COMMEMORATION
CHARLCOMBE
1914-1918
An evening of recollection, poetry and song
to commemorate
the contribution of Charlcombe to the Great War
By MUSE
Andrew Bannerman, reader, Richard Frewer, Tenor,
David Price, piano.
The Kingswood Theatre, Fonthill Road, Lansdown.
By kind permission of the Principal of the Kingswood Foundation.
Friday October 3rd 2014 at 7.30pm.
The little hamlet of Charlcombe lies in a charming valley within
walking distance of Bath. Reputed to be the oldest church in the
area and the mother church of the Abbey, St. Mary’s Church seats
seventy souls at a squeeze.
Reaching up to Ensleigh, down to the Lam brook and over to Sion
Road, the old Saxon parish of Charlcombe can never have held
more than a few hundred souls, and yet there are ten names
commemorated on a brass plaque in the church with several of
them from homes on Lansdown. If a small community like ours
could lose ten men, most communities must have lost its young in
proportion to its size and will probably still have relatives of the
dead in their locality to commemorate and to tell their stories.
With this in mind, The Friends of St. Mary’s Church, Charlcombe
intend to remember its losses in an evening of recollection, poetry
and song which, it is hoped, will bring the community together and
add an appropriate sum to support both our ancient church building
and the British Legion. To add poignancy to the evening, we are
investigating the background of those named on the plaque and we
intend to make more vivid the loss to the locality by illuminating
some of the stories related to those families. These will form the
core of the evening.
No, it will not all be gloomy as we intend to combine the grave
reality with the humour that made it bearable!
We hope you will come and will encourage your friends to join you
for a special evening in a worthy cause.
‘Summon the Muse’
MUSE was founded by Andrew Bannerman and Richard Frewer to
explore the relationship of music and writing in performance. The
performances bring to life some of our finest poets and prose
writers in words and music. Andrew presents a lively introduction
to the subject and links a recital of poems or passages of prose with
a commentary. Richard performs songs that illustrate the narrative
and its reflect mood from a wide repertoire. Contemporary piano
pieces are often included as well.
MUSE has performed throughout the country at music and
literature festivals, as well as in various National Trust houses,
theatres, halls and churches. The British Council invited Muse to
Hong Kong and China at the conclusion of their Darwin
Bicentenary. At present there are plans to perform
‘Commemoration’ in Bath, Shrewsbury, Cambridge Burghclere and
Market Lavington.
The programme will be structured thus:
Before the Great War
To join-up or not to join-up
Battle
……………………………….
The home front
Casualties
The aftermath
Andrew Bannerman, actor and writer, lives in Shrewsbury and has
written a series of solo and duo presentations of various writers, which
include Housman, Hardy, Wordsworth and Coleridge, George Orwell
and Charles Darwin. He has read poetry in pubs, clubs, National Trust
Houses, at Cheltenham, Hay and other festivals and once at the top of a
Shropshire hill in a force 8 gale! ‘Bannerman’s readings of the selected poems
was faultless. Dramatic, sensitive and immensely moving.’
Marie Moss. Knutsford Festival.
Richard Frewer has sung both here and abroad in a wide range of
repertoire. His teachers have included Elizabeth Schwarzkopf &
Richard Lewis. Throughout his career as an Architect and University
Professor, he has maintained a considerable reputation as a concert
singer and has worked as soloist for the likes of Sir John Elliot
Gardiner, the late Richard Hickox and Dr. Martin Neary. His particular
area of interest is German Lieder and English song which he has been
able to explore further in his partnership with Andrew.
‘Throughout, the recital showed the scope and flexibility of Frewer’s tenor voice and
the ease with which he adapts its timbre to reflect the mood of his subjects’
Suzette A Hill, Dymock Poets
David Price, former Director of Music at Dauntseys School, Was
musical director of opera companies in the South West and until
recently, the conductor of both the Trowbridge and The Bath
Symphony Orchestras. He is a distinguished academic, accompanist
and chamber music player. …
“Price accompanied with dazzling, yet never obtrusive style and we were struck by the
wit, poise and grace of his playing”…
.- Suzette Hill
Tickets (£12) may be purchased from Sue Howell,
Kelston House, College Road. BA1 5RY 01225 424224.
sue@howell15.plus.com
from The St. Stephens Centre.
or from any member of the Friends of Charlcombe Church.