The new season got off to a good start with a presentation entitled The Power of Mysticism in Music by Ian Lace. Ian was one of the founder members of the Society (not called that then) so we were pleased to welcome him back. He chose pieces where a sense of something beyond the composer was present in the music. It was interesting that most of the pieces – with one exception in fact – were English composers. Whether this means composers from these shores are more susceptible to these influences is probably unlikely although it was noticeable that several had experience either the first or second world wars.
The pieces played were:
- Adagio from Elgar’s Symphony No 1
- Bax, Symphony No 3
- Finzi Intimations of Mortality
- Bach: Chaconne
- The Romanza from Vaughan William’s Symphony No 5
- Elgar again the time the Kingdom Pentecost and finishing with
- Delius Songs of Farewell
Well not quite finishing there because he finished with Louis Armstrong singing What a Wonderful World.
An excellent evening and an all too rare opportunity to hear the music of Bax.
The next meeting is on 3 October and is on early stereo recordings. It will be preceded by a brief agm.
Salisbury Recorded Music Society 