Lower Machen Festivallowermachenfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/LMF-2017... · Welcome to 50TH LOWER MACHEN ... Festival patron Elin Manahan Thomas joins ... solo careers,

Lower MachenFestival15-25 June 2017

St Michael and All Angels’ Church,Lower Machenand The Riverfront, Newport

Box office: 0844 8700 887(5p per minute, lo call rate)

Advance ticket service including credit card bookings

www.ticketsource.co.uk/machenwww.lowermachenfestival.co.uk

Welcome to 50TH LOWER MACHEN FESTIVAL. We are delighted to be celebrating this momentous occasion. We have a fantastic line up of artists this year many of whom have played a significant role in past festivals.

New performers include London Winds, Caritas Consort and

the Castalian Quartet whilst we are pleased to welcome back

pianist John Lill, Lucy Parham, Martin Jarvis and Ros Ayres,

John Mills, Bach to Baby, the Welsh Chamber Players and the

Lower Machen Festival Singers.

This year we have two Artists in residence - Matthew Jones and

Michael Collins. Matthew launches the festival in a performance

of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in St David’s Hall and also performs

with pianist Annabel Thwaite. Michael Collins performs with the

Welsh Chamber Players and London Winds and will be giving a

masterclass for Schools. Festival patron Elin Manahan Thomas joins

forces with baritone Gary Griffiths in a performance of William

Walton’s Façade.

The festival commission ‘The Swan’ by Nicola LeFanu will be

performed in the Cream Tea Concert by Jeremy Huw Williams

and Paula Fan. The Feinstein Ensemble return to the festival

offering a rare opportunity to hear Bach’s Brandenburg

Concertos in their entirety in two concerts on Sunday 18th

June. Voces 8 (Winner of the Audience Vote) bring the festival

to a close offering a free workshop for all singers before their

performance.

Our theme this year is singing, something that we hope will

appeal to a wide number of people both in terms of listening

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and participating in festival events. Our half century celebrations

will last for the rest of the year culminating in a performance of

the Messiah at Christmas so please keep in touch with us via our

website www.lowermachenfestival.co.uk

We also pay tribute to two key figures in the Lower Machen

Festival former Chair Robert Maskrey and former Artistic Director

Peter Reynolds who both passed away suddenly last year. Both we

had hoped would play a part in the celebrations so we are instead

making a musical tribute to both during the course of the year.

We are most grateful for the financial assistance we have received

from all our supporters but to achieve our aim of 50 events in this

50th anniversary year we need to raise more funds. Your donations

make the festival possible and for £50 you can become a 50th

Anniversary Friend and benefit from extra discounts as well as

helping to support this significant event.

As always we are committed to bringing you first class concerts

in unforgettable surroundings. Special Early bird bargains are

available with an incredible value ticket for you to enjoy the entire

June festival for just £160 (or £145 for 50th Anniversary friends).

We look forward to welcoming you at this year’s festival to

experience what a member of our audience described as “a unique

atmosphere, in which setting and music complement each other

perfectly – the ideal way to spend a summer’s evening.”

A warm welcome awaits you.

PETER and ALISON ESSWOODArtistic Directors

Please note: The gardens of Machen House and drinks marquee will be open before and during the interval of each concert by kind permission of Mrs Mary Adams.

For full details please visit www.lowermachenfestival.co.uk

photography: Peter Whittaker

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THURSDAY 15TH JUNE 7.30PM

ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS’ CHURCH, LOWER MACHEN

Peter Esswood - ConductorMichael Collins - ClarinetWelsh Chamber PlayersLower Machen Festival Singers

Grace Williams - Sea SketchesWilliam Mathias - Clarinet Concerto Vivaldi – Gloria

The opening concert commemorates the anniversaries of two of Wales’ most significant composers - William Matthias and Grace Williams. Artist in Residence Michael Collins is the soloist in Matthias’ flamboyant clarinet concerto performed alongside Grace Williams’ evocative Sea Sketches. Vivaldi’s Gloria brings the concert to an uplifting close.

£18 (£14 concession & early bird, £12 festival friends) Children and full time students £1

TUESDAY 9TH MAY 1PM

ST DAVID’S HALL, CARDIFF

Festival Launch Concert Vivaldi - The Four SeasonsThe Welsh Chamber Players (Director Peter Esswood) with critically acclaimed violinist Matthew Jones, celebrate the 50th Anniversary Season of the Lower Machen Festival in this performance of Le Quattro Stagioni, Vivaldi.

