Melancholy private lute music by John Dowland from Margaret Board's Lute Book cicra 1620. The "Preludium" begins simply but quickly develops into a more demanding and dynamic piece.
This is an instrumental version of the lute song 'Now, oh now I needs must part'. It takes the frog name from the French suitor of Queen Elizabeth I, the Duc d'Anjou. It is lively and energetic.
Fantasia No. 7 is a brilliant showcase of John Dowland's compositional and technical prowess, demonstrating a joyful and vibrant side that contrasts with his more famous sad songs. It is a highly contrapuntal work, built on the elaborate development of short musical motives and featuring demanding, virtuosic passages. Published in 1610, it is a key example of the expressive lute music that bridged the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
i El testament d'Amèlia, ii Cançó del lladre
These pieces are arrangements of folksongs, 15 pieces for Llobet's "Canciones populares Catalanas". One of the most famous is 'El testament d'Amèlia' (Amelia's Will). You will also hear Cançó del lladre (Song of the Thief).
This was composed in 1960 and is Poulenc's only guitar piece.
This is Germaine Taillefere's only composition for solo guitar.
i Preludio, ii Coral, iii Cuna, iv Recitativo, v Canción, vi Muñiera
Federico Monpou was Catalan. Each movement evokes the essence of Santiago de Compostela — a historical Galician city in northwest Spain. The suite beautifully contains a variety of music styles and moods: a traditional Spanish feeling, archaic chants, a combination of church modes and twentieth century's modern harmony, elements that conjure up images of rainy Galician city or traditional lively dance by imitating the sound of ‘la Gaita (bagpipes)’ and Mompou's distinctive bell-like chords.
English guitarist and composer Laura Snowden wrote This Changing Sky. Incidentally, the composer has just released her debut album with the same name.
Hope Cramsie - Guitar
Hope Cramsie is a versatile classical guitarist and theorbo player based in London. Her performances showcase a diverse repertoire ranging from renditions of Renaissance music to the premiering of brand new works, and highlight the lyricism and sensitivity of her instrument. Fast establishing herself as an up and coming performer, Hope has given solo recitals at Buxton International Festival and St James Piccadilly. She has featured regularly in the International Guitar Foundation’s concert series, including performances at Kings Place during the London Guitar Festival in 2021. Other venues she has performed at include the National Portrait Gallery, Brussels Guitar Laboratory Festival, Klara Festival, HowTheLightGetsIn Festival, as well as featuring regularly in the RCM’s recital series and concerts including a recent appearance at the RCM String Showcase held at Wigmore Hall in 2025.
Hope graduated from the undergraduate course at the Royal College of Music with First Class Honours, part of which included an Erasmus exchange at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen with Jesper Sivebæk. Afterwards she completed her masters with Distinction at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Antigoni Goni and Xavier Diaz Latorre, before returning to the RCM to complete an Artist Diploma where she studied guitar with Gary Ryan and Chris Stell, and theorbo with Jakob Lindberg, supported by the Elmley Foundation, and as an RCM Ian Evans Lombe scholar, Help Musicians Postgraduate Award holder and Julian Bream Trust Scholar.
In 2021, Hope was awarded First Prize at Leicester Music Festival’s Advanced Guitar Competition. She is also a Young Artist of the Worshipful Company of Musicians after receiving First Prize at the Ivor Mairants Guitar Award in 2023. Also an active chamber musician, Hope is one half in the newly formed Vona Guitar Duo, an ensemble championing new music by female composers, and is a member of the National Youth Guitar Fellowship Ensemble.
Upcoming highlights this season include a solo recital at the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room and a video release with Vona Duo in collaboration with Siccas Guitars.
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