Toad Lane Concerts: Impromptu trio saves the day

Alastair Roberts, Peter Collier and Roger Bisby

Toad Lane Concerts got a stark reminder that Covid is still with us. The organiser got a phone call at 4pm the day before the weekly concert due to take place on Wednesday 3 August with the news that the booked harpist had tested positive.

Fortuitously, the artiste’s father is a first-rate musician with talented friends and was able to involve two of them quickly to save the day.

Leading this musical triumvirate, flautist Alastair Roberts, is an RNCM graduate who taught in schools whilst playing regularly with groups such as the Cheshire Sinfonia and Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra.

Cellist Roger Bisby has also played regularly in various groups whilst also reading Chemistry at university (now a Professor Emeritus of the University of Salford).

Peter Collier is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and London University and has been the director of the Baroque Week Summer School for over 40 years. All three are members of the Telemann Baroque Ensemble.

The audience was expecting a solo harp but got a harpsichord instead, with a flute and cello thrown in for good measure. The impromptu concert, far from being cobbled up, drew on many years of high-quality ensemble and solo playing.

The audience was truly satisfied with a full programme of music (with witty introductions from Peter). Consisting of flute composers Carl Abel and King Frederick the Great; Elizabethan keyboard pieces by Byrd and Dowland where the silvery tones of the harpsichord rang out clearly in the generous acoustic of St Mary in the Baum; and finishing with more trio music from the French left-handed flautist, Michel Blavet and Handel.

Although everyone wishes the unfortunate artiste a speedy recovery, the organisers will also need some time to recover!

The Queen’s Award-winning Toad Lane Concerts are every Wednesday at 12.30pm at the Grade 1 listed St Mary in the Baum, Toad Lane, Rochdale, OL16 1DZ. Entrance fee is £6. No refreshments available now, but the venue is Covid-19 compliant. Contact 01706 648872 for further information.

To see details of forthcoming Toad Lane Concerts, click here.

Dr Joe Dawson