This academic year sees the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death. To commemorate, the College held a cross-curriculum tribute to The Bard, organised by the Music Department. With seating in a horseshoe shape around the stage, this created a very intimate atmosphere.
Divided into the four sections of ‘Music’, ‘Death’, ‘Madness’, and ‘Love’, students from music, performing arts and English Literature performed a variety of music, scenes and readings.
As second year English Literature student Grace Tompkins said, “It was great to be part of an inter-subject concert. Putting Shakespeare in context of both performance and analysis with friends who are great performers is a really special thing.”
‘Music’ featured scenes performed with great insight by Oliver Mitchell taken from ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Henry VIII’. Music student Tom Mungall performed his own composition entitled, ‘Shylock’. “Playing my own composition was a very enjoyable and productive experience. I could perform the music in exactly the way I wanted it to be expressed, and I could make split decisions on the piece’s structure during the performance. I feel I learned a lot about composition itself through this opportunity.”
Then, a change of mood for ‘Death’, introduced by Kamila Wisniewska. Rosie Clarke and Ben Westhead sang Shakespeare-inspired songs by Berlioz and Ben Folds, with Sophie Colclough delivered a scene from ‘Measure for Measure’. Second year music student Philippa Leadbetter led us towards the interval with a moving rendition of Henry Purcell’s ‘O let me weep’ from The Fairy Queen.
The theme of ‘Madness’ explored Shakespeare’s treatment of the fine line between sanity and instability. Grace Tompkins tackled the subject in a well-delivered reading. This delicate topic was treated sensitively; Adam Byrne and Katie King performed a haunting rendition of Radiohead’s ‘Exit Music (For a Film), with a very moving extract from Macbeth expertly performed by Emily Beech.
On to the lighter theme of ‘Love’! although, as Madeleine Mills informed us in her reading, ‘Love’ in Shakespeare is very complex – it is not just boy meets girl! Henry Silk performed a moving passage from ‘Othello’ about love and loyalty. What would a section on ‘Love in Shakespeare’ be without ‘Romeo and Juliet’? Michael Potter (Viola) and Amber Li (Piano) performed Tchaikovsky’s ‘Love Theme’, and we also heard an extract from the play, performed touchingly by James Casey and Megan Stephens. Ellie Mackie (Soprano) and Tom Mungall (Guitar) performed ‘Love Story’, made famous by Taylor Swift, before Lucy Blunt delivered Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet No 18’. As Lucy said after the Concert, "It was a great experience and I felt really lucky to be a part of it!" Schubert’s ‘An Sylvia’ (Who is Sylvia?’), with text from ‘Two Gentlemen of Verona’ was performed with passion by Emily Beech. If the audience’s reaction is anything to go by, this was a fantastic way to round off an excellent concert!
Harry White, Curriculum Manager said, “Tonight was artistic education at its very best. A unique, cross-curricular event drawing from the skills of students from across English, drama and music. Creative, intellectual and powerful, this was a fitting way to mark the impending 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. I'd like to congratulate all the students involved for the inspiring quality of the scenes, readings and music that they contributed. We've been overwhelmed with the response from parents who were taken aback by the maturity of the performances and sheer variety of the programming”.