This is a pay what you will concert so please arrive at the Hall in time for the 1pm performance and pay what you feel is appropriate.

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FRIDAY 16TH JUNE 11AM THE OLD COMMUNITY LIBRARY, CARLEON

Michael Collins Masterclass Admission Free

FRIDAY 16TH JUNE 7.30PM


London WindsPhilippa Davies - flute Gareth Hulse - oboe Michael Collins - clarinet Robin O’Neill - bassoon Stephen Stirling - horn

Rossini - Overture: L’italiana in Algeri Bartok - Romanian DancesArnold - Trio for flute, oboe, clarinet Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin Barber - Summer Music Fauré - Dolly Suite

A stunning combination of virtuoso players who also enjoy active solo careers, London Winds’ performances are renowned for their technical brilliance, interpretative vision and joie de vivre. Founded in 1988 by British clarinettist Michael Collins, the group has rapidly become one of the world’s most prominent chamber ensembles appearing at all the major British festivals including the BBC Proms, City of London, Edinburgh, Huddersfield, Bath, Aldeburgh, Edinburgh and Cheltenham festivals.

£18 (£14 concession & early bird, £12 festival friends) Children and Full time students £1

SATURDAY 17TH JUNE 11.00AM STUDIO THEATRE RIVERFRONT, NEWPORT

Bach to BabyAround the world on 47 stringsIt took Phileas Fogg eighty days,

our star harpist Tomos Xerri will whisk you around the world in under an hour, stopping off to dance the tango in Argentina, sing an ode to the Jasmine Flower in China, and groove to the funky jazz beats in America. Hello world, here we come!

Bach to Baby is the critically acclaimed concert series for baby and you. Tots can dance, roam about and revel in the wonder of live music while you take a moment to enjoy exhilarating performances with your young babes in tow.

£5.50 (concessions £4.50) Family Ticket (2 adults and 2 Children) £15. Under 2s free

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SATURDAY 17TH JUNE 7.30PM


Caritas ConsortLindsay Gray - DirectorJulia Plaut - bassoon

Programme to includeHandel – Dixit DominusBertoli - Sonata Prima for Bassoon

The highlight of this evening’s concert will be a performance of one of Handel’s most highly regarded works ‘Dixit Dominus’ accompanied by the Welsh Chamber Players. Using the text of Psalm 110 Handel’s exceptional brilliance brings together chorus, soloists, strings and continuo to wonderful dramatic effect and clearly demonstrates Handel’s ability to write in the Italian style.

The concert will also include a selection of other great sacred choral masterpieces including works by Arvo Part, Macmillan and Chilcott and a performance of Antonio Bertoli’s Sonata Prima performed by bassoonist Julia Plaut.

£18 (£14 concessions & early bird, £12 festival friends) Children and full time students £1

SUNDAY 18TH JUNE 11.15AM

Festival Service A midsummer celebration in words and music.

SUNDAY 18TH JUNE 6PM


Pre Concert Talk Artistic Directors in conversationFounding Artistic Director Colwyn Sillman, in discussion with the current artistic directors.

Admission free

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All donations are gratefully received. To donate to the festival please visit www.ticketsource.co.uk/machen or phone 0844 8700 887

SUNDAY 18TH JUNE 6.45PM & 8.45PM


The Feinstein Ensemble performed on period instruments over 2 concertsMartin Feinstein - solo flute/recorder/director Mark Baigent - solo oboeDavid Blackadder - solo trumpet Catherine Manson - solo violin/piccolo violin Robin Bigwood - solo harpsichord

Bach – The complete Brandenburg Concertos Nos 1-6

The Feinstein Ensemble make an eagerly-anticipated return to Lower Machen with a rare performance of all of Bach’s Brandenburg concertos performed all in one evening. The six Brandenburg Concertos represent the high point of Bach’s secular writing. Collected as a set in 1721, they actually resonate backwards and forwards throughout Bach’s entire timeline. The Brandenburgs look back to the instrumentations of an earlier age, with his use of recorders and gambas but also break completely new ground with extraordinary new configurations and a revolutionary new concept: the virtuoso keyboard concerto. One of the most popular works from the Baroque period, each of the concertos feature a different line up of instrumentalists and each captures a particular mood or style full of dancing rhythms and vitality.

