Lucy Parham and Henry Goodman bringing hit Debussy show to The Perse
12 Jan 2018
The Perse School music department are delighted to be hosting the show Reverie – The Life and Loves of Claude Debussy with Lucy Parham and Henry Goodman on Tuesday 23 January.
Created in 2012 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the French composer, Reverie is the fourth biographical programme of composers’ words and music to be compiled and scripted by internationally renowned pianist Lucy Parham.
One of the most prolific and innovative composers of the early 20th century, Debussy absorbed and transformed cultural influences from countries as far apart as Scotland, Japan and the USA.
The narrative of Reverie, which takes the form of a personal journal, follows him from his initial success with the Prix de Rome in 1885 to his untimely death in 1918. It is punctuated with solo piano works ranging from the ever-popular lyricism of Clair de Lune, Reverie and The Girl with the Flaxen Hair to such virtuosic showpieces as Jardins sous la Pluie, the Etudes and L’Isle Joyeuse.
Reverie debuted in Sheffield with Dominic West in 2012 and then received its critically-acclaimed London debut in the Wigmore Hall’s London Piano Series with renowned TV and film actor Henry Goodman, who will be also be narrating this performance.
The concert takes place in the Main Hall of the Upper School on Tuesday 23 January (7.30pm).
Tickets are priced £7 adults, £3 concessions and are available at https://www.perse.co.uk/box-office/
REVIEWS
“There is nothing more satisfying than listening to great music, beautifully performed, while, at the same time, learning a little about the world in which it came into being and about the people who created it.
Lucy Parham’s concerts offer just that – a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours.”
Simon Russell Beale
“Winningly compiled and performed, Parham’s drama places the French composer’s music in fascinating context. Jennings narrates with wit and authority” ****
BBC Music Magazine, May 2017
“The music in Parham’s programme was chosen to reflect the mood of the letters, and this it did with great success. Henry Goodman is a brilliant character actor, and here he gave us a gallery of characters… he cast a bleak spell as the loneliness of fame and the bitterness of illness kicked in. Meanwhile, Parham’s playing superbly covered the musical bases, from the lazy opulence of ‘Soirée dans Grenade’ to the glacial chill of ‘Des pas sur la neige’, from the tintinnabulation of ‘Pagodes’ to the chaste beauty of ‘La fille aux cheveux de lin’.” ****
The Independent / Wigmore Hall / December 2012
