Val Chong & Franklin Lee - 'Shy One' by Rebecca Clarke

‘Shy One’ - Rebecca Clarke (text by W.B. Yeats)
Val Chong, soprano
Franklin Lee, piano

Social
Val - instagram.com/valchongsoprano
Franklin - instagam.com/franklinleesj

Story
I discovered Rebecca Clarke’s music this year, through YouTube’s autoplay. It was a piece titled ‘Midsummer Moon’, for violin and piano. Upon the first listen, her sound language blew me away. It led me to dig deeper into her biography and works.

What also left me in awe was her story.

She was Sir Charles Villiers Stanford’s first composition student at RCM, and was unable to complete her studies as her father banished her from home. Despite this, she supported herself as a violist, finding success on her own merit, and produced compositions which were splendid to say the least.

At first, my idea behind this collaboration was to make a video commemorating International Women’s Day.

However, when I spoke to Val before this recording, she told me, “It doesn’t just have to be for that.” She talked about other composers like Clara Schumann and Amy Beach, who had many rich musical works worth exploring too.

That conversation sparked a deeper inspiration in me, and I realised that this could be something more. A series celebrating works by women in music, where more people can experience the wonder in musical discovery.

A big thank you to Val for recording this with me!

Видео Val Chong & Franklin Lee - 'Shy One' by Rebecca Clarke канала Franklin Lee