Lonsdale Music celebrates its tenth birthday in fine style (From The Westmorland Gazette)
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Lonsdale Music celebrates its tenth birthday in fine style
1:30pm Sunday 17th June 2012 in Opinion By Clive Walkley
Lonsdale Music
Holy Trinity Church, Casterton
The tenth anniversary of Lonsdale Music was celebrated in style with an enterprising concert given by Lonsdale Chamber Orchestra with vocal soloists, Ian Caddy and Jacqueline Pischorn, and instrumentalists, Richard Simpson, oboe, and John Turner, recorder - all ably directed from the harpsichord by the founder of Lonsdale Music, Ian Thompson.
There was so much to enjoy in this very varied programme: string concertos by Vivaldi – solo parts stylishly played by Julian Cann, Mark Wilson (violins), and Heather Bills (cello) – a recorder concerto by Telemann, an oboe concerto by Bellini, Bach’s wonderfully expressive Cantata Ich habe genug, Mozartian arias and more.
The orchestral playing throughout the evening was of a high standard, capturing the essence of baroque style in all the period pieces and providing firm, expressive support in other items.
It was pleasing to hear a first performance of a work by the late Roger Cann, a local composer who contributed so much to the musical life of Cumbria in so many different ways. His pastoral Fantasia Where the Watchful Heron Stands for recorder and strings was beautifully played.
John Turner’s versatility enabled us to hear two further first performances: Elis Pehkonen’s imaginatively scored Twilight and Evening Bell for recorder, bells and strings - a hauntingly beautiful piece - and David Ellis’ witty Fantaisie Epigrammatique, which revealed the composer’s interest in light music.
