Fretwork

Experience the bright new surface of contemporary music refracted through the warm dark glow of a sixteenth century consort of viols with the renowned Fretwork. Contemporary composers are queuing up to write for the ensemble’s fabulous strange dark sound. Try Barry Guy’s Buss, inspired by jazz bass player Charlie Mingus, Orlando Gough’s Birds on Fire based on klezmer tuners or Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, whose cool ritualistic atmosphere might have been written for viols.

Pre-concert Talk: “Composing for the Viol Today” – Steph Power in conversation with founder member of Fretwork, Richard Boothby