A special evening of music and readings in Dilton Marsh

THE Holy Trinity Church in Dilton Marsh is set to welcome The Bridge String Quartet with Christopher Kent on Friday 31st March from 7pm.

They will perform Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross as part of the church’s evening of music and readings from Lent.

Organisers say, “The 31st March 2023 marks the 291st anniversary of the birth of Joseph Haydn. Holy Trinity Church is delighted to let you know that, following their highly acclaimed sell-out concert at nearby Boyton Church in April of last year, the celebrated Bridge Quartet return to perform the great composer’s work – Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross.

“The Bridge Quartet’s Colin Twigg is first violinist at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The concert will recreate Haydn’s original plan by interspersing the music with readings of classic and contemporary poetry, including works by Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Mary Oliver, and Philip Larkin. These will be read by the acclaimed actor Christopher Kent. Some of you may remember the moving recital of poems and piano music – Never Such Innocence – which Christopher brought to nearby Sutton Veny in 2018.

“Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross was originally commissioned by the Bishop of Cadiz in 1786 for the Good Friday Service at the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva. The Bridge Quartet programme was performed to acclaim in London during Easter 2019 and revived for a memorable live-streamed lockdown performance on Good Friday 2021. It had its first Wiltshire performance at Boyton Church in the Wylye Valley in April 2022.”

The concert will run for 75 minutes with no break. Given the sell-out success of the April 2022 performance, tickets priced at £12.00, to include a glass of wine or juice, are likely to sell out fast.

To place an order, please contact William Mitchell on boyton7lw@gmail.com detailing the number of seats required.

Tickets also available in church from Garth Brocksopp on 01373 822414.

This is a not-for-profit event with all proceeds being donated to Holy Trinity Church, Dilton Marsh which is one of Wiltshire’s outstanding Victorian churches.

Famous for its remarkable Romanesque style architecture, it is bursting with historical interest and provides an appropriately intimate and acoustic setting for the concert.