Concert- Musicians of All Saints

The most intriguingly titled piece of classical music you’re likely to hear in a long time, ‘Hallucination in a Five Mile Fog’, is the opener in the second of the Musicians of All Saints much loved annual concerts in Hamsey Old Church. “It’s written by Joshua Chan, who was brought up in Hong Kong, and it is to do with the feelings you get in the heat of a polluted city”, says Andrew Sherwood, the director of the MAS, and one of two violinists in tonight’s string quartet. “It is an attractive, highly contrapuntal, densely-written work, a contemporary piece written in a classical style with some Chinese influences”, he continues. “We will be following it with a piece by Haydn (Quartet Op 20 in D major), who we have played in each one of these concerts, and one by Mozart (Quarter K589 in B flat major). I never cease to be amazed by Haydn. In effect he started up this genre of music, and produced 45 really great quartets: no-one has ever written anything better”.

The concert will take place in Hamsey Old Church. “It’s a lovely venue, a true Norman church,” he continues. “There’s no electricity in the church, so half way through the concert we light candles”. The other performers in the quartet are Sophie Greenhalgh (violin) Ellie Blackshaw (viola) and Peter Copley (cello). There will be wine served during the interval. If it’s wet and windy, dress up warm, as there is no heating in the church. AG