On Friday evening we had a double fare in the form of a wonderful presentation by Jennifer Margaret Barker and John Anthony Palmer, and the opening of Inner Impulses – Paintings 2014 – 2015, an Art Exhibition by well-known artist and art historian Mark Sagona.

Speaking about her work as a composer, Jennifer Barker, who is a Professor of Music at Delaware University, U.S.A., explained how she always finds herself going back to her Gallic roots. Her country of origin is beautiful Scotland. Indeed, one could sense in her profound works that sense of nostalgic feel that runs through the texture like an invisible thread. Whether writing for flute, voice, pianoforte or ensemble, Jennifer manifests complete mastery of her technique and she also betrays a sharp sense of psychological understanding of the mood of every piece.

This unique combination of technique and interpretation is further enhanced by the mind-blowing videos that her husband, John Anthony Palmer, films, and which are recorded with musicians playing and dancers dancing live. It’s no mean feat, but then John has toured the world filming in the most exotic places, to include Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand apart from the ravishing landscapes and seascapes of Scotland.

The experience on Friday left us with a sense of the mysterious and the arcane. The integration of the Art forms in the combination of the aural with the visual added another dimension to music and film, almost a mystical one, and, also, the didactic element was not lost on a most appreciative audience!