CELEBRATING MUSIC AND PLACE 4–7 JULY 2022
MARTIN RANDALL FESTIVALS
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CONTENTS
MARTIN RANDALL FESTIVALS bring together world-class musicians for a sequence of private concerts in Europe’s glorious historic buildings, many of which are not normally accessible. We take care of all logistics, from flights and hotels, to pre-concert talks.
4.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FESTIVAL
14.
JOINING & LEAVING THE FESTIVAL
POLYPHONY IN PORTUGAL 22–27 MAY 2022 MUSIC IN SUFFOLK CHURCHES 4–7 JULY 2022 MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE 22–29 AUGUST 2022 VENICE: PAGEANTRY & PIETY 13–18 NOVEMBER 2022 UK SHORT CHAMBER MUSIC BREAKS The Albion Quartet 4–6 March 2022 The Navarra String Quartet 1–3 April 2022
6.
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
15.
Please contact us for more information.
12.
BOOKING DETAILS
ACCOMMODATION & PRICES
Illustration, opposite: Bury St Edmunds, St Mary’s Church, steel engraving c. 1820 by Henry Le Keux.
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INTRODUCTION
MUSIC IN SUFFOLK CHURCHES: A FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC
Six concerts of sacred music in six glorious medieval parish churches. Performers selected from the finest specialist ensembles and soloists in England. Programmes from Renaissance to contemporary polyphony, from Baroque to Classical, with the Bach dynasty and composers from Venice featuring prominently. Online talks and discussions with the musicians in the weeks before the festival. Beguiling backdrop of pretty market towns and enchanting countryside. Admission to the concerts exclusive to those who take a package which includes comfortable hotels, dinners, coach travel and much else.
LOCATION
SEEING SUFFOLK
There are several patches of England where this festival could have taken place, but probably none is more suitable than West Suffolk.
Though musically intensive, there is some free time to see something of Lavenham, Bury, Clare and Long Melford, or three of these four. One morning there is the option of a trip to Sudbury to see the refurbished and expanded Gainsborough’s House. If you are travelling with friends and want to spend time with them, please ensure you book a hotel in the same place.
Located here is a clutch of glorious medieval churches, among the most beautiful and best preserved in the country. Some are of cathedral-like proportions. Those we have chosen are in Bury-St-Edmunds, Lavenham, Long Melford, Clare, Sudbury and Mildenhall – all to varying degrees outstandingly attractive towns or villages In between is countryside with gently rolling farmland of irregular fields, centuries-old hedges and vintage trees. This is rural England at its most alluring. An additional advantage of the area is that there are enough good quality hotel rooms to accommodate both audience and musicians. And for those for whom it matters, the region is only seventy miles from London – yet it feels a world apart, an age away.
Illustration, opposite: Bury St Edmunds, mid-19th-century lithograph.
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If you are unfamiliar with the area, we do recommend that you book extra nights at the hotel.
INTRODUCTION
SUDBURY AND GAINSBOROUGH Not long before our festival takes place, the lovely little town of Sudbury will have become an arts centre of international importance. Not only will 2022 see the reopening of Gainsborough’s House after radical refurbishment, but a major new building will open on an adjacent site with galleries, event spaces and other modern facilities. Education, scholarship and outreach will all move up a gear, but most significantly the museum will become a venue for major exhibitions. Thomas Gainsborough, one of England’s greatest painters, was born in the house in 1727. It has been a museum dedicated to the artist since 1961, and the collection has grown to become the most comprehensive holding of the artist’s work – paintings, drawings, prints – in the world. During Music in Suffolk Churches there will be shows of French Impressionists from the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and a major loan exhibition of works by Gainsborough and contemporaries to augment the museum’s own. We are offering two ways to see these riches, before the festival and during it. See Optional tour and excursion on page 13.
TALKS WITH PERFORMERS
THE FESTIVAL PACKAGE
The spoken word in an important ingredient in all our events, and this Suffolk festival is no exception – except that the talks will be in a series of webinars broadcast in advance of the festival. This will relieve the pressure on time, and, with the audience lodged in two different towns, on logistics.
— C oncerts: the package includes access to all six concerts. — Talks: a series of webinars with the festival musicians in conversation with John Bryan. — A ccommodation: three nights in a comfortable hotel from a choice of two.
