Thomas Hardy – a taster…..

It was only as I was editing together the clips from our Thomas Hardy concert last week that I realised what a treat it really was. Lotte and James were wonderful, the poems definitely showed Hardy at his best and the settings were not only evocative and delightful but so varied – from Imogen Holst in the 1920s to Arthur and Kerry’s setting from right now.

For those of you who weren’t there (and indeed for those who were who wish to listen again) I have picked three poems – At the railway station, Upway, set by Benjamin Britten, The Walk, set by Arthur Keegan and The Echo Elf Answers, set by Kerry Andrew. I have also included Lotte and James’ introduction which sets the picture for you. For the three poems see below.

As you will hear, they are going on to record the songs we heard last week along with two other settings of the Elegies for Emma (Hardy’s wife whose death had inspired some of his greatest work) which Arthur has yet to complete! We will certainly keep you in the loop as far as the project is concerned and let you know how and when you can buy the record. Or…. you can get the information straight from the horse’s mouth by signing up to Arthur’s newsletter which goes out once a month with updates on what they are doing.

As promised, the concert was followed by an Edwardian buffet supper – dressed salmon, a ham and egg pie, mushroom patties and a selection of Mrs Beeton’s extremely tasty salads, all of which went down extremely well.

The only person who I fear did not really seem to enjoy the concert was Boris.

He joined us part way through Gerald Finzi’s setting of The Too Short Time, and sat listening attentively for several minutes…

…speculatively licked his paw – and then headed off to more congenial feline entertainment.

With many thanks for Ruth Rosenthal for the images.

At the Railway Station, Upways – set by Benjamin Britten

‘There is not much that I can do,
For I’ve no money that’s quite my own!’
Spoke up the pitying child—
A little boy with a violin
At the station before the train came in,—
‘But I can play my fiddle to you,
And a nice one ’tis, and good in tone!’

The man in the handcuffs smiled;
The constable looked, and he smiled too,
As the fiddle began to twang;
And the man in the handcuffs suddenly sang
With grimful glee:
‘This life so free
Is the thing for me!’
And the constable smiled, and said no word,
As if unconscious of what he heard;
And so they went on till the train came in—
The convict, and boy with the violin.

The Walk – set by Arthur Keegan

You did not walk with me
Of late to the hill-top tree
By the gated ways,
As in earlier days;
You were weak and lame,
So you never came,
And I went alone, and I did not mind,
Not thinking of you as left behind.

I walked up there to-day
Just in the former way;
Surveyed around
The familiar ground
By myself again:
What difference, then?
Only that underlying sense
Of the look of a room on returning thence.

The Echo Elf Answers – set by Kerry Andrew

---