It is not often a pair of renowned guitarists can be persuaded to come and perform in a small church on a Saturday evening. It would be almost unheard of for them to do such a show free.

But that’s exactly what the charity Friends of Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry, have achieved in getting Double Vision to play on April 9, to raise money for church funds.

The point is, Double Vision is the name Gordon Giltrap and Raymond Burley use when they play together. Giltrap (above) gained recognition at the end of the 1960s — playing stunning steel-string folk guitar — at around the same time that other greats such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn were emerging. Later, one of his album tracks was taken up as the theme tune for BBC Television’s popular Holiday programme. The breadth of a career that has embraced many forms of guitar playing is shown by the fact that he’s worked with both Rick Wakeman and Cliff Richard.

Raymond Burley (who lives in Ducklington) trained as a classical guitarist and has toured extensively. He has performed regularly at the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room, and worked with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic. A member of the Rodrigo Guitar Trio, he too has shown his style elasticity by playing together with jazz guitarist John Etheridge.

Mike Stranks, who works with this redoubtable pair and has arranged this Quarry concert, tells me that Double Vision will be performing pieces composed by Gordon Giltrap and arranged by Ray Burley — but that there will undoubtedly be solos from both on the night. He also vouchsafed that Shadowlands is one of Giltrap’s favourite films — and thus where better to perform than at Holy Trinity, in whose graveyard C. S. Lewis is, of course, buried.

If still available, tickets are £10: telephone 01865 766291. Proceedings get under way at 7.30pm.

Nick Utechin