Festival Archive
22-25 September 2026
Our inaugural festival
The first Cavatina Festival took place in Frome and Mells, Somerset, from 22–25 September 2026. Under the theme From Devotion to Delight, its three concert programmes traced connections between sacred and secular music, past and present.
Led by Artistic Director Max Todes, the festival brought Cavatina’s commitment to young musicians and shared musical experiences to these distinctive Somerset venues.
This archive records the festival’s programmes and artists. All listed events have now taken place.
From Devotion to Delight
Love and the Divine
22 September 2026 · 7pm
St Andrew’s Church, Mells
Cavatina Consort · Max Todes, conductor
Abigail Moore, reader
Bach’s Komm, Jesu, komm and Singet dem Herrn framed a programme of Purcell anthems, Lugebat David Absalom and Pearsall’s Lay a Garland.
Shakespeare’s sonnets, read by Abigail Moore, connected sacred devotion with human love. Clare Asquith gave a pre-concert talk on the sonnets.
Homage and Inspiration
24 September 2026 · 7pm
Rye Bakery, Whittox Lane, Frome
Cavatina Orchestra
Max Todes, conductor
Caroline Shaw · Entr’acte
Schubert · Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major
Edmund Finnis · Hymn (after Byrd)
Mozart · Symphony No. 40 in G minor
This programme explored how composers honour and transform the music of their predecessors, placing Classical symphonies alongside contemporary responses to musical history.
Devotion to Delight
25 September 2026 · 7pm
St John’s Church, Frome
Cavatina Orchestra · Max Todes, conductor
Klara Solén, mezzo-soprano
Rameau · Entrée pour les Muses from Les Boréades
Alma Mahler · Seven Songs (Sieben Lieder)
Beethoven · Symphony No. 7 in A major
The closing concert moved from Rameau’s dance music to Alma Mahler’s songs, with Klara Solén as soloist, before the rhythmic vitality of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony brought the festival to a close.