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Past Events > 2020

24. Bach and Britten: Ian Bostridge, Saskia Giorgini & members of Oxford Bach Soloists

14 October 2020, 13:00 - 14:00

Concert

Lunchtime

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Merton College Chapel

Merton Street
Oxford
OX1 4JD

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This is the first event of four in a day that broadly explores the intersection of sacred and secular in song across the ages. Ian Bostridge’s residency at the Festival draws to a close with this wonderful programme, juxtaposing and joining Bach and Britten.

With a chamber ensemble made of members of Oxford Bach Soloists, he sings the cantata Ich habe genug (‘I have enough’), in its 1731 version with flute, which relates the elderly Simeon’s joy and relief at imminent death and salvation following Mary’s presentation to him of the baby Jesus. The famous central aria, ‘Schlummert ein, ihr matten Augen’, was copied into the notebook of Anna Magdalena, Bach’s second wife, where we also find the beloved song ‘Bist du bei mir’ (though this was in fact written by Gottfried Stölzel). This latter song is one of the Five Spiritual Songs: arrangements of Bach by Benjamin Britten. Ian is joined by the Italian-Dutch rising star pianist Saskia Giorgini, described in The Observer as ‘thrilling, flawless’, for these five songs and Britten’s first Canticle, ‘My beloved is mine and I am his’, based on The Song of Solomon.

This concert will be streamed completely live from Merton College Chapel. Shortly afterwards, it will also be available to watch again (using the same ticket and link) until 1 November 2020. Click here for further information on how tickets will work this year.

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Artist Portrait

Tom Hammond-Davies

Tom Hammond-Davies

Conductor

Tom Hammond-Davies is an award-winning choral conductor living in Oxford. He graduated from the University of Oxford where he read music as an Organ Scholar at Hertford College. He later attended the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where he studied choral conducting with Paul Spicer, director of the Finzi Singers and the Bach Choir in Birmingham. It was at the Conservatoire where he was awarded the Sir Michael Beech Conducting prize and the Three Choirs Festival award. Since then, Tom has carved out a unique space in choral conducting. He ... Read Full Biography
Artist Portrait

Dónal McCann

Dónal McCann

Organist

Born in Belfast, Dónal McCann is currently the Assistant Organist at New College, Oxford, a post he took up in September 2020. He was previously an organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, where he read music, graduating with a double first. At King’s, he accompanied the choir in daily chapel services, as well as in recordings, broadcasts and extensive tours, including to America and Australia. Prior to this, Dónal was the Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholar at Eton College, during which time he achieved the FRCO with th... Read Full Biography
Artist Portrait

Ian Bostridge

Ian Bostridge

Tenor

Ian Bostridge’s international recital career has taken him to the Salzburg, Edinburgh, Munich, Vienna, Aldeburgh and Schwarzenberg Schubertiade Festivals and to the main stages of Carnegie Hall and the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. He has held artistic residencies at the Vienna Konzerthaus and Schwarzenberg Schubertiade (2003/04), a Carte-Blanche series with Thomas Quasthoff at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw (2004/05), a Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall (2005/06), the Barbican, London (2008), the Luxembourg Philharmonie (2010/11), the Wig... Read Full Biography
Artist Portrait

Saskia Giorgini

Saskia Giorgini

Pianist

Winner of the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg in 2016, where she also got the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work, Saskia Giorgini is considered one of the most interesting pianists of the young generation. She is praised for her “unerring technique, a beautiful and moving sound, a phrasing full of fantasy and a pure musicality” (Salvatore Accardo). Saskia received her first piano lessons at the age of four. At fifteen she was admitted to the piano academy “Incontri col Maestro... Read Full Biography
Artist Portrait

Oxford Bach Soloists

Oxford Bach Soloists

Choir

The Oxford Bach Soloists (OBS) is a Baroque ensemble whose ambition is to perform, in sequence, the complete canon of J. S. Bach’s vocal works over 12 years. Founded by Tom Hammond-Davies (Artistic Director) in 2015, OBS offers a unique musical experience that converges composer, performer, and audience. The OBS mission is distinctive and pioneering: while there have been many recordings and performances of the complete vocal works of J. S. Bach, no ensemble has ever mounted a cycle of performances in chronological order, programmed... Read Full Biography
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Festival Passes

This event is part of a series:

Connections Across Time - A Brief History of Song

10 October 2020, 10:00 - 17 October 2020, 22:00

Over a packed eight days, world-class artists including Benjamin Appl, Ian Bostridge, Sarah Connolly and Roderick Williams will present some 40 concerts and events, from venues across Oxford and completely live. From the comfort of your own home, you will be able to enjoy these concerts live-streamed in the highest quality. We’ll be exploring every possible advantage of this temporary ...

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