Specialising in the historically accurate performance of music from the 18th century, the Feinstein Ensemble’s concerts and recordings of the Baroque repertoire have been acclaimed internationally.

6.45pm Brandenburg Concerto No 1 in FBrandenburg Concerto No 3 in GBrandenburg Concerto No 4 in G


8.45pm Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in DBrandenburg Concerto No 6 in BbBrandenburg Concerto No 2 in F


Both Brandenburg Concerto Concerts for £257

TUESDAY 20TH JUNE 7.30PM


Castalian Quartet Sini Simonen - violinDaniel Roberts - violinCharlotte Bonneton - violaChristopher Graves - celloSchubert - String Quartet No.11 in E, D.353 Ravel - String Quartet in FBrahms - String Quartet No.3 in B flat, Op.67

Rapidly emerging as an exciting voice on the international chamber music scene, the Castilian quartet make their first visit to the Lower Machen Festival presenting a varied programme.


WEDNESDAY 21ST JUNE 7.30PM


John Lill - piano Schumann - ‘Kinderszenen’ (Scenes from Childhood) Op15Prokofiev - Sonata No 6 in A, Op 82Chopin - Ballade No 4 in F minor, Op 52Beethoven - Sonata in F minor, Op 57 ‘Appassionata’

Unanimously described as one of the leading pianists of his generation, John Lill’s career spans over 55 years, during which time he has given over 4,000 concerts in over fifty countries, both as a recitalist and as a soloist with the world’s greatest orchestras. John Lill received the most votes for a returning pianist so we are delighted that he is able to perform at the Festival in the 50th Anniversary year.


THURSDAY 22ND JUNE 7.30PM


Elin Manahan Thomas - soprano Gary Griffiths - BaritonePeter Esswood - Conductor Jeff Howard - piano

Songs and arias by Mozart, Poulenc, Strauss, Britten and Lehar.William Walton - Façade

Façade is one of Walton’s best-loved works. Based on a series of poems by Edith Sitwell, the witty poems are recited over an instrumental accompaniment capturing the spirit of the 1920s and brought to life by Elin Manahan Thomas and Gary Griffiths.


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FRIDAY 23RD JUNE 7.15PM (Please note earlier start time)


Tribute to Peter ReynoldsSponsored by Gavin Davidson & Ticket Source

Matthew Jones - violinAnnabel Thwaite - pianoPhilip May - pianoThe Aluana EnsembleGail Pearson - sopranoAndrew Wilson-Dickson - pianoMichael McCartney - guitarAnd friends

Includes music by Peter Reynolds, Chris Weeks, Steph Power, Lynne Plowman, John Metcalf, Tim Raymond, Chris Painter, Michael Parkin, Luke Whitlock and Mervyn Burtch.

It seems inconceivable to be celebrating the 50th Anniversary year without Peter’s presence. As a former artistic director and writer of our wonderfully informative programme notes, Peter had been a staunch supporter of the festival for many years. In this concert we feature some of Peter’s compositions performed by some of his friends as well as some of the foremost contemporary welsh composers in this varied programme.


FRIDAY 23RD JUNE 10PM


John Mills – GuitarJohn Mills returns to the festival to take us on a late night tour of some of the most well-loved guitar repertoire in “Baroque to Bossa Nova”

£5.50 (Concessions & Early Bird £4.50) Children and full time students £1

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SATURDAY 24TH JUNE, 7,30PM

ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS’ CHURCH, LOWER MACHEN

Odyssey Of Love(Liszt and his Women)Lucy Parham - pianoMartin Jarvis - narrator | Rosalind Ayres - narrator

The colourful life of the extraordinary Franz Liszt took him from child prodigy to living legend. Odyssey of Love dramatises the two greatest romances of this tempestuous genius. Lucy Parham completes her series of composer portraits at Lower Machen Festival telling the story of Liszt. A firm favourite in the calendar at Lower Machen we are also pleased to welcome back renowned actors Martin Jarvis and Rosalind Ayres who will be joining Lucy for this occasion.

SUNDAY 25TH 2.30PM ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS’ CHURCH, LOWER MACHEN

Cream tea concert Featuring festival commission – sponsored by the Cohen foundationJeremy Huw Williams - baritone | Paula Fan - piano

Cardiff-born Ivor Novello, handsome and urbane matinée idol and the most successful composer-performer of stage musicals ever, was everything the young Noël Coward wanted to be. The celebrated welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams explores in words and music the complicated journey of their relationship as seen through the eyes of Novello’s devoted caretaker, with noted American pianist Paula Fan.

