The series exploring forgotten piano repertoire by women composers, #MinervanMiniatures, unearths this finely-wrought gem by Otillie Heinke (1823-1888), the Sonatine in F major, published around 1876. Enjoy the almost Valkyrie-in-miniature passage in the development, as a gently heroic theme in thirds echoes between the left- and right-hand.
See the developing playlist here.
Part of the fun of exploring new repertoire is coming up with creative ideas for programming it; and for the Minervan Miniatures recital series next year, exploring forgotten or neglected piano repertoire by women composers, here’s a foretaste of how that might work – The Four Seasons by Women Composers, a suite of pieces reflecting the changing seasons, all written by women.
Not your usual Vivaldi!
The suite I’ve put together is of music by Marguerite Balutet, Mary Earl, Carrie Williams Krogmann, Tatiana Stankovych and Nannie Louise Wright, ranging from the opening Valzer di Primavera through to Autumn: A Tone Poem and closing with Winter and A Skating Carnival.
See more of the repertoire in the series on our YouTube playlist here.
Our project for the next academic year focusing on piano repertoire by women composers has been developing nicely recently; I’ve been at work researching further pieces, and have recorded several as part of highlighting some of the works which will feature.
A series of movements from the charming suite, A Wreath of Melodies Op. 35 by Carrie Williams Krogmann:
The first movement of a Baroque keyboard sonata by Maria Teresa d’Agnesi:
A wonderfully light-footed waltz by Marie de Croze-Magnan with a deliberately emphatic ‘wrong note’ that appears in the second section:
And the evocative Autumn – a Tone Poem by Mary Earl.
Keep an eye on the developing Playlist on our YouTube channel, more pieces coming soon…
Our Scholars’ Spotlight series continues filming today; this morning, it’s the turn of second-year flautist from the School of European and Cultural Languages, Beth Chapman, recording repertoire by Telemann and Rhene-Baton.
Whilst this afternoon, first-year Kent and Medway Medical School student and pianist, Michael Lam, is recording a recital of Schumann.
A new project for the coming year involves exploring neglected piano repertoire written by women composers, which we’re starting to present in a sequence called Minervan Miniatures. The series of short recordings highlights forgotten gems and unearths overlooked piano pieces, and affords the opportunity to bring women composers into the limelight.
Like a musical cabinet of curiosities, Minervan Miniatures will unfold as a series, and next year will see a series of piano recitals themed around diverse repertoire, performed by Your Loyal Correspondent.
The first three episodes in the series are now online; the first features two preludes by Nannie Louise Wright, combining almost Wagnerian majesty with sonorous textural writing in a series of twelve preludes that demands further exploration:
The second episode presents a trio of tangos, full of flair and vigour, by Maria Ramalho Pires Galvao and Chiquina (Francisca) Gonzaga.
The third piece is the beautifully melancholic Cantico do Pastor by the very, very young Sylvia Regina Portella:
More as the series unfolds; there are some marvellous pieces I’m currently discovering, including a bold statement set of piano preludes that deserves much wider recognition; I’m looking forward to bringing this repertoire to the concert-hall next year.
We’re back this week, continuing to film new material in our Scholars’ Spotlight series, highlighting Music Performance Scholars and Award Holders here at Kent.
This morning, it’s the turn of Arthur Zhang, reading French in the School of European Culture and Languages, recording pieces by Handel, Ligeti and Schumann. Keep an eye out for the film, coming soon.
The second volume in the Magnificat series by Andrew Nethsingha and The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge takes a keen look at settings of the Evening Canticles across the years, from 1932 to 2019 from stalwart composers of the canon in Sumsion and Howells to perhaps lesser-known figures including Sydney Watson (who conducted the first performance of Walton’s epic The Twelve) and Giles Swayne, as well as contemporary titans Arvo Pärt and Julian Anderson.
Swayne’s wonderfully dynamic Magnificat I setting revels in repetition, bearing African influences, pitching glowing upper-voices over repeated lower voices, whilst a radiant ‘Amen’ recedes skywards. There is the usual vigorous, robust setting by Walton, a richly celebratory response to the text’s jubilation. Luminous cluster-chords opens Lennox Berkeley’s meditative, contemplative setting, which pushes ahead with a wonderfully expressive flow, in contrast to Swayne’s rhythmically robust response. Pärt’s hushed, timeless incarnation of the text is filled with a reverential awe in its widely-spaced textures and unhurried pace.
The disc finishes with the challenging, bracing setting by Julian Anderson, written for the college’s 150th anniversary in 2019. His Magnificat is vibrant with polyrhythms and a dizzying web of textures; contrasting lyrical, melodic lines unfold over glowing sustained chords in Anderson’s richly colourful tonal language. In contrast is a sedate, darker-hued Nunc Dimittis – which brings the whole disc to a reverentially hushed conclusion.
The introductory essay by former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, speaks of “these ancient hymns, so redolent of continuities yet so full of radical surprise,” words true both of the canticles and of this absorbing treasury, impeccably performed by St John’s College Cambridge Choir under the direction of Andrew Nethsingha.
Magnificat 2 is released on 16 April on Signum Classics.
Our Scholars’ Spotlight series of short filmed recitals continues with fourth-year Drama and Theatre Studies student and mezzo, Carmen Mackey.
Filmed in Colyer-Fergusson Hall under COVID-safe restrictions, Carmen performs songs by Madeleine Dring and Frank Bridge.
