Leicester Early Music: Breaking News

Festival Events
¤ All Events
¤ Concerts
¤ Fringe Events
¤ Junior Events
¤ Workshops
¤ Breaking News

Information
¤ Booking Information
¤ Contact Us
¤ The Longslade Consort
¤ Join Our Mailing List
¤ Links
¤ John's Page

For details of The Longslade Consort concerts, please click on The Longslade Consort Page.

Neil Crutchley Writes:

In the depths of winter it’s good to have something to look forward to and the Leicester Early Music Festival never fails to entice with its New Year promise of musical delights to come, when spring turns to summer and the days are long.

All the details are now available for what promises to be another memorable festival. Director John Bence has once again showed his talent for providing a mix of events that have music as their centre, but also include dance, history, story telling, craft, walks, food, wine, whisky and workshops.

Regulars know that John’s uncanny knack for spotting promising musical talent and giving young artists a chance to perform at the festival has paid immense dividends over the years, as those who are now internationally known will gladly return to Leicester where they were given some of their first opportunities.

The festival has developed a tried and tested pattern over its nineteen-year existence. Numerous events take place over a three-week period that embraces the Spring Bank Holiday and includes specially devised concerts and workshops for the whole family. In fact young people play an important part in the festival and the organisers ensure that there are lots of children’s events at special prices. Anyone coming to the festival for the first time can be assured of a warm and friendly welcome and enjoyable musical experience and high quality interval refreshments. Excellent wine (included in the ticket price) is served at all major evening concerts.

Another appealing feature of the festival is the use of some of Leicester’s most attractive and historic buildings such as the Guildhall, the Cathedral, Castle House and of course, the ancient Churches of St. Mary de Castro and St. Nicholas. These venues provide amazingly atmospheric and appropriate surroundings and really do add an extra dimension to the concerts.

The festival runs from 18th May to 7th June and the first week features a series of lunchtime concerts at various venues beginning with three recitals in the Cathedral. On Wednesday evening in St. Mary de Castro, the first major concert takes place and this year it will be given by Piva Waites, a group that visited the festival a year or two ago and made quite an impact. They perform in period costume using a range of historically accurate instruments. Their programme is called “Nobody’s Jig – dances, tunes and songs for Everyman”. Book early to avoid disappointment.

The widely esteemed historical dance expert Diana Cruikshank is a festival favourite, whose workshops and music and dance spectaculars are an essential part of the Leicester tradition. On Friday she will lead an historic dance workshop (open to all) entitled “Almaines and Maggots” and on Saturday she will be partnered by the versatile instrumentalist Yvette Adams in a junior workshop entitled “Those Terrible Tudors”. Her accomplished dance ensemble, Rostibolli, will perform “Treasures of Terpsichore: The Pleasures and Perils of Dance” on Saturday evening.

Sunday’s concert in St. Mary’s sees a welcome return of one of the leading Midlands chamber choirs, the Cecilian Singers. Their programme called “Master and Pupil” which features the music of Tallis, Byrd and Tomkins - Tallis taught Byrd and Byrd taught Tomkins. Three of the greatest masters of English polyphony in one concert!

Bank Holiday Monday is the festival’s Family Day and there are more than a dozen indoor and outdoor events on offer. These include a workshop to study and perform Haydn’s St. Nicholas Mass; a concert of music for lute and voice; a Playford dance workshop; a teddy bear’s concert, and a Castle Park walk. There’s also an early evening family concert, “Queens and Crownations”, looking at the lives and loves of the Tudor queens and given by the ever-popular Courtlye Musick.

Tuesday’s concert at Holy Trinity Church features the renowned tenor Rogers Covey-Crump and the Café Mozart Trio in a programme called “Haydn in England” - songs and ballads by Haydn and his English friends. On Wednesday 28th May, “Finery and Filth” is on the menu at St. Nicholas Church when Dante Ferrara tell a ribald tale set in 1695 with music by Henry Purcell and other members of the “Restoration Rat Pack”.

One of the most intimate and appealing of the festival’s venues, Castle House, is the setting for a concert by the Longslade Consort and friends featuring works from the high baroque. Then on Friday 30th May, it’s over to the Guildhall where Minstrel’s Gallery will perform “The Spirit of the Age”. This colourful and entertaining programme will reflect the change in music, song and dance that took place between 1450 and 1600. There is a preview concert at 5,15pm and then (after the malt whiskey tasting!) a full presentation at 9pm.

“Renaissance Europe: East meets West” is the title of Saturday’s concert in St. Mary’s given by the seven-voice ensemble Heinavanker. The programme examines the cultural clash between tradition and innovation. John Bence comments: “In a brilliant, thought-provoking programme the singers show how this is achieved in Estonia and England as music grows from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance”.

The festival draws to a close with a wine-tasting in the Guildhall and concert by popular festival regulars, the Lachrymae Consort on Friday 6th June and then its back to Castle House for the final event, the Champagne Concert with 18th century finger buffet. This takes place on Saturday 7th and is organised and prepared by the festival director and members of the Longslade Consort. This is always a memorable evening and numbers are limited – don’t miss it and book early to ensure a place.

This is just a small selection of what’s on offer, for the whole picture see “All Events” section of the website.