The Divine Office, 28 September–2 October 2015

The Divine Office Choral Music in Oxford 28 September–2 October 2015

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

The Divine Office Choral Music in Oxford 28 September–2 October 2015 Seventeen performances with ten ensembles in eight mediaeval chapels and other historic buildings, and five talks – a truly extraordinary musical, architectural and spiritual experience.

Contents Choirs & Musicians..........................4 Chapels & Venues............................6 The Concerts...................................8 The Divine Office day...................10

‘Altogether an unforgettable experience – uplifting and spiritual. Oxford itself extraordinarily beautiful. It exceeded all my expectations.’

Lectures..........................................11 Accommodation............................12 Meals; other practicalities............13 Prices...............................................14 Pre-festival tour.............................15 About us.........................................16 Booking form.................................17

‘I doubt I will ever again have such an educational and aesthetic experience.

To say “I was there” at The Divine Office is something I shall treasure.’

Comments from participants on The Divine Office in 2012

Making a booking & booking conditions....................19

Martin Randall Travel Ltd

Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London, United Kingdom W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk

Martin Randall Australasia Telephone 1300 55 95 95; from New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au Canada Telephone 647 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca

5085

www.martinrandall.com

USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

The oldest and finest college choirs Provision for music to accompany the liturgy was stipulated by the founders of the major early colleges at Oxford, and choral church music there is still very much a living tradition. Many of Britain’s professional singers and choristers have passed through college choirs.

As a consequence English liturgical singing is the best in the world.

Christ Church, Magdalen, Merton and Queen’s College choirs remain among the finest in Oxford and enjoy international reputations for excellence. All perform in this festival.

Internationally acclaimed professional ensembles Five professional choirs also participate: The Tallis Scholars, the world’s leading performers of Renaissance repertoire; Westminster Cathedral Choir, among the most exalted of liturgical choirs and exceptionally experienced in plainsong; Stile Antico, a young ensemble which has rapidly risen to international acclaim; Sospiri, an Oxford-based choir which specialises in chant; and Tenebrae, whose performances are renowned for creating an atmosphere of spiritual and musical reflection.

An instrumental interlude is provided

by Instruments of Time and Truth, a new period instrument ensemble drawn from among the leading specialist players in England.

The golden age of English music The Tudor and Stuart period was the golden age of English music. Taverner, Tallis, Sheppard, Byrd, Gibbons and many others rank with the greatest of their Continental peers – and

Left: Merton College, etching by Mortimer Menpes (1855–1938).

This brochure was produced inhouse. The text was written chiefly by Martin Randall with assistance from Sarah Pullen. It was designed by Jo Murray and was sent to the printers on 24th September 2014.

Christ Church Cathedral Choir (©Ralph Williamson)

many of them studied or taught at Oxford. This glorious body of music dominates the festival, with their continental peers such as Monteverdi, Lassus and Janequin providing variety and further brilliance.

A beautiful and suitable city Oxford is one of the world’s great historic cities: a dense accumulation of architecture in every style from the twelfth to the twentyfirst century embedded in a web of picturesque streets and alleys and dappled with lawns, veteran trees and riverside meadows.

Reflecting their quasi-monastic origins, many colleges are equipped with cloistral layouts and magnificent chapels, which make Oxford a uniquely apposite location for a celebration of church music.

The Divine Office day itself A major feature of the festival is the complete Divine Office, the eight services of the monastic day, performed at the intended times – which means beginning at 1.00am and ending at about 10.00pm.

Even were you to skip the less agreeably timed Offices, you would still be exposed to the oldest living musically-enriched ritual in the world. The most spiritually charged and aesthetically intense experience to have emerged from western civilization has, in essentials, changed little in fifteen hundred years.

Highly complex, immaculately administered Since 1994, Martin Randall Travel has devised and run seventy such festivals which place great music in appropriate historic buildings. They have won extraordinary accolades for exceptional musical experiences and skilfully managed complexity.

An all-inclusive festival Access to the concerts is exclusive to those who buy a package which includes accommodation in hotels or college rooms, some dinners, lectures and much else besides. See page 14 for details of what is included.

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Choirs & Musicians Magdalen College Choir Magdalen’s internationally famous choir has changed little since its foundation in 1480, still being composed of 16 boys from Magdalen College School and 12 undergraduates. As well as performing its duties in the college chapel services, it regularly gives concerts and live broadcasts and makes recordings. The current Informator Choristarum – Director of Music – is Daniel Hyde. He was an organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, has been Assistant Director of the London Bach Choir and continues a freelance career as organist and conductor outside the university.

Merton College Choir

Christ Church Cathedral Choir Sixteen choristers were stipulated in Cardinal Wolsey’s foundation; now there are sixteen boys, six male undergraduates and six male professionals. With the chapel building functioning also as the cathedral of the diocese of Oxford, the college choir is simultaneously (and uniquely) the cathedral choir as well.

Stephen Darlington was appointed as organist in 1985 and under his guidance the choir has garnered a glittering profile that includes a number of recordings and television and film credits.

4

choirs & musicians

Instruments of Time & Truth A new period instrument ensemble, Instruments of Time and Truth aims to present world-class performances of Baroque and Classical music. The ensemble is a showcase for the exceptional talents of international period musicians resident in and around Oxford, who hold Principal positions with established groups such as The Academy of Ancient Music, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and The English Baroque Soloists.

The Choir of Merton College is one of Oxford’s leading mixed-voice choirs.

With the appointment of Peter Phillips and Benjamin Nicholas as the first Reed Rubin Directors of Music, the choir began singing at services in 2008. Members are choral scholars at Merton and selected students from other colleges. The choir has toured to the USA, Sweden and France, performed for BBC Radio and TV; their debut recording was named ‘Gramophone Choice’ in 2011. Peter Phillips is also director of The Tallis Scholars (q.v.). Benjamin directed the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey 2000–2012.

Above left: Magdalen College, steel engraving 1833.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Queen’s College Choir

Sospiri

The Tallis Scholars

The Choir of The Queen’s College, directed by Owen Rees, is among the finest university choirs in the UK. Its repertory includes a rich array of music from the Renaissance to contemporary works. During term the choir sings for services in the college’s splendid Baroque chapel. It performs in many parts of the UK and abroad and broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio. It records for the Signum and Avie labels and appears on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.

