One of the pinnacles of the Music for Galway calendar, the 21st Midwinter Festival will take place from 19-21st January in the warm and welcoming ballroom of the Hardiman Hotel, Galway.
The festival is entirely devoted to the music of the French composer Gabriel Fauré, a master of melody and form, who died one hundred years ago following an extraordinarily long and prolific career. The festival also includes a community performance of Fauré’s hugely popular Requiem at St Nicholas Collegiate Church with the St Nicholas Singers conducted by Mark Duley.
Gabriel Fauré was one of the most significant French composers, linking the end of Romanticism with the beginnings of the twentieth century. At various times a busy organist, the director of the Paris Conservatoire and a prolific composer, he produced the most exquisite music throughout a long life. In particular, he is regarded as a master of song settings.
No less exquisite are the artists coming to Galway to perform the music, many of them travelling from France with the support of the French Embassy. Artistic Director of Music for Galway, pianist Finghin Collins, commented: “I am particularly grateful to my colleague the French pianist Michel Dalberto, one of today’s great Fauré interpreters, for helping me to put together the programmes for the three chamber and song recitals that form the backbone of our festival. Michel’s immense knowledge and experience of the work of Fauré has been hugely inspirational and he will be incredibly busy during the festival, performing in almost every work. I will join Michel for the four-hand Dolly Suite but otherwise I’ll be able to sit back and enjoy the glorious music. How often do we get the chance to immerse ourselves so fully in the tapestry of sound and colour that characterises Fauré’s music?”
As well as performing short solo works by Fauré, Dalberto will be joined by Swiss baritone Benoît Capt, praised for his “warm and round timbre, his faultless lines and a perfect mastery of all necessary ingredients…” to perform selections of Fauré’s rich song legacy from the three distinct periods of his life. Two young musicians, violinist Nathan Mierdl and cellist Laure-Hélène Michel, also accompany Dalberto from Paris to inject passion and drive into proceedings with performances of Fauré’s energetic Quartet in C minor and the early violin sonata. But that is not all! The ConTempo Quartet stop by for a performance of Fauré’s late Piano Quintet in D minor, a work that has perhaps one of the most entrancing openings of all chamber music, the second violin unfolding a simple beguiling melody over rippling lines on the piano. They also close the festival with Fauré’s very final work, his String Quartet Op. 121, which has been described as ‘an intimate meditation on the last things’. Before letting audiences back into the dark of January, Music for Galway invites ticket holders of the closing concert to a post-concert coffee and scone reception.
Speaking of ‘last things’, at the centre of the festival lies a performance of Fauré’s most famous work, his Requiem Op. 48. CEO of Music for Galway Anna Lardi commented: “This performance of the Requiem, one hundred years on from its composer’s death, is an opportunity for Music for Galway to reach out to singers across all Ireland. We encourage anyone to sign up for an immersive experience in which the St Nicholas Singers will be guided through this beautiful work by charismatic director Mark Duley. I am looking forward to taking part in the performance myself and we are thrilled to have wonderful soloists: Galway soprano Saoirse Knauer and my compatriot the baritone Benoît Capt”.
Standard Ticket prices for the main chamber concerts are €25; Concession €22.50; Social Inclusion €12.50; MfG Friends €21 and can be booked from www.musicforgalway.ie or 091 705962. Standard ticket prices for the Fauré Requiem are €12; Concession €10,80; Social Inclusion: free. Concession rate applies to people aged over 66 and social inclusion tickets are available to children, students (full time ), people in receipt of disability and back-to-work allowance, carers’ allowance, as well as to people seeking refuge and refugees. There is a festival ticket available at €82 / concession €74.
The Midwinter Festival is presented in association with the University of Galway and the French Embassy in Ireland. The performance of the Fauré Requiem is presented in partnership with St Nicholas Schola Cantorum. The ConTempo Quartet is presented by the Galway Music Residency.
Concert and dinner packages are available, see www.musicforgalway.ie for all booking details.
To find out more about the Fauré Requiem project and to sign up, send an email to [email protected].
LISTINGS
Friday 19 January 7.30pm
The Hardiman Ballroom
Michel Dalberto, piano | Andreea Banciu, viola | Benoît Capt, baritone | Laure-Hélène Michel, cello Nathan Mierdl, violin
Music from 1870 – 1880
Ballade for piano in F sharp, Op. 19
Sonata No. 1 for violin & piano in A, Op. 13
Selection of Songs from Fauré’s first period
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 15
Saturday 20 January 4.00pm
St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church
St. Nicholas Singers | Mark Duley, conductor | Benoit Capt, baritone | Saoise Knauer, soprano
FAURÉ REQUIEM in D minor, Op. 48
Saturday 20 January 7.30pm
The Hardiman Ballroom
Michel Dalberto piano | Benoît Capt baritone | Finghin Collins piano | ConTempo Quartet
Music from 1885 - 1895
Theme & Variations for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 73
Selected songs from Fauré’s second period
Cinq Mélodies de Venise Op. 58
“Dolly” Suite for piano duet, Op. 56
Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89
Sunday 21 January 3.00pm
The Hardiman Ballroom
CLOSING CONCERT AND RECEPTION
Michel Dalberto piano | Benoît Capt baritone | Laure-Hélène Michel cello | ConTempo Quartet
Music from 1915 - 1923
Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 109
Mirages, Op. 113
L’Horizon Chimérique, Op. 118
Nocturne No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119
String Quartet in E minor, Op. 121
