Thomas Hardy's poetry set to music

Lotte Betts-Dean - mezzo sporano

James Girling - guitar

Thomas Hardy's poetry has inspired many of our greatest 20th century composers - Benjamin Britten, Gerald Finzi, Imogen Holst, Ivor Gurney just for starters. The lyric poems Hardy wrote after the death of his first wife Emma with whom he had had a troubled relationship, are regarded as the peak of his poetic achievement - and have in turn inspired contemporary composer Arthur Keegan and mezzo soprano Lotte Betts-Dean.

THE PROGRAMME

Arthur Keegan's - Elegies for Emma
Gerald Finzi - Shortening Days and It Never Looks Like Summer
Benjamin Britten - At The Railway Station Upway
Songs by Imogen Holst, Ivor Gurney, Robin Milford, Betty Roe, Henry Handel (Ethel) Richardson
A new song by  composer Kerry Andrews.

To get  flavour of Arthur's music, Lotte's singing and James Girling's guitar - check in to their Wessex Songs site where you can listen to some of their rehearsal tapes.

SUPPER:

Emma died in 1912 and the poems were written in the following two years. So for supper we will visit the Edwardian era - Arnold Bennett omelette maybe, or kedgeree? As always it will accommodate carnivores, vegans and everyone in between.
Red, white and pink wine on tap - or soft drinks if you prefer. All included in the price of your ticket.

THE ARTISTS:

Arthur Keegan

'I am very surprised ', says Arthur on his website, '(and delighted!) to be making a career as a composer. Music was not in any way part of my upbringing and a friend took me to my first ever classical concert when I was 16. I come from a non-musical, working class background. My parents didn’t  complete school so, understandably, encouragement toward a PhD in music  and then a musical career wasn’t easy to give. It was really hard for friends and family to understand that I wanted a career in something so financially risky and culturally alien as music, especially when I was  so new to it. This is the thing of which I am most proud – sticking to my gut, persevering and finding a home in music via first learning electric guitar and putting on (terrible!) gigs and then finding joy in classical music and following the journey toward composing professionally. I am never happier than when writing music and working with performers. Alongside composing, I teach part-time at Middlesex University and in my spare time I play cricket badly.'

Lotte Betts-Dean

Lotte is a versatile and sought-after, Australian mezzo soprano who has established herself as a leading interpreter of contemporary repertoire, art song and chamber music. She is equally at home in early music, vocal ensemble, opera, experimental music and non-classical collaborations while also curating and programming interdisciplinary projects. She is an Associate (ARAM) of the Royal Academy of Music, an honour reserved for alumni who have contributed significantly to the music profession. See her website here for more.

James Girling

James graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music with Master’s (Distinction) and Bachelor’s (First-Class Honours) degrees, having been selected onto RNCM’s Accelerated Pathway as an eighteen-year-old. In 2021, he was conferred the honour of Associate Member of the RNCM after being judged to have achieved outstanding early career success. He now divides his time between Oslo and the UK performing on classical and jazz guitar, in Afrobeat/Ethiojazz-inspired, avant-rock-fun-psych groups, soul, funk and disco and folk groups. For more see his website here.