A Heavenly Harmony

Celebrate the life and legacy of Orlando Gibbons – one of England’s most cherished composers – with an intimate evening of exquisite viol consort music. Performed by the renowned Chelys Consort of Viols, this programme traces Gibbons’ musical journey through sacred anthems, rich fantasias, and iconic works like ‘The Silver Swan’ and ‘This Is the Record of John’. Alongside Gibbons’ masterpieces, the concert features music by his brother Edward, his contemporaries Byrd, Tomkins, and Dowland, and later echoes in the sublime works of Purcell, creating a tapestry of English musical heritage spanning generations.

Orlando Gibbons ‘As on the night before this Blessed Morn’ (Song 46)
Tomkins Voluntary, MB 30; ‘My Shepherd is the Living Lord’
Byrd Fantasia a 5, ‘Two parts in one in the fourth above’
Gibbons ‘Glorious and Powerful God’
Edward Gibbons ‘What Strikes the Clocke’; ‘How Hath the City’
Orlando Gibbons Fantasia a3 ‘for the great double bass’ No. 1; ‘Almighty and Everlasting God’

INTERVAL

Gibbons ‘Grant, O Holy Trinity’
Dowland ‘Flow My Tears’
Gibbons Pavan, MB17; ‘Behold, Thou hast made my days’
Purcell Rejoice in the Lord Alway, Z49; Fantasia upon one note in D, Z745
Gibbons ‘This Is The Record of John'; 'The Silver Swan’