There will be three or four episodes which will take the form of discussions between John Bryan, musicologist and practicing — M eals and refreshments: three musician, and some of the directors of dinners, one lunch, breakfasts and the ensembles. Each webinar will be an interval drinks. hour long and will be streamed at regular intervals a month or two before the — Transport: private coaches for travel festival. They will be free to those who to and from railway stations, hotels, have booked the festival and available upon concerts and dinners. payment to others. — T ips: for restaurant and hotel staff, Details will be available early in 2022. drivers etc.
AN ALL-INCLUSIVE FESTIVAL
— F estival staff: a team of MRT staff and experienced event managers.
This festival is one of Martin Randall Travel’s own creations and follows the format which we established nearly thirty years ago.
— P rogramme booklet: a publication containing detailed timings, practical information, programme notes and much else.
Access to the concerts is exclusive to those who take a package which also includes hotel accommodation, dinners and a lunch, coach travel, interval drinks and much else.
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THE PROGRAMME
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Concert 1 Bury-St-Edmunds, St Mary The Gesualdo Six
End of Day – Renaissance and contemporary polyphony Owain Park director Guy James & t.b.a. countertenor Joseph Wicks & Josh Cooter tenor Michael Craddock baritone Samuel Mitchell bass
Among these are searingly beautiful compositions by Alison Willis, Joanna Marsh (her Fading provided the title of the CD on which this programme is based), Sarah Remkins, Veljo Tomkis and Owain Park, the group’s director and one of the most acclaimed of young British composers.
Since forming at Cambridge in 2014, the Gesualdo Six has become one of the most successful and sought-after of British vocal ensembles. The director, Owain Park, is also a composer – one of his pieces is premièred in this concert. The members share a passion for ensemble singing that for many of them stemmed from formative years as choristers in chapels and cathedrals. The group regularly performs at festivals around Europe, has toured Australia and Canada and has plans for Mexico and the USA. The programme is an adaptation of their latest recording, ‘Fading’, launched in 2020 and winner of the Limelight Magazine award for Vocal Recording of the Year. The ancient service of Compline marks the end of the day, and the accompanying music evokes a contemplative mood in preparation for the darkness of night. Renaissance polyphony by Byrd, Gombert and Gesualdo that contains startling harmonic shifts and expressive word painting is juxtaposed with contemporary compositions with reflections of the crepuscular theme and mood.
Illustration: Bury St Edmunds, Parish Church of St Mary, wood engraving c. 1880.
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Thomas Tallis (c.1505–1585) Te lucis ante terminum William Byrd (c.1540 –1623) Miserere mihi Domine Jonathan Seers (born 1954) Look down, O Lord Carlo Gesualdo (1566 – 1613) Illumina faciem tuam Nicholas Gombert (1495–1560) Media vita Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) O Ecclesia, occuli tui Owain Park (b. 1993) Phos hilaron Alison Willis (b. 1971) The Wind’s Warning Antoine Brumel (c.1460 –1512/13) Sub tuum praesidium Jean Mouton (1459–1522) Salva nos, Domine Luca Marenzio (c.1553–1599) Potrò viver io più se senza luce Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525 – 1594) Io son ferito, ahi lasso Joanna Marsh (born1970) Fading William Byrd (c.1540 –1623) Lullaby ‘My sweet little baby’ Veljo Tormis (1930 –2017) Marjal aega magada
The town of Bury-St-Edmunds grew up around a monastery which was one of the richest in England before its dissolution in 1539. Nevertheless, the adjacent parish church of St Mary is comparable with the former abbey church (now the cathedral) in size and beauty, and exceeds it in harmony and coherence. Begun in 1424, it was completed in a single campaign. The hammer-beam roof is famously adorned with carved angels and mythical creatures.
