Carina Drury returns to the Future Classic Women Awards podcast to discuss her journey through lockdown and her exciting debut album, Irlandiani. The cellist shares how the pandemic forced her to relocate to Brighton while grappling with the emotional challenge of being unable to play chamber music with others for an extended period. Despite these restrictions, Carina managed to perform at socially distanced concerts, including a memorable performance at the London Handel Festival in Peckham, and safely recorded her new album exploring 18th-century Irish musical traditions.
The album Irlandiani represents a fascinating exploration of how Italian Baroque composers influenced Irish music during the 18th century. Carina discusses the appeal and challenge of performing Lorenzo Bocchi’s virtuosic Sonata No. 9, noting that pieces composed by cellists themselves tend to push the boundaries of what’s technically possible on the instrument. The conversation delves into Baroque music’s directness and conversational quality, its enduring appeal to modern audiences, and how crossover between folk traditions and classical composition is hardly a new phenomenon.
Throughout the episode, Carina and host Stefania Passamonte also navigate the practical realities of performing during a pandemic, including the complications of wearing masks while playing and maintaining proper breathing technique. Despite these unprecedented challenges, Carina’s passion for bringing historical musical traditions to contemporary listeners shines through, offering an inspiring perspective on adaptation and artistic perseverance.
Main Topics
Carina Drury relocated to Brighton during lockdown to stay with her boyfriend, creating both challenges and unexpected positive outcomes
The cellist struggled most with the inability to play chamber music with others during the first lockdown, the longest such period since she began learning music
Carina performed at socially distanced concerts including the London Handel Festival in Peckham, recorded videos with carefully distanced ensembles, and created online streamed performances
Her debut album Irlandiani explores 18th-century Irish musical traditions and the intersection between Italian Baroque composers like Corelli and Vivaldi and traditional Irish folk music
Lorenzo Bocchi's cello sonatas are particularly challenging because Bocchi himself was a virtuosic cellist who knew how to push the boundaries of the instrument, including techniques like double stops and thumb position
Baroque music's conversational writing style, with melodic lines connecting and musicians taking turns in a dialogue-like manner, contributes to its modern appeal
Performing with masks presents peripheral vision challenges and affects proper breathing technique, though musicians are adapting creatively with safety measures like bubble seating
Full TranscriptHello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station, the program whe...▼
Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte, on Women's Radio Station, the program where we search for the most amazing new female artists on the classical panorama. This is our third edition of Future Classic Women Awards, and I'm very happy to welcome back on our studio the wonderful Carina Drury. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for having me back. Good morning, Carina. We were just thinking that the last time, the last episode that we managed to do live in the studio the women's radio station was actually with you in March. Yes, yeah, it was also the last thing that I did before lockdown was announced. That's incredible. I mean, we never thought we would have arrived to having then all this month being at home and working in remote. How was the lockdown for you? It was, oh, it was so many things at once. I mean, it's quite a shock. I remember on the show actually, sort of talking about things being cancelled in the diary and wondering what would happen. But I suppose you just can't imagine what happened. I couldn't have imagined this or predicted it. So there was the shock, there was the sort of empty shops which everyone was experiencing. And then in my personal life, I had some decisions to make because I was living on my own. Um, I had a boyfriend who was in Brighton, so, um, I moved down to be with him. So I moved to Brighton and I've stayed here. So, uh, that's a big move, isn't it? It's a big move, yeah. So, but I live by the sea, um, it's beautiful. Um, so there have been, you know, positive outcomes and silver linings. Um, But what I struggled with the most, I suppose, was not being able to play music with other people during the first lockdown. That was really quite— it was quite a long time. And it was, yeah, it was just such a new experience. I don't think I'd gone that long in my life without playing with other people since I began learning. Yeah, yeah. I mean, for, for music, not just playing with other people, is also the, you know, the traveling, the contact with the audience. There is so many things being in new places all the time. And, uh, this