UK Tour 1860 The Party

• Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759):
• 1Ouverture from the concerto for organ in B-flat M.00:59
• 2"V'adoro Pupille" from Gulio Cesare 05:04
• 3Andante from the violin sonata in F 02:48
• 4“Tornami vagheggiar” from Alcina04:21
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 5Aria from the suite for Orchestra04:55
• Georg Friedrich Händel:
• 6Passacaglia (Arr J. Halvorsen) 09:30
• Reynaldo Hahn (1874 - 1947):
• 7A Chloris 03:01
• Fritz Kreisler (b. 1962):
• 8Prelude & Allegro in the style of Pugnani 06:37
• Giovanni Bottesini (1821 - 1889):
• 9Elegia04:26
• Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens (1823 - 1881):
• 10Happy Birds 01:00
• 11Rhine-song, To Charles Santly, Esq01:52
• 12Norman’s Song03:48
• César Franck (1822 - 1890):
• 13Offertoire in C from l'Organiste04:49
• Fritz Kreisler:
• 14Liebeslied03:59
• Vincenzo Bellini (1801 - 1835):
• 15Recitativo e Romanza from I Capuleti ed i Montecchi “O quante volte”07:35
• Total Runtime01:04:44

Info for UK Tour 1860

With a wink ‘The Party’ refers not only to the ‘then and there’ but also to the ‘here and now’. The ‘UK Tour 1860’ programme both literally and figuratively makes this link. In the 1860s a group of musicians around the couple Mr. and Mrs. Lemmens-Sherrington -also known as ‘The Party’- travels through the English counties. The group does not only visit cities like Manchester, Liverpool or Leeds, but also villages that can barely be traced on a map.

‘The ensemble, which calls itself ‘The Party’, performs almost every night during six weeks in the spring and the autumn. Sometimes they even give two concerts on one day with different programmes. Most concerts are miscellaneous: mixed concerts with an interval, consisting of a neatly divided alternation of diverse solos for the singers and the instrumentalists. After 1869 the programming shifts per tour to a Part I, with a selection of an opera or an oratorio and a Part II which is miscellaneous.’1

The superb musical company becomes renowned for its own musical arrangements and hosts resounding names such as Helen Lemmens-Sherrington, the famous English concert- and operasoprano, her Belgian spouse, the harmonium player- composer Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, violinist Henry Vieuxtemps and double bassist Giovanni Bottesini.

Under the impulse of keyboardist Rodyns, Hendrickje van Kerckhove, Bart Rodyns, Eliot Lawson and Lode Leire bring this ‘Party’ back to life. The starting point is the very unusual lineup with ... harmonium. New material will be added to the 1860s repertoire.

With ‘UK Tour 1860’ ‘The Party’ performs a musical programme as it would have sounded then: obstinate, varied, passionate, expressive and above all spellbinding...

Hendrickje van Kerckhove, soprano Bart Rodyns, harmonium Eliot Lawson, violin Lode Leire, double bass

Ensemble The Party
“… from the mid-1860s. During both spring and autumn the band of musicians around Mr and Mrs Lemmens-Sherrington (also named ‘party’), tour for a period of six weeks, performing in the English provinces about every evening. Sometimes there are two concerts in one day, with different programmes ... "

A musical group with names such as violinist Henry Vieuxtemps, bassist Giovanni Bottesini, harmonium Player Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens, and his wife Helen Sherrington, a famous soprano at that time.

Hendrickje van Kerckhove, Bart Rodyns, Eliot Lawson and Lode Leire bring this 'Party' back to life.

The very original lineup with "pressure harmonium" is therefore the starting point. The former repertoire is supplemented by new programs.

(1) Orgelkunst, Vol 35, No 3, Sep 2012, A. Focquaert

Booklet for UK Tour 1860