Let the players do the talking… Part 1: Emily

When and why did you start playing the viol?
I first picked up a viol in my early 20s, when I lived in a house share with some other musicians.  We borrowed the entire consort of viols from Cambridge university and took them home and tried to play them - my housemate said it was one of the worst musical experiences of his life! They all gave up, but I was determined to carry on...

Any particularly good advice you received when you were studying/starting out?
‘Play well and be nice to people’ - solid advice I received when I was starting out...that’s been my goal ever since, but I’m not saying I have always achieved it! 

Favourite piece or composer?
Very tricky... the John Passion is a bit obvious but does take some beating. That’s probably my Desert Island Disc.

Recording that you always return to?
Isabelle Faust’s Bach Violin Sonatas, Wieland Kuijken’s Couperin 

Favourite Fretwork recording?
Art of Fugue - it’s one I listened to a lot when I was a student and even before I got into early music.

Happiest Fretwork memory (so far)?
I think the weeks at Dartington - the sunny days particularly! Swimming in the river and seeing kingfishers, watching brilliant concerts and late night consort sessions.