Sound of Chopin will fill St John’s Kirk
A narrated piano recital will be held in a Perth church next week.
‘Chopin’s Scotland: a narrated piano recital’will be held in St John’s Kirk on Wednesday, October 9.
Running from 7pm, the concert is being hosted by the Perth Friends of Bydgoszcz and the Jane Stirling Project.
It will feature Anna Debowska on piano with narration by Marcin Jaroszek, alongside poetry reading by Barbara Meilak and Agnieszka Kruk.
A spokesperson for the event said: “‘Chopin’s Scotland’, as part of the Jane Stirling Project, is a tribute to Frederic Chopin’s pupil and friend.
“It tells the story of the great romantic and the Dunblane-born Jane Stirling - the story that began in Scotland in 1848 and has rested dormant ever since, for nearly two centuries.
“During the event, you will have an opportunity to listen to a variety of Chopin’s compositions, including the two‘Nocturnes’which he dedicated to Jane Stirling, performed by the inimitable Anna Debowska.
“Her performances during‘Chopin’s Scotland’fuse the past and the present, as they provide the audience with a unique opportunity to commune with sounds that so clearly carry a message.
“Combined with readings from Chopin’s letters and Sir Walter Scott’s poetry, they offer a musical voyage back in time to 1848, when Caledonian soil hosted the dying Chopin, impoverished by his declining lot, enriched by numerous tokens of hospitality and genuine friendship.
“Contextualised by Marcin Jaroszek’s narration,‘Chopin’s Scotland’spins a story of love, devotion, disillusionment and unconditional respect for this somewhat whimsical romantic genius.
“It tells the story of Jane Wilhelmina Stirling, who gave so much and received so little in return.
“It tells a story that has so undeservedly fallen into oblivion - a story that will now unfold.
“The Jane Stirling Project can be thought of as a bridge connecting the two sides, much in the way that Jane Stirling did when she provided help for Frederic Chopin, reconciling conflicting interests and rectifying numerous obstacles, and as she still does, connecting all those who are committed to honouring the past and seeking human unity rather than division.”
The event is free to attend but donations will be welcomed.