This is the story of Jane Stirling, Frederic Chopin’s pupil and friend – the story that began in Scotland in 1848 and has rested dormant ever since, for nearly two centuries. And after so many years and so many generations, it is our task to rectify one of the greatest lacunae in musical history and correct this travesty of historical justice. We are here to tell the story of the woman that saved the legacy of the Great Romantic – Frederic Chopin – the story of she who did so much for him and received so little in return.
9 October 2021, 7 p.m., Low Parks Museum in Hamilton
Anna Dębowska: piano
Marcin Jaroszek: narration
Where we redressed the neglect
Not many seem to know that it was Jane Stirling who provided help for Frederic Chopin in the ultimate years of his life. Alas, Chopinologists may have been too interested in the more passionate relationships which our Great Romantic maintained with his female admirers. Consequently, little has been heard of his Scottish benefactor, who seems to have successfully evaded the limelight and so undeservedly fallen into oblivion. „Chopin’s Scotland” was an attempt to bring these facts to light so as to do justice to the woman that „saved” Chopin.
Where music spoke
During the event, the audience had an opportunity to listen to a variety of Chopin’s compositions, including the two Nocturnes which he dedicated to Jane Stirling, performed by the inimitable Anna Dębowska. Normally fragile and fearful, Anna becomes a musical sovereign when she tames the grand piano through Chopin’s music. She calms the audience with her subtle rendition of the composer’s nocturnes, but at the same time she can roll through the keyboard like a hurricane with demanding passages as she interprets his ballades. And so did she perform at „Chopin’s Scotland” in Hamilton on 9 October 2021.
Where memory resurrected the past
Anna’s performances during „Chopin’s Scotland” fuse the past and the present, as they provide the audience with a unique opportunity to commune with sounds that so clearly carry a message. Combined with readings from Chopin’s letters, they offer a musical voyage in time back to 1848, when Caledonian soil hosted the dying Chopin, impoverished by his declining lot, enriched by numerous tokens of hospitality and genuine friendship.
Where words carried more than a message
Contextualized by Marcin Jaroszek’s narration, „Chopin’s Scotland” span a story of love, devotion, disillusionment and unconditional respect for this somewhat whimsical Romantic genius. It told the story of Jane Wilhelmina Stirling, who gave so much and received so little. It told the story that has rested dormant for nearly two centuries – a story that will now unfold…
F. Chopin
Nocturne No 2 in D flat major op. 27
Nocturne in C sharp minor op. posth.
Prelude No 15 in D flat major op. 28
Nocturne No 1 in F minor op. 55
Mazurka No 1 in B flat major op. 7
Prelude No 20 in C minor op. 28
Nocturne No 2 in E flat major op. 5
„Past into Present: Gargunnock House 2019” – a concert restaging Chopin’s matinée musicale held on 27 September 1848 in the Merchants’ Hall, Glasgow.
At Gargunnock House, Anna Dębowska performed Valses, Mazourkas, Nocturnes, and other compositions on the Broadwood Grand Piano on which, as family rumour has it, Chopin played in 1848. Joined by an Australian soprano – Karina Bligh – they performed a few vocal compositions by Guglielmo and Niedermeyer, which were also part of the original concert in Glasgow. In the audience, as ususal, members of the Scottish aristocracy, including Patrick and Susan Stirling-Aird of Kippenross and Lord and Lady Stirling.
The matinée musicale given by Chopin on the 27th of September 1848 in the Merchants’ Hall, Glasgow, attracted many a music-lover. In fact, the organizer of the concert – John Muir Wood – was told that „so many private carriages had never been seen at any concert in the town.” The performance enjoyed favourable reviews from the various music critics in attendance. Chopin himself, though close to death, was lifted by its success.
Notwithstanding its eventual success, preparations for the concert were not easy. It was difficult to obtain from Chopin precise information regarding what he was going to play, which is the reason why the programme was tantalizingly vague with just suggestions of the compositions to be performed. It is certain though that two of the compositions that Chopin included in the programme and which were performed during the concert were 2 Nocturnes op. 55 which he had dedicated to Jane Stirling in 1844.
It was Jane Stirling who encouraged him to tour Scotland in 1848. In that tour, which was arranged by Jane, he played at some large public venues and also held some smaller country house concerts, often in the homes of Jane’s relations. It has always been understood that one of these informal recitals was at Gargunnock House and that Chopin played the very Broadwood piano that is here in the drawing room today.
PROGRAMME
Part 1
Chopin Andante, Berceuse, Mazourkas
Guglielmi Romanza: „La Camelia”
Barcaruola: „La notte – bella”
Chopin Nocturnes et Impromptu
Part 2
Chopin Ballade et Nocturnes
Niedermeyer Mélodie et Romance: „Le Lac” – Meditation poetique de Lamartine
Chopin Valses, Prelude, Etude
This is the story of Jane Stirling, Frederic Chopin’s pupil and friend – the story that began in Scotland in 1848 and has rested dormant ever since, for nearly two centuries. And after so many years and so many generations, it is our task to rectify one of the greatest lacunae in musical history and correct this travesty of historical justice. We are here to tell the story of the woman that saved the legacy of the Great Romantic – Frederic Chopin – the story of she who did so much for him and received so little in return.
Time: 10 October 2018, 5.30 p.m
Venue: National Library of Scotland, Board Room, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
Anna Dębowska: piano
Marcin Jaroszek: narration
Programme:
F. Chopin
Nocturne No 2 in D flat major op. 27
Nocturne in C sharp minor op. posth.
Prelude No 15 in D flat major op. 28
Nocturne No 1 in F minor op. 55
Mazurka No 1 in B flat major op. 7
Prelude No 20 in C minor op. 28
Nocturne No 2 in E flat major op. 55
During the event, the audience had an opportunity to listen to a variety of Chopin’s compositions, including the two Nocturnes which he dedicated to Jane Stirling, performed by the inimitable Anna Dębowska. Contextualized by Marcin Jaroszek’s narration, „An Evening with Jane Stirling” spsn a story of love, devotion, disillusionment and unconditional respect for this somewhat whimsical Romantic genius. It tells the story of Jane Wilhelmina Stirling, who gave so much and received so little. It told a story that has rested dormant for nearly two centuries – a story that will now unfold…
