Extending from the inside: music for theorbo from the 17th to the 21st centuries

The most dramatic feature of the theorbo, the largest member of the lute family, is its long - extended - neck. The long bass strings, according to one of the earliest player-composers, Alessandro Piccinini, are the 'heart and soul' of the instrument. This recital features music by Piccinini alongside his eccentric Roman contemporary, Hieronymus Kapsberger, and the more mellifluous Frenchman Robert de Visée. Composers from our own time have become intrigued by the theorbo, and two short works by James MacMillan (motet for theorbo) and Benjamin Oliver (Extending from the Inside) show the instrument’s future as well as its past.

Elizabeth Kenny is one of Europe’s leading lute players. Her playing has been described as “incandescent” (Music and Vision), “radical” (The Independent on Sunday) and “indecently beautiful” (Toronto Post). In twenty years of touring she has played with many of the world’s best period instrument groups. With her own ensemble Theatre of the Ayre, she has created inspirational programmes of seventeenth century music, as well as a unique collaboration with members of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain: Lutes&Ukes.