The premiere of Nicola LeFanu’s ‘The Swan’ is the centrepiece of the afternoon’s programme. This lyrical intermezzo, an exploration of the universal themes of loneliness and search for safe haven, presents a thought-provoking allegory of the soul’s journey.

Tickets: £10.00 (Early Bird booking £7.50) to include cream teaChildren and Festival Friends £5 to include cream tea

“ Lucy Parham’s trailblazing evening concerts in which she fuses music and words with the help of some of our most distinguished thespians, have become one of the must-see events on the musical calendar” BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE


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SUNDAY 25TH JUNE 4.00PM ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS’ CHURCH, LOWER MACHEN

Choral WorkshopTurn up and sing with Voces 8 - a chance to join award winning vocal group for a vocal workshop

Admission free

SUNDAY 25TH JUNE 7.30PM ST MICHAEL & ALL ANGELS’ CHURCH, LOWER MACHEN

Voces8Winner of the audience Vote as the favourite ensemble to return to the festival, Voces 8 present a varied programme to bring the festival to a close. The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is now established as one of the world’s most versatile and best-loved singing groups. Touring extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia, the ensemble performs a repertory from Renaissance polyphony to contemporary commissions and arrangements.

“ The singing of VOCES8 is impeccable in its quality of tone and balance. They bring a new dimension to the word ‘ensemble’ with meticulous timing and tuning.” GRAMOPHONE


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Details correct at time of going to press. Please visit website for most recent information

HOW TO BOOKBy Phone: Contact our advance ticket service Ticket source Box Office Line on 0844 8700 887 All major credit cards accepted

Online: Tickets can be bought on line from www.ticketsource.co.uk/machen

Tickets will be on sale for evening concerts until 2pm on the afternoon of the performance. At that point any unsold tickets will be available to purchase at the door.

TICKET DISCOUNTSEvening Concerts: Tickets for all evening concerts £18 (Early Bird Booking £14 in advance until 8th June) 50th Anniversary friends £12

Concessions: Available to disabled people and their companion if requiring accompaniment. £14 per person. Children and full time students £1.

Cream Tea Concert: Cream Tea Concert £10 (£7.50 in advance) to include cream tea. Children £5) to include cream tea or £1 without.

WAYS TO SAVE: Book early to take advantage of our Early Bird Bookings available until 8 June.

Weekend Ticket A £45 Friday 16th June - Sun 18th June To include all events

Weekend ticket B £40 Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th June To include all events

All June concerts for £160 (50th Anniversary Friends £145)

Individual Early Bird tickets are available for £14 saving £4 on each concert and for the Cream Tea concert for £7.50 instead of £10 Cream Tea – Children & Festival friends £5

DISABLED ACCESSThe Lower Machen Festival welcomes disabled visitors.

Access into and within the church is suitable for wheelchair users and semi-ambulant visitors. Disabled toilet facilities are available.

Large print notes are available. Please ring in advance to let us know your requirements on 0844 8700 887

All seats are unreserved at St Michael and All Angels’ Church

Doors open at 6.30pm

Festival bar opens 6.30pm prior to evening concerts and during the interval.

Website: www.lowermachenfestival.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

Registered Charity No: 1075159

Company registered in Wales: 3739816

SUPPORT THE FESTIVAL BY BECOMING A 50TH ANNIVERSARY FRIENDFor just £50 you will receive discounted booking, a free programme book and other benefits.

For further details please visit www.lowermachenfestival.co.uk or book the 50th Anniversary Friends ticket via Ticketsource www.ticketsource.co.uk/machen

GETTING TO LOWER MACHEN Lower Machen is just ten minutes’ drive away from Junction 28 of the M4 motorway.

By Car: Lower Machen is situated on the A468 trunk road between Newport and Caerphilly. Postcode for Sat Nav NP10 8GU

Trains: The nearest stations with bus links are Caerphilly and Newport. See www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk for details of timetables

Bus: Buses running between Newport and Caerphilly pass by Lower Machen. See www.traveline-cymru.org.uk for details of timetables

PLACES TO STAYVisit www.visitwales.com for details of accommodation in the area

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Documents

Lower Machen Festivallowermachenfestival.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/LMF-2017... · Welcome to 50TH LOWER MACHEN ... Festival patron Elin Manahan Thomas joins ... solo careers,