The Minstrels’ Gallery
The Auricula Gig Band photos by John Maffin at the Auricula Suite Première Concert
The Auricula Suite, written and performed by Rich & Lou Duffy-Howard, with Amanda Lowe and Quentin Budworth.
The concert features traditional medieval instruments – hammer dulcimer, hurdy gurdy, as well as guitars and vocals.
Lou was the bassist in The Red Guitars who released two acclaimed albums. First single – Good Technology – was championed by the late, great John Peel. It made number 1 in the Indie chart and number 11 in his Festive Fifty. A handful of BBC sessions and top ten Indie hits later they had toured with The Smiths, appeared on The Tube, The Old Grey Whistle Test, Oxford Road Show, John Peel’s Sounds of the Suburbs.
Virtuoso musicians Amanda Lowe and Quentin Budworth join Rich and Lou, playing diverse medieval instruments in this special collaborative performance.
Amanda Lowe is widely recognised as the UK’s foremost hammer dulcimer player. Amanda plays the English version of the instrument, which is traditionally believed to have been invented 2,000 years ago in Mesopotamia.
Quentin Budworth is one of only a handful of professional hurdy-gurdy players in the UK. As well as innovative hurdy-gurdy, Quentin plays cittern and pipes.
Amanda and Quentin have appeared at many prestigious British Arts festivals and toured Japan, Eastern Europe, Belgium, Holland and Germany.
The Auricula Suite 