Local star shines at Arts Festival

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It says a great deal about our beautiful town, that international concert pianist Anne Marshall decided to make it her home a few years ago. Accompanying Lorna McGhee, who was described by one of the leading UK flute teachers as one of the best international players of our time, the two gave an outstanding performance on Wednesday at St Marys as part of the Arts Festival.

Anne specialises in accompanying flautists and has worked with most of the leading players around the world, not least Sir James Galway. She regularly has an international diary of events in America, Europe and South Africa, and also teaches at Benenden School.

Lorna graduated from the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in the same year as myself, 1993, and it is fascinating to see the outstanding career she has had to date. Her native Scottish brogue is intertwined with a hint of the US as she is now principal flautist of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra, having previously performed with the Chicago and Minnesota orchestras, as well as the BBC, LSO, London Philharmonic and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. She has been a soloist at leading venues around the world, recorded for Decca, EMI and Naxos. Lorna is Artistic Lecturer at the Carnegie University and has given masterclasses at the Julliard and RAM. So Rye is doubly lucky to have quite such an impressive musician perform in the delightful acoustic of St Marys’.

Opening with a transcript of a Bach soprano aria from the St Matthew Passion, it was follow by Karg-Elert’s complex Sinfonische, written for the principal flautist of the Leipzig orchestra during the First World War. Lorna made Gluck’s Blessed Spirits truly dance with some beautiful bright playing and a sympathetic light touch to this well known Baroque piece, with empathetic accompaniment. Concluding the first half with Vitali’s Chaconne would have been a braves choice for a lesser duo, with its fiendish score, but in their hands it was incredibly dexterous playing bringing out the angst and pathos as the music built.

Lorna opened the second half with the unaccompanied Sunset on the Somme, walking in from the back of the church and through the audience. Written in the trenches by a member of the Highland Regiment, this haunting melody with echos of Scottish folk music was incredibly impactful as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of end of first world war. After two more pieces, they performed Debussy’s very last composition, Sonata. Another incredibly complex piece, the true nature of duet work between flautist and pianist resounded the rafters of St Mary’s as the two played as one with each instrument’s voice speaking in this montage written on the Normandy coast as Debussy escaped from Paris in 1918. With sparkle and vibrancy the flute soared amidst excerpts of haunting poignancy with an echo to the guns from the front that the composer would have heard whilst writing this extraordinary piece.

Not halfway through the first week of the festival and we have been blessed with some outstanding musicianship under the new classical director, professional musician Alison Moncrieff-Kelly. Roderick Williams’ interpretation of songs by Gurney on Monday night was so powerful, with perfect clarity of diction, wonderful vocal colour and again a poignant memory to the first world war; and we look forward to Dame Emma Kirkham next week. So again, how lucky are we that Rye’s own stand hand in hand alongside this international array of outstanding musicianship and we very much hope that Anne will be returning again next year.

Image Credits: Anne Marshall / Lorna McGhee .

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