Join us on Saturday 18th January for an all-French programme of gorgeous orchestral music, featuring works by Ravel, Poulenc and Bizet.
Far from being a funeral lament for a dead child as the title might suggest, Ravel’s ‘Pavane pour une infante défunte’ pictures a slow processional dance by a princess in the Spanish Court. The inspiration came from one of the paintings by Diego Velázquez, with Ravel admitting he chose the title because of the alliteration. It’s one of his more famous pieces, originally composed in 1899 for solo piano, but reworked for orchestra in 1910.
The four movements of Poulenc’s Sinfonietta, written in 1947 are full of light, colour and detail, and undeniably whimsical in contrast to some of his later works. Letchworth Sinfonia would like to thank the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation for a grant enabling this performance.
Georges Bizet’s 1st Symphony in C major was never performed in his lifetime, having been written as a composition exercise, whilst he studied under Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatoire aged just 17. The manuscript only came to light, years after being donated to the Conservatoire’s archives by his widow, and the first performance did not take place until 1935, when it was quickly acclaimed as a youthful masterpiece.
What better way to lighten a dark January night than come along. You will be very welcome.