What’s more, for the first time ever the winner will be able to choose their own treasure from the entire range of irresistible jewellery in Annette Gabbedey’s Catherine Hill showroom.  The £300 prize can be spent on a single or multiple items and could be put towards a larger purchase for wedding, special occasion jewellery, or a bespoke piece.

Thanks to the generosity of this year’s sponsors, who have donated their time, services and expertise at no cost, the charge for entry remains the same as in previous years at £4.  Entry Forms will be available from Saturday 1st June onwards at The Cheese & Grain, The Tourist Information Centre and Annette Gabbedey’s showroom.  Completed forms should be returned to Annette Gabbedey by Saturday 20 July.

All correct forms will be entered into a prize draw, this will take place on Saturday 27^th July.

The 2013 contributing Treasure Hunt sponsors are: Annette Gabbedey (for competition organisation and prize donation), David Chedgey (for photography), Paul Hewitt (the Quiz Master), Jade Berry (Black Ink Communications for Graphic Design), Steve Morgan (Frome Printing Company for print) and Katrina Bride (B Sharp Communications for PR).  All funds raised by the Hunt contribute to the running of The Frome Festival.

As part of Frome Town Council’s new drive to attract visitors to share in the town’s rich cultural and artistic diversity the council are delighted to confirm that from 2013 onwards they will be formally supporting the Frome Festival, providing it with secure financial backing.

Peter Wheelhouse, Economic Development and Regeneration Manager at the council has been working behind the scenes with Robert Morris, Chair of Festival Trustees, and the Festival’s Creative Director, Martin Dimery to bring about changes to funding that will secure the long term future of the festival.

Peter explained how the new relationship will benefit both parties, “by changing the way we fund the festival we are putting it on a sustainable financial footing, providing financial certainty for the organisers, and looking at ways we can work more closely together. From this year onwards festival funding will be ring fenced from our Town Events budget, in recognition of how important the festival is for the town economically – and in terms of attracting new business to the area. We will be working jointly with the festival to help them find sponsors, and they will benefit from our national public relations and marketing campaign, which begins this summer. “

Peter outlined his vision for enhancing the area’s potential, “We are working hard to develop Frome as a ‘visitor destination’ and are hoping to attract national press and media coverage. The Frome Festival will be an important part of that campaign. Frome is also experiencing an influx of entrepreneurs – primarily from London and the south east – who are attracted by the availability of affordable flexible business space, the network of support that is available in the area and the lifestyle in the town. One example of the investment that is attracting this interest is the expansion of the ‘Old Church School’, a work ‘hub’ where high quality office space can be rented on a flexible basis. The council is also lobbying very hard to improve rail links to Frome. So we have, in effect, a twin-track mission – to secure investment as a visitor destination and to encourage local business. Between 2006 and 2010 the town saw a 30% increase in self-employment. This demonstrates a vibrant, self motivated business community that we can develop further. In terms of ‘destination tourism’ Frome has great diversity to offer – events like the monthly ‘Super Markets’, the Festival, the Carnival, the Cobble Wobble all attract visitors who will come again and again. With Frome it’s a ‘life style’ thing.”

The Sunday Times clearly finds itself in agreement with much of the above. In a recent edition of its ‘Style’ magazine, journalist Francesca Hornak wrote, “Hipsturbian utopia, though, is Frome, in Somerset, and its offshoot, Mells. Conveniently close to the private members’ club, Babington House, (should a media-type suffer from Shoreditch House withdrawal symptoms), Frome is known as the Ibiza graveyard thanks to the hordes of former ravers pottering around twee boutiques with impossible-to-parody names such as Poot and Millie Moon. The latest coup for Frome’s hipsters, though, is the Steiner Academy, where kids learn through ‘wild play’.” Francesca follows this up with a quote from Pearl Lowe, a high-profile ambassador for the festival and for Frome, “before we moved here, I read about the Frome Festival. It’s wonderful what happens here – comedy, cookery classes, art classes, even a jazz breakfast. I knew I’d be happy…” Just to complete the picture of bucolic bliss a ‘neighbour’ of Pearl Lowe tells the journalist that “at Frome parties, gorgeous, bohemian types turn up with their accordions, trombones and double basses, and everyone sings beautifully all night long.” A little tongue-in-cheek for sure, but who could possibly resist? In another article in The Times newspaper in mid-March Frome was listed number six in their list of ‘Top 30 coolest places in Britain’ – just behind Hebden Bridge, Bethnal Green and Totnes. Anne Ashworth, Property and Money Editor advises her readers to, ‘follow the cool crowd’ and head for Frome. All signs that a real resurgence is taking place in the town’s fortunes. And a great time for the Festival to be consolidating its’ place in the town calendar, thanks to secure funding from the Town Council.

