We caught up with Adrian Butterfield on his tenure as Associate Music Director of the London Handel Festival before his upcoming performance of Messiah. In this interview, Adrian reflects on his tenure at LHF, what projects he has coming up, and which works by Handel resonate with him the most.
Reflecting on your tenure as Associate Music Director at LHF, what moments or particular projects stand out as the most memorable for you?
I have had the opportunity to put together so many interesting projects for the LHF over these 25+ years. I have had the chance to get to know Handel as a man and musician in amazing depth and have had the privilege of working with so many top class singers and instrumentalists. It’s rather difficult to pick out favourite projects but here are a few that spring to mind:
Chandos work. Soon after I joined the LHF I discovered that my father-in-law was fascinated by the Duke of Chandos and knew a great deal about him. His enthusiasm inspired me to get to know Handel’s beautiful Chandos Anthems and perform all 11 of them and the Chandos Te Deum at St. Lawrence’s, Whitchurch, the church for which Handel wrote them. Initially I conducted members of the LHO with a student choir from Trinity Laban Conservatoire and then later I experimented with using one-per-part singers which suited the small church building especially well and seems to have been the way in which Handel had worked there. I was so delighted to have the opportunity to record some of those works and I’m most grateful to the LHF Board and other members who supported this venture as well as all the help I was given by the eminent Handel scholar, Graydon Beeks.
Encouraging the next generation of musicians has been a core part of my time at the Festival. Early on I put together a group of students from the RCM to perform La Resurrezione at SGHS and soon after came further projects with young musicians from the Guildhall and Pro Corda. Also, for 20 years I collaborated with the young musicians of the Southbank Sinfonia (now renamed Sinfonia Smith Square) assembling programmes that put Handel in context with his contemporaries across Europe.
The Wigmore Hall programmes with both LHP and LHO have also been a great joy and I remember feeling so fortunate that we were able to go ahead with Parnasso in Festa in March 2020 just before the first lockdown.
The opera collaborations at RCM and elsewhere and the annual HSC and Messiah have been a staple of my year for so long. The Bach Passion on Good Friday has always been a highlight for me too. Denys Darlow was such a pioneer in wanting to perform the St.Matthew or the St. John as part of a service as the composer himself had done in Leipzig and I do hope this tradition can continue. I will never forget Denys’ utter personal commitment to the words of ‘Now thank we all our God’ at the end of that service each year.
You’ve directed numerous Handel works and performed alongside the London Handel Orchestra and London Handel Players, how have these experiences shaped your approach over time to performing and directing Baroque music?
The members of the LHO and LHP as well as Denys, Paul Nicholson and Laurence have all taught me so much. I was brought up as a chamber musician and I’ve always felt that directing Baroque music should be a collaborative process. Even when I’m conducting or directing a large group of musicians my aim is to harness the talents of those individuals and encourage all of them to be involved in the process and contribute musically where possible. I don’t pretend that this type of music-making is fully ‘democratic’ – as director the final result is my responsibility – but I feel I’m still learning from the musicians I’m working with and want them to feel engaged in the task of interpreting the music.
Directing from an instrument inevitably involves the members of the ensemble taking more personal responsibility for the music than when there is a conductor. I’ve found myself moving more and more towards the situation where, when I’m directing operas or oratorios, I play in the arias and conduct the choruses. I feel I generally do a better job of showing what I want in the arias that involve violins if I play.
Handel’s work spans such a diverse range, are there any specific works by Handel that have a special resonance with you and, if so, why?
I was a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral for four years and singing Messiah there at the age of 9 was my first major encounter with Handel’s music. Having sung so much English church music in that time made me realise at quite a young age how connected Handel was with that world. The more I’ve got to know of Handel’s oeuvre the more I’ve come to appreciate how much of a musical sponge he was. He sounds English in his English church music and oratorios, Italian in his operas and French in his dance music and yet he’s unmistakably Handel in everything!
The Chandos works have also become very special companions to me. It has been such a privilege to be able to perform them in the very church where Handel directed them 300 years ago – it’s a unique space. I will also never tire of performing those great arias which make the world stand still and knock you over with their direct emotion, whether it’s Cara sposa from Rinaldo or Se pietà from Cesare to name but two of so many!
You’ve worked extensively with other ensembles and orchestras globally, could you share some insight on how these collaborations have influenced your work at LHF and with the LHO / LHP?
Working with other ensembles both in the UK and abroad actually reminds me how lucky I have been to work with the highly experienced Handelians of the LHO and LHP! I feel as though I’ve learned so much about Handel’s life and character and I love passing that knowledge on to those who are newer to him and his music. So I actually feel that my work in the LHF has influenced the way I collaborate with other musicians across the world rather more than the other way round.
I was the concertmaster of the Barockorchester Stuttgart for six years. I found the Germans very earnest and sincere in their work ethic but sometimes I felt it was necessary to encourage them to relax and have more fun with Handel! Recently I’ve been working with young singers in Serbia on Giulio Cesare and it’s been lovely to see them learn how to appreciate Handel’s use of harmony and figuration when trying to bring out the text and expression of each aria.
Looking ahead, what new directions or projects do you have coming up and are there any particular projects you’re eager to pursue, either with the LHP or on your own?
LHP have worked for many years with the Baroque dancers, Mary Collins and Steven Player and we feel we’ve learned so much about the character of the dance music that is embedded within so much baroque repertoire. We have plans to bring that dance and gesture to Handel’s operas in the future.
My time as a chorister has given me a particular love for and connection with Handel’s church music. Having conducted the Chandos works in the ‘Chandos’ church it would be rather special to conduct works like the Utrecht Te Deum & Jubilate in St. Paul’s Cathedral!