On 3rd February, Emma will give a short presentation at the Oxford and Cambridge Society of the Netherlands about her life as a singer, focusing on her work with veterans and in remembrance.
Vera Brittain in her V.A.D. uniform.
On 13th January, Emma will record a new composition by Roland Bouman: a setting of a poem by Vera Brittain for mezzo-soprano and ensemble.
Vera Brittain wrote “Perhaps” in 1916 whilst working as a Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) nurse during the First World War. Her fiancé, Roland Leighton, had been shot on 23rd December, 1915, whilst inspecting the wires in front of a trench in Hébuterne, France. The poem is dedicated to him.
Bouman’s setting of “Perhaps” captures the intimacy of the poem in beautiful, lyric lines. Scores of Bouman’s music can be found here and videos here.
Bach’s Christmas Oratorio consists of six cantatas for the days from Christmas to Epiphany. On 6th and 7th January, Emma will sing the alto solos in the fifth and six cantatas. The fifth cantata describes the journey of the Magi and the sixth cantata concerns the adoration of the Magi. The alto often sings the words of Mary.
Trajecti Voces and the Amer Consort are conducted by Dirkjan Horringa, with Aldona Bartnik, soprano, Jelle Leistra, tenor, and Andrew Popper, bass.
Saturday, 6th January, 20:15, Geertekerk, Utrecht, the Netherlands. Tickets are available here.
Sunday, 7th January, 15:30, St. Xaveriuskerk, Amersfoort, the Netherlands. Tickets are available here.