Founded in 2006 by its director Chris Watson and composer John Duggan, Sospiri has built up a diverse repertoire and released six cds, including recently A Multitude of Voices. Well established in the UK, notably for its performances of plainsong, the choir has begun to gain recognition abroad with tours of France and Italy. By September 2015, Chris Watson will have performed as a member of The Tallis Scholars more than 400 times – he will be singing with them for The Divine Office as well as directing Sospiri.

He is Director of Music at St Edmund Hall, the Oxford College.

The Tallis Scholars were founded in 1973 by Peter Phillips. Through their recordings and concert performances they have established themselves as the world’s leading exponents of Renaissance sacred music. Peter Phillips has worked with the ensemble to create, through good tuning and blend, the purity and clarity of sound which he feels best serves the Renaissance repertoire. The Tallis Scholars perform in both sacred and secular venues, giving around 70 concerts each year across the globe. Gimell Records was set up in 1980 solely to record the group, and their recordings have attracted many awards throughout the world including, in 1987, Gramophone’s Record of the Year.

Stile Antico Stile Antico is an ensemble of young British singers who are now established as one of the most original and exciting new voices in its field. The group performs regularly throughout Europe and North America and their recordings have received major awards including the Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Working without a conductor, they rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing to the musical result. Their performances have repeatedly been praised for their vitality, expressiveness and imaginative response to the text.

Tenebrae Tenebrae’s performances are renowned for creating an atmosphere of spiritual and musical reflection. Director Nigel Short was an experienced consort singer before founding Tenebrae in 2001, whose members are selected from the finest of professional choral singers. Tenebrae are masters of shedding a fresh, rich interpretative light on choral music, with programmes spanning centuries and continents, including hauntingly passionate works of Gesualdo and Victoria, the powerful and dramatic choral music of the Russian orthodox church, and the beautiful choral masterpieces of Poulenc.

Westminster Cathedral Choir Westminster Cathedral Choir was founded in 1903, and has since gained a reputation as one of the foremost choirs in Britain, and indeed the world. The choir has a history of commissioning new works by such composers as Britten, Vaughan Williams and Tavener. As well as touring in the UK and abroad, featuring on radio and television and making many recordings, it is the only Catholic cathedral choir in the world to sing daily Mass and Vespers. Martin Baker was appointed as Master of Music in 2000 after organ and choral posts at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

Below, left to right: Tenebrae; The Tallis Scholars (©Eric Richmond); Merton College Choir; Nigel Short; Stile Antico (©Marco Borggreve).

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

choirs & musicians

5

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Chapels & Venues No more fitting place than Oxford’s college chapels could be found for performances of the music which features in this festival.

In one, Christ Church, liturgical singing has an almost unbroken tradition for well over 800 years; in three others the duration is in excess of 700, 600 and 500 years respectively. In all the chapels the audience sits in stalls alongside or opposite the choir, giving rise to a rare degree of proximity and sense of collegiality. All are architecturally remarkable and well embellished with art and craftsmanship.

We are very grateful to the various college authorities for granting us the privilege of using the chapels for this festival.

The chapels are described in the order of the date of their foundation; the remaining venues follow.

All Souls College

Christ Church

All Souls was founded in 1438 by Archbishop Chichele together with Henry VI, before his other royal foundations, Eton College and King’s, Cambridge. It continues as it started, a college exclusively for fellows with no undergraduates.

When Thomas Wolsey founded Cardinal College in 1525 he intended it to outshine all its predecessors. Despite Henry VIII’s confiscation of his property and endowments, Christ Church, as it was renamed, has retained primacy in matters of size. The (unfinished) quad is the largest in Oxford, it boasts the biggest 18th- and 19th-century college buildings and the chapel is by far the most capacious – though its spread through aisles, transepts and chantry chapels betrays its non-collegiate origin.

The front quad, with the chapel forming its north range, is little changed since the mid-fifteenth century. The chapel adopts the T-plan instigated at Merton and, though little visited, is one of the most glorious in Oxford. The 1870s restoration under George Gilbert Scott happily reversed some of the post-Reformation changes. Particularly fine are the original stalls, the vast reredos with its ranks of sculpted saints and the stained glass, much of which is mediaeval though the Victorian replacements by Clayton & Bell are of the highest quality.

Wolsey had intended to demolish the 12th-century church of the suppressed priory of St Frideswide but it was saved by his demise. Truncated, it became the college chapel and then, in 1546, a cathedral. The resultant combination of collegiate and diocesan functions remains unique. Basically Romanesque, there are Gothic insertions and extensions, notably the vaults with their pendant bosses. For reasons of sight and sound we are limiting attendance at the concerts here to 110.

Wolsey established 16 choristers and chose the first Informator Choristarum, John Taverner, greatest of early Tudor composers.

Christ Church Cathedral, engraving 1816 by John Coney.

6

chapels & venues

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Magdalen College

The Queen’s College

The ambitions and endowment of Magdalen exceeded those of all previous foundations when established by Bishop Waynflete (again of Winchester, again Chancellor) in 1458. On a site outside Oxford’s walls, buildings of several centuries spread across an expansive area which include a deer park beside the River Cherwell.

Though founded in 1340, Queen’s is the only old foundation in Oxford to have no trace of its mediaeval buildings. The two principal quads of the college were built between 1672 and the 1730s. The screen to the High Street is perhaps the most glorious stretch of Classicism in Oxford, and the name Nicholas Hawksmoor has been hesitantly attached to this and to the chapel in the north range of the Front Quad, though there is no proof.

Despite 19th-century restorations, making good Reformation iconoclasm, the glorious chapel is little changed since it was built 1474–80. Despite the munificence of the college’s founder, it is not large. With two choirs installed for the Divine Office we can squeeze 110 people into the main body of the chapel (from which flows the upper limit for the festival, 220). The famous tower followed shortly after, 1492–1509.

Waynflete made provision for eight clerks and 16 choristers and an Informator Choristarum. John Sheppard was among the distinguished holders of this post (1543–48).

