String Quartet in E ‘Grasses’ received its Welsh premiere at St Mary Magdalene’s church, Bleddfa on 29th August – part of the 2026 Presteigne Festival. Performed by the HearAndNow Collective, Amsterdam (Emma Roijackers, Laura Rickard, Jose Nunes, and Rainer Crosett), who brought out all the colour and spirit I could hope for!
This performance was particularly special as an exhibition of Charles MacCarthy’s ‘Grasses’ (the inspiration for the piece) was up at the Bleddfa Centre (Sidney Nolan Trust) next door.
Score available here
Review by Paul Conway (Seen and Heard International):
‘At the heart of the concert was the Welsh premiere of Robert Peate’s String Quartet in E, ‘Grasses’ (2025), which was jointly commissioned by the Presteigne and Romsey Chamber Music Festivals. Inspired by a selection of Charles MacCarthy’s paintings, whose name gives the quartet its subtitle, this attractive and engaging piece contrasted passages of knotty intricacy with music of a more expansive, rustic warmth. The single-movement form began with an expository Prelude, whose opening bars with their key cello phrases provided material for the rest of the work. This was followed by two scherzo-like Dances, the first shadowy, with ecstatic outbursts and the second a traditional Welsh jig (‘The Druid’). The work concluded with a brooding, synoptic Postlude. The musicians relished the work’s various moods, probing and ethereal in the outer sections and hearty and vigorous in the dances, really letting rip in the infectious energy of the jig. This compact and vivid piece was warmly received by a capacity audience.’
Full review of the festival here