Music at King Charles: 2021

31.12.21

Past performers 2006-2021

Wishing all our supporters a Happy New Year, we look back at the growing list of illustrious performers we have been priviliged to host, while looking forward to good times ahead!

27.10.21

Handel's Messiah: a repeat of an unforgettable evening

Saturday 4 December, 7:00pm

The standing ovation at the end of Handel's Messiah, when we performed it in the church under the direction of Steven Devine three years ago, remains one of the most electrifying moments we've experienced at Music at King Charles. And when Steven asked the players and singers to come and do it again, they all agreed immediately.

Now, after the pandemic's interruption, it's back.

This is a small-scale performance, with about 14 players and 16 singers, perfectly suited to the size of the building. It's intimate and full of energy, with a narrative drive that's gripping and authentic.

Please buy tickets early to avoid disappointment! Available from ticketsource.co.uk/mkctw

18.10.21

Michael McHale piano recital - change of time

We're thrilled to host a lunchtime recital by Wigmore Hall artist Michael McHale on Saturday 23 October.

Please note that the start time has changed to 12:40pm. Doors open 12:30.

Expected duration: one hour.

Ticket information.

Michael McHale is one of the most impressive rising-star talents in the music world. Whether he is performing at Wigmore Hall or at the BBC Proms or around the UK and Ireland or in Suntory Hall, Tokyo or across USA concert halls, Michael’s beautiful playing has a heart-warming quality that has touched his many worldwide admirers. His one hour recital will encompass music by Beethoven (Sonata in C minor op.13 “Pathetique”, Debussy (Estampes 11. La Soiree dans Grenade; Jardins sous la pluie), Field (Nocturne N0.10 in E minor; Nocturne No.5 in B flat), Chopin (Nocturne in E flat op.9 no.2), Liszt (Rigoletto “paraphrase de concert”). So, whether shopping, visiting or heading to lunch in RTW, do take in this one hour musical “tour de force” and head away with a spring in your step!

11.10.21

Chelys Viol Consort: music made for King Charles

The Chelys Consort

Saturday 16 October, 7pm

Come and hear music that was made for this venue, the 17th century church of King Charles the Martyr. The music is as exquisute and elegant as the architecture. And it's the kind of music that would have been very familiar to King Charles himself, as well as the people who frequented the walks to take the water in the early days of Tunbridge Wells.

Ticket information here

Ibrahim Aziz, Alison Kinder – treble viols
Kate Conway, Sam Stadlen – tenor viols
Harry Buckoke, Jenny Bullock – bass viols

Ibrahim writes: "This concert explores the repertory for a ‘chest of viols’, which was a term used in the 16th and 17th centuries in England to denote either a consort of six viols, or a cabinet specially made for them. Thomas Mace, in his Musick’s Monument (1676) wrote that “a good chest of viols” should contain “2 Basses, 2 Tenors, 2 Trebles, all truly proportionally suited”. Our programme tonight showcases the repertoire that might have been played in a 17th century English household fortunate enough to afford such a collection of instruments, players and music."

Ticket information here

Described by Gramophone as having released 'unquestionably the most beautiful recording of the Lachrimae', Chelys have garnered a reputation for their faithful yet fresh interpretations of the consort repertoire. They take their name from an ancient Greek word which referred to a bowed lyre, said to have been invented by the god Hermes. The word was borrowed by the English violist Christopher Simpson on the title page of his treatise 'The Division Viol' when he translated the work into Latin.

24.9.21

Fabulous Fables: Sunday 10 October 3:30pm

We're very excited to present an entertaining Sunday afternoon concert, with opera singer Bérengère Mauduit (mezzo-soprano) and Jenny Vizinet (piano).

Come and hear stories told in song, based on Aesop's fables, with music by Offenbach, Gounod, Lecocq, Viardot and Caplet. Recommended for families especially, but entertaining for all!

Expected duration: 50 minutes

Booking information

Born in France, Bérengère Mauduit has trained at the English National Opera (Opera Works Programme) and Marseilles Opera Studio. She went on to join the chorus at Glyndebourne Festival Opera for several seasons while developing an international solo career. Her main roles include Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte (Dorset Corset), Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (Avignon Opera and as cover for Welsh National Opera), Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel in Bordeaux, an apprentice in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger for Glyndebourne (Original 2011 production and 2015 revival), 3rd Lady in Co-Opera-Co’s Magic Flute, Sister Mathilde in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites (opéra de Nice), Mercédès (Carmen) and Nicklausse ( The Tales of Hoffmann) for Brasov Opera House, Romania. Mauduit trained as a teacher before embracing a musical profession and her passion for education has never gone away. In 2017 she trained in workshop leadership with the Royal Opera House and English National Opera and is currently engaged in research with King’s College, London, to try and develop a combined approach to languages and music in schools. She is an award winner of the Solti Foundation and Mario Lanza Trust.

