Dorking Concertgoers Society presents Bott & Bowman

James Bowman is one of the world’s most admired and best-loved counter-tenors. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has performed everything from early music, through opera and oratorio, to premieres of major works by Britten, Tippett and Maxwell Davies.

Soprano Catherine Bott is known both for her command of baroque music and her witty way with songs by Noel Coward and Joyce Grenfell. She’s a regular presenter on BBC Radio 3, and it was a live edition of her Early Music Show that gave birth to the inspired duo of Bott and Bowman, when they sang Purcell’s immortal duet Sound the trumpet to end the programme.

Performed with piano accompaniment, this captivating recital celebrates the long friendship of two great artists.

Thanks to their extensive and eclectic repertoire, Bott & Bowman’s Badinage can be customised to suit different festival themes and locations. Two recent examples: A Midsummer Night with Bott and Bowman, a fairy-themed programme for the Spitalfields Festival, and Bott and Bowman Make Waves, a matinée musicale maritime for the Brighton Early Music Festival.

"A Midsummer Night with Bott and Bowman" occupies a Shakespearian setting in the first half, featuring works by Britten, Dove, Linley, Mendelssohn, Purcell, Sullivan and Tippett. The second half of the programme is light-hearted and consists of surprises introduced by the artists, which might range from Gershwin to Coward and even Flanders and Swann!