A great swashing of buckles
Last updated 05:30, Friday, 18 July 2008
Red Priest, Carlisle Cathedral, TuesdayA good house saw Baroque ensemble extraordinaire Red Priest swash their buckles at Carlisle Cathedral in a cleverly crafted programme of treasures old and new.
Piers Adams fronted the group with his fusillade of recorders, a persuasive presenter as well as a masterly musician. Some ticklish tonguing on his part brought an effectively filched version of Vivaldi's D minor Concerto Grosso to life to end the first half, after a well-paced set that also included Albinoni’s Adagio a la tango.
Julia Bishop provided the second line – great vibrations without the vibrato (she teaches baroque violin) – and duelled with the recorder player to great effect in part two before seducing him, all musically of course, as programmatic period pieces were cunningly rearranged around a nautical theme.
Angela East made her cello double as a guitar or tambour and gave us a fearsome piratical glare, while Howard Beach's harpsichord backing was always harmonious (not to mention his sudden breaks into song).
Shiver me timbers, a great evening all round!
DAVID THOMSON
