Following the Christmas Lights Switch-on in Seaton, we continue the sojourn into the festive season.

Pianist Alex Wilson is inviting audiences to join him on a musical tour through the songs and folk traditions of Europe at Christmas. We will explore the Christmas story and revel in the excitement of Christmas Eve;  we will sing, bake and dance our way through nearly 300 years of musical storytelling. Our journey features traditional celebrations from the UK to Romania, taking in Italy, Denmark and everywhere in between. We will hear new music by Sadie Harrison based on beautiful seasonal melodies from Ukraine, and an intimate retelling of the Christmas story using traditional French carols. Poignant, simple melodies and lively, celebratory sound worlds, shining light on beautiful music that deserves to be heard. This is Christmas described in soft, delicate tones – without sleigh bells and tinsel but full of discovery, familiarity and warmth.

Programme

Ernő Dohnányi – Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song
Arnold Bax – O Dame Get Up And Bake Your Pies
Percy Grainger – Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol
Franz Liszt – Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas Tree Suite): book 2
Sadie Harrison – Shchedryk – The Little Swallow (A Carol for Ukraine)
Bohuslav Martinů – Christmas

Selim Palmgren – Snowflakes
Franz Liszt – The Shepherds at the Manger (In dulce Jubilo)
Franz Liszt – Adeste Fideles (March of the three Magi)
Carl Nielsen – Drømmen om “Glade Jul” (A dream about ’Silent Night’)
Ignaz Friedman – Noël
Josef Matthias Hauer – Zwölftonspiel: Weihnachten 1946
Désire-Émile Inghelbrecht – Pastourelles

Biography

Alex Wilson studied for a music degree at York University, and graduated from the Royal College of Music with a MA (distinction) in piano performance, following studies with Andrew Ball. Alex is a former British Contemporary Piano Competition finalist and Park Lane Group Young Artist, and performs across Britain and Europe as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician. Ongoing self-promoted solo concert tours of the forgotten piano music of WW1 and the European traditions associated with Christmas have enjoyed large audiences and received critical praise, and he has released two CDs of the music of F.S.Kelly and Sadie  Harrison. Alex performs with Trifarious Ensemble and The Sound World Group, and is a ‘Live Music Now’ artist as one half of ‘Duo Tutti’, alongside flautist Ruth Molins. Alex enjoys performing in the south-west with  local professional musicians and teaches piano at Colyton Grammar School.