Lecture-recital 1: Playing with Paint

Playing with Paint

music and art, side by side

A new concert/lecture-recital presented by

Peter Medhurst ~ bass-baritone, harpsichord, virginals & piano

with

Robbie Norman ~ baroque violin & modern violin

Vermeer & music making in the 17th century Low Countries

Robbie Norman & Peter Medhurst perform Paduana ~ Anonymous c1649

It was always the intention of the German artist Otto Runge, to have his sequence of paintings known as Times of the Day (1803-5) displayed in an especially designed building and seen to the accompaniment of suitably chosen music. Although the exhibition never took place, he was among the first known artists to recognise that the experience of viewing paintings may be heightened by the accompaniment of complementary pieces of music.

Taking Runge’s concept (essentially ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’) as their starting point, Peter Medhurst and Robbie Norman not only present and perform a wide range of music to mirror the period and mood of selected paintings (Vermeer coupled with 17th century Dutch dance tunes, Carmontelle watercolours linked with Mozart’s early violin sonatas, and Menzel’s historical painting of Frederick the Great performing at Sans Souci joined with the music of CPE Bach), but they go one stage further to perform – and discuss – the actual pieces of music that are represented in the paintings of Holbein, Hayl, Batoni and Gainsborough.

What happens

During the course of the concert, 14 paintings with complementary pieces of music are presented and discussed. The music is sung, played on the violin and appropriate keyboard instruments, while digital images and film are displayed on a screen.

Duration

Typical running time: 2 x 40″ halves. The programme may also be enlarged to a study day, or reduced to 1 hour for a special event.

Repertoire includes

Painting: Marcus Gheeraerts – Elizabeth I Dancing La Volta (1580)

Music: Willam Byrd – La Volta

Painting: Johannes Vermeer – Woman Standing at the Virginals (1670-2)

Music: Anon – Dutch Dance Tunes 1649

Painting: John Hayl – Portrait of Samuel Pepys (1666)

Music: Samuel Pepys – Beauty Retire

Painting: Thomas Gainsborough – Portrait of Joseph Gibbs (c1755)

Music: Joseph Gibbs – Violin Sonata Op 1 No 1

Painting: Louis Carmontelle – Mozart with his Father and Sister in Paris (1763)

Music: Mozart – Violin Sonata in C K6

The two formats for presenting the programme

a) If the venue does not possess a resident piano, the performers will make available a French double manual harpsichord by Dennis Woolley after Pascal Taskin 1769, as well as a Flemish virginals by Dennis Woolley after Jean Couchet 1650. The music would then cover a period ranging from 1533 to 1775. b) If a resident piano is available, the 19th and 20th century repertoires may come into play, with the period of music extending from 1533 to the present day.

Music example: Paduana – mid 17th century Anon – played by Robbie Norman & Peter Medhurst

Peter Medhurst & Robbie Norman

Peter Medhurst and Robbie Norman work together as musicians, researchers and creators of programmes that connect music with the visual arts. They share a deep interest in the arts – and in particular, art history – and this, coupled with their broad knowledge of musical repertoire, brings added dimension to their concerts, presentations and lectures.

Robbie Norman studied the violin at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where he won the Orchestral Prize for Strings. He worked extensively in London with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, English National Ballet and the London Baroque Ensemble before moving to the US in September 2001. In New York, he worked with, amongst others, The American Symphony Orchestra, EOS, Voices of Ascension, Stamford Symphony and Solisti, New York as well as performing in the orchestra of The Producer’s on Broadway. He has worked as a consultant for Sony Classical, as North American Tour agent for the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as librarian to the European Union Youth Orchestra and as Vice-President of independent label, Ancalagon Records. He studies with Joey Corpus.

Peter Medhurst’s work as singer, pianist and presenter has taken him all over the world, and in the last few years he has toured New Zealand, Australia (twice) and South Africa (three times), and made frequent tours in Europe. He has presented, and performed in events at all the major concert venues and art galleries in London and makes regular appearances at British festivals which have included Henley, Isle of Man, Rye, Chichester, Leith Hill and The Three Choirs – where he was this year, introducing and discussing Mahler’s 3rd Symphony. Radio work includes BBC Radio 3 & 4 and Classic FM. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London, at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and privately with Ruth Dyson and Edgar Evans.