Chairman of Trustees, Robert Morris, welcomed the changes, “The Festival has always had good relations with the Town Council, but we are now entering something new and potentially exciting – a partnership, which underlines the Festival’s contribution to the economic as well as the cultural wellbeing of Frome and the surrounding area…”

Martin Dimery, Creative Director of the festival, commented on the new relationship and how it will affect his planning for the event, “Frome Town Council’s decision helps to ensure that the Frome Festival is more sustainable in the future. In the past we have only been able to plan one year at a time. The good will of Frome Town Council means a great deal to us at the Frome Festival. We hope to reward their faith by presenting a superb festival – for Frome and the many thousands of visitors who join us – this year and for many years to come.”

SOLD OUT 2013

Tales of the Tunnels event 614

Alternative guide to Frome event 710 (additional walk available Sunday 14^th event 1422)

Indian Head Massage event 600

Glass Bauble Blowing event 714

Tales of the Tunnels event 726

Frome Tunnels Tour event 803

Frome Tunnels Tour event 1006

Frome Tunnels Tour event 1301

Phil Jupitus event 1317

Stone Carving Workshop event 1401

Frome Tunnels Tour event 1501

Jo Brand Event 1502

 Here’s what Pearl Lowe, featured in the ‘Sunday Times’ Style magazine (March, 2013), had to say about us:

 “Before we moved here I read about the Frome Festival,” says Pearl Lowe. “It’s wonderful what happens here – comedy, cookery classes, art classes, even a Jazz Breakfast. I knew I’d be happy.’

 Sunday Times journo, Francesca Hornak, winkles the following quote out of Pearl Lowe’s ‘neighbour’:

 “A neighbour of hers tells me that at Frome parties, “gorgeous bohemian types turn up with their accordions, trombones and double basses, and everyone sings beautifully all night long”.

For good measure Francesca describes Frome as ‘hipsturbian utopia’ in the same article.

 And whilst we’re on a roll, The Times put us at No. 6 on their ‘Top 30 coolest places to live in Britain’, just behind Hebden Bridge, Bethnal Green and Totnes, but way in front of Whitstable, Stroud and, um, Glastonbury. We’re way too zen to brag, but hey – come visit, you may never go back. This is what The Times  (Tuesday, March 19^th, 2013) says about the town, “Why is it so great? Fashion designer, Pearl Lowe left London for Frome and raves about the great vintage stores as well as the summer market. Up the road is hip Bruton and the popular media set hang-out, Babington House.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Recital for Cello and Piano - From Russia with Romance

Doors 17.30 Performance: 18.00

Tatiana Chernyshova – Cello

Elena Kiseleva – Piano

The bright young Russian duo, Tatiana Chernyshova,a cellist, and Elena Kiseleva, on piano, bring a touch of youthful exuberance and flair from their native Moscow, tempered a little by spending the last couple of years together at London’s Royal Academy, where both these rising stars of the classical world are taking Masters degrees in their respective instruments.

Their chosen repertoire for this late Sunday afternoon recital at Cooper Hall is a combination of Russian and mid-European music – beginning with Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces op. 73,  closely followed by Beethoven’s Sonata for cello and piano in G minor op. 19. The second half of the programme is devoted to Russian composers. Firstly, a Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, op.19 by Sergei Rachmaninov, and lastly, a series of ‘Minatures’ for cello and piano by Tchaikovsky.

