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Vivaldi, Holst, Haydn, Townsend in Falmouth

Your guide to this weekend's concerts by the Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, under the direction of John Yankee.

Posted by Marilyn Rowland:

The Falmouth Chamber Players Orchestra, under the direction of John Yankee, will perform its fall concerts, “Celebrating Three Centuries of Music,” on Saturday, November 16, at 7 PM, and Sunday, November 17, at 3 PM, at Falmouth Academy.

The program includes “Concerto in C for Two Trumpets and Strings” (RV 537), by Vivaldi; “Concerto in the Old Style for Three Violins and String Orchestra” (first movement), by Douglas Townsend; “St. Paul’s Suite,” by Holst, and Symphony No. 104, by Haydn.

“It is an exciting, upbeat program,” said Yankee, “with lots of fast tempos and brilliant passages. The Townsend concerto features and challenges the strings section; it is fun, quirky, and challenging, yet accessible to players and listeners alike.

An American composer, musicologist, teacher, coach, and music enthusiast, Douglas Townsend (1921-2012) composed over 100 works—symphonies, concertos, chamber works, ballet music, film scores, band music, incidental music for theatrical productions, operas, operettas, and choral music. He studied composition under Aaron Copland and others.

Townsend continued working until shortly before death last year at the age of 90. He was also active in social media, connecting with musicians around the world through Facebook and YouTube. He held  social networking concerts, in which composers shared recent works.

Townsend met Laura Sonnichsen, FCPO’s concertmaster, on Facebook: both had graduated from Manhattan’s famed High School of Music and Art. When Sonnichsen heard his “Concerto in the Old Style for Three Violins and String Orchestra,” she “fell absolutely in love with it,” and urged Yankee to include in a concert. 

It is a challenging piece, not written for community orchestra, and Jean Townsend, his widow, commended the orchestra for performing it. Ms. Townsend, who continues to promote performances of her husband’s music, will attend the concerts and speak about Townsend and his work.

The three solo violinists will be Sonnichsen; Jordan Mora, principal second violin for the orchestra; and Carol Rizzoli, the assistant concertmaster.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) completed his “Concerto in C for Two Trumpets and Strings” (RV 537) about 1720. It is one of his most popular works.

“The concerto features our  trumpeters Richard Bahman and Ted Schmuhl,” said Yankee. “Given the classical repertoire we mostly play, they do not usually have melodic passages. This is a brilliant exception.”

Vivaldi wrote many of his 500 concertos for performance at the Ospedale della Pieta, an orphanage for girls in Vienna, where he taught violin.

Like Vivaldi, Gustav Holst (1874-1934) taught at a school for girls and wrote many of his compositions for his pupils. He was director of music at the St. Paul’s Girls’ School in West London from 1905 to 1934. His “St. Paul’s Suite” (1912) is among the most popular of these works, incorporating dance and folk song themes.

“I’ve wanted to do this suite for a while,” said Yankee. “Holst originally wrote it for strings, but added wind, brass, and percussion parts as more students at St. Paul's joined the orchestra. Our version includes the additions and gives the entire orchestra [sans trumpet] opportunities to play and enjoy.”

Nicknamed the “father of the symphony” for his many contributions to the form, Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) wrote his final symphony, No. 104, in 1795. 

“It is a measure of the orchestra’s growth and development that we can perform Haydn’s final symphony,” said Yankee. “It is exciting, familiar, and forward-looking—one of the greatest symphonies ever written.

Suggested donation is $20 for adults, $5 for children.Falmouth Academy is at 7 Highfield Drive in Falmouth. For information, visit FalmouthChamberPlayers.org, or call Fritz Sonnichsen at 508-274-2632. 

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