We were delighted to welcome Nancy Cooley to play a wonderfully varied piano recital which references autumn, gardens and the night.

Nancy Cooley’s recital started with Bach’s 5th French Suite – so-called even though it’s largely Italian in style! That followed by four pieces by one of Bach’s greatest champions, Johannes Brahms. These works, with their autumnal and poetically reflective character, come from the very end of his life.
A set of three night pieces, which include the Nocturne: Valdemossa by the distinguished local composer Julian Broughton, are balanced by three wonderful works inspired by gardens, framing Mussorgsky’s haunting portrait of The Old Castle from his Pictures at an Exhibition.

Programme:
J S Bach – French Suite no. 5 in G
Allemande – Courante – Sarabande – Gavotte – Gigue

Brahms Klavierstücke: Op 118 no 1, Op 117 no.3, Op 119 no.3, Op 118 no.5

Julian Broughton: Nocturne: Valdemossa
Fauré: Eighth Nocturne Op.84
Ravel: Noctuelles, from Miroirs

Lili Boulanger: D’un vieux jardin and D’un jardin clair
Mussorgsky: The old castle
Debussy: Jardins sous la pluie