THE latest community news from Dolgellau

Music club

It was good, on the 80th anniversary of the atrocity that was Kristallnacht and the eve of the Armistice centenary weekend, to be able to enjoy a sample of German culture at its very best.

In their Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor recital on Friday, 9 November, Harriet Burns (soprano) and Michael Pandya (piano), joint winners of the 2018 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform Award, devoted the first half to songs by Schubert and Schumann.

The Schubert set included favourites such as Ganymed and Nacht und Träume, as well as a lesser known example of Schubert in comic mode mocking the fickleness of men, Die Männer sind méchant!

Mignon’s dream of a land ‘wo die Zitronen blühn’, ‘where lemons blossom’ (from Goethe’s novel Wilhelm Meister) has been set by many composers; the romanticism of Schumann’s setting (sung here with three other of Mignon’s songs) was given poignant expression by the duo.

Harriet’s voice has many colours, with plenty of power but never forced. Her projection of words is exemplary, and Michael’s accompanying followed every nuance.

There was humour too in the second-half mix of songs by Barber, Copland and Bernstein, notably in the latter’s I Hate Music!.

Settings by André Caplet of three of La Fontaine’s fables gave scope for drama as the various characters (crow & fox, cricket & ant etc) were brought vividly to life.

This was a well-judged and varied programme that went down very well indeed. Oxford Lieder’s nurturing and promoting of young talent is admirable, and its generous sponsorship of young artist recitals much appreciated.

If you’re a member of a club, society or group, send your news to [email protected]