This was our first concert of the year and we were delighted to return to Romsey Abbey where we received a warm welcome. This programme entitled After the Silence featured soloists, readings and dancers in a relatively short and moving musical tapestry.
Cello Solo Prelude from Suite in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach performed by Daniel S.
The concert opened with a beautiful and wistful cello solo.
Reading of The Same Boat by Julie Sheldon performed by Hannah L.
Hampshire County Youth String Orchestra performed The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives
Written by renowned US modernist composer Charles Ives in 1908 The Unanswered Question presents a plaintive search for existential meaning. In this unusual and experimental piece, some of the flutes and trumpets played from hidden areas of the Abbey in a poignant questioning dialogue that pushes back and forth towards a crescendo of dissonance tempered against a constant background flow provided by the strings. This was a bold and challenging piece that kept the audience very engaged throughout.
Reading of What if it’s just nature? by Julie Sheldon performed by Annabel C.
Vocal Solo Morgen! by Richard Strauss with words by John Henry Mackay. Vocal solo performed by Isabel Pott. Violin Solo by Eleanor H.
This Lied was sung beautifully by Isabel Pott who is currently a soprano in Genesis Sixteen, The Sixteen’s free young artists’ scheme for the next generation of talented ensemble singers. She is also a Soprano Choral Scholar at Royal Holloway, University of London and is a former pupil of Peter Symonds College in Winchester.
Reading of Tomorrow by John Henry Mackay performed by Elias S.
Hampshire County Youth Orchestra performed Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland with choreographed ballet by Hannah Martin-Reilly, performed by Wessex Girls and Wessex Boys from the Wessex Dance Academy.
Commissioned in 1942 by dancer Martha Graham and pianist and arts patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Copland’s ballet tells the story of a young pioneer newly-wed couple starting out their lives in Pennsylvania. The piece builds slowly, has a very fast middle section and then settles into a hushed calm at the end. This was another challenging and exciting piece that kept the audience gripped throughout.
