classical music, chamber music, liverpool, merseyside, concerts

Monday 12 November 2007 at 7.30pm

Concert Royal
Soprano ~ Flute ~ Violoncello ~ Harpsichord

"Jane Austen's Musical England"

Concert Royal recreates the elegant sound world of the 18th century through historically informed performance. For over thirty years the ensemble has delighted audiences with enthusiatic and informative presentations.

"Yes, yes, we will have a pianoforte, as good a one as can be got for thirty guineas, and I will practise country dances, that we may have some amusement for our nephews and nieces, when we have the pleasure of their company."
So wrote Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra on 27th December 1808. Music played a significant part in Jane's life at Chawton in Hampshire, where according to Caroline, one of her nieces, she practised each day before breakfast.

At Chawton, the Jane Austen Memorial Trust has carfully preserved Jane's extensive collection of hand written and printed music. Concert Royal's programme draws both from the collection and from contemporary sources to provide an entertaining evening of music from the English drawing room. Haydn's settings of popular Scottish airs and his song "My Mother Bids me Bind my Hair" will be familiar to audiences; in contrast there are rediscovered gems by the English musicians Thomas Arne, James Hook, and Charles Dibdin. Concert Royal's unique presentation is enhanced by brief relevant extracts from Jane's letters and novels which set the scene and place the music in context.