2020
Sunday 5th January 7pm (please note start time)
BACH:CHRISTMAS ORATORIO
THE CORNERSTONE CHAMBER CHOIR & ORCHESTRA
Leader: Philippa BartonConductor: Adrian Boynton
The Christmas Oratorio brings together six of Bach's finest
cantatas, each one intended for performance on one of the major feast days of the Christmas period. The first part, for Christmas Day, describes the Birth of Jesus, the second (Dec 26th) the Annunciation of the Shepherds, the third (Dec 27th) the Adoration of the Shepherds, the fourth (New Year's Day) the Circumcision and Naming of Jesus, the fifth (First Sunday of the New Year) the Journey of the Magi, and the sixth (Epiphany) the Adoration of the Magi. Each cantata has thrilling choruses, coloured either by brilliant trumpet, or virtuoso horns, beautiful chorales, and glorious reflective arias, duets and trios with stunning woodwind obbligati. This remarkable work must rank as the greatest musical celebration of the Christmas story. We hope you can share it with us.
Tickets £17 (conc £16), £15 (conc £14) child £2 Available:
Online: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/cornerstone-music (booking fee applies),
Post: Cornerstone Music, 300 Saxon Gate West, Milton Keynes, MK9 2ES. Send a stamped S.A.E. & cheque payable to Cornerstone Music
Email: boyntonmusic@btinternet.com; Phone: 01908 246486 (ans mach)/07961 348697 Tickets also available at the door
Sunday 12th January 6pm
THE EPIPHANY CAROL SERVICE 'Star of Wonder'
THE CHOIR OF THE CITY CHURCH Directed by Adrian Boynton
Led by Revd Wendy Carey
In the third and last of our annual carol services we celebrate the
revelation of Christ to people throughout the world, symbolised in
the story of the Three Wise Men. Some of the most beautiful carols
and arrangements have been inspired by this special season.
Freewill offering
Monday 20th January 7.15pm
MUSICAL MILESTONES:250th Anniversary Celebration
BEETHOVEN:(i)The Early Years to 1800
A talk illustrated with fine CD recordings by Adrian Boynton
With the explosion of the genius of Beethoven at the end of the
eighteenth century the classical era reached both a climax
and a dissolution. Beethoven's music embodied a new dynamism
and power which not only demanded that it be listened to in
different ways but also symbolised the changing role of the
composer in society - no longer its servant, required meekly to meet its needs, but its visionary, its hero figure. In the first of four sessions, we explore the early works of Beethoven the master pianist, including the first ten Piano Sonatas, the Piano Trios, Piano Quintet and the Piano Concertos in B flat and C. We also study the Op 18 String Quartets and First Symphony: works which hold the key to Beethoven's later revolution of classical form.
Admission £5 (student £1) at the door
Thursday 30th January 7.15pm
EXPLORING MUSIC:The Romantics
LISZT: (i)The Vienna/Paris Years
A talk illustrated with fine CD recordings by Adrian Boynton
As a pianist Liszt was among the greatest, if not the greatest, there has ever been. As a composer he was an adventurous musical thinker with ideas well ahead of his time. We trace his student years in Vienna, his earliest public concerts, his friendship with Berlioz and Chopin and his years of travel throughout Europe as a flamboyant virtuoso. We hear outstanding pieces from his 'Années de Pélerinages' (including the 'Tre Sonnetti di Patrarca' and 'Dante' Sonata), 'Consolations', 'Liebestraume', the Piano Concerto in E flat and A major and some of the great transcriptions of operatic arias by Mozart, Bellini and Donizetti.
Admission £5 (student £1) at the door