Monday 24 March 2014

Seven Last Words and an Earthquake

Ruth Padel
Ruth Padel
What to do with Haydn's Seven Last Words? It is ideal string quartet repertoire for Lent, but programming is a problem in a work designed to be interspersed with sermons - an option few concert promoters would dare risk nowadays. The Aspect Foundation is presenting the Endellion String Quartet in Haydn's great work, and they are interspersing the movements with Ruth Padel's poetry, Seven Words and an Earthquake. Each of Haydn's movements is a meditation on one of Christ's last words, and each of Padel's poems ends with the Word, setting up an interesting tension and dialogue with the music.

Ruth Padel will be reading her own poetry, with the poems taken from her forthcoming collection of poems on and around the Middle East (Learning to Play an Oud in Nazareth, Chatto, July 2014). She is joined by the Endellion String Quartet who have just celebrated their 35 anniversary. The concert takes place at the 20th Century Theatre, Westbourne Grove on 26 March 2014 at 7.30pm. Further information from the Aspect Foundation website.

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