Kibworth & Smeeton WI
April Meeting
The beautiful voices of Tesserae filled the hall during our April meeting. This quartet consists of two sopranos and two contraltos and includes our treasurer, Clare Robinson-Hughes. They used to sing in an octet called Mosaic, with two tenors and two basses, until Covid hit. When meetings in groups of six or less were permitted, the ladies met up in their gardens and sang together – under a tree if it rained! They named their quartet Tesserae, after the individual tiles which make up a mosaic. (They have been mistakenly introduced as “Tresemme” – the hair product!)
Tesserae singing for charity
Tesserae have performed many concerts in a variety of venues and have helped to raise money for charities. They sing a capella and entertained us with an interesting, varied programme. “The Silver Swan” is a madrigal (lots of “fal di rah!”) which tells the legend that swans are silent throughout their lives, but sing beautifully before they die. In contrast they sang Dorothy Parker’s ‘Love Song’ about unrequited love, with the heartfelt line: “I wish I’d never met him”. We were very amused by a song in four parts – to Pizza- by a composer who didn’t like foreign food! It included:
“I never bought him a pizza,
I never held his hand
I never told him I loved him,
But I think he’d understand”.
Two spirituals – one lively, the other a quieter, gentler Appalachian folk song – rounded off a delightful performance.
On a warm, sunny 1 May a group of us, including some friends and family members, were taken by coach to Springfields, Spalding. We spent a lovely day exploring the beautiful Festival Gardens, enjoyed delicious food with a choice of restaurants and indulged in some retail therapy in pristine surroundings. We all agreed it had been a great day.
We will celebrate VE Day at our 8 May meeting, then look forward to The History ofRockingham Castle on 12 June at 7.30pm in Kibworth Grammar School Hall/Kibworth Community Hub.
Pat Sharman
