Thursday 30 May to Sunday 2 June 2013

Weekend of English Song, Ludlow

Our eagerly awaited sojourn to Ludlow is once again nearly upon us and arrangements are well advanced to ensure high expectations of this event are fulfilled. Again there will be a Young Composer Competition, and a Masterclass, for which we have secured one of our foremost operatic basses, Sir John Tomlinson. He has had a long and successful career in the UK and abroad and is still singing with The Royal Opera and English National Opera. He is a formidable, larger than life character, who has won awards for his performances and subsequently honoured with a CBE for his services to music, and in 2005 a Knighthood.

The Weekend begins on the Thursday afternoon with a tour of St Laurance’s church followed by talks to include David Hurley on 400 years of English Song. The evening concert will be given by the Kings Singers. Friday will include the Young Composer Competition adjudicated by Julian Phillips and there will be talks by Roderick Swanston and Diana McVeagh. As well as an Organ Recital during the day there will be a Concert given by Elizabeth Atherton. Stuart Jackson and Ashley Riches. This will be followed by an evening Concert given by Elizabeth Watts. Saturday sees the Master Class given by John Tomlinson, following a talk by Andrew Walton, a concert by the Carducci String Quartet and Ashley Riches. There will be a further concert in the evening by Elizabeth Atherton and her team. On Sunday there will be a final Forum chaired by Iain Burnside and to include some of the artists from previous days and a Young Musicians Recital and a final Concert

Jim Page keeps a ‘Ludlow Mailing List’ which ensures you receive information as soon as it is published. Your name will be on it if you have attended any of the last four Weekends but if you want your name added please let him know by email or by post to 80 New Road, Bromsgrove B60 2LA.

'To keep everyone fully informed of details and developments of this event we have created a dedicated website for the Weekend of English Song and would encourage you to follow the following link to the website in order that you can discover what's on, how to book etc. Please click on the link www.ludlow-english-song-weekend.org.uk.

23 June 2013

Celebrating English Song Weekends

The theme of this year’s concert series at St Bartholomew’s Church, Tardebigge is related to the Dymock Poets who were active just prior to the first world war and also includes poets of the first and second world wars that runs through all three concerts. Each concert will include recently written songs balancing with 20th century music.

In addition, Susie Self has been selected as “Composer of the Series”, with one of her works in each concert. She has also been commissioned to write a new song for James Gilchrist and she has chosen Rupert Brooke's ‘The Goddess in the Woods’.

Susie Self is a dynamic composer, singer and conductor. She studied at the Royal College of Music in London gaining an ARCM in singing performance. She comes from an artistic background, her grandfather is the playwright and poet John Drinkwater and her cousins are Nigel Kennedy and Will Self. Susie co-directs “Selfmade Music” in London and “Seastar Opera” in North Norfolk with her cellist/composer husband Michael Christie. She is already in the midst of composing her Fourth Symphony.

Tickets can be obtained by visiting the dedicated website www.celebratingenglishsong.co.uk

The artists are to include Ailish Tynan (soprano) and Iain Burnside (piano) and their programme will include Three John Drinkwater Songs by Susie Self and a group of songs by Parry and Bridge. There will be a group of Shakespeare settings by Sullivan and Vaughan Williams and Irish folksong arrangements by Moeran.

There will be a pre-concert talk by Linda Hart entitled ‘The Dymock Poets: a rural idyll ended by war’. Linda Hart lives in Malvern, just a few miles from Dymock. She was founding chairman of the Friends of the Dymock Poets, and frequently walks the footpaths in the Dymock countryside. This inspired her to write the Anthology of the Dymock poets ‘Once they lived in Gloucestershire’.

21 July 2013

Celebrating English Song Weekend

Details as 23 June 2013.

The programme for the 21 July will be performed by the renowned tenor James Gilchrist in his usual combination with pianist Anna Tilbrook. Once again Susie Self will be represented by a premier of her arrangement The Goddess in the wood . Song arrangements of Wilfred Owen’s poetry composed by Elaine Hugh-Jones will be followed by popular songs by Vaughan Williams, Quilter, Warlock, Gurney and Bridge. A current composer, Nicholas Marshall, will be represented by his settings of Music in the wood, the poetry of James Reeves. Finally, there will be a series of Hardy settings Winter Words by Benjamin Britten.

Most interestingly, there will be a pre-concert talk by Susie Self talking about her music and her relationship with the Dymock poets.

29 July 2013

Three Choirs Festival, Gloucester

Philip Lancaster (baritone) and the Elizas Ensemble
Monday 29 July, 11.00 am at St Mary de Lode Church, Gloucester

Long time member Philip Lancaster, who is a recognised Gurney specialist and – for those who attend the Ludlow Weekends – our valued regular page turner, is singing an intriguing programme of English song entitled ‘An Elizabethan Centenary’. The programme looks fascinating – including two Finzi songs and Philip’s new arrangement of Let us Garlands Bring scored for 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons and a harp. This unusual ensemble was chosen by Gurney for his Five Elizabethan Songs which were written 100 years ago this coming autumn.

After the performance we hope Finzi Friends members will join us for a very informal lunch at The Old Crown from 12.30pm, on the corner of Westgate and Upper Quay Street, a less than five minute walk. The menu covers everything from light bites and sandwiches to traditional pub meals, and finishes with the ever popular Sticky Toffee Pudding. We are booking a comfortable upstairs room for this occasion, and though we don’t need to know in advance it really would help the chef if he has some idea of numbers beforehand. If you know you would like to join us please email Jim Page on or ring 01527 878586 and leave a message, but don’t be put off coming if you don’t want to decide until the last minute!

18 August 2013

Celebrating English Song Weekend

Details as 23 June 2013.

On 18 August we welcome the return of the baritone Marcus Farnsworth who will be accompanied on the piano by James Baillieu alongside a cameo performance by the cellist Cara Berridge. The programme will include a premier performance of John Joubert’s cycle, That Time of Year, previously commissioned for Tardebigge. This will be followed by Susie Self’s settings of poems by each of the Dymock poets, not least, Edward Thomas’s ‘Adlestrop’, for baritone and cello and which is only the second performance. Once again, the programme will include settings by Quilter and Britten and will also contain one of Britten’s cello suites.

There will be a pre-concert Composers Question Time with Susie Self, John Joubert and Ian Venables chaired by Graham Lloyd. Naturally we would want the most informed and complete answers to our questions and to achieve this we would invite Questions to be offered in advance and look forward to your contributions.

June 2014

Finzi Friends day, Ashmansworth

We are planning to make arrangements for another Ashmansworth day to be held once again in June of 2014. We hope to have a recital programme to be held in St James’ church followed by lunch and of course we will be in the locality of Gerald and Joy’s home, Church Farm, as always.