What the music is
Concert programme explained
A short guide to the pieces named on the Matthias Church concert page, from Pachelbel's Canon and Vivaldi's Winter to Handel, Saint-Saëns and Massenet.
Book a seat on Castle Hill ↗Quick answer
The booking page for the Matthias Church concert carries a programme headed Best of Classic, mostly baroque and romantic favourites for strings and a solo violin: Pachelbel's Canon, Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Albinoni, Saint-Saëns, Franck, Massenet and Mozart. Programmes vary by date, so the list shows style, not a promise.
How a string concert works
A string orchestra plays without brass or woodwind, so the sound comes from violins, violas, cellos and basses, with a soloist stepping forward for the lead pieces. The booking page names the Duna String Orchestra with a violin soloist. The music is mostly short pieces you may already know, which suits listeners who do not usually go to classical concerts, and each piece is over before you have time to tire of it. Applause comes at the end of a piece, and a short pause between movements is normal.
Pachelbel's Canon
Johann Pachelbel's Canon and Gigue was written for three violins and basso continuo. Nobody knows when he composed it, with estimates running from 1680 to 1706. The three violins enter two measures apart over a repeating bass, each playing the same tune after the last. Listen for that overlap: the piece is simple to follow because the tune keeps coming back, and the shape builds as each new voice enters and the texture thickens.
Vivaldi's Winter and the Gloria
Vivaldi's Four Seasons are four violin concertos, one per season, each paired with a sonnet and published in Amsterdam in 1725 within his Op. 8. Winter's second movement is a slow Largo. The programme also names Vivaldi's Gloria, a sacred work for voices. A concerto sets a soloist against the orchestra, so in the Winter movement the violinist leads while the strings accompany, which is the clearest chance in the programme to hear one player against many.
Bach and the Air
The programme names a movement from Bach's Violin Concerto in E major and the Air. The Air on the G String is August Wilhelmj's 1871 arrangement of the second movement of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, moved down to C major so the violin melody can be played entirely on its lowest string. The result is a slow, singing line that suits a church, and a good test of how long a stone room holds a note.
Handel, Saint-Saëns and Massenet
Handel's Water Music was first played on the Thames on 17 July 1717 for King George I, on a river excursion from Whitehall toward Chelsea, and the king liked it enough to have it repeated several times. Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals in February 1886, and The Swan in it is scored for cello and two pianos. He held the rest of the suite back, fearing its frivolity would damage his standing as a serious composer, and relented only for The Swan, published in 1887 for cello and solo piano. Massenet's Thaïs Méditation is the entr'acte for violin and orchestra between scenes of the second act of his opera, first staged in Paris in 1894. It is a showpiece for the violin soloist.
Franck and Mozart
César Franck's Panis angelicus is a 1872 setting of a hymn stanza by Thomas Aquinas, best known for tenor, harp, cello and organ. Mozart's Alleluia is the finale of his soprano motet Exsultate, jubilate, first performed in January 1773. The Matthias Church concert uses strings and a violin soloist, so these pieces reach you as arrangements or extracts. What you hear on your date is set by the musicians, and the booking page shows the programme that applies.
Frequently asked questions
Is the programme fixed?
No. The booking page shows a sample programme, and the programme varies by date.
Is prior knowledge of classical music needed?
Not at all. The pieces named are familiar baroque and romantic favourites, and the programme is easy to follow.
Will the organ be played?
The booking page describes a string orchestra with a violin soloist, not the church organ.
Sources