New and old combine in this special programme with the masterful Allan Clayton: stirring Bach, heart-rending Zelenka, and contemporary music by Caroline Shaw and Tom Coult.

Composer Tom Coult is perhaps best known here for his astonishing 2022 Festival opera Violet and his stunning reworkings of ancient Byzantine chant for 2024 at Blythburgh. Here we have commissioned him once again to write a new piece with old inspiration: in this case, the heartrending text of the Lamentations of Jeremiah.

This sits alongside an achingly beautiful Lamentations setting from 1722 by Jan Dismas Zelenka; both are performed by consummate artist, tenor Allan Clayton. We also hear Caroline Shaw’s gorgeous Punctum, which (in the composer’s words) carries among other influences “the sensation and memory of a particular secondary dominant in Bach’s St Matthew Passion”.

The programme is bookended by two stunning works by J.S. Bach played by one of the world’s leading Baroque ensembles. The Brandenburg concertos were composed just over 300 years ago, and sound as fresh and inspired as ever today. The fifth is the first known work in which the harpsichord is liberated from its role as continuo instrument and becomes a soloist! The B-minor suite is based on a series of French-tinged dances and is a work of wonderful elegance and spirit.

In the words of Allan Clayton, “this music in this timeless space is so special and exciting”. A transporting afternoon that transcends the centuries.

Dunedin Consort
Allan Clayton tenor
Matthew Truscott leader