Britten On This Island
Beethoven ‘Spring’ Sonata No 5 in F for violin and piano Op 24
Messiaen Trois Mélodies
Brahms Trio in Eb for piano, violin and horn Op 40

‘Let the florid music praise’ – the opening line of Britten’s On This Island – opens our festival in appropriately celebratory fashion, sung by local-girl-turned-international-singer Claire Booth. Set in front of the great West door, with its carvings of the seasons, we hear Beethoven’s effervescent Spring Sonata and, 25 years after his death, Messiaen’s Trois Mélodies. Brahms’ heartfelt and virtuosic Trio for Violin, Horn & Piano – by turns brooding and uplifting – closes this programme.

Claire Booth soprano | Fenella Humphreys violin | Jamie Campbell violin | Francesca Moore-Bridger horn | Libby Burgess piano