Legacy page: Lectures by Jeanne Dolmetsch (1942-2018)

Jeanne Dolmetsch was a popular lecturer for the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts.

Her breathtaking collection of slides and recordings has been seen and heard throughout the country, on the continent of Europe and formed part of a NADFAS tour to Australia and New Zealand in August-September 2009. Jeanne died on 29 October 2018.

Concerts and Lectures

The Dolmetsch Ensemble was a group of soloists who have performed together over many years in the Haslemere Festival. The ensemble specialised in interpretations of music from the 16th to 18th centuries and offers a rich spectrum of tone colours - recorders, viols, oboe, flute, violin, oboe d'amore, lute, voice, harpsichord and piano.

In addition to their concerts of period music, the ensemble has become well-known their historical lecture-recitals illustrated with slides and their programmes of poetry, prose and music. Many themes are explored through words and music drawn from the twelfth century to the present day. The programmes on English life, its characters and customs have received particular acclaim. The ensemble has performed in historic venues all over the country and each programme is adapted to reflect the venue and the season when it is presented.

LECTURES with slides and recorded music that Jeanne Dolmetsch presented included:

Prelude to Christmas
A Christmas Pie
Music and Instruments at the Tudor Courts
Music and Instruments of the 16th-18th centuries
Music in the time of Charles I and Charles II
Le Roi Soleil - Music at the Court of Louis XIV
Music in Georgian England (1714-1760)
Music and Manners in 18th-century England
The Art and Craft of Making Early Musical Instruments
Arnold Dolmetsch and the Early Music Renaissance
Carl Dolmetsch - The Recorder was his Life