Jordie Hughton is excited to be back as a guest soloist with the SSO! Previous engagements include Mozart’s Coronation Mass (2017) On Broadway with the Fireside Singers (2016) and Handel’s Messiah! (2008-2010) Jordie has appeared in numerous productions with Saskatoon Opera including Fiorello/Officer in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” and The Imperial Comissioner in “Madama Butterfly”. On the musical theatre stage, Jordie’s favourite recent roles include Javert (Les Miserables-Fireside singers), Frollo (Hunchback of Notre Dame- Fireside Singers), Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd- Saskatoon Summer Players) Franklin Hart ( 9 to 5 the Musical- Saskatoon Summer Players) and Professor Bhaer (Little Women- Saskatoon Summer Players). A teacher of voice for the past 15 years, Jordie recently established a private home studio for singers of all ages. Jordie is the artistic director of Music for the Gut, a benefit concert for Crohn’s and Colitis Canada featuring many talented local artists. In 12 years of performances, the concert has raised over $200,000 to support Research to find a cure for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He is grateful for your support of the arts in Saskatoon!
The renaissance of Marianna Martines
They say that brilliant minds touch the lives of all that surround them. This was especially true for Vienna-born composer Marianna Martines (sometimes referred to as Marianne von Martinez). Marianna was born in 1744 into a family of career soldiers. Her father Nicolo, who had grown up in Naples, served in Vienna as major-domo to the papal nuncio (the Pope’s embassy to the Austrian Empire).
Marianna’s brothers both led distinguished military careers and, for their service to the Empire, their entire family was awarded a patent of nobility in 1774 (back then, you couldn’t have “von” in your family name without this handy slip of paper). But Marianna (with her musical gifts both as a performer and composer) was the rising star of the family, and with the help of a family friend she would one day become a sensation throughout all of Europe.
During Marianna’s childhood, The Martines family lived in a large building on the Michaelerplatz in Vienna. Described by historians as “a stately building still standing in the Kohlmarkt”, the complex was arranged by the social class of its occupants: upper class members of society held soirees in palatial rooms on the bottom floors, while the lower classes lived in the cramped interiors of the building’s uppermost reaches. As an upper-middle class family, the Martines clan were privileged enough to live on the third floor.
The neighbors of Marianna Martines included the dowager princess of the wealthy Esterházy family (1st Floor), the well-known Italian singing teacher and composer Nicola Porpora (who lived a few floors above Marianna), and Joseph Haydn (then a struggling composer and freelance musician who lived in the building’s attic). The figure who helped unite all these neighbors into a network of musical support for Marianna’s development was her father’s childhood friend Pietro Trapassi. Writing under the famous pen name “Metastasio”, Pietro lived with the Martines family for the rest of his life after being appointed Poet Laureate to the Austrian Empire in 1730.
As the tutor responsible for Marianna’s practical and musical education in childhood, Pietro ensured that the education Marianna received was of a quality far superior to that of the “standard” provided to women of her social class at that time. Through her rigorous study of languages with Pietro, for example, Marianna became an incredibly well-versed quadrilingual of French, English, Italian, and German. Pietro arranged for Marianna to take keyboard lessons from Haydn (that brilliant young man from the attic) and encouraged her to take singing lessons at the age of ten.
So it was that Marianna continued her musical training under Nicola Porpora, with Haydn serving as both her accompanist and assistant to her new teacher. Demonstrating potential as a gifted composer, Marianna was encouraged by her tutor Pietro to take lessons in composition from Johann Adolph Hasse and the Imperial court composer Giuseppe Bonno. She brought Haydn with her to meet both Hasse and Bonno, and the attic musician’s career flourished as a result.
Martines was a virtuosic player, even as a child, and regularly performed before the Imperial court. Her biographer Helene Wessely depicts the young Martines as having “attracted attention with her beautiful voice and [superb] keyboard playing”. Wessely also asserts that her compositions, particularly for voice, possess a “predilection for coloratura passages, leaps over wide intervals and trills indicat[ing] that she herself must have been an excellent singer.” As a rock star on the harpsichord, she developed such a reputation into adulthood that she was frequently requested to perform before the Empress Maria Theresa.
Despite being one of the most eligible bachelorettes in the Classical Viennese music scene, Marianna Martines never married. She never sought an appointed position at court either. There were barriers to women (as well as individuals of her social class) when it came to pursuing compositional employment that her friend Haydn simply did not have to contend with. Together with her sister (who also remained a lifelong bachelorette) she cared for her mentor Pietro until his death in 1782. That very year, Marianna’s Italian oratorio “Isacco figura del redentore” was premiered in a renowned concert series put on by the Tonkünstler-Societät. The librettist for this oratorio is credited to Pietro’s pen name of Metastasio.
