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Press Releases
January Composer Weekend: Judith Weir – Telling The Tale
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- ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra January Composer Weekend
- 18-20 January 2007, Barbican and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3
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The irony, wit and immediacy of Judith Weir's music are celebrated with a host of events at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra's annual January Composer Weekend at the Barbican, London.
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The weekend aims to give an overview of a composer at the height of her creative powers, and who never fails to enchant the ear with the directness and narrative flow of her music.
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Telling The Tale is packed full of orchestral, choral and chamber music, films, talks and family events – which include three opportunities to hear the composer herself talk about her inspirations, influences and outlook on life.
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Every concert is broadcast live on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio 3 and there is a chance to hear important premieres and new works, performed by artists central to her development – the Schubert Ensemble and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers among them – in an exploration of her music.
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One of the notable highlights of the weekend is the world premiere of Concrete, performed by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
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This large-scale new work for chorus and orchestra was commissioned by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ especially for the January Composer Weekend and Judith Weir has taken the Barbican building itself as her inspiration.
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The piece, subtitled 'a motet about London', is described as "an imaginary excavation of the Barbican Centre, burrowing through 2,500 years of historical rubble" and explores the notion of life amid the ruins of times past.
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The programme also includes Red Earth by Michael Finnissy, hugely admired by Weir and whose work has had a profound influence, and Weir's own Moon And Star, written for the 1995 ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Proms.
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Another highlight of the January Composer Weekend is the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra's star-studded performance of Weir's compelling opera The Vanishing Bridegroom.
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Ailish Tynan, Anna Stéphany, Owen Gilhooly and Jonathan Lemalu join conductor Martyn Brabbins for this performance of one of the composer's most famous works, inspired by tales from the Scottish Highlands.
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Songs and their role in story-telling have supplied Judith Weir with brimming reservoirs of creative ideas. Susan Bickley and Andrew Kennedy perform a selection of Weir's vocal repertoire, accompanied by pianist and Radio 3 presenter Iain Burnside, and partnered with songs by Howells, Britten, Haydn Wood and FG Scott.
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Welsh soprano Elin Manahan Thomas joins the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers, conducted by David Hill, to perform some of the composer's larger-scale choral works in a concert which combines three of Weir's most challenging vocal compositions: All The Ends Of The Earth, written in 1999 for the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers, King Harald's Saga and Missa Del Cid.
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Folk music has long inspired Weir's work and Simon Thoumire and his band, alongside the English Acoustic Collective, intersperse the composer's works with folk music in a programme which includes another first: the London premiere of Weir's Winter Song, performed by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra and conducted by André de Ridder.
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Folk music is also the inspiration for Weir's Piano Concerto and woman.life.song, both of which will be performed by musicians from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in a concert conducted by André de Ridder.
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Telling The Tale also provides a late-night opportunity to enjoy Folk On The Foyers, a selection of folk music from the British Isles on the Barbican foyer.
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The hugely acclaimed Schubert Ensemble, which has revolutionised the chamber music landscape, has long championed Judith Weir's compositions. They have set a selection of the composer's chamber works alongside several pieces commissioned by the group and composed especially for them.
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Martin Butler's American Rounds, David Knotts's On Such A Night As This Is! and Piers Hellawell's Weaver Of Grass, all commissioned by the ensemble, are performed in a programme which celebrates the art of chamber music.
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Four major films over the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra's January Composer Weekend include Armida and Other Stories, which follows Weir during the creation of the composer's Channel 4 opera Armida, and Barrie Gavin's A Night At The Chinese Opera, commissioned by the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ for Kent Opera and premiered in July 1987.
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There is also an opportunity to see We Are Shadows, a South Bank Show classical music special, which provides an insight into Weir's creative process, and Scipio's Dream, written in collaboration with Margaret Williams for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TV's Not Mozart series.
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The Guildhall School of Music and Drama continues its annual collaboration with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra's January Composer Weekend. In the three days building up to Telling The Tale, they celebrate the composer's work with a selection of Weir's smaller-scale choral and chamber compositions in a series of free concerts and events.
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The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra is committed to adventurous learning work, and always seeks new ways of opening up the orchestra, and the distinctive music it plays, to the broadest range of participants.
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This year, the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO Family Orchestra will be performing a repertoire especially composed by Weir for Telling The Tale, alongside members of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra.
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Young musicians from the orchestra's partner organisations also have the opportunity to premiere a specially written overture by the composer, in a programme which includes performances of selected chamber music by Weir, in and around the Barbican.
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NMC are releasing a ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra recording of Judith Weir's major orchestral works in December to coincide with Telling The Tale, which features The Welcome Arrival Of Rain, Natural History, Moon And Star, Heroic Strokes Of The Bow And Forest, with soprano Ailish Tynan and conducted by Martyn Brabbins.
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Listings:
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Telling Tales: The Music Of Judith Weir
Friday 18 - Sunday 20 January 2008
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
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Curtain Raiser
Thursday 17 January
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8.00pm Concert
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke's
UBS Eclectica: Folk Tales
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Judith Weir – Curator/composer
Simon Thoumire – Concertina
Chris Woods & English Acoustic Collective
Vayu Naidu – Performance story-teller
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Friday 18 January
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4.30pm Film
Cinema 1, level -2
Judith Weir: Armida and Other Stories
UK, 2005, Dir. Teresa Griffiths 50 mins
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6.00pm Talk
Garden Room
Judith Weir in conversation with Christopher Cook.
