Recitals at Lunch

The recital on Monday 20 April 2026 includes a range of work from Bach to Poulenc and more.

PIPER'S DREAM

Music CECILIA MCDOWALL (b.1951)

Piper’s Dream begins with an expansive, illusory reference to bagpipe birls, almost unmetered in its quality. Following the introduction, a lively Scots dance introduces elements of Strathspey (a Scottish dance) feel with weighty beats and ‘scotch snap’ rhythms. This is contrasted with a second theme of a sweet and innocent quality. At the end of this fantasy, pitch bends in the flute allude to the sound of a bagpipe bag and its distinctive fall in pitch as it ends a tune.  

SONATA IN G MINOR, ALLEGRO

Music JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750)

Did J.S. Bach even write this sonata? When the manuscript first came to light, the copy bore the name of J.S. Bach but no documentation has been discovered to support the claim that he wrote it. There was also a suggestion that it was written for the violin although it uses none of the violin’s quite different capabilities. It could have been written by a gifted contemporary or another member of the prodigiously talented Bach family. I don’t think that we mind. 

SONATA NO 1, MODERE – LENT – ALLEGRO MODERATA

Music PHILIPPE GAUBERT (1879-1941)

Philippe Gaubert’s mother occasionally cleaned house for the great flautist and composer Paul Taffanel. The six-year-old Philippe was given some lessons and in the fullness of time, at the age of 13, he began studying with Taffanel at the Paris Conservatoire. Gaubert became Principal Flute at the Paris Opera and subsequently Principal Conductor. This Sonata was written in 1917 and dedicated to Paul Taffanel. 

THE SERIOUS DOLL

Music EDWARD ELGAR (1857 – 1934) arr. FRITZ SPIEGL(1926 – 2003)

Elgar wrote his Nursery Suite for orchestra after the birth of Princess Margaret in 1930. He dedicated it to her, her elder sister (and future Queen) Elizabeth,  and their mother, Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother). The Suite was first performed in 1931 at the BBC Proms by the London Symphony Orchestra with Gordon Walker playing Principal Flute. Frederick Ashton used it for a ballet at the Royal Opera House to commemorate the Queen’s 60th birthday. The Serious Doll, perhaps the gem of the suite, is the 2nd of seven movements. 

ALLEGRO MALINCONICO – CANTILENA – PRESTO GIOCOSO

Music FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963)

Written in 1957, this Sonata was composed in memory of the wealthy American patron of the arts, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge – but it was effectively written for the French flautist, Jean Pierre Rampal. He premiered the piece that year at the Strasbourg Festival with Poulenc himself at the piano. Poulenc selected it for his 60th birthday concert as it was one of his favourite compositions.