is, you know, just being confined between, uh, four walls, inside four walls, it's quite, um, an experience, isn't it? Yeah, it's a total change of lifestyle, as you say. And yeah. Well, but you've been very busy. I mean, you actually, you were talking about the first lockdown, and I had the privilege to go to a few concerts in October because things looked like they were gonna, you know, move again. So that was quite special. Did you manage to perform anything before the second lockdown or when the restriction, where is it? Or— Yes, yeah, I was quite lucky. I did a few live performances to socially distanced audiences. There was one for the London Handel Festival in a warehouse space in Peckham. So it was a huge open space with open doors, really well ventilated, and that was just great. It was just there's such a nice atmosphere, and it was just so lovely to feel the audience sort of there watching us and that sort of anticipation before you play. I did a few small chamber music things as well, some of which were streamed online, and some of them had small audiences as well. So there were a couple of things that I feel like sort of nurtured the soul for a while and will keep me going through the winter. Absolutely. Well, this social distanced performance, I think, you know, I booked tickets for going to the theater in December, and it's funny enough, you can book tickets for bubbles, and I think that's great. If that's something that can help, I don't see why we couldn't keep doing it, you know, even when there is Well, you know, a situation like that, if everyone is wearing their mask and you are in a bubble, I think it should be perfectly safe. Yeah, yeah, I think people have come up with some really clever ideas, clever ideas, but to make it possible, to make it work, and yeah, it's, it's really promising. But you know, one of the pieces actually, two We're going to listen today to Bocchi, the Sonata No. 9. We're going to listen to the third movement, right? So that's with Nathaniel Mander and Poppy Walshow. So it's, you know, some of the pieces we're going to listen today are with the harpsichord and the violin and the cello, and some others are with the flute. So the flute was one of the instruments that, you know, the woodwind, the singing and an instrument where you got the breath coming out were kind of forbidden, isn't it? So did you manage to perform with the flute, and did you have to have special arrangements, or it was fine? It was fine. Well, so this program, luckily we recorded the, the album just before lockdown. It was just before I came to see you, so just the very beginning of March. So that was all fine. And then for the launch, which will be next week, or sorry, this week. 24th of November. Yes. Thank you. So for that, I've managed to make a video, which we filmed at the beginning of September. So it was around that time when things were opening up. But we did the two sides of the program separately. So we only ever had, 3 people playing at one time, so we could be quite distanced. So that was fine. The flute was on the opposite side of the room, and there was a harp and then the cello on the other side. So we managed to record the video quite safely, I think. Well, you know, I just saw recently a friend of mine performing a concerto with the orchestra, and everyone was wearing a mask on stage. Stage, apart from the wind, of course. But everyone else was wearing a mask. And that's so— I mean, have you tried performing with the mask? I have, yes. Yeah. So I think it depends on the setup that there is and how much distance there can be between players. Sometimes it's okay to take the mask off when you're at your music stand. Sometimes it's required, which is fine. I do find peripheral vision is strange. I just feel that I can't see underneath and sort of to the side, so I sort of have to strain my neck quite a lot to see my colleagues and sort of can't see my hands, which should be fine, but it's just a little bit disconcerting sometimes. Absolutely. And then if you're wearing glasses, I mean, you don't, but I've had other friends that they wear glasses and that was basically impossible because Because when you play, even if you don't play a wind instrument or a brass instrument, or if you're not singing, anyway, the breathing is so important. And the mask in a way is limiting that, isn't it? Yes. Yeah, that's true. It's nice to feel that you can sort of breathe properly and take breaths. Oh, I should. Having the mask, I can't even, you know, I barely manage to go to the shops with the mask. So I can't think about playing, you know, and being under stress in a way, you know, in the performance that you're doing. I mean, yeah, I suppose, I mean, as humans, we seem to adapt to things really quickly. So I hope that if we did have to do this for longer, that it would get easier and easier. But also often there's enough space between If you can have the 2-meter space, then it can be all right without as well. Absolutely. Well, let's listen to the first piece. So it's Bocchi, the Sonata