English Music in Yorkshire
M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
22–27 September 2013
M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
English Music in Yorkshire For twenty years we have pioneered a very special sort of music festival in many locations throughout Europe. The distinguishing features are an intense sequence of private concerts with music of the region, artists who are among the very best for the repertoire, and venues which are beautiful and historic and appropriate for the music performed in them.
In practically any other country, these would be performed and celebrated as integral to the rich tapestry of national culture. This festival attempts to do just that, revealing great but rarely heard music alongside well-known masterpieces. ‘Land ohne Musik’ is a libel which no one who attends this festival will concede has merit.
Now it is the turn of England, and a festival of music exclusively by English composers. It is a mystery why so much native first-rate music rarely makes it to the concert platform. English Renaissance polyphony is now appreciated internationally as belonging to the highest achievements of the age, Purcell is acknowledged as one of the great composers and similar prestige attaches to the vocal music of Benjamin Britten (whose centenary falls in 2013): but vast tracts of English music have fallen silent.
For beauty of cityscape and density of great architecture, York has few rivals. The old centre is extensive but small enough to be traversed easily on foot. Much of the countryside around is outstandingly attractive, and is populated with an array of great country houses, four of which host concerts for this festival.
22–27 September 2013 Twelve private concerts or musical occasions in beautiful historic buildings, for an audience of no more than 180. Music by English composers of all eras from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Some of Britain’s finest musicians and ensembles, leading specialists in their repertoire, perform for us. The price includes accommodation, some meals, receptions, lectures and other services as well as all the concerts. Suits independent-minded travellers as well as those who like the social aspect of these events. Based in York, one of England’s finest historic cities, with excursions into the countryside for concerts in stately homes.
Castle Howard, engraving based on Colen Cambell’s Vitruvius Britannicus, 1720s.
M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com
Australia: telephone 1300 55 95 95 Canada: telephone 647 382 1644 New Zealand: telephone 0800 877 622 canada@martinrandall.ca anz@martinrandall.com.au USA: telephone 1 800 988 6168
English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013 York, from the Ouse, wood engraving 1888 from Our Own Country. The Orlando Consort ©Eric Richmond.
The Programme Day 1, Sunday 22 September The festival begins with a lecture at 3.45pm. There follow a drinks reception, dinner and the first concert – though not necessarily in that order: half the audience have the concert first.
Concert 1: Holy Trinity Goodramgate, York The Orlando Consort
Voices Past, Voices Present: Medieval English Music Embedded in the matrix of narrow streets and ancient masonry in the centre of York, this former parish church is virtually hidden from passers-by. Parts date to the twelfth century, but most of the fabric is of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This is an exceedingly attractive building, architecturally unpretentious but alluringly atmospheric. Seating consists entirely of box pews, a rare survival (their uncomfortableness explains why). It is now looked after by The Churches Conservation Trust. This programme consists of English a cappella music from the thirteenth century to the fifteenth. Haunting piety stands side by side with unfettered exuberance, and the skill, sophistication and imagination of the largely anonymous English composers is immediately evident. There is a Yorkshire flavour with a number
Contents
The Programme........................................................3–11 Lectures........................................................................11 Hotels, meals..........................................................12–13 The Package, prices.......................................................14
of distinctive pieces from two local monastic establishments, Fountains Abbey and Meaux Abbey. The Orlando Consort – Matthew Venner alto, Mark Dobell tenor, Angus Smith tenor and Donald Greig baritone – was founded in 1988 and has achieved a world-wide reputation as one of Europe’s most expert and consistently challenging groups performing repertoire from 1050 to 1550. They have appeared at many of the top festivals in Britain and throughout the world, and have made numerous recordings. Front cover illustration: York, Petergate and the Minster, lithograph of c. 1830. Back page: Duncombe Park, detail from an engraving after a drawing by Colen Campbell published in Vitruvius Britannicus, 1725. This brochure was designed inhouse by Jo Murray. The text was written and edited by Martin Randall and Sarah Pullen.
More about the festival.................................................15 Pre-festival tour: Yorkshire Houses...............................16 Booking form.........................................................17–18 How to book, booking conditions................................19
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Programme York, St Leonards Place, original drawing,1940s, with thanks to James and Alice Kerr.
Day 2, Monday 23 September
accompanying instruments are harp, gittern, vielle, rebec, flute, recorders and bagpipes, and songs are interspersed with instrumental dance music.
There are two concerts today, in venues the capacity of which requires several repeat performances – three and four times respectively.
The Dufay Collective, formed in 1987, has remained at the forefront of medieval and Renaissance music interpretation ever since. The group has toured the world, and critical acclaim has greeted all their recordings. The group succeeds in presenting thorough research coupled with a flair for virtuosic and entertaining programming.
