Britain/Ireland has a prodigious library of musical works which in the 21^st Century seems to be somewhat neglected by the main classical media in favour of more foreign influences. We seem sometimes to be in the situation that Delius in the late 1920’s complained of, not one piece of British music in a whole week on the BBC.

The group will aim to fill in that gap for its members.

We will generally meet on the Second Friday afternoon of the month at 2pm.

The group will concentrate on British composers and others, such as Haydn (London Symphony), Percy Grainger (Shepherd’s Hey), closely connected with the British musical scene through the last four centuries. It could also include those who have had a massive influence on British Classical music (J S Bach for instance) although not, at the time, directly connected to Britain/Ireland.

The schedule of each meeting can be varied depending on the musical choices for the particular meeting and will usually involve an interval of about 20 minutes for refreshments and a chat.  If the meeting involves a particularly long piece, refreshments and chat could be at the beginning or end but would normally be in the middle.

Members will have the opportunity to make their choices for future meetings and it is hoped that individual members will each make the up a concert choice.

The only requirement is a love of classical music; maximum membership is 10.

The programme of one of our meetings:

Part one:
Haydn Wood – London Landmarks suite
1 Nelsons Column (4.02)
2 Tower Hill (6.02)
3 The Horse Guards, Whitehall (3.35)
John Rutter – Visions (20.33)
1 Processional and prelude: Jerusalem the Blessed (2.46)
2 Arise, shine (4.34)
3 Lament for Jerusalem (6.49)
4 Finale: The Holy City (6.10)
Delius Sea Drift (25.05)
- Interval -
Part two:
John Tavener - Love Bade Me Welcome (4.51) Choir of St John’s College, 
William Walton – Symphony No 1 (Revised Edition 1968) (43.10)