Jennifer Vizinet holds a BA Hons degree in music from the University of York as well as a post-graduate diploma in piano accompaniment from the Royal Academy of Music. She was awarded the Meaker Fellowship and a Masters of Performance with Distinction from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a staff accompanist at Guildhall School of Music and Dance and pianist for the Royal Academy of Dance.

20.8.21

Booking now open for Autumn recitals

We look forward to welcoming you to our Autumn concerts, organised in partnership with the Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival.

Joseph Wolfe

Tickets are now available from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/mkctw

Thursday 16 September, 7pm – TIER 3: Joseph Wolfe (violin), Jonathan Ayling (cello), Daniel Grimwood (piano)
Beethoven Op.97, 'Archduke' Trio; Tchaikosky piano trio Op.50
See the TIER 3 website for more information.

Saturday 9 October, 6pm – Organ recital by Fiona Brown
music from the 17th to the 20th century, including Bach, Franck, Mendelssohn and Messiaen. [Retiring collection only]

Bérengère Mauduit & Jenny Vizinet

Sunday 10 October, 3:30pm – Fabulous Fables: family afternoon concert
Bérengère Mauduit (mezzo-soprano) and Jenny Vizinet (piano) present a concert of French music on Aesop's fables, with music by Offenbach, Gounod, Lecocq, Viardot and Caplet.

Saturday 16 October, 7pm – The Chelys viol consort
Consort Music for Six Viols: An exploration of 16th and 17th century repertory for viol consort from Tallis to Purcell.
Find out more about the Chelys here.

Further programme details will be added in due course. Advance booking is recommended.

Chelys Consort

24.7.21

Advance notice of concerts this autumn

We're excited by the prospect of hosting concerts this autumn, hopefully without too many restrictions on numbers and in a safe and happy environment!

Here's what we have planned so far.

Thursday 16 September, 7pm – TIER 3: Joseph Wolfe (violin), Jonathan Ayling (cello), Daniel Grimwood (piano)
Beethoven Op.97, 'Archduke' Trio; Tchaikosky piano trio Op.50

Saturday 9 October – Organ recital by Fiona Brown: music from the 17th to the 20th century, including Bach, Franck, Mendelssohn and Messiaen.

Sunday 10 October, 3:30pm – Fabulous Fables: family afternoon concert
Bérengère Mauduit (soprano) and Jenny Vizinet (piano) present a concert of French music on Aesop's fables, with music by Offenbach, Gounod, Lecocq, Viardot and Caplet.

Saturday 16 October, 7pm – The Chelys viol consort

14.6.21

Summer concerts

Latest... The recital by pianist Sam Haywood on 30 June is now SOLD OUT.

Follow this link for booking information for all our concerts.

Coming up, as part of the TW Fringe Festival...

Thursday 15 July, 7pm
Celebrated piano duo Jong-Gyung Park and Anthony Zerpa-Falcon present an exciting programme of classical favourites: Holst: Planets Suite (selection), Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, Beethoven: Symphony No.5

Saturday 17 July, 7pm
An English Song Recital: Felix Kemp (baritone) and Mark Packwood (piano) Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel. With music by Ivor Gurney, Peter Warlock and more.

Booking information.

Covid restrictions
Regrettably, we can only make a limited number of seats available to allow for social distancing, and face coverings will need to be worn. There will be no interval or refreshments. Each performance will last approximately one hour. However, we do have live music!

9.6.21

Sam Haywood piano recital: 30 June

Wednesday 30 June 7pm, Sam Haywood (piano)

Book tickets here

Join Sam Haywood for a unique musical adventure, 'Old Friends and New', on which you'll encounter some of the most beloved piano works (by Schubert, Rachmaniniff, Beethoven and Chopin) alongside rare and beautiful miniatures by women composers.

The pieces will be performed in pairs, carefully chosen to complement each other. The programme includes the World Premier of 'Rain', a passionate and compelling work by the Czech composer Jelena Pouliçková.

Sam Haywood has performed to critical acclaim in many of the world’s major concert halls, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Philhamonie de Paris, Vienna Konzerthaus and Wigmore Hall. He embraces a wide spectrum of the piano repertoire and is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician or with accompanying Lieder. Regular chamber music partners have included Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis.

26.5.21

Miriam Teppich and Julian Broughton 27 May programme

Thursday 27 May 7pm, Miriam Teppich (violin) and Julian Broughton (piano)

Ysaye, Sonata for Solo Violin no. 4 op. 27 in E minor
Clara Schumann, Romance no. 1 op. 22
Broughton, Sonata for violin and piano
Elgar, Sonata op.82

Programme notes

Ysaye Sonata for solo violin in E minor op. 27 no.4

The Sonata No 4 in E minor is dedicated to Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962). Kreisler entered the Vienna Conservatory in 1882, then in 1885 moved to the Paris Conservatoire, gaining a unanimous Premier Prix in 1887. His most important commission was Elgar’s Violin Concerto which he premiered in 1910, but Elgar was as far as he ventured in the music of his time. As a composer he became famous for his short pieces in imitation of Baroque and Classical composers, to which he often appended their name rather than his own—1910 was also the year of the Praeludium and Allegro, supposedly by Pugnani, as well as the Caprice viennois Kreisler owned up to.

