The viol lives!

The viol consort did not die but was only sleeping! The six viols of Fretwork with the mezzo-soprano Clare Wilkinson continue their celebration of Purcell at the Wigmore Hall this weekend with a programme mixing 17th century items with those of later centuries. Purcell is represented by the songs O Solitude and Music For a While, the Fantazia Upon One Note and another four-part fantazia. While these are matched with fantasias and fantasies by Gibbons and Byrd, the rest of the programme includes arrangements of works written when the viol consort was supposedly dead - Schubert, Debussy, Shostakovich, Wolf and Warlock for instance. Sonnets and fantasies by Alexander Goehr and world premieres of works by Duncan Druce and John Joubert confirm the viol's late 20th century resurrection.

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