Bouquets, Blessings & Benedictions

NECOM presents violist Robert Harris and pianist Robert Manley in an evening recital: Bouquets, Blessings & Benedictions – A Journey through the Borrowed B’s.

Just as the viola shares its name with a flower, each composer in the programme shares the same initial – and there are rather more of them than the familiar Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The programme unfolds through the romantic warmth of Bruch and the introspective depth of Bloch, expands into the rich colours of Bantock and the vivid originality of Bartók, before a light-hearted finale of miniature encores from Bacharach, The Beatles, Benjamin and Bernstein.

Programme
• J S Bach – Sonata No. 1 in G, BWV 1027 (Adagio)
• Bantock – Hamabdil
• Bartók – from Gyermekeknek (For Children)
• Beethoven – Variations on ‘See the Conqu’ring Hero Comes’ (Handel), WoO.45
• Bloch – from From Jewish Life, B.54
• Brahms – Scherzo from the F-A-E Sonata
• Bruch – Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
• A potpourri of miniature encores – Bacharach, Beatles, Benjamin, Bernstein

Presented with brief spoken introductions that draw out the character and context of each work, this is an intimate and engaging evening of chamber music by two artists with long-standing ties to the New England region.