{"id":3427,"date":"2011-12-06T12:47:31","date_gmt":"2011-12-06T11:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/?p=3427"},"modified":"2011-12-06T12:53:41","modified_gmt":"2011-12-06T11:53:41","slug":"feeling-the-cold-lunchtime-with-vivaldi-and-purcell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/music-matters\/2011\/12\/06\/feeling-the-cold-lunchtime-with-vivaldi-and-purcell\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling the Cold: lunchtime with Vivaldi and Purcell"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University Camerata and Cecilian Choir teamed up for yesterday’s final lunchtime concert of the term, with Vivaldi’s Winter<\/em> and Purcell’s ‘Frost Scene’ from King Arthur<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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University Camerata with Jeremy Ovenden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soloist in the Vivaldi, Jeremy Ovenden brought out the brittle, biting aspect of the piece in a strong, confident reading, and the Camerata responded with suitable fragility in the sul ponticello<\/em> passages.<\/p>\n

Making her debut at the Gulbenkian, Music Scholar Paris Noble cast a bright flame as Cupid, scolding the Cold Genius (a welcome return for alumnus Piran Legg) and bringing on a chorus of Cold Revellers to warm them up and spread love throughout the arctic countryside.<\/p>\n

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In rehearsal: Piran Legg (bass), Paris Noble (soprano) with the Camerata and Cecilian Choir<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Cecilian Choir, looking suitably chilly in winter hats and coats (there had been a fire-alarm that morning, so the musicians ended up waiting outside the Theatre for a while – true method-acting, as one of the altos wryly observed), shambled on before casting aside their winter attire for a heroic closing chorus.<\/p>\n

Pictured also is the fine harpischord brought in for the concert (Christmas truly came early for me this year), a Ruckers-Hemsch copy by Ian Tucker, based on an instrument from 1763, which had a soundboard decorated identically to one owned by Handel. Many thanks to Edmund Pickering for delivering and tuning the instrument.<\/p>\n

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Tucker, after Ruckers-Hemsch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bravo to all involved: a concert to ‘warm’ the heart…<\/p>\n

(Photos: Chris Gray.)<\/p>\n

\"Furley<\/a>
Sponsors of the Lunchtime Concert series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n