Whiteshill and Ruscombe's Autumn Festival Concert and Tea

FOR the second event this year to celebrate the Parish Church's 175th anniversary, the Autumn Festival Concert and Tea was held on Sunday afternoon in the Parish Church of St Paul.

A programme of music, poetry, histories and humour was presented by locally sourced talented performers.

Benjamin Dry and Geoffrey Poole formed a cello and piano duo to perform Schuman's three short Fantasy pieces that use much the same ideas, but alter with increasing energy akin to visiting the same place in grey winter, then spring and finally glorious summer.

Juliet Curnow (mezzo soprano) sang two traditional folk songs unaccompanied.

'The Wee Weaver' and 'To be a Farmer's Boy'.

Following Richard Hensley's thoughtful poem 'Colliding Autumns' the mood was perfectly set for Schubert's 'Arpeggione Sonata' with its wistful Bohemian melodies and Hungarian dance breaks making it a favourite for cellists.

Its three movements follow a traditional sonata mould of an emotionally varied opening, a tranquil song-like centre, and episodic dance sets to close.

Pam Keevil's 'Five Finger Exercise' evoked the colourful history of an old piano, with an 'Old Pianist' illustrating its travels from scales, to European classics and New York nightclubs.

Mixed emotions, excitement, and nostalgia featured in Sarah King's 'Letter to my sister' as she writes home from Africa, with Benjamin and Geoffrey creating an African opening environment and close with Geoffrey's own 'Sunshine' from his 'Skally Skarekrow's Whistling Book.

Richard's scientific mind engaged the four note structure of DNA to a four note pattern on Geoffrey's 'The Well' from Chinese Whispers, with John Ireland's setting for voice and piano for the poem 'I Have Twelve Oxen', an enigmatic 16th century poem.

The concluding piece was Schubert's 'The Shepherd on the Rock', which fittingly brought the three musical performers together.

A combination of three poems which sound best in the original German, and written to display the talents of an outstanding Viennese singer, which happily Juliet from Ruscombe, supported by Benjamin and Geoffrey, delighted a very appreciative audience.