Consort of Two (2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival – EVENT 4)

What happens when music conceived for many voices is reimagined as an intimate dialogue between voice and viol? And what new colours emerge when songs are paired with one of the most expressive instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque?

In Consort of Two, mezzo-soprano Lente Louw and viola da gamba player Rosamund Roth explore a rich musical landscape spanning the 16th and 17th centuries. Drawing on madrigals, chansons, lute songs and early Baroque airs by composers including Caccini, Dowland, Monteverdi, Hume and Purcell, the programme reflects a period in which music was remarkably fluid. Beloved melodies were continually reworked, adapted for different forces, and reshaped by performers, blurring the boundaries between composition, arrangement and improvisation.

The title Consort of Two playfully reimagines the traditional consort, usually understood as a larger ensemble. Historically, the viola da gamba occupied a unique role as both a melodic and accompanying instrument, capable of sustaining intricate polyphony while engaging in expressive dialogue with the voice. This programme embraces that tradition, allowing two performers to evoke the richness of much larger textures while celebrating the remarkable expressive possibilities of just two musicians.

Blending the expressive warmth of the mezzo-soprano with the dusky resonance of the viola da gamba, Consort of Two celebrates the imagination, adaptability and rhetorical power of early music, inviting audiences to experience this extraordinary repertoire through a fresh and deeply personal musical conversation.

With members of Lutesong Consort: Lente Louw (mezzo soprano) and Rosamund Roth (viola da gamba)

Date: Sunday, 27 September
Time: 16:00-17:00
Programme duration: 60 mins
Venue: Sufi Temple, Newlands
Tickets: R280, R250 (pensioners), R100 (scholars/students)

Enquiries can be directed to [email protected].

BOOK HERE

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This is Event 4 in our 2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival. Click here for a downloadable summary of all the festival events. We are offering a limited number of discounted festival passes, which include access to all four festival concerts (i.e., excluding Event 1, which is an educational event). Book a festival pass here.

The 2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival is generously supported by the Rupert Musiekstigting, the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, Bill van Rensburg, and Gillian Lindner.