Vox Philia and Berks Sinfonietta join forces to celebrate the resilience and brilliance of women on Saturday, October 16 at 7:30 pm at Immanuel UCC, 99 South Waverly Street, Shillington 19607. For the safety of our players and our audience, the following measures are in place: please do not attend if you have an elevated temperature or are displaying any COVID-like symptoms. All attendees are asked to mask (please note that the choir will sing without masks), and we ask that non-vaccinated individuals watch the livestream broadcast. A limited number of masks will be available if you forget yours. The concert will also be live-streamed for the cost of an at-will donation. Anyone can join by simply visiting www.berkssinfonietta.org.

The concert opens with Louise Farrenc’s wonderful third symphony. The work follows the traditional four movement symphonic patter established by the Mozart and Haydn, including a slow introduction to the opening Allegro. But it is much less consciously indebted to the Classical style (Weber and Beethoven seem more likely models) and begins in a rather uncertain key before the Allegro is reached in a firm G minor. A fraught, string-led first subject gives way to a lyrical second subject introduced by flutes and oboes, the driving full orchestral texture of the opening gradually fragmenting into a series of exchanges between individual instruments and sections. The second movement is a beautifully lyrical Andante, followed by a dancing and light-hearted Scherzo. The Finale is similarly restless and highly dramatic. It is an incredible work – sadly, none of her three symphonies were during her lifetime.

The 20th-century English composer Ruth Gipps was a child prodigy, playing her first concert at the age of four. She wrote her first opus, “Mazeppa’s Ride,” while studying at the Royal College of Music. She submitted it to conductor Reginald Goodall for a read-through with his women’s chorus at the college. After about 10 minutes, Goodall dismissed it as ‘too difficult” and handed it back to Gipps, who never returned to the work. This performance will be its long overdue world premiere.