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7.00pm Concert
Barbican Hall
Natural History
Broadcast live on Radio 3
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
André de Ridder – Conductor
Ailish Tynan – Soprano
Simon Thoumire Band
English Acoustic Collective
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Judith Weir: Forest
Traditional music
Judith Weir: Natural History
Judith Weir: Winter Song (London premiere)
Traditional music
Judith Weir: The Welcome Arrival Of Rain
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9.30pm Concert
St Giles, Cripplegate
Legends And Sagas
Broadcast live on Radio 3
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers
David Hill – Conductor
Elin Manahan Thomas – Soprano
Endymion
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Judith: Weir King Harald's Saga
Judith Weir: All The Ends Of The Earth
Judith Weir: Missa Del Cid
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Saturday 19 January
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11.00am Film
Cinema 2, level 4
A Night At The Chinese Opera
UK, 1988, Dir. Barrie Gavin 80 mins
Judith Weir will introduce the screening
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2.00pm Concert
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke's
The Art Of Chamber Music
Broadcast live on Radio 3
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Martin Butler American Rounds
Judith Weir: Music for 247 strings
Judith Weir: Arise! Arise! You slumbering Sleepers
Judith Weir: Piano Quartet
David Knotts: On Such A Night As This Is!
Judith Weir: What Sound Will Chase Elephants Away?
Judith Weir: The Art Of Touching The Keyboard
Piers Hellawell: Weaver Of Grass
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Schubert Ensemble
Judith Kleinman double bass
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5.00pm Film
Cinema 2, level 4
South Bank Show Classical Music Special: We Are Shadows
UK, 2000, Dir. Nigel Wattis 60 mins
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6.30pm Talk
Garden Room
Judith Weir discusses story-telling and The Vanishing Bridegroom with Christopher Cook.
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7.00pm ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO Family Orchestra
Barbican Foyer
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO Family Orchestra, made up of families of all shapes and sizes who enjoy making music together, and members of the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO, perform a new piece of music specially created over the previous few weeks using folk music from the British Isles as a starting point.
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7.30pm Concert
Barbican Hall
The Vanishing Bridegroom
Broadcast on Radio 3 at 19h00 on 21 January
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Judith Weir The Vanishing Bridegroom
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins – Conductor
Soloists include:
Ailish Tynan – Soprano
Anna Stéphany – Mezzo-soprano
Owen Gilhooly – Baritone
Jonathan Lemalu – Bass-baritone
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers
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9.30pm
Folk On The Foyers
Clubstage, Stalls floor
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Sunday 20 January
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11.00am Film
Cinema 2
Scipio's Dream
UK, 1991, Dir. Margaret Williams 30 mins
Armida
UK, 2005, Dir. Margaret Williams 50 mins
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2.00pm Concert
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke's
Songs And Tales
Broadcast live on Radio 3
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Susan Bickley – Mezzo-soprano
Andrew Kennedy – Tenor
Iain Burnside – Piano
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Judith Weir: Songs From The Exotic; On Buying A Horse; Scotch Minstrelsy; Ständchen; The Voice Of Desire; Ox Mountain Was Covered By Trees
Plus songs by Howells, Britten, Haydn Wood, FG Scott and Grainger and Butterworth arrangements
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4.30pm Concert
Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke's
woman.life.song
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Guildhall Chamber Orchestra
André de Ridder – Conductor
Edward Pick – Piano
Soloists from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama vocal department
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Judith Weir: Piano Concerto
Judith Weir: woman.life.song
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6.30pm Talk
Barbican Hall
Judith Weir in conversation with Christopher Cook.
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7.00pm Chamber Music Installation
Barbican Foyer
The music of Judith Weir will ring out from every corner of the Barbican as young musicians from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ SO's partner organisations gather together to perform a specially written overture by Judith Weir before spreading out across the Barbican foyers to perform duos, trios, quartets and other chamber music by Weir and finally reuniting for a magnificent coda.
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8.00pm Concert
Barbican Hall
Earth And Sky
Broadcast on Radio 3 at 7.00pm on 22 January
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Judith Weir: Moon And Star
Michael Finnissy: Red Earth
Judith Weir: Concrete (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ commission: world premiere)
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³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Orchestra
Martyn Brabbins – Conductor
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Singers
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Symphony Chorus
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Events at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Wednesday 16 - Friday 18 January
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Wednesday 16 January
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7.00pm Concert
Guildhall School Music Hall
Students from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama
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Judith Weir: Piano Trio
Judith Weir: Gentle Violence
Judith Weir: String Quartet
Judith Weir: The King of France
Judith Weir: I Broke Off A Golden Branch
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Thursday 17 January
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6.00pm Concert
Guildhall School Music Hall
See Sunday 20 January 4.30pm for full details
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Friday 18 January
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1.00pm Concert
Guildhall School Music Hall
Guildhall New Music Ensemble
David Corkhill – Conductor
Guildhall Chamber Choir
Conductor to be announced
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Judith Weir: Thread!
Judith Weir: Drop down, Ye Heavens, From Above
Judith Weir: Little Tree
Judith Weir: Vertue
Judith Weir: Tiger Under The Table
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SM3
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