Florilegium at Hintlesham Hall | October 2023

Florilegium – one of the country’s leading early music ensembles – present a celebration of Baroque music in the perfect chamber sized salon of Hintlesham Hall, an Elizabethan manor house remodelled with a Georgian facade in the 1740s, neatly bookending the musical and artistic period we will be celebrating. 

The musical programme has been devised by Florilegium’s leader, flautist Ashley Solomon, Chair and Head of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music. In four signature concerts, we will enjoy a musical odyssey celebrating the music of France, Italy, Germany and England. In an extract from Rameau’s Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts, the composer’s late work displays his mastery of composition on the harpsichord, but we will also delight in lesser known composers such as Morel and Rebel. Likewise, Vivaldi’s Concert in D Major is our introduction to works including Corelli’s violin sonata and Barsanti’s collection of Scots Airs.

In Father, Son and Godfather, Florilegium pay respect to the master, J S Bach, his son C P E Bach, and his son’s Godfather, Georg Philipp Telemann, one of the most prolific and highly regarded composers of the Baroque era, who will be represented by his Fantasia for solo violin and Paris Quarter in B Minor. The final concert in our programme will pay tribute to the English Connection, including Purcell’s Two in One upon a Ground and Handel’s Concerto a Quattro in D Minor, and taking us back in time to the 16th and early 17th centuries with a series of Grounds including Greensleeves and John Come Kiss Me Now.

Complementing and illuminating the concert series, Ashley Solomon will give a series of talks introducing Baroque music, exploring the selected compositions, and discussing aspects of historical performance. In addition, Ashley will provide a demonstration recital in which he will reveal both the beauty and the challenges of the Baroque flute.

Two daytime visits will complete our tour: marking the end of the Baroque era and the beginning of the Classical period, the recently refurbished Gainsborough’s House museum features over sixty works by the artist displayed in his childhood home. We will also enjoy a privileged visit to Glemham Hall, a delightful 16th century country house surrounded by 300 acres of Suffolk parkland. We will enjoy a private guided tour of the Hall with refreshments and an opportunity to see the elegant gardens. 

We will stay throughout at the beautiful four-star Hintlesham Hall Hotel, which enjoys classically decorated rooms and comfortable areas in which to relax, all located within 175 acres of Suffolk countryside. All lunches and dinners will be taken in the hotel’s award-winning restaurant, which serves seasonal menus in elegant, traditionally decorated surroundings. 

 
This tour will be led by flautist and recorder player Professor Ashley Solomon, a Fellow of the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, Chair and Head of Historical Performance at the Royal College of Music, and Director of early music ensemble Florilegium. With Florilegium, who have performed numerous times at classical music festivals including the York Early Music Festival, he has recorded 35 CDs on the Dutch Channel Classics label, many of which have garnered international awards. Florilegium have performed over 1300 concerts worldwide, including many at London’s Wigmore Hall. Ashley has been working with Bolivian musicians since 2002 to promote the music of Moxos and Chiquitos Indians and in 2008 received the prestigious Bolivian Hans Roth Prize.

FLORILEGIUM

“Fine, incisive playing, honest and heartfelt. Crisp, imaginative and individual playing”

- The Independent

Co-founded by Ashley Solomon in 1991, regular performances in some of the world’s most prestigious venues have confirmed Florilegium’s status as one of Britain’s most outstanding period instrument ensembles. From the Wigmore Hall to the Sydney Opera House, the ensemble are renowned for their stylish and exciting interpretations of Baroque chamber music. Florilegium’s award winning recordings include the complete Bach Brandenburg Concertos and their Bach Cantatas disc with Johannette Zomer.

Musicians at Hintlesham Hall

Ashley Solomon (Director, Baroque flute) has performed worldwide, both with Florilegium and as a soloist, and his recording of the complete Bach Flute Sonatas was voted the best version of these works by Gramophone magazine.

Bojan Čičić (Baroque violin) is one of the rising stars in the world of period performance. In addition to Florilegium, he has performed with the Academy of Ancient Music and his own ensemble, the Illyria Consort, specialising in rare 17th and 18th century repertoire from the Venetian Republic and Habsburg Empire.
 
Reiko Ichise (viola da gamba) was born in Tokyo and came to Britain as a scholarship student in 1991 to study gamba with Richard Boothby. She is recognised as one of the leading viola da gamba players in the UK.

Dominika Maszczynska (harpsichord) performs on a variety of historical keyboard instruments. As both a soloist and continuo player, she has performed with ensembles including the London Baroque Orchestra and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2020, she made recordings for Erddig/National Trust on the original Broadwood square piano and Collard & Collard piano from 1876.