01 May Festival Weekend
Saturday 2 May
The wonderful Philleigh Way offered us a masterclass on preparing and cooking fish. We were to all sit down to a lunch we had been shown how to make and enjoy it with a glass of wine. That evening, the Mevagissey Male Choir would have performed their popular and entertaining concert programme at the Gerrans Parish Hall. Hear them sing!
Sunday 3 May
The Radford Legacy – Music from St Anthony
This concert was to celebrate the achievements and musical legacy of Maisie and Evelyn Radford. The programme will include Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.
In 1919, Maisie and Evelyn Radford moved to St Anthony to begin their “Musical Adventures in Cornwall” and became well known for their work in music in the county. They started the Falmouth Opera Singers in 1923 and their productions of classical opera included the first performance of Mozart’s Idomeneo in England, and performances of Gluck’s operas. These were acclaimed by musicians and conductors throughout the country. They worked for many years for the Cornwall Music Festival and brought music personally to villages up and down the county.
The Radford Charitable Trust was launched in 1970, with money given by Maisie and Evelyn Radford, to advance musical education and to help musicians in Cornwall. Their concern was always that individuals should be able to realise their musical potential and that they should not be held back by lack of opportunity to study. In its 50 years, the Trust has assisted thousands of young Cornish musicians through grants and instrument loans. This concert by some of those musicians was to celebrate the sisters’ achievements and the continuing impact they have on musicians from Cornwall. Their cousin, Jennet Campbell, along with husband Peter, continued this legacy throughout the following years, bringing together young musicians from Cornwall, hosting courses at Bohortha, and many concerts at St Gerrans Church. The St Anthony Players first performed in 1970, conducted by Maisie Radford and Peter Campbell. The various musical escapades at St Anthony continued until the early 2000’s, with few of the Roseland’s residents not being touched by the music made there. The programme would have included the ever-popular Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, along with music by Handel, Purcell, Walton, Warlock and Gluck. The programme was to pay homage to works conducted and played by the Radford sisters, and music played at St. Anthony and Gerrans over the following years, and will include many musicians who were supported by the Trust.
We were to screen Bait at the Portscatho Harbour Club on Sunday evening. This BAFTA-award winning film is set in Cornwall and raises important issues for Cornish fishing communities.
