BERTIE & THE BANDITS – POPPYLAND SONGS

Sunday October 23rd 2016 at 3:00 p.m.

A concert of songs inspired by Poppyland with new musical arrangements of poems and tales collected before the First World War by Christobel “Kit” Hood from the men and women who lived and worked on the land.

These original songs and poems predated Clement Scott.  Local historian Kit Hood recorded the words as remembered by the folk of Sidestrand and neighbouring parishes. However she did not record the tunes, and only now have they been set to music by her great great niece Bertie Anderson- Haggart,

As a child Bertie was familiar with the hand written words in
the leather bound note books, as she was born and raised in Kit Hood's house opposite the church in Sidestrand.

Bertie will be performing these previously unknown songs, and some of her own written to commemorate the joy of Poppyland history, singing with her sister Evie Anderson, and their professional musician friends from London: violinist Anne-Marie Kirby, ‘cellist Rhiannon Lock, Emma Price on flute and accordion.

The songs include tales of the Maid of the Mill, Louie Jermy, the elegant daughter of the Overstrand miller; Sally Bean, the gin smugglers' favourite moll; the Mundesley shepherd's ode to the Mun Beck river, and the extraordinary story of Sidestrand church being moved inland by Sir Samuel Hoare, father of Kit Hood, leaving only the medieval tower to its fate on the cliff edge.

The concert tells how the collapsing tower and the First World War swept a whole way of life into the history books.

Both Bertie and Evie's first music lessons were with Cromer postman Terry Keeler on piano, and Bertie learned violin with Norman Moor when she was 4 years old. They both attended Overstrand Belfry primary school before receiving scholarships to the Purcell Music School, and the Royal College of Music and Birmingham University.

Bertie is currently musical arranger, voice and viola player in the BeauBowBelles band and the Bowjangles string quartet and appropriately her latest daughter is called Poppy.

Evie has returned from London to teach singing and music in Cromer.

This Concert opens the new season of Cromer Music Evenings held at Templewood, Frogshall, Northrepps, NR27OLJ .

Admission Charges

Members: £8 Non-members: £12
Students & children: £2

Tickets are sold on the door.

Further information from cromermusicevenings.org.uk

• Start: 23 October 2016 3:00 pm
• Venue: Templewood
• Categories: music