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Gerda Blok-Wilson (born 1955) O Little Rose Sarah Rimkus (born 1990) My heart is like a singing bird Joanna Marsh, I take thee Josef Rheinberger (1839–1901) Abendlied
THE PROGRAMME
Concert 2 Sudbury, Church of St Gregory Brecon Baroque
From Darkness to Light: Bachs and Buxtehude Rachel Podger director, violin with four singers and eight other instrumentalists Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, the son of a cloth merchant and silk weaver. The cloth industry continues to be a mainstay of the local economy: 90% of English woven silk is manufactured here. Shortly before the festival, his birthplace museum will have been reopened as an arts centre of international importance Now a pretty market town, the irregular, curvaceous street pattern betrays Sudbury’s Anglo-Saxon origins. The Church of St Gregory was largely rebuilt in the 14th century at the cost of Simon of Sudbury, Archbishop of Canterbury, beheaded during the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381; his skull resides in the church. Of rather greater aesthetic interest is the 12-foot high font cover. This is the most compact of the concert venues in the festival, a feature which fortuitously facilitates closeness to one of the most inspirational and simpatica of British (actually half German)musicians. Rachel Podger, “the unsurpassed British glory of the baroque violin” (The Times), has established herself as a leading interpreter of the Baroque and Classical music periods. Awards include being the first woman winner of the Royal Academy of Music/Kohn Foundation Bach Prize in 2015 and Gramophone Artist of the Year 2018.
Rachel founded and leads Brecon Baroque, an ensemble of world-class virtuosi. They have toured continental Europe and Japan and performed at many concert halls and festivals in the UK, including their very own Brecon Baroque Festival. Recordings have attracted universal acclaim and major awards, among them Bach’s Violin Concertos, Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico and Biber’s Rosary Sonatas.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Christ lag in Todesbanden BWV 4 Johann Michael Bach (1648–94) Ach wie sehnlich Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707) Ciacona in E minor, BUXWV 160 Buxtehude Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin BUXWV 76 Buxtehude Klaglied J.S. Bach Lobet den Herrn BWV 230 J.M. Bach Es ist ein großer Gewinn Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703) Mein Freund ist mein und ich bin sein – Ciaconne from Meine Freundin ist schön J.S. Bach Nach dir, Herr, verlanget mich BWV 150
We asked Rachel for a programme which would encompass lamentation and rejoicing, to resonate with the mood of an audience which would have suffered an interminable period of social restrictions, intermittent isolation, probably bereavement and innumerable disheartening frustrations. This Bachian programme was her response, with pieces by Johann Sebastian as well as two of his older cousins, Johann Michael (1648–94) and Johann Christoph (1642–1703). Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707), the dominant musician in northern Germany, was also a teacher of J.S. Bach.
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Photograph: Rachel Podger ©Ben Ealovega.
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THE PROGRAMME
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Concert 3 Long Melford, Church of the Holy Trinity I Fagiolini
Vespers from Venice – mostly Monteverdi Robert Hollingworth director with eight singers and twelve instrumentalists Appropriately named, Long Melford consists basically of one broad street nearly three miles long. This is lined with an attractive assortment of buildings of the 15th to the 19th centuries now housing now specialist shops, art galleries, restaurants, pubs and antiques emporia.
The concert is a version of The Other Vespers, a recording by I Fagiolini and Robert Hollingworth released by Decca Classics to great acclaim in 2017 (“achieving a thrilling synergy of articulate instrumental playing, fulsome choral ripienos and dexterous solo singing” – Gramophone).
Monteverdi (1567–1643) Dixit Dominus (1640, secondo) Palestrina/Giovanni Battista Bovicelli (1560 –94) Ave verum corpus Monteverdi Conf itebor tibi, Domine (1640) Ignazio Donati (c.1570 –1638) Dulcis amor lesu Monteverdi Beatus vir (1640, )
On a rise at one end, past the expansive green, Tudor almshouses and clipped yews, stands the Church of the Holy Trinity. One of the finest parish churches in England, it is a masterpiece of the Perpendicular style, with large windows, flint and ashlar flushwork, a great tower, much original stained glass and, uniquely for a parish church, an east end lady chapel. This is the setting, late in the evening, for this most deeply felt and intensely beautifyl I Fagiolini is a British solo-voice ensemble sequence of music for Vespers. founded and directed by Hollingworth. Internationally renowned for its For reasons unconnected with musical imaginative programming and innovative quality, much of Claudio Monteverdi’s productions, they have released 23 CDs church music has been shoved into relative and five films as well as being busy on obscurity by the collection known as the the concert platform. Their inimical 1610 Vespers. Today’s programme reveals performances are characterised by superb the sheer brilliance of some of other ensemble playing, sensitivity, wit, pathos creations, and attempts a reconstruction and sheer beauty. of the sole recorded instance we have of Monteverdi directing the music for Vespers Robert Hollingworth is also artistic in Venice – by Constantijn Huygens in director for the Stour Music festival, 1620 – by including works by a number of Reader in Music at the University of York Monteverdi’s contemporaries. and guest conductor with ensembles around the world.
