A Tale of Five Cellos

This is a unique opportunity to hear this range of five different instruments., one after the other. The performance is, of course, accompanied by explanation and fascinating anecdotes about the history of the cello. The instruments are:

Viola da gamba
Bass violin
Baroque cello
Five-stringed cello
Classical cello

Forqueray La Mandoline (viol)
D.Gabrielli Ricercar (bass violin)
JS Bach Bourrees from Suite no 3 (baroque cello)
JS Bach Sarabande and Gavottes from Suite no 6 (5-stringed cello)
Boccherini Rondo (classical cello)
Kodaly Solo sonata, last movement


A Hungarian Evening

Music combined with a lovely goulash! (provided by the promoter)

Kodaly Solo Sonata Op 8

Full of gypsy influences, this passionate and haunting work explores a wide range of rhythmic and tonal special effects and is one of the greatest works for the cello.

With a pianist, this may be combined with works by other Hungarians such as Bartok, Ligeti, Veress, Dohnanyi, or for a little more variety with Bach's Solo sonata no 6 in D major.

Played on a five-stringed copy of an Amati cello, this has an unexpected tone quality, perhaps more like a viol - and the addition of the fifth string changes the technical challenges to produce a completely different result from the other suites.


Bach

Any or all of the six suites. There is so much variety within this music; the haunting darkness of Suite no. 5, the nobility of Suite no 3, the reflective qualities in no. 2, the expansiveness of no. 4 or the well-loved  no. 1.

For a lunchtime concert, choose two.
For an evening concert choose three.

For an all day event:
Coffee - Suite no 1 in G major
Talk
Lunch
Performance: Suite no 2 in D minor
Suite no 6 in D major
Masterclass
Evening meal
Evening performance: Suite no 4 in E flat
Suite no 5 in C minor
Suite no 3 in C major

A Mixed Bag

A varied selection of current repertoire.


Birds and Bees

Cassado Requiebros
Bach Suite no 2 in D minor
Faure Papillon
Popper Papillon
Beethoven Sonata Op 102 no 1 in C major
Casals Song of the Birds
Rimsky Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee
Martinu Variations on a them of Rossini


Beethoven Cycle

Suitable for festivals, using a fortepiano provided by the pianist:

3 lunchtime concerts comprising one set of variations and one sonata
1 evening concert comprising two sonatas for piano and cello and one piano sonata.


Baroque Cello Recital - a duo programme with harpsichord

Be surprised by the variety of sounds in this programme: soaring melodies, pinprick staccato, harmonics and true virtuosity:

Eccles Sonata no. 11 in G minor
Bach Suite no 1 in G major BWV1007
Abel Harpsichord Pieces
Vivaldi Sonata no 5 in E minor
Sammartini Sonata in G major
Couperin Pieces en Concert
Locatelli Sonata in D major

Nightmare in Venice

Magical, mysterious, fantastical – a theatrical presentation of some of the most extraordinary chamber music of the baroque era, featuring Vivaldi's Nightmare Concerto, Tartini's Devil's Trill sonata, Masque music by Robert Johnson, Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits, Leclair's Demon Airs and Red Priest's own Fantasia on Corelli's La Follia. A must for Halloween!


Pirates of the Baroque

Stolen masterworks and forgotten jewels of the baroque era performed with swashbuckling virtuosity! This hugely popular programme includes Vivaldi's Tempesta di Mare Concerto, a Pirate Suite by Couperin, the 'Albinoni' Adagio and works by Bach, Tartini, Simonetti, Leclair, Vitali and Handel. Roll over, Johnny Depp...


Johann, I'm Only Dancing!

A dynamic presentation of music by the greatest genius of the baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach, performed with this ensemble’s legendary blend of creativity, wit and virtuosity. Surprising juxtapositions of familiar and lesser known works are presented in a mixed garden of delights, freely drawn from the flute, oboe and violin sonatas, cello suites, keyboard suites and toccatas, orchestral suites and concertos; the programme includes some of the most sublime adagios ever composed, and culminates in an epic performance of the great Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Red Priest’s arrangements are inspired by Bach’s own improvisatory zeal, and the light-hearted title (stolen from a David Bowie song) reflects the infectious spirit of dance which pervades much of Bach’s music.


Carnival of the Seasons

Vivaldi's Four Seasons as you have never heard them before! Red Priest employs a dazzling array of baroque ‘affects’ and theatrical effects to bring these pieces vividly to life. Piers Adams has adapted the violin solo part to his plethora of recorders, occasionally even playing two at once, and acting out the roles of sleeping shepherds, drunken harvesters, chirruping birds and skating children as he plays. The concertos are interspersed with a variety of seasonal pieces by Biber, Corelli, Purcell and Van Eyck.


The Red Priest And The Virgin

A festive, colourful and occasionally irreverent programme of baroque music for Christmas, featuring Corelli's Christmas Concerto, Vivaldi's Winter, Van Eyck's variations on Unto us a Boy is Born, Byrd's The Bells and music by Handel, Bach, Telemann and Festing.


Priest on the Run

The inimitable Red Priest makes a lightning tour across Baroque Europe, hotly pursued by the Venetian authorities... Music encountered along the way includes Vivaldi (Concerto in D RV92), Schmelzer (The Cuckoo Sonata), Telemann (Gypsy Sonata in A mnor) and Castello (Sonata Terza).


Special Gala Programme:

The Red Hot Baroque Show A startling marriage of baroque instruments with modern sound and lighting technology. Red Priest's performance is brought whirling into into the 21st century in a special show designed for theatres and large venues, complete with stage set, lighting design, sound system and special effects. A true crossover event which brings the excitement of baroque music to a wide new audience. The development of the show was the subject of a TV documentary for the South Bank Show in 2005.