Concert at St. Peter's Church, West Knighton, Dorset; Wind Serenade; Artsreach, Principal Winds Quintet, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Thomas Hardy would have enjoyed the concert at St. Peter's Church, West Knighton, a church (a Grade I Listed Building) which was configured and restored under his personal architectural supervision. His brother, Henry, did much of the work.

It was a wild, windy and rainy evening, but the small church was packed; much of the music had a festive character, played by an ensemble of  five of the principal wind-players (and horn) of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. It proved to be an inspiring venue, not least for the stunning Norman arch which held my gaze as much as the roof beams, whilst listening to the music.

I particularly enjoyed Ferenc Farkas's Early Hungarian Dances, and Claude Debussy's Syrinx.

Flavours of Hungary and Ancient Greece in a Dorset village!

Artsreach, the BSO and the local organisers, are to be congratulated on bringing such small-scale concerts to the villages and rural communities of Dorset.

Most of all, thanks to Anna Pyne, Edward Kay, Kevin Banks, Tammy Thorn and Edward Lockwood, the five outstanding musicians.

"Debussy’s Syrinx for solo flute was composed as incidental music for the final act of Gabriel Mourey’s dramatic poem Psyché and will be performed by BSO Principal Flute, Anna Pyne. This beautiful and intricate melody was written as the last music the mythical Pan played before his death and despite being the briefest of pieces, it has become an iconic work in the solo flute repertoire. It is also notable for being the first solo piece composed for the modern flute, using the Böhm system of keys and construction" - BSO Press Release.

"In 1893 the Church again underwent a restoration, this time under the direction of Thomas Hardy, who was working simultaneously as an architect and novelist. Hardy approached the work with great care and he was responsible for replacing the gallery at the west end of the nave, new tracery in two windows in the north wall of the nave and a completely new window in the tower. Whilst engaged in this work, he was also writing his last published novel, ‘Jude the Obscure’, whose hero is a stonemason" - Dorset OPC.

More information, about recent restoration work.

The Young Glass-Stainer

"These Gothic windows, how they wear me out

    With cusp and foil, and nothing straight or square,

    Crude colours, leaden borders roundabout,

    And fitting in Peter here, and Matthew there!

    "What a vocation! Here do I draw now

    The abnormal, loving the Hellenic norm;

    Martha I paint, and dream of Hera's brow,

    Mary, and think of Aphrodite's form."

    Nov. 1893. Thomas Hardy

Quoted by Furse Swann in the leaflet

Thomas Hardy and West Knighton Church