From familiar works to brand-new pieces: Autumn at Snape Maltings

Barbara Hepworth: Family of Man – Snape Maltings, winter 2021 (Photo: Shoel Stadlen, courtesy Britten Pears Arts)

The Autumn season at Snape Maltings Concert Hall sees Britten Pears Arts presenting a wide and varied range of activity from familiar works to brand-new pieces with leading performers, orchestras and ensembles beating a path to coastal Suffolk.

Undoubtedly, a major event in the Snape Maltings Concert Hall calendar is the Britten Weekend (2nd/3rd November) which this year features brother-and-sister duo, Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, seen as both soloists and chamber musicians. Their programme comprises Britten’s Cello Sonata in C major paired with the Sonata in D minor by Shostakovich, a composer very close to Britten while the Britten Pears Chamber Choir (formerly Aldeburgh Voices) will sing three lovely contrasting choral mass settings by Britten, Kodály and Tavener from across five centuries in Orford Church thereby reimagining a choral concert from the Aldeburgh Festival’s early days.

Each year, too, the Viola Tunnard Artist award supports a talented collaborative pianist to develop their craft and skills and this year the accolade falls to French-born pianist, Juliette Journaux, who is addicted to Schubert, Beethoven, Mahler and the like. She will be joined by French-born mezzo-soprano, Mathilde Ortscheidt, performing a delectable programme of Mahler, Britten and Elgar while the Britten Weekend moves over to the Red House for a tour of the archive strongrooms (3rd November) while there will also be a celebration across the site of the people who had deep connections to the Red House, namely Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, who founded the Aldeburgh Festival in partnership with librettist/producer Eric Crozier in 1948.

And fresh from English Touring Opera’s sell-out performance of Judith Weir’s acclaimed opera Blond Eckbert at the 75th Aldeburgh Festival [see Tony’s review], the production proudly returns for a couple of performances on 11th/12th October. A superb cast features Alex Otterburn (Eckbert), Aoife Miskelly (Bird), Flora McIntosh (Berthe) and William Morgan (Walther, Hugo/Old Woman). The opera’s paired with Do not take my story for a fairytale, a staging of song-cycles and cantatas exploring love, isolation and the terrible wonder of the natural world performed by a period-instrument ensemble featuring soprano Abigail Kelly, mezzo-soprano Amy J. Payne, 2024 Kathleen Ferrier Award-winner tenor Matthew McKinney and baritone Mark Nathan. Both performances will be conducted by Gerry Cornelius with direction by Robin Norton-Hale and designs by Eleanor Bull (11th October).

ETO is also travelling with a new production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden (12th October) directed by Olivia Fuchs and conducted by Hannah Quinn. A classic ‘coming-of-age’ tale packed with colour and folk melodies, the cast includes Ffion Edwards (Snow Maiden), Kitty Whateley (Lyel), Katherine McIndoe (Kupava), Edmund Danon (Mizgir), Hannah Sandison (Spring Beauty), Edward Hawkins (Grandfather Frost/Bermyata), Joseph Doody (Tsar), Jack Dolan (Bobyl), Amy J Payne (Boblikha), David Horton (Woodsprite), Neil Balfour (Maslenitsa) and Alexandra Meier (Tsar’s Page).

Supporting some of the world’s most exciting young instrumentalists, singers and ensembles at the start of their international careers through performance and recording opportunities, the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists Scheme takes over the Britten Studio for a couple of days on 19th/20th October. The first concert falls to the Chaos Quartet joining forces with the Fergus McCreadie Trio and renowned cellist Santiago Cañón Valencia while contemporary jazz collides with Scottish folklore and the inspiring Suffolk landscape in this collaborative programme while the second concert features cellist Santiago Cańón Valencia who will balance two of Bach’s towering suites for solo cello with a treasure-trove of contemporary South American repertoire featuring his own music alongside that of renowned Argentinian composer. Osvaldo Golijov. Jazz takes over the final concert with pianist Fergus McCreadie improvising on favourite Schubert songs as chosen, arranged and played by the Chaos Quartet who will play the composer’s Quintet in C.

Always welcome visitors to Snape Maltings, Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra return on 25th October offering an orchestral theatre performance of Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite presented by Tom Service who will dissect the 1945 version of the work alongside Nicholas Collon before it is performed from memory by this celebrated orchestra. The programme is completed by the dynamic French-born pianist, Alexandre Tharaud, joining Aurora to play Ravel’s jazz-influenced Piano Concerto in G major while the concert interestingly opens with Outi Tarkiainen’s The Ring of Fire and Love. A nine-minute work the piece is named after the ‘Ring of Fire’, a volcanic belt surrounding the Pacific Ocean in which most of the world’s earthquakes occur while the term also refers to the phenomenon that takes place during a solar eclipse when the moon blocks all but the outside ring of the sun.