The poet left his estate to the Martines family, and to his student Marianna he bequeathed 20,000 florins, his harpsichord, and his entire music library. Marianna used this money to fill the Martines home with her former tutor’s favorite music, hosting musical soirees with her sister that attracted distinguished guests (such as the Irish tenor Michael Kelly and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself!). The latter was a frequent guest to these musical get-togethers and composed four-hand piano sonatas to perform with Marianne. Never too proud to forget his roots, Haydn would often pop in for a bit of harpsichord-tickling and merriment-making.
As a composer, Martines penned four masses, six motets, and three litanies for choir. She composed several works for solo voice and wrote several secular cantatas (as well as two oratorios) to Italian texts. In the definitive fashion of the early Classical period, particularly in Vienna, she composed in the Italian style. Her harpsichord playing was compared stylistically to that of C.P.E. Bach, and her compositions were so well-regarded that some scholars suggest Mozart modeled his 1768 Mass after the “Christe” of her Mass No. 1 in D major.
As she rightly deserved, Martines’ name and music were lauded throughout Europe, but after her death in 1812 her musical legacy faced an incredible amount of erasure. It is only in recent years that her music has, rightly, been unearthed to the delight of the musical world. It is primarily thanks to the efforts made by publishers such as “Furore-Verlag” (a German publisher that specializes in works by female composers) that we can enjoy so many of her compositions today.
Remembering Randi Nelson
Randi Nelson was a member of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and our principal flute for 47 years. More than just a member of the orchestra, she was a pillar of the music community in Saskatoon and across the country. When she retired we had hoped to see her smiling face in our audience for years to come. Unfortunately, life had other plans and we lost Randi to cancer in 2020.
When Randi retired in 2016 CEO Mark Turner wrote:
“If we had to pick one word to describe Randi Nelson it would be “classy”. She is kind, supportive, meticulous and extremely hard-working. Her lifelong dedication to this orchestra is an inspiration. She will always strive for the best in any situation. With a gift for organization, Randi is always taking the initiative to help coordinate her fellow musicians.”
Randi joined the SSO in the fall of 1969 and in the later part of her career she was a fountain of knowledge about the SSO. Her many memories and stories were great reminders of how far the SSO has come. She also shared her wisdom and was considered a great mentor in the SSO and the greater musical community.
Being a part of the orchestra wasn’t the only connection Randi had to the SSO. Her father, Dwayne Nelson, was the Music Director from 1971–1976. It’s safe to say her passion for music began at home. In an interview when asked about the role of music in her early life she said
“It was a major part of my family’s life. I remember all of my parents’ students sitting around in our living room listening to recordings late into the night. I would lay awake and listen.”
In the same interview, Randi lists her biggest influences in classical music as her parents and noted she was still working on a solution for nerves before a performance.
In her role as a principal, she was part of the SSO’s core. This group of musicians performs in all of the main series concerts and all the smaller gigs including school shows, touring shows, Time for Toddlers, and visits to assisted living facilities.
We love the story principal violist James Legge shares about Randi’s school show introduction about Beethoven’s 5th and those “first 5 notes”.
“Randi has taught me that it’s not all about the final concert. Rehearsals can be just as inspiring and fun. Since the beginning of my time here, she has set the example of what it means to be a good colleague, dedicated teacher, wonderful performer and caring friend.”
– Stephanie Unverricht, principal bassoon (Taken from the program notes at Randi’s retirement)
Her dedication, work ethic, and joy in making music were infectious. As noted by Margaret Wilson, principal clarinet in this lovely snippet.
“Always meticulously prepared, Randi has been such a good leader in our orchestra. Known for her ‘smoke and whisky” sound, her precise musical leadership will be sorely missed.”
– Mark Turner (Taken from the program notes at Randi’s retirement)
Erin Brophey, principal oboe, speaks of how Randi was really the core’s mom. Randi’s leadership and mentorship showed themselves in countless ways – most of all in her actions as remembered by so many.
Due to Covid-19, there was no opportunity to have a celebration of Randi’s life. Randi’s husband Terry (cellist & longtime SSO collaborator), and her children, opened up her beloved garden for friends and family to give people a chance to grieve together safely. In that garden, SSO CEO Mark Turner announced that the SSO was going to commission a piece in honour of Randi’s memory. Terry shared a beautiful memory of seeing his wife “up to her waist in lupins” which was passed on to composer Christos Hatzis and led to the creation of the work we premiere on September 24th during our season opening concert Orchestration.