Merton College There are earlier foundations, but by the generosity of its endowment and by the prescriptions of its 1264 statutes, Merton qualifies as the first fully-fledged college in either Oxford or Cambridge. Though haphazard in its development, Mob Quad is the earliest surviving quadrangle in Oxford, and it contains England’s oldest library; 14th-century cusped windows still light student rooms.

The chapel, begun around 1290, is also Oxford’s first. Some say it is also the most beautiful, the tracery of the east window ranking with the loveliest of the Decorated phase of English Gothic. Most of the stained glass is original, a rare survival in this city. Building continued for 160 years but the intended nave was never built. The transepts and crossing beneath the tower instead formed an ante-chapel which set a pattern imitated at New College, Magdalen and many other Oxbridge colleges.

Above right: Merton College Chapel by Yoshio Markino, publ. 1910.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Here English Baroque is so mild a version of the continental (and Catholic) manifestations of the style that it merges almost seamlessly with the next and even more restrained phase of English architecture, Palladianism. The acoustics of the chapel are excellent.

Saïd Business School

Chapel & library walks

Designed by one of Britain’s most exciting architectural practices, Dixon Jones, specialists in cultural and academic projects, the Saïd Business School was built in two phases 2001–11. On the roof there is an open-air theatre in the form of its ancient Roman predecessors, a semicircular conical section of stone seats.

The programme of Russian liturgical works with Tenebrae will take place here, beginning at dusk, finishing in darkness.

An indoor alternative has been lined up; the decision will be made an hour before commencement with a presumption in favour of no roof but the sky, even if there is the prospect of getting mildly damp.

Visits to chapels and libraries with an architectural historian are offered as optional extras. The chapel visits provide the opportunity to learn about buildings in which you will be spending quite a lot of time.

University Church of St Mary The parish church of Oxford was also the place where all university ceremonies took place before the Sheldonian Theatre was built, where the governing body gathered and where the embryonic library was first kept (in the oldest library building in the world). Even after the seventeenth century it continued to be used for university and public functions and concerts of Handel’s music in the presence of the composer took place here.

The lecturers are John McNeill and Dr Cathy Oakes, both historians of mediaeval architecture and residents of Oxford.

Details available in Spring 2015.

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society was founded in 1823 as a social and debating club, and for much of its history has been a proving ground for aspiring politicians.

The two main halls are the Old Library of 1857, designed by Benjamin Woodward with Pre-Raphaelite murals by Rossetti, Morris and Burne-Jones (the condition is poor), and Chamber, the present debating chamber of 1878 by Alfred Waterhouse.

It is exceptionally capacious for an English parish church but architecturally is no barn, ranking with the finest churches in the country. Building began at the end of the thirteenth century and enlargements and embellishments continued until the end of the fifteenth century. chapels & venues, walks

7

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

The Concerts Instruments of Time & Truth

Queen’s College Choir

Venue to be confirmed

in Queen’s College Chapel

Haydn’s symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 8, titled Le Matin, Le Midi and Le Soir, were commissioned by the Prince Esterházy as a counterpart to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

This hour-long concert commemorates Haydn’s triumphant visit to Oxford thirty years later, in 1791, by presenting his wholly delightful evocation of the times of day. They would not have been among the music performed during that visit, but they fit here as an Enlightenment artistic expression of the passage of time complementary to – if radically different from – the Divine Office.

The programme is dominated by one of the greatest of English composers, Henry Purcell (1659–95). Funeral Sentences was written for the funeral of Queen Mary II and parts were performed at the composer’s own committal. There are three other works by Purcell (Miserere mei; Beati omnes qui timent Dominum; and Jehova, quam multi sunt hostes mei).

His teacher, John Blow (1648–1709), contributes a motet, Salvator mundi, and Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625) three pieces, including O clap your hands. Finally there is a piece by a Christ Church organist of whom little is known, Christopher Jeffreys (d. 1693).

Magdalen College Choir in Magdalen College Chapel The Officium Defunctorum, commonly called Victoria’s Requiem, was composed

by Tomás Luis de Victoria for the funeral of the Dowager Empress Maria, daughter of Emperor Charles V, sister of Philip II of Spain, wife of Emperor Maximilian II and mother of two other emperors. With a duration of 45 minutes, it is one of the largest compositions of the Renaissance, and certainly one of the greatest.

Merton College Choir Christ Church Choir in Christ Church Cathedral Appropriately, this all-British programme begins with John Taverner, the first director of music at Christ Church College, 1526–31, and continues with William Cornysh (d. 1502). John Sheppard, Informator Choristarum at Magdalen 1543–8 introduces another Oxford connection. He is followed by leading composers of the next three generations, William Byrd (1540–1623), Thomas Morley (c. 1558–1602), Richard Dering (c. 1580–1630) and Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625). Two Williams represent the twentieth century, Walton and Mathias (1934–92), whose Let all the people praise thee was written for the 1981 wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales. There are two organ interludes.

in Merton College Chapel Merton’s choristers begin their concert with motets by the Fleming Philippe de Monte (1521–1603) and William Byrd (1540–1623), two of the great Catholic composers of the era. There follow anthems by Henry Purcell (1659–95) and Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643).

Skipping two centuries, there are works

by Sir Hubert Parry (Oxford Professor of Music 1900–08; Lord, let me know mine end) and Gerald Finzi (1901–56; Lo, the full, final sacrifice). Works by Judith Weir, James Macmillan and Jonathan Dove were commissioned for the Merton Choirbook, a celebration of the College’s 750th anniversary in 2014.

Above: St Mary’s Church from the corner of Oriel and Merton Streets, watercolour by George F. Carline, publ. 1922.

Right centre: Christ Church Cathedral, wood engraving in Old England Vol.1, 1845.

Right, corner: Magdalen Tower, watercolour by Yoshio Markino, publ. 1910.

8

concerts

Stile Antico in the University Church of St Mary This programme traces the surprisingly flexible boundary between sacred and secular music in the Renaissance. It’s hard to disagree that the Devil has the best tunes as we encounter chansons and folksongs transformed into devout Masses and Magnificats by Orlande de Lassus (c. 1532–94), Cristóbal de Morales (c. 1500–53), Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611) and Guillaume Dufay (1397– 1474). It was none other than the Cardinal of Milan who commissioned sacred texts to be fitted to some of Monteverdi’s most erotic madrigals which finish this survey of three centuries of – sacred or profane? – music.

