Caroline MacPhie soprano
Nicholas Merryweather baritone
Ian Wilson recorder
Jamie Campbell violin
Fenella Humphreys violin
Simon Tandree viola
Cara Berridge cello
Libby Burgess piano
LeFanu A Travelling Spirit
Schumann Kerner Lieder
Maconchy Ophelia’s Song
Frances-Hoad Shakespeare Songs
Schubert Death and the Maiden Quartet
The hidden Priest’s Room at St Mary’s Church houses a number of artefacts from throughout the church’s history, amongst which lies the earliest Maiden’s Garland known to exist (c.1680). Maidens Garlands were a funerary memento, honouring with a virgin’s crown the young person who had died without a bridal crown. Carried before the coffin and then hung in church, their origin is thought perhaps to lie in Norse tradition. In response to this history, Schubert’s fiery and profound Death and the Maiden Quartet is partnered with Ophelia songs by Elizabeth Maconchy and Cheryl Frances-Hoad. Maconchy’s daughter Nicola LeFanu, for many years a Professor of Music at the University of York, writes for the unusual combination of soprano and treble recorder, while baritone Nicholas Merryweather sings Schumann’s lesser-known but stunningly beautiful Kerner Lieder. The Priest’s Room will be open 1pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm for viewing.
