’S WORLD

A programme of words and music about the manners of the time, with a variety of music, some from her library.

(All musical works for & unless otherwise stated.)

Gender Attitudes: - Interval - Andante espressivo in D, Op 13 No 2 Maria Hester Park The Captain thinks women shouldn’t have opinions (Evelina) Class Fanny Burney Emma’s perception of Mr Elton (Emma) Jane Austen Allegro in F Gaetano Donizetti Larghetto sostenuto in D Sophia Dussek The doing and being of the clergy () Jane Austen Darcy makes Elizabeth angry (Pride & Prejudice) Jane Austen Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring Johann Sebastian Bach Spirituoso in E minor (oboe solo) Georg Telemann The prevailing opinion of a sexual character The heroine’s future is decided (Mansfield Park) Jane Austen (A vindication of the Rights of Woman) Mary Wollstonecraft Allegro in F (piano solo) Johann Adolf Hasse Andante in B flat Cécilia Barthelémon Emma is jealous of Jane Fairfax’s beauty (Emma) Jane Austen Aspects of Loving: Romance No 1 in A minor Robert Schumann Describes the characteristics of love (Sappho and Phaon) Mary Robinson An attitude to the Navy (Persuasion) Jane Austen Dido’s Lament (cor anglais & piano) Purcell Hornpipe Henry Purcell Edmund’s views on compatibility (Mansfield Park) Jane Austen Allegro in C minor George Friedrich Handel Diversions & Pleasures: On Monsieur’s Departure Queen Elizabeth I A Private Ball (Evelina) Fanny Burney Andante in C minor, Op 2 (piano solo) Maria F Parke Minuet in D Jane Guest Sir Clement Willoughby declares his love (Evelina) Fanny Burney Elizabeth Bennett plays the piano Jane Austen Nicht Schnell (cor anglais & piano) Robert Schumann Adagio in E flat, Op 3 (piano solo) Cécilia Barthelémon Love in fantastic triumph sate Aphra Behn Verses to rhyme with Rose Jane Austen Adagio in G minor Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Impromptu No 4 Antony Le Fleming Mr Collins’ proposal (Pride & Prejudice) Jane Austen The walk (Persuasion) Jane Austen March from Bluebeard Michael Kelly Where’er you walk (cor anglais & piano) Handel Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne (Persuasion) Jane Austen Country dancing (Persuasion) Jane Austen Air on a G string (cor anglais & piano) Johann Sebastian Bach Waltz (piano solo) Veronika Dussek This is an evening of words and music illustrating the mores and manners of ‘the long eighteenth century’ (1600-1830). Firmly based in the acute and witty writings of Jane Austen (1775-1817), various aspects of life are characterised: the class hierarchy, diversions and pleasures, relationships and loving. Also piquant in her comic writing was Fanny Burney (1752-1840), daughter of music historian Dr Charles Burney. Other contributors include the first woman to make a living through writing - Aphra Behn (1640-89); actor and author Mary Robinson (1758-1800); political writer Mary Wollstonecraft (1759- 1797), and the poetic Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603).

Austen was a keen amateur pianist, and made a collection of music for herself to play. The programme includes works Handel, Hasse and Michael Kelly from her music books. Other music is by Austen’s English female contemporarys, such as Cecilia Barthélemon (1770- c1840), Jane Guest (1765-1814) and Maria Hester Park (1760-1813), all of whom were friend with Haydn on his London visits. Music by J S Bach and his moody Berlin son C P E Bach feature, alongside evocative pieces by Purcell, Marcello, Pergolesi, Telemann, Schumann and Le Fleming.

This look at women’s lives in the 18th century illustrates what they were allowed to do, the attitudes that restricted them, and their response to those restrictions. Margaret Cavendish’s thoughts on how to govern include the extreme position of not allowing men’s societies. To complement this Burney’s Captain thinks that women shouldn’t have opinions. Women’s education is discussed by Mary Wollstonecraft, and the advantages and disadvantages of female beauty are aired.

Diversions and pleasures included walking, music, reading, and dancing, which was the only time that men and women were allowed to talk together without a chaperone. Aspects of loving looks at many different kinds of relationships and the associated emotions.