Classic Folk

The Kāpiti Concert Orchestra is delighted to present their final concert for the year at Te Raukura ki Kāpiti on Saturday 5 November. The concert will be conducted by Rachel Hyde and marks a rather exciting venture for the Kāpiti Concert Orchestra in that the concert will feature the world première of a work by New Zealand composer Ross Harris - Suite for Orchestra and Mezzo Soprano, inspired by Klezmer music which draws on the traditions of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with soloist Anna Gawn. This work was commissioned by the Kāpiti Concert Orchestra especially for this concert and marks yet another first for the Orchestra.

Many classical composers throughout the years have looked to folk and traditional music for inspiration for their compositions. They may have tried to recreate a particular national spirit into their larger works or may have included recognizable folk melodies in these works. Others may have made arrangements of such melodies. We only have to look to the music of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Grieg, Kodály and Bartók for instance to hear the influence of the folk music of their particular countries of origin. Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth were English composers who studied English folk tunes and also included them in their songs and other compositions.

Other works on the programme will include Chabrier’s Suite Pastorale, Smetana’s Three Dances from his Opera “The Bartered Bride,” Béla Bartók’s Rumanian Folk Dances, the English Folk Song Suite by Vaughan Williams, and George Butterworth’s The Banks of Green Willow.