Baroque by candlelight… at Pall Mall on a wonderful London evening in July....

Was it an Aston Martin that I saw in the lobby of the RAC?....

Through the connection of Immediate Past Master Edward Sankey with Mark Evans, the Music Group was invited to a chamber concert at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in Pall Mall.  Mark is leading a musical appreciation group there.    

Did we care for one moment that there was a transport strike on that day?  Absolutely not!  Many interesting experiences were had in Central London that night after 11pm, as some of us met with swirling pools of hundreds of people waiting for buses.  These were so packed when they arrived that the front doors wouldn’t open – leading to rushes on the back doors - amid protests from those already comfortably inside….

Thank goodness for the earlier mind-drenching with chamber music by candlelight, in the company of good friends, and in the most elaborately beautiful surroundings…

The Onyx String Trio celebrated summer with a candlelit night of music from the Baroque period, with the compositions of Vivaldi, Handel and Bach, in an intimate drawing room setting.

Trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Onyx String Trio has graced the stages of venues all over the world including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, The Barbican Centre, Lázenské Atrium, Prague and the Matsuo Hall in Tokyo.

Their programme encompassed –

7:00 - 7:30 played Handel/Vivaldi/Bach

7:30 - 8:00 interval and chat, with wine

8:00 - 8:30 played Baroque and finished with - Vivaldi: Concerto in A Minor for 2 violins;  Concerto in D Minor; Largo from Winter (The Four Seasons); Allegro from Spring (The Four Seasons)

Handel:  Water Music Suite in F; Coro; La Paix; Trumpet Tunes; Chamber Suite in D; Arrival of the Queen of Sheba; Hornpipe in D;  Hornpipe in F; J.S.

Bach:  Air on the G String; Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring      

We waltzed and sashey-ed dreamily out into the warm London night – first debriefing at the Bar, naturally – and not forgetting to drool over the gleaming silver Aston Martin in the lobby.  Or was it a Ferrari….. 

A fabulous evening.  Many thanks to the magnanimous and elegant hospitality of  Mark Evans!

Assistant Elizabeth Consalvi