Event Type : CMF Events

Helen Charlston will perform a world premiere of new song cycle ‘Battle Cry’ by Owain Park commissioned by CMF for mezzo and theorbo. It will have pre-performance talk from Jeremy Summerly, and balanced with a programme of early music.

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Helen Charlston (Mezzo-Soprano)

Toby Carr (Theorbo)

Georgia Way (Librettist)

Battle Cry: she speaks

This programme re-balances an obsession with female abandonment and lament in the 17th century. The stories of women such as Dido and Ariadne have been told and re-told throughout history, as Greek myths and ancient tales dealt with the reality of war and high mortality rates on the women seen to be ‘left behind’ by male adventure and success. We consider this trope through the hands of women and men writing music in 17th century, exploring whether this abandonment and lament always does in fact have the air of helplessness that might be assumed.

Battle Cry (Owain Park CMF commission, 2020) considers this stance in the 21st century, giving so-called ‘abandoned women’ a platform for their own voice. What would they say today? It also illuminates the voice and theorbo as a modern-day musical pairing, a less-explored idiom in contemporary chamber music than one would expect. Join with us as we breathe a new life into this instrumental combination and let the battle cry of women throughout the centuries resound.

Pianist Antoine Préat performs at 1pm at The Great Hall, Barts Heritage. This concert will have an in-person audience, following all social-distancing guidelines in place at the time of the event. The concert will also be filmed and broadcast.

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