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Viadana (c.1560 –1627) Deus in adiutorium
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Monteverdi Laudate pueri (1640) Dario Castello (1602–31) Sonata in D minor Monteverdi Laudate Dominum (1640, primo) Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) Toccata terza Monteverdi Ut queant laxis (1640) Giovanni Gabrieli (c.1555–1612) Magnif icat à 14 Francesco Usper (1561–1641) Sonata à 8 Monteverdi Salve, O Regina (1624)
Photograph: I Fagiolini ©Keith Saunders.
THE PROGRAMME
Concert 4 Clare, Church of St Peter & St Paul Solomon’s Knot
Motets by Two Bachs – Johann Sebastian & Johann Christoph Jonathan Sells artistic director Eight singers and two instrumentalists (organ, violone) Growing around the River Stour, Clare is another attractive market town, regularly winning prizes for its floral displays. The Church of St Peter & St Paul is one of the largest and most beautiful in East Anglia, set within a spacious churchyard in the centre of town. The 14th-century building was enlarged in the 15th century, the piers being raised by the insertion of pedestals and capitals, the windows so large they leave little room for wall.
Determined to communicate the full power of 17th- and 18th-century music as directly as possible, the collective Solomon’s Knot was founded in London in 2008. Led by artistic director Jonathan Sells, the group performs without a conductor, the singers sing off the book, learning their parts by heart. What began as a promise never to lose the joy of performing, to blow the dust off early music and break down the barriers of classical music, has evolved into Solomon’s Knot’s reputation today: direct communication, adventurous programming and bold trademark performances from memory.
The programme here consists of motets by two members of the family which dominated musical life in Mitteldeutschland for over a century – the Bachs. Johann Christoph (1642-1703) was Johann Sebastian’s father’s cousin and the musical forebear whom he most admired. His motets in this programme use striking harmonies for emotional and descriptive effect, demonstrating an arresting marriage of text and music, and use Lutheran chorales with great impact.
Johann Christoph Bach (1642–1703) Fürchte dich nicht (SSATB) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) Fürchte dich nicht (SATBx2) JSB, Komm Jesu, komm (SATBx2) JCB, Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf (SATBx2) JCB, Herr, nun lässet du deinen Diener (SATBx2) JSB. Jesu, meine Freude (SSATB) JCB, Der Gerechte, ob er gleich zu zeitlich stirbt (SATTB) JSB, Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (SATBx2)
More about the concerts Exclusive access. The concerts are private, being planned and administered by Martin Randall Festivals exclusively for an audience consisting of those who have taken the full festival package.
Their power is not overshadowed by the contrapuntal complexity of the motets by Johann Sebastian.
Duration. Four of the concerts are up to two hours long with an interval and two are a little over an hour with no interval. Seats. Specific seats are not reserved. You sit were you want or where there is space. In the churches seating is largely on pews.
Illustration: J.S. Bach, woodcut c. 1930.
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THE PROGRAMME
THE FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Concert 5 Lavenham, Church of St Peter & St Paul La Serenissima
The Sacred Lagoon: Legrenzi, Vinaccesi & Vivaldi Adrian Chandler director, violin Hilary Summers alto Robin Bigwood organ and twelve other instrumentalists Lavenham is an almost completely mediaeval town, the timber-framed buildings preserved by the 500-year slump which followed a burst of prosperity in the wool trade in the 15th century. The result is one of the delights of England.
Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus is one of the cornerstones of the alto repertoire and needs little introduction. His virtuosic concerto in C (RV 179) is a reworking of a piece written for the Feast of the Assumption; it retains all the brilliance of the original at a fraction of the cost! The relatively unknown Diogenio Bigaglia (c.1676–c.1745), a monk at San Giorgio Maggiore, was a composer of great skill and imagination.
Giovanni Legrenzi Sonata VI à 4, Op.11/3
The Church of St Peter & St Paul has a Decorated chancel dating to the early 14th century and a Perpendicular nave begun in 1486, famous for its homogeoneity and beauty and one of the most perfect manifestations of the style. The fine furnishings include misericords, chancel screen and an exceptional pair of chantry chapels.
