Music for an Autumn Evening

A newly formed piano-and-wind sextet has been invited by the management of Scottish Churches House to put on a celebratory concert after fifty years of the House's work, in Dunblane and in the wider community across Scotland and beyond.

 

Six friends who meet as often as they can to make music together, are giving a public concert in Scottish Churches House, to raise funds for the House's Development Fund and to introduce local audiences to a slightly uncommon combination of instruments, namely flute (Lynne Bulmer), oboe (Caroline Snell), clarinet (Carron Shankland), horn (Tim Barrett), bassoon (Rainer Thönnes), and piano (Martin Davies).

 

The programme will begin with "Interplay" (1978), a sort of introduction to the woodwind quintet, by Frank Cordell (whose compositions include musical scores for many films, such as the Tommy Hancox film The Rebel).  This will be followed by part of the fabulous wind quintet (1922) by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen.  To provide some contrast, the first half will conclude with a "musical narration", The Three Billy Goats Gruff, for wind quartet (no horn in this) and narrator, written in the early 1970s by Paul Harvey.

 

The second half consists of one work only, the sextet for piano and wind (1889) by Ludwig Thuille, a prolific Austrian composer, who is famous for this one piece, which is very like Brahms in style, and won the admiration of the composer Richard Strauss.  It is not often performed, but is full of lovely tunes and rich harmonies and it is hoped that it will gain admirers on what may be its first public performance here.

 

The concert is at 7.30pm on Saturday, September 11th, in Scottish Churches House, 1 Kirk Street, Dunblane FK15 0AJ. Tickets are £10.00 each, and are obtainable from the House (Telephone 01786 823 588).  The concert is preceded by a Festive Three-Course dinner with a glass of wine and coffee, in the House at 6 o'clock, and tickets for the dinner-plus-concert are £25.00 (£45.00 for two), so anyone who would like to make up a party and come to the House at six o'clock can look forward to enjoying a convivial evening.