Lady Catherine in Bath Abbey

On 15th September this year, Broadwood square piano Lady Catherine finally felt as though we had taken her to a venue befitting her social standing.

We made our debut at the Jane Austen Festival in the magnificent Bath Abbey and gave a concert in what felt like a very special atmosphere, and with such huge significance to the topic in hand. Admittedly it was an epic space for this domestic instrument, but the fabulous team at the Abbey bedecked us in microphones and made sure the sound levels worked well for the building. To begin with Lady Catherine was seriously displeased at the suggestion of such modern tampering, but ultimately delighted by the resulting reach of her voice, and the captive audience of 250 that could then hear her every note.

The concept of amplifying an historic instrument and especially one intended for small spaces, is an interesting one, and an issue we had been unsure about how to tackle in the lovely (but very different from a drawing room) acoustic of the Abbey. Ultimately it was important for the enjoyment of the audience and unavoidable for all the practical reasons. The smaller sound of the square piano simply didn't penetrate the vast space enough for the potentially large audience (hooray!) After trying a few configurations, we found the best fit was to place a poseable mic pointed to the strings under the lid. Once the piano was amplified it was necessary for Penny to be amplified too, in order that the sounds matched. And so, handily disguised by Regency curls, she wore a radio or 'Madonna' mic (!) and to our surprise this worked extremely well as it meant she could sing from any area of the stage, and extremely quietly, without loss of sound. The brilliant Lucy Coad who lovingly restored Lady C was in the audience and it was great to be able to chat about the effectiveness of the instrument in such a different space.

This wouldn't have been possible without the perseverance of the sound team at the Abbey. We needn't have worried about how it would work, and it was a fabulous way to celebrate the release of 'Ode to Pity'. We have our fingers crossed that we can return there to perform again. Lady Catherine is especially keen.

Lady Catherine, delighting in the grandeur of her surroundings. 15th September, 2025.