Marianna Martines was an accomplished composer of oratorios, masses,
sacred choral works and secular cantatas, as well as works for
orchestra and keyboard. By 1761, Martines had composed three large
masses and a motet for performance at Michaelerkirche, the
imperial court church in her home city of Vienna, and was gaining a
reputation further afield. Her home, the Altes Michaelerhaus, also
housed the young composer Joseph Haydn (who taught her keyboard),
the composer Nicolò Porpora (who taught her composition), and the
famous imperial poet and opera librettist Metastasio (including the
libretto of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito). In later life she
hosted musical events, and performed duets with Haydn and Mozart,
and it is believed that a number of Mozart’s four-hand piano duet
sonatas were written for performance by Martines and Mozart.
We are honoured to be giving the UK première of her largest work for
soloists, chorus, and orchestra, the Quarta Messa of 1765, and we
present this alongside two major sacred works from the pen of her
colleague Mozart - his ever-popular Coronation Mass and the
virtuosic motet, Exsultate, jubilate. We may even throw in
one final work by Mozart to round the evening off … but we’ll leave
that as a surprise.
 |
Jessica Smith
Soprano |
| Jessica Smith
graduated with Distinction from the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama in 2020, having previously read Music as a
Choral Scholar at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Jessica’s love for singing was fostered by Northampton Bach
Choir’s very own Musical Director, who encouraged her to
pursue a career in music when she was a chorister at All
Saints’ Church. Jessica is much looking forward to singing
again with Lee and the Northampton Bach Choir and is
especially excited for the opportunity to sing Mozart’s
Exsultate, jubilate once again! |
 |
Lufuno Ndou
Mezzo-soprano |
| Lufuno Ndou is
a South African-born Mezzo-Soprano who studied at the Royal
Birmingham Conservatoire. Some of the roles include Zweite
Knabe in the Conservatoire’s production of Mozart’s Die
Zauberflöte, and Mercedes in the Quintet from
Bizet’s Carmen in the 2018 production of Opera
Scenes. Lufuno has also performed in Grange Park Opera’s
Porgy and Bess (directed by Jean-Pierre van der Spuy) as
part of the chorus. She began my career as a chorister in St
Matthew's Church and is thrilled to return to make a mark on
her hometown. |
 |
Rory Carver
Tenor |
| Rory Carver is
gaining a reputation as a vivid interpreter of opera,
oratorio and song repertoire. He was a member of Les Arts
Florissants’ young artist programme Le Jardin des Voix,
a Garsington Opera Alvarez Young Artist, a competitor
in the Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera International Song
Competition and a finalist in the Oxford Lieder Young Artist
Platform, following his postgraduate studies at the Royal
College of Music as a Douglas and Hilda Simmonds scholar. He
feels privileged to be performing in the UK première of
Marianna Martines’s Quarta Messa. |
 |
Alistair
Donaghue
Bass-baritone |
| Alistair Donaghue is
a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. Originally
from Northampton, Alistair was a chorister and choral
scholar at All Saints' Church, before joining the National
Youth Choir of Great Britain. Alistair is a Songman in the
choir of York Minster, and regularly performs as a freelance
singer and soloist with various professional choirs. One of
his first experiences as a soloist was in a concert of music
by Mozart given by the Choirs of All Saints, and he writes
that he is “looking forward to being back in Northampton to
continue that trend with Lee”. |
Programme:
Coronation Mass (1779) - W. A. Mozart
Exsultate, jubilate (1773) - W. A. Mozart
Quarta Messa (1765) - Marianna Martines *
Northampton Bach Choir
Musical & Amicable Society
Soprano : Jessica Smith
Mezzo-Soprano : Lufuno Ndou
Tenor - Rory Carver
Bass-Baritone - Alistair Donaghue
Conductor - Lee Dunleavy
* UK première |
|
Previous Concert
