Everyone makes mis­takes and the path to self-accep­tance and redemp­tion is some­times long and dark. Anger and remorse are uni­ver­sal feel­ings; self-accep­tance and for­give­ness should be equal­ly uni­ver­sal. The entire range of feel­ings engen­dered by that spir­i­tu­al jour­ney can be found in the music of this con­cert by Ayres Extemporae, win­ners of the York Early Music International Young Artists Competition 2024. The jour­ney begins in dark­ness with Locke’s Pavane, then moves on to reflec­tion in slow Bach Sonatas. It is only when we reach Bach’s sooth­ing Sonata in G that there is room for for­give­ness and self-com­pas­sion. All’s well that ends well! 

With music by Matthew Locke (ca.1621/1622 – 1677), Heinrich Ignaz Biber (1644−1704) & Johann Sebastian Bach (1685−1750).