Love Your Lieder 2015

Insights into song, singers and singing for the musically curious!

Love your Lieder is a series of informal talks and mini-concerts designed to crack open the music, language, poetry and drama of song.

Love Your Lieder 2015

Informal evenings for the musically curious exploring aspects of song

All events 7pm at Leeds College of Music. Tickets: £5; £4 (Friends of Leeds Lieder+); Free (Students)

Thursday 22 January 2015 Room 219

The Songs of Herbert Howells, introduced and explored by Simon Lindley, with singers Kristina James, Lucy Appleyard, Christopher Trenholme, Quentin Brown.

Known universally, but not exclusively, for his sacred choral music, Herbert Howells left a remarkable legacy of songs for voice and piano.

Some are in collections such as the celebrated Garland for (the poet Walter) de la Mare, Peacock Pie and In Green Ways, others, notably the early Come Sing and Dance and Gavotte are “stand alone” products of his muse. The evergreen classic King David has engraved itself on the soul of the British music-loving public. The vocal writing is often melismatic and rhapsodic (whimsical, even) and the piano parts range from the exotic to the deeply personal.

English music enthusiast Simon Lindley was a student at the Royal College of Music during the final years of Howells’s lifelong service as a Professor. Many of Simon’s closest friends were Howells students and his organ tutor, John Birch, was one of the composer’s closest confidants, being entrusted with the premiere of the demanding Partita for solo organ in 1970 and having already received the dedication of the Fourth Rhapsody in 1958.

 

Wednesday 25 February 2015 Room 242

What is word painting, and why is it important? Dr George Kennaway explains with recorded illustrations

From the Renaissance until the present day, the idea of matching music to words in quite literal ways has been seen an essential part of effective word-setting. Thomas Morley’s advice to set grave words to grave music seems obvious enough, but when the music mimics the meaning of the words very closely, is it just showing off? And if the music doesn’t follow the words so closely, is this really a weakness? Carolyn Abbate has said that if the music follows the words we could just be praising the gilt for following the surface of the plaster moulding. George explores ‘word-painting’ in all sorts of song and opera, looking at the places where the gilt fits the plaster and where it seems to peel away. George Kennaway was principal cello no. 2 at Opera North for nearly 30 years; he is now Director of Music at the University of Hull.

Wednesday 18 March 2015 Room 218

The Land of Lost Content: David Hoult, with pianist Marion Raper, discusses and sings settings of poems by A E Housman.

David Hoult is Chairman of Leeds Lieder and is a former professional singer and brass player. He has performed with many UK orchestras, including the Hallé, and the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, and from 1975 until 1990 he was a member of the BBC Northern Singers. He has also been a regular writer and presenter of music programmes on BBC Radios 3 and 4. David was the Principal of Leeds College of Music from 1993 until he retired in 2008.

 

Thursday 23 April 2015 Room 218

World War I, Shakespeare and England: a celebration for St George’s Day and Shakespeare’s birthday with Josephine Peach piano and Amanda Crawley soprano.

In this second year of our national recollections of the Great War and on a special day in our calendar we should like to bring together songs and a little piano music which reflect the dreadful suffering of the war itself, look at music inspired by Shakespeare, and the underlying sense of nationalism which has coloured and influenced so much of the unique English song repertoire. From rarely heard Elgar to folk-song and Percy Grainger, with a brief excursion into WW1 France, we hope to introduce you to music which is very special to both of us and which suits not only the issue of war but also contains elements of the Englishness which delights in our unique pastoral music and at the same time reflects a lively curiosity in the rest of the world and its happenings.

Amanda and Jo are widely experienced performers and teachers based in York.

Wednesday 20 May 2015 Room 242

Coaching Singers in German Romantic poetry.

Penny Johnson, an expert in German Romantic poetry, has much experience of coaching young 21st Century singers in the performance of Lieder of the 19th Century. This interactive session will show how she goes about introducing poetry to those who need to understand how to bring it to life.