The Mad Lover review – eccentric charm and baroque brilliance as duo move from Eccles to Indiana Jones
Smith Square Hall, LondonPart of the London Festival of Baroque Music, lutenist Thomas Dunford and violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s concert struck a balance between freewheeling music-making and precise virtuosityThe...
By Erica Jeal · The Guardian Culture
Smith Square Hall, London Part of the London Festival of Baroque Music, lutenist Thomas Dunford and violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte’s concert struck a balance between freewheeling music-making and precise virtuosity The Mad Lover was a 1616 play with incidental music by the English composer John Eccles. But, as the lutenist Thomas Dunford explained, we didn’t really need to know that: he and the violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte just liked the title. You can imagine it fitting many more programmes this duo might play together in the future – as they surely should, judging by the amount of fun they were having here. The two recorded this 75-minute programme of music by Eccles and his 17th-century contemporaries back in 2020, but this performance of it was their first in London. It was part of the week-long London Festival of Baroque Music – the last before a two-year break while the festival’s venue, Smith Square Hall, is refurbished – and struck a balance between freewheeling music-making and precise virtuosity. Continue reading...