NORWICH BAROQUE
CHAMBER PLAYERS
Phantasticus! 17th-century music from both sides of the Alps
Jim O’Toole, violin
Kate Bennett Wadsworth, viola da gamba
Sarah Ridy, triple harp
Matthew Wadsworth, theorbo
Saturday 30th August 2025, 7.30pm, St. Botolph’s Church, Trunch.
The audience for ‘classical music’ is well familiar with instrumental music from Corelli to Stravinsky, but largely ignores some wonderful repertoire composed before and since. This program highlights instrumental music composed in Austria and Italy in the 17th century, a time when composers innovated and experimented with musical forms, and explored the technical possibilities and distinct sonorities of individual instruments, including the triple harp (a type of multi-course harp employing three parallel rows of strings instead of the more common single row) and the theorbo, a plucked string instrument of the lute family. The theorbo is 2 metres long!