Tenebrae in the Saïd Business School No Christian liturgy is defined by the intoned human voice quite like that of the eastern Orthodox Churches. The ‘spoken’ word is entirely absent from the Russian liturgy, lacking as it does the element of spiritual theatre endowed by the solemn chant. The wealth of choral music dates back to the sixteenth century and evolved more-or-less uninterrupted until the 1917 Revolution. Russian choral music has been a feature in Tenebrae’s concert performances since the choir’s inception, and this exquisite collection includes some little-known gems as well as some familiar favourites from this vast area of choral repertoire.

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

The Tallis Scholars in Christ Church Cathedral The Tallis Scholars begin with music by former Informator Choristarum of Magdalen College, John Sheppard (1515–58). They continue with exploration of the contemporary composer Arvo Pärt (born 1935) with one of his finest motets, Tribute to Caesar. Pärt’s particular world of intense simplicity and calm is often said to resemble the mood of some Renaissance polyphony, and Thomas Tallis’s Sancte deus shows this well. The programme returns to Sheppard with motets Gaude, gaude, gaude and Libera nos.

Queen’s College Choir & Instruments of Time & Truth in the University Church of St Mary The final concert consists of four magnificent ecclesiastical works by George Frideric Handel: Zadok the Priest, The king shall rejoice, Te Deum for the Peace of Utrecht and My heart is inditing.

Handel was invited to Oxford in 1733 to receive an honorary doctorate, and though he refused the award he did visit and directed a number of concerts, one of which took place here in the University Church. Owen Rees, director of music at The Queen’s College, is the conductor.

More about the concerts Practical information Exclusive access. The concerts are private, being planned and administered by Martin Randall Travel exclusively for an audience consisting of those who have taken the full festival package.

Tickets for individual concerts may be put on sale from 1st September 2015, if any spare places remain, to those who have registered interest before this date.

Secular. All the performances are concerts rather than religious services.

Duration. Most are a little less than an hour. Matins may be 80 minutes, while four of the Offices are about half an hour. None of the concerts has an interval.

Seats. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit were you want or where there is space. Most seating is in stalls or pews.

Repeats. Only two of the venues used for this festival, the University Church of St Mary and the Saïd Business School, can accommodate the whole audience with satisfactory acoustics and sightlines. Concerts in the other venues are therefore repeated – or, for the Divine Office itself, there are two simultaneous performances.

You don’t have to attend them all!

Seventeen concerts is a lot to absorb in five days. To conserve energy it might be wise to omit one or two.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

concerts

9

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

The Divine Office day

The central component of the festival is the performance of the complete Divine Office, within the span of a single day and at the appropriate times. There are eight Offices of the Hours; the first, Matins, begins at 1.00am and the eighth, Compline, finishes towards 10.00pm.

The principal features of the Offices are the chanting of psalms with their antiphons, the singing of hymns and canticles, and the chanting of readings from the Bible with sung responsories.

The most spiritually charged musical tradition to have emerged from western civilization has, in essentials, changed little in nearly fifteen hundred years.

Aspects may go back further: the roots of plainchant (‘Gregorian’ chant) may lie in Jewish or Pharaonic practice.

Though this ‘performance’ of the Divine Office (they are concerts, not services) is basically an authentic rendering as might have been performed in late-mediaeval or early-modern Britain or Europe, there are some departures from liturgical correctness. It does not follow the texts prescribed for a particular day, and we err on the side of musical elaboration beyond what is canonically necessary. The polyphonic passages have been selected from among the finest ever composed, within an (hardly limiting) overarching Marian theme.

Nine choirs take part, two of which – The Tallis Scholars, Westminster Cathedral Choir – have opted to participate in all eight Offices. There are two challenges facing contemporary choirs wishing to perform the complete Divine Office, apart from sleep deprivation: vocal stamina, and the quantity of plainchant whose singing is a specialist skill not easily mastered.

Our solution is to engage two choirs for most of the Hours, one to perform the chant and the other the polyphony – formerly standard practice in the better endowed cathedrals and colleges.

Were you to attend all eight Hours, you would become one of an elite few among living souls who had done so, so rare is the opportunity now. Even were you to skip the less agreeably timed ones, you would be exposed to what is one of the most potent spiritual and aesthetic experiences available in the world today.

Moreover it could be said, at the risk of divine wrath for extreme hubris, that, musically, this manifestation of the Divine Office will rank as the finest ever performed (along with the 2012 edition of the festival), it being rare for so many first-rate choirs to participate.

As the capacity of the chapels is limited, all but one of the Offices are performed in two chapels simultaneously. Audience members are assigned to a particular set of the eight Hours to ensure maximum variety of choirs and chapels.

We shall ask that there be no applause at any time during this extraordinary day, and that silence prevail while in the chapels.

Above: the High Street, after a photograph by J. Valentine.

10

divine office day

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Lectures Matins, 1.00am

Sext, 12.00 noon

The liturgical day starts with the Night Office, potentially the longest of the Canonical Hours, though we are limiting it to 60 minutes. Musically it is also one of the most important of the Offices, including some of the most ancient chants and finishing with a Te Deum.

The third of the ‘Little Hours’ is at the hour which is the sixth, according to the system by which twelve hours are counted from dawn to sundown.

Christ Church Cathedral: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

Merton College Chapel: Merton College Choir (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Lauds, 4.00am Also called Morning Prayer, Lauds, which in high summer might be at daybreak, is musically also one of the three most important Offices. It includes the canticle Beata es Maria.

Magdalen College Chapel: Stile Antico (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Christ Church Cathedral: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

Prime, 6.30am A short service, the first of the ‘Little Hours’, we have timed this so that the congregations enter the chapels before dawn and leave in daylight.

All Souls College Chapel: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

Magdalen College Chapel: the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant and polyphony).

Terce & Mass, 9.15am The second of the ‘Little Hours’ is followed immediately by Morning Mass, the principal service of the Catholic Church. The University Church of St Mary has the capacity to accommodate the whole audience so there is only one performance of this Office.