Concert 2: Markenfield Hall The Dufay Collective
Musing in my Mind: Love & Devotion in Medieval England Markenfield is quite simply the best surviving medieval moated manor house in England. Parts date to c. 1290, while the crenellations were licensed in 1310, the date also of the Great Hall. The gatehouse is Tudor. Remarkably, it is still inhabited, being the charming home of Lady Deirdre and Ian Curteis (Historic Houses Association Award for Restoration 2008). Situated in countryside twenty-seven miles from York, it is still the centre of a working farm. There can be few places better suited to this programme of song and poetry written in English by Chaucer and his contemporaries at a time – the decades around 1400 – when the vernacular was rapidly coming into favour. Lyrics and melodies rarely survive together, but there is sufficient extant music to put the poetry back into its authentic context. The M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
The Dufay Collective.
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Clockwise from top left: The Avison Ensemble; The Aronowitz Ensemble; Peter Harvey ©Carole Latimer; Mhairi Lawson.
Day 3, Tuesday 24 September A lecture and a concert make for a fairly leisurely day. Then there is Evensong at 5.00pm and the concert in the Chapter House at 9.15pm.
Concert 4: North Eastern Railway Headquarters The Aronowitz Ensemble
Strings & Piano: Bridge & Elgar, the Last Romantics There are few office buildings of the time to rival the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway. It was built 1900–6, when the company was at the peak of its power, in the then fashionable ‘Wrenaissance’ style, though externally more elaborate than any mansion by Sir Christopher Wren himself. The concert takes place in the grandiose oak-panelled boardroom. The building is now a five-star hotel, in which some of the audience is accommodated.
Concert 3: Mansion House, York Avison Chamber Ensemble Pavlo Beznosiuk (leader) Mhairi Lawson (soprano), Peter Harvey (baritone)
English Dialogues: Music for the Stage under the Stuarts The town hall and mayor’s residence is an impressive Palladian design of 1725–33. A fine wooden staircase leads to the State Room, which is elaborately panelled and displays eighteenth-century portraits of local worthies. Fire regulations limit numbers here so this fifty-minute concert is performed four times.
A perfect place, therefore, to hear the lush but melancholic Phantasie Piano Quartet of 1910 by Frank Bridge (1879–1941) and the 1919 Piano Quintet by Edward Elgar (1857–1934), surely one of the greatest chamber works in the canon, and one which incidentally seems to some to embody the essence of Englishness. String quartet arrangements of Fantasias by Henry Purcell (1659–95) and Britten’s Bagatelle for violin, viola and piano round out the programme.
The Avison Ensemble is one of England’s foremost exponents of eighteenth-century music on period instruments. It is named after Charles Avison (1709–1770), the Newcastle-born composer. Directed by Pavlo Beznosiuk, renowned exponent of historically informed violin performance, they have made several acclaimed recordings and appeared in concert halls and festivals around Europe.
The Aronowitz Ensemble was formed in 2004 out of the desire of seven outstanding international artists to explore and perform chamber music together in the highly adaptable combination of string sextet and piano. Since their debut in 2004 they have maintained a busy schedule in major concert halls and at festivals in the UK and have been featured extensively on BBC Radio 3.
The sung ‘dialogues’ of the title are from music for the stage by Matthew Locke (1621–77), John Blow (1649–1708) and Henry Purcell (1659–95), interspersed with instrumental ‘dialogues’ in the form of Purcell trio sonatas and a little suite by William Lawes (1602–45). Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Programme Evensong: York Minster, Quire The Choir of York Minster Robert Sharpe (Director of Music)
Minster Composers at Festive Evensong York Minster is the largest of English medieval cathedrals, and in the opinion of many the greatest. Though a Norman predecessor determines some of the proportions, above ground it is all Gothic, from Early English to Perpendicular, but predominantly fourteenth-century. It retains by far the largest quantity of original medieval stained glass of any English church. There has been a tradition of choral singing at York for a millennium or more, with clergy singers ab initio, boy choristers for much of that time and lay songmen for around five hundred years. There are now twelve men, songmen and choral scholars, and choristers aged 7–13, now including girls, all of whom attend the Minster School. One of the leading cathedral choirs in the country, they sing eight services each week and have made several recordings. York Minster, Quire, copper engraving c. 1770. Photo: the Choir of York Minster ŠYork Minster.
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Cardinall’s Musick ©Dmitri Gutjahr.
This event is a service, not a concert, and therefore not exclusive to festival participants. But, aware of our visit, the Dean and Chapter have kindly allowed the Director of Music to adapt the musical programme to fit the theme of our festival. York is famous for having had a line of composer-organists for the entire twentieth century, so the choir sings responses by Philip Moore (born 1943), canticles by Francis Jackson (born 1917) and an anthem by Edward Bairstow (1874–1946).
Concert 6: York Minster, Chapter House The Cardinall’s Musick Andrew Carwood (Director)
Liturgical Polyphony from the Reign of Henry VIII
York Minster, Chapter House, 1840s steel engraving by William Woolnoth.
