UMS PRESENTS

Alison Balsom
and THE
SCOTTISH ENSEMBLE
Saturday Evening, April 20, 2013 at 8:00
Hill Auditorium • Ann Arbor

64th Performance of the 134th Annual Season

134th Annual Choral Union Series
Photo: Alison Balsom; photographer: Matt Hennek.
9
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P rogram

Francesco Geminiani
Concerto Grosso No. 12 in d minor (“La Follia”)

Tomaso Albinoni,
Arr. Alison Balsom
Oboe Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 7, No. 3
Allegro
Adagio
Allegro

George Frideric Handel

Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major, Op. 6, No. 7, HWV 325
Largo
Allegro
Largo e piano
Andante
Hornpipe
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Antonio Vivaldi,
Arr. Balsom
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 3, No. 9, RV 230
Allegro
Larghetto
Allegro e piano
A L I S O N B A L S O M an d t h e s c o tt i s h e ns e m b l e

I nte r missi o n

Handel
Atalanta, HWV 35 (excerpt)
Overture

Henry Purcell
Dioclesian (excerpt)
Dance of the Furies

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Purcell
King Arthur Suite (excerpts)
Fairest Isle
Shepherd, Shepherd
Warlike Consort

Purcell
Chacony in g minor

Fantasia on One Note

Handel,
Arr. Balsom
Suite for Trumpet and Strings in D Major, HWV 341
Overture
Gigue (Allegro)
Minuet (Aria)
Bourrée
March No. 2

w i nt e r 2 0 1 3
Tonight’s performance is supported by the Renegade Ventures Fund, a multi-year challenge grant created
by Maxine and Stuart Frankel to support unique, creative, and transformative performing arts experiences
within the UMS season.

Tonight’s performance is sponsored by United Bank & Trust, Jerry and Gloria Abrams, and Dennis and
Ellie Serras.

Additional support provided by James and Nancy Stanley, and Jay Zelenock and Family.

Media partnership is provided by WGTE 91.3 FM and WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Special thanks to Thorben Dittes, Chief Executive, Scottish Ensemble, for speaking at tonight’s
Prelude Dinner.

Special thanks to Tom Thompson of Tom Thompson Flowers, Ann Arbor, for his generous contribution of
lobby floral art for this evening’s performance.

Alison Balsom records exclusively for EMI Classics.

Scottish Ensemble records for Linn Records, Signum Records, and EMI Classics.

Alison Balsom is managed worldwide by Harrison Parrott, London, UK.

Scottish Ensemble is managed by Thorben Dittes, Glasgow, UK.

Alison Balsom and the Scottish Ensemble’s US tour is organized by International Arts Foundation,
New York, NY.

Alison Balsom and the Scottish Ensemble appear by arrangement with Frank Salomon Associates.

Tour support provided by Creative Scotland and The Michael Marks Charitable Trust.

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N O W T H AT Y O U ’ R E I N Y O U R S E AT. . .

The Baroque era was the golden age of the trumpet. Whereas the instrument
had previously served mostly in military and signaling functions, in the 17th
century it entered the world of art music both in concert and at the theater.
The playing technique developed by leaps and bounds, and the greatest com-
posers of the time, from Purcell to Handel and Bach, wrote many challenging
solos for their virtuoso colleagues. Paradoxically, even as the instrument
itself was modernized and the natural trumpet was replaced by the modern
valve trumpet, its solo literature went into decline. While the trumpet plays
a prominent role in almost every major 19th- and 20th-century symphony,
for a long time trumpet soloists had to sit in the back of the orchestra, rather
than stand in front of it. In the last decades, the trumpet as a solo instrument
has enjoyed a major renaissance; this has included the revival of the great
Baroque trumpet repertoire which has found several extraordinary champi-
ons on the modern concert stage, whose ranks has in recent years been joined
by tonight’s soloist, Alison Balsom.

