Mahan Esfahani, perhaps today’s best-known harpsichordist, is an eloquent ambassador for the brilliance, beauty and versatility of the instrument. Tonight is a rare chance to hear him conjure up the world of the Elizabethan era, known as the golden age of English music. In music rich with decoration, detail and irresistible rhythmic impulse, the harpsichord’s bite and glitter is impressive, while also intimate in scale.
Inspirations range far and wide in this brilliantly eclectic programme of British song. John Dowland was a profound chronicler of grief, while Purcell could be quietly ecstatic in his contemplation of evening. Centuries later the lyrical skills of Harrison, Lennon and McCartney were raised to higher heights by the song of a blackbird, the memory of a mother, or the way a woman moves.
Search for concerts, opera and dance performances in London
