2026 PROGRAMME
Following a hugely successful inaugural year, we’re delighted to return with an exciting and immersive programme for the 2026 Fletching Music & Arts Festival.
Wednesday 23 September
Fletching Parish Church
7:30pm
THE MAP OF HARMONY: EXPLORING HOW KEYS EVOKE EMOTION
Including works by Haydn, Mozart, Elgar and Brahms. Full Programme below
Have you ever wondered why certain pieces of music awaken such specific emotions within us? In this fascinating exploration, legendary Tom Service (BBC Radio 3’s Music Matters) guides us through the extraordinary world of Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart and his theories on the emotional character of musical keys, and why music can move us so deeply.
This concert is 75-80 minutes long. Refreshments will be available after the concert
Programme:
Thomas Tomkins A Sad Pavan: For These Distracted Times
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart String Quintet No. 3 in C major, K. 515 I. Allegro
Elgar Romance for Bassoon String Quartet
Felix Mendelssohn String Quintet No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 87 IV. Allegro vivace
Ludwig van Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, Op. 130 V. Cavatina – Adagio molto espressivo
Gordon Jacob Suite for Bassoon and String Quartet - I. Prelude
Benjamin Britten String Quartet No. 3, Op. 94 IV. - Burlesque
Anton Bruckner String Quintet in F major, WAB 112 III. Adagio
Carl Maria von Weber Andante e Rondo Ungarese, Op. 35, J. 158
Artists:
Nathaniel Boyd - Cello
Emma Parker - Violin
Charlotte Scott - Violin
Tom Service - Speaker
Jon Thorne - Viola
Simone Van Der Giessen - Viola
Amy Harman - Bassoon
Thursday 24 September
Fletching Parish Church
7:30pm
THE WILDWOOD QUEEN: MUSIC OF COURT AND COUNTRY
Including works by Purcell, Dowland and Blow. Full Programme below
A baroque masque drawn from Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen, alongside music by his contemporaries. The evening moves between courtly splendour and rustic revelry, led by an actor reading words from the works of Sussex playwright, John Fletcher.
This concert is 75-80 minutes long. Refreshments will be available after the concert
Programme:
Henry Purcell Excerpts from The Fairy Queen
John Dowland Fine Knacks for Ladies
Henry Purcell Hail Bright Cecilia, 'Tis Nature's Voice
John Blow Venus & Adonis, Act II: Gavotte
Henry Purcell
Hail Bright Cecilia, Wondrous Machine
Indian Queen, Act IV: II Fourth
Robert Johnson Care Charming Sleep
Henry Purcell
Indian Queen, Ye Twice Ten Hundred Deities
Indian Queen, Act II: VIII Dance
Indian Queen, Begone, Begone
Indian Queen, Why Should Men Quarrel
Here the Deities Approve
Indian Queen, Act IV: III 1st Music
Artists:
Isabelle Peters - Clorin, The Wildwood Queen
Kieran White - Alexis, The Foreign Prince
Malachy Frame - Perigot, The Iron Lord
Jonny Darbourne - Thenot, The Green Spirit
Thomas Allery - Harpsichord
Jens Franke - Theorbo
Nathan Giorgetti - Cello / Viola da gamba
Naomi Burrell - Violin
Mark Seow - Violin
Friday 25 September
Fletching Parish Church
7:30pm
VIVALDI'S FEAST: MUSIC OF VIVALDI AND THOSE HE INSPIRED
Including works by Vivaldi, Bach and Boccherini. Full Programme below
Guided by Antonio Vivaldi himself, audiences are drawn into his intoxicating world of music and storytelling, as though welcomed as guests at his own table.
This concert is 75-80 minutes long. Refreshments will be available after the concert
Programme:
Antonio Vivaldi
Concerto for Strings in C major, RV 110
Concerto for 2 Violins in G major, RV 516
Johann Sebastian Bach “Vergnügte Ruh, beliebte Seelenlust”, BWV 170
Antonio Vivaldi
Bassoon Concerto in A minor, RV 498
Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in B-flat major, RV 547
Concerto for 2 Cellos in G minor, RV 531
Giovanni Benedetto Platti Cello Concerto in D major 1st mvt
Antonio Vivaldi Salve Regina in G minor, RV 618
Johann Sebastian Bach “Erbarme dich, mein Gott” from St Matthew Passion, BWV 244
Artists:
Nathaniel Boyd - Cello
Christopher Bucknall - Harpsichord
Jonny Darbourne - Countertenor
Edgar Francis - Viola
Donald Grant - Violin
Jordi Carrasco Hjelm - Double Bass
Brian O’ Kane - Cello
Emma Parker - Violin
Tim Posner - Cello
Charlotte Scott - Violin
Jonny Stone - Violin
Jon Thorne - Viola
Friday 25 September
Fletching Parish Church
9:30pm
HIGHLAND NIGHTS: DONALD GRANT & FRIENDS
Join Highland-born fiddle player Donald Grant for an evening of traditional and contemporary Scottish music.
This concert is 60 minutes long
Highland-born fiddle player Donald Grant is joined by his stellar trio featuring guitar and double bass alongside Festival Strings for an evening of traditional and contemporary Scottish music. Fresh from performances of The Night Overtook Us with Manchester Camerata, Scottish Ensemble and Aurora Orchestra, the music draws on stories of Highland winters, wild landscapes and shared experience. Donald’s career has taken him from the Highlands of Scotland to concert halls around the world, while always remaining deeply connected to Scottish and Gaelic musical traditions.
Artists:
Donald Grant - Fiddle
Euan Burton - bass
Innes White - guitar
Jonny Stone - Violin
Emma Parker - Violin
Edgar Francis - Viola
Brian O’ Kane - Cello
Saturday 26 September
Fletching Parish Church
7:30pm
NATURE'S WAY: MUSIC AND READINGS ON NATURE, TIME, AND LOVE
Including works by Britten, Vaughan Williams and Mendelssohn. Full Programme below
An evening celebrating music by composers from across the British Isles with readings exploring the changing landscape, memory, longing, and the passing of time.
This concert is 75-80 minutes long. Refreshments will be available after the concert
Programme:
Gerald Finzi Romance, Op. 11
Benjamin Britten O Waly, Waly
John Ireland Sea Fever
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Songs of Travel: The Vagabond
Songs of Travel: The Infinite Shining Heavens
Benjamin Britten
Bourrée Classique
Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Op. 10
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor The Willow Song
Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Ivor Gurney Down by the Salley Gardens
Benjamin Britten The Trees They Grow So High
William Walton Anon in Love: No. 2, Touch Her Soft Lips and Part
Herbert Hughes The Cloths of Heaven
Max Bruch Kol Nidrei, Op. 47
Felix Mendelssohn Six Duets, Op. 63: No. 5, Volkslied
Lennox Berkeley Serenade for Strings, Op. 12: I. Vivace
Ina Boyle The Joy of Earth
Artists:
Nathaniel Boyd - Cello
Edgar Francis - Viola
Donald Grant - Violin
Jordi Carrasco Hjelm - Double Bass
Emma Parker - Violin
Isabelle Peters - Soprano
Tim Posner - Cello
Charlotte Scott - Violin
Jonny Stone - Violin
Jon Thorne - Viola
Roderick Williams - Baritone
James Wilby - Speaker