Terry graciously spoke with CBC’s Shauna Powers about Randi and the new piece. You can listen to the chat here.
When we premiere “Up to her Waist in Lupins” our current principal flute, Allison Miller, is the featured soloist. We had a chance to ask her about how she felt giving the world premiere of this work by Christos Hatzis in honour of Randi.
Before her retirement, we asked Randi what her hope was for the future of classical music in Saskatoon. She answered by saying she hoped
“that it continues to be relevant and understood as an important measure of a societal worth.”
We can’t think of a more worthy cause than a new piece of music commemorating the incredible Randi Nelson.
As Erin Brophey said in a recent CBC interview,
” it is absolutely fitting that there’s a new, incredibly gorgeous, piece that is going to be added to the flute canon. That there will be people that will continue to perform this piece and have to research who Randi was. It keeps her legacy going.”
You can be a part of continuing Randi’s legacy by donating towards the cost of the commission.
Join us at the Hub
The concert ends, you exit TCU Place, and you’re still brimming with excitement after such a fabulous evening. Where to next?
Cross the street and join us over at the Hub at Holiday Inn!
It’s the perfect place to grab a post-concert drink, and snack, alongside fellow SSO patrons, musicians, and the feature guest artists.
We have complimentary appetizers on a first come first-serve basis!
Forsyth’s Viola Concerto
When Forsyth’s Viola Concerto in G minor was first performed at the Queen’s Hall Promenade Concerts on 12 September 1903 it represented a significant development – possibly the first full-blown concerto for viola by a British composer. It is interesting that when it was published in 1904, by Schott of Mainz, the title was given in French and the piano reduction was by the composer John Ireland – this was presumably Forsyth offering a paid job to supplement Ireland’s meagre income as a church organist. The first performance was played by the violist Émile Férir, to whom the published score is dedicated (‘à son ami Férir’). It was repeated by Dan Godfrey at Bournemouth on 28 March 1907, when the soloist was the Dutchman Siegfried Wertheim, Tertis’s successor as the first viola of the Queen’s Hall Orchestra. Yet Tertis ignored it.
It is interesting to see the status of solo viola players before Tertis came on the scene. At the first performance Tertis would have been the first viola in the Queen’s Hall Orchestra, yet he does not mention the work. This reinforces the impression that Tertis appears not to have related to this concerto: he does not include it in his list of British viola concertos in his autobiography. Soon afterwards Férir went to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with whom he appeared as a soloist on twenty-four occasions between 1903 and 1918, and in 1912 he appeared with the Boston Symphony as soloist in Forsyth’s Chanson Celtique. When Sir Henry Wood conducted at the Hollywood Bowl in 1926, he tells us, he again encountered Férir.
Forsyth is certainly a master of the singing line, and was clearly writing for a player whose instrumental timbre was known to him. The concerto’s unusual introduction is notable for the solo viola’s questionings and contrasting assertive double-stoppings (appassionato), followed by wistful musings (lento dolce), all of which is eventually elaborated into a long statement. An orchestral tutti announces another idea without the soloist, but there is a pause before we reach the movement proper with the soloist’s ever-extended lyrical line, propelled forward by oft-repeated triplets, and soon repeated by the orchestra.
The slow movement is very simple. It opens portentously with a trumpet call, soon repeated by horns, before the soloist sings its elegiac tune elaborated over forty-six bars, this mood being underlined by the ensuing cor anglais. The viola returns more passionately with new material and over a broad span builds to a climax when the orchestra sings out the opening theme. The long closing viola cantilena returns us to the elegiac mood and the vision fades as if in a dream.
The finale opens with much orchestral huffing and puffing, in no way typical of the lyrical movement that follows which is constructed from a jerky dotted idea and a lovely tune that might have been written by Dvorák. The soloist is sometimes emphatic with much double-stopping, especially towards the end, but the overall impression of good humour remains.
from notes by Lewis Foreman © 2005
Ruth Gipps
Composer Ruth Gipps was born in Bexhill-on-Sea, England in 1921. Gipps’ family was very musical and her mother was the principal of the Bexhill School of Music.
Gipps was considered a child prodigy. She won competitions where she was the youngest participant by far, and had her first composition bought by a publishing house when she was 8 years old. She entered the Royal College of Music at the age of 16 and studied oboe, piano, and composition. At age 26 she became the youngest British woman to receive a doctorate in music.