An annual event that has rapidly grown over the years is Christmas at Snape Maltings and one of the highlights this year includes Anna Lapwood conducting the Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge, in Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols coupled with a new work written in response to it by the Armenian-British composer, Kristina Arakelyan. Her work, Angel of Light, incorporates strains of Gregorian chant weaving delicately throughout the work thereby bringing together music from the 20th and 21st centuries and reworking melodies written as far back as the 16th century (7th December).

A popular and entertaining concert is all wrapped up in an evening of Christmas classics led by soprano Laura Wright alongside pianist Dan Moriyama, percussionist Lauren Kosty, guitarist Andy Moore, the Britten Pears Chamber Choir and The Band of the Royal British Legion, Leiston (14th December) while Howard Blake’s The Snowman gets its traditional screening with Ben Parry conducting the Suffolk Ensemble and a chorus of talented young Suffolk singers. A perfect way for all the family to celebrate the festive season.

Hurrah! Friday Night Is Music Night. It certainly is! And the BBC’s well-loved show, presented by Katie Derham and featuring soprano Soraya Mafi, comes ‘live’ from Snape Maltings Concert Hall (20 December) thus filling the auditorium with the twinkly, sugary and delightful sounds of Christmas in the company of the BBC Concert Orchestra exploring a repertoire ranging from the golden age of light music to the best found in film and TV scores.

The final concert in the Christmas at Snape season (21st December) falls to Kate Rusby who will be performing numbers from her latest charting Christmas album Light Years and a selection from her ever-popular previous six Christmas albums for extra measure! A folksinger at heart, she has taken the genre to new heights appealing way beyond the folk scene and her Yorkshire roots.

Families are never forgotten about at Snape therefore some good family events are lined up such as Mini Music Makers comprising 90-minute Friday morning sessions of fun music and play activities for 0-5-year-olds at the Red House led by the Red House’s Community and Collections Curator, Joe Carr. Each session includes singing and creative play thereby encouraging social skills, turn-taking, sharing and having fun (every Friday to 13th December).

In a free, fun-packed session of music and play activities for 5-7-year-olds, Family Music Makers (Peter Pears Recital Room) includes warm-ups, musical games and creating new music (27th October) while YolanDa’s Band Jam features the critically acclaimed CBeebies children’s TV show presented by double MOBO award-winning musician and broadcaster YolanDa Brown. Dubbed ‘Jools Holland for kids’, YolanDa’s show encourages children to discover the joys of music through dancing, singing and playing (27th October).

A series of Open Studio Sessions can be enjoyed, too, in the intimate setting of the Britten Studio. For instance, Thick & Tight dance company will create a solo performance for Annie Edwards during this residency while the company explores queer ecology, challenging exclusionary ‘natural’ vs. ‘unnatural’ binaries aiming to understand how nature influences queer artists and how marginalisation affects their sense of belonging in the natural world (25th October). And on her Snape Residency, composer Ruby Colley will develop a new work inspired by her relationship with Paul, her neurodivergent and non-speaking brother. Written for and in collaboration with EXAUDI, Hello Halo offers a vocal map of Paul’s lived experiences and his interactions with Ruby, shining a light on unconventional communication methods as well as the complexity of neurodiverse relationships (25th October).

Exploring key themes and work from the contemporary music catalogue features Aldeburgh Young Musicians with guidance from Riot Ensemble whose members are all leading European soloists in new music (1 November) while Richard Pye’s Bystander has been born out of both a personal and collective experience of rising hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity, aiming to investigate support, existence, resistance and advocacy. This performance will incorporate movement and sound to explore themes of support, alliance and agency (7th December).

Developing their new work, composer An-Ting and movement artist Masumi Saito explores the themes of death, nature and spirit in Departure by integrating funeral ceremonies from various cultures – particularly East Asian traditions. This project expands on the work Britten Pears Arts is doing to build compassionate communities in relation to end of life, grief and loss (7th December).

Singers and instrumentalists from the Composition and Performance course of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme will tackle Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, a masterpiece of 20th-century music (Peter Pears Recital Room) in a masterclass led by soprano Claire Booth and conductor Jonathan Berman (17th September). [Claire Booth recently chatted to Robert about performing Pierrot Lunaire, see interview]. There is a chance, too, of sitting in on one of the Composition and Performance course composer reading sessions where Britten Pears Arts Young Artist instrumental ensemble workshops brand-new pieces written by a cohort of emerging composers (19th September).

An end-of-course concert offers one the opportunity to hear new developing pieces from composers on the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, written during the Composition and Performance course with guidance from Colin Matthews and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Performed by the Britten Pears Contemporary Ensemble, the concert also features performances of repertoire from the 20th and 21st centuries including excerpts from Pierrot lunaire as coached by soprano Claire Booth (22nd September) who at this year’s Aldeburgh Festival (celebrating its 75th edition) delivered a blistering account of the work with members of The Nash Ensemble.