One of the glories of English architecture, and in a very English tradition, the 1290s Chapter House is a free-standing octagonal building linked to the church by a processional corridor. Most other examples have a central pier, but here there is unencumbered free space, the vault being wooden, which means the advantages are acoustical as well as visual.
as it was to those who lived through his reign. This programme presents a setting of the Gloria and three votive antiphons by Robert Fayrfax (1464–1521), Richard(?) Sampson (fl. c. 1516) and John Taverner (c. 1490–1545). Also included are a rarity by Philip van Wilder, one of Henry’s most trusted musicians but now a forgotten figure, and a piece by the king himself. The programme culminates with a sparkling setting of the Magnificat by the young Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585).
Henry VIII was crowned in 1509, over five hundred years ago, but his character is almost as alive and interesting to us today
Under the directorship of Andrew Carwood, who is also Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, The Cardinall’s Musick has become one of the jewels in the crown of the UK music scene. Concentrating on the music of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they are recognized as one of the most expressive, entertaining and professional ensembles in the world. They have won the Gramophone Award for Early Music four times and Gramophone ‘Record of the Year’ in 2010.
Left: north-west view of York Minster, engraving by H. Cave c. 1850. Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Programme
Main illustration: Duncombe Park, steel engraving 1829. Photos, top: Ben Johnson ©Chris Gloag; below: James Baillieu ©Benjamin Harte.
Day 4, Wednesday 25 September
the UK and abroad, on the opera stage and in the recital hall. Accompanist James Baillieu has been the prize-winner of the Wigmore Hall, Das Lied, Kathleen Ferrier and Richard Tauber song competitions. He regularly records for BBC Radio 3 and has appeared at venues and festivals throughout Europe.
The day is spent in rural North Yorkshire, with two concerts in stately homes. Lunch is at the houses.
Concert 7: Duncombe Park Ben Johnson (tenor), James Baillieu (piano)
Concert 8: Hovingham Hall Avison Ensemble, Pavlo Beznosiuk (Director)
English Song: Victorian, Edwardian & the Second Georgian Age
English Concerti: Orchestral Music under the Georges
Monumental Duncombe Park dominates farmland and wooded hills on the edge of the North York Moors. It was built when the Baroque style was briefly in the ascendant; architecture and ornament are massive, prolix and restless. But it is not quite what it seems: there was a devastating fire in 1879, and though it was rebuilt in the style of the original, to the connoisseur it is as much a nineteenth-century house as an eighteenth-century one. The gardens are of befitting magnificence, with a grassed terrace terminated with classical temples affording views over the valley of the River Rye.
Unusually for a country house in England, Hovingham is situated in the centre of a village, a charming stone-built settlement on the edge of the North York Moors. Another unusual – possibly unique – feature is that one enters the house through the Riding School. Devoted equally to horses and architecture, Thomas Worsley built the house for himself between 1750–70 (his descendents still live here). The result, though eccentric, is a noble compendium of classicism from the Age of Elegance. For the second of their concerts, the Avison Ensemble fields twenty players and presents some of the glories of English eighteenth-century orchestral music. The concert (in the coeval ballroom) starts with the overture from the Ode on the Spirits of Shakespeare by Thomas Linley (1756–1778), a contemporary and friend of Mozart (almost as precocious, just as prolific and even shorter-lived). There follow a cello concerto by John Garth (1721–1810), a violin concerto by Linley and concerti grossi by Charles Avison (1709–70) and John Stanley (1712–86). The Symphony No. 4 in F by William Boyce (1711–79) provides a rousing finish.
The recital in the Saloon – gilded panelling and windows to the garden – explores the extraordinary richness and variety of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century song. Some of the composers are well known – Sullivan, Parry, Stanford, Vaughan Williams, Quilter; others are rarely heard now, among them women such as Maude Valerie White (1855–1937) and Guy d’Hardelot (1858–1936), though they were celebrated in their time. There are some departures from the strictly English criteria of the festival: Welsh, Irish, half-French, Australian and naturalised Italian composers find their rightful place in this beautifully balanced musical and emotional journey.
See Concert 3 (page 5) for details of the Avison Ensemble.
Ben Johnson quickly established himself as one of the most exciting tenors of his generation. He has a burgeoning career in M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Day 5, Thursday 26 September A lecture and one short concert leaves time during the day to explore York before being driven out to Castle Howard for the evening concert. Dinner follows, either in Castle Howard or in St William’s College.
Concert 9: St William’s College, York The Rose Consort of Viols
Songs Without Words: Consort Music from the Age of Elizabeth I Main illustration: St William’s College, etching by E. Piper 1894. Above: The Rose Consort of Viols.
