Red Priest

Thrilling

An utterly thrilling programme of baroque masterworks performed in Red Priest’s inimitable, high energy style.  The group – now in its 28th year – explores some of the highlights of its glittering international career at the cutting edge of baroque performance.  The members of the group are: 

• Piers Adams – recorders;
• Julia Bishop – violin;
• Angela East – cello; and
• Jack Gonzales-Harding – harpsichord

Programme

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.

About Red Priest

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

— BBC Music Magazine

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.  Formed in 1997 by recorder virtuoso Piers Adams, together with violinist Julia Bishop, cellist Angela East and the late Julian Rhodes, harpsichord (a role now filled by David Wright) - 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, delighting audiences across the globe.

Although based in the UK, where they are long established favourites amongst promoters and public alike, Red Priest has crossed the Atlantic for over 50 coast-to-coast tours of America, Mexico, Cuba and Canada, as well as performing in prestigious festivals in almost every European country, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, Japan, China, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand.   The group has given numerous radio and TV broadcasts, including a fly-on-the-wall documentary for The South Bank Show in 2005, which attracted a million viewers. 

Red Priest’s discography – released on their own label – includes an iconic take on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, hailed by Gramophone Magazine as one of the all-time best recordings of the work, alongside titles such as Handel in the Wind, Johann I’m Only Dancing, Pirates of the Baroque, Nightmare in Venice and Priest on the Run – all of which have received the highest critical acclaim.  Their most recent release, The Baroque Bohemians, surprised the major labels by reaching No.1 in the UK classical charts.