ACTU Presents ‘Chamber Music for a King and a Queen’
Post Published On:Arts for the Community at Thomas University (ACTU) presents “Chamber Music for a King and a Queen” this Sunday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. at Trinity Anglican Church, located at 325 W Jackson St., Thomasville.
This concert will feature Rebecca Brinson, soprano; Karl Barton, flute; Joy Tedford, violin; Sally Hernandez, viola; and Boyan Bonev, cello performing the “Trio Sonata” from the Musical Offering for King Frederick the Great by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Salve Regina (Hail Queen)” by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and the “Flute Quartet in D Major” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
“The Musical Offering by J.S. Bach has a great back story” stated Dr. Karl Barton, coordinator of ACTU. “While Bach was visiting his son at the court of Frederick the Great, the king gave the elder Bach a musical theme and asked him to compose a fugue on the spot, which he did, but when he returned home, he set about taking the theme and composing canons, fugues, musical puzzles, and the trio sonata that will be performed Sunday.” The beginning of the dedication reads, “To your Majesty is dedicated herewith in deepest humility a Musical Offering, whose most excellent part itself proceeds from your own lofty hand.”
Also on the program will be the Flute Quartet in D Major, K. 285 by Mozart, which was written when he was 21 years old. Mozart had recently resigned his position with the Archbishop of Salzburg because he was not allowed to leave and perform at other courts. He undertook the tour, and although musically successful, he was unable to find a patron interested in paying for his services on an ongoing basis. He did, however, receive a commission from an amateur flutist that included three concertos and a couple of quartets for the flute. Mozart wrote to his father that he struggled “whenever I must write for an instrument I cannot bear,” but this is belied by the D Major quartet that is full of bright, cheerful melodies, and a slow movement is one of the most beautiful accompanied solos ever written for the flute.
Barton continued, “The other royal-themed work on the program is Salve Regina by Pergolesi. This title is in reference to Mary, the Holy Mother of Jesus, so sometimes it is called ‘Hail Holy Queen,’ and this is a beautiful vocal work that will be sung by Rebecca Brinson, who has developed a great love for the vocal works of Pergolesi and sings them with unmatched skill and beauty that you will not want to miss.”
This performance will begin at 4 p.m. Oct. 2. It can also be viewed online at www.facebookcom/actu31792/live. No Facebook account is required to view.
ACTU is supported in part by Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Council for the Arts also receives support from its partner agency, the National Endowment for the Arts. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about this and other ACTU events, visit www.facebookcom/actu31792 or www.thomasu.edu/actu, call (229) 227-6964 or email actu@thomasu.edu.
