in Heaven. Many of the soloists’ arias are familiar and well-loved, but they make even more impact in the context of the whole work. If you have never heard the whole of Messiah before, or have only heard versions which are heavily cut and there is no sense of continuity, come and be prepared for a totally different, thrilling, emotional experience!

Saturday 19th December 2009 7:00pm Wednesday 23nd December 2009 7:00pm Royal Concert Hall FAMILY CAROL CONCERTS NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY Conductor - Richard Laing THORESBY COLLIERY BAND These ever-popular family concerts come in the often frenetically busy, but expectant in-between time after the end of school term just before Christmas. It is a good time to make space to relax and enjoy enthralling Christmas music in a warm, friendly atmosphere. The Thoresby Colliery Band is one of the most exciting brass bands in Europe, and regularly wins countless accolades for its inspirational playing. Even if you think you don’t like brass bands, this one will convert you. Over the years they have played pieces ranging from Frosty the Snowman to Rossini’s William Tell Overture , Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Wagner’s Procession to the Minster. If you get seats close enough to watch their percussion section, it is an amazing sight and sound. When not joining forces with the band, or leading the audience in some of the familiar Christmas Carols, the choir provides some quieter interludes with some beautiful, though perhaps less familiar, carol settings. There is always an opportunity for all the children to come down to the stage to sing carols. Some of them, if they are the first to answer a question, or sing really well, will get the chance to conduct the band or choir. You are guaranteed to go home from this concert with a warm glow inside and a feeling of the fun of Christmas

Saturday 20th March 2010 7:30pm Albert Hall, Nottingham PUCCINI Messa di Gloria ROSSINI Stabat Mater Sally Harrison Soprano Caryl Hughes Mezzo soprano James Edwards Tenor Simon Thorpe Baritone ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA Conductor - Richard Laing NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY Puccini's Messa di Gloria simply bursts forth exuberance and the joy of living. It was written as Puccini's submission for his final examination at the consertavoire when he was only 22. The influences of Verdi and Rossini can be heard but Puccini's own unique dramatic style is paramount. Though it is clearly a sacred work, it is almost as if Puccini is setting out his stall, trying out a variety of theatrical effects that are to serve him so well in the decades ahead in the composition of the likes of Turandot, La Bohème and Madam Butterfly. Rossini's Stabat Mater stands out as one of the greatest compositions he ever wrote. After having written the epic William Tell in 1829, he barely composed anything else for the remaining forty years of his life. This is a piece of astonishing beauty, written in his recognisable lyrical style. Stabat Mater was commissioned in 1831, and Rossini took ten years to complete the work which premiered in Paris in 1842. There was such an ecstatic reaction from the audience at this performance that Donizetti, who conducted the first Italian performance, wrote: "The enthusiasm is impossible to describe. Even at the first rehearsal, which Rossini attended, in the middle of the day, he was accompanied to his home to the shouting of more than 500 persons."

Saturday 22nd May 2010 7:30pm Southwell Minster SUMMER SERENITY at SOUTHWELL BARBER Agnus Dei ELGAR Lux Aeterna DURUFLE Motets DURUFLE Requiem Conductor - Richard Laing NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY This promises to be a beautiful concert in the peaceful surroundings of Southwell Minster, where the acoustics will enhance this style of music. Barber's Agnus Dei is his choral version of the Adagio for strings, which is simply spine tingling. Similarly Elgar's Lux Aeterna is a choral arrangement of Nimrod from the Enigma Variations. Duruflé's Requiem is one of the most peaceful and lyrical settings in existence. In early summer with the evening sun glowing through the stained glass windows onto the old sandstone pillars, what could be a finer setting for such wonderful music. Come and escape the hassles of life and enjoy a serene evening with us!

