‘Two Lilies’ - sketches of Catherine de Medici in words and music
Sunday 14th September 2014 - 4.00pm £6.00
c. 90 minutes
Elshieshields Tower, near Lochmaben
There is great interest in exploring the lives of historical figures whether it lies in discover-ing a great hero really had feet of clay or that a notorious figure had redeeming features, a good story stands a deal of re-telling. The standard biography of Catherine de Medici by Leonie Frieda is 400 pages long, of which a little over 120 pages cover the Saint Barthol-omew’s Day Massacre, the historical event she is most commonly, heinously, associated with. The rest of her tale is often lost to the world. An infant doubly orphaned in her first weeks of life, a child hostage, a ward of Popes, an heiress offered in marriage around the courts of Europe, finally wife and mother to Kings of France, she was also a cruelly wronged wife right from the start of her marriage. The Galloway Consort are pleased to tell more of her story through an imagined journal of her family, read in character, illustrated with the music she knew in Italy and France, played on viols, recorders, renaissance guitar and lute, with some chansons and madrigals between.
This is a second innovative event with dramatised text and music interwoven. It places a largely unfamiliar music repertoire into its historic and human context, with music and text enhancing each other. In 2013 The Galloway Consort gave nine performances of ‘Red Rose, White Rose’ - reflections by the wife and the mistress of James IV on the eve of Flodden - across the region and beyond, including events at Abbotsford, Traquair House and Paxton House in the Borders. This new text seeks to present a broad picture of a strong renaissance woman, striking in her own time for the quality of her mind as well as her forbearance with the difficult circumstances of her marriage to a man obsessed with another woman. She was a fine horsewoman, knew a great deal about herbal medicines and astrology, believed in prophesy and the power of her own dreams - a fascinating character in a turbulent world - a very early Tiger Mother.
Tickets on the door or make a Booking from Vivien Jones Tel: 01461 700396 e-mail : vivien@freeola.com www.thegallowayconsort.co.uk
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