No. 9, third movement, with Karina Drühle on cello, Nathaniel Mander, and Poppy Walshaw. Fantastic! So this was Lorenzo Bocchi, the Sonata No. 9. So it's a very virtuoso sonata. Somehow it sounds like almost like a jazzy piece, the improvisation that you do, isn't it? With the— not improvisation, the ornamentation that you have to add to the piece. Yeah, it's fun. There's really nice sort of interplay between the cello line and the bass line. Yeah, so Bach, he was a cellist, so I think he must have been a very virtuosic player. They're quite challenging pieces. But yes, yeah, it's really fun to play. It's a set of variations, so It starts sort of kind of calm and elegant, and then it just gets more and more worked up and excited. I always find it so, so into, you know, um, uh, it's, it's a special— the Baroque music is different. The language, the way they talk to the people is different from the classical or from the romantic music compositions, etc. But still, it has a direct line that it's very much modern in a way, isn't it? And I think that's why it's so loved. It's something that really goes strong among the audience, particularly in the UK. Yeah, I think so. There's a sort of sometimes a kind of straightforwardness to the harmony. Sometimes it becomes more complex, but that sort of allows you to have variations and passacaglias and sort of bass lines that might repeat, but then you can ornament on top of those and you can be quite free to to be quite improvisatory. And it's also— it reminds me in a way of talking in conversation. So the lines connect to each other, and one person might take over the melody, and then another will join in, and it's very sort of conversational writing. Absolutely. Now, you said something very, very important, the fact that Lorenzo Bocchi was a virtuoso at the cello. Do you find a difference when you perform a piece when you play a piece composed by a cellist composer? Yes, sometimes. I think some composers seem to have— well, I wouldn't say done their homework, but seem to have researched and know what you can and can't do. But when— so when I've played things written by cellists, often I find it— they're actually quite challenging because they know— I suppose they know how far you you can push the boundaries as well. So I would have thought, you know, this is the 1720s, it's baroque cello, and it's just sort of coming into its own as a solo instrument. I would have thought this kind of writing is quite advanced, those double stops, thumb position, things that I wasn't— as a baroque cellist and someone who's trying to work out how they played this instrument, I didn't— I thought it would be more of modern technique that he's using. But actually, because he was a cellist, he was playing in this way. He was really sort of pushing the boundaries of what you could do on your instrument. So actually, it's quite unforgiving in some ways, because he knows what you should be able to do. Yeah. Absolutely. Now, this is your debut album that is called Ireland— how do you say it? Irlandiani, I would say. Yes. But that was what I was— yeah, Irlandiani. I think it's a term for the Italian community in Ireland. It might just be used by the Italian community in Ireland themselves, so it might not sort of have spread. But yeah, so I was looking at 18th century Ireland and the musical traditions that were happening at the time. And there was this vogue for Italian Baroque music, Corelli, Vivaldi, it was all very popular in the concert And then we had Gemignani, who came to Dublin and was teaching and writing in Dublin. So there's this fashion for the Italian style of Baroque writing. And alongside this, there was the traditional music that was being played, but not so much being written down. So I just, I found it really interesting. I was playing some Gemignani cello sonatas and I recorded one a couple of years ago which I played on your last show, and I felt like I could hear the influence of folk music in the writing. So I just thought, well, these musicians must have been living alongside each other and hearing each other's music. So I just wanted to look into how they might have interacted with each other. Absolutely. I mean, there is always a crossing over. I mean, crossover is not something that has been invented on the last century by Pavarotti and by the Three Tenors, if you want, right? Something that has always happened from the beginning of music, mixing with the folk music and mixing with the popular songs and bringing them into the more sophisticated language of the court of the prince and the emperors and the various, you know, gentlemen that they were then enjoying the concerts by this virtuoso. Yeah, and I think, I suppose, what we do as a baroque musician in the sort of in the current day, I look at I look at old music, and of course, traditional music is also about preserving traditions from the past. So these instruments seem to work really well together. I had Emer playing on the Irish flute, and it just blended so well in the first rehearsal. I put it with the gut