University Church of St Mary: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Merton College Chapel: Merton College Choir (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Four lectures are part of the package, all by leading experts on subjects central to the festival. They are given in the Oxford Union, which is also the venue for the colloquium on the last day at which some of the musicians discuss the Divine Office and related matters.

Magdalen College Chapel: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

Professor Christopher Page on plainchant

None, 3.30pm

Professor of Medieval Music and Literature at the University of Cambridge, he is the author of many scholarly works, founded and directed the vocal ensemble Gothic Voices (now with 25 cds) and has presented BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Programme.

The last of the ‘Little Hours’, with a duration of about half an hour.

Queen’s College Chapel: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

All Souls College Chapel: Magdalen College Choir (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Vespers, 6.45pm Vespers is musically the most significant of the Offices, being the first to admit polyphony and progressing to become the arena for some of the greatest music ever written. The Magnificat is the principal canticle. The boys join the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir.

Merton College Chapel: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony)and Sospiri (chant).

Queen’s College Chapel: Westminster Cathedral Choir (including choristers).

Supper follows in either Trinity or Magdalen College Hall.

Compline, 9.15pm The last Office of the day features the singing of the votive antiphon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

All Souls College Chapel: Stile Antico (polyphony) and the men of Westminster Cathedral Choir (chant).

Christ Church Cathedral: The Tallis Scholars (polyphony) and Sospiri (chant).

Peter Phillips on polyphony As well as Director of Music at Merton College and Director of The Tallis Scholars, Peter Phillips is a leading scholar of Renaissance music. He teaches the subject worldwide, and is a columnist about music matters for The Spectator.

Revd Dr Simon Jones on liturgy The chaplain of Merton College teaches liturgy and worship to theology students at Oxford University. He is a member of the Church of England Liturgical Commission and chairs the Oxford Diocesan Liturgical Committee.

Prof Diarmaid MacCulloch on the English Reformation Three books by Oxford’s Professor of the History of the Church have won major prizes: Thomas Cranmer: A Life, Reformation: Europe’s House Divided 1490–1700 and A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, which was also an acclaimed six-part television series. He was knighted in 2012.

divine office day, lectures

11

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Accommodation

Accommodation for four nights is included in the festival package. We have selected five hotels and one college for you to choose from.

The choice of hotel or college is the main determinant of variations in the package price.

Prices are listed on page 14.

College accommodation: Pembroke College The rooms are in a handsome new development, opened in 2013, which is built around a clutch of small quads and terraces. The bedrooms and their en-suite bathrooms (showers, not baths) are compact and sparse: this is student accommodation, and the college is not a hotel (which also means there are no receptionists as such). Rooms are for single occupancy. There is a café on site which is open during the day but there is no lounge or communal space. Stone steps are a feature.

Architecturally this is a pleasing environment, and antiquity is amply supplied by the need to pass through two quads in order to reach the street, and by the hall where breakfast is served, which is modified mediaeval. Pembroke is opposite the Tom Gate entrance to Christ Church College. www.pmb.ox.ac.uk

Eastgate Hotel, 3-star

Old Parsonage Hotel, 4-star

Built on the site of a former coaching inn, the Eastgate – a Mercure hotel – is excellently located for many of the concerts. Bedrooms have little character but are comfortable with all mod cons.

Public rooms are agreeable.

This is a very attractive hotel. Its core is a lovely 17th-century rectory and the public areas in this part are delightful – colourful, comfortable and idiosyncratic.

A remarkable collection of 20th-century paintings covers the walls. The restaurant is good. After all this charm and warmth, the bedrooms in the new block to the rear are disappointingly ordinary, though they are equipped with all the usual mod cons. The hotel has recently been entirely refurbished.

Its location in narrow Merton Street makes it one of the quietest of our selection of hotels though some rooms overlook the High Street.

There is a car park which costs c. £15 per night; there is no need to pre-book.

Website: google ‘mercure eastgate oxford’

Vanbrugh House Hotel, 4-star A former post office, the Vanbrugh House Hotel is based in two 18th-century houses on a quiet side street in central Oxford. Due to the historic nature of the building, bedrooms vary in size and outlook. It has been tastefully decorated in neutral colours throughout and has a pleasant, though small, lounge. The hotel will be used exclusively by Divine Office participants.

There is a restaurant in the basement where breakfast is served, though it is too small to accommodate all guests simultaneously.

There is no parking available at this hotel. www.vanbrughhousehotel.co.uk

Above: Queen’s College and All Souls College, copper engraving c. 1800.

Centre: in front of the Sheldonian Theatre, by Yoshio Markino, publ. 1910.

Far right: Tom Tower (Christ Church) from St Aldates, from Cathedrals, The Great Western Railway, 1926.

12

accommodation

Due to its situation on the edge of central Oxford, transport by private coach will be arranged for some of the concerts, but many journeys will be on foot and could be up to 30 minutes. Taxis are easily obtained.

There is very limited parking at The Old Parsonage and they cannot guarantee spaces. www.oldparsonage-hotel.co.uk

Old Bank Hotel, 4-star Housed in a former bank built in the 19th century, this boutique hotel is comfortable and stylish and very well run; service is excellent. It was winner of a Good Hotel Guide César award in 2011.

Rooms have modern décor and many have views of spires and rooftops. Rooms at the front of the hotel look out over the busy High Street though noise-proof glazing is effective. Venues are within 10 or 12 minutes on foot except the Saïd Business School, for which up to 20 should be allowed.

Parking at The Old Bank Hotel is available at no charge and there is no need to pre-book. www.oldbank-hotel.co.uk

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Meals Please note: the food provided in college halls is of high quality and such as one might expect of a good restaurant. It is of a standard provided for high table on special occasions and not for students. But note also that in hall you sit on benches, so you will have to swing your legs over them or slide in from the end.

Notes on accommodation

Three dinners are provided in the festival package.

Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, which most of these are, rooms vary in size and outlook.

On the first night you dine in the hotel or college in which you are staying. On the second evening everyone has dinner in New College Hall.

Quiet? Those staying in hotels may be affected by some traffic noise.

Accommodation in Pembroke College is quieter.

On the fourth evening dinner is provided between Vespers and Compline in either Trinity or Magdalen College Hall.

Suites. Some hotels have suites and deluxe rooms. All are subject to availability at the time of booking.

