Music at St Mary’s – Teatime Concert 

Adrian Partington and Leora Cohen  – Saturday 19 September 2026

Those who had been concerned about whether a teatime concert was a good idea need not have worried  – people came from far and wide (well – Hatherop, Cirencester and even Filkins!),  resulting in a well-filled church for our visiting performers.

Leora Cohen is a young violinist specialising in chamber and solo work; Adrian Partington many of us were aware of as not only the Director of Music at Gloucester Cathedral but (more importantly!)  quite a frequent visitor to Fairford as President of the Fairford and District Choral Society.

They gave us a memorable and varied programme of music – from baroque to classical to twentieth century.

The Bach sonata in A Major demonstrated expert interaction between violinist and accompanist as they shared the intertwining fugue-like themes, with Bach as usual surprising us with the modern-ness of his tunes and rhythms. Beethoven’s well-loved Spring Sonata gave us the full range of the violin’s beautiful tones, again with soloist and pianist exchanging its lovely singable melodies.   The adagio showed how the violin could be almost silent while the piano held the tune, but then could burst into life with the theme played with full expression.  The scherzo contained some very skilful passing of the tune between both players, with a hairsbreadth of a beat in between them; while the rondo provided mounting excitement.

The Elgar Violin Sonta in E Minor was a complex work which is more dramatic than either of the earlier pieces, eliciting bravura performances from both players.  It showcased melodic beauty as in the Allegro, non troppo and then punchy chords in the violin in the last movement.     The concert was rounded off by Heifetz’s arrangement of tunes from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess, including the famous Summertime and It Ain’t Necessarily So.   Although the tunes were well-known, the virtuoso arrangement sprang a lot of extra surprises – challenges to which Leora rose admirably.

The concert was very well organised – from the complexity of hiring and tuning a Yamaha grand piano, to the clear, attractive programmes, to the aptness of a closing prayer from Caroline.

Many thanks to the organising committee – Jackie Cullum, Jane-Emma Peerless, Alison Godsal and Revd Caroline.  Thanks, and appreciation also to Helen Evans, Ros Wightman and Val Trafford who delivered a very efficient tea and cake operation, of which concert-goers availed themselves enthusiastically.

Lucy Hodson

Updated 22nd September 2026