Dunford and Langlois de Swarte bring playful flair to baroque music
Lutenist Thomas Dunford and violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte gave their first London performance of *The Mad Lover*, a programme of 17th-century music and improvisation. Part of the London Festival of Baroque Music, the concert combined playful spontaneity with precise playing, and showed the duo’s evident rapport.
The 75-minute programme included works by John Eccles, Daniel Purcell and the two Nicola Matteises, alongside Dunford’s improvisations and comic musical references to Indiana Jones and Radiohead. When a lute string came loose, Dunford carried on so smoothly it was barely noticeable. The musicians ended by inviting the audience to sing along to a Bach-inspired arrangement of the Beatles’ *Blackbird*; the festival’s Smith Square Hall will now close for two years of refurbishment.
In short
- Dunford and Langlois de Swarte brought *The Mad Lover* to London.
- Their baroque programme mixed virtuosity, improvisation and humour.
- Audience singing to *Blackbird* provided the concert’s closing moment.
Explained simply
Baroque music describes European music from roughly the 17th and early 18th centuries. It often features instruments such as the violin and lute, a plucked string instrument, and can include ornamented melodies and room for performers to shape the music as they play.
Thomas Dunford is a lutenist and Théotime Langlois de Swarte is a violinist; both perform early music as well as newer arrangements. Their programme drew on composers including John Eccles and Daniel Purcell, English musicians whose work belongs to the period’s theatre and court music.
The London Festival of Baroque Music presents concerts centred on this repertoire. Smith Square Hall, one of its venues, is a former church used for performances, so its closure for refurbishment affects a familiar setting for the festival and other music events.
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Originally published by The Guardian as “The Mad Lover review – eccentric charm and baroque brilliance as duo move from Eccles to Indiana Jones”.