Early Music in the Early Evening: Peter Croton & Thomas Langlois (February 10 2027) and La Rêveuse’s Florence Bolton and Benjamin Perrot (April 30 2027)
THE National Centre for Early Music Centre is introducing Early Music in the Early Evening, a series of relaxed concerts beginning next February.
“Skip rush hour and join us from 6pm to 7.30pm for music, wine and conversation with world-class musicians,” reads the invitation.
The new programme will open with J S Bach’s The Goldberg Variations on February 10 when Peter Croton and Thomas Langlois will perform one of the most extraordinary and demanding masterpieces of the Early Music repertoire, played in a unique new version for the first time on two lutes.
Composed in 1741 for harpsichord, Bach’s architecture of sound is re-imagined through the contrasting light and shadow of baroque lutes. Their rich timbral palette, expressive dynamics and subtle phrasing transform the work into an intimate, vivid and moving musical experience.
On April 30, La Rêveuse’s Benjamin Perrot (lute and theorbo) and Florence Bolton (viola da gamba) will play a joyful programme full of ballads and dances that deserve to resound once more beneath the stars under the title of From London To Edinburgh.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, London was at the forefront of musical innovation. In taverns, gardens and ballrooms, the tender, rhythmic tunes of Scottish, Welsh and Irish music were taking over London’s salons.
The 17th-century English composer John Playford and the 18th-century Scotsman James Oswald immediately struck the right balance between traditional and classical music, Italian elegance and Celtic style, as can be witnessed in York next spring. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.