Built in the later fifteenth century for twenty-three priests who served the Minster, St William’s College is a remarkable survival. Ranges of ashlar and half-timbering enclose an exceedingly pretty courtyard, and the original great hall, rising to the rafters, survives almost intact.
galliards and almains. One of Elizabeth’s younger musical protégés, Alfonso Ferrabosco (c. 1575–1628), was born in Greenwich, the son of a Bolognese lutenist, and was brought up at royal expense and appointed as a ‘musitian for the violles’ in 1592, while still a teenager.
With its unique blend of intimacy, intricacy, passion and flamboyance, consort music was an essential part of Tudor courtly life. Elizabeth I was a skilled musician and an avid dancer, and a liberal employer of professional musicians. To Thomas Tallis (c. 1505–1585) – who had already served three monarchs – and William Byrd (c. 1540–1623) she granted a monopoly in music publishing. Antony Holborne (c. 1545– 1602) published a set of five-part dances, including pavans, Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
The Rose Consort takes its name from the celebrated family of viol makers whose work spanned the growth and flowering of the English consort repertoire. The Consort (Ibi Aziz, John Bryan, Alison Crum, Andrew Kerr, Roy Marks) performs extensively throughout Britain, continental Europe and North America and has made a number of acclaimed recordings.
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Programme Castle Howard, engraving c. 1780.
Horn and Strings, six settings of English poems on the theme of evening which he composed in 1943. Dies Natalis are settings for tenor and orchestra of poems by the saintly Thomas Treherne (1638–74) by Gerald Finzi (1901–56). Around these soaring masterpieces are added Britten’s arrangement of Purcell’s Chacony, the elegiac A Lament from Divertimento on ‘Sellinger’s Round’ by Sir Michael Tippett (1905–98) and the beautiful Ulysees Awake (1989) for viola and orchestra by John Woolrich (born 1954), performed by the soloist for whom it was written.
Left to right: Mark Padmore ©Marco Borgrevve; The Britten Sinfonia.
Britten Sinfonia is one of the world’s most celebrated ensembles, renowned for the quality of its performances and its inspired approach to concert programming. An Associate Ensemble at the Barbican in the City of London, the orchestra also has residencies in Norwich, Cambridge and Brighton, a chamber series at Wigmore Hall and a growing international profile.
Concert 10: Castle Howard Britten Sinfonia, Jacqueline Shave (leader) Mark Padmore (tenor) Stephen Bell (horn), Clare Finnimore (viola)
Orchestral Finale: A Bucolic Tribute to Benjamin Britten One of the finest sights in England, this palatial mansion sits with magisterial aloofness amid a magnificent landscaped park in the Howardian Hills. Begun in 1700, it was Sir John Vanbrugh’s first major work as an architect, though he relied heavily on the genius of his assistant, Nicholas Hawksmoor. It is the epitome of Baroque grandeur: a monument rather than a home, Continental in inspiration but unmistakably an English variant. The concert takes place in the Gallery in the south wing.
Mark Padmore is now perhaps Britain’s most distinguished tenor. He graduated from consort singing in the 1980s to become in the 1990s an ever more dominant presence as soloist on the early music scene, especially for Bach oratorio. In the last decade he has with outstanding success extended his concert hall and opera repertoire, with Britten a speciality, and become a celebrated Lieder singer.
There can be few more moving tributes to Benjamin Britten (1913–76) in his centenary year than his Serenade for Tenor, M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Lectures Three lectures are part of the package, by leading musicologists. They are given in the Novotel Hotel meeting room. John Bryan is Professor of Music and Head of Music and Drama at the University of Huddersfield and a contributor to BBC Radio 3’s early music programmes. He is also a viol player and a member of the Rose Consort.
Left to right: Jacob Heringman; Clare Wilkinson.
Day 6, Friday 27 September An hour-long concert in the morning brings the festival to a close. There are two performances, finishing at 11.30am and at 1.00pm: see page 15 to see which you would be attend.
Professor Jan Smaczny is Hamilton Harty Chair of Music at Queen’s University, Belfast, and one of Britain’s most distinguished musicologists. Author, broadcaster and journalist, he has published several books on music.
Concert 11: Treasurer’s House, York Clare Wilkinson (mezzo-soprano) Jacob Heringman (lute)
Dowland’s Sorrowful Steps: Ayres for Voice & Lute With a Roman road in the basement, the Treasurer’s House has an architectural history of almost 2,000 years’ duration. A hundred years ago many of its later accretions were pared away to leave what is largely a seventeenth-century adaption of the medieval abode of the minster’s treasurer.
More about the concerts Exclusive access. Apart from Evensong at York Minster, the concerts are private, being planned and administered by Martin Randall Travel for an audience consisting largely of those who have taken the full festival package.
