Musical Director's notes and sound files for the Summer Term 2026
This term, we explore music shaped by pastoral landscapes and ancient, mythical worlds. Each work on the programme connects to nature—whether through explicit storytelling or a more subtle sense of place. As we move into the spring and summer months, this repertoire invites us to think about open air, changing seasons, and the atmosphere of the outdoors.
Alongside this shared theme, our musical focus will shift slightly. Rather than concentrating primarily on technical challenges, we’ll place greater emphasis on style, phrasing, and musical shape—how we collectively bring character and narrative to the music. All three works reward careful listening, ensemble awareness, and expressive playing.
We’ll also explore how programmatic ideas—stories, images, or landscapes behind the music—can influence structure, pacing, and interpretation.
César Franck - Les Éolides, Op. 26
Franck’s symphonic poem is inspired by a poem describing the daughters of Aeolus, god of the winds, as they usher in spring. The music reflects this idea vividly: it shifts between gentle, flowing passages and more turbulent, restless moments, as if we are being carried along by changing breezes.
Although rooted in myth, the piece also captures a very real sense of springtime renewal. Franck began composing it while travelling in southern France, and the music suggests an idyllic, sunlit landscape infused with movement and life.
As performers, the challenge here is to shape long lines and respond flexibly to changes in mood, allowing the music to feel fluid and organic rather than rigid.
Felix Mendelssohn – Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56 “Scottish”
Mendelssohn’s “Scottish” Symphony was inspired by a visit to the ruins of Holyrood Chapel in Edinburgh. The atmosphere of the place—its history, stillness, and mystery—sparked the musical ideas that grew into this symphony.
Throughout the work, Mendelssohn evokes a sense of landscape and national character. The second movement in particular draws on Scottish musical gestures, including pentatonic melodies and the distinctive “Scotch snap” rhythm.
This is a piece where atmosphere and continuity are crucial. Rather than treating movements as separate blocks, we’ll aim to maintain a sense of flow across the whole symphony, always aware of how the music evolves from its initial idea.
Camille Saint-Saëns – Suite in D Major for Orchestra, Op. 49
Saint-Saëns’ suite offers a different perspective on the pastoral theme. While not explicitly programmatic, its clear textures, elegant melodies, and references to older dance styles give it a distinctly outdoor, almost timeless quality.
The writing is often deliberately simple—frequently just a few lines at once—which puts the focus on balance, phrasing, and ensemble precision. This makes it an ideal piece for us to develop our expressive playing: shaping melodies, supporting solo lines, and listening carefully across the orchestra.
In many ways, its restraint is its strength. The music invites us to do more with less, finding character and direction within a transparent texture.
Suggested recordings for the programme
FRANCK
My recommended performance is by André Cluytens with the Orchestre Nationale de Belgique. I love how the mythical energy of the piece is brought out by the string playing
MENDELSSOHN
My recommended performance is by Karajan with the Berlin Phil from 1971. Not because I love the interpretation, but because it is one of the few major recordings where the main subject of the first movement is played accurately!
SAINT-SAENS
Recordings of this work are very few, but I have found one I think is a reflection of the nature of the piece as I see it on Spotify