Highgate Society Sunday Lunchtime concerts
The Ladies of the Salons
Our autumn series of concerts at 10a are getting off to a cracking start on October 22nd at midday with Patricia Hammond and Matt Redman.
Patricia will be singing authentic parlour songs from the 1830s to the 1930s. Sing along with ‘Juanita’, ‘Come back to Erin’, ‘A perfect Day’, ‘Bless this House’ or ‘What a difference a day makes’.
Patricia specialises in recitals which showcase the women parlour song composers that she studied for her book “She Wrote the Songs” (featured on Women’s Hour and in the BBC Music Magazine). Multi instrumentalist Matt performs in venues as diverse as Blackpool Towers and the Wigmore Hall! In 2018 he and Patricia were the soloists at the German ceremony in Berlin for the centenary of the end of the First World War.
To get a taste of their music log into Patricia’s You Tube page.
There will, of course, be lots of Bucks Fizz to lubricate your throats so you can sing along with a will!!
To buy tickets – £15 to include the Bucks Fizz!
26th November – Jazz duo – Shirley Smart – cello – and Peter Michaels – guitar
Shirley trained at the GSMD in London and in Paris before moving to Jerusalem where she spent ten years soaking up the music tradition of north Africa. Peter is a multi instrumentalist and composer who has expanded his style to incorporate music from Brazil, Indi and the Middle East. They have been playing jazz together for over 8 years taking in a number of festivals and clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s.
To get a taste of their playing log in to You Tube here.
Booking details to come very soon.
And…. Don’t forget to book for our spinet premiere with Nathaniel on 4th November……
Aurora and Manu Delago
Meanwhile, my love affair with Aurora goes on – made even better, were that possible, by their pairing with another favourite artist Manu Delago at the QEH on Wednesday.
Manu started his musical life as a percussionist but is now better known for his use of the handpan. But the delights of his music making do not end there as he also creates wonderful and amazing films – really contemporary operas – for which he writes the music.
I first saw his Environ Me a year or so ago in which he accompanied a series of stunningly filmed short videos, on subjects as diverse as 20 double basses playing in a forest, a car crushing plant, four pairs of hands ‘dancing’ in the water, percussionists ‘playing’ electricity pylons and popcorn popping on a hot plate. Incorporating the natural sounds of the subjects into his accompaniments they range from aetherially beautifully stroked handpans to pulsatingly exciting driving percussion.
And now he has orchestrated these accompaniments – calling them Environ Us – and who better to play them than the ever adventurous Aurora Orchestra. My only regret was that the screen at the QEH was not really large enough for you to get the total sound-vision immersion that Environ Us calls for.
To add to the delights were Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s Illumine, a traditional Indian raga with sarod player Debasmita Bhattacharya – and Henry Purcell’s In Nomine.
Although you have, at least for now, missed the concert (maybe they will do a repeat?) you can watch and listen to a short clip of Manu talking about Environ Me on his website.
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