Organist Anna Lapwood makes Aldeburgh Festival debut playing Britten’s Four Sea Interludes in Snape Maltings Concert Hall, on a Regent Classic Organ.
The Aldeburgh Festival 2022 is an extended, 24-day celebration of music and the arts. Programming strands include Britten and Women and a celebration of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme at 50, and there are also events marking the Platinum Jubilee of HM The Queen.
Featured artists in 2022 are violinist Nicola Benedetti, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, cellist Laura van der Heijden, organist Anna Lapwood, clarinettist and composer Mark Simpson, percussionist Vivi Vassileva, and composer and conductor Ryan Wigglesworth.
Featured composers include Laura Bowler, Tom Coult, Bushra El-Turk, and Gavin Higgins. Our exhibitions include Britten and Women at The Red House and artworks by Paul Benney, Laurence Edwards, Kiki Smith and John Craxton at Snape Maltings.
Ticket Information and Venue
Tickets available for purchase on the Anna Lapwood concert page on the Britten Pears Arts website.
On Saturday 25th June, Anna Lapwood also joins singers from her Pembroke College choir to perform music based on plainchant, from composers including Bach, Britten and Dobrinka Tabakova, alongside the original chants. More information on this separate event and tickets here.
Details
Date: June 23 2022
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Price: £35, £27, £16, £10. Under 30s half price.
Venue
Snape Maltings Concert Hall
Snape
Suffolk
IP17 1SP
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Snape Maltings and the Concert Hall
Snape Maltings sits on the bank of the River Alde, surrounded by an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and just six miles from Aldeburgh. The beautiful heritage site, with its converted Victorian buildings, is home to independent shops and galleries, wonderful places to eat, and several performance venues – including the world-famous Snape Maltings Concert Hall.
Programme
Amongst other pieces Anna Lapwood will be playing her own arrangement of Britten’s Four Sea Interludes on an organ in Snape Maltings Concert Hall. It promises to be a memorable moment. She also performs music by Elgar, Messiaen. Kerensa Briggs, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Owain Park.
- Owain Park: Images (7)
- Britten (arr. Anna Lapwood): Four Sea Interludes (16)
- Messiaen (arr. Anna Lapwood): Vocalise-Etude (5)
- Elgar (arr. Brewer): Prelude & Angel’s Farewell from Dream of Gerontius (16)
- Kerensa Briggs: Light in Darkness (5)
- Cheryl Frances-Hoad: Taking Your Leave (4)
Organist Anna Lapwood
Anna Lapwood is an organist, conductor, and broadcaster. She is Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge, having previously been Organ Scholar at Magdalen College Oxford, the first female in the college’s 560-year history to be awarded the Scholarship. Her debut solo album ‘Images’ was released on Signum in 2021 and includes her transcription of Britten’s ‘Four Sea Interludes’ from “Peter Grimes”.
Anna’s passion for the organ is matched by her mission to support women in music. Her commitment to opportunity, equality and diversity is evident in almost every aspect of her life and work, especially in programming. Anna is humbled to find that she is an inspiration to many young women and proud that they have adopted her hashtag, #playlikeagirl.
About the Organ and Installation
The Regent Classic organ being installed for this concert has a classic English Cathedral style console with 88 voices over 5 divisions. The keyboards are of boxwood with rosewood sharps. The piston rails, draw stops and key cheek strings are also in rosewood.
The fourth ‘Solo’ division floats across the three main divisions, the stops being managed from the tab rail above the swell manual. The music desk utilises burr oak veneer adding detail to the console which is also made from oak.
The console is enclosed by glass panelled doors featuring gothic style tracery. A short roll top lid can be drawn to close the top of the console.
Between 2018 – 2020 this organ was used as temporary instrument at Canterbury Cathedral while the pipe organ was being rebuilt by Harrison & Harrison. This instrument was recently returned from Canterbury and now looking for a new home.
See more details about this organ and full stop list here.
Installation of the organ at Snape Maltings Concert Hall
The organ will be installed the day before the concert and removed the day after. On the day of the concert we have arranged for our organ voicer to finalise the setup of the organ before Anna Lapwood arrives for the rehearsal around midday. The organ voicer will remain for the duration of the rehearsal to ensure any sound issues can be quickly resolved.
For the organ enthusiasts, we have have provided a picture of the setup and placement of the speakers, amplifier, cabling and the position of the organ console on stage.
Approximately 20 of the speaker cabinets will be set about 3 meters back from the rear wall and directed at the wall so sound reflects into the auditorium. The sub bass bin (square cube) can go almost anywhere out of the way but most likely in the back corners on the stage.
A single cable between console and amp rack will allow for easy movement of the console around the stage. All the 6 power supplies are coming from the same electrical phase:
- 2 for the sub bases
- 3 for the amp rack
- 1 for the console
I have had a passion for church organs since the tender age of 12. I own and run Viscount Organs with a close attention to the detail that musicians appreciate; and a clear understanding of the benefits of digital technology and keeping to the traditional and emotional elements of organ playing.