Exciting participatory events include a performance by a Scratch Choir of Fauré’s Requiem (9th November) where everyone is welcome to join Britten Pears Arts Remembrance Weekend Scratch Choir to learn and perform this work under the expert guidance of conductor, Ben Vonberg-Clark. [Ben Vonberg-Clark recently sang in Robert’s Out of the Shadows at the Glasperlenspiel Festival in Estonia, see article]. Participants will learn the entire piece in a single day and in an exciting ‘first’ for the Scratch Choir they will perform the Requiem in a public concert in the evening at Snape Maltings Concert Hall.

A great adventure for young singers falls on Friday, 22nd November, with a session of the Big Sing – borne out of the Britten centenary celebrations in 2013 – which will see Snape Maltings Concert Hall come alive with youthful souls from across Suffolk gathering to sing a selection of songs as part of a massed choir. This year’s event will be ‘live streamed’ so that schools in Suffolk and beyond can take part in the event virtually singing along from their school halls. To register email community@brittenpearsarts.org

Jazz takes centre stage the next day (Saturday, 23rd November) with celebrated jazz pianist, composer, educator and presenter Pete Letanka leading Aldeburgh Young Musicians in a workshop (10-18-year-olds) offering them a brilliant opportunity to expand their musical tastes and experiences in a one-day dive into the traditions of jazz.

Remembering the halcyon days of romantic tea dances in London’s swishy hotels such as the Waldorf, one can quickstep back in time and enjoy afternoon tea in the Britten Studio and, if you so desire, take to the floor to waltz and foxtrot to a ‘live’ band. Designed for people in later life, the event (11th December) is wheelchair-accessible and is suitable for all abilities The Scratch Choir returns to the same venue (18th December) for a day of learning and performing a festive repertoire with conductor Ben Vonberg-Clark

This year’s Heritage Open Days theme (Routes – Networks – Connections) features a special archive exhibition about the people that formed part of Britten’s local and creative community in Aldeburgh and farther afield. This year’s exhibition at the Red House suitably entitled The Composer’s Place examines Britten’s roots in Suffolk along with his international experiences and inspirations (7th-15th September).
A special opening of the home of Imogen Holst, composer, conductor and educator, offers a fascinating glimpse into her life and work. Her one-bedroom bungalow at 9 Church Walk, Aldeburgh, is an enchanting capsule of mid-century aesthetic designed and built by HT ‘Jim’ Cadbury-Brown (5th-8th September) while eight-person, 90-minute tours of the Red House looking in at the studio and library with visiting the archive are held every Wednesday until 30th October.

For October half-term, Spooky Sounds at the Red House will come ‘alive’ from hearing Suffolk tales and learning how one can add to storytelling by using musical effects. Children will be able to create their own sound-effect kit and tell their own spooky stories at home (31st October/1st November). And to celebrate Benjamin Britten’s birthday, born 111 years ago on 22nd November 1913, appropriately, too, on St Cecilia’s Day, the patron saint of music, the Red House will be open to all and sundry as, too, will be the exhibitions The Composer’s Place and Pears and Colour. There will also be a special display in the archive to mark this salutary occasion.

Managed and run by Britten Pears Arts trained volunteers, in partnership with St Elizabeth Hospice, the Bereavement Café hopes to provide a social space for people who are facing bereavement to talk about their experience of loss in a safe, relaxed and peaceful environment (every Wednesday to 18th December). And Red House recitals feature mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons and pianist Lana Bode who will draw on their personal experiences of grief, loss and transformation to curate the programme In Somnia, a healing journey through dreams comprising song-cycles by Catalan-born composer Frederic Mompou and Ethel Smyth forming the backbone of the programme interspersed with a kaleidoscope of songs from 20th- and 21st-century composers (8th November). And to celebrate Britten’s birthday a special recital in the Red House witnesses soprano Francesca Chiejina, mezzo-soprano Bethany Horak-Hallett and pianist Natalie Birch perform songs drawn from their recent album, Our Indifferent Century (22nd November).

The visual arts are not forgotten either with an exhibition entitled MUD: The Upper Estuary of the River duly celebrating the 60th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River which received a brilliant new production at this year’s Aldeburgh Festival in Blythburgh Church directed by Deborah Warner featuring Ian Bostridge as the Madwoman and Duncan Rock (Ferryman). Multi-disciplinary artist Susan Brinkhurst and photographer Eamonn McCabe started their collaboration on MUD, curated across three spaces at Snape Maltings (Dovecote Studio, Winch Gallery, Switch Room) before the latter’s untimely death in October 2022. Therefore, this exhibition marks McCabe’s last body of photographic images. Running from 14th September to 20th October.

For more programme details from Britten Pears Arts website.