Inside Salisbury: Candlelight and music review
Review: Salisbury CathedraL - Winter Words by Candlelight
by Annette J Beveridge
Last year, I set myself a challenge to explore the arts outside of my usual comfort zone.
So the chance to attend Salisbury Cathedral and embrace an evening concert in a candlelight setting was too good to ignore. I have long admired the architecture and the history of our cathedral and settling into my seat, I was so glad it was an intimate audience.
When British tenor, Ruari Bowen (left) began to perform, there was a stillness in the room.
This wasn’t an elaborate concert but rather like being in a grand sitting room as we were in just one part of the cathedral. Ruari’s voice was incredible, and he sang with confidence throughout. The prize-winning accompanist William Vann (right) performed with him and the theme centred around Benjamin Britten’s “Winter Words”.
We were treated to a memorable evening guided on a journey that explored themes associated with memory and the passage of time. It was a concert reflecting on the human experience with sound that resonated on so many levels. I didn’t look at the leaflet provided. I just wanted to listen and to feel the music, and I did.
I forgot about the cold weather outside or that there was a chill within the Cathedral, I only remembered my cold fingers and slight shivers towards the end of the performance.
Some people may have heard the music before but it was completely new to me and I was so glad I went, (yes, even with the less-than-comfortable temperatures), and it brought the imagery of the natural world, and the human losses we experience, to the fore.
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As with any artistic endeavour, it is for the individual to perceive it in a way that is unique to them. So ask anyone who went what they thought, they are likely to tell you something different, something new and how the music affected them.
If you want a memorable experience then take the opportunity to attend the next candlelight concerts. My tip for an amazing evening’s entertainment is to wear plenty of layers and forget about everything. Just give yourself up to the music.
The next concert Purcell by Candlelight takes place on Friday, February 14 at 8pm.
Find out more here.
