What’s On: Brockenhurst Music Society concert, St Saviours Church

AWARD-winning soprano Caroline Taylor and pianist George Ireland will appear in concert at St Saviour’s Church in Brockenhurst on Monday 12th August.

Performing as part of Brockenhurst Music Society’s 77th Concert Season, the duo have chosen the title The Peasant’s Wise Daughter, inspired by one of Grimms’ Fairy Tales.

Their choice of repertoire includes Schubert’s Gretchen at the spinning wheel, with the female voice being heard through songs by Johanna Kinkel, Dvorak and Hugo Wolf.

Kinkel was a 19th century German composer and music writer who had to flee from Germany for political reasons and finished up in London.

Caroline explains that Dvorak’s works include the famous piece songs her mother taught her. She added: “This beautiful melody’s text perfectly encapsulates the idea of a woman listened to and her spirit living on, the voice describing their tears flowing as they teach children how to sing and play - just as their mother had taught them.”

The second half will start with George playing Schumann’s delightful Kinderszenen – Scenes from Childhood. They were written in 1838 at a time when the composer had proposed to Clara and her father was blocking their marriage - they were able to wed two years later after a court case.

The concert will finish with Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und-lieben – translated as A Woman’s Love and Life. The eight songs chart the course of the woman’s journey from first meeting her love, through her preparation for marriage, their wedding, her joy in the birth of their child and then the trauma of his death.

Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7pm, are priced £20 on the door or £18 in advance. Visit https://www.brockenhurstmusicsociety.co.uk

The final concert in the 2024 season will then take place on Monday 2nd September, featuring Anna Im (violin) and Chiao-Ying Chan (piano) playing Beethoven, Grieg, Schubert and Saint-Saens.