Music in Peebles presents GAIA

Alice Allen (cello),  Katrina Lee (violin)

Duncan Strachan             Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird (GAIA commission)

Elizabeth Maconchy       Theme and Variations

Corelli                                   Sonata for Violin and Cello Op.5 No.9

Sally Beamish                    Stone, Salt and Sky (GAIA commission)

Katrina and Alice are familiar to the Peebles audience as members of the Brodick Quartet, who opened our 2018/19 season. As GAIA, they are committed to unveiling the unheard voices of female composers from the past, whilst also supporting female contemporary composers.

Their fascinating programme showcases works by women composers spanning 200 years, from Catherine White’s Sonata (published in Edinburgh in 1804 as part of a collection by ‘A Young Lady’) to a new work by Sally Beamish, one of today’s foremost composers. In between are works by British-American Rebecca Clarke and British-Irish Elizabeth Maconchy, both of whom had to overcome gender prejudice in the 20th century.

The black composer, writer and abolitionist, Ignatius Sancho, overcame prejudice of a different kind, having been born on a slave ship in 1729. Musically, he is best remembered for his collections of songs and dances.