Dutch Masters: Lucie Horsch

BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert

Music by a Dutch bell-maker, a Prussian princess and an Italian nun in this delightful recital for recorder and harpsichord.

Jacob van Eyck may be a new name to some: a remarkable figure in 17th-century Utrecht, he was blind, an expert on bells, and a virtuoso recorder player. He wrote ‘Der Flyten Lust-Hof’ (The Flute’s Pleasure Garden) for solo recorder in the 1640s.

Anna Amalia of Prussia, sister to Frederick the Great, was a princess, abbess and accomplished composer, whose chamber works include this charming Sonata.

The Italian Isabella Leonarda was a prolific 17th-century composer, who lived in a convent for most of her life. Her Sonata duodecima is mysterious, sensuous and vigorous in turn.

Jean-Marie Leclair was a French contemporary of Bach. The sonatas of both are gently melancholic and beautifully arranged for recorder. Into the mix comes Britten, with his playful character studies from Ovid.

Lucie Horsch, the youngest-ever winner of the Dutch Music Award, is a passionate advocate for the recorder. She is joined here by Jonathan Cohen, conductor, cellist and internationally renowned harpsichordist.

Programme: Johann Sebastian Bach · Sonata in E minor BWV 1034 · Jacob van Eyck · English Nightingale from ‘Der Fluyten Lust-Hof’ · Anna Amalia of Prussia · Sonata in B-flat major · Benjamin Britten · Excerpts from ‘Six Metamorphoses after Ovid’ · Isabella Leonarda · Sonata duodecima · Jean-Marie Leclair · Sonata Op 9 No 2 — Lucie Horsch recorder · Jonathan Cohen harpsichord