Benedetto Vinaccesi Motet Astra campi, amati Zephyri for contralto, strings and continuo Antonio Vivaldi Concerto for violin, strings & continuo in C, RV 179 (arr. of Concerto per la Santissima Assontione di Maria Vergine, RV 581) Diogenio Bigaglia Concerto for violin, organ, strings and continuo in G minor
The wealth of great sacred music emanating from Venice at the turn of the 18th century has largely been neglected – with the exception of some widely loved pieces by Vivaldi. Giovanni Legrenzi (1626–1690) was Maestro di Coro at the Basilica di San Marco and composer of an immense output of vocal music and instrumental works. Benedetto Vinaccesi (1666–1719) was also an organist at San Marco, and subsequently Maestro di Coro at the Ospedaletto, one of the four famous orphanages for girls.
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In 1984, a ten-year-old child in Merseyside listened to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons on the radio for the very first time… This encounter resulted in a lifetime’s dedication to the music of 18th-century Venice for violinist Adrian Chandler and to the birth of La Serenissima: a world-class ensemble bringing life-affirming Italian baroque music to a global audience. They claim to be the only instrumental ensemble on the planet to work exclusively from their own performing editions. A bit like homemade pasta – it tastes better.
Vivaldi Nisi Dominus (Psalm 126) for contralto, strings & continuo, RV 608
Illustration: Lavenham, St Peter and St Paul’s Church, engraving c. 1900.
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THE PROGRAMME
Concert 6 Mildenhall, Church of St Mary Arcangelo
‘Exsultate, jubilate’: Haydn, Mozart & J.C. Bach Jonathan Cohen director Carolyn Sampson soprano Ashley Riches bass and 21 instrumentalists The largest parish in Suffolk, close to the borders with Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, Mildenhall thrived in earlier times on fish from the Fens and rabbits from the Breckland heath. Now it is best know for nearby RAF Mildenhall, base for both British and American units. The Church of St Mary is suitably magnificent for our finale. The chancel is 13th-century, with a particular fine east window, the nave 15th-century Perpendicular and the two-storey porch with lady chapel above is early 16thcentury. Astonishly thin piers support one of the finest timber roofs in East Anglia, inhabited by large gilded angels.
And what sacred music! Mozart’s extraordinary Exsultate, Jubilate is an irreverent show-stopper; Haydn’s Lamentation Symphony with its central plainsong theme is also an early example of tempestuous Sturm und Drang; his Nicolai Mass sports wide leaps and syncopated rhythms. Michael Haydn’s sacred concert aria and Johann Christoph Bach’s festive Magnif icat complete an uplifting programme of searing beauty. Arcangelo is one of the world’s leading ensembles, an army of generals directed by Jonathan Cohen working principally in baroque and classical repertoire. Setting it apart from other ensembles is the commitment to the collaborative ideal of chamber music performance. Arcangelo exploded onto the musical scene in 2010 with the verve and energy that continue to be their hallmarks. They have appeared at major festivals and concert halls in Europe and America and their many recordings have won great critical and popular acclaim.
For this splendid and spacious vessel a Classical programme has been chosen. Mozart and Haydn were recognisably modern musical celebrities with solo concert series, publishing deals and fan clubs, yet both had their start in the ancient church music tradition and wrote sacred music throughout their careers.
J. Haydn (1732–1809) Missa Sancti Nicolai Hob:XXII:6 J. Haydn Lamentation Symphony (No.26) Hob I:26 Michael Haydn Alme Deus, ST332/KLIII:29 Johann Christian Bach (1735–82) Magnif icat Mozart (1756–1791) Exsultate, jubilate
Fitness for the festival There is some walking and stair climbing involved in this festival and reasonable fitness and agility are required. Participants will need to be able to walk unaided for up to 20 minutes, the time it will take slow walkers to reach the furthest event. We are happy to talk to you in more detail about this. If you have a medical condition or a disability which may affect your holiday or necessitate special arrangements being made for you, please discuss these with us before booking. If the condition develops or changes subsequently, as soon as possible before departure.
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ACCOMMODATION & PRICES
ACCOMMODATION & PRICES
Hotel accommodation in Bury St Edmunds or Lavenham for three nights is included in the price of the festival package. The choice of hotel and room type determines the price of the package. We have chosen the two hotels with care. For location, amenities, comfort, maintenance and service, within their respective price bands these are the best in the region. As is inevitable in historic buildings, rooms vary in size and outlook.
