Two recent concerts have both been a great success.
First on April 22, shortly before the Coronation of King Charles lll, Charles Matthews returned to play the second of a series of three piano recitals. This time his theme was, understandably, on music composed for coronations or by composers featured in past coronations.
He gave as always an exciting and moving account of pieces from a variety of periods and in different styles. Charles will be back again at 1.00 on the 19th of August with his third recital in this series of hour-long lunchtime concerts in the Chapel. This is a series worth knowing about and coming to hear on a Saturday lunchtime.
More recently on June 4th we were finally able to welcome back the Coull Quartet to a give a concert of ‘late’ quartets by Beethoven and Schubert (who was only 24 when he wrote his – but he died very young depriving us of the works of a genius!)
The format which the Coull had developed over several previous occasions, before the interruption of Covid, was to provide a Sunday morning Coffee Concert from 11.00. This year this allowed the large and hugely appreciative audience the opportunity to enjoy the garden first – looking at its best with many roses in full bloom.
They started with Schubert’s A minor Quartet which is a wonderfully varied work which includes one particularly well-loved theme, a reworking of his Rosamunde tune. The Beethoven Quartet in F major was his last substantial work, with all the maturity that that suggests.
The Coull, who find that the acoustics of the Chapel are so suitable for string chamber music, were on sparkling form, and we very much hope they will return soon.