strings on my baroque cello and a baroque harp with gut strings, and I just thought, this actually works so well. I couldn't have hoped for it to blend better. More nicely because they're all sort of historical instruments in their own ways. Now, how did you decide— I'm sure I asked you this before, but this is something that doesn't happen every day, isn't it? You wake up listening mainly to romantic and classical music, not to Baroque music in the mainstream radio, in the movies, etc. So how did you ended up being a baroque musician? Well, I suppose it probably was something that I heard, because my dad is really into baroque music. He's not a musician, but he had recordings of Bach Brandenburg Concertos and cello suites. So I think that was in my ears from a young enough age. And then I bought a recording of Rachel Podger and Andrew Mansfield playing Bach double violin concerto, and I just loved their playing. It was just— it was really sort of spoke to me, just the expressiveness and the sort of gentleness of the way they played. And so I was also interested in romantic and contemporary music as well at music college, but I think that had always been an interest of mine from a young age. Do they speak to you differently as a musician when you perform Baroque, when you perform Romantic, for example? Do you feel a different way of expressing yourself, or somehow there is a fil rouge that is linking the two anyway? Um, that's a question. I, I, I think if someone does what they do well, it will speak to you. And I like all kinds of music, and from pop and jazz and indie and singer-songwriting. So I think all— there are all kinds of different kinds of ways of being a great musician, but There's something in the— maybe learning the style of the time. You learn a language, and so you're sort of playing within this stylistic language. And when you get really immersed in that and you listen to that over and over, it does speak to you in a different way. You get— I suppose you become more fluent in that language. Yeah. And it becomes sort of easier and easier to understand or to appreciate Absolutely. Now, there is something that belongs to me in particular. When I was little and I had to study the history of music, right, and the different style of music, I remember I had a very visual idea of it because I loved all the movies, the historical movies in particular. So I knew perfectly the style of the Baroque dresses. And the style of the romantic dresses, the classical dresses, you know, the way the skirt and the, the lace would change and the wick on the people. Um, and, uh, and so whenever I was playing these pieces, particularly the dances, for example, you know, the English Suite or the French Suite by Bach or the Scarlatti Sonata, then going to, you know, the Mozart, and so I visually see the people dancing, for example, at court. Some of these pieces are not dances, they're actually concert pieces, so the audience would be sitting down listening to them. But for example, the English Suite or the French Suite by Bach, they are a collection of dances. So you got the Courante, that is the French dance. You got the Allemande, that means the German dance, isn't it? So Did you ever have this visual idea of the music as I did, or you approach the music in a different way? I think yes, I see, I know what you mean. Yes and no, I suppose. It is really interesting to connect us with the history and with what was happening at the time, and I did a sort of a postgraduate degree in historical performance, and we learned a lot about the dances, and we got to try out some of the dances. Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Oh, I wish I did that. Yeah, and that really helps, actually, just knowing, you know, okay, so the courante— I can't remember actually the exact things, but yes, we stepped down on the first beat, you know, knowing where there's a heavy step or a light step. Yes, that really, you shape the barre in that way, and you might have really light third beat because it's a hop and it's up in the air. So that's really helpful. The hopping or the walking, isn't it? So you can really see. And imagine in the big dresses, you understand that they hop or they're walking. Yeah. And knowing how— A different meaning by hopping today. Yeah. Yeah. It would have been quite a heavy hop with a huge, huge big dress. But yes, that kind of thing. In a practical way is so, so useful. And then I think once that's sunk in, it can become a bit more second nature, which is really nice as well. You can be a little bit more free. You sort of absorbed that information into how you play, and then it's just— hopefully that's how the musicians at the time would have dealt with it as well. They knew what these dances were, they'd grown up seeing them, and they just played them in that style. So that was— Yeah. Well, there is actually— I mean, I don't know if that happened to you, but I've seen plenty of French Baroque musicians performing in the Baroque dresses, the Baroque costumes. And so I don't know if that happened to