Concerts at Cratfield

Blyth Valley Chamber Music presents six afternoon concerts on alternate Sundays each summer (July-September): the series is called Concerts at Cratfield, since for almost twenty years our concerts have taken place in the church of St Mary’s Cratfield, Suffolk (UK).  Cratfield is a small village in tranquil and rolling countryside about 5 miles (8km) west of the A12, close to Halesworth and Yoxford: click here for a local map and here for further details of the church and its facilities for concertgoers.  Concerts begin at 3pm, usually ending at around 5pm.

Our concerts are all of chamber music, from solo recitals, duos and trios through to string quartets and larger ensembles: piano quintets and string or wind sextets are the largest groups which can fit comfortably on the platform at the church.  Most concerts are purely instrumental, but singers occasionally take part too.  Our approach is simple: to invite to play for us the best young ensembles we can afford, playing pieces from the best in the repertoire to the best standard attainable by them.

We regularly feature performers with connections to the activities of Aldeburgh Music nearby: the Aldeburgh Festival in June, the winter lunchtime concerts at the Jubilee Hall and the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape.  Each Cratfield season mixes well-established works from the ‘core repertoire’ with lesser known, early and new music, including first performances.

For more detail on our history and organisation, click here to go to the ‘About’ page.