It was a small, but enthusiastic, audience in St Mary's last night for the harpsichord concert - and two of the composers of the modern pieces were actually there to hear their work performed. Janet Oates also sang for one of the pieces. Sarah Lianne Lewis's Goleunir'r Dyffryn, for the Welsh part of the trip round the British Isles, was the world premier performance. There were pieces from Scotland and Ireland as well, and also a piece to start the concert from Ana Bon di Venezia, an 18th century Italian composer.
It was a mix of traditional pieces and modern pieces in conversation with the older work, and the modern pieces were using the harpsichord in all sorts of unusual ways - knocking on the wood, plucking the strings inside the case and, in one case, rolling a golf ball around on the strings! Despina Homatidou, the performer, was also called upon to hum and cry out at certain points. It was quite fascinating to watch, especially in the piece called Keening, which was written shortly after the composer's father died.
Later, in the question and answer session, Despina said that she hadn't been sure at first how robust the instrument was to stand up to such unusual treatment - but it turns out that harpsichords are tougher than they look!
It was also lovely to see a little girl in the audience with her mum - and she's clearly having piano lessons because she was allowed to try the keyboard of the harpsichord, which she did with confidence.
The new pieces were commissioned by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival Legacy Funds,
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