The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries saw a magnificent flowering in the English ‘ayre’ for voice and lute. This recital surveys the sumptuous output of John Dowland (1563–1626) and his English contemporaries, and investigates Dowland the man in words and music: is his own play on words ‘semper Dowland, semper dolens’ merely a conceit? Other composers are William Byrd (1543–1623), Robert Johnson (1583–1633), Thomas Campion (1567–1620)and Henry Lawes (1596–1662).
Tickets for individual concerts may be put on sale in early September, if any spare places remain, to those who have registered interest. Seats. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit where you wish or where there is space.
Widely sought after, particularly for earlier repertoire, Clare Wilkinson enjoys a busy international career. She works with lutes and viols, Baroque orchestras and vocal consorts, in a repertoire ranging from Renaissance to freshly composed. She has recorded numerous critically acclaimed cds.
Acoustics. This festival is more concerned with authenticity than acoustical perfection. Some venues have idiosyncrasies or reverberations of the sort that are not found in modern purpose-built concert halls. Repeats. Eight of the venues are too small to accommodate the full audience and so these concerts are repeated. All participants are provided with a programme which ensures they can attend all the concerts.
Jacob Heringman has established himself as one of the world’s most respected solo lute players and as a much sought-after ensemble player. He performs regularly throughout Europe, the Far East and the Americas, and has made many recordings with leading English ensembles and singers and on the soundtracks of many Hollywood films.
Changes. Musicians fall ill, venues close for repair: there are many possible unpredictable circumstances which could necessitate changes to the programme. We ask you to be understanding should they occur.
Concert 12 An additional concert, something very English, will be inserted as a surprise. Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Hotels Hotel accommodation in York for five nights is included in the price of the festival package. There are four hotels to choose from. The choice of hotel determines the price you pay. See page 14 for details of what is included. We have chosen a range of hotels with great care. For location, amenities, comfort, maintenance and service, within their respective price bands these are the best York can offer. Prices are listed on page 14. The deposit for the festival is £200 per person.
Notes on accommodation Rooms vary. As is inevitable in historic buildings, which most of these are, rooms vary in size and outlook. Quiet? Traffic noise may affect some people given that all the hotels are in or around the city centre. Suites. The Hotel du Vin has suites and junior suites available. Please ask us if you are interested in upgrading, though they are subject to availability at the time of booking. Arriving early. If you would like extra nights in York before or after the festival, ask us or contact the hotel direct. This would be better done sooner rather than later.
Hotel Novotel York Centre
Hotel du Vin York
A modern hotel located in central York, 15 minutes on foot from York Minster.
Housed in a Grade II listed building and in adjacent purpose-built ranges, the Hotel du Vin is a 4-star establishment located on the Mount. York Minster is 25 minutes away on foot and Cedar Court is 15 minutes (both along attractive routes). A coach will be provided for a couple of the journeys to and from venues in central York.
Bedrooms are bland and a little sparse, but comfortable and clean with all mod cons and bright, contemporary bathrooms. The public spaces consist of the reception area, combined lounge and bar with plenty of seating and a restaurant. There is an indoor swimming pool. Wireless internet is available throughout the hotel free of charge. Service is friendly. There is a car park which costs c. £10 per night; there is no need to pre-book. Downsides: twin bedrooms are made up of one double bed and a sofa bed; the public areas can be a little hectic at times. www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-0949novotel-york-centre
The décor of the bedrooms is rather dark, a hallmark of this chain, but they are cosy and comfortable and well equipped. There is a small lounge, a bar, a courtyard area with seating and a large restaurant. Wireless internet is available throughout the hotel free of charge. There is a car park which costs c. £10 per night; there is no need to pre-book. Downsides: as mentioned, décor is rather dark, with quirky artwork. www.hotelduvin.com/hotels/york/york. aspx
Engraving c. 1860. M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Meals Included meals Two dinners and one lunch are provided in the package, as well as breakfasts. On the first night you dine in the hotel in which you are staying except for those at the Novotel who dine in a restaurant in central York. On the fifth evening you have dinner in St William’s College, except for those staying in Cedar Court Grand who dine in the Grecian Hall at Castle Howard.
The Grange
Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa
Located 10 minutes on foot from the Minster, this hotel occupies a fine Georgian town house and a purposebuilt wing.
The former headquarters of North Eastern Railway, the building was completed in 1906 and converted to a luxury hotel in 2010. It retains many original features, including the wood-panelled boardroom, one of our concert venues.
Both public spaces and bedrooms are very attractive, the décor consisting of stylish variations on traditional themes. Public rooms, especially the Drawing Room, are very comfortable as are the bedrooms. Wireless internet access is available free of charge in all areas of the hotel. This is a well-managed and cared for hotel. Car parking is available free of charge and there is no need to pre-book. Downsides: there is limited storage space in some bedrooms; rooms at the front of the hotel may suffer some traffic noise; there is no lift. www.grangehotel.co.uk
Bedrooms, of which there are several categories, vary in size due to the historic nature of the building. They contain all mod cons and are very comfortable.
