The Little Song Party

Never having been able to resist singing with a period instrument, soprano Penelope Appleyard began researching all things Jane Austen and square piano swiftly following her first meeting with Jonathan Delbridge in early 2024. This resulted in ‘Sense & Musicality’, happily coinciding with Austen’s 250th anniversary year. The programme explores the importance of music in Jane’s life, and her relationship with it. It also considers that her characters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood might represent the author’s own conflicting traits of romance and logic, and her views on all things musical and emotional.

The programme includes music Jane played and sang (some being scores found in the Austen family music albums, often in her own hand) as well as music and composers mentioned or alluded to in her novels. Also included are pieces from the soundtracks of much loved screen adaptations, quotes from her writing, as well as extracts from letters between Jane and family members, most often her beloved sister Cassandra.

‘Ode to Pity’ is a brand new composition by Donna McKevitt, commissioned especially for this programme, and is a musical setting of Austen’s teenage poem (1793.) Jane was 17 at the time of writing and appears to intelligently mock the earnest grandeur of 18th century literary conventions, using highly descriptive, often antiquated language that in fact says nothing of any real depth. Donna has been inspired by this and the folk music Jane would have heard at the time, to create a song the young author might have enjoyed singing herself. Musical settings of Austen’s poetry are extremely rare and there appear to be none currently performed or recorded in the English Song repertoire. This commission aims to change this in celebration of Austen’s 250th birthday, and may also be the first contemporary music written especially for square piano.

Together, Jonathan and Penelope Appleyard plan to put together more concert programmes as “The Little Song Party” using the 1814 Regency Broadwood square piano and taking inspiration from music and culture from this period of history.

Testimonials

This deserves to go viral!Newbury Spring Festival

They created an extraordinary atmosphere… the audience were spellbound!Jane Austen’s House

Thank you so much for your lovely Sense and Musicality concert. The audience was extremely positive and thoroughly enjoyed both the repertoire and your performances – lovely playing and beautiful singing presented with obvious enjoyment. I was impressed by the depth of your knowledge about Jane Austen. You had obviously done extensive research into her relationship with music and the way this is reflected in her novels. The real skill was your ability to present this scholarship as entertainment! Thank you so much.Frome Concerts Group