Worcestershire Early Music

The artists who performed for us in January (Apollo’s Revels) and March (Passacaglia) were so happy to be playing again in front of live audiences and in such a lovely venue….. the Angel Centre. Each said independently it was like being in the Wigmore Hall!

Passacaglia’s workshop and concert entitled “To touch the Heart” was much appreciated, with an in depth analysis of Ground Bass in the workshop and beautiful playing in the evening.

Our audience enjoyed live music again, and in particular found the seats more comfortable than in some of our previous venues, so we’ll definitely be back there a little later in the year……..namely for the Linarol Consort of viols on Sunday November 6th at 3.30pm

Before then a collaboration with Worcester Concert Club on Sunday October 9th brings us Tabea Debus, Elizabeth Kenny and Jonathan Rees to Huntingdon Hall.

Our workshop (3.15pm-4.45pm) in the Angel Centre, Angel Place, Worcester on Saturday March 12th will be given by Passacaglia ahead of their evening performance.

It will be a Ground Bass workshop, offering opportunities for beginners as well as experienced players, so if you’ve never played Baroque Music or are not sure what a Ground Bass is, this could be the workshop for you! Players of recorders, flutes, oboes, upper strings and bass instruments (bassoon, gamba or cello) are all welcome, and we will be playing at modern (440) pitch.

The evening concert will follow at 7.30pm (see below for details)

Tickets from eventbrite or from barbara.wem@gmail.com

Passacaglia – “To Touch the Heart” – Music from the Royal Courts of Prussia Tickets, Sat 12 Mar 2022 at 19:30 | Eventbrite

Concert tickets £20; workshop tickets £10; combi tickets £25 (students free admission)

Saturday March 12th 2022 7.30pm

The Angel Centre, Angel Place, Worcester

To Touch the Heart

‘To Touch the Heart’ is a new programme from the Passacaglia Trio featuring music from the Royal court of Frederick the Great for flute, viola da gamba and harpsichord.

Centred around the dramatic and touching works of CPE Bach, a composer who audaciously broke free of the conventions of earlier generations, our programme also includes contributions by three talented women – notably King Frederick’s cultivated sisters Wilhelmina von Bayreuth and Anna Amalia; and by Wilhelmina’s remarkable young Italian protégée, Anna Bon, fresh from training at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. Like Emanuel Bach, all of these highly respected women composed music for flute and harpsichord – adding depth to our understanding of the cultural achievements of this remarkable era.

Our third and final 2020 festival event with Apollo’s Revels was held last Sunday and proved to be a great success and much appreciated.

Dancers Kath Waters and Anne Deller, and musicians Alison Kinder and Linda Sayce gave a brilliant performance of music from the European Courts of the early 18th Century. The music informed the dance and the dance informed the music illustrating the close relationship of music to dance during this period.

The dance workshop in the morning was well received too

WEM is very grateful to the Elmley Foundation, Worcester Arts Council and to Border Marches Early Music Forum for their support