Waterford Concert Series Program 2010
Program for IBIS

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
Concerto for Flute Op. 10, No. 3, Il Gardellino (The Goldfinch)
Allegro
Cantabile
Allegro

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
Concerto for Harp in Bb Major, Op. 4, No. 6
Andante Allegro
Larghetto
Allegro Moderato

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Danses Sacrée et Profane
Danse Sacree
Danse Profane

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Octet for Strings, Op. 20
Allegro Moderato ma con fuoco
Andante
Scherzo
Presto

Program Notes

Handel’s Concerto for Harp in B flat Major, composed for the English court of Queen Anne, is a superb evocation of the Age of Elegance. It is written in three movements, the fast-slow-fast form of the concerto. The very popular first movement is familiar to all with its mood of gaiety and pleasure. The melodies of the slower second movement are gentler, more relaxed, even mournful at times. The vivacious calland- response technique of the final movement brings to mind all the atmosphere of a courtly dance.

Vivaldi’s Concerto for Flute in D Major was also written for a court, this time the court of Mantua, where Vivaldi stayed from 1718 to 1720. It demonstrates the composer’s perfect understanding of the instrument as he challenges it to imitate the whistles, trills and warbles of the European goldfinch. In the opening Allegro, the solo flute passage gives the performer the opportunity to show what the musician and the instrument can do. The central Cantabile (song-like) is gentler and more pastoral in character, a slow dance with an undulating rhythm. This is followed by the exuberant energy of the final movement, bringing the concerto to an exhilarating close.

Debussy’s Danses Sacrée et Profane for Harp and Strings. The harp was a favourite instrument for the impressionist composers, probably because of the special effects of which it is capable, and which Debussy puts to good use in these pieces. The Danse Sacrée (sacred dance), with its modal harmonies and aura of antiquity, begins with a quiet and stately melody with the harp responding in arpeggios and chords. Then the instruments meander peacefully through parallel harmonies referring back from time to time to the opening theme. The Danse Profane is much faster, taking the form of a waltz in D Major. The music is filled with harmonic contradictions and surprises, reflecting the possibilities of its subject, which is a love of nature and the earthly life.

Mendelssohn’s Octet for Strings was composed when he was only 16 years old, the first performance taking place at one of the Sunday musicales at his family’s home in Berlin. From the outset this remarkable piece amazed and delighted the audience, a response which it has evoked ever since. He wrote to his beloved sister Fanny, “The Octet must be played in the style of a symphony in all parts; the pianos and fortes must be precisely differentiated and be more sharply accentuated than is ordinarily done in pieces of this type.” The brilliant first movement Allegro (also the longest movement), is followed by a dreamy second- movement Andante. The amazingly complex third movement Scherzo was, according to Fanny, inspired by these lines of Goethe: “Wisps of cloud and mist/ Are lit from above/ Breeze in the foliage and wind in the reeds/ And all is scattered.” The final Presto romps to a truly symphonic finale.

About the Group

The IBIS Chamber Music Society is composed of musicians from the Washington D.C. area: most are members of the National Symphony, the Kennedy Center Orchestra or the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra. Founded by Joseph Scheer and Susan Robinson, IBIS celebrates musical excellence and imaginative programming. Its friendly, informal style, coupled with performances in intimate neighborhood venues, attracts sophisticated music lovers as well as people who have never before attended a classical music concert. Those audiences are rewarded with a variety of music from Brahms and Debussy to Ellington and Scott Joplin. The Washington Post has praised IBIS concerts as “splendid” and “compelling,” and the St. Petersburg Times appreciated the “refreshing mix of music, well-played and fetchingly presented.”