Amsterdam Sinfonietta
Candida Thompson artistic direction and violin
Felix Klieser horn
Ilker Arcayürek tenor
Holst Four Songs for tenor and violin
Britten Lachrymae, op. 48a
Sjostakovitsj Kammersinfonie, op. 110a
Dowland Flow my tears
Britten Serenade, op. 31 for tenor, horn en string orchestra
It seems but a small step from Holst’s medieval songs to Britten’s Lachrimae. Britten reflects on a Lachrimae by the Renaissance composer John Dowland. The laments retain the eerie, melancholic character so typical of Dowland. Britten also quotes his famed aria Flow my tears, here performed by string orchestra. This is followed by the Chamber Symphony opus 110a; a greater contrast with the melancholic Lachrimae is scarcely imaginable. Depressed and persecuted, Shostakovich wrote an intimate and highly compelling requiem for himself. Felix Klieser and Ilker Arcayürek are the soloists in Britten’s Serenade for tenor and horn. The German horn player, who was born without arms, swiftly learned to operate the horn valves with his toes as a child. Britten’s masterly collection of English verse is an ode to the night: dark, spooky, silent and imbued with hope.