THE ANGEL HOTEL, BURY
THE SWAN HOTEL, LAVENHAM
Historic coaching inn in the centre of Bury St Edmunds, a short walk from St Mary’s. Now AA-rated 4-star.
An inn since 1667, The Swan spreads through a number of contiguous halftimber buildings which date to the 15th and 16th centuries.
Rooms are attractively furnished and range from the more traditional to contemporary, some with an occasional quirky design. Some bathrooms have a bath, others a shower. The public areas are comfortable with a contemporary décor. There is a good restaurant, a lounge and a bar. Service is friendly. Car park: no need to book, no charge. This is also the base for the Mediaeval East Anglia pre-festival tour.
Refurbishment of the rooms has retained their historical character – wooden beams, uneven floors, casement windows – and the modern insertions have been designed with taste and restraint. Most of the en-suite bathrooms have a bath with shower attachment. Facilities include a bar, extensive lounges, brasserie and a good restaurant. Service is of a high standard. There is a car park opposite the hotel which is free of charge.
www.theangel.co.uk
This is also the base for the Gainsborough and Constable pre-festival tour.
PRICES
www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk
Two sharing – per person
PRICES
Standard double/twin (Original):
£1,960
Superior double (Impressions):
£2,020
Two sharing – per person
Superior double/twin Junior suite (Ivy View double/twin (Heritage or Gainsborough): or Contemporary double): £2,180 Suite double/twin (Constable): Contemporary Abbey View suite (double): £2,380 Single occupancy Single occupancy Standard (Original):
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Standard (Lavenham): £2,050 Superior (Suffolk):
£2,070 £2,210
£2,210 £2,260
ACCOMMODATION & PRICES
ARRIVING EARLY
OPTIONAL TOUR & EXCURSION
If you would like extra nights in Bury or Lavenham before or after the festival, ask us or contact the hotel direct. This would be better done sooner rather than later.
Gainsborough House excursion. During the festival, you can opt to use an otherwise free morning for a special visit to Gainsborough’s House which includes a talk by the director, Mark Bills, refreshments, admission to the house and to the two major exhibitions. The House is within walking distance of the afternoon concert. Details on booking will be sent in due course.
MEALS Three dinners and one lunch are included in the package, as well as breakfasts. Included meals are in the hotel in which you are staying and in The Black Lion, a hotel restaurant in Long Melford.
Pre-festival tour: Gainsborough & Constable 2– 4 July 2022 A two-night pre-festival tour visits sites associated with these two Suffolk-born artists. The itinerary includes Sudbury, Ipswich, Dedham, East Bergholt and Flatford and the two outstanding collections of their art, Gainsborough’s family home and Christchurch Mansion. The hotel is The Swan in Lavenham (which should therefore be your choice for the festival). It begins at Ipswich Station early on Saturday afternoon (if required, it will start in Lavenham) and finishes at Lavenham by lunchtime on Monday. At 3.00pm coaches take you to Bury for the first concert.
Photograph: The Swan Hotel, Lavenham.
Full details will be available soon, but please register your interest when booking for the festival.
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JOINING & LEAVING
JOINING & LEAVING THE FESTIVAL
MONDAY 4 JULY
THURSDAY 7 JULY
By train to Ely for Bury. Participants staying at Bury-St-Edmunds should select a train to arrive at Ely around noon. We will recommend one as soon as the timetable is published; the journey from London King’s Cross takes about 70 minutes. Trains from Manchester and many other towns can reach Ely via Cambridge or Peterborough. Private coaches take you from Ely to The Angel Hotel in Bury. You are free for three hours before first concert at 4.00pm in St Mary’s, Bury.
Following lunch at a restaurant near the venue in Mildenhall, the last concert finishes at about 4.00pm. Participants travelling homeward by train join coaches from their hotels, their luggage on board. Those with their own cars drive to Mildenhall.
By train to Colchester for Lavenham. Participants staying at Lavenham should take a train to Colchester. The journey from London Liverpool Street takes about an hour. Coaches take you to The Swan at Lavenham (c. 40 minutes), and from Lavenham to Bury at 3.00pm (25 minutes). By car. You may of course drive to Suffolk in your own car. Parking is available free of charge at all hotels. However, we recommend you to join the coaches for the transfers to concerts and other events except on the last day.
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Homeward by train. After the concert, coaches take all intending rail passengers, whether staying at Lavenham or Bury, from Mildenhall to Ely. A train reaches London King’s Cross at c. 6.30pm.