Concerto Grosso No. 12 in d minor concerto grosso form, as first developed

(“La Follia,” 1729) by Arcangelo Corelli in Rome in the first
w i nt e r 2 0 1 3

Francesco Geminiani years of the new century. Geminiani,

Born December 5, 1687 in Lucca, Italy who had studied with Corelli, did a great
Died September 17, 1762 in Dublin deal to develop the rich potential of this
new genre and to popularize it in London,
after Arcangelo Corelli Paris, and Dublin — the three main
Born February 17, 1653 in Fusignano, theaters of his professional activities.
Italy An outstanding violinist as well as an
Died January 8, 1713 in Rome important composer of instrumental
music, Geminiani also wrote a number
S nap s h ots o f H i story…In th e 1 730s : of influential treatises on musical
A L I S O N B A L S O M an d t h e s c o tt i s h e ns e m b l e

• Pergolesi’s comic opera La serva padrona

performed
performance that are indispensable
• Benjamin Franklin founds the Library Company, sources for understanding the Baroque
the first lending library in America style.
• Alexander Pope publishes his poem An Essay
on Man
In addition to writing a celebrated
• English Philosopher David Hume writes A Treatise set of original concerti grossi, Geminiani
of Human Nature also arranged Corelli’s Op. 5 violin
• Swedish botanist Carl Linné publishes Systema
Naturae
sonatas (which included the famous
Folia variations) for a larger ensemble,
Francesco Geminiani arrived in London including a solo string quartet and a
in 1714, two years after Handel, and like ripieno (orchestral) group. The Folia is a
his illustrious colleague, spent the rest ground bass progression, popular since
of his musical career in the British Isles. the 16th century as a theme for sets
Next to Handel, Geminiani was one of of variations, often combined with the
the most important practitioners of the rhythm of the sarabande dance. Corelli’s
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virtuosic version became hugely popular Concerto Grosso in B-flat Major,
in Europe, and Geminiani’s reworking Op. 6, No. 7, HWV 325 (1739)
preserves all the brilliance of the George Frideric Handel
original. Born February 23, 1685 in Halle, Saxony
Died April 14, 1759 in London

Oboe Concerto in B-flat Major, Op. 7, The London Daily Post announced to its
No. 3 (1715) readership on October 29, 1739:
Tomaso Albinoni
Born June 8, 1671 in Venice This day are published proposals
Died January 17, 1751 in Venice for printing by subscription with
His Majesty’s royal license and
S naps hots of H i sto ry…In th e 1 7 1 0s : protection, Twelve Grand Concertos
• The treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt end the decade in seven parts, for four violins, a
long War of the Spanish Succession
• The Meskwaki Indians (also known as the Fox)
tenor [viola], a violoncello, with a
besiege Fort Pontchartrain (Fort Detroit) thorough-bass for the harpsichord.
• Antoine Watteau paints The Embarkation for Composed by Mr. Handel. Price to
Cythera
• Daniel Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe
subscribers two guineas. Ready
• Giovanni Battista Tiepolo becomes official painter to be delivered by April next.
to the Doge of Venice Subscriptions are taken by the
author at his house in Brook Street,
Tomaso Albinoni was known as the Hanover Square.

