The Harmonious Songsmith: Grainger's World in Song

The Australian High Commissioner, His Excellency Mr John Dauth LVO introduces the series, which begins with a journey through Percy Grainger's wonderful song and choral repertoire, with The Addison Singers directed by David Wordsworth, Stephen Varcoe (baritone), Annie Fredriksson (soprano), Christopher Jacklin (tenor), pianist Penelope Thwaites and special guest Yvonne Kenny (soprano). English and Scottish folk-settings, some haunting, some fun, plus Grainger's idiosyncratic Kipling settings, and finally a rollicking Danish sequence, with the god Thor appearing as an old woman at a christening. (This is an intimate event with the choir and soloists sharing the stage in informal fashion, the conductor not always obvious, and the whole evening resembling a musical gathering in a 400-seat drawing room.)