Solem Quartet and Anthony Friend (clarinet)
This programme celebrates British composers from the past 400 hundred years right up to the present day. Edmund Finnis’ Third Quartet Devotions was written for the Solem Quartet in 2022, and recorded on their second album Painted Light; Finnis’ delicate yet soulful treatment of the four instruments speaks to the soundworld of Byrd. 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s birth; one of his major chamber works from his early years is offered with this programme. The Clarinet Quintet shows a command of a Brahmsian Romantic language, and a flair for colour and character.
| William Byrd – Kyrie, from Mass for Four Voices |
| Edmund Finnis – String Quartet no. 3, Devotions |
| Gerald Finzi, arr. Christian Alexander – Five Bagatelles for clarinet and strings |
| Interval |
| Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Clarinet Quintet in F sharp minor, op. 10 |