The Schumann provides the bridge between last night’s recital by Eugene Asti and Simon Kent and Elena and Tatiana’s performance tonight. Schumann’s ‘Fantasy Pieces’ was composed in 1849, towards the end of his brief life – and at the beginning of his final mental and physical decline. He died, incarcerated in an asylum, aged 46, leaving his grieving wife, Clara, in the care of a young Brahms.  This unrequited ‘love triangle’ underpinned much of Brahms’ later compositions. The Sonata, written unusually for cello or clarinet and piano, is a ‘song without words’, a kind of instrumental song-cycle – and a piece intended for an intimate domestic setting. In the clear spirit of Romanticism, which emphasized the importance of emotion over form and order, Schumann’s vocal lines give us a clue as to his unravelling, and hint at heartache and madness to come. As a composition it is a deeply affecting and beguiling gem.

Beethoven, born in 1770 in Bonn, dying in Viennain 1827, was at the forefront of the early Romantic movement in Germany. The ‘Age of Romanticism’ is now mostly acknowledged as beginning at around the final years of the 18^th Century and extending into the early 20^th Century. Beethoven wrote his ‘Sonata for Cello and Piano’ in 1808. By this time, with only another twenty years, to live Beethoven was losing his hearing. It was to be the most productive period of his life. This sonata, subtitled ‘Inter Lacrimas et Luctum’ (Amid Tears and Sorrow) was written in the same year as his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, and is described as ‘a virtuosic work-out for both instruments’. Beethoven was a huge fan of the cello and the first movement opens with the solo instrument. The three movements that form the sonata are full of passion, yearning and great beauty.

Rachmaninov was born inRussiain 1873 and died inBeverly Hills,Californiain 1943. His ‘Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, op. 19’ was written in 1901, when he was studying at the Conservatory in Moscow. It is hailed as ‘one of the most important cello sonatas of the twentieth century’ and his work was warmly praised by Tchaikovsky at his graduation. In 1917 he fledRussiaduring the ‘Cultural Revolution’ and headed for the safety of America, spending the rest of his life in exile in California. A quick check on you-tube will reveal the complexity and passionate intensity of this work, written in four contrasting movements; Lento, Allegro, Andante and Allegro Mosso. Something that Tatiana and Elena will no doubt relish as they perform at Cooper Hall together, both Russians in temporary exile themselves.

And so to the final piece of the evening. Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky was born in a remoteprovinceofRussiain May, 1840 and died inSt Petersburgin November 1893. He once wrote that his whole life was spent ‘regretting the past and hoping for the future, never being satisfied with the present’. Alison Latham, writing in the Oxford Companion to Music, goes on to describe how this feeling of ‘unease and dissatisfaction with life imbued much of his music, when the disasters of his personal life found expression in music of extraordinary emotional anguish and tragic drama.’ He is clearly another composer who found self expression in the outpouring of emotion into everything he composed – music providing the outlet for his lifelong struggle to come to terms with his sexuality – which even led to him entering a disastrous marriage with a young woman who had declared undying love for him in a series of ‘fan letters’. As with all four of these ‘Romantic’ composers it is the misfortunes and challenges of their lives that lend depth, intensity and passion to the music that Tatiana Chernyshova and her fellow Russian, Elena Kiseleva will bring to life for us in Cooper Hall. Resistance is futile. Bring tissues.

Tickets: £15 or £25 for both events- Available through the Cooper Hall website or the Cheese and Grain Box Office 01373 455420

Helen Pearse

Frome Festival

www.fromefestival.co.uk

An Audience with Eugene Asti and Simon Kent

Next Saturday 11^th May sees pianists Eugene Asti and Simon Kent performing a programme called ‘The Romantic Piano’ at Cooper Hall here in Frome.  Helen Pearse caught up with them to hear about the music they will be performing on the evening and what it means to them personally and professionally.

‘These Brahms solo pieces are some of the most beautiful and profound piano works ever written, and it is a privilege to be able to work on them, perform them and also have the chance to record them…’ Eugene Asti

 H: I understand that this is your first venture as a solo artist and wondered how you had been lured away for the highly specialized skill of being an accompanist to playing as a soloist in your own right?

