Schubert plays in Sant Llorenç de les Arenes

Franz Schubert's String Quintet in C major, one of the most sublime pieces of chamber music, will be performed tonight in the Romanesque church of Sant Llorenç de les Arenes in Baix Empordà, thanks to the initiative of cellist Ramon Bassal and the Grans Clàssics a Espai Singulars association.

Sant Llorenç de les Arenes is a simple yet very elegant 12th-century church on the banks of one of the meanders of the Ter River, in the municipality of Foixà. It has a single nave and its acoustics are exceptional. So much so that for some time now, concerts have been held there, almost spontaneously, many of them initiated by Basal himself.

These evenings, once one of the region's best-kept secrets, have been transformed into a four-concert festival. The first, tonight, will feature violinists Ksnia Dubrovskaya and Alfredo Saledo. The cellos will be played by Domènech Surroca and Ramon Bassal. The viola will be in the hands of Toni Mallol.

Franz Shubert wrote his Quintet in the summer of 1828, two months before his death. It was his last composition, a work of "unfathomable pathos," according to critics.

The second concert will be on August 1st. Bassal has prepared a repertoire of music and poetry. Rhapsode Ana Casas will read poems accompanied by music by Schubert, Saint Saëns, Manuel de Falla, and other composers.

The Rodin Trio will adapt West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet on the evening of August 30th. The series, which has the support of the city councils of Foixà and La Bisbal, as well as the Girona Provincial Council and the Generalitat, will conclude on September 26th at the Teatro Mundial in La Bisbal, with a concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra to benefit the organization El Trampolí, which helps people with mental disabilities.