The delights of Schubert’s Octet from the Solem Quartet and friends

United KingdomUnited Kingdom Waterloo Festival [2] – Schubert: Solem Quartet (Amy Tress, William Newell [violins], Stephan Upshaw [viola], Stephanie Tress [cello]), Anthony Friend (clarinet), Catriona McDermid (bassoon), Stephen Craigen (horn), Marianne Schofield (double bass). St John’s Waterloo, London, 4.6.2021. (MB)

Stephanie Tress (cello), Catriona McDermid (bassoon), Anthony Friend (clarinet)
and Stephen Craigen (horn) (c) Matthew Johnson

Read more

20th Oxford Lieder Festival – 8 to 23 October 2021

The 20th Oxford Lieder Festival: Nature’s Songbook

The Oxford Lieder Festival (8 – 23 October 2021) will celebrate its 20th anniversary this autumn. Celebrating the magical art of song, an astonishing array of artists will appear in more than 80 events, encompassing the great song cycles of Schubert and Schumann, the riches of fin-de-siècle Paris, the epic landscapes of Scandinavia and the vibrant sphere of American song.

For more about Oxford Lieder click here

Read more

This Bach B minor Mass is arguably VOCES8’s finest achievement to date

United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE From London Spring – Bach’s Mass in B minor, BWV 232: Carolyn Sampson, Eleonore Cockerham (sopranos), Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Jeremy Budd (tenor), Matthew Brook (bass-baritone), Rachel Podger (guest leader). Academy of Ancient Music / Barnaby Smith (conductor). Church of St Bartholomew the Great, London, 4.2.2021, and streamed 5.4.2021. (CC)

Bach’s B minor Mass in London’s Church of St Bartholomew the Great
(c) Colin Steen

Read more

VOCES8’s Fauré, Bach, Barber – and Elgar – Cadogan Hall concert is warming, consoling and beautiful

United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE From London Spring – Fauré, Bach, Barber: Andrea Haines (soprano), Jonathan Pacey (bass), VOCES8, English Chamber Orchestra / Barnaby Smith (conductor). Streamed from the Cadogan Hall, London, 2.4.2021. (CC)

VOCES8, English Chamber Orchestra and Barnaby Smith (conductor)

Read more

Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends beautifully perform a programme of high imagination and distinction

United KingdomUnited Kingdom LIVE from London SpringAbiding Love: Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends (Dame Emma Kirkby [soprano] with Toby Carr [lute/theorbo/guitar], Helen Charlston, Patricia Hammond [mezzo], Christopher Glynn [piano], Aileen Henry [baroque harp], Matt Redman [accordion, banjo, guitar, organ]). Livestreamed from the VOCES8 Centre, London, 14.3.2021. (CC)

Dame Emma Kirkby and Friends

Read more

Conor Mitchell’s new opera for children is not without a dark side

IrelandIreland Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children: Soloists, The Belfast Ensemble / Tom Brady (Conductor), Livestreamed from Belfast’s Lyric Theatre as part of 2021 Belfast Children’s Festival, 12.3.2021. (RB)

Conor Mitchell’s The Musician: A Horror Opera for Children (c) Neil Harrison

Read more