In the winter of 1705-1706 young Johann Sebastian Bach walked all the way to Lübeck with a view to meeting his revered example Dietrich Buxtehude. At that moment Bach was twenty and had secured his first full-time position as organist in the provincial town of Arnstadt. He requested a leave of absence of four weeks, but eventually stayed almost four times as long, much to the distress of his employer. Tenor Mark Padmore (famous from The Sixteen and Les Arts Florissants) and the renowned chamber orchestra The English Concert have put together a fabulous programme around both baroque composers. It will include the Klagelied that Buxtehude wrote on the occasion of his father’s death. Bach is represented with the cantata Ich habe genug, one of the composer’s favourites, witness Bach’s manifold adaptations.

Performers
Nadja Zwiener, violin & concert master | Mark Padmore, tenor & artistic direction

Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ich armer Mensch BWV55, Komm du süsse Todesstunde uit BWV161, Ich habe genug BWV82 | Dietrich Buxtehude: Contrapunctus 1, Klagelied | Johann Kuhnau, Sonata Prima from Musicalische Vorstellung einiger biblischer Historien Der Streit zwischen David und Goliath

02 March, 2012 20:00 -- AMUZ

In the 17th century protestant northern Europe idolized him: we are talking about the Bohemian Andreas Hammerschmidt, one of the leading authors of German church music. For the celebration of the 400th anniversary of his birth Ensemble Movimento brings Hammerschmidt’s sacred concerts, madrigals and symphonies for two solo voices. The whole will be framed by instrumental and vocal music by contemporaries such as Melchior Franck, Johann Rosenmüller and Johann Schop. Movimento is an ensemble of stature, witness not only the impressive credentials of the members (who have already been individually hosted by AMUZ), but also their meticulous way of playing. The group honours its name: the musicians are moved and succeed in sharing this. They move you to merge completely with their sound!

Performers
Nele Gramß, soprano | Charles Daniels, tenor | Veronika Skuplik, violin | Catherine Aglibut, violin | Frauke Hess, viol | NN, theorbo | Christoph Lehmann, harpsichord

04 March, 2012 14:00 -- AMUZ

The Hungarian Miklós Spányi is a celebrated keyboard virtuoso and is recognized all over the world as a specialist on and an interpreter of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s oeuvre. Spányi succeeds in achieving a masterly interpretation of the style of “Empfindsamkeit” (sensibility) of his beloved composer, taking advantage of the clavichord with its potential to subtly manipulate keys and strings. If you play “aus der Seele” (from the soul), the music touches your heart directly and rational mediation becomes superfluous, as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach put it himself. Consequently this solo recital will be informed by feeling, and the keys will be touched in a caressing way, not struck. The combination of Bach’s expressive melodiousness and Spányi’s technical suppleness will cast a spell on you. And on top of that the dynamic diversity of the clavichord will provide you with thrills in the spine!

Performers
Miklós Spányi, clavichord

09 March, 2012 20:00 -- AMUZ

Miklós Spányi is in great demand all over Europe as a virtuoso on the organ, the harpsichord, the pianoforte, the tangent piano and the clavichord. A native of Hungary, he spent formative years at the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest and pursued advanced studies with Jos van Immerseel. Spányi bore away the palm at several international competitions and recorded all keyboard works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for the Swedish label BIS. In the framework of KLAVECHORDinPRIMETIME this specialist teaches a masterclass for advanced keyboard players focusing on the clavichord. The instrument was considered a touchstone with a view to discerning genuine quality in keyboard players until the beginning of the 19th century. If the sound was convincing on the clavichord, it was bound to be good on any other keyboard instrument as well. An exciting challenge for the participants! The audience is welcome to enjoy the coaching for free.

10 March, 2012 12:00 -- AMUZ

Miklós Spányi is in great demand all over Europe as a virtuoso on the organ, the harpsichord, the pianoforte, the tangent piano and the clavichord. A native of Hungary, he spent formative years at the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest and pursued advanced studies with Jos van Immerseel. Spányi bore away the palm at several international competitions and recorded all keyboard works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for the Swedish label BIS. In the framework of KLAVECHORDinPRIMETIME this specialist teaches a masterclass for advanced keyboard players focusing on the clavichord. The instrument was considered a touchstone with a view to discerning genuine quality in keyboard players until the beginning of the 19th century. If the sound was convincing on the clavichord, it was bound to be good on any other keyboard instrument as well. An exciting challenge for the participants! The audience is welcome to enjoy the coaching for free.

10 March, 2012 12:00 -- AMUZ

Even though the history of the clavichord in the 17th and 18th century peaked mainly in Germany, Scandinavia, Portugal and Spain, there were musicians and composers in the Low Countries as well with a track record for this instrument. Unfortunately very few historical clavichords have come down to us, a missing link that stymies attempts to complete the puzzle of its history. To be sure, there are some iconographic sources showing the instrument, but to what extent and when exactly the harpsichord took over from its predecessor as the most popular keyboard instrument, is difficult to find out. The reconstruction of the history of the clavichord in our area is therefore not in the least an evident task, but far from being daunted by it, Kris Verhelst has been collecting evidence, interesting composers and good music, thus confirming her reputation as one of best connoisseurs of the clavichord at home and abroad. All this will result in a concert evoking how the clavichord may have sounded here in homes, or at the premises of composers.

Performers
Kris Verhelst

10 March, 2012 20:00 -- AMUZ