Francois Cloete Recital 2026

Local organist François Cloete will be giving a harpsichord recital as a fundraiser for the Guernsey Harpsichord Trust (GHT) on Thursday 30th July.

Titled “French Connections”, the recital explores harpsichord music in the French style by composers across Europe including François Couperin, Henry Purcell, and J.S. Bach. An extremely talented keyboard player, François is currently organ scholar at Westminster Abbey. Having grown up in Guernsey and attended Elizabeth College for the first part of his secondary education, he has held organ scholarships at Wells Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral and, most recently, Merton College Oxford, where he was awarded the Gibbs Prize (top marks) in his undergraduate degree. Next year he begins doctoral research with a full scholarship from Magdalen College and returns to Merton as their Assistant Organist.

His performance will showcase the Trust’s recently restored Andrew Garlick harpsichord in its full splendour. One of the objectives will be to encourage talented young musicians to take up learning to play the harpsichord. François has very kindly agreed to waive his fee for the concert but we are seeking donations of £25 - or more! - to help defray the cost of insuring and maintaining the instrument.

The concert will be in the Hall at Elizabeth College starting at 6.30pm and lasting for about an hour. We will be offering drinks afterwards when audience members will have an opportunity to chat to François and to inspect this unique instrument. His recital last year, when he performed J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, was described as “An Evening of Pure Magic”. We confidently expect this year’s recital to be equally special.

The harpsichord was the most important keyboard instrument in the Baroque period for all music by Handel and J.S. Bach and is the original instrument for which many famous works were written. Mechanically, unlike in a piano, the strings of a harpsichord are plucked, rather than struck with felt-covered hammers. This means that the player has more connection with the instrument, enabling him or her to communicate emotions through fine nuances in time and the way each chord is broken and spread.

Nowadays the harpsichord is used typically to provide the accompaniment in baroque concerts. As well as being a charming solo instrument, the harpsichord also plays a central role in accompanying baroque repertoire. In Guernsey, the Garlick harpsichord was most famously played by Trevor Pinnock, the founder of the pioneering period orchestra The English Concert. It also featured in a very successful Baroque Concert given by Southbank Sinfonia in St Stephen’s Church in 2016.