Saturday 8th November 2008 7:30pm Royal Concert Hall VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Sea Symphony VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending GUSTAV HOLST Perfect Fool City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Conductor - John Wilson NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY This concert was part of the Nottingham Classics series. Nottingham Evening Post Review: CBSO/Nottingham Harmonic Society, Royal Concert Hall (Saturday 8 November 2008) Monday, November 10, 2008 FIFTY years have passed since the death of Vaughan Williams and, as a climax to this year's celebration of the great man, the CBSO and the Nottingham Harmonic Society performed his Sea Symphony. The work's epic scale and profound spiritual depth should, in the right hands, make it an emotionally shattering experience. It was in the right hands on Saturday night. The choir had to summon up every ounce of energy and musicality to make their presence felt against a CBSO at full throttle and on top form. Most of the time the composer does not give his singers a chance to make the words heard – but their contribution to the symphonic texture was often thrilling. The opening "Behold the sea" was explosive and there was much impressive singing, capturing both the ocean's turbulent surface and its quiet, mysterious depths. Baritone Roderick Williams and soprano Janice Watson were the eloquent and well-matched soloists. The Lark Ascending is often voted the nation's favourite piece of classical music - so expectations were high. Violinist Laurence Jackson's magical performance did not disappoint. Neither did the orchestra's spirited rendition of Holst's dances from The Perfect Fool. Conductor John Wilson provided incisive, insightful direction throughout. WILLIAM RUFF

Saturday 6th December 2008 7:00pm Royal Concert Hall HANDEL Messiah Denise Leigh Soprano Christopher Ainsley Counter tenor Nicholas Ransley Tenor Wyn Pencarreg Bass ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA Conductor - Murray Stewart NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY This concert comes at the start of Advent, when we are all finally becoming aware that it really isn’t long until Christmas, even though the shops have been anticipating it for months. Come and have an evening to escape from the bustle and let Handel’s glorious music wash over you and renew you. Handel’s inspired Messiah, written in only 21 days, also looks forward to Christmas, telling the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection, through prophetic, narrative and explanatory extracts from the Bible. Although Messiah is the work by which most people in the world know Handel, it is almost a misfit in his output. He was not generally a religious composer and was not employed as a church musician, but rather wrote operas and music for royal occasions. His oratorios appear to be simply operas with religious themes. At the time they were written in England, they were not allowed to be staged nor acted. They could only be performed in a church, not in a theatre. Handel’s operatic techniques are apparent in Messiah. The choir plays parts ranging from a vituperative mob hurling insults round the Cross to a choir of Angels singing of Jesus’ birth and praising Him in Heaven. Many of the soloists’ arias are familiar and well-loved, but they make even more impact in the context of the whole work. If you have never heard the whole of Messiah before, or have only heard versions which are heavily cut and there is no sense of continuity, come and be prepared for a totally different, thrilling, emotional experience!

Saturday 20th December 2008 7:00pm Monday 22nd December 2008 7:00pm Royal Concert Hall FAMILY CAROL CONCERTS NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY Conductor - Murray Stewart THORESBY COLLIERY BAND These ever-popular family concerts come in the often frenetically busy, but expectant in-between time after the end of school term just before Christmas. It is a good time to make space to relax and enjoy enthralling Christmas music in a warm, friendly atmosphere. The Thoresby Colliery Band is one of the most exciting brass bands in Europe, and regularly wins countless accolades for its inspirational playing. Even if you think you don’t like brass bands, this one will convert you. Over the years they have played pieces ranging from Frosty the Snowman to Rossini’s William Tell Overture , Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Wagner’s Procession to the Minster. If you get seats close enough to watch their percussion section, it is an amazing sight and sound. When not joining forces with the band, or leading the audience in some of the familiar Christmas Carols, the choir provides some quieter interludes with some beautiful, though perhaps less familiar, carol settings. There is always an opportunity for all the children to come down to the stage to sing carols. Some of them, if they are the first to answer a question, or sing really well, will get the chance to conduct the band or choir. You are guaranteed to go home from this concert with a warm glow inside and a feeling of the fun of Christmas

Saturday 28th March 2009 7:30pm Royal Concert Hall BRAHMS German Requiem BRAHMS Song of Destiny BEETHOVEN Leonora Overture No. 3 Soprano - Monica Bancos Bass - James Oldfield ORCHESTRA DA CAMERA Guest Conductor - Paul Hale NOTTINGHAM HARMONIC SOCIETY Brahms German Requiem was immediately recognised as a great masterpiece, but was criticised by traditionalists because of its unconventional form. It is a setting of poems and biblical texts composed to bring comfort to the living, rather than focusing solely on the destination of the departed. In his Song of Destiny, Brahms suceeds in extracting a similar hopeful mood, from a seemingly ominous poem. Beethoven’s opera Fidelio was originally produced under the title ‘Leonora’. This was the thrilling second version of an overture produced for that opera.

[ Home | Concert Programme | Friends | Ticket Prices | How To Book | How To Join Us ]