Prices are given on page 14.

Other practicalities Starting & finishing

Getting to Oxford

28th September, 2.45pm: the festival begins with a lecture at the Oxford Union at 2.45pm, with the first concerts at 4.00pm.

All Oxford authorities discourage the use of cars. There are five ‘Park and Ride’ car parks surrounding the city. Parking is free in these and the bus costs £2.70 per person. Parking is available at some hotels; see the hotel descriptions. There is no parking at Pembroke College.

2nd October, 4.00pm: the last concert will be over by 4.00pm.

Divided audience Participants will be divided into two audiences for those concerts (14 of the 17) in venues that are too small to accommodate everyone.

Fitness for the festival

Randolph Hotel, 5-star The most famous hotel in Oxford, the venerable Randolph is housed in an austere Gothic Revival building in Beaumont Street. The bedrooms, of which there are several categories, are well decorated in a fairly traditional way and are very comfortable. Public rooms include a ‘Morse’ bar, a bright and airy lounge and a fine restaurant. Run by the Macdonald hotel group, service is more comparable to that of a 4-star hotel.

Rooms with a street view may hear some traffic noise.

There is a lot of walking involved in this festival, and some halls are reached via flights of stairs. Participants will need to be able to walk unaided for up to 30 minutes, the time it will take slow walkers to get to the furthest event (though most walks are shorter). Traffic restrictions and congestion render coach transport impractical.

There are regular direct trains from London, Southampton, Manchester, York and various other places, and there are frequent coach services from London.

Festival staff will be at the railway station between 12.00 noon and 2.15pm on 28th September to despatch you in taxis, for which there will be no charge on this day.

Immediately after the last concert, coaches will be available to take you to the railway and coach stations and to ‘park and ride’ car parks.

We will issue all participants with more detailed fitness requirements, but please contact us now if you would like to discuss your level of fitness.

There is no age limit but we do ask you to think seriously about the above.

Most venues are 15–20 minutes away on foot.

Parking at the hotel costs c. £29 per night and must be pre-booked with the concierge. www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

meals, other practicalities

13

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Prices All prices are per person

Pembroke College Eastgate Hotel

Single room

Double for single occupancy

Standard double or twin room

Superior double or twin room

Suite

£2,010

-

-

-

-

-

£2,470

£2,180

-

-

£2,660

£2,310

£2,490

-

Vanbrugh House Hotel Old Parsonage Hotel

-

£2,920

£2,540

£2,790

-

Old Bank Hotel

-

£3,050

-

£2,830

-

Randolph Hotel

-

£3,030

£2,670

£2,830

£3,110

Arriving a day early There may be rooms available in your chosen hotel or college for the night of Sunday, 27th September.

Please contact us if you would like to book a room for this night. However, it is often the case that you will find a better rate for additional nights by booking directly with the hotel rather than through us.

Deposit: £250 per person

What the price includes Concerts. The package includes access to all seventeen concerts including the eight offices of the Divine Office. A few tickets for individual events may be available after 3rd September 2015.

Lectures. There are four talks by leading academics. See page 11.

Accommodation. Four or five nights are spent either in hotels or in college rooms.

See pages 12–13 for details. The choice of accommodation is the sole determinant of variations in the prices.

14

prices

Meals. Included in the package are breakfasts and three dinners.

Transport. Coaches are provided for some of the events for those staying at the Old Parsonage Hotel and, on the last day, for anyone who wants to be taken to the railway station, bus station or ‘park and ride’ car parks.

Extras. Tips for restaurant and hotel staff and all taxes and obligatory charges are included.

Festival staff. A team comprising staff from the MRT office and experienced event managers will be present to assist.

Programme booklet. A publication containing a timetable, practical information, programme notes and much else is issued to all participants.

Below: after a drawing by Joseph Pennell (1857–1926).

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Walking a Royal River

Art, architecture & history from the source to Hampton Court Pre-festival tour 21–27 September 2015 (mc 450) 7 days • £2,380 Lecturer: Dr Paul Atterbury Walk between two and five miles a day along stretches of the towpath from the source of the Thames to Hampton Court, and through the gentle hills which flank the valley.

Visit villages, churches, country houses, gardens and palaces with regal connections from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Can be combined with The Divine Office or booked on its own.

Led by Dr Paul Atterbury who specialises in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries.

‘The Thames is no ordinary waterway.

It is the golden thread of our nation’s history.’ It is not to disparage Churchill’s irresistibly orotund metaphor to assert nevertheless that, by comparison with the other great rivers of the world, the Thames is puny. But therein lies its enchantment.

While in its lower reaches the river passed through what was for a couple of centuries the largest city in the world and host to its largest port, above the tidal limit at Teddington it was too narrow, too shallow and too meandering to contribute much to the industrial or commercial might of Britain in the early modern era. A vital channel of communication when oars and poles were the locomotive forces – not least to transport rulers and courtiers to their country retreats upstream of the capital – for much of its length the Thames is now a bucolic backwater.

This tour selects some of the most attractive stretches of the river to walk along, but it does not follow a linear journey from one end to the other. While resorting regularly to the towpath (now a designated long-distance trail, the Thames Path), it also ranges through varied countryside and gentle hills, and includes a representative spread of the best of the buildings, artefacts and art in the region.

As much as anything, this tour is an exploration of the English village. The numerous examples are as well-preserved as they are various. Parish churches

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

Cookham Church, watercolour by Ernest W. Haslehurst, publ. 1930.

and Iron Age forts, manor houses and major mansions, rapturous gardens and leafy churchyards, mediaeval, classical and railway-era bridges, associations with artists and writers, and of course quintessential riverine landscapes: these are chief among the attractions of the tour.

It omits the larger towns and the more frequented sights. As a travel writer put it in 1910, ‘You cannot rusticate at Reading’.

Even Oxford is by-passed; to cram the city into an afternoon would be cruel, and besides, the timing of this tour allows participants to segue into the festival.

Lecturer Dr Paul Atterbury. Lecturer, writer, curator and broadcaster specialising in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries. Has published many books on pottery, porcelain, silver and antiques, also on canals and railways, and two books on the Thames. He has worked as an external curator of the V&A on a number of exhibitions including Pugin and The Victorian Vision and was Historical Advisor to Royal Doulton in Stoke-on-Trent. He is a long standing expert on BBC’s Antiques Roadshow.