Illustration: Bury St Edmunds, St James’s Tower, etching 1820 by H. Davy.
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BOOKING FORM
MUSIC IN SUFFOLK CHURCHES 4–7 JULY 2022 (mi 410) NAME(S) – We do not use titles on documents issued to festival and tour participants unless you want us to by including them here: Participant 1:
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EXTRA NIGHTS – please detail any requests here:
THE ANGEL HOTEL, BURY Single occupancy: Standard double for single use (Original) Two sharing: Standard double / twin (Original) Superior double (Impressions) Junior Suite, double / twin Contemporary Abbey View Suite (double only)
THE SWAN HOTEL, LAVENHAM Single occupancy: Standard double for single use (Lavenham) Superior double for single use (Suffolk) Two sharing: Superior double / twin (Heritage or Gainsborough) Suite – double / twin (Constable)
FURTHER INFORMATION. Please notify us of dietary restrictions (for example, religious, medical or if you are vegetarian or vegan).
BOOKING FORM
PASSPORT DETAILS – only required if you live outside the United Kingdom. Please use capital letters. Title
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PAYMENT We prefer payments by bank transfer. We cannot currently accept payment through our website. All money paid to us is fully protected regardless of payment method. Please tick one option:
Please tick payment amount: EITHER Deposit 10% of total booking cost.
BANK TRANSFER. Please use your surname and the festival code (mi 410) as a reference and ask your bank to allow for all charges. Account name: Martin Randall Travel Ltd. Bank: Barclays, 1 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HP Account number: 4054 4558 Sort code: 20 –96 –63 Transfers from non-UK bank accounts: please instruct your bank to send payment in pound sterling (GBP). IBAN: GB19 BARC 2096 6340 5445 58. Swift/BIC: BARC GB22.
OR Full balance Required if you are booking within 10 weeks of departure.
TOTAL: £
DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. I authorise Martin Randall Travel to contact me by telephone to take payment from my Visa credit/ Visa debit/Mastercard/AMEX. USING CREDIT. Please tick this box if you are transferring funds from a booking affected by Covid-19 (ie. from a cancelled tour or festival) or a refund credit note.
I have read and agree to the Booking Conditions and Privacy Policy (www.martinrandall.com/privacy) on behalf of all listed on this form.
Signature: Date:
Martin Randall Travel Ltd 10 Barley Mow Passage London W4 4PH United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com ATOL 3622 | ABTA Y6050 | AITO 5085
Contact the London office from the USA and Canada: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll free) usa@martinrandall.com
Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au
BOOKING DETAILS
MAKING A BOOKING
BOOKING CONDITIONS
1. PROVISIONAL BOOKING
PLEASE READ THESE
We recommend that you contact us first to make a booking option which we will hold for seven days. To confirm it please send the booking form and deposit within this period – the deposit is 10% of your total booking price. 2. DEFINITE BOOKING Fill in the booking form and send it to us with the deposit. 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 date the festival begins.
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, usually going far beyond the minimum obligations. — We aim to provide full and accurate information about our holidays. 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.
3. OUR CONFIRMATION
WHAT WE ASK OF YOU
Upon receipt of the booking form and deposit we shall send you confirmation of your booking. After this your deposit is non-returnable except in the special circumstances mentioned in the Booking Conditions. Further details about the festival may also be sent at this stage, or will follow shortly afterwards.
That you read the information we send to you.
FITNESS TESTS We ask that you take the following tests before committing to a booking: Please also read ‘fitness for the festival’ on page 11. By signing the booking form, you conf irm that you have taken these tests. 1. C hair stands. Sit in a dining chair, with arms folded and hands on opposite shoulders. Stand up and sit down at least eight times in 30 seconds. 2. S tep test. Mark a wall at a height that is halfway between your knee and your hip bone. Raise each knee in turn to the mark at least 60 times in two minutes. 3. A gility test. Place an object three yards from the edge of a chair, sit, and record the time it takes to stand up, walk to the object and sit back down. You should be able to do this in under seven seconds. An additional indication of the f itness required is that you should be able to walk unaided at a pace of three miles per hour for at least half an hour at a time, and to stand for at least 30 minutes.
