When I started looking at the work of historical female musicians, I felt a great affinity with those women of the past who often battled (like me) with repressive ideologies or societal strictures. That is why the Women of the Pietà program is so special, as I feel close to those women of the Pietà through my research into women musicians of the 18th century. 

More importantly, this concert also presents an opportunity to work with my colleagues and friends who are among some of the most inspiring artists I have worked with. My favourite instrument is the natural horn. It is an instrument capable of such a wonderful range of emotions, textures, and colours. The natural horn is a tricky beast. I’ve always adored the musicians who make music with just a coiled tube and their embouchure! It seems magical, to me, that tones could ever emerge from such a thing. 

Carla Blackwood (pictured above right) and Dorée Dixon (pictured above left) are two very close friends who are the most wonderful musicians, and I wanted to program a work that could have been performed at the Pietà in order to showcase their extraordinary musicianship. Visitors to the ospedali always commented on the girls playing the horn. William Beckford wrote how charming it was to see “a delicate white hand journeying across an enormous double bass, or a pair of roseate cheeks puffing, with all their efforts, at a French horn.” Another English tourist spoke of how “divinely performed” the concerts were at the Pietà under Vivaldi’s influence: “we could just distinguish the girls through the lattice, fiddling, playing the French horn […] [it] was the sweetest thing I have ever heard.” I’m thrilled to be working once again with  these talented members of the Orchestra of the Antipodes, and can’t wait to start rehearsals next week.