Friends of St Mary’s
Lunchtime
Recital 19th October
Roman Rudnytsky
The church was packed on 19th November for the eagerly awaited return of international pianist Roman Rudnytsky to Halesworth. Wearing a jacket badge which reminded us of his Ukrainian origins, he treated his audience to a mesmerising programme.La Vallée des Cloches from “Miroirs” by Maurice Ravel, an impressionist piece full of iridescent harmonies, was followed by Ludwig van Beethoven’s Five Variations on “Rule Britannia”. It was a surprise to many in the audience to learn that Beethoven was an admirer of British culture and had also written variations on “God Save the King”. Jackaroo, a fun piece by Neil Goodchild, reminded us of Mr. Rudnytsky’s worldwide tours, on one of which he had met the composer.
The main piece of the recital was the transcription for solo piano of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Concerto in C for piano and orchestra, K.467, one of the 27 piano concertos which Mozart composed in his short life. Mr. Rudnytsky had been inspired to produce the transcription of this and other concertos after playing George Gershwin’s solo piano version of Rhapsody in Blue. It certainly demonstrated his virtuosity at the keyboard!
Mr. Rudnytsky commented variably in the transformation of the church since he had last visited three years before. It is to be hoped that he will include Halesworth in his next trip to the UK, when it may be that the next stage of the church’s plans to make this such a welcoming place will be nearer fulfilment.
Lunchtime Recital 9th November
Hofmeister Ensemble (cancelled)
Despite disappointment at the cancellation owing to illness of the recital by the Hofmeister Ensemble, the audience on Wednesday 9th November was rewarded by a delightful 45 minutes of vocal music. Accompanied by composer Alex Campkin, Pat Woodhouse and Jane Linden entertained us with a programme of song both in English and Italian. Pat beautifully portrayed the characters in her two arias, Mozart’s Voi che sapete and Puccini’s O mio babbino caro. Jane took advantage of this opportunity to present to a live audience some of the songs she is preparing for a forthcoming examination. She gave us a clear explanation of the composer and background of each song. Dowland’s Flow my tears and Britten’s Now the leaves are falling fast were followed by Sullivan’s Orpheus with his lute. Two Italian songs, Tosti’s Ideale and Susanna’s aria Di vieni la tardar from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro completed her selection, sung with conviction and expressiveness. Much appreciation was given to both these singers and to Alex, their teacher, for stepping in at less than 24 hours’ notice.
The Friends of St Marys would like to thank East Suffolk Council and Alison Cackett for their generous grant of £1000 towards purchasing new tables and a tidy storage trolley. These will be used for various events in church both by the church and the community who use it and have already been used for the Heritage Open Days and lunchtime recitals.'
