A concert which explores the artistic circles of 18th Century Twickenham through music of the time period will be held this weekend.
Saraband will be performing The Twickenham Set at St Mary’s Church on Sunday 9 February, playing music such as Handel, Corelli, and the Beggars Opera, and tells the stories of famous actresses of the 18th Century, Hannah Pritchard and Kitty Clive, who are buried at St Mary’s.
Saraband is a small ensemble of classical musicians with a passion for history and art, specialising in intimate concerts with music chosen to compliment the historical rooms and venues they perform in.
Violin player Henrietta Wayne said: “We like to do concerts that have stories and context of the music we’re playing, and of the places we’re playing so we like to play in nice places.
“We play at places like Southbank and big concert halls around Europe but playing in places that are historically accurate is exciting, it just feels right.
“St Mary’s is the most beautiful Georgian church, it’s a gorgeous place to listen to music.”
Twickenham is rich with colourful history which is waiting to be explored by the baroque quartet, with Wayne adding that it’s great for people to discover how the area was a real centre for art in the past.
The violin player has lived in Twickenham since she was a child, and had heard bits and pieces of the area’s history over the years.
But once she dug deeper into it to see what Saraband could present to people, she realised how cool and fascinating Twickenham was in the 1700s.
At previous concerts at Kenwood House in Hampstead, the group have found that audiences have been really engaged in their performances even when just passing by, discovering them organically and realising that they’re interested in what they’re doing.
Wayne said: “People are able to come and see, they don’t have to know that they’re interested but they’ll find out.”
They have received many positive reviews of their various programmes, with many audience members enjoying the way in which the ensemble makes paintings and rooms feel alive through their concerts, and they have received two five star reviews from Opera Now in 2022 and 2024.
As well as The Twickenham Set, Saraband have another upcoming performance at Kenwood House in February followed by another at Kew Palace in May, where they will play the earliest surviving Georgian chamber organ in the UK.
The ensemble is supported by the Continuo Foundation, a not-for-profit charity established in 2020 dedicated to supporting period instrument musicians such as Saraband and providing access for communities across the UK to listen to live performances of early period music.
Wayne said: “Continuo supported musicians in lockdown in an amazing way, they’re a really great organisation helping this sort of concert.”
The Twickenham Set concert will take place on Sunday 9 February at 6pm and promises to be a unique, worthwhile musical experience that brings the history of Twickenham back to life.
Picture credit: Sarah Bealby-Wright
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