 E: This is my first proper venture playing this much solo repertoire in more than twenty five years. I have occasionally been asked to play shorter solo works as ‘interludes’ during some of the song recitals I have done, but to play entirely without a singer on the platform with me is something I haven’t done for many years… My partner, Simon, has agreed to join me in this recital to slightly ease the burden of doing the whole recital myself.

 H:  Is this something you have always secretly wanted to try, or is it more a case of being tempted artistically with an offer you couldn’t refuse?

 E:  It is not so much something that I secretly wanted to try. I love the song repertoire and all the colleagues with whom I regularly on the platform. Playing this Brahms solo repertoire is indeed an artistic opportunity and an artistic challenge that I thought I would benefit from. I also recently turned fifty, and it felt like time to try something new – or should I say very old – to push myself well out of my comfort zone. Having the chance to play Brahms at Cooper Hall was also something I would not like to have forfeited as it’s such a beautiful venue. Hugh asked me to choose the Steinway for the hall, which was a great honour, and it is the piano that I selected which they have there now. I think it is a beautiful instrument.

 H: I hear that there is also the prospect of a solo recording?

 E: I was asked to record Brahms solo piano music a couple of years ago by a small, but growing and highly-respected Norwegian label called Lawo. I had been recording some rare Scandanavian song repertoire with two Norwegian singer colleagues of mine, and when the sessions were finished, the owner of the label, and our producer, seemed to have taken a special interest in my playing and asked me if I would consider recording solo Brahms for them. I thought he was kidding at first, but later over a glass of wine or two he mentioned it again.  Slightly more relaxed by then, I agreed to it. I was flattered, of course – and when discussing exactly which pieces to record I decided I would like to do the late piano pieces, namely opp. 116,117 and 118. It is only opp. 116 and 117 that I will be playing at Cooper Hall this time. I hope to do op. 118 later this year in performance. I feel it is important to prepare and perform publicly music that I am going to record whenever possible, as performing in public gives one new insights into the music – as well as the feeling of the overall architecture of  the pieces, how to pace them, etc. In the actual recording sessions one tends to play each piece in shorter sections after an initial ‘complete performance’ take. Performing the whole of these works in public will be good preparation for the sessions later this year. Recording is scheduled for December 2013. This is the reason I was ‘lured’ back into solo playing – and I’m very fortunate indeed that Morag and Hugh wanted to put this recital on at their wonderful venue.

 H: Could you let me know a little more about the works you will be performing at Cooper Hall on May 11^th?

 E:  I’m performing Brahms’ ‘Fantasien’, op. 116. This is a cycle of seven piano pieces; three so-called ‘Capriccios’ – the fast movements, if you like, that are dramatic and outwardly passionate, and four so-called ‘Intermezzi’, the slow movements – which are the heart and soul of the cycle – deeply personal and intimate pieces that are so poignant and tinged with sadness and nostalgia. The were clearly conceived as a cycle, and are interconnected by similar motifs and themes as well as key structure. Pianists often extract pieces from this set and perform them as individual pieces as part of a larger group of Brahms’ work. I think they really benefit from being performed as a whole cycle.Of all the late piano pieces I think op. 116 is the least often done. The cycle perhaps has Schumann’s ‘Kreisleriana’ as a model, or forbear. Schumann was, after all, Brahms’ great friend and mentor, and Clara Schumann was certainly his muse.

