2019 Festival

PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF ARTIST AND PROGRAMME

For health reasons, Gabriela Montero is no longer able to appear in this concert. We are grateful to David Greilsammer for agreeing to step in at short notice.

The ever-imaginative Israeli pianist brings together for us two composers who in their own ways were most definitely ‘at the edge’: the baroque keyboard magician that was Domenico Scarlatti, and the 20th-century innovator John Cage, whose brilliantly conceived sonatas for a piano with nuts, bolts and rubbers placed between the strings, create a wondrous new soundworld for the instrument.

The exciting young American violinist, admired for her bold and impassioned playing, explores the unexpected but deep and beautiful connections between baroque and contemporary in works by JS Bach, Heinrich Biber, Luciano Berio and Salvatore Sciarrino.

‘The Dreams & Fables I Fashion’

Johann Sebastian Bach – Sonata No. 1 in G minor

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber – Passagalia ‘Guardian Angel’

Salvatore Sciarrino – Caprice No. 2

Antonio Maria Montanari – Giga senza basso (from ‘Dresden’ Sonata in D minor)

Luciano Berio – Sequenza VIII

Johann Sebastian Bach – ‘Ciaccona’ from Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004)

In 1705 the 20-year-old Bach walked 250 miles from Arnstadt to Lübeck to meet his hero Buxtehude. Fiona Talkington talks to presenter/writer Horatio Clare and producer Lindsay Kemp about Horatio’s new book on the making of BBC Radio 3’s recent re-imagining of that journey.

From sound installations at the V & A to appearing with Damon Albarn on Later with Jools Holland, Liam is one of the leading experimental acoustic/electronic forces in early music today. Expect anything, anyhow, from Marais to Muhly.

Written specially for the London-based baroque ensemble Ceruleo, Clare Norburn’s latest concert-drama takes us back to 1695 and inside the fevered mind of English music’s great genius Henry Purcell as he lies dying. Dream-like memories of the Plague, the Fire of London, family life and the vibrant Restoration stage merge seamlessly with his exquisite vocal and instrumental music.

Nora Fischer and Mike Fentross delve into the music of the early baroque, sculpting intimate duets from this treasure trove of vocal expression. Whether originally composed for full orchestra, for a small group of singers, or for male or female characters, the music is subtly reinterpreted in ways that are sensitive, imaginative and daring, born out of the musicians’ strong creative  affinity and distinct musical style.

Henry Purcell – Ye gentle spirits of the air

Jacopo Peri – Lungi dal vostro lume

Henry Purcell – Music for a while

Barbara Strozzi – Lagrime mie

Claudio Monteverdi – Vi ricorda o boschi ombrosi

Claudio Monteverdi – Possente spirto

Stefano Landi – Augellin

Claudio Monteverdi – Oblivion soave

Join singer and choir director Sally Davies – known for her work with the Cecil Sharp House Choir and the Wing-it Singers – for an inspiring English folksong workshop. True to the folk tradition of family singing, she will be joined by her daughter Holly Cullen Davies, and together they will have you singing the kinds of songs Purcell would have known in rousing two-part harmony.

Suitable for all adults and children 12+. No music-reading ability required.

The unique combination of John Dipper’s 14-string viola d’amore, Dave Malkin’s finely honed guitar and remarkable vocals, and storyteller Nick Hennessy’s passion for reinventing tradition visits the places where the sophistication of Purcell meets the soul of English folk.