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. You must be in good health and have a level of fitness that would not impair other participants’ enjoyment by slowing them down or by absorbing disproportionate attention from the festival leaders. Please read ‘Fitness’ (on page 11) and take the selfassessment tests described on this page; by signing the booking form you are stating that you have passed these tests. If during the festival it transpires, in the judgement of the festival leaders, that you are not able to cope, you may be asked to opt out of certain visits or to leave the festival altogether. This would be at your own expense. We reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason. Insurance. It is a requirement of booking that you have adequate holiday insurance cover. For non-UK residents the insurance must cover, at minimum, medical treatment in the UK and repatriation; please also ensure that your insurance covers the cost of your international travel in the rare event of Martin Randall Travel cancelling the festival or tour. We advise that all participants have holiday insurance in place that covers loss of property and loss of payments to us in the event that you cancel your booking. Experience indicates that free travel insurance offered by some credit card companies is not to be relied upon. Passports and visas. Non-UK residents must have passports valid for six months beyond the date of the festival or tour. Visas are not currently required for the UK for EU citizens, or for citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Nationals of other countries should ascertain whether visas are required and obtain them if they are.
If you cancel. If you have to withdraw from a festival on which you had booked, there would be a charge which varies according to the period of notice you give. Up to 57 days before the festival the deposit would be forfeited. Thereafter a percentage of the total cost of the festival will be due: up to 57 days: between 56 and 29 days: between 28 and 15 days: between 14 days and 3 days: within 48 hours:
deposit only 40% 60% 80% 100%
If you cancel your booking in a double or twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate in the festival, the companion would have to pay the single-occupancy price. We take as the day of cancellation that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation. If we cancel the festival. We may decide to cancel a festival if there were insufficient bookings for it to be viable (though this would always be more than eight weeks before departure). We would refund you with everything you had paid us. Safety and security. Cancellation may also occur if civil unrest, war, natural disaster or other circumstances amounting to force majeure arise in the region to which the festival or tour was due to go. Health and safety. We have a safety auditing process in place and, as a minimum, request that all of our suppliers comply with local health and safety regulations. We ask that you take note of the safety information we provide. The limits of our liabilities. As principal, we accept responsibility for all ingredients of a festival, 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 a festival or event 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 in your view an adequate substitute, we would give a full refund. Financial protection. Payments for festivals or tours which do not include a flight from/to the UK (such as those included in this brochure) are protected by ABTA –The Travel Association. So, in the (highly unlikely) event of our insolvency in advance of the tour, you would get your money back, or if we failed after the festival or tour had begun, it would be able to continue. Clients living outside the UK who have arranged their own flights should ensure their personal travel insurance covers repatriation in the event of holiday supplier failure. 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. Privacy. By signing the booking form you are stating that you have read and agree to our Privacy Policy, which can be found online at www. martinrandall.com/privacy.
WWW.MARTINRANDALL.COM
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MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL
POLYPHONY IN PORTUGAL 22–27 MAY 2022
Britain’s leading specialist in cultural travel and one of the most respected tour operators in the world.
MUSIC IN SUFFOLK CHURCHES 4–7 JULY 2022
MRT aims to produce the best planned, best led and altogether the most fulfilling and enjoyable cultural tours and events available. They focus on art, architecture, archaeology, history, music and gastronomy, and are spread across Britain, continental Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Japan and the Americas.
MUSIC ALONG THE DANUBE 22–29 AUGUST 2022 MUSIC IN VENICE 13–18 NOVEMBER 2022 UK SHORT CHAMBER MUSIC BREAKS The Albion Quartet, 4–6 March 2022 The Navarra String Quartet, 1–3 April 2022 Please contact us for more information.
Each year there are about 200 expert-led tours for small groups (usually 10 –20 participants), four or five music festivals (such as this, Music in Suffolk Churches), several history and music weekends and an extensive programme of online talks. For over 30 years the company has led the field through incessant innovation and improvement, setting the benchmarks for itinerary planning, operational systems and service standards. To see our full range of cultural tours and events, please visit www.martinrandall.com
Martin Randall Travel Ltd 10 Barley Mow Passage London W4 4PH United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)20 8742 3355 info@martinrandall.co.uk www.martinrandall.com
Contact the London office from the USA and Canada: Tel 1 800 988 6168 (toll free) usa@martinrandall.com
Martin Randall Australasia PO Box 1024 Indooroopilly QLD 4068, Australia Tel 1300 55 95 95 New Zealand 0800 877 622 anz@martinrandall.com.au