Itinerary Day 1: Thames Head. Leave The Swan Hotel, Bibury, at 2.15pm or Kemble Railway Station at 3.00pm. The tour

begins with the source of the Thames.

A soaring rockface, a majestic spurt: an awesome spectacle. Actually, no. A damp patch, the trickle varying with yesterday’s weather, reached by walking across three fields. Total walk: 2 miles on grassy, level paths. First of three nights in Bibury.

Day 2: Inglesham, Lechlade, Great Coxwell. Begin the day with Inglesham church, a beautifully isolated church dating to Saxon times. Continue on foot and walk c. 3 miles along the river to Lechlade-on-Thames, a vibrant small town with a fine Gothic church and a handsome bridge. Visit the masterful mediaeval barn at Great Coxwell, which King John gave to the Cistercian monks in 1203 as part of the Manor of Faringdon.

Return to Bibury with a 2-mile walk along grassy paths and through woodland from Coln St Aldwyns.

Day 3. Buscot, Kelmscott. Begin the walk at Buscot, whose church has a Burne Jones window, and continue c. 2½ miles on a level, grassy path beside the Thames.

Visit Kelmscott Manor, the Tudor house acquired by William Morris, founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. In the afternoon visit Buscot Park, a Palladian mansion with Burne Jones paintings and outstanding gardens.

Day 4: Wittenham Clumps, Dorchester, Ewelme. Begin at the river at Shillingford pre-festival tour

15

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Walking a Royal River and then walk up to Wittenham Clumps, a pair of hillocks with views over a particularly attractive stretch of the Thames Valley. Descend through woods and across farmland, passing an Iron Age fort, to Dorchester-on-Thames.

Total walk: c. 4½ miles. Visit the abbey church here, one of the finest mediaeval buildings in Oxfordshire, where St Birinus baptised King Cynegils of Wessex in 635. Continue to Ewelme, site of a Saxon palace, and today a unique complex of 15th-century church, almshouses and school, all still functioning. First of three nights in Marlow.

Kelmscott Manor, after a drawing by Charles G. Harper from Thames Valley Villages, 1910.

1440 by King Henry VI). Eton College is currently undergoing extensive renovations and is unable to confirm a visit this far in advance. Dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the vicinity of Marlow.

Overnight Marlow.

Day 7: Hampton Court Palace, London or Oxford. Hampton Court was begun

by Cardinal Wolsey, enlarged by Henry VIII and 150 years later partly rebuilt by Christopher Wren for William III and Mary II. The most sumptuous of surviving Tudor palaces is joined to the most magnificent of 17th-cent. buildings in Britain; great interiors, fine works of art, beautiful gardens, a formal park. Drive to London, arriving by c. 3.00pm.

About us Martin Randall Travel aims to provide the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available.

They focus on art, music, history and archaeology in Britain and continental Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, Asia and the Americas. Each year there are about 240 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10 to 20 participants), a dozen music festivals and symposia and about 80 study days in London. For over twenty-five years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, and set the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards.

MRT is Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.

Other tours which could be combined with The Divine Office Dark Age Brilliance Day 5: Hardwick, Henley-on-Thames, Cliveden. Hardwick House is a grand, gabled Tudor residence: Elizabeth I and Charles I once stayed there. Now privately owned, it is open by special arrangement.

See the River and Rowing Museum at Henley-on-Thames, with its extensive collection of art, photographs and boats relating to river history. Cliveden’s magnificent formal gardens and woods beside the Thames have been admired for centuries. Cliveden was once the glittering hub of society, visited by virtually every British monarch since George I, home to Waldorf and Nancy Astor in the early 20th century and renowned for its parties and political gatherings.

Day 6: Cookham, Eton. Walk from the hotel beside the river (4½ miles on a level path along tarmac or grass) to Cookham, life-long home of painter Stanley Spencer (1891–1959); there is a gallery of his work and a fine parish church. Tour the buildings of Eton College (founded 16

pre-festival tour

Practicalities

20–27 September 2015 (mc 443) Lecturer: Dr Ffiona Gilmore Eaves Some of the finest art and architecture of the early Middle Ages in north-east Italy.

Price: £2,380 (deposit £250). Single supplement £320 (double room for single occupancy).

Athens & Rome

Please note that the night of Saturday, 27th September is not included in the tour price. Please contact us if you would like a quote for an additional night in Oxford or Marlow.

3–10 October 2015 (mc 487) Lecturer: Professor Roger Wilson A comprehensive look at the two most influential civilizations of the Western world.

Included meals: one lunch and four dinners with wine.

Courts of Northern Italy

Accommodation. The Swan, Bibury (cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk): a former 17th-century coaching inn in the heart of the village. The Compleat Angler, Marlow (macdonaldhotels.co.uk): well-positioned beside the Thames with excellent views.

Group size: 10–18 participants.

4–11 October 2015 (mc 476) Lecturer: Dr Michael Douglas-Scott Art and architecture in Mantua, Ferrara, Parma, Ravenna and Urbino.

Art in the Netherlands 4–10 October 2015 (mc 488) Lecturer: Dr Guus Sluiter Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, and the recently re-opened Rijksmuseum.

Please contact us for full details of these tours or visit www.martinrandall.com

book online at www.martinrandall.com

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Booking form Your name(s) – as you would like it/them to appear to other festival participants.

1.

2.

Contact details for correspondence.

Address

Fax Mobile Email

☐ Tick if you do NOT want to receive updates by email on other tours and festivals.

Postcode

☐ Tick if you do NOT want to receive any more of our brochures.

Telephone (home)

How did you originally hear about us?

Telephone (work)

Accommodation (see pages 12–13). Please tick to select your chosen hotel or college accommodation and room type.

