🌸🌸 Happy Mothering Sunday 🌸🌸
10am Sunday I’m in London with all my family, heading to the AESS English competition final with George Todica 🎹🎶
Songs My Mother Taught Me; a video share for Mothering Sunday.
My program for the competition was an ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ compilation. A ‘Down The Rabbit Hole monologue’ and prose between each of seven English Art songs using quotes and narrative from the book that I so loved from my childhood.
Lewis Carroll published the novel in November 1865, 150 years ago, the novel was illustrated by John Tenniel and is one of the finest examples of the nonsense literature genre. Carroll was the pen name of the Reverend Charles Dodgson, he was born in Daresbury, Cheshire just a few miles from where I grew up.
During my research I read that ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ is the third most quoted book after the Bible and Shakespeare. I’ve read the book, watched movie adaptations, listened to audio-books and watched the wonderful ballet adaptation live from the Royal Opera House a couple of Christmas’ ago.
I had tremendous fun learning the text, and my selected English Art Songs and compiling them all into a 20 minute coherent program.
George Todica accompanied me and I was so happy that he won an accompanist prize. I enjoyed listening to the prize winners, their programs were so well delivered that it must have been difficult to choose a winner.
Tonbridge school was a beautiful location to host the final and a big thank you to the organisers.
I am travelling back up to Scotland this evening on the night bus!
