From the Renaissance to the Beatles, the British Isles have been the birthplace of some of the best-known music in the world. This Thursday, November 15, 2012, at 12:00. the Open University will hold a concert honoring British music of yesterday and today, as part of the University’s Noon Concert series.
The program will begin with music from the English Renaissance period: music by William Lawes and John Dowland and songs such as “When Daphne from fair Phoebus did fly” … will be played on period instruments. From there the program will move on to the Baroque period, with “The Bird-Fancier’s Delight” and compositions by Henry Purcell, such as “Music for a While”. Also part of the program is Dutch Renaissance composer Jacob Van Eyck’s variations on “Daphne”, an English song by an unknown composer.
No program of English music can be complete without a number of songs from the ultimate ambassadors of Great Britain, the Beatles. The concert’s selection of classical music will blend with several of Britain’s most recognizable popular songs. Interspersed between the classical and the contemporary will be songs of the great folk tradition of the British Isles, as well as American folk songs.
The musicians are all leading artists who play important roles in the Israeli music scene. London-educated soprano Revital Raviv, who has sung a number of roles with the New Israeli Opera, is a self-professed Anglophile. She researched and created this program after working with ensemble director Philip Pickett while studying at the Royal College of Music. She explains that the contemporary songs have roots in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, as well as in folk music – they tell a story, from “When Daphne from fair Phoebus did fly” to “Eleanor Rigby”. The program will also demonstrate the travels of certain songs from one continent to another: the ballad “Scarborough Fair”, for example, has roots in Scotland but became an American folk song, famously covered by Simon and Garfunkel. “The House of the Rising Sun” made the opposite journey – originally an American song from the 19th century, it became especially well-known in Britain when English band The Animals recorded a cover version of it in 1964.
Raviv will perform with an ensemble of world-renowned Israeli musicians. Reuvena Hod, who will play the recorders, is one of Israel’s well-known recorder players and has been a part of the Israeli music scene for many years, both as a soloist and as the founder of ensembles “Spirito Barocco” and “Amaryllis”. Amit Tiefenbrunn, who will play the guitar and viola da gamba, is not only a performer and instructor but also an instrument-maker, and has built period instruments for a number of soloists and ensembles around the world. Playing the mandolin will be Jacob “Yaki” Reuven, who has established himself as a pioneer of mandolin playing by performing classical violin repertoire on the mandolin.
This concert promises to be fascinating and exciting for all lovers of music, and will provide a comprehensive look into the British musical tradition and all its aspects.
The concert will take place on the Open University campus in Ra’anana (1 University Road, Ra’anana).
The brochure for the concert (in Hebrew) may be viewed here.
Tickets cost 25 NIS and must be ordered by phone at *3337 or 03-5114412, or by online order (in Hebrew): https://www.fee.co.il/noonconcert215112012.
Those who can’t make it to Ra’anana on Thursday can hear the same program on Friday at 16:00 at the Ralli Museum in Caesarea. Tickets cost 30 NIS and can be ordered by phone at *6550 or 04-6109519.
