Snippets of Georgian Pop Music by Lady Georgianna

Jane Austen is known to have played classical music on the pianoforte and attended classical concerts. However, there existed a more light-hearted, teasing, popular style of music in the Georgian times that you may not be aware of: the music of the pleasure gardens of London, which reminds one of various scenes in Fanny Burney’s Evelina with its rogues and harlots.

Image from http://www.lady-g.co.uk/.

The newest issue of Jane Austen’s Regency World (52) writes about an 18th-century girl band called Lady Georgianna (purposefully with two n’s to differentiate themselves from Lady Georgiana Cavendish, a famous 18th-century socialite). The band consists of three members who dress up in elaborate, 18th-century costumes to perform pop music of the Georgian times:

• Allegra (Abigail Seabrook) – Mezzo Soprano
• Isabella Wrighten (Hetti Price) – Cello
• Signora Storace (Micaela Smitz) – Harpsichord

To get a feel of the humorous, light-hearted music performed by this fun-loving group of musicians, click http://www.lady-g.co.uk/media/audio. The group will be performing at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath this September, so some of you may get the opportunity to hear them live.

“Weep You No More Sad Fountains…”

I loved the soundtrack of Sense and Sensibility 1995, and when I came across the CD at a jumble sale, I just had to buy it.

Now I don’t usually listen to instrumental music, but this score really touched me. Having listened to it, I understood why Ang Lee’s adaptation stands out from the rest – good music really does arouse various strong feelings in you while you are watching a film.

Patrick Doyle’s orchestrated version perfectly follows the moods of the characters throughout the film, reminding me of the various scenes, whether happy or sad…

 

You can get a taster of all the tracks here.