Sunday 26 October 2003, 6.00 p.m. St Mary’s Church, Nayland

J.S. Bach and the Concerto

Gail Hennessy (oboe)

Judy Tarling (violin)

Essex Baroque Orchestra

directed by Peter Holman

Johann Sebastian Bach’s concertos are some of the greatest works in the Baroque orchestral repertory, though not all of them are as well known as they deserve to be. The programme will include the A minor violin concerto, one of Bach’s greatest tributes to Vivaldi, and two Brandenburg Concertos, the brilliant no. 3 in G major, scored for nine-part strings and continuo, and the intimate no. 6 in Bb, for two violas, two bass viols, cello and continuo.There will also be two less familiar works, the F major oboe concerto and the great C minor concerto for violin and oboe, the probable first versions of works that only survive as harpsichord arrangements made by Bach in Leipzig in the 1730s.

Gail Hennessy is one of Britain’s most prominent Baroque oboists, and has recently released a recording of Vivaldi’s solo oboe music on the Signum label. Judy Tarling leads The Parley of Instruments and Essex Baroque Orchestra, and is the author of Baroque String Playing for Ingenious Learners (2000).

Sunday 7 December 2003, 6.00 p.m. St Mary’s Church, Boxford

An Austrian Christmas

Claire Tomlin (soprano)

Tassilo Erhardt (violin)

Psalmody, members of Essex Baroque Orchestra

directed by Peter Holman

In the eighteenth century church composers in the Catholic parts of Germany, Austria and central Europe developed an attractive repertory of pastorellas and other Christmas music, often drawing on the folk music of the region. This programme evokes midnight mass in a Baroque Austrian church, and includes Mozart’s Mass in D major K194, pastorellas by Haydn and his central European contemporaries, a violin concerto by Haydn, and seasonal instrumental music by J. J. Fux and Gregor Werner.

Clare Tomlin has been appearing in the Suffolk Villages Festival since she was a student, and is now much in demand as a solo and consort singer, working with such groups as the Monteverdi Choir and Ex Cathedra. Tassilo Erhardt also appears regularly at the Suffolk Villages Festival, and is a member of the prize-winning trio Apollo & Pan.

Sunday 14 March 2004, 6.00pm, St James Church, Nayland

Death and the Maiden

The Eroica Quartet

Peter Hanson & Lucy Howard (violin)

Gustav Clarkson (viola)

David Watkin (cello)

Schubert’s String Quartet in D minor D810, called ‘Death and the Maiden’ because it contains a set of variations on his own song of the same title, has always been deservedly popular since it was composed in a burst of concentrated energy in 1824.  In this programme it is contrasted with one of Mendelssohn’s greatest quartets, op. 44, no. 1 in D major (1838), and rarities by Luigi Cherubini and Louis Spohr.

The Eroica Quartet brings new perspectives to familiar repertoire.  Known for its radical interpretations of some of the best-known music of the 19^th century, the Quartet passionately believes that greater freedom of expression can be found in the performance styles of the past.  With their on-going research into contemporary performance styles they are maturing into a unique and passionate force.  Their recordings on Harmonia Mundi USA have received huge critical acclaim.

‘The Eroica Quartet gives performances of exhilarating freshness and verve. The players find just the right balance between expressive flexibility and forward drive, while the sparer-toned period strings make for ideal clarity in Mendelssohn's busy contrapuntal textures.’   The Daily Telegraph

Monday 31 May 2004, 6.00 p.m. - St Mary’s Church, Hadleigh

Handel: Esther (1718)

soloists include: Philippa Hyde & Claire Tomlin (soprano), Timothy Kenworthy-Brown (countertenor)

Patrick McCarthy (tenor), Michael Bundy (bass)

Psalmody, Essex Baroque Orchestra

directed by Peter Holman

Handel wrote the first version of Esther in 1718, while he was working for the Duke of Chandos at Canons near Edgware. As Handel’s first English oratorio, and the prototype for later and better-known works, its historical importance has long been recognised, though it is rarely performed, particularly in its intimate original version. The text, an adaptation of a play by Racine variously attributed to Alexander Pope, Dr John Arbuthnot, John Gay and Jonathan Swift, deals with the exile of the Jews in Persia, and Esther’s role in preventing their persecution. It inspired Handel to write a work of consistently high quality, with sonorous choruses and affecting solos.