Hexham Courant, Sonia Veneziani-Rocha

The Heath Quartet, the String Quartet in Residence at Middlesex University, London, performed at St Cuthbert’s Church on July 18, as part of the Music in Allendale concert series.

“Their acclaimed dynamic and committed performance drew standing ovations from an audience who had travelled from across the region.”

The evening began with a selection of 17th-century music for viols by Matthew Locke, including the Curtain Tune and Lilk from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

The programme then moved to the early work of 20-year-old Benjamin Britten and Josef Suk’s Meditation on a Czech Hymn, written during the First World War with its plea to the Czech patron Saint Wenceslas, for the nation’s well-being.

The second half featured Robert Schumann’s String Quartet No.2, written for his wife Clara following a separation not long after their marriage due to Clara touring to play piano.

Photo: Music in Allendale