Brass bands, skirts and theme rooms

4BarsRest reviews a recent concert of the Black Dyke Brass Band at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK) which included a piece by Philip Wilby adapted from his recent A Brontë Mass (premiered last year in Leeds):

That was evident with their understated companiment to Philip Wilby’s beautiful, ‘Memory from a Bronte Mass’, sung by the baritone Phil Gault. (Iwan Fox)

These were the details: (Picture source and more pictures of the event)

Date & Time - Friday 30 January 2009 7.45pm
Black Dyke Band
Venue - RNCM Concert Hall

Nicholas Childs conductor
Richard Marshall cornet
David Thornton euphonium
Phil Gault baritone singer

Philip Wilby Two songs: Memory; Sonnet

Jeremy Paxman, author of the upcoming book The Victorians, talks about the wonders of the Victorian Era in an article in The Times:

Victorian storytelling is, rightly, recognised as second-to-none, and the larger-than-life characters invented by Dickens, Thackeray and the Brontë sisters provide perfect fodder for a succession of screen costume dramas.

The presentation of La Journée de la Jupe at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival is the reason behind this article in the Financial Times about Isabelle Adjani who was Emily Brontë on André Téchiné's 1979 film Les Soeurs Brontë:

Over the years Isabelle Adjani has become known for playing a succession of tragic feminist prototypes in historical films like The Story of Adele H, Camille Claudel and The Brontë Sisters. It's something of a surprise that Adjani's latest role, in La Journée de la Jupe (Skirt Day), is a hassled French schoolteacher who is ridiculed for wanting to wear a skirt to work. (Tobias Grey)

The Inn BoonsBoro (and its Rochester/Eyre room) has been featured previously on BrontëBlog but now the Hagerstown Herald-Mail announces that the renovations have finished and the inn reopens:

Eight guest rooms include a penthouse and seven themed rooms named for literary couples. They include Nick and Nora Charles of “The Thin Man” series; Jane and Rochester from “Jane Eyre”; Elizabeth and Darcy from “Pride and Prejudice”; Marguerite and Percy from “The Scarlet Pimpernel”; Titania and Oberon from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”; Westley and Buttercup from “The Princess Bride”; and Roberts’ own characters, Eve and Roarke, from her “In Death” novels written under the name J.D. Robb. (Marlo Barnhart)

The Jane and Rochester room is described like this on Inn's website:

While there's no madwoman in the attic, you'll step back in time to Thornfield Hall with our guest room inspired by Jane Eyre. The romantic atmosphere begins with the room's private entrance off the second story porch, where you're greeted by the firelit ambience of 19th century England. A grand king-sized wooden canopy bed awaits you with soft sheets and mountains of pillows for romantic indulgence, whisking you into dreamland on a cloud of comfort. You'll lounge in elegant splendor on the classic fainting couch, where you can enjoy the tranquil flickering of the gas fireplace as you sip a glass of wine with your loved one.
Historic atmosphere meets modern-day comfort in the lovely and lavish bath, where you'll want to sink into our free-standing copper tub and soak your worries away. The separate shower includes four body jets to ease any tired muscles. Heather-scented bath amenities sweep you back to summer on the moor.

amethysts has enjoyed Charlotte Brontë's The Green Dwarf, Writers Read interviews Helena Frith Powell who admits being a Brontëite:

When I was 15 I read Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. I am almost embarrassed to admit that it is still one of my all-time favourite books. I thought I would grow out of the Byronic hero thing but I haven't. I re-read it last year and loved it. I think part of the attraction is the rather gloomy and isolated life led by the Brontë sisters, the mystery of the moors surrounding their home and the fact that they were all so talented.

Finally, Bukisa publishes an article with the title Spirituality on Jane Eyre, the Scarlet Letter and Sula and Bloggin it up all night looong! has read Wuthering Heights.

Categories: Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Juvenilia, Movies-DVD-TV, Music, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights