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William Michael Allingham Ashton was born in Central Nursing Home Blackpool on 6th December 1936. He attended Miss Tustin’s Kindergarten School, Red House School near York and Rossall School, Fleetwood. Going up to St Peter’s Hall, Oxford in 1957 he immediately co-founded The Ambassadors Dance Band with Andrew Hayman.  He took a degree in Modern Languages and during vacations worked as a fair-ground attendant, vacuum cleaner salesman, barman, sous-chef, baker, wholesale grocer’s warehouseman and tri-lingual tour guide in Switzerland. His third year was spent in France as an English Assistant. During that time he played in The Stardust Combo in the Caveau des Fouleurs, Chateaudun and worked in Paris as a street photographer, office worker and gardien de nuit des Bateaux Mouches.

Returning to Oxford he co-founded the Oxford University Big Band in1960. He stayed on at Oxford to do a Post-graduate Diploma in Education and after university worked as a musician on the American bases in France.

In 1963 he came to London, where he played in Red Bludd’s Bluesicians with organist Jon Lord, whilst working first as a supply teacher and then as a French teacher in London Schools for 10 years. In 1965 he founded the London Schools Jazz Orchestra with Pat Evans, Mike Kershaw and others. This rapidly became the London then National Youth Jazz Orchestra which for five years ran Easter Jazz Courses in London as well as rehearsing every week. Bill has missed no more than half a dozen weekly rehearsals in nearly 45 years.

To date, NYJO has made about 50 albums and Bill has taken the orchestra all around the world: notably to USA twice, USSR, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, Bulgaria, Poland, Malta three times, Portugal five times, France and Germany several times each, Sicily, Madeira and Spain. NYJO has performed many times on television and in front of the Royal family, notably at The Royal Variety Performance and the Royal Celebration of Youth.

He has written over 70 songs in whole or part, including notably Much Too Much, Wait and See, It’s Over, Looking Forward, Looking Back, New in London, Don’t Try Argue With Me, Let’s Settle Down, A Step Too Far, A Way With Words, Paris is for Lovers, London, No Flowers By Request, and several instrumental themes. He was awarded the OBE for Services to Music in 2010.

Building on the Klein Karoo’s legendary distilling prowess, Barrydale Cellars launches Joseph Barry Husk Spirit, a welcome addition to the region’s rich bounty. “Husk spirit – or grappa as it’s known in Italy – is gaining ground world-wide as a trendy lifestyle drink,” says Riaan Marais, CEO of Southern Cape Vineyards. “That’s why we are delighted to bring a husk spirit of the highest quality, made in the grappa-style, to the South African drinks market.” (Protected by European Union regulations only grappa made wholly in Italy can be referred to as grappa).

The tall, elegant bottle with its frosted finish and splash of red of the cap is a fitting interlude to the crystal-clear spirit within. From the first fiery smoothness to the long finish it shows why the Klein Karoo is heralded as the heartland of distilling. The single cultivar Joseph Barry Husk Spirit is made from the softly pressed skins and husks of Shiraz grapes; the juices slow-distilled to capture the essence of the grape. The region is known for both its long-standing traditions and new ideas. “Not only has the distiller’s craft been perfected here over the centuries, the master distillers from Barrydale Cellars have created Joseph Barry Cape Pot Still Brandy Ten, crowned at the International Wine and Spirits Competition as the Worldwide Best Brandy”, according to Marais. “We bring the same passion and respect for the distiller’s art to Joseph Barry Husk Spirit.”

Master distiller Ferdie Smit describes Joseph Barry Husk Spirit as intriguingly nutty, pointing to the Shiraz grapes from vineyards around Barrydale. “Also showing on the nose is a hint of raisin. To the palate it brings almonds, walnuts and a peppery spiciness; and unmistakeably also grape seed oils, one of the hallmarks of a high-quality grappa-style spirit.” Harmoniously rounded, the taste is followed by a long, intense finish, he continues. “Add a drop of water and the rich viscous nature of the spirit is released.”

The highbrow husk spirits/grappas of today are worlds apart from its rustic roots in Italy’s northern territories way back in the Middle Ages, with some sources claiming that monks have been making it since the 11th century. Grappa, named after Bassano del Grappa, a town in Northern Italy now seen is its spiritual home, started its spirited life as a crude drink, inventively made by peasants from the leftover grape pomace. Vastly improved over time, the turning point came in the 1960s and ‘70s when grappa entered its modern era refined and sophisticated – inspiring a new generation to come to love what was once quite a ruffian.

The upmarket packaging of the Joseph Barry Husk Spirit reflects the excellence within. Eduard Haumann of Haumann Smal Design Studio in Stellenbosch took design inspiration for the packaging and label design from the 19th century Overberg business entrepreneur Joseph Barry, after whom Barrydale has been named. “We wanted to capture the dynamic, strong identity of this legendary figure in a fresh modern manner. The tall shape of the bottle portrays confidence and elegance, while the ethereal frosted look hints at chilling the spirit. Enjoying Joseph Barry Husk Spirit: Part of Joseph Barry Husk Spirit’s charm lies in its versatility. It can be enjoyed neat, well-chilled straight from the freezer, but not frozen. “Keep in mind that with an alcohol level of 43% and the concentrated flavours, a small sip goes a long way,” heeds Smit. He recommends that the best way to drink it is in a small tulip-shaped stemmed grappa glass, which helps focus the flavours towards the nose. Drop in a few coffee beans, or – as is the Klein Karoo custom – serve with zesty lemon peel. Serve before dinner as an aperitivo or after dinner as a digestivo (after-dinner drink).

Not limited to dinner-time, caffè corretto (literally ‘corrected coffee’ made by adding a splash to an espresso) is a great pick-me-up. Also worth pursuing is the Venetian tradition of ‘rasentin’, which entails ‘rinsing’ a near-empty cup of espresso with a splash of husk spirit, swirling and downing it in one sip. Husk spirit has also become a fashionable spirit for cocktails, muddled with apple and fresh ginger or with strawberries; or shaken up with triple sec and lemon juice. Sgroppino – a cocktail-dessert of lemon sorbet and mint whisked together with sparkling wine and husk spirit makes for a stylish summer refresher.

It also combines well with chocolates, creamy desserts and fresh berries. For a cheese course with a difference try husk spirit with a strong, well-matured cheese and mostarda di frutta, a condiment made of candied fruit in a mustard syrup. Joseph Barry Husk Spirit can also be used to cure salmon or to give ice cream a quick lift. A tot can be added to meat sauces, cutting through the richness of roasts.

From 1729 to 1741, Bach was director of the Collegium musicum in Leipzig, a student musical society, founded by Georg Philipp Telemann in 1703 and run before Bach by Balthasar Schott. The Collegium musicum often gave performances at Zimmermann’s coffee-house. It was for these occasions that Bach produced his harpsichord concertos, among the first concertos for keyboard instrument ever written. It is thought that the multiple harpsichord concertos were heard earlier than those for one harpsichord, perhaps because his sons C. P. E. Bach and W. F. Bach (both excellent harpsichord players) were living at home until 1733 and 1734, respectively. It is likely that Johann Ludwig Krebs, who studied with Bach until 1735, also played harpsichord in the Collegium musicum.

The concertos for one harpsichord, BWV 1052-1059, survive in an autograph score (now in the Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Mus. ms. Bach P 234) which is not a fair copy but a draft, or working score, and has been dated to about 1738. Bach may of course have played the works much earlier, using the parts from an original melody-instrument concerto and extemporising a suitable harpsichord version while playing.

The works BWV 1052-1057 were intended as a set of six, shown in the manuscript in Bach’s traditional manner beginning with ‘J.J.’ (Jesu Juva) and ending with ‘Finis. S. D. Gl.’ (Soli Deo Gloria). Aside from the Brandenburg concertos, it is the only such collection of concertos in Bach’s oeuvre. The concerto BWV 1058 and fragment BWV 1059 are contained at the end of the score, and are an earlier attempt at a set of (headed J.J.) which was abandoned for one reason or another.

Bach’s harpsichord concertos were, until recently, often underestimated by scholars, who did not have the convenience of hearing the benefits that historically informed performance has brought to works such as these: for instance Albert Schweitzer wrote ‘The transcriptions have often been prepared with almost unbelievable cursoriness and carelessness. Either time was pressing or he was bored by the matter.’ Recent research has demonstrated quite the reverse to be true; he transferred solo parts to the harpsichord with typical skill and variety. Bach’s interest in the harpsichord concerto form can be inferred from the fact that he arranged every suitable melody-instrument concerto as a harpsichord concerto, and while the harpsichord versions have been preserved the same is not true of the melody-instrument versions.

Versions of the works have been very easy to come by over the years with every pianist on a recording contract trotting out their version, Some were romantic and others clipped in their baroque authenticity. Up to now, the version most often played here at Augusta de Mist was the fellow-Canadian Glenn Gould’s versions which will be the gold standard as long as these works are performed.

On this new album, rising-star young French pianist Alexandre Tharaud presents four of Bach’s seven solo keyboard concertos, plus a couple of arrangements. Tharaud has selected the concertos which, in his opinion, are “best suited to the piano”. He does not say how he has reached that conclusion, however, and some may disagree with his view. The dark and stormy D minor concerto, for example, is certainly the most substantial, and understandably one he is keen to tackle. But its pungency and dramatic bite are dampened when it is played on a plush grand piano – especially the 1980s Yamaha which Tharaud says he chose for its warmth and mellowness. This is an interesting decision: the full-bodied, soft-grained piano sound is often at odds with the impressively crisp and buoyant playing of the strings of Les Violons du Roy. As if to compensate for the piano’s lack of brilliance and immediacy, Tharaud is suitably heavy-handed – he punches out Bach’s heart-stopping cadenza in the first movement of D minor concerto, and almost over-eggs passages in a breathless account of the sunny D major concerto. It is very much HIS version.

Tharaud is dazzlingly nimble-fingered and often admirably sensitive, without romanticising. The sublime Adagio of the F minor concerto is beautifully rendered, delicate and loving but never losing its forward momentum. The stylish orchestral contribution, directed by Bernard Labadie, ensures a welcome lightness of touch. Tharaud’s own arrangement of the concerto for four harpsichords (itself an arrangement by Bach of aVivaldi concerto for four violins) is cleaner in texture than the original but, in boiling down four solo keyboard parts to one, the work’s almost manic exhilaration is inevitably lost. Tharaud’s gentle, intimate account is, nonetheless, enjoyable on its own terms.

Overall this is an appealing album – a pianist’s take on these wonderfully life-affirming concertos, with much to delight anyone who is already familiar with them (in any form), or for those who are exploring them for the first time or indeed, the hundredth.

The Canadian connection is still alive in this recording: Les Violons du Roy is a French-Canadian chamber orchestra based in Québec City, Québec. The orchestra’s principal venue is the Palais Montcalm in Québec City. The orchestra also performs concerts in Montréal at the Place des Arts, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and St. James United Church.

Wow – what a wonderful image- this was taken from right in front of Augusta de Mist, down Voortrek Street in the direction of the Dutch Reformed church. You can clearly see the gate to the church as well as the Cottage (ex Koornlands).

‘Devoted principally to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, the thriving little town of Swellendam wears an air of rural repose and serenity, apparent in the above representation of its main street. It cannot, however, be characterised as a dull town, as it possesses musical, dramatic, gymnastic, and other societies , besides cricket and football clubs. The Cape Central Railway has now extended its line from Ashton to Swellendam, and there is every reason to expect, with increased facilities for the transport of its produce, that progress and prosperity will soon follow the arrival of the iron horse.’

Their Royal Highnesses Princess Margaret Rose and Princess Elizabeth, (now Queen Elizabeth ll), with The Rt. Hon F.C. Sturrock, (South African Minister of Transport), on the footplate of the Royal Train engine at Buffeljagtsrivier, near Swellendam, Cape Province, during the Royal tour of South Africa, Feb-Apr 1947. Princess Elizabeth sounds the whistle of the Beyer-Garratt locomotive.

The three month long British Royal Family tour of South Africa in 1947 saw the ordering of eight ivory-painted air-conditioned saloons from Britain, three of which were built to Blue Train sleeping car standards, while the remaining five were special saloons for use by the Royal family and Field Marshal Jan Smuts, the South African Prime Minister.

After the tour the Blue Train type saloons were painted in the Blue Train’s livery for service on the Blue Train, while the remaining special saloons became part of the White Train used exclusively by the Governor-General of South Africa and later the President of the Republic of South Africa.

A fire raged in the mountains above Swellendam after coming dangerously close tohomes in the area and destroying swathes of fynbos.Two houses were slightly damaged in the Marloth Nature Reserve on Thursday but fire-fighters and a water-bombing helicopter brought that front of the fire under control.

Overberg fire chief Reinard Geldenhuys said firefighters had been battling the fire for two days and hot and windy conditions had hampered efforts to extinguish the blaze. “We’ve contained all the lines north of the town. We still have a very strong fire line in the mountain moving in an easterly direction.”

Intriguing, refreshing, delicious pomegranate juice is all-natural. To ensure that you get the most wholesome product possible, we only use fresh juice. We do not add any preservatives or additives, nor do we apply any heat treatment (pasteurizing). Pomegranate juice is one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants – molecules that protect the body from the harm done by free radicals that cause heart disease, premature ageing, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. Antioxidants also reduces the risk of arteriosclerosis – a condition that leads to the thickening and hardening of arterial walls. It also helps to raise the levels of “good” (HDL) cholesterol, while reducing the uptake of oxidized “bad” (LDL) cholesterol . The antioxidant properties in pomegranates are three times more powerful than those found in red wine or green tea and higher than those found in blueberry, cranberry and orange juices. The pomegranate is one of only 6 plant species that contains the fatty acid CLA – a natural and very powerful anti-cancer agents Pomegranate contains estron – a natural estrogen also produced by the human body. The likelihood of menopausal symptoms and the need for hormone replacement therapy may be reduced when pomegranates are consumed regularly. Pomegranate juice also has antiseptic and disinfectant properties. Five varieties of pomegranate fruit are pressed throughout the season and used to produce Pont Pomegranate juice. This fact may cause a slight variation in taste amongst various batches pressed.

European settlers landed at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652 and the first contact with the Hessequa Khoi Khoi was in 1660. Lourens Visser, a representative of the Dutch East India Company established a trading post in the area in 1667. To protect the company interests, Drostdy was built in 1745 as the official headquarters and residence for the magistrate. The town of Swellendam developed in 1747 in honour of the Cape governor Hendrik Swellengrebel. Land was cleared of fynbos as extensive wheat and sheep farming ensued.

The arrival of settlers in the Overberg was catastrophic for the indigenous inhabitants. Smallpox, land competition, alcohol and tobacco decimated the clans of the Hessequa’s living in this region. Two Hessequa captains and their followers lived in the area where the Bontebok National Park is now situated. The Park’s rest camp is named after the first of them, a remarkable female captain by the name of Lang Elsie. Between 1734 and 1800 she lived with her followers at the southern part of the Park, grazing their stock all the way to the Buffeljags River.

Visitors to the park can still see the open werf area where Lang Elsie’s kraal of woven reed huts was situated. Next to this open space are the ruins of a small stone house where Captain Lang Elsie lived, according to the author of Geskiedkundige Swellendam (Tomlinson, 1934).

Nouga Saree, a contemporary of Lang Elsie, lived with his followers in the western part of the Park, at what came to be called the Ou Tuin. Here too an open werf area is evidence of their settlement. Their sheep and cattle grazed in the area that is now the old Resies Baan (Race Track), so named as this area was used by the Swellendam Turf Club for their race meetings. It is said that these races were so popular that on one occasion the Kadie, a steam ship, was chartered to transport race goers from Cape Town to Swellendam. Jockeys were drawn from the now servile Hessequa and so dangerous was the track, that many would be killed.

According to authors and residents of Swellendam, the graves of Nouga Saree and some of his people were found at the foot of the small ridge above Ou Tuin when the Bontebok National Park was established. People recalled that the graves were covered with ‘blue mountain stones’. Although there are several references to the Khoi graves in the Ou Tuin, these graves are not to be found today. The park is committed to preserving these cultural heritage sites and plans are in place for further research and interpretation of Lang Elsie’s Kraal and the gravesite of Nouga Saree.

It was this spirit of open-mindedness and conviviality uniting the audience, repertory and musicians wich drove Pablo Valetti and Céline Frisch to found in 1998 the Café Zimmermann Ensemble. They assembled six musicians – five bow instruments and a harpsichord (Pablo Valetti, Nick Robinson, violin: Patricia Gagnon, alto; Petr Skalka, cello; Ludek Brany, double bass and Céline Frisch, harpsichord). Other strings or wind instruments would be added depending on the programme.

The ensemble Café Zimmermann is one of the new breed of Baroque groups offering lean, high-energy performances on historical instruments. Imagined in the Leipzig coffeehouse where Bach’s Collegium Musicum instrumental ensemble might have performed in the 18th century, the one-instrument-per-part performance here is plausible, although evidence that such performances occurred in Bach’s time does not indicate that such performances were desirable. Bach himself requested an orchestra of 24 players from the Leipzig city council, and a piece like the Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, echoes French ensembles of that size.

Tempi are quick, with the suite’s famous Air on a G string taken at an unusually brisk clip, but the textures remain unusually transparent, and the overall feel is lively and clear. The Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1063, the most troublesome of the set of six with its unusual double-viola scoring, gets a rich, complex reading. Another attraction comes from the Alpha label’s practice of pairing musical works with detailed art-historical essays on a painting of the period; the work by Antwerp artist Peter Jacob Horemans, though only tangentially related to Bach, is full of fascinating details such as a cup of coffee or tea being dumped into a bowl, perhaps to be given to one of the four dogs appearing in the painting. As always, buyers of Alpha’s series can give themselves a decent grounding in art history at no additional cost.

Brad is a superb singer, master of his art. Dr. Brad Liebl (summa cum laude from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) is an Associate Professor of Classical Voice and Co-ordinator (from 1998 to 2003) of that division at UCT.

In his eleven years in South Africa, he has become well-known throughout the Cape and other provinces as an interpretor of operatic leading roles, Lieder and oratorio. In these capacities, he has graced the stages of Artscape (CAPAB), City Hall, the Baxter, Stellenbosch, Feather Market Square, Johannesburg Civic, Grahamstown, Bloemfontein and the Northwestern Province. In Germany he has sung operetta and Lieder, and in the USA he continues to guest as a principal performer in oratorio and opera.

Sylvia Schulman, returned to South Africa after 15 years in the UK. She played all over the UK as soloist, accompanist and chamber music player, including the Cambridge Festival and the Harewood House Concert Series, Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room in London, broadcast for the BBC and accompanied many international artists. In this country she appeared frequently with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra as soloist, gave solo, chamber music and broadcast recitals, worked extensively for CAPAB as concert, rehearsal and orchestral pianist. She has been in Swellendam since November 2006, performing several concerts in the area since then including her programme called “Sylvia Schulman Plays Piano Music for You (From W. A. Mozart to George Gershwin)”. Another presentation she has given is “A Musical Analogy” in which she likens the elements of music to material and spiritual elements of life. She is also coaching other pianists from Swellendam and surrounding areas.

The programme is highly varied, ranging from early Italian through German lieder, opera, old American songs and songs from the shows and there might even be a surprise number. There will also be three piano solos from Mendelssohn to Mozart to Gershwin.

If you have not already booked, do so now as space is limited. Some people who attended the Country Classics concerts in November and December booked at the time for these January recitals.

Light refreshments will be served.

Phone 028 514 2904 to book. Entrance is R130.00

Look out for the next concerts in the series Country Classics in February, featuring the well-known flautist, Christopher Nicholls.