Music in Peebles explores the baroque era next week, as Duo Dorado play at the town’s Eastgate Theatre on Friday, December 14.
The duo’s lively presentation and thoughtful programming combine the best-loved masterpieces from the 17th and 18th centuries with lesser-known gems.
“Hazel Brooks plays the baroque violin and also the seldom-heard viola d’amore, a forerunner of the modern viola,” writes the society’s president John Fox, “while David Pollock plays a harpsichord decorated with eighteenth-century painting and gold leaf.”
“Duo Dorado’s performances are a feast for the eyes as well as the ears,” adds their publicist.
Their programme takes the audience across Europe with music from Italy, France, Germany and England by some of the great baroque masters including Bach, Handel, Corelli, Couperin, Vivaldi, and rare treats like Gottfried Finger. Their introductions, often with contemporary readings and anecdotes, help to bring the music vividly to life.
After the concert, there will be a Christmas social event in the Eastgate café-bar (to which all ticket-holders are invited), with complimentary wine, soft drinks, nibbles and a chance to meet and chat to the musicians.
The show starts at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £13 from the Eastgate Box Office (tel.01721 725777). Entry is free for school students and members of Music in Peebles.
Five more concerts are planned this season, starting with Scottish pianist Steven Osborne in a programme of Schubert and Beethoven on Tuesday, January 8, 2013.
Details can be found at www.musicinpeebles.org.uk – alternatively, pick up a leaflet at the Eastgate Theatre or in local libraries.