Brontë
‘I read for the same reason that I ate or drank; because it was a real craving of nature.’
Step into the world of the Brontë sisters with Kantos Chamber Choir in an evocative evening of choral music and spoken word inspired by the lives and imaginations of one of literature’s most extraordinary families.
Seen through the eyes of their friend and champion, Elizabeth Gaskell, this immersive hour-long performance transports audiences to the windswept Yorkshire moors. Here Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë wrote stories filled with desire, devotion, depravity and despair, challenging the social expectations and constraints placed upon women of their time.
Elizabeth Gaskell specialist, Dr Sherry Ashworth, joins Kantos as co-curator and presenter for this unique performance, bringing the sisters’ isolated yet fiercely creative world vividly to life.
The pre-concert talk will be a discussion between Dr Sherry Ashworth (Elizabeth Gaskell expert) and Ellie Slorach (Creative Director - Kantos Chamber Choir) about the content of the performance and the creative process of curating it together.
ACCESS
Access information for each venue can be found here:
Lancaster | Manchester | Haworth
where & when
LANCASTER | Thursday 12 November 20.00 (Pre-Concert Talk 19.30)
Great Hall, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4ZA
MANCHESTER | Saturday 14 November 20.00 (Pre-Concert Talk 19.30)
Stoller Hall, Hunts Bank, Manchester M3 1DA
HAWORTH | Sunday 15 November 16.45 (Pre-Concert Talk 16.30)
St Michael and All Angels Church, Church Street, Haworth BD22 8DP
The performance will last around 1 hour 15 minutes without an interval.
The Music
Helen Neeves Speak of the North!
Words by Elizabeth Gaskell
John Ireland The Hills
Words from Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë & Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Tõnu Kõrvits The Night is Darkening Round Me
Poem by Emily Brontë & Words by Elizabeth Gaskell
Amy Beach Peace I Leave With You
Words from Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Helena Paish Life
Gerald Finzi My Spirit Sang All Day
Words from Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Trad. arr. Charlie Perry Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair
Words from Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
Sophie Nolan Ira Vos Totos Consumet
Words from Wuthering Heights – Emily Brontë
Cecilia McDowall Snow
No coward soul is mine – Emily Brontë
Words by Elizabeth Gaskell
Robert Pearsall Lay a Garland
Words by Elizabeth Gaskell
John Tavener Funeral Ikos
I’m Happiest When Most Away – Emily Brontë
Words by Charlotte Brontë
Toby Hession She Walks in Beauty
Words from Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Joan Szymko Finding Her Here
the artists
Spoken Word & Co-Curator - Dr Sherry Ashworth
Conductor & Co-Curator - Ellie Slorach