Caroline MacPhie soprano
Carris Jones mezzo-soprano
Dan Watts flute
John Slack clarinet
Philip Gibbon bassoon
Alex Caldon trumpet
Alexandra Caldon violin
Jamie Campbell violin
Fenella Humphreys violin
Eva Thorarinsdottir violin
Andrew Berridge viola
Simon Tandree viola
Cara Berridge cello
Torun Stavseng cello
Marianne Schofield double bass
Libby Burgess piano
Finzi Eclogue
Haydn Scena di Berenice
Martin Ballade
Clarke The Seal Man
Weir King Harald’s Saga
Martinů La Revue de Cuisine
We’re starting the main festival earlier than ever before with a Coffee Concert in the comfortable surroundings of Toll Gavel United Church. Sagas are stories of ancient Nordic history, the first of our Viking references this week, but storytelling is also a fundamental human experience, and this programme presents an eclectic mix of tales and music. As part of our Finzi Day we begin with his Eclogue, full of nostalgically beautiful writing for piano and strings. King Harald’s Saga for unaccompanied soprano, written by Master of The Queen’s Music, Judith Weir, is perhaps the shortest opera in existence, lasting under ten minutes; it tells the epic story of the 1066 Norwegian invasion of England led by King Harald ‘Hardrada’. Our programme takes us on a voyage of legends, from mermen to goddesses, and concludes with Martinů’s witty jazz ballet La Revue de Cuisine.
