On the programme
Six pieces to listen for
Pieces from the programmes shown for this concert, with one thing to listen for in each.
- Vivaldi
The Four Seasons: Spring and Summer
Vivaldi printed a sonnet with each concerto, and the music follows it line by line. Listen for the birds and the storms painted into the solo violin and the strings.
- Mozart
Requiem: Lacrimosa
Mozart wrote only the first eight bars of this movement before he died, and others finished the Requiem. The rocking, sighing opening is the part he wrote himself.
- Smetana
The Vltava (The Moldau)
Smetana's own note follows the river from two small springs through woods, a farmers' wedding and the St John's Rapids, then on towards Prague. It lasts about thirteen minutes and holds his most famous tune.
- Bach
Toccata and Fugue in D minor
An organ showpiece, in one of the two programmes. A toccata opens it and a fugue follows. A few scholars have questioned since 1981 whether Bach wrote it, but in a Baroque chapel it sounds at home.
- Pachelbel
Canon in D
Written for three violins and a bass line, in one of the two programmes. The same melody is played in staggered entries, each voice following the one before, so you can hear it build.
- Beethoven
Symphony No. 5
Four notes, three short and one long, open the symphony. The motif returns throughout the movement, and in a small ensemble it comes through clearly.
The two programmes shown overlap on Vivaldi, Mozart's Lacrimosa, Smetana and Beethoven, and each adds pieces of its own. Programmes can change, so treat this as a guide to the music and not as a running order.
