Katie Rose Wilkinson

This attractive mixed programme of Telemann’s works featuring flute or recorder has been designed by Ashley Solomon to celebrate Florilegium’s 25th anniversary. The triple concerto for flute, oboe d’amore and viola d’amore in E major stands out as one of the composer’s most beguiling masterpieces: the limpid opening Andante sounds like a serene evocation of sunrise that anticipates the mature Haydn by several decades; the soloists Solomon, Alexandra Bellamy and Bojan Čičić play with elegant finesse, and also conjure up refined melancholy in an intimately conversational Siciliana. The double concerto for recorder and viola da gamba in A minor is a charming example of Telemann’s taste for synthesising French and Italian musical styles with elements of Polish folk music; Florilegium’s civilised elegance in the French-style Grave, gently Italianate sway in the Allegro, and Solomon’s duet with gambist Reiko Ichise in the Dolce has pastoral sensitivity. At the heart of the programme is Ihr Völker hört, a cantata for solo voice and obbligato instrument that was published in the first instalment of the series Harmonischer Gottes-Dienst. Clare Wilkinson’s softly convivial and articulate singing communicates the cheerful Epiphany text.

The six Sonatas, which are often described as 'Trio Sonatas for Organ,' hold a unique place in Bach's oeuvre. In a sense, 'trio' is the most natural organ texture: right hand, left hand, and feet each takes one line of counterpoint. However, in the six Sonatas, the contrapuntal lines are granted a degree of independence that is unmatched in Bach's surviving organ music. Thus, they are atypical of Bach's output for the instrument, and indeed oforgan music in general. The Sonatas are, in effect, 'ensemble music for one player' indeed, several movements originated as actual ensemble pieces.

Multi award-winning recording artist Katie Melua has announced an extensive 45-date headline 2020 tour, including 18 UK & Eire dates. The announcement of the tour coincides with news of a ‘Live In Concert’ 2xCD album featuring Gori Women’s Choir, recorded at London’s Central Hall, Westminster, in December 2018. Gori Women’s Choir first worked with Katie on the silver-certified 2016 album ‘In Winter’. That album was recorded in Georgia, and commanded some of the finest reviews of her career with the Sunday Times describing it as “bewitching…ravishing…spellbinding” and the Independent as “exquisite” and “remarkable.”