All Programmes

Deception and Reality

Deception and Reality

A programme of English, French, German and Spanish song, examining the many faces of deceit: how we deceive others playfully, benignly or dangerously, with white lies, secrecy, artifice and betrayal; how we deceive ourselves consolingly or neurotically, with wishful thinking or blindness to reality; how our minds deceive us with illusions, inviting bliss, enlightenment or, when traumatised, madness.

Variations – Two recitals, separate or as a series, one looking at deceit in love – flirtation, seduction, infidelity, elopement, rose-coloured spectacles, and the other exploring deceit in the wider social world and the inner psychological world.

Share
More ideas for themes – based on the texts

More ideas for themes – based on the texts

Archetypes
The hero, the magician, the mother, the trickster.
Poetry purloined
Words from tombstones, religious texts, recipe books and love-letters.
Mundanity and majesty
Those who have riches, magic and celebrity, and those who don’t.

.

Share
Of Tales, Time and Things Beyond

Of Tales, Time and Things Beyond

Through songs set to texts by Walter de la Mare and like-minded British poets, we rediscover a child’s sense of awe at what the world holds for us, and explore the great mysteries of life. We are urged to to treasure beauty and youth whilst we still can, to beware the demons lurking in the dark, and to ponder the final riddle of the passing of time and death.

Variations – Two recitals, separate or as a series, which travel from the cradle to the grave along different paths: the first via nursery-rhymes, nonsense songs, lullabies, dreams and nightmares; the second via fairy-tales, visions, the hopes of youth and a sense of wonder at the infinite span of time. . 192.168.0.l

Share
More programme ideas – looking at the music and the words

More programme ideas – looking at the music and the words

The piano as protagonist
Friend, foe, and spiller of secrets.
Sand, boulder, mountain, planet
Experiencing scale through poetry and music.
Prescience, nostalgia and topicality
Music and text that look back or ahead in time.
Share