In writing three movements called Allemanda, Sarabande and Finale, Ysaÿe was clearly having a joke—‘if you can do spoof Baroque, so can I’. Throughout, the writing is tonal, with very little that would have discountenanced J S Bach. After a slow introduction, we hear a motif of four rising notes (E, F sharp, G, A) that undergoes various developments, ending in a fugue. The same four notes in reverse go right through the Sarabande, at first pizzicato (‘avec vibrations’), then bowed.

In the Finale the four notes are once more descending and may well be a tribute to Kreisler’s ‘Pugnani’ Allegro. Apart from a dotted central section, the movement also echoes the ‘Pugnani’ in its relentless semiquavers.

Clara Schumann Romance no.1 op 22 (from Three Romances) Andante molto

Having moved to Düsseldorf in 1853, Clara Schumann, who said that "Women are not born to compose," produced several works, including these three romances. Dedicated to the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim, Schumann and Joachim went on tour with them, even playing them before King George V of Hanover, who was "completely ecstatic" upon hearing them. A critic for the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung praised them, declaring: "All three pieces display an individual character conceived in a truly sincere manner and written in a delicate and fragrant hand."

Stephen Pettitt for The Times, wrote, "Lush and poignant, they make one regret that Clara's career as a composer became subordinate to her husband's." The first Romance begins with hints of gypsy pathos, before a brief central theme with energetic arpeggios ensues. This is followed by a final section similar to the first, in which Clara charmingly refers to the main theme from her husband Robert Schumann’s first violin sonata.

Sir Edward Elgar wrote his Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82, in 1918, at the same time as he wrote his String Quartet in E minor and his Piano Quintet in A minor. These three chamber music works were all written at "Brinkwells", the country house near Fittleworth in West Sussex that Lady Elgar had acquired for her husband to recuperate and compose in, and they mark his major contribution to the chamber music genre.[1] His Cello Concerto in E minor of 1919 completed the quartet of introspective and melancholy works that comprised Elgar's last major creative spurt before his death in 1934.

The Violin Sonata is scored for the usual combination of violin and piano, and has three movements: Allegro, Romance: Andante, Allegro non troppo

Elgar's wife noted that the slow movement seemed to be influenced by the 'wood magic' or genii loci of the Fittleworth woods.

When the sonata was close to completion, Elgar offered to dedicate it to a family friend, Marie Joshua, and wrote to her: "I fear it does not carry us any further but it is full of golden sounds and I like it, but you must not expect anything violently chromatic or cubist". Marie Joshua died four days after receiving the letter, before she had had an opportunity to reply. As a tribute to her memory, Elgar quoted the dolcissimo melody from the slow movement just before the coda of the final movement.[1][2]

The Violin Sonata in E minor was completed on 15 September 1918,[2] and first performed on 13 March 1919 at a semi-public meeting of the British Music Society by Elgar's friend W. H. Reed with Anthony Bernard on piano. With Elgar present, it received its first public performance on 21 March 1919.

Julian Broughton writes: “Written in 2014 for Ellie Blackshaw and Rachel Fryer, my Sonata for Violin and Piano is in three movements.

i) Presto. A kind of scherzo, this movement begins with playful dialogue which is contrasted with passages of sustained melody.

ii) Lento. In complete contrast to the first movement, this is a fugue which breaks out of itself into an expressive and richly harmonised middle section before returning to the rather austere mood of the opening.

iii) Allegro molto. Lively and fast, this returns to the mood of the opening movement. It briefly recalls the melancholy of the middle movement before ending with virtuoso energy.

10.4.21

Reopening concerts: programmes update

We're looking forward to our first two recitals after lockdown - including a world premier!

Book tickets here.

Thursday 27 May 7pm, Miriam Teppich (violin) and Julian Broughton (piano)
Ysaye, Sonata for Solo Violin no. 4 op. 27 in E minor
Clara Schumann, Romance no. 1 op. 22
Broughton, Sonata for violin and piano
Elgar, Sonata op.82

Wednesday 30 June 7pm, Sam Haywood (piano)
Join Sam Haywood for a unique musical adventure, 'Old Friends and New', on which you'll encounter some of the most beloved piano works (by Schubert, Rachmaniniff, Beethoven and Chopin) alongside rare and beautiful miniatures by women composers. The pieces will be performed in pairs, carefully chosen to complement each other. The programme includes the World Premier of 'Rain', a passionate and compelling work by the Czech composer Jelena Pouliçková.

Coronavirus restrictions, please note
By 27 May, we expect to be able to accommodate a limited audience, seated in groups of up to six or of one or two households. The ticketing site will be kept updated according to latest regiulation. Regrettably, the need for social distancing will prohibit an interval or refreshments, though this may change by 30 June.

3.4.21

Reopening news: Concerts this Summer

Wishing all our supporters a very Happy Easter, we're also looking forward to the reopening of concert venues in a few weeks' time, and are excited to announce the first of our 2021 chamber recitals at King Charles church.