BREMF LIVE! SHOWCASE
Saturday, November 3, 3pm,
St Paul’s Church
This is the annual early music live showcase for five emerging ensembles and has got to offer the best value ticket in the entire Brighton Early Music festival.
We were treated to five of the country’s top emerging ensembles, in superb 20 minute sets, offering an afternoon of endless variety, from early medieval song through to Mozart.
VOICE opened the event in atmospheric style with some Hildegarde of Bingen which floated ethereally around the huge space of St Paul’s, this Medieval vocal ensemble made up of Emily Burn, Victoria Couper, Clemmie Franks are a superb trio of mature and experienced voices sharing a purity of expression which was sublime.
They were followed by the COMALLI CONSORT a Renaissance ensemble who shared a lovely little program of music based around the Da pacem and concluding with the transporting and meditative Da pacem Domine from Arvo Part.
DRAMMA PER MUSICA brought some drama to the music and this early baroque ensemble played us strong passionate music from the 17th century with a touch perfect rendition of Purcells‘ Evening Hymn.
Following an interval with what must be one of the best selections of home-made cakes in any festival we settled back replete from Orange Cake and some warming coffee to Figo another superb baroque ensemble who lead us across Europe with a musical journey ending with Moffat, the epitome of early musical transnational composers.
Rounding off with the most delightful Pocket Sinfonia, who gave this petit and rather perfectly formed D major symphony from Mozart, arranged with perfection, played with a verve and speed that was exhilarating and as interesting to watch as they are a joy to listen to.
What a superb round-up of emerging talent showing us a full range of expression and mastery of voice and instrument that goes a long way to show why the BREMF is consistently sold out year after year.
Full details of this performance and the programme are available here on the BREMF website.