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dilettante veneto — a composer of
independent means who had been As Christopher Hogwood writes
trained as a professional composer but in his Handel monograph (Thames &
did not need to depend on employment Hudson, 1984), the concerti grossi “were
as a musician. Although he wrote a great deliberately designed to compete in a
deal of vocal music (operas and cantatas), field dominated by Corelli’s Op. 6.” The
his fame rests on his instrumental concerto form perfected by Arcangelo
output, mostly concertos and sonatas. Corelli, with its juxtaposition of a three-
Albinoni is credited with writing member concertino with the larger
the earliest concertos featuring a solo instrumental group (the ripieno), was
oboe; his first collection featuring extremely popular in England, thanks in
such works is the set from which the part to one of Corelli’s most distinguished
present work is taken. Albinoni’s oboe pupils, Francesco Geminiani.
writing, penetrating and gently lyrical Handel, too, had known Corelli
at the same time, lends itself very well in person, having met him at Rome in
for performance on the trumpet. The 1707. There is an amusing story of how
composer had a special fondness for the 22-year-old Handel grabbed the
emotionally intense Adagios, and the 54-year-old Corelli’s violin and showed
present work offers a particularly him how he wanted a certain passage to
attractive example. be executed. The older man apologized
with typical understatement: “But mio
caro Sassone [my dear Saxon], this music
is in the French style, which I do not
understand.” (It was the overture for Il
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Trionfo del Tempo [The Triumph of Time] keys and interspersed with expressive
by Handel.) episodes. The last movement is a lively
Thirty years later, Handel took a “Hornpipe” — a popular English dance
break from the writing of monumental which Handel “jazzed up” with some
oratorios to compose his Op. 6, in which syncopated rhythmic patterns and
he paid homage to Corelli and competed capricious melodic figures.
with Geminiani all at the same time. In the
process, he brought the concerto grosso
idea to new heights that had been quite Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 3,
unheard of. The works were intended to No. 9, RV 230 (1711)
stand by themselves, but they could also Antonio Vivaldi
serve as overtures or interludes during Born March 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy
oratorio performances. Died July 28, 1741 in Vienna
Handel worked with amazing
speed, completing the 12 concerti grossi This Vivaldi concerto seems to work
in about a month (between the end of especially well on the trumpet, even
September and the end of October, though its fast runs are extremely
1739). In other words, he finished a challenging. But D Major is a particularly
new piece every two or three days. One good “trumpet key,” and some of the
circumstance that made such extreme rhythmic figures suggest military
productivity possible was the fact that fanfares even when played on the violin.
Handel did not have to invent every The “Larghetto” is one of Vivaldi’s most
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single theme in the 60-plus movements ornate slow movements, and the finale,
anew, but relied heavily on music already like the opening movement, is brilliant
written — both by himself and others. and celebratory. This concerto is part
Handel’s borrowings in Op. 6 involve of Vivaldi’s first published collection of
mainly two sources: Gottlieb Muffat’s concertos, L’estro armonico (“Harmonic
keyboard collection Componimenti Inspiration”); it was transcribed for
musicali (1736), and Domenico Scarlatti’s harpsichord by J. S. Bach.
Essercizi per cembalo (1739).
The seventh concerto of the set
departs from the concerto grosso
A L I S O N B A L S O M an d t h e s c o tt i s h e ns e m b l e

Atalanta, HWV 35 (excerpt, 1736)

format in that there are no solos for the
Handel
concertino: the work is scored for the
usual string orchestra, with first and
This overture, scored for solo trumpet,
second violins, violas, cellos, and basses
two oboes, and strings, continues the
with harpsichord continuo. After a
festive D-Major mood of the Vivaldi
brief slow movement, we hear a fugue
concerto heard before intermission. It is
based on a single repeated note (called a
in three movements: an opening fanfare,
“hen fugue,” because the repeated note
a fugato (a musical form starts out as a
reminded listeners of the cackling of
fugue but doesn’t follow through), and
a hen). The third movement is again
a stately dance. The opera Atalanta
slow; it is longer and more dramatic
was intended for a very joyful event:
than the opening section. The fourth-
the wedding of Frederick, the Prince of
movement “Andante” is based on a
Wales, and Princess Augusta of Saxe-
simple melody repeated in different
Coburg, who came from a duchy close to
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Handel’s hometown of Halle. (The Prince indigestion.” And Diocles, the soldier
himself, son of King George II and father who becomes emperor, “is a fop and a
of George III, was German-born, like the fool, whose humility is forced upon him
entire English royal family that came by stratagem.”
from Hanover.) In the first two sections The “Dance of the Furies” was one of
of the overture, Handel borrowed the most grotesque episodes in the show:
material from Telemann’s Musique the Prophetess attempts to scare the
de Table. The heroine of the opera is hero by unleashing a bunch of monsters,
Princess Atalanta, whose only passion is inspiring one of the most chromatic and
hunting. She initially resists the wooing most heavily ornamented movements
of Meleagro, King of Etolia, but in the Purcell ever wrote.
end, Cupid prevails over Diana.... A year later, Dioclesian was followed
by King Arthur, or the British Worthy, a
play by John Dryden for which Purcell
Dioclesian (excerpt, 1690) composed no fewer than 40 musical
King Arthur Suite (excerpts, 1691) numbers. Here, too, the ancient legend
Chacony in g minor (1680) was brought up to date with references
Fantasia on One Note (before 1680) to more recent British history, although
Henry Purcell some of Purcell’s music relates to the
Born September 10, 1659 in London action only in a loose and indirect way.
Died November 21, 1695 in London “Fairest Isle” and “Shepherd, Shepherd”
are two of the composer’s best-known

