From the aulos to the oboe, the lyre to the concert harp – with Melinda Maxwell and Hugh Webb

The aulos, the first known oboe, was a double reed pipe played first in ancient Greece although in one guise or another it remained the principal wind instrument of most ancient Middle Eastern peoples. The pipes were equal in length, held one in each hand and sounded simultaneously.

The lyre was the chosen instrument of Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry - 'the embodiment of harmony and artistic expression'.

Oboist Melinda Maxwell has long been fascinated by the aulos and during COVID she started to study it in depth. Check in to the second half of this post on her site for more details.

Harpist Hugh Webb has been equally fascinated by the lyre, the long distant ancester of his much loved harp. So recently he treated himself to a lyre so that he could trace that route in person.

PROGRAMME

Melinda and Hugh will take us on a musical journey starting with the ancient Greeks but then rolling on though the ages. Stopping off briefly with Marin Marais and CPE Bach in the early 18th century, skipping nearly two hundred years to Debussy and Ravel and finally arriving at a new work for harp and oboe by Simon Holt.

SUPPER:

The concert will be followed by a buffet supper as always.

TICKET 'PRICE':

Because we are not a public venue we cannot 'sell' tickets. Instead we ask you to make a donation - suggested minimum £35 per ticket.
Of this, £5 from each ticket will go to the Camden Music Trust. The Trust supports music in Camden schools with particular emphasis on children who might not otherwise have access to instruments or music lessons.
The remaining £30 enables us to pay our musicians a reasonable fee with any surplus going towards the cost of supper and wine.

ABOUT THE PLAYERS:

Melinda Maxwell

Melinda Maxwell is an oboe player, improviser, composer and educator with mighty library of compositions, commissions, recordings, and educational posts.   For more see her website.

Hugh Webb

Hugh has worked extensively in the contemporary music field and has had many solo works written for him. Classical CD recordings include Bax’s Concerto for Flute, Oboe and Harp, a collection of Bach Flute Sonatas, Villalobos’ Quartet, Bax’s Fantasy Sonata and the complete Spohr Violin and Harp Sonatas. His most recent recordings are of French Renaissance songs with the medieval group, Joglaresa and of solo and chamber music by Nino Rota.