you, but I'm sure that also changed the way you're performing. I mean, I can't imagine playing the harpsichord with the big— as a man with the big sleeves, you know, of lace coming onto your fingers where you can't really see. Yeah, it must be difficult. Yeah. I suppose I have been dressed, often dressed as a man, because the profession— women weren't allowed to work professionally as musicians at the time. So, yeah, I have been dressed in wigs and breeches and things like that. But, yeah, it's very constrictive. We think face masks are bad, but— Oh, my gosh, that's just impossible. But even thinking about the wig, you know, the wig is a weight on your head, and you have to look down to your instrument while you're performing. Performing or looking around, what if they fall off? Did it ever happen to you? Luckily that's not happened, no. They usually had quite a lot of hairpins. All right. But yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean, these are all challenges that you don't see. I mean, when you go to see a performance or when you enjoy, or when you're performing as well, these are challenges that the audience doesn't recognize necessarily, isn't it? That they just see the beautiful music that is coming out from the instrument, but there is these other things altogether, the factors that influence the way you play as well. Yeah, it's— and I find you can fixate on this in a way as a sort of nervous thing before you play. I find I need to be comfortable in what I'm wearing, I want to make sure that's, you know, and even things like strings might slip, just making sure that these things can't get in the way of your performance. It's important. Absolutely. Well, let's listen to the next piece and then we will talk more about this. So the next one is Gimignani from the Sonata in C Major, the third movement, Andante, with Nathaniel Mandel and Poppy Wolchow and Carina Drure, cello. How beautiful! This is really so, um, so healing as a piece. Um, did you have any special, um, repertoire that you liked to perform during the lockdown to to make yourself more, um, to cope better with the mental side of it? Uh, well, I think like many people, or like many musicians, I did turn to Bach. It's such, um, it's such a satisfying music to play. I just find it keeps you busy, your brain busy. Um, yeah. And then as a challenge, I thought, oh, I'll try and name the 6th Suite, which should be played on a cello piccolo with an extra string. But I thought, well, this would be a good challenge to keep me in shape. So, yeah, I did try to keep myself occupied, and Bach definitely was very— and it's such sort of— it's such spiritual music in a way. Absolutely. It did help for a while. Yes, and then I suppose— I wish we had something. Are you ever planning to record maybe Bach? I would love to. I know they're working on it. Yeah, I really would love to. I suppose I've always been— I've loved also just finding new things and finding unusual music. So, yeah, the first project I really wanted to find music that hadn't been recorded before and dig up these little gems that are undervalued. And, um, and I feel that the Bach, although I love it, you know, some of my favorite music, it has been recorded so many times. So your favorite version of the Bach cello suite or cello sonata? Um, I love Anna Belsmann's recording. Yeah, it's, um, It's quite— it's got a lot of character and lots of sort of rich resonance playing. That's, yeah, very interesting. Now Bach, you know, it's been played so many times also in a romantic way as well, isn't it, with the big modern cello, etc.? Have you tried it on the historical instrument? Does it make any difference? Yeah, I've played it on both instruments. Obviously, I started with the modern instrument and maybe with a more romantic style growing up. And then as I learned a bit more about Baroque style, I played it on the baroque cello. And now I definitely find it easier on the baroque instrument. I just find it does more of the things that I want to naturally do for me. So the bow sort of shapes the notes more easily for me, and a light springy bow just bounces. I find technically it's a real— it's a good challenge, but it's quite a challenge with the modern bow to keep the notes light and sort of sprightly, because it's such a heavy bow. Yeah, absolutely. So that's exactly what I wanted to ask you before. You know, we are on the radio, so we can't really see the shape of the instrument or of the bow, for example. And, you know, before you were talking about the fact that at the time women were not allowed to perform, so you had to be dressed as a man. But, you know, having the cello and holding it with your leg, for example, with the viola da gamba, that would have been a crazy challenge, isn't it? Or not? I don't know, it looks to me very challenging. Yeah, it is a challenge, and it's challenging to find the right— as a woman, the right dress. Shape as well. Yeah, you need quite a lot of material. So I suppose, yeah, that's definitely something that you factor in when you're choosing your