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S naps hots o f H i story… In th e 1 6 9 0s: and most endearing tunes, while the
• William III of Orange is King of England following “Warlike Consort,” also known as the
the “Glorious Revolution”
• Witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts
“Trumpet Tune” (so called even though
• Nine Years’ War between France and the “Grand in the original it was scored for strings
Alliance” (England, the Holy Roman Empire, and alone), illustrates the more martial side
Spain)
• John Locke writes An Essay Concerning Human
of the work.
Understanding A chaconne (together with its close
• Jean Racine writes his final tragedy, Athalie relative, the passacaglia) is a set of
variations over a recurrent ground bass
The Prophetess, or The History of or a recurrent harmonic progression.
Dioclesian was one of Purcell’s so-called Purcell was very fond of this form, which
“semi-operas,” which were essentially he used in several of his stage works,
spoken plays with songs and dances most famously in Dido and Aeneas. The
inserted as special entertainment. present Chacony (to use the original
In this case, the play, by John Fletcher spelling) is an independent piece in which
and Philip Massinger (it was revised by the composer handled the variation form
Thomas Betterton), is ostensibly set in with remarkable freedom and virtuosity.
ancient Rome but is in fact, as Curtis In addition to altering the rhythm and
Price explains in his book on Purcell’s ornamenting the melody, he varied the
dramatic works, “an uncanny satire on instrumentation as well, omitting the
the decadent and badly mismanaged bass in some of the variations and at one
final years of the reign of Charles II,” who point assigning the bass melody to the
died in 1685. Delphia, the prophetess treble.
of the title, “makes prognostications Fantasia on One Note is the most
under the influence of alcohol and famous of Purcell’s string fantasias
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(in his usage, the term refers to a A rt i s t s

Renaissance polyphonic genre). It is built

T
around a single pedal tone, surrounded wice crowned “Female Artist
by a web of voices in canonic imitation, of the Year” at the Classic
with sections variously slow and fast, BRITs, Alison Balsom has
chordal and contrapuntal, Major and cemented an international reputation
minor, as well as diatonic (sticking to the as one of classical music’s great
regular notes of the scale) and chromatic ambassadors and is ranked among the
(with intermediary half-steps added). most distinctive and ground-breaking
As an earlier commentator put it, these musicians on the international circuit
different devices orbit “the central note today. Ms. Balsom has also been honored
or ‘common tone’ as the planets orbit the with numerous awards by Gramophone,
sun.” Classic FM, and ECHO Klassik.
In 2009, Alison Balsom headlined
one of classical music’s most celebrated
Suite for Trumpet and Strings in concerts — The Last Night of the BBC
D Major, HWV 341(1733) Proms — which reached its biggest
Handel ever global television audience of an
estimated 200 million. In December
The present work was first published 2010 Ms. Balsom went on to make her
in 1733 as “Handel’s Water Piece,” US television debut with the Orchestra
and in fact, the first movement is an of St Luke’s on The Late Show with David
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arrangement from Handel’s well- Letterman — a platform few classical

