We hope you will find on this page all the information you need about Orchestra 143; if not please email orch143@gmail.com.
Orchestra 143 was founded in December 2002 to fill a perceived gap in the musical scene on Sydney's North Shore. While it was possible to find high quality performances of chamber music and of the large orchestral repertoire, there were few if any ensembles regularly performing music for smaller orchestra. Hence the formation of Orchestra 143, which is devoted to the music of the baroque, classical and early romantic period – specifically, from 1685 (birth of Johann Sebastian Bach) to 1828 (death of Franz Schubert). Orchestra 143 seeks not only to perform works by the great composers of this period – Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert – but also to acquaint its audiences with interesting music by lesser known composers such as C.P.E. Bach, Corelli, Arriaga, Bellini, Boyce, Stamitz and Wassenaer.
To join our email list and receive early information about future concerts, please contact us at orch143@gmail.com.
Music from the Orchestra 143 May concert (details) will be broadcast on 2MBS-FM at 8:00pm on Saturday 31 December.
There are no further Orchestra 143 performances for 2011. Details of 2012 dates and repertoire will be posted here as soon as they are available.
Music by Haydn, Mozart and Bach, as well as a spectacular concerto by Karl Stamitz, who was closely associated with the Mannheim Orchestra, probably the most virtuosic ensemble of the mid-eighteenth century.
Eight soloists performing a quartet of double concertos! The works encompass the sublime slow movement and invigorating outer movements of the Bach double violin concerto and the classical freshness of the Cimarosa, together with two of Vivaldi's always sparkling and engaging concertos. The Haydn symphony which rounds out the programme has surprises of its own! There's a review on Talk Classical.
Guest conductor Alastair Duff-Forbes leads Orchestra 143 in a programme of symphonies by Haydn and Mozart, Handel's ever popular sinfonia and a Haydn cello concerto with soloist Steve Meyer.
Though its existence was attested by Haydn's own and other historical records, the actual music of Haydn's C major cello concerto was lost and only rediscovered in the 1950s. Since then it has become one of his most popular works and has been recorded by most of the great cellists. The Symphony No.22, composed within a couple of years of the concerto, has attracted the nickname "The Philosopher" on account of its rather solemn introductory movement. It holds a unique place in the symphonic repertoire in that the entire work calls for a pair of cors anglais to replace the customary oboes. Our programme also features one of Mozart's delightful lesser-known symphonies, and Handel's almost too well known Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.
One of Bach's great concertante works, and four nicely varied symphonies from the early to middle classical era.
Handel for voice, Handel for orchestra. Music supposedly by Bach, and music genuinely by Bach. Plus a bit of Telemann.
The H project: a programme of music by composers whose names begin with that letter. (Why not?)
Alex Todicescu is one of Sydney's leading instrumentalists, and we are privileged to have him join us for this concert. Alex will perform the Hoffmeister viola concerto, one of the most fresh and delightful of early classical concertos, and the Hummel Fantasie, based upon a theme by Mozart. Our second Haydn symphony for the year features a movement which the composer denoted "menuet alla zoppa" , which translates as a "limping minuet". The symphony, though little played, contains some of Haydn's quirkiest and most inventive music.
Works for small orchestra by Mozart and Vivaldi, as well as solo and chamber music from the period 1685–1828.
Symphonies by Mozart and Haydn; a Bach cantata; Scarlatti keyboard sonatas transmuted by the English composer Charles Avison.
One of Mozart's delightful middle-period symphonies is contrasted with the darkly chromatic opening of Bach's Cantata No.56, "I will gladly bear the Cross". Charles Avison was an English composer who capitalised on the popularity in his day of Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas by arranging some of them into a dozen concertos for strings. These have been recently rediscovered and have been enthusiastically taken up by many specialist Baroque ensembles.
In this 200th anniversary year of Haydn's death, Orchestra 143 presents two of his Sturm und Drang symphonies. We begin with No.42, a work which sacrifices some of the vivacity of many other compositions from this period of Haydn's life in favour of tightly constructed faster movements and a gentle, hymnlike andantino. In both respects this work looks forward to the great symphonies of Haydn's maturity.
A Christmas concert with the Joubert Singers.
Christmas music from the baroque period – Charpentier's setting of the Christmas midnight mass; a concerto by Corelli, specifically written for the same occasion; and extracts from Handel's greatest oratorio. The Mozart concerto, while not strictly a Christmas work, is delightful, sparkling and admirably suited to the season.
Music by Bach, Pergolesi and others.
Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, for two female voices with string accompaniment, was one of the most universally admired works of the eighteenth century, and still retains its hold on audiences. By turns sorrowful, dramatic and consoling, it is perhaps the most famous of many musical settings of the thirteenth century(?) poem depicting the Virgin Mary's sufferings at the foot of the Cross. The Concerto Armonico, one of a set of six, provides an appropriate companion piece to the Pergolesi, having been for many years attributed to Pergolesi himself. It was only as recently as 1979 that the concerti were proved to have been written in the eighteenth century by one Count Unico Wilhelm von Wassenaer; they were published anonymously since at that time it was socially unacceptable for a member of the nobility to be known as a composer.
Bach's greatest achievements in the field of orchestral music are the six Brandenburg concertos and the four orchestral suites. The first suite, scored for oboes, bassoon and strings, opens with an Overture comprising a majestic opening with a complex contrapuntal sequel, and continues with a set of dances ranging from the familiar minuet and bourrée to the more rarely encountered forlane and passepied. To complete our programme we welcome baritone Matt Thomas to perform arias from Handel's operatic and oratorio repertoire.
Haydn's pioneering endeavours in industrial relations; Mozart's essay in crossing cultural boundaries; and early classical music from England (whatever next??)
Haydn's "Farewell" symphony ends with the players departing one by one until only two violinists are left. With this work Haydn hinted, successfully, to his then employer that it was about time the musicians had a holiday. Mozart's fifth violin concerto incorporates what at the time were regarded as "Turkish" elements, though more academically oriented musicologists would find it difficult to grant him credit for any authenticity. William Herschel, a member of a German-descended British family, wrote over a dozen symphonies in his youth before changing careers to astronomy and being hailed as the discoverer of the planet Uranus.
Vocal and instrumental music from the baroque and early classical periods.
Baroque string concertos by Vivaldi and Geminiani; a divertimento for strings and winds by Mozart; and an extraordinary string symphony by one of J.S. Bach's sons, bridging the gap between the baroque and classical eras. We are delighted to welcome soprano Simone Easthope to perform one of Mozart's best loved motets.
Performances of Handel's Messiah are a staple of the musical calendar during the Advent season. But many sections of the work relate to Easter rather than to Advent or Christmas. This performance selects those parts of Handel's masterpiece, and features guest conductor Rachelle Elliott with the Joubert Singers and soloists.
A Bach cantata, and three symphonies from different nations.
Jauchzet Gott is one of Bach's most brilliant solo cantatas, combining the ringing tones of a soprano voice and an obbligato trumpet. Our programme also includes one of Haydn's endlessly inventive symphonies, and further examples of the form from the pens of an English and a Catalan composer.