Fugue Fest

This concert is a celebration of one of music history’s most intricate and challenging compositional forms in all its guises, from solemn mastery to playful parody. The programme traces the evolution of the fugue from the prototypes in the hands of Frescobaldi to the crowning achievements in the hands of J. S. Bach, before proceeding to Clara Schumann’s and Shostakovich’s attempts at homage to this venerable genre.

In the second half, Fugue Fest loosens its collar and laughs at itself, as the fugue’s academic rigour is turned on its head by musical humourists Erik Satie and Peter Schickele (aka P. D. Q. Bach). Their witty takes expose the absurdities and joys lurking beneath contrapuntal perfection.

The evening culminates in Ernst Toch’s Geographical Fugue for spoken chorus, which will unite the performers in a joyous, collective tribute to the fugue’s astonishing endurance and versatility.

tickets

• Free, but should be booked.