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Music

Hearing Gilbert & Sullivan on period instruments was a revelation

27 April 2019

9:00 AM

27 April 2019

9:00 AM

‘I consider that music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all,’ wrote Stravinsky in one of his more honest moments, and when it comes to humour the old fox had a point. Strip away words, visuals, parody and extra-musical associations (the flatulent bassoon; the raspberry-blowing trumpet) and Orpheus, unaided, doesn’t have much left in his comic armoury.

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