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Described on BBC Radio 3 as ‘purveyors of exhilarating and uplifting music’, the ensemble maintains a focus on early eighteenth-century music for public concerts from across Europe. Its first CD, Concertos and Overtures for London, devoted to works by J. C. Pepusch, won accolades around the world and became a bestseller in Germany, reaching No. 1 there in 2012. Their second recording, concertos by Czech composer Josef Guretzky was included in the top five classical recordings of 2017 by Forbes.

Another world-premiere followed, Pepusch’s 1715 masque Venus and Adonis, which received critical acclaim around the globe and was awarded the coveted Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik in the opera category. Their most recent recording of instrumental music by the Moravian composer Gottfried Finger also earned prizes around the world, including 5/5 in Diapason and CD of the month in Australia’s Limelight magazine. The group continues to perform in concerts and festivals across Europe.

The Performers (on period instruments)

Tassilo Erhardt (leader): violin solo, Ben Sansom: violin I, Alexandria Lawrence: violin II, Joanne Miller: viola, Kinga Gaborjani: cello, Robert Rawson: double bass, David Wright: harpsichord, Lisete da Silva: flauto traverso

Programme

Gottfried Finger (c.1655–1730), Chaconne in D, violin solo, strings, basso continuo

Tassilo Erhardt: violin solo

W. F. Bach (1710–1784), Suite in G minor for strings and basso continuo (BWV 1070)

1. Overture: Largetto-un poco Allegro, 2. Turneo, 3. Aria: Adagio, 4. Menuetto-Trio, 5. Capriccio

Gottfried Finger, Chaconne in G, strings and basso continuo

J. S. Bach (1685–1750), Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (BWV 1050)

1. Allegro, 2. Affetuoso, 3. Allegro.

David Wright: harpsichord, Tassilo Erhardt: violin, Lisete da Silva: flauto traverso

About the soloists:

Tassilo Erhardt studied baroque violin with Ryo Terakado and Enrico Gatti at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and with Pavlo Besnoziuk in London. He graduated in Musicology from Utrecht University and in Theology from Oxford University's St. Benet's Hall. As a violinist he has worked for a number of world-renowned baroque orchestras, including The Academy of Ancient Music, The King's Consort and The Parley of Instruments. His chamber-music ensemble Apollo & Pan has performed regularly at renowned early music festivals and has made numerous radio and CD recordings. Currently, he teaches baroque violin and viola at the University of Music in Würzburg, Germany.

David Wright graduated with distinction from the Royal College of Music, where he won the Richard III and the Century Fund Prizes and whilst still a student there, he also won The Broadwood Harpsichord Competition, held bi-annually at London’s Fenton House, where he subsequently became artist-in-residence. David works regularly with some of the world’s leading ensembles and musicians and has directed concerts from the keyboard, As a soloist, David has performed concertos with a number of baroque and modern orchestras around the world; in his spare time he tours the world extensively with the ever-popular group Red Priest.

Portuguese-born Lisete da Silva studied baroque flute and recorder at the Royal Academy of Music and now performs, records and broadcasts with many of the leading period-instrument groups and orchestras in the U.K., including the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Handel Orchestra and the Brook Street Band. She is also highly sought after as a teacher, presenting lectures and masterclasses in Brazil, Slovenia, Portugal, Hull and Birmingham Universities, and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. She has recently been appointed professor of recorder and baroque flute at the newly established London Performing Academy of Music.

J .S. Bach and the Styles United

During Bach’s younger years, the Italian and French styles vied for supremacy. He assiduously copied the music of Italian and French masters for performance, while absorbing their styles into his own approach- which might be termed a ‘style of styles’. In his Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Bach takes (primarily) the models of Vivaldi and expands them beyond anything the Venetian ever attempted. The harpsichord is freed from its traditional ensemble role of providing accompaniment and (especially in the first movement) takes the listener on a dizzying journey that gives us a glimpse into Bach’s own improvisations.

Unlike the bulk of Italian concertos, however, Bach balances three soloists (given such spacious and expressive treatment in the slow movement)- though there are no surprises which instrument he favours. The French suite was the closest parallel ensemble genre to the Italian concerto, but here dance forms reign supreme. The suite in G minor (BWV 1070) was long thought to be by J. S. Bach, but is more likely the work of his son, Wilhelm Friedemann. Although based on the earlier types of French suite, the Italian style still shines through, especially in the ‘Torneo’ and fugally-conceived final ‘Capriccio’.

We have included two quirky chaconnes by the Moravian composer G. Finger, who arrived in England the year J. S. Bach was born. Composed in the 1690s, these two pieces offer a completely different concept of stylistic mixture, when the newer Italian style was just arriving in England. Finger made a habit of mixing styles in unexpected and often humorous ways. The first chaconne in the programme feels like one part Biber (the virtuoso Bohemian violinist who so strongly influenced Finger) and one-part Anglo-French chaconne along Purcellian lines.

The second chaconne does not have a solo violin, but starts in the French style of Lully and slowly drifts into the Italian style, arriving ‘full Italian’ with a conspicuous stile concitato section of repeated notes before concluding with a characteristic amusing conclusion.

Event Information

All our lunchtime events begin at 1pm and are free entry, but space is limited, so please book in advance to avoid disappointment. Children aged five and over are welcome if accompanied by a responsible adult.

All the concerts feature introductory ‘listening guides’ prepared by the performers and will be followed by a brief opportunity to discuss the work afterwards.

Our campus car parks are reserved for staff permit holders only.