“There is more Wit in a Fiery Dragon than in all the plays in Europe”
James Ralph, The Fashionable Lady, 1728.
Welcome to the website of Fiery Dragon Company!
Fiery Dragon Company is a small group of musicians playing such instruments as piano, flute, concertina and violins. They came together in January 2018 to perform the music of the group’s leader Anne Gregson. Listen to lyrical, melodic music from a group of talented and committed musicians which fits in the uncommon space between folk and classical.
Our inaugural performance was on May 18th 2018 in St John the Evangelist church, Bath. The concert was remarkable because it incorporated the sound of the church’s bells being played live into the overall sound of the ensemble. To our knowledge this is unique to the Fiery Dragon Company and you can read more about how this was achieved on the Bells tab.
A note on our line-up. Performances usually have four or five musicians present. The group currently consists of Anne Gregson, Helen Bousfield, Daniel Wolverson, Barry Sherlock and Kerstin Petersson. Musicians who have played with in the past include David Moss, Noeline Beesley, Bianca Janossey, Kyle Thornhill and Katharine Tylco.
The group members play:
- Anne Gregson concertina and vocals
- Helen Bousfield flute and concertina
- Barry Sherlock piano
- Daniel Wolverson violin
- Kerstin Petersson violin
There are a number of videos you can see on the Video tab, but we have included the video above on the front page to give you a flavour of our music. It was recorded during a concert at Broughton Gifford in Wiltshire, May 2024. The audio recording below was recorded live at the very first concert at St John’s in 2018. The piece Minimal Chimes is for church bells and the ensemble. The bells were played by Martin Pearson and the piece was, of course, composed by Anne Gregson. In its combination of ensemble with live church bells we believe it may be unique.
The ensemble are working on new material and when we have it we’ll be putting it up here so call back from time to time and see what’s new!
Another note about history. There was an earlier incarnation of the Fiery Dragon in the form of the Fiery Dragon Folk Opera Company. They came together in 2012 and again in 2014 to perform Anne Gregson’s opera Make Room For Mummers and you can read all about this on the Opera menu tab.
The new performing choir Fiery Dragon Singers was formed by Anne Gregson in January 2024. A page about them is in preparation.
And finally …
Here’s another piece from the 2024 concert at Broughton Gifford, and this time Fiery Dragon Company are joined by Fiery Dragon Singers. The piece is Green Grows the Holly.