concert wear. But I remember when I first started learning the baroque cello, because it doesn't have a spike, that you have to hold it with your legs. It was tiring and it's just this sort of new muscle that I would never have used before. And I just stood up and my legs were shaking. And it just took a few months to build up that strength. Yeah. So did you do exercise in the gym to particularly, you know, reinforce your muscles in the tights? Well, no, I don't. I'm not sure exactly which muscle it is, but it seems to be one that I wouldn't normally use sort of running or walking or anything like that. So no, I just practiced, I think, just by playing, you know, a few hours every day, and that builds up the strength. And now it's fine unless it's a, you know, if it's a very long piece like the Messiah or something, then you might just need to put the cello down from time to time and give your legs a break. But Yeah, it's— you get used to it quite quickly. And there is another question. I mean, you have to keep it between your legs, and I'm sure your body is different from a taller man or a shorter woman, for example. So would you look for a cello that fits your body, or would you have to adapt just to the instrument? I— well, you tend to adapt to the instrument. You can find slightly smaller cellos, which some people find more comfortable, but I think that also tends to be about left-hand stretches rather than the placing the legs around it. But what's really important is the chair height, so that you do— if you're sitting at a good height, that's really helpful. If the stool is too high for you or too low, that can be really difficult for playing well for your technique. Wow. And definitely, you know, having historical instruments or newly made instruments that they are in the shape of the historical one, does that make a big difference? I know it, but for the audience, let's say that. Let's explain why is it so important to play an historical instrument. So, well, there are— yes, yes and no. I suppose the most important thing for the sound is the gut gut strings and the bow. The instruments were a little bit different, so the shape of the neck, the angle of the neck was different, which can make shifting up into high positions a bit more cumbersome because it's not such an easy slide up and back. And then the bridge was a little bit different as well. So these things make— they do make a difference to the sound, but quite a lot of people now kind of do a halfway sort of halfway conversion and you use the gut strings but keep it slightly more modern setup, which helps if you're going between modern cello and baroque cello. Okay, so if you had to choose, let's say, because, you know, with the string in particular, you're so lucky, you get the chance to play some legendary instruments sometimes, right? I'm talking about Guarnieri, Stradivari, you know, this type of instrument. If, uh, if you get to play an instrument that was built in the 1700s or in the 1800s and now, does it, does it feel different to you as a musician? Uh, between a new debate? Yes, apart from the, of course, the historical fact that has been played by great musicians. So in a way, you're bringing in the, the soul of the instrument back to life. Yeah, I don't know how much is the— maybe the placebo effect of knowing how old the instrument is, how many people have played it so well. I do love old instruments. I did get to try a Stradivarius when I was at the academy music college, and it was just stunning. It was so beautiful to play, and I had a nice old English cello on loan when I was a student there as well, and I just felt a really lovely connection with it. And I haven't quite felt the same thing with a newly made instrument, but having said that, some people do, and there are some really good value, beautiful instruments being made by great makers at the moment. But I think it's all just very personal. I just think You just have to try out as many different ones as possible and find one that you connect with. But for me, I have been drawn to older instruments, but I can't say why. I don't think there's a physical reason for it. I don't think the age should change the sound that much, but who knows? Well, you know, I can tell you with piano, the difference between the makers and even between a piano and another It's huge, even if made by the same maker, without making the names, of course. But it's the way they sound, the voice that come out from the instrument. There is this unicity that comes out from any instrument that makes them alive, really. And then, of course, there is the part of the musician performing that adds into that. So as well, you know, the touch that I might have on the keyboard is different from another pianist. So the piano talks in a different way, sings in a different way. So I'm sure it's the same for you with any instrument you are taking, you are the opportunity, you have the opportunity to perform with. I think it's a good skill to be able to play any instrument as well. Yeah, well, with piano we have no