known Water Music. In the absence of artists have gained access to.
any original manuscripts, scholars are The 2011–12 season saw Ms.
uncertain whether this arrangement is Balsom make return visits to China
in fact by Handel and, indeed, whether where she performed with Lorin Maazel
three of the remaining four movements and the National Symphony Orchestra
(an “Allegro,” an “Air,” and two “Marches”) and to the Los Angeles Philharmonic
were even composed by him. (The last with whom she made her Hollywood
march does show up in the 1730 opera Bowl debut. Other season highlights
Partenope.) Questions of authenticity included concerts with the Toronto
A L I S O N B A L S O M an d t h e s c o tt i s h e ns e m b l e

aside, this is a very attractive work, Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della

and the only one for solo trumpet and Svizzera Italiana, Chamber Orchestra
strings associated with Handel; as such, of Philadelphia, and the Royal
it is the perfect work to end an evening Philharmonic Orchestra. In the current
of Baroque music played on this glorious season, Ms. Balsom embarks on major
instrument. international tours of Europe, China, and
the US with the Wiener Symphoniker,
Program notes by Peter Laki. kammerorchesterbasel, Concerto
Köln, Scottish Ensemble, and the
Philharmonia Orchestra.
Ms. Balsom’s highly distinctive
sound earned her much recognition in
her early career when she primarily
reached her audience through radio
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renega d e vent u re s f u n d

ums would like to thank the individuals, corporations,

and foundations who have contributed generously to
the Renegade Ventures Fund:

Anonymous Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County

Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
University of Michigan Health System
Wallace Endowment Fund

Jerry and Gloria Abrams

Richard and Linda Greene
Mainstreet Ventures
Jim and Patricia Read
Dennis and Ellie Serras
United Bank & Trust
Glenn E. Watkins

Anonymous
Catherine S. Arcure Endowment Fund
Gary Boren
The Herbert and Junia Doan Foundation
Randall and Nancy Faber
Faber Piano Institute
Susan and Richard Gutow
Martin and Lynn Halbfinger
David and Phyllis Herzig Endowment Fund
Jerry and Dale Kolins
Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal K–12 Education Endowment Fund
James and Nancy Stanley
Jay Zelenock and Family

Ed and Gail Bagale

John and Cheryl MacKrell
Eleanor Pollack
Francoise Tamres
Bruce and Pamela Tuchman
Katherine Hein

We invite you to invest in the Renegade Ventures Fund to

help UMS bring innovative and cutting-edge work to our
community. For more information, please contact Margaret
McKinley at 734.647.1177 or [email protected]. 17
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broadcasts under the auspices of the For further details, please visit
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists www.alisonbalsom.com.
scheme. While represented by the Young
Concert Artists Trust, Ms. Balsom caught

R
the ear of EMI Classics with whom she e-defining the string orchestra,
records exclusively. Her internationally the Scottish Ensemble
celebrated Bach Trumpet and Organ inspires audiences in the UK
recording of 2005 was quickly followed and beyond with vibrant performances
by Caprice which won her further critical which are powerful, challenging, and
acclaim. Her third album, featuring the rewarding experiences. Known both
great pillars of the trumpet repertoire, in the UK and internationally for its
the concertos of Haydn and Hummel, versatility and ambitious programming,
firmly established her as one of the the Ensemble reaches out to create rich
world’s leading trumpeters. Italian partnerships across boundaries of genre,
Concertos which is made up of Ms. geography, and musical style.
Balsom’s own arrangements of Italian Founded in 1969 and based in
Baroque Concertos, became EMI Classics Glasgow, the Scottish Ensemble is the
biggest selling album of 2010. UK’s only professional string orchestra,
In addition to transcribing and built around a core of 12 outstanding
arranging existing works for her string players who perform together
instrument, Ms. Balsom is increasingly under Artistic Director Jonathan
active in commissioning new works Morton. The Ensemble’s distinctive
w i nt e r 2 0 1 3

