Alan Griffiths Photo: supplied
Paul Whelan Photo: supplied
'Such a fine, sunny day' was the last thing 21-year-old resistance fighter Sophia Scholl said, before being executed in Munich after a Nazi show-trial in 1943.
It's also the name of a new song cycle by New Zealand composer Alan Griffiths who imagines how Sophie, a member of the student-led White Rose group, might have reacted to today's world.
Performing the premiere of the song-cycle is internationally in-demand Kiwi bass-baritone Paul Whelan, accompanied by pianists Anna Maksymova and Nicholas Young
Alan explains to Lynn Freeman why Sophia's last words resonate so strongly with him.
'Such A Fine, Sunny Day' premieres at The Piano in Christchurch on September 17th. Also premiering at the concert will be several other of Alan's compositions performed by pianist Nicholas Young, and a violin duet with local violinist Rose Light.
'Such A Fine, Sunny Day' will be included in Alan's next album Land No More? due out next year.
