A very special performance of the prize-winning choral work ‘A Story of Cornwall’ is taking place at the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro on Saturday 10 March.
Composed by Cornish bard Nick Hart and commissioned by the Royal Institution of Cornwall which is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, the piece explores aspects of Cornish history – conveying how people reacted to the land and how the land guided their path and shaped their growth. The museum setting is particularly significant as the Canoryon Lowen four-part choir will be singing in a space dedicated to artefacts that showcase the county’s past.
The concert includes a tri-lingual rendition of The Lord’s Prayer. The prayer was said in Latin until the Reformation when, with the country under Protestant rule, it was translated into English. Many people in Cornwall didn’t understand the language and vented their anger in the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 which ultimately resulted in 5,500 people being killed. Nick Hart’s version of the song reflects their battle for identity, using a Cornish version of the Lord’s Prayer alongside the Latin and English.
No history of Cornwall would be complete without reference to mining and a percussive section of the concert also captures the sounds of miners working.
“We’re very excited about staging this concert in our newly designed and refurbished Main Gallery,” said the Royal Cornwall Museum’s Collections Development Manager Dr Jayne Wackett. “The singers will be performing in the midst of the very objects that inspired Nick’s work, creating a poignant, evocative ambience that will probably give us all goose bumps. Music is a powerful way of storytelling and this promises to be an exceptional entertainment experience.”
The concert will take place at the Royal Cornwall Museum in River Street at 7.30pm on Saturday 10 March. The first half of the show will feature the choir’s interesting repertoire, with ‘A Story of Cornwall’ being performed during the second half. During the interval, the audience are welcome to look at the exhibitions. Tickets cost £10 per adult and £3 for children. Book online by visiting the website or call 01872 272205.