On
Saturday 27th April, Keiskamma Trust's friends and supporters, the
Duke & Duchess of Buccleuch, hosted a very special
concert at their home, Boughton House, in the UK. Carol & I, and other
Keiskamma friends from both South Africa and the UK, were invited to attend,
and it was a really wonderful and very memorable occasion, featuring both the
Quartet of Peace and four special tapestries which the Art project have created
to accompany the Quartet.
The
Quartet of Peace is the name given to two violins, a viola and a cello made by
master craftsman Brian Lisus in Cape Town in 2010, each dedicated to one of
South Africa's four Nobel Peace Laureates: Albert Luthuli, Desmond Tutu, FW de
Clerk and Nelson Mandela. The vision for the quartet is to promote the values
of freedom, peace, reconciliation and hope promoted by these great men, using
the power of music to inspire and uplift, as well as to make possible careers
in music for young people who have the talent but not the means.
Now
the quartet is to be complemented by four unique tapestries, designed and
created here in Hamburg, which also focus on the lives of the four Peace
Laureates. Carol 'unveiled' the new art works to the invited audience, and they
were greatly admired, as were the other three large tapestries at Boughton
which the Duke and Duchess commissioned in 2011.
The
afternoon at Boughton began with a lovely lunch which was followed by a
whistlestop tour of Boughton and its treasures. We then gathered in the Great
Hall to hear the string ensemble (Jessica Bailey, Max Baillie, Simiso Radebe
and Peter Thomas) play Mozart, Borodin and Dvorak on these exquisite
instruments.
The
Duke and Duchess welcomed us so warmly into their home and spoke with such
pleasure about their association with both the Quartet of Peace and the
Keiskamma Trust. I think we all left Boughton on that chilly but sunny spring
afternoon, inspired by the vision which was captured in both the music and the
art, and the magic of Boughton itself.
May
the Quartet of Peace and the accompanying art works continue their journey
around the globe with their message of peace and hope.
The making of Boughton Music Tapestries