for trumpet. Her world-premiere programming style habitually blends

performance of James MacMillan’s music from different ages, offering new
Seraph at Wigmore Hall in 2011 went perspectives and making unexpected
on to become the title track of her 2011 connections. Performing standing up,
release for EMI Classics. Her latest the individual players bring an energetic
album, Sound the Trumpet, sees Ms. and passionate dynamic to every
Balsom perform a variety of works by performance, both in the concert hall
Purcell and Handel with Trevor Pinnock and in the Ensemble’s comprehensive
and The English Concert on period program of education and outreach
instruments. activities. Its work in this area ranges
A L I S O N B A L S O M an d t h e s c o tt i s h e ns e m b l e

Alison Balsom studied trumpet from large scale creative projects for
at the Guildhall School of Music, the nursery pupils, to specialist coaching for
Paris Conservatoire, and with Håkan young musicians, to working with young
Hardenberger. She was a concerto offenders.
finalist in the BBC Young Musician Committed to developing the string
competition in 1998 and received repertoire, the Ensemble regularly
the Feeling Musique Prize for quality seeks out unusual pieces, and has
of sound in the 2001 Maurice André commissioned a rich catalog of new
International Trumpet Competition. works from some of the brightest voices
She performs a wide range of recital working in music today. In recent years,
and concerto repertoire, from Albinoni these have included composers such as
to Zimmermann and performs on both Sir John Tavener, James MacMillan, Sally
modern and baroque trumpets. Beamish, Steve Martland, John Woolrich,
Craig Armstrong, Luke Bedford, and
Thea Musgrave.
18
b e p r e s e nt
The Ensemble’s first-class reputation BBC Proms and St. Magnus, Aldeburgh,
attracts collaborations with world- and Edinburgh International Festivals.
class soloists including, most recently, Recent invitations to tour abroad
trumpeter Alison Balsom; tenor Toby include an invitation from the Scottish
Spence; violinist Anthony Marwood; Government to celebrate St. Andrew’s
cellist Pieter Wispelwey, and violist Day in Brussels, concerts in Turkey and
Lawrence Power. The Ensemble also Austria, and tours of China and the US.
welcomes collaborations with musicians The Ensemble’s extensive recording
from different traditions, performing catalog includes EMI Classics’ top-selling
alongside Scottish folk musicians CD of 2010: Italian Concertos with Alison
Catriona McKay, Chris Stout, and Aly Balsom.
Bain; DJ Alex Smoke; Finnish violinist As one of Creative Scotland’s
Pekka Kuusisto; and American bassist Foundation Organizations, the Scottish
Edgar Meyer. Ensemble is proud to contribute to
Alongside concerts in major Scotland’s cultural stature and creative
venues in Scottish cities, the Ensemble identity.
exploits its flexibility by performing For further details, please visit
in more intimate, unconventional, www.scottishensemble.co.uk/.
or remote spaces across Scotland. In
addition, the Ensemble also enjoys an UMS welcomes both Alison Balsom and
established annual series at London’s the Scottish Ensemble who make their
Wigmore Hall and has appeared at the UMS debuts this evening.

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SC O T T IS H E N S E M B L E

Scottish Ensemble
Jonathan Morton, Director

Violin I Viola
Cheryl Crockett Catherine Marwood
Tristan Gurney Andrew Berridge
Sophie Mather Zoe Matthews
James Toll
Cello
Violin II Alison Lawrance
Xander van Vliet Naomi Boole-Masterson
Joanne Green
Laura Ghiro Double Bass
Alastair Savage Graham Mitchell

Harpsichord
Robin Bigwood

19