At age 33 a shoulder injury ended her performance career and Gipps decided to focus on composition and conducting. These days, there is a small but growing number of women on the podium, when Gipps began conducting she was one of very few and faced harsh criticism from her peers. Gipps used this as a driving force to prove herself through her work, and it was probably the reason she founded so many groups that created performing opportunities for living composers and young professional musicians. She founded the London Repertoire Orchestra in 1955 as an opportunity for young professional musicians to become exposed to a wide range of music. She founded the Chanticleer Orchestra in 1961, a professional ensemble that included a work by a living composer in each of its programs, often a premiere performance. Later in her life, she served as chairwoman of the Composers’ Guild of Great Britain.
Gipps composed music in a wide range of genres, including five symphonies, seven concertos, and numerous chamber and choral works.
Ruth Gipps Symphony No. 2
Ruth Gipps Symphony No. 2
Not heard of Ruth Gipps? No. Not surprised. Gipps was a phenomenal composer who lived between 1921 and 1999 who also happened to be a pianist, conductor, and oboist. She studied at the Royal College of Music in 1937, played with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, had a short-lived performance career before a shoulder injury stopped things, and penned the second of her five symphonies in 1945.
The second symphony feels like a continuous sequence of contrasting short movements that the series of four movements you might expect from a more orthodox symphony of the time. But what makes it a Thoroughly Good Symphony is that there’s something, even if you can’t put your finger on what it is exactly, that holds the whole thing together – the story of a film without the film getting in the way, if you like.
Gipps writes brilliantly for the brass section – listen out close after the start for some blistering brass ensemble writing which should make you go weak at the knees. Listen out for The March too – highly descriptive, with an irrepressibly rousing English folk music influence to it that is reminiscent of Vaughan Williams’ Folk Song Suites (assuming you’re familiar with them). The slow movement around which the entire 20-minute work pivots is utterly ravishing, with a horn solo that seems to hang in mid-air. The ‘tranquil’ moment which follows has at its heart a playful pastoral melody that still manages a modern and original feel to it. Glorious stuff. It seems incredible to me this was written and premiered in the same year as Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes.
Be sure to listen out for Ramon Gamba and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales’ recording of Ruth Gipps’ second symphony on Chandos, including the work she wrote in 1942 which was premiered at the Last Night of the Proms that year, ‘A Knight in Armour’.
Jon Jacob – Thoroughly Good
Music Talk – Orchestration
Conductor Judith Yan and CEO Mark Turner chat all about our season 92 opener Orchestration.
It’s our first hybrid Music Talk from the travel section of McNally Robinson Booksellers!
Cecil Forsyth
Cecil Forsyth was an English composer who studied at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Music in London, England. He also played the viola in various London orchestras.
He had a bit of success with his compositions including the Viola Concerto in G minor (which was premiered at the Proms in 1903 with Émile Férir as soloist and recorded in 2004 by Lawrence Power on the Hyperion label), the operas Westward Ho! and Cinderella, the “choral ballad” Tinker, Tailor, and a piece for viola and piano called Chanson celtique.
While he and his compositions are well known amongst viola players for giving their instrument the opportunity to shine, he is best known as an author. In 1914 he published a book titled Orchestration.
Forsyth described the history and inner workings of orchestral instruments as well as techniques and what is considered “playable” by musicians. The book is described as “an unparalleled insight into the inner working of an orchestra–a vivid impression of what it is like to be a violinist, clarinetist, trombonist, or other orchestral player.”
Up to Her Waist in Lupins
Up to her Waist in Lupins was commissioned by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra in memory of Randi Nelson, their departed former principal flutist who served in that position for over forty years. I did not know Randi personally but she knew my music from performances by the SSO including “Departures”, my second flute concerto. Her reaction after that concert prompted Mark Turner, the CEO of the orchestra, to propose to me a ten-minute-long concerto-like composition dedicated to her. Mark’s request came with the title, which in turn came with a story. Terry Sturge, Randi’s husband, was a cellist with the orchestra. Terry’s first encounter of Randi was in 1986 in her garden. She was “up to her waist in lupins”. As it often happens with soulmates, he knew from the first moment that they were meant to be together.
Their story touched me deeply. Even though I had not met them before, I felt inexplicably connected to their story and, through it, to them. I entered their story as if they were both dear friends and I began to musically explore my own feelings feverishly and with frantic speed. The composition was completed in less than ten days. Like their story, the music has come from a place of aching familiarity and longing, a psychic state that connects people across time and space; like a quantum entanglement, uninhibited by the causal linearities of our everyday reality. I am grateful to Mark and Terry for their support and for the stories and photographs that they shared to help me enter the psychic space of this remarkable woman and the legacy she has left behind in her community. I emerged from the experience as if I had known Randi all my life and needed to send to her a musical farewell for her endless continuing journey across an endless universe.
—Christos Hatzis