Lunch is provided on the fourth day at either Hovingham Hall or Duncombe Park. Refreshments are provided at five of the concerts.
Optional dinner package There is the option to book two additional dinners on Days 2 and 3. This ensures good food and wine in selected restaurants in the company of other festival participants. The cost is £90 (two-course dinner, including wine, mineral water, coffee and gratuity). Tick the relevant box on the booking form.
Public areas include a lounge, whisky bar and an excellent restaurant. Service is plentiful and helpful. There is an indoor swimming pool and a spa in the vaults. The hotel is only a couple of minutes on foot from the railway station. The car park costs c. £20 per night; there is no need to pre-book. Downsides: the décor, particularly in the bedrooms, can be somewhat ordinary given the historic nature of the building. www.cedarcourtgrand.co.uk Top photo: standard room at Cedar Court. Below it: a suite. Right: York Minster Chapter House, engraving from Britton’s Cathedral Antiquities, c. 1830 (detail).
Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
The Package, Prices What the price includes Concerts. The package includes access to all eleven concerts; Evensong at York Minster is open to everyone. A few tickets for individual events may be available after 2nd September 2013. Lectures. There are three talks by leading musicologists. See page 11. Accommodation. Five nights are spent in hotels. See pages 12–13 for details. The choice of accommodation is the sole determinant of variations in the prices. Prices are per person
Meals. Included in the package are breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners. Refreshments are provided at five of the concert venues. (Two additional dinners are available at a combined price of £90, see page 13). Transport. Coaches are provided for the events outside York and for some of the events within York for those staying at the Hotel du Vin.
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 book. A publication containing a timetable, practical information, programme notes and much else is issued to all participants.
Double room for single occupancy
Double or twin room (2 sharing)
Junior suite (2 sharing)
Suite (2 sharing)
Novotel Centre York
£2,060
£1,920
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Hotel du Vin
£2,450
£2,130
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The Grange
£2,580
£2,320
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Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa
£2,900
£2,560
£2,800
£3,270
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
More about the festival Starting, Sunday 22nd September 3.45pm: the festival begins with a lecture at the Novotel hotel. Those staying at the Cedar Court Grand and the Grange attend a concert at Holy Trinity Goodramgate at 5.30pm. Dinner follows. Those staying at Hotel du Vin have a drinks reception at 6.00pm followed by dinner, both in their hotel. The concert at Holy Trinity Goodramgate follows at 8.45pm. Those staying at the Novotel have a drinks reception there at 6.00pm followed by dinner at a restaurant elsewhere. The concert at Holy Trinity Goodramgate follows at 8.45pm.
Finishing, Friday 27th September The last event, the concert in the Treasurer’s House, finishes at c. 11.30am for those staying at Cedar Court Grand and the Grange, and at c. 1.00pm for those staying at the Hotel du Vin and the Novotel. You will need to check out of your hotel before this concert; hotels can store your luggage.
Divided audience Participants will be divided into two, three or four audiences for those concerts in venues that are too small to accommodate everyone (hence the different concert times given above). The programme booklet issued to participants will make it clear which performance you attend.
Fitness for the festival There is quite a lot of walking involved in this festival, and some venues can only be 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 reach the furthest event (though most walks are shorter). Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
Getting to York There are several car parks surrounding York city centre in which you can leave your car for up to a week (details will be sent to participants). It is not possible to leave your car in a Park and Ride car park overnight. Parking is available at the hotels: see the hotel descriptions. There are regular direct trains from London, Manchester, Oxford and various other places. Festival staff will be at the railway station between 12.00 noon and 3.00pm on 22nd September to despatch you in taxis.
Arriving a day early Please contact us if you would like extra nights before or after the festival in your chosen hotel.
At Martin Randall Travel we aim to provide the best-planned, best-led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours available. Within the UK and Europe, the Middle East and India, we offer an unsurpassed range of events focusing primarily on art, architecture and music, and also on archaeology, history and gastronomy. MRT has for over two decades led the cultural tours market through incessant innovation and improvement, setting the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards. There are two kinds of holiday: All-inclusive music festivals began with the Danube in 1994, since when they have spread from St Petersburg to Seville and from Newcastle to Naples. The audiences number between 40 and 300. Tours for small groups, all accompanied by an expert lecturer, have 22 participants or fewer. Commencing in 1988, there are now around two hundred a year in nearly forty countries.
Illustrations. Above: York, Micklegate Bar, engraving 1888 from Our Own Country; opposite page: York from the walls, engraving c. 1840.
