Drake's voyage explored by Orlando Gough

By Imogen Phoebe Webb, 18 June 2016

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Reviewed at Royal Northern College of Music: Concert Hall, Manchester on 14 June 2016

Gough, The World Encompassed

Fretwork

Phil Parker, 3rd February

Fretwork bring the expected and the startlingly unexpected to Sheffield in a revealing evening of music for viol consort.

****1

Tenderness and passion from Stile Antico and Fretwork

Nick Boston, 15th August

Ancient and modern Shakespeare settings, and music from Shakespeare's contemporaries given tender and passionate readings in a varied programme from Fretwork and Stile Antico.

*****

Proms Chamber Music 8: Dowland's seductive melancholy with Ian Bostridge and Fretwork

Frances Wilson, 2nd September

Amidst the furore of celebrations for the anniversaries of Verdi and Wagner, the final Chamber Prom of this season gave pause to savour the music of the great English Renaissance lutenist, singer and composer John Dowland, whose 450th birthday also falls this year.

****1

Bach stays wrapped up: The Art of Fugue with Fretwork

Paul Kilbey, 20th February

Bach’s final work The Art of Fugue, left incomplete at his death in 1750, has long been famous for (among other things) not having specified its instrumentation. It’s written in open score – each line of music, or “voice”, is given a distinct printed line, making it hard to guess what instrument Bach actually had in mind to play it.

***11

New wine in old bottles: Fretwork at the Royal College of Music

Emily Owen, 13th November

Keeping up their tradition of mixing contemporary repertoire and new commissions with early music, Fretwork presented an eclectic mix of Purcell Fantasias and a variety of modern works written or arranged for viol consort and soprano in tonight’s concert, part of the RCM’s annual viol festival.

**111

An evening with Gibbons: The Hilliard Ensemble and Fretwork at the Wigmore Hall

Emily Owen, 2nd October

Seeing both these ensembles live has been a dream of mine for a few years now, having been brought up with my father’s love of the Hilliard Ensemble’s collaborative recordings with jazz saxophonist Jan Gabarek. And what better place to be transported back in time with these early music experts than the Wigmore Hall.

***11

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Imogen Phoebe Webb

Imogen graduated with distinction in Contemporary Curating from Manchester School of Art, taking a particular interest in sound art. She read History of Art and Music at the University of Glasgow, receiving a prize for excellence in Performance, and enjoys a wide range of arts. She began studying voice with Patricia MacMahon in 2012, and covered 'Eve' in Scottish Opera Connect’s 2015 production of Dove’s The Walk from the Garden. In recent years she has studied with Susan Roper and Alison McGillivray, sung and performed on Baroque ‘cello and viol with Glasgow and Manchester-based ensembles.

The World Encompassed: Drake's voyage explored by Fretwork and Orlando Gough