Zoe Beyers at Cound Church - review

The programme was called 'Bach by candlelight', the setting the beautiful, slightly austere parish church at Cound. The candle-lighting provided the perfect setting for the capacity audience to be moved by this unique music.

Zoe prefaced the recital with an eloquent statement; she has a lifelong commitment to Bach’s work, an endless study which constantly reveals new facets of the compositions. She ended her remarks by dedicating the last item to the memory of her father.

Bach authority Julian Haylock described these works as standing at the very pinnacle of Bach’s creative achievement. I suspect Ms. Beyers would agree with those thoughts, for it seems miraculous that four strings can produce fugues which are every bit as impressive as compositions for ensembles of any size.

Just like last year, Zoe’s playing was the result of profound study, allied to a feeling of freedom of expression which seemed almost improvisatory.

Her tone was rich and mellow and always rhythmically alive. Once again they were performances of great delicacy and maximum virility; surely the writing of the greatest composer of western classical music.

Shropshire Music Trust’s next event is on Saturday October 27, when the London Mozart players will be at St. Alkmund’s Church at 7.30pm, after an afternoon of fun called 'Ferdinand the Bull' for two-to-10 year olds (and parents and grandparents!)

By Andrew Petch