A BAROQUE EXTRAVAGANZA

A thrilling programme of baroque masterworks performed in Red Priest’s inimitable, high energy style. The group – now in its 29th year – explores some of the highlights of its glittering international career at the cutting edge of baroque performance. The programme will include:

Vivaldi – Concerto in G minor ‘La Notte’

Telemann – ‘Gypsy’ Sonata in A minor; Fantasia for Violin

Bach – Preludio in E major; Toccata and Fugue in D minor

Handel – Recorder Sonata in B minor; The Harmonious Blacksmith Variations

and works by Purcell, Cima, Cazzati, Ortiz, Couperin and others.

Red Priest – recently described in the New York Times as ‘the wildly virtuosic little band’ – has been at the cutting edge of baroque music performance for over a quarter of a century. The brainchild of recorder virtuoso Piers Adams and violinist Julia Bishop, and named after the original ‘red priest’ Antonio Vivaldi, the quartet has developed a truly unique style.

Combining high-energy performance, boundary crossing arrangements and theatrical presentation, they delight audiences across the globe, including over 50 tours of America and Canada and performances in prestigious festivals in almost every European country, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, Japan, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Cuba, Australia and New Zealand.

The group has given numerous radio and TV broadcasts, including a documentary for The South Bank Show which attracted a million viewers. Red Priest’s discography includes an iconic take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, hailed by Gramophone Magazine as one of the all-time best recordings of the work, and The Baroque Bohemians, which surprised the major labels by reaching No.1 in the UK classical charts.  

“For sheer technical wizardry, charismatic showmanship and expressive devilment, Red Priest is in an exhilarating class of its own.” - BBC Music Magazine

Piers Adams – recorders
Julia Bishop – violin
Angela East – cello
David Wright – harpsichord