Double room for single occupancy

Standard double room (two sharing)

Standard twin room (two sharing)

Superior double room (two sharing)

Superior twin room (two sharing)

Suite (two sharing)

☐

-

-

-

-

-

-

Eastgate Hotel

-

☐

☐

☐

-

-

-

Vanbrugh House Hotel

-

☐

☐

☐

☐

☐

-

Old Parsonage Hotel

-

☐

☐

☐

☐

☐

-

Old Bank Hotel

-

☐

-

-

☐

☐

-

Randolph Hotel

-

☐

☐

☐

☐

☐

☐

Single room

Pembroke College

Pre-festival tour (tick to book). ☐ Walking a Royal River, 21–27 September 2015 (page 15) Room type (tick one): ☐ Double room for single occupancy ☐ Twin room (two sharing) ☐ Double room (two sharing) If you would like a quote for the night of the 27th September (in Oxford or Marlow), please write this in the box to the right.

Special requests including dietary requirements (even if you have told us before), and requests for extra nights.

m a rt i n r a n d a l l t r av e l

Booking form Passport details (in block capitals). Required by hotels if you do not live in the United Kingdom.

Participant 1

Participant 2

Title

Title

Surname

Surname

Forename(s)

Forename(s)

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Date of birth (dd/mm/yy)

Passport number

Passport number

Place of birth

Place of birth

Place of issue

Place of issue

Nationality

Nationality

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of issue (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

Date of expiry (dd/mm/yy)

Next of kin or contact in case of emergency.

Name

Telephone number

Address

Relation to you

Payment details EITHER deposit(s) at £250 per person for the festival, plus £250 per person if you are booking the pre-festival tour Total: £ OR full payment – required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival (i.e. 20th July 2015 or later) Total: £

☐ OR by bank transfer. Please use your surname and the festival code (mc 460) as the reference and allow for all bank charges.

Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd Bank name and address: Royal Bank of Scotland, Drummonds, 49 Charing Cross, London SW1A 2DX Account number: 0019 6050. Sort code: 16-00-38 IBAN: GB71 RBOS 1600 3800 1960 50 Swift/ BIC code: RBOS GB2L

☐ EITHER by cheque. Please make cheques payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd, with the festival code (mc 460) on the back.

Agreement

☐ OR by credit or debit card. We accept payment by Visa, Amex or Mastercard.

I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.

Card number

Signed

Expiry date

Start date

Date

Australia: Telephone 1300 55 95 95 USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168 Martin Randall Travel Ltd New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622 Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, anz@martinrandall.com.au London, United Kingdom W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com 5085

The Divine Office: Choral Music in Oxford, 28 September–2 October 2015

Making a booking 1. Provisional booking

2. Definite booking

3. Our confirmation

We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred accommodation is still available. You can make a provisional booking which we will hold for one week (longer if necessary) pending receipt of your completed Booking Form and deposit.

Fill in the Booking Form and send it to us with the deposit(s). It is important that you read the Booking Conditions at this stage, and that you sign the Booking Form. Full payment is required if you are booking within ten weeks of the festival.

Upon receipt of your Booking Form and deposit we send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions.

UK residents take out insurance which would protect you in the event of cancellation and the loss or theft of belongings.

Financial protection. We provide full financial protection for our package holidays that do not include a flight by way of a bond held by ABTA The Travel Association.

Booking conditions Please read these You need to sign your assent to these booking conditions on the booking form.

Our promises to you We aim to be fair, reasonable and sympathetic in all our dealings with clients, and to act always with integrity.

We will meet all our legal and regulatory responsibilities, often going beyond the minimum obligations.

We aim to provide full and accurate information about our tours and festivals. If there are changes, we will tell you promptly.

If something does go wrong, we will try to put it right. Our overriding aim is to ensure that every client is satisfied with our services.

All we ask of you We ask that you read the information we send to you.

Specific terms Our contract with you. From the time we receive your signed booking form and initial payment, a contract exists between you and Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Eligibility. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without necessarily giving a reason.

You need to have a level of fitness which would not spoil other participants’ enjoyment of the holiday by slowing them down – see ‘Fitness for the festival’ on page 13. To this end we shall issue fitness requirements to all participants to self-assess their capability.

Those participants who are unable to cope during the festival or pre-festival tour may be required to opt out.

Passports and visas. Overseas clients should check visa requirements for entering the UK with the British Consulate in their country of residence. Visas are not required for nationals of EU countries, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Passports should be valid for at least six months beyond the end of the festival.

If you cancel. If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or pre-festival tour, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before departure the deposit only is forfeited.

Thereafter a percentage of the total cost will be due: from 56 to 29 days: from 28 to 15 days: from 14 to 3 days: within 48 hours:

40% 60% 80% 100%

We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive your written confirmation of cancellation.

If we cancel the festival or tour. We might decide to cancel the festival or tour if at any time up to eight weeks before there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable. We would refund everything you had paid to us.

The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of the festival or tour, except those in which the principle of force majeure prevails. Our obligations and responsibilities are also limited where international conventions apply in respect of air, sea or rail carriers, including the Warsaw Convention and its various updates.

If we make changes. Circumstances might arise which prevent us from operating the festival or tour exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival or tour we would offer compensation. If you decide to cancel because the alternative we offer is not acceptable we would give a full refund.

English Law. These conditions form part of your contract with Martin Randall Travel Ltd and are governed by English law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

5085

Insurance. As a condition of booking with us overseas residents must take out travel insurance for the duration of the festival (and pre-festival tour if booking this too).

This should include full cover for medical treatment, including for your medical conditions, repatriation, loss of property and cancellation charges. We also recommend that Right: Oxford, from the Sheldonian Theatre, watercolour by J. Fulleylove, publ. 1922.

Te l e p h o n e + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5

booking details

19

M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L Martin Randall Travel Ltd Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London, United Kingdom W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk Australia: Martin Randall Australasia, PO Box 1024, Indooroopilly QLD 4068 Telephone 1300 55 95 95 Fax 07 3371 8288 anz@martinrandall.com.au From New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622 Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 Fax 416 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168

5085

www.martinrandall.com Front cover: Oxford from the Sheldonian Theatre, etching c. 1905 by W. Monk.

Left: Magdalen Chapel from Magdalen College Oxford, 1907.

Below: The Tallis Scholars (©Eric Richmond).

‘It was a privilege to experience such music performed by musicians of the highest calibre in such marvellous surroundings.”

‘The Divine Office was an extraordinary few days and I can’t imagine it could have been done any better.’

Comments from participants on The Divine Office in 2012