Friday 5th September, 7.30 pm
Mike Hatchard plays Rhapsody in Blue….
..plus some Chopin, Ravel, Brubeck and Flanders and Swann
An award-winning musician whose formidable talent on the piano is nearly matched with his abilities as a raconteur, Hatchard’s concerts are both entertaining and informative. A Guild recording artist Norman LaBrecht once described him as the ‘English Tom Lerher’, his playing credits include The Chamber Ensemble of London, Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, Herbie Flowers and the Pasadena Roof Orchestra. A true renaissance man he plays Gershwin with panache and effortless expertise.
Tickets £15/ £12 OAP from WeGotTickets
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Saturday 6th September, 10.30 am coffee, performance at 11.00 am
Monthly Organ Recital on the Bevington Organ with Barrie Magill
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The Hay Music Festival 2025
Exiles and Émigrés
This year’s Hay Music Festival takes as its theme ‘Exiles and Émigrés’. The renowned Fitzwilliam String Quartet will be the Ensemble in Residence and, along with their concerts, there’ll be jazz, film screenings, discussions, an art installation and outreach events.
FOR FULL FESTIVAL DETAILS & TICKETS, PLEASE SEE HAY MUSIC. EVENTS ARE BEING HELD IN A NUMBER OF VENUES, WITH THE FOLLOWING AT S. MARY’S CHURCH:
Friday 12th September
6.15-6.45 pm – Introductory talk (Event 3)
An Introduction to Charlotte Bray’s ‘Ungrievable Lives’ with members of the quartet and artist Caroline Burraway. Composer Charlotte Bray’s string quartet took its inspiration from the emotive installation of the same name, created by Caroline Burraway and on view in Hay Castle throughout September.
Entry free as part of the 7pm concert. Doors open at 5.45 pm for the introductory talk and at 6.45 pm for concert only.
7-9 pm – Opening Concert by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet (Event 4)
Henry Purcell/ Marcus Barcham Stevens Fantasy and Double No. 10
Charlotte Bray Ungrievable Lives
Franz Schubert String Quartet No.14 in D minor (Death and the Maiden)
Saturday 13th September
11 am-12 pm – Coffee concert with Sinfonia Cymru ‘Seascapes’ (Event 5)
Sinfonia Cymru’s 7-piece ensemble embarks on an immersive musical voyage blending folk, classical, and storytelling. At the heart of the programme is Sally Beamish’s Seavaigers, a powerful and rarely performed work for the Clarsach (Scottish Gaelic Harp), solo fiddle and strings.
4-6 pm – Concert with Soprano Alysia Hanshaw and pianist Jay Carroll (Event 8)
Internationally acclaimed soprano and pianist present a programme by composers who were, almost all, exiles or emigrés. To include:
Erich Korngold Liebesbriefchen, Schneeglöckchen, Sterbelied
Sergei Rachmaninoff At my window Op. 26, No. 10
Frédéric Chopin Mazurkas Op. 24, Nos 2 & 4
Kaijo Saariho Leino Songs
Arnold Schoenberg 4 Lieder, Op. 2, Nos. 1 and 2
Alberto Ginastera Danzas Argentinas No. 2
Antonín Leopold Dvořák Gypsy songs Op. 55, Nos. 1, 3 and 4
Kurt Weill Youkali
Sunday 14th September
4.30-6.30 pm – Hay Music Festival Closing Concert (Event 12)
Pianist and composer Sarah Nicolls (creator of the ‘Inside Out Piano’) joins the Fitzwilliam Quartet for the final concert of this year’s festival.
Alexander Glazunov Interludium in Stile Antico (Movement 3) from 5 Novelettes, Op. 15
Mieczyslaw Weinberg Improvisation and Romanc
Sergei Rachmaninoff String Quartet No. 1 in G minor
Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49
Dmitri Shostakovich Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57
Refreshments at S. Mary’s: tea/ coffee and home-made cakes in the morning, drinks and cakes in the evening – all profits to S. Mary’s church.
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Saturday 18th October, 7.00 pm
Inventions: the Harpsichord Across Times and Borders
‘Inventions‘ is a multi-national project to produce new works for solo harpsichord, performing them alongside historical works, championing composers from each of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and focusing on female composers.
The result is a varied and innovative programme, encompassing traditional folk inspirations, expressive song-like works, and extended technique for the harpsichord including the use of golf balls, rubber bands and an electronic drone! The project and the pieces will be fully introduced, and questions are encouraged.
Despina is a Greek performer currently working at Cardiff University and the Royal Welsh college of Music and Drama; she performs internationally as a continuo player and as soloist, as well as collaborating with guitarist John Mills and the flautist/composer Sofia Mavrogenidou. She is a founding member of the Indigo ensemble, that explores music with baroque, jazz and Celtic traditional elements.
Performer
Despina Homatidou, harpsichord
Programme to include
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser: Mull Fisher’s Love Song from Songs of the Hebrides (arr. Lisa Robertson)
Trad. Welsh, arr. Grainger: David of the White Rock
anon Irish 16th century, from the Fitzwilliam virginal book: Ho Hoane
and a 2025 commission by Welsh composer Sarah Lianne-Lewis
Ticket details to follow.
Further information about the Inventions project at Theorbo Today.
The concert, talks and Q&A will last for 90 minutes. There will be an interval with refreshments.
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