The ‘Drei Intermezzi’, op. 117 are perhaps the most personal of all Brahms’ piano pieces. It almost feels as if one shouldn’t actually perform this music in public at all. It is as if you are communing directly with the composer and sharing some of his most intimate feelings and secrets – not meant for public scrutiny at all…! Brahms called these pieces ‘Weigenlieder meiner Schmerzen’ – ‘Cradle Songs of my Suffering’ and he wrote this music when he himself was ill and was seeing many of his closest friends dying all around him. He knew, too, that he wasn’t long for this world. You can feel it in every phrase of this sublime music. All these late piano pieces seem to inhabit a very internal world – but op. 117 epitomises this feeling for me. The second ‘Intermezzo’ in Bb minor is perhaps one of Brahms’ most beloved piano works. In fact, Brahms had pretty much decided to stop composing before he wrote these late works. It was only by chance that he heard the wonderful clarinettist of the Meiningen Orchestra, called Richard Muhlfeld – and somehow, his artistry on the clarinet awakened Brahms’ impulse to compose. He wrote the Clarinet Trio, op. 114, the Clarinet Quintet, op. 115 and the two clarinet Sonatas, op. 120 for Muhlfeld. In between he wrote the four last sets of piano works, opp. 116 – 119, and after them came the great ‘Vier emste Gesange (Four Serious Songs) and the final Chorale-Preludes, op. 122 for organ.

 H: And a little more about the reason for these choices for you personally?

 E: I chose to record Brahams’ opp. 116 – 118 as these pieces are very closely related to his songs, I feel. Many of them are like ‘Songs without Words’ – and as such I felt I had something to offer this repertoire. They are also not at all showpieces, for which my temperament is not at all suited. The intimate, personal VOCAL quality of these late piano pieces is what appeals to me, and it is what I feel I can best identify with.

 H: Clara Schumann’s name is often associated with these pieces and I know you have a real affinity with her work?

 E:  I have always had a  great interest and respect for Clara Schumann’s music – which until recently was very little known or performed. I was lucky enough to be able to have the chance, at my suggestion, to record her complete song repertoire for Hyperion a number of years ago. There is no doubt that these late piano works by Brahms were written with Clara in mind.

H: Again, with the Chopin, Piano Sonata in Bb Minor, the mood could not be more sombre, with critic Arthur Rubinstein describing passages as the sound of ‘wind howling round gravestones. Would you agree with this take on it? I notice that Chopin requested that this sonata be played at his own funeral at the famousPereLachaiseCemeteryinParis, 1849.

E:   Simon Kent will play this great Chopin sonata, written in 1939. Consisting of four movements, and containing the famous ‘funeral march’, this piece confused contemporary critics with its’ diverse, seemingly disconnected, themes. Robert Schumann wrote that Chopin had ‘simply bound together four of his most unruly children…’. So not all sombre by any means.

H: And then Schubert, Trois Marches Militaires, D733, written when he was only twenty one years of age, in high summer 1818, whilst he was employed to teach the two young daughters of one Count Ezterhazy. Is this the chance to cut loose and have some fun, leave the audience with a spring in their step, maybe? This four-hander sounds loud, playful and joyous – just the stuff to entertain two unruly pupils in their summer holidays…I found myself intriguied by these choices as I discovered more about them and would love to hear your reasons for choosing them…

E: Yes, Simon and I both felt that we needed something a bit lighter with which to end the evening and send the audience away with ‘a spring in their step’ as you said… The Schubert ‘Marches Militaires’ are among his most popular pieces. They are charming, great fun, full of such character and very uplifting – but as with all Schubert’s music, they have great depth, too, and are masterpieces of the genre. Schubert’s four-hand music is perhaps the greatest of all – it is a treasure trove of sublime music, indeed.

H: That’s quite enough questions, I’m sure!

I am so looking forward to hearing your play these wonderful works at Cooper Hall.

Tickets can be booked online at through the Cooper Hall website, or the Cheese and Grain Box office – Tel: 01373 455420

Price: Individual ticket: £15 or £25 for both Saturday and Sunday concerts.

See cooperhall.org for further information and payment details.

Tickets will also be available from the Cheese and Grain Box Office

Tel: 01373 455420

This event is a ‘Fundraiser’ for the Frome Festival. The Festival gratefully acknowledge Morag McLean’s fantastic support.

You can find out how to become a friend at the top of the page, not only are you offered priority booking but also tickets to other events throughout the year and you’ll be supporting your local festival. What more could you ask?

We have breaking news for you in the wonderful shape of Jo Brand.

