Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Composer
His times: Now it’s the Czech Republic; in Dvořák’s time it was Bohemia – an Austrian crown land that was effectively more ‘European’ in a musical sense than it was Slavic.
Read MoreMargaret Faultless
The violinist Margaret Faultless is one of the OAE’s four leaders and regularly directs the orchestra.
Read MoreIdle Fret
DJ
Over the last three years Idle Fret have put on shows at The Lock Tavern, The Social, The Shacklewell Arms and The London Palladium and have released records by Stealing Sheep, We Were Evergreen and Listing Ships.
Read More
Olivia Chaney
Singer-songwriter
Multi-instrumentalist and accomplished lyricist and vocalist, the London-based singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney has built a loyal and growing audience, both in the UK and internationally, following her eponymous debut EP in 2013.
Read MoreMatthew Locke (1621-1677)
Composer
The Man:
Matthew Locke was born in Exeter, Devon and trained as a chorister at the Cathedral there. He lived through the English Civil War and left the country in favour of the Netherlands at the age of eighteen. After returning to England, he and his friend Christopher Gibbons wrote the score to various plays and operas, including Cupid and Death by James Shirley. He then went on to serve King Charles, as Composer of the Wind Music and Composer for the Violins. The successor for this role was none other than Locke’s childhood friend; Henry Purcell and it’s believed that Locke may have had some influence on the young Purcell.
Not much is written about Locke as a person, but it’s believed that he had very long wavy hair and wore a tiny beard, no bigger than that of a child’s thumb print. In June last year, Exeter Cathedral took down one of their organs and, in doing so, found graffiti left by a teenager Matthew Locke. As you might imagine, this was very exciting for all involved (until they covered it up again with a new organ). You can watch a short video about it here.
The Music:
Today Locke’s instrumental music is considered to be among the finest of the 17th century and his Melothesia treatise was one of the earliest English works to deal with Certain General Rules for playing upon a Continued Bass.
You can hear music from Locke’s Tempest, along with music from John Blow and Purcell at The Night Shift this Thursday at The Old Queen’s Head.
BOOK TICKETS
Read MoreLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Composer
The Man: Beethoven’s father Johann is known to have been an alocholic who was abusive towards him as a child. Johann would force the young Ludwig to practice all of the time, slamming the piano cover on his knuckles if he made a mistake and providing little to no positive reinforcement if he got it right.
Ludwig knew from the age of 26 that he had problems with his hearing and by the end of his life he was completely deaf. It’s thought that this made him irritable, over-sensitive, petulant and withdrawn. But throughout all that, he remained ever sure of himself.
Read MoreZeb Soanes
Presenter
Zeb Soanes is a familiar voice across the BBC. He is a Radio 4 Newsreader for those who wake up to The Today Programme and puts the nation to bed with the Shipping Forecast.
Read MoreShe Makes War
Artist
She Makes War is the gloom-pop solo project of Bristol based multi-instrumentalist, visual artist and digital polymath Laura Kidd, whose independent albums “Disarm” and “Little Battles” and latest release “The Butterflies Audiovisual EP” have gained her an ardent international following.
Read MoreThe Boy Dan Good
DJ
The Boy Dan Good AKA Daniel Benedictus is a presenter and producer at Absolute Radio, and spends most of his waking life talking or playing music.
Read MoreTaube Brahms
Singer/Songwriter
Up and coming singer/songwriter Taube Brahms has already started making a name for herself on the London music scene.
Read MoreHeinrich Biber (1644-1704)
Composer
Biber/The Man
Biber was born on a large estate in 1644, in the small town of Waternberg, where his father was the huntsman.
Jessica Irvine
Singer
Self taught singer-songwriter Jessica Irvine has played in London, New York and Northern Queensland.
Read MoreChips For The Poor
DJ
Described as ‘The sound of two worlds colliding’ by Marc Riley of 6Music, Chips For The Poor have been making a name for themselves on the London music scene for a while. Harder to pin down than a giraffe, their love for the obscure conjures up images of a future imagined in the