The Fox Cabaret | Map
Charles Daniels, tenor; Alexander Weimann, harpsichord
“Weimann, by all accounts a musician of wide and varied interests and experiences,… plays with the utmost passion, vigour and virtuosity.” Early Music
“Charles Daniels…a transcendent vocal virtuosity.” The Guardian
Charles Daniels is one of the most respected tenors of his generation. He has made over 100 recordings as a soloist including Handel’s Messiah with the Gabrieli Consort for Deutsche Grammophon and more than twenty discs of Purcell’s music, mostly with The King’s Consort. In this intimate recital of English song he is joined by renowned harpsichordist and conductor Alexander Weimann.
Presented in cooperation with Music on Main. Generously sponsored by Sharon E. Kahn.
Programme
[First half: with harpsichord]
William Lawes O my Clarissa
John Jenkins See see the bright light shine
Henry Lawes A Dream
Henry Lawes In quel gelato core
John Blow It is not that I love you less
Henry Purcell The Sparrow and the gentle Dove
Henry Purcell Lucinda is bewitching fair
Henry Purcell When lovely Phyllis thou art kind
John Blow If mighty Wealth
Harpsichord solo : John Blow Chaconne in G
John Blow Grant me, ye gods
Henry Purcell Music for a while
Henry Purcell ‘Tis nature’s voice
Henry Purcell Blow Boreas Blow
Senior Baptist Where art thou, god of Dreams
John Blow It grieves me
Henry Purcell Charon the peacefull Shade invites
* * * * * * *
[Second half with piano]
Henry Purcell/Arthur Somervell Draw near you lovers that complain
Ivor Gurney Sleep
Frank Bridge When you are old and gray
Karelsje van Danneels Death, be not proud
Carlo Danieli Oh, to vex me
Alexander Weimann improvisation on a poetic theme: Gurney’s “Midnight” (poem below)
Benjamin Britten, From Winter Words:
At day-close in November
Midnight on the Great Western
The little old table
At the railway station, Upway
Before life and after
Programme notes
To be added soon…
“Midnight” by Ivor Gurney
There is no sound within the cottage now,
But my pen and the sound of long rain
Heavy and musical, I must think again
To find so sweet a noise, and cannot anyhow.
The soothingness and deep-toned tinkle, soft
Happenings of night, in pain there’s nothing better.
Save tobacco, or long most looked for letter.
The different roof-sounds. House, shed, loft and scullery.
Charles Daniels, tenor
Charles Daniels is a noted interpreter of Baroque music, though his narrative gifts are praised for music as diverse as Machaut Virelais and Graham Treacher’s Visions (2016). His recordings include Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo with Andrew Parrott, Bach’s Matthäus Passion with the Bach-Stiftung; Schütz Weihnachtshistorie, Monteverdi’s Vespers and Purcell’s Fairy-Queen with the Gabrieli Consort; Heracleitus with the Bridge Quartet and Lambert airs with Fred Jacobs; Kilar’s Missa Pro Pace with the Warsaw Philharmonic; much Bach and recent Purcell releases with the King’s Consort.
He created the dual role of Ulisse and John Gregory Dunne to critical acclaim in last year’s Bayerische Staatsoper production of Il Ritorno d’Ulisse/Jahr des magisches Denken His concert appearances span the intimate and the grand, from BBC Radio 3 recitals with lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, domestic music of Bach for Nederlandse Bach Vereniging and Handel Chandos Anthems in their original setting of the Canons Estate church, to performances of Britten’s War Requiem (Canterbury, Lille) and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius (Cardiff, Wroclaw). Recent concerts include Dowland in Japan with Les Voix Humaines, Viadana in Verona and Switzerland with Bruce Dickey, a Weckmann programme in Vienna’s Konzerthaus and the 50th birthday celebration in Oxford of Andrew Parrott’s Taverner Consort.
Charles’ reconstructions of Gesualdo’s Sacrae Cantiones à6 have been premiered by the Gesualdo Consort of Amsterdam and his completion of Purcell’s court Ode Arise my Muse was broadcast on Radio-Canada during the Montréal Baroque Festival. He is delighted to return to EMV for this summer’s Festival.
Alexander Weimann, harpsichord
The internationally renowned keyboard artist Alexander Weimann has spent his life enveloped by the therapeutic power and beauty of making music. Alex grew up in Munich. At age three he became fascinated by the intense magic of the church organ. He started piano at six, formal organ lessons at 12 and harpsichord at university (along with theatre theory, medieval Latin and jazz piano.) He is in huge demand as a director, soloist and chamber player, traveling the world with leading North American and European ensembles. He is Artistic Director of the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver and teaches at the University of British Columbia where he directs the Baroque Orchestra Mentorship Programme.
Alex has appeared on more than 100 recordings, including the Juno-award-winning album “Prima Donna” with Karina Gauvin and Arion Baroque orchestra. His latest album series “The Art of Improvisation” (Volume 1: A Prayer for Peace; Volume 2: Ad libitum; and Volume 3: Caravan Variations, released on Redshift, 2024) unites his passions for both baroque music and improvisation on organ, harpsichord, and piano.