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Pre-festival tour: Yorkshire Houses 17–22 September 2013 (ma 703) 6 days • £1,680 Lecturer: Dr Adam White The finest country houses and gardens in Yorkshire, several being visited when closed to the public. Unhurried: there is plenty of time to rest, relax and absorb. Led by Dr Adam White, curator of Lotherton Hall. Yorkshire is England’s largest and one of its most beautiful counties, but it is also a county blessed with an outstanding range of country houses. This tour, based throughout in York, provides the opportunity to explore the best, most possessing museum-quality treasures. Castle Howard, the Temple, engraving 1892.
this tour have the opportunity for out-ofhours visits to a number of houses. But they are also places that reflect the serendipity of everyday life – if on a rather grand scale – from the dolls’ house at Nostell Priory (an exact miniature of the house itself ) to the rooms crowded with British Empire memorabilia at Lotherton Hall. The tour is led by Dr Adam White, curator of Lotherton Hall, and will explore every aspect of country-house life, from architecture and interior design to conservation and custodianship.
Itinerary Day 1: Scampston Hall. The coach leaves York railway station at 2.00pm. Scampston Hall is a wonderful example of an English country house, with fine architecture, a wealth of art treasures, ‘Capability’ Brown parkland and an award-winning contemporary walled garden.
interiors by Adam, furniture by Chippendale and park by ‘Capability’ Brown. There are excellent paintings, Italian Renaissance to modern. Private dinner at Fairfax House in York, built in 1745 and the best preserved and furnished such house in Britain. Day 5, Castle Howard. One of the great houses of Europe, Castle Howard was begun in 1699 to designs by the leading architect of the English Baroque, Sir John Vanbrugh. Fine collections, grand gardens and park, famous garden pavilions. Most of the day is spent here for an in-depth exploration and for leisure to absorb. (Though visited for a concert during English Music in Yorkshire, there is not much time then to see the house.) Day 6, Brodsworth Hall. A Victorian time capsule, a magnificent Italianate mansion built and furnished in the 1860s, and ‘conserved as found’ by English Heritage twenty years ago. By contrast, the gardens have been restored to splendour. Return to York in time to join English Music in Yorkshire, which starts at 3.45pm.
Day 2: Temple Newsam, Nostell Priory. Temple Newsam is a fine Tudor-Jacobean mansion with restored interiors and
Practicalities
The Yorkshire country house came into its own with the advent of the Baroque, and Castle Howard, just 15 miles north of York, is one of the great masterpieces of the eighteenth century. The 3rd Earl of Carlisle met the playwright John Vanbrugh at his London club and invited him, with his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor, to create a palatial residence which has haunted the architectural, literary and cinematic imagination ever since. On an equally magnificent scale is Harewood House. This dazzling neo-classical chef d’oeuvre – ‘a St Petersburg palace on a Yorkshire ridge’ (Simon Jenkins) – is a perfectly balanced synthesis of the greatest talents of the age. The tour will focus on houses that were really homes, the creation and vision of powerful dynasties over centuries. Many are still in the hands of the families who originally built them, and participants on
outstanding collections of paintings, furniture, silver and decorative arts, and another ‘Capability’ Brown landscape. The afternoon is spent at Nostell Priory, an architectural treasure by James Paine, later modified by Robert Adam. The collection of Chippendale furniture is unequalled.
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Day 3: Newby Hall, Lotherton Hall. Designed by Wren, beautifully augmented by Adam and filled with art over many generations, Newby Hall is enchanting. The 25 acres of gardens are wonderful. Lotherton Hall is a charming Edwardian country home rich in collections of paintings, furniture, silver, china, costume and oriental art, set in beautiful grounds. Day 4: Harewood House, Fairfax House. One of the grandest and most beautiful of English country houses, architecture by John Carr (1772) and Charles Barry (1843),
Price: £1,680 (deposit £150). This includes: hotel accommodation for five nights as described below; private coach throughout; breakfasts and four dinners with wine, water, coffee; admission to houses, gardens and sites; all tips for waiters, drivers, guides; the services of the lecturer and tour manager. Single supplement £260. Hotel: The Grange has been beautifully converted from a Georgian town house and the decoration and furnishings combine period and modern; very good restaurant; no lift. Please note that if you are continuing onto the English Music in Yorkshire festival, you will have to change hotel unless you choose The Grange for the festival. How strenuous? Unavoidably there is quite a lot of walking on this tour and it would not be suitable for anyone with difficulties with everyday walking and stair-climbing. Coaches can rarely park near the houses, many of the parks and gardens are extensive and most of the houses visited don’t have lifts (nor does the hotel). Average distance by coach per day: c. 60 miles. Small group: this tour will operate with between 12 and 22 participants.
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Booking Form TRAVELLERS’ NAMES
Give your name as you would like it to appear on documents issued to other participants. 1. 2. ADDRESS for all correspondence.
Postcode Telephone (home) Telephone (work) Mobile Fax E-mail Tick if you do NOT want to receive updates on our range of cultural tours and music festivals by email.
