5 July 2004
Voice and Violin
In the first of the additional events of this Festival, David Roth, second
violin of the Allegri for more than thirty years, was joined by the tenor
Alexander Massey in a recital held at The Institute in Llanfyllin. A small
but intensely curious audience assembled for this, as the combination is not
a familiar one, and the programme was introduced by the performers. It included
folk songs arranged by Alexander Massey, Ten Blake Songs by Vaughan Williams,
Four Songs Op35 by Holst, a solo violin fantasia by Telemann, Four Hungarian
Folk Songs by Matyas Seiber and the Quatre Poemes de Catulle by Milhaud,
and culminated in a rousing rendition of O sole mio as an encore. To judge
from comments overheard during and after the concert, the audience found
the variety of repertoire fascinating and the performances brilliant.