choice really. Yes, yes, you really don't. Yeah, I think if you can make any old instrument sound good, that's a sign of a great musician, isn't it? Not to depend too much on your tools. But having said that, I absolutely love my cello, and I'd be devastated if anything happened to it. Absolutely. Well, the next piece we're going to play, it's Limbrick, the Lamentation. And so this is with Eimar McGovern. Mgeun, yeah, sorry, and Aileen Henry, right? So let's listen to it and then we talk about Limbrick and this piece in particular. So beautiful. Lamentation. Well, this is as well a wonderful piece that really brings to mind, you know, the beautiful hills in Ireland, isn't it? So would you like to tell us something about this piece? Well, this is from the Neale Collection of Celebrated Irish Tunes, which was published in 1724. So this is the first collection of Irish music that was written down and published, which is really exciting, sort of the earliest things that we can find. This piece in particular there are vocal forms of the sort of similar tune, which was actually from the Scottish Highlands, and I think it was probably brought over to Ireland and then sort of written into an instrumental form. It was probably a harp piece, and we've arranged this for the flute and cello and harp here. But it's such a beautiful melody, I agree. It's just— and it was such a pleasure to play it with Eimear, who plays so beautifully. Yes, absolutely. Really special. And did you have any chance to go to Ireland in this period, or you just stayed in Brighton? I've pretty much stayed in Brighton. Yeah, I was supposed to be going back and forth quite a lot, but obviously this year it's very difficult and there's a quarantine. I actually was working. I did a recording in Belfast, which is in the UK, you know, technically in the UK, so I couldn't go home without quarantining. So at the time I couldn't do that, but I'm hoping I can get back over Christmas. We'll just have to see how things go. It's hard to plan anything at the moment. Absolutely. I mean, somehow the beauty of being in the 21st century is that or like in the late 20th century, really, was the fact that we were able to travel. And even if you were living in London, you were able, you know, you knew that anytime you could take a plane and go back home. So myself, you know, I'm Italian, and I loved being in London. I was offered to go to study at Juilliard in New York. And I thought that was really too far for me. You know, being in London, I had this opportunity to then fly back home in just 2 hours, you know, and so the distance didn't feel that distant. And then when they invented Skype, I mean, do you remember when they invented Skype? We didn't have it before. Yeah, I was quite slow in the uptake as well. I just, I remember I was quite slow to get a smartphone and to get Skype and all of these things. But that's crazy if I'm thinking about it. My parents, when I, when I told them about Skype, they went straight away to the shop to buy the camera, and we would talk almost every day. It was just phenomenal. I mean, when I was studying at the Academy, I came in Royal Academy, it was 2002, so there was no Skype at the time, or at least I didn't know about it. And so we had a common phone in the residence, and we were queuing to have this phone to talk with the parents. Yeah, I do remember. Yeah, when I was— some of the time I was 2003, I remember we were saying we probably overlapped. Totally, yeah. Yeah, but I remember using the payphone in my halls of residence in first year and phoning home, phoning my grandparents. How times have changed. Oh my gosh, I mean, this past 20 years are really gone like It's like, and now we are in a situation that looks like in the fantasy movies, isn't it? The futuristic fantasy movies where we're all just staying in our bubbles. And I'm just expecting very soon to have the hologram of my parents in the same room. It wouldn't surprise me. Yeah, well, you don't need to use the computer anymore. You just push a button and there they are. It's amazing. I mean, it's great. It has been in some ways, it's been lifesaver, I think, for people living alone as well at the moment. It's just at least we have this technology and we can feel in some way connected to each other. Absolutely. So now thinking about that, how far away feels the Baroque music and the Baroque composer compared to today? It's, yeah, it's, I think it feels both far away and present, because we sort of, we bring this music to life and we experience it in the moment. And in some ways, the Irish tunes don't feel so old because we've kept that tradition so alive. And they are quite different to a lot of the more popular Irish tunes that are played nowadays, but you can hear the same kind of traditions that have been carried over the centuries. Well, there is the harmonies, isn't it, that they're so typical of the Irish music, the Irish folk. Songs, these, um, that you can hear, for example, you know, for the less classical audience, just in the movies. If you look at all