HOTEL (see pages 12–14)
Please tick your chosen room-type within your preferred hotel. Junior Suite: double bed (2 sharing)
Junior Suite: twin beds (2 sharing)
Suite: double bed (2 sharing)
Novotel Centre York
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Hotel du Vin
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The Grange
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Double room for single occupancy
Double room (2 sharing)
Twin room (2 sharing)
Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa PRE-FESTIVAL TOUR. Please tick to book. Yorkshire Houses, 17–22 September 2013 (ma 703) Double room for single occupancy Double room (2 sharing) Twin room (2 sharing)
EXTRA MEALS (see page 13)
Tick to book two extra dinners at an additional £90 per person. Traveller 1 Traveller 2
SPECIAL REQUESTS. Please tell us about any dietary requirements, or requests for extra hotel nights here.
English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Booking Form NEXT OF KIN or contact in case of emergency.
I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions on behalf of all listed on this form.
Name
Signed
Relation to you
Date
Telephone number(s)
PAYMENT
EITHER by cheque
Please make cheques payable to Martin Randall Travel Ltd and write the festival code (ma 704) on the reverse.
EITHER Deposit(s)
At £200 per person for the festival, plus (if applicable) pre-festival tour deposit(s) at £150 per person.
OR by credit or debit card (Visa/ Mastercard/ Amex) Card number
OR Full payment
Required if you are booking after the 14th July 2013 (ten weeks before departure).
Start date
Total: £
Please use your surname and the festival code (ma 704) as a reference and please allow for all bank charges. Tick if you have paid by bank transfer:
Expiry date
OR by bank transfer
Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Bank 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: RBOS GB2L
The Aronowitz Ensemble A chamber music weekend at The Castle Hotel, Taunton 26–28 April 2013 (mz 539) £720 per person • Garden Room £840 per person Four concerts with one of the most outstanding and exciting young ensembles in Britain today Music by Britten, Bridge, Elgar, Purcell, Mendelssohn, Beethoven & Brahms
Based throughout at The Castle Hotel in Taunton, famed for its excellent and caring service. Contact us for more details, or visit www.martinrandall.com
M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L Voysey House, Barley Mow Passage, London W4 4GF Telephone 020 8742 3355 Fax 020 8742 7766 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com
Australia: Martin Randall Marketing, PO Box 537, Toowong, QLD 4066. Telephone 1300 55 95 95
Canada: telephone 647 382 1644 canada@martinrandall.ca USA: telephone 1 800 988 6168
anz@martinrandall.com.au New Zealand: telephone 0800 877 622
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English Music in Yorkshire, 22–27 September 2013
Booking Details Making a Booking 1. Provisional booking
We recommend that you contact us first to ascertain that your preferred hotel is still available. Then 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.
2. Definite booking
3. Our confirmation
Insurance As a condition of booking with us overseas residents must take out private travel insurance for this tour, with adequate health cover. Please register any existing medical conditions with your insurance provider. We also recommend that UK residents take out insurance with cover for a holiday within the UK, which would protect you in the case of cancellation or loss/theft of belongings.
provided a bond to meet the requirements of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992.
Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit (£200). 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 eight weeks of the festival.
Upon receipt of your booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is nonreturnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details of the festival will also be sent at this stage.
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 to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason. It is essential to be able to cope with the walking and stair-climbing required to get to the concert venues. See ‘Fitness for the festival’. If for any stage you would like the use of a wheelchair, then this festival is unlikely to be suitable for you. There is no age limit for the festival, though we cannot accept bookings on the pre-festival tour, Yorkshire Houses, from those who would be 81 or over at the time of departure. Te l e p h o n e : 0 2 0 8 7 4 2 3 3 5 5
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 other EU countries, the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Passports should be valid for at least six months beyond the date of the festival. If you cancel If you have to cancel your participation in the festival or the 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: 40% from 28 to 15 days: 60% from 14 to 3 days (inclusive): 80% within 48 hours: 100% We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation. If we cancel the festival or pre-festival tour We might decide to cancel the festival 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.
In the event of our insolvency, protection is provided for non-flight packages commencing in and returning to the UK and other nonflight packages excluding pre-arranged travel to and from your destination. In the above circumstances, if you have not yet travelled you may claim a refund, or if you have already travelled, you may claim repatriation to the starting point of your nonflight package. 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 exactly as advertised. We would try to devise a satisfactory alternative, but if the change represents a significant loss to the festival 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.
Consumer protection ABTOT. As a member of the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT), Martin Randall Travel has
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M A RT I N R A N D A L L T R AV E L 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 Marketing, PO Box 537, Toowong, Queensland 4066 Telephone 1300 55 95 95 Fax 07 3377 0142 anz@martinrandall.com.au New Zealand: Telephone 0800 877 622 Canada: Telephone 647 382 1644 Fax 416 925 2670 canada@martinrandall.ca USA: Telephone 1 800 988 6168
www.martinrandall.com
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