On Sunday 13 July 2025, Live on the Lawn: Twilight Classical presents viola da gamba player Sarah Small in recital on the lawn of the Chelsea Physick Garden in what promises to be an enchanting evening in one of London’s most beautiful and historic gardens.
Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London, plant collection remains the only botanic garden collection focused entirely on medicinal, herbal and useful plants.
Disillusioned by the lack of support for sustainable touring within the arts, along with concerns about the impact and cost of audience travel from rural areas to venues in cities, viola da gamba player Sarah Small took matters into her own hands by cycling from venue to venue to share the programme Good Again? with audiences far and wide. The tour has seen her perform in a total of 26 venues, pedalling approximately 4,000 km (2,500 miles) in distance, from Northamptonshire to Stornoway, and from Unst at the top of Shetland down via Cumbria and Wales to Southampton in Hampshire in a total of 69 days.
The programme centres around Good Againe by Scottish composer, viol player and soldier, Tobias Hume (c1579-1645). Alongside other pieces by Hume along with Sainte-Colombe, Marais, Forqueray, Abel and Bach, Small also plays Good Again? by Lillie Harris. Good Again? was written for small and reflects on nature and environmental loss.