the, uh, what is it called, The Lord of the Rings, etc., you have that influence. And it's contemporary music composed with the style of the folk song. Yeah, it's true, it's all connected. And Yeah, it's all the same in some ways. Absolutely. Well, the last piece that we're going to listen to today is Captain O'Cain. Would you like to tell us about that? Yes, so this is a tune that was, well, attributed to Tírlioc Ó Carólin, and Ó Carólin was an Irish harpist in the 18th century who's probably one of the most well-known Irish composers. He was a blind harpist and he wrote a number of quite well-known pieces that are still played. There's this piece called Carolyn's Concerto which is played by a lot of harpers as the sort of first thing they learn. It's a sort of staple of the repertoire. And he was really into Italian Baroque music, so he connects quite well with the other composers on this album. Wonderful. Let's listen to Captain O'Kane with Eamonn McGovern. Gyun and Aileen Henry, and of course Karina Drury from her debut album Irlandiani. Very nice, very light, very inspiring. Now, what is your next project, Karina? Um, well, I'm hoping, uh, to keep going with this idea. I've really enjoyed just getting to know a bit more about Irish music. I'm quite sort of classically trained, but, you know, like the Baroque music, it was sort of in my ears because I grew up hearing it. So I'd love to work more with Eimear, and I'd love to make a few more videos. I made a video to launch the album, which will be streaming on the 24th. And yeah, it would be great to do more like that, because in the absence of being able to perform live, it's quite fun to video things and to share your music in that way. So, yeah. Now, as a musician, you know, if you are looking at the music video of a song, you have the words of the song that dictate, in a way, the visual aspect. Of the video. For the Baroque music and for the piece that you've chosen, what do you use as a tool to decide the video part of it? It's, well, it's really interesting because we're sort of all learning this new art form in a way. I don't think classical musicians are used to making music videos, so I thought a lot about it and I wasn't really sure how to keep this live feeling or whether to to add images and how to keep an audience engaged, because it needs to be something different to just the recording. But for the launch video, I just chose locations that I really liked. So we did the Baroque sonatas in Handel and Hendrix House in London, and so we were playing in Handel's study, and it felt really special just to be in that environment. And then for the Irish tunes, we were in the clock Tower of St. Pancras, so right at the top of London in that sort of iconic red brick building. So it felt really special, and I hope the venues will sort of do the work for me and sort of speak for themselves. But I think if I did more videos, I would think— I'll think more about that as well, because it's really a new kind of thing that we're all doing, and there's a lot to think about and how to to get the concept across to an audience visually as well as through the music. Absolutely. So what will you do as soon as the lockdown is over? What will be the first thing you're planning to do? Well, if we have a little less restriction by Christmas, I'd like to see my family. I'm quite used to seeing them regularly. As you're saying, UK and Ireland don't feel too far apart, so I'm not used to being this long without going home, so it'd be lovely to go home. And I've really missed travelling, so I'd love to just see a bit more of the world again. Yeah, maybe go on a holiday to Japan or something. Oh, Japan! How does Japan fit with Baroque music? Does it fit? I don't think it does at all. It's just one of the places I'd love to to see. Ah, me too. Yeah, I've not been. I've been to South Korea, but I didn't quite make it to Japan. So, uh, oh, how wonderful. All right, well, thank you so much for today. It's been lovely talking with you and having you back on the Future Classic Women Awards for the third edition, because you were the finalist of the second edition. So, um, it's gonna be absolutely wonderful to see, you know, how it goes with this third edition. Best of luck with your album, and we're all looking forward to buy it and stream it on all the platforms, I'm imagining. And if you have any question that you would like to ask our guest or nomination for our future Classic Men Awards, please email presenters@womensradiostation.com or tweet us @WomensRadio STN. And if you would like to listen to it again or catch up on our previous program, you can add to the presenter's page Stefania Passamontes/Future Classic Women Awards on womensradiostation.com. Again, thank you so much, Karina, for the wonderful music played today. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure to chat to you again. Absolutely. And if you've been— you've been listening to Future Classic Women Awards on Women's Radio Station live every day at 10 AM and 10 PM London time. Thank you for listening.
