Marc Almond to headline in Canterbury concert celebrating music from 20s and 30s
Star will sing hit songs and ballads of the 1920s and 30s with the Guildhall School’s Bauhaus Band
Before embarking on the upcoming Soft Cell tour, audiences can find legendary pop star Marc Almond performing at Gulbenkian Arts Centre in a very different guise.
As part of a spectacular multi-media celebration of songs and poems by legendary composers Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Friedrich Hollaender, Marc Almond will sing hit songs and ballads of the 1920s and 30s.
From Bertolt Brecht and composers Kurt Weill, (Mack the Knife, Lost in the Stars and Surabaya Johnny) and Friedrich Hollaender, Almond will be accompanied by the Guildhall School’s Bauhaus Band and Singers, who also provide the music for the rest of the evening.
Brecht: Love and War is the creation of Kent based musician and composer John Harle, looking at the writings and music from 1920’s and 30’s Germany.
The climax of the second half will be a complete performance of Brecht and Hanns Eisler’s multi-media cantata Bilder aus der Kriegsfibel (‘Scenes from the War Primer’), a commentary on and critique of the Second World War.
Leading into that there will be readings, songs and short films inspired by Brecht poems, with video art by students of the Ruskin School. There will be music from the period, as well as newly commissioned works by Oxford and Guildhall School students.
This event is the culmination of Professor John Harle’s year long visiting fellowship at Oxford University’s Humanities Cultural Programme, working with Tom Kuhn, Professor of 20th-Century German Literature, Brecht expert and translator at Oxford University.
Brecht: Love and War is at Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury, Sun 28 May, 7pm. Tickets are £25 from www.thegulbenkian.co.uk
