World of Music: An Evening with James Galway

MUSIC: "Hora Staccato" by Grigoras Dinicu

APPLAUSE

That was the famous Hora Staccato by Dinicu,

which is a violin player's test piece,

and actually a flute player's nightmare.

This evening we have a very mixed bag for you.

Lots of international celebrities, and we're going all over the world to find our music as well.

Before we start travelling, I'd like to go a little way back into my youth,

to the day I won three competitions in Ireland.

When I was a little boy I won the local flute band championship competition

for the ages of ten to 13, 13 to 16, and the all-Ireland open.

And the tune I had to play for the all-Ireland piece

was the best of all three - the Melody in F by Anton Rubinstein -

and I'd like to play it for you now, with Calvin Simmons and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

APPLAUSE

My next group of guests are roughly the same age as the people

with whom I was competing in two of the classes as a boy in Ireland,

and now I'm going to play for you The Entertainer,

arranged for recorder ensemble.

If you think there's anything worse than one recorder, you're quite wrong. Just listen to this.

And Mr Calvin Simmons is going to oblige us by accompanying us at the piano.

APPLAUSE

MUSIC: "The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen, the man responsible for coaching these

children is my one and only brother George who lives in Manchester.

These children are all his pupils at various schools there.

They form different ensembles

and have all travelled down here especially for the programme.

George, tell me how many students

and pupils have you got in Manchester?

Well, I don't really know exactly, Jim,

but there's quite a few recorder players in Manchester.

But they do have a very healthy music scene in town

and we've brought along today a wind band from various schools

to play Sousa March.

Guess who we want to play the piccolo?

-I don't know. Me?!

-Yes!

There's no audition for this, is there?

APPLAUSE

MUSIC: "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa

APPLAUSE

Well, I'm glad I didn't have to take an audition for that one

because I think I may really not have made it.

That was the Stars and Stripes by JP Sousa.

He thought he was writing a symphony - he really did -

he thought he was writing great master-works.

In fact he did, but all he turned out were marches

but he made a very, very good job of them.

I'd like to go right now to one of the truly great musicians of the 20th century - Claude Debussy.

I'd like to play with Calvin and the orchestra

one of his most beautifully haunting melodies - La Plus Que Lente.

MUSIC: "La Plus Que Lente" by Claude Debussy.

APPLAUSE

That was La Plus Que Lente.

And now ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce to you someone

who is, in my opinion, one of the truly great living violin players -

not only that, she's definitely one of the most beautiful!

And here to play for you the last movement

of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor is Miss Kyung-Wha Chung.

APPLAUSE

MUSIC: "Violin Concerto in E minor, op 64" by Felix Mendelssohn

APPLAUSE

Wasn't that terrific?

I would like to ask Kyung-Wha and Calvin to join me over here.

And, also, I'd like to welcome back my good old friend Moray Welsh.

APPLAUSE

Kyung-Wha, that was terrific.

Tell me, when did you first play this piece?

-This concerto?

-The Mendelssohn.

-When I was about that high.

-Well, actually I was, er, in Korean age, nine years old.

-Mm-hmm.

-In British age, eight.

-Ah-ha. OK.

You haven't recorded it yet, have you?

No, not yet. I actually just now recorded the Beethoven concerto,

but Mendelssohn is to follow very soon.

Well, the Beethoven's enough to keep anybody busy for a week or two.

Er, we're going to play for you now,

one of the pieces we had much success with when we were touring

together with Kyung-Wha, myself and Moray.

It's a jig by Bach.

And for all the historians who are looking in,

I'd like to tell you it's a piece he wrote when he was in Dublin

when he was on tour visiting his pal Handel.

We've asked Calvin to supply the keyboard part at the harpsichord.

MUSIC: "Gigue From Trio Sonata in C Major" by Bach

APPLAUSE

Well, that was really most enjoyable.

Thank you Kyung-Wha and Moray and Calvin.

For my next guest, I'd like to introduce a very, very special lady

who I first made music with at the Edinburgh Festival,

but someone who is known to all classical audiences throughout the world

and here she is to sing two negro spirituals.

Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Jessye Norman.

APPLAUSE

MUSIC: "There's A Man" Performed by Jessye Norman

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# He has taken my mother's name

# And he's left my heart in pain

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# He has taken my father's name

# And he's left my heart in pain

# There's a man going round

# Taking names

# Oh, death is that man

# Taking names

# Oh, death is that man

# Taking names

# He has taken my brother's name

# And he's left my heart in pain

# Oh, death is that man

# Taking names

# There's a man going round

# Taking names. #

APPLAUSE

For the next spiritual, Great Day,

I will be accompanied at the piano by Mr Calvin Simmons.

# Great day

# Great day the righteous marching Great day

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Great day

# Great day the righteous marching Great day

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Chariot rode on the mountain top

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# God has spoke and the chariot stopped

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Tis the day of juberlee

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# God has set his people free God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Great day

# Great day the righteous marching

# Great day

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Take my breastplate sword in hand

# Put a bullet through the land

# Want no cowards in our band

# It must be a good brave man

# Great day

# Great day the righteous marching

# Great day

# God's going to build up Zion's walls

# Great day

# Great day the righteous marching

# Great day-y-y-y-y

# God's going to build up

# Zion's

# Walls. #

APPLAUSE

I'd like to invite Jessye Norman to join us over here with the orchestra.

APPLAUSE

-Jessye, that was fantastic.

-Thank you.

-Just great.

I'd like to be the first guy on TV to tell you I love you.

I love you too but we weren't going to talk of that.

One of the greatest moments of my life was to appear

on the stage of the Usher Hall with Jessye Norman when we did

a piece together called La Flute Enchante from Sheherazade by Ravel.

We'd like to relive this very special moment

which we'll now perform with Calvin and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

MUSIC: "La Flute Enchante" by Maurice Ravel

# L'ombre est douce et mon maitre dort

# Coiffe d'un bonnet conique de soie

# Et son long nez jaune en sa barbe blanche

# Mais moi, je suis eveillee encore

# Et j'ecoute au dehors

# Une chanson de flute ou s'epanche

# Tour a tour la tristesse ou la joie

# Un air tour a tour langoureux ou frivole

# Que mon amoureux cheri joue

# Et quand je m'approche de la croisee

# Il me semble que chaque note s'envole

# De la flute vers ma joue

# Comme un mysterieux baiser. #

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE DROWNS SPEECH

Well, that was the magic flute sung by the magic Jessye Norman.

And now we're going to play you one of the pieces composed by

my father's favourite violin player.

When I was a boy, we had an old wind-up gramophone

with a number of Kreisler records, and one of the pieces

we played very often was Liebesfreud played by Fritz Kreisler himself.

I used to hear this very often as a child

and we've arranged it for flute and orchestra.

I'd like to play it for you now.

MUSIC: "Liebesfreud" by Fritz Kreisler

APPLAUSE

That's was Kreisler's Liebesfreud.

And to finish off I'd like to play you a few tunes from the fatherland.

That's from Ireland, I mean.

We've arranged a few reels which we hope you'll enjoy.

Thank you for being with us, and to all my guests.

Miss Kyung-Wha Chung, Jessye Norman, Moray Welsh,

to all the young musicians from Manchester

and my brother for coaching and bringing them all down.

And very special thanks to Calvin Simmons who came

all the way from San Francisco especially to keep us

all in the right place and my good friends at the Royal Philharmonic.

Here we go...

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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