It seems spoilt somehow

However you celebrated the Fete Nationale yesterday it seems that the events in Nice (and some of the knee-jerk reactions) have spoiled it.
Those of us lucky enough to have been in the church at Varen at 18h (6pm) were treated to a lovely concert of Liebeslieder (love songs) from various poetic traditions, translated into German and set by Brahms.

The church was packed

Four talented singers accompanied by two pianists sharing one keyboard sang 33 of the Liebeslieder and Neues Liebeslieder (ie a new collection) by Brahms. Britt Truyts (soprano), Hilary Jones (mezzo soprano), Roger Yu (tenor) and Bernard Linnemann (bass) with the backing of Darrel Chan and Iau Jo Yee filled the huge space with these enchanting love songs.

The four singers and their pianists.

The entre'acte was a performance of Schumann's Five Popular pieces for cello and piano. Written for Clara Schumann who may have been the inspiration for the younger Brahms's Liebeslieder. The pieces were played by Tirke Linnemann accompanied by Darrel Chan and delighted the audience.

Cello and piano in the setting of Varen church.

The group of musicians, essentially based around Birmingham, were giving just one performance of this concert whilst in France. If readers in the UK get a chance to go to another performance, take it. It was lovely.
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My investigative skills are better than we thought

Talking last night to our very good elderly friend who is a retired Mayor of Verfeil she confirmed that my initial report on what building is the old gendarmerie was correct. The building is the one on the opposite side of the road to the village (used to be a transport company) and to my mind looks not in brilliant condition.
She told us that the building is owned by the Mairie at the moment.
She also asked me to remind everyone about her concert today in the church at Verfeil 16.00h From the poster it promises to be a good concert. If you know Verfeil come and if you have never been to this pretty village and church come to see it.
The Operita Trio, flute Spanish guitar and soprano, will present songs in 4 languages, Italian from Verdi's La Traviata, French from Bizet's Carmen, English from Bernstein's West Side Story and Spanish from Piazzola's Maria de Buenos Aires.
If you saw them last year you will remember just how good they are.

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Selgues concert today

The very beautifully restored church of St Robert at Selgues (Verfeil sur Seye) was the venue of a charming concert of spiritual songs from mezzo soprano Catherine Mayoly. Many familiar songs such as Schubert's "Ave Maria" and Gounod's "Panis Angelica" were joined by gospel songs such as "O happy day", joined in enthusiastically by the audience. The concert was organised by the indefatigable Therese Gautier, who seems to have single-handedly raised the funds over the last 10 years. These concerts at Selgues are always good value and today was no exception.

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