Sunday 16th June , 7.30pm Haydn String Quartet Op 76 No 4 (‘Sunrise’) Villa-Lobos Suite for voice and violin Puccini Crisantemi Boccherini Duo for 2 violins Op 5 Respighi ‘Il Tramonto’ (The Sunset) for voice and strings Katy Thomson soprano Paul Barritt violin Francesca Barritt violin Matt Maguire viola Joely Koos cello Haydn’s ‘Sunrise’ quartet opens with one of the most magical of arabesques, ascending as if to signal the wonder of first light. There follows a string quartet of the highest quality written by a genius who is largely responsible for the development of the medium. We welcome soprano Katy Thompson to our concerts with a rarely played but nevertheless distinctive work for voice and single violin by the 20th century master Villa-Lobos. It is an example of characteristic fun and is dripping with the modern folk idioms of his native Brazil. Italy features in the rest of this unusual programme. Puccini is famous for his operas but his chamber music appearances are rare indeed. In ‘Crisantemi’, the flowers themselves represent heroism, loyalty and mourning; this is quartet writing at its most sumptuous and impassioned. Boccherini was an Italian who spent most of his working life in Spain. His duos for 2 violins show charm and character in equal portions. Respighi’s setting of Shelley’s ‘The Sunset’ for soprano and quartet is ravishingly beautiful. Filled with many emotions and moods, the work at times resembles an opera in miniature... See more >