Red Priest Strings with Piers Adams
The world renowned baroque quartet Red Priest began life in 1997 as a dynamic 6-piece string ensemble fronted by recorder virtuoso Piers Adams, with the aim of performing popular baroque repertoire (including Vivaldi’s recorder concertos) with unbridled joy and energy, cutting a swathe through the increasing seriousness of the early music scene.
This early incarnation of Red Priest gave numerous performances throughout the UK before the group settled into the iconic quartet format (described by the New York Times as ‘the wildly virtuosic little band’) which has since toured the world, giving over 1500 concerts on four continents and recording seven highly acclaimed CDs.
Now, a quarter of a century later, founder members Piers Adams and violinist Julia Bishop have reassembled the original format as Red Priest Strings (running alongside the quartet) for a special series of concerts in churches and cathedrals. Led by Julia with a hand picked group of the UK's most dynamic baroque string specialists, with Red Priest stalwart David Wright at the harpsichord and of course Piers as recorder soloist, this group brings some of the most spectacular instrumental music of the baroque vividly to life.