Yeah, I know.  In person.  Coming to our very own Merlin Theatre as the final ‘curtain downer’ of the 2013 Frome Festival frivolities.  So beyond the curtain in fact, that Jo will be sharing her latest musings on life, the universe and, um, cake, with us on Monday 15^th July. The day after the festival officially finishes.  It’s a pretty much ‘no-miss’ situation, right?  Right. See you there…

Jo Brand, so funny we’ve given her a whole day to herself.

 This one is the daddy of all rabbits – and you might want to you-tube it to see it in all its glory (link here).  Frome Festival productions is chuffed to bits and proud as punch to present the barn-storming multi-instrumentalists that are Chas and Dave.  Tottenham’s answer to The Wurzels.  The Cheeser is in for a night to remember, no mistake. Gertcha.

Repeat after me:

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit, rabbit….

Acts announced for the 2013 Frome Festival!

As the Frome Festival 2013 brochure heads closer and closer to the printing press it seems like a good time to share some of the fantastic acts that we have lined up for this years festival.

 We’re delighted to welcome comedians Phill Jupitus and Rich Hall to Frome this summer. Top notch funny men, straight off the telly and on to a stage near you. We’re celebrating the 100^th anniversary of Benjamin Britten’s birth with a semi-staged version of his opera, ‘The Turn of the Screw’ at Cooper Hall, in collaboration with Bath Philharmonia; expect a sixteen piece chamber orchestra and  ghostly goings on. For real opera lovers there’ll also be a rare chance to hear world-renowned bass-baritone and great favourite of Britten, John Shirley-Quirk, put six talented young singers through their paces in a  ‘Turn of the Screw’ masterclass.

 We’re also celebrating a 21^st birthday for stones, ‘ECOS’ stones to be exact. Twenty one years ago this summer these massive monoliths were carted across Europe to their final resting place in Frome, where they form the backdrop to the ECOS amphitheatre, snug beside the Merlin Theatre. Join us there for a night under the stars with The Afrobeat Messengers.

 John Power will be here too, formerly of the LA’s and CAST, he returns to the Cheese and Grain with a pared down acoustic set.

Expect alchemy. If music is your thing expand your repertoire with alt-folk rising star, Olivia Chaney, hailed by Jarvis Cocker as one to watch, she’ll be playing solo at Cooper Hall for us. Look out too for pianist Ashley Wass, currently making waves on the international music circuit. He’ll be bringing Beethoven, Barber and Liszt to Cooper Hall. Don’t miss. And to round off the ten day extravaganza that is Frome Festival we have Hank Wangford to see us out with style. He’ll be partying hard at the Cheese and Grain. Do join him.

If Words are your thing we have them in abundance this year. novelist Michelle Roberts will be joining entrants of our ‘Frome Festival Short Story Competition’ to award the prizes for best entries. Writers can also come face to face with literary agents, rattle off haikus and write flash fiction for prizes at Rook Lane Chapel. The Archangel is hosting poetry, with the effervescent ‘Hip Yak Poetry Shack’, featuring Johnny Fluffypunk and friends. National treasure, Ian McMillan will be teaming up with his mate, Luke Carver-Goss at the Merlin to bring us ‘words, music, glee and delight’ and dear festival friend, Prunella Scales, will join us to breathe life into the poems of Leo Aylen, live at Rook Lane Chapel.

 Aside from our headliners we have our annual food feast curtain-raiser, mysterious tunnelling, secret gardens, fabulous art at The Black Swan and Toolshed galleries, sculptors, open studios and bundles of fun for all the family. None of it costing the earth. Prices range from free to middling, with plenty in between. Keep bang up to date with all our festival news on twitter, Facebook and via our website. Listen out for Festival Up-dates on Frome FM.

  

And bag yourselves a copy of our 2013 Festival Brochure. Available mid-May, and featuring a front cover by the ever-inventive Sholto Walker.

As of today, our little market town is officially one of the coolest places to live in Britain. As rated by The Times newspaper. So come join the party down by the river this summer.   Kick up your heels, Frome style. We’ll be delighted to show you how.