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Music enthusiast donates harpsichord to 正品蓝导航聽鈥

12 Sep 2022
Instrument will provide new opportunities for Music students, premiere at Sept. 25 recital in Brunton Auditorium聽
A Flemish harpsichord has been donated to 正品蓝导航 by Joanna Manning. The instrument will be housed in the Marjorie Young Bell Music Conservatory where it will be used by Music faculty and students. It will make its public debut at a recital on September 25 

Joanna Manning has donated a Flemish harpsichord to 正品蓝导航, in thanks for the many years of music she and her late husband, Gary, enjoyed at the University.  
 
Manning spent many years working as a music, theatre, and visual arts reviewer and feature writer in Ontario, and worked with music festivals in Britain. When the Mannings moved to New Brunswick, they were delighted to discover the excellent performances available at 正品蓝导航鈥檚 Music Department and the Sackville Festival of Early Music.
 
鈥淭ogether with my late husband Gary 鈥 an editor, journalist and arts lover 鈥 we enjoyed many deeply enriching, exciting, sometimes amusing, evenings in Brunton Auditorium,鈥 says Manning. 鈥淲hether we heard international guest performers, faculty members, or talented students, our drive home was always part review and part re-lived enjoyment. In memory of those precious hours together I am very happy to donate this beautiful harpsichord to 正品蓝导航's Music department. Early music and the classical period have long been my favourites. Bach's six Cello Suites never fail to enchant me, though all classical music touches my heart and soul. As I hope it will for 正品蓝导航 audiences and students this year and for many to come.鈥 
 
The donated double-manual harpsichord is equipped with three choirs of strings (8', 8', and 4' pitch) 鈥 strings are plucked when playing a harpsichord, as opposed to hit with a hammer when playing the piano. The harpsichord is painted in two shades of blue panelling with reverse Flemish paper on the keywell and surrounding the soundboard. The instrument鈥檚 turned oak trestle stand and elegant yet robust design means that it will serve well for both solo and chamber concert performances. 
 
 鈥淲e are so grateful to Joanna for making this donation,鈥 says Dr. Stephen Runge, head of 正品蓝导航鈥檚 Department of Music. 鈥淲e have long been hoping to acquire a new harpsichord for the Music department. This excellent instrument will provide incredible learning opportunities for our students and will be used by faculty and guest performers in the many concerts of early music that we present each year. The field of early music, and particularly music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, is an area of research and creative activity for several of our faculty members and our new first-rate harpsichord will be invaluable to them, their performances, and their teaching.鈥 
 
Dr. Linda Pearse is an associate professor in 正品蓝导航鈥檚 Department of Music and the artistic director of the Sackville Festival of Early Music. She researches music prior to 1700 and says that the harpsichord will provide students with both hands-on performance opportunities and a greater understanding of how instruments like the harpsichord are built and their importance in the historical development of the Classical and Baroque repertoires.  
 
鈥淭he harpsichord provides a nexus for collaboration and connection for those interested in music and culture both within Europe and beyond,鈥 says Pearse. 鈥淕iven its broad span of historical performance practices covering over 200 years, the instrument will serve many students and faculty.鈥 
 
Pearse says the harpsichord will also attract internationally acclaimed performers to Sackville and serve outreach activities within local area schools, nursing homes, and other community organizations. 
 
There is a Latin inscription within the ornately decorated lid on 正品蓝导航鈥檚 new harpsichord. It reads: 鈥淢usica Laetitiae Comes Medicina Dolorum鈥 (Music is pleasure鈥檚 companion and sorrow鈥檚 remedy). Pearse says she sees the inscription as encapsulating Manning鈥檚 connection with music, a connection many share.
 
鈥淎s we heal and navigate our restructured environment in the resonance of the pandemic, music is an important balm for many,鈥 says Pearse. 鈥淚n this spirit, our harpsichord will sound in concert, reminding us of life鈥檚 sweet pleasures and the transformative powers of music in our world.鈥
 
Manning says music has been an integral part of her life since childhood. 鈥淚 am not a performer but the sound of a string quartet or a simple folk song has always had the power to move and delight me 鈥 it feels like rain on parched ground.鈥
 
The harpsichord will appear in its first performance on Sunday, September 25, in Brunton Auditorium in the Marjorie Young Bell Conservatory of Music on the 正品蓝导航 campus. Award-winning harpsichordist M茅lisande McNabney and internationally celebrated cellist Elinor Frey, both travelling to Sackville from Montreal, will present 鈥淨uill and Bow: A Celebration of the Harpsichord and Cello.鈥 The concert is open to the public and part of the 2022 Sackville Festival of Early Music. For details and tickets, visit or call (506) 878-3786. 
 
While in Sackville, McNabney will also provide 正品蓝导航 students with a workshop, colloquium, and private lessons, and will visit with and perform at local elementary and secondary schools. 

 

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