York Early Music Festival 2010

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Welcome

Welcome to the 2010 York Early Music Festival – Britain's largest festival of early music. This year we’re taking the theme of Musical Marriages as the inspiration for a host of concerts, lectures and workshops designed to celebrate marriage in all senses of the word, from grand ceremonial occasions to intimate pieces written for composers' spouses. And we’ll also be reflecting on the ‘marriages’ of different musical styles and genres from the Renaissance to the High Baroque.

The 30-or-so events that make up the 2010 Festival offer many musical jewels – not least Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers publication, a 400-year-old masterpiece which we have chosen to celebrate in particular detail across three concerts. To mark the 200th anniversary of Schumann’s birth we present both Frauenliebe und -leben and Myrthen with soprano Barbara Schlick and tenor James Gilchrist accompanied by Peter Seymour. Guest artists from overseas also include lutenist Hopkinson Smith, Musica Fiata, La Capella Ducale and Ensemble Lucidarium, and of course we are delighted to welcome many UK-based musicians including The Sixteen, London Baroque and Fretwork.

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We are particularly pleased to welcome members of the European Early Music Network, who are celebrating their own marriage of festivals across Europe for their 10th-anniversary conference; and

to commend performances of the York Mystery Plays presented by the Guilds of the City – a remarkable marriage of theatre, music, church and community which has survived since the Middle Ages.

And finally, we should like to say thank you and goodbye to Robert Hollingworth as a member of the artistic advisory team, and to welcome Elizabeth Kenny, who is joining us to help plan the 2011 Festival. She also appears this year as director of John Blow’s masterpiece Venus and Adonis.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the wonderful City of York – the most perfect example of architectural brilliance – and a marriage of styles acclaimed across the world.

Delma Tomlin MBE Administrative Director

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Front Cover Image: Harewood House Trust Marriage Chest: ‘The Reconciliation of the Romans and the Sabines’ around 1480 The Master of Marradi (active c. 1475-1513)

Reproduced by kind permission of the Earl and Countess of Harewood and the Trustees of the Harewood House Trust.

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The Festival is delighted to announce its own marriage of ideas in which we join together with the NCEM, the National Media Museum, Bradford Council, Museums and Galleries, the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Harewood House and Alchemy.

WORLDS

This innovatory programme looks at the extraordinary mix that is modern day Yorkshire – marrying individuals from across the world with the traditional heritage of the region and linking music, movement and media together in the leadup to the 2012 Olympics.

Artistic Advisors John Bryan, Robert Hollingworth, Lindsay Kemp, Peter Seymour

Thank you!

The York Early Music Festival is grateful to the many individuals and organisations that continue to support its activities – not least the many loyal and supportive audience members!

Thanks are particularly due to the Arts Council England,Yorkshire – for revenue funding and for the recent Sustain Award - and to partner organisation, the National Centre for Early Music, celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010.

We are also delighted to acknowledge support from the City of York Council; BBC Radio 3; the Friends of the YEMF; Harrowells Solicitors; the Shepherd Building Group; Fidelio Charitable Trust; Yorkshire Forward; Legacy Trust UK; the Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust; the Donald and Patricia Shepherd Charitable Trust; John Marvin; the University of York; the Dean & Chapter, York and highlighted members of the York Hoteliers Association – who along with a number of very kind anonymous donors help to keep us afloat each year.

We are also pleased to thank the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust,Youth Music and the City of York’s Arts Academy for their continued support of our education programme.

Peter Phillips

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Friday 9 July YE MF

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EVENT 01

EVENT 02

2.30pm – c4.30pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church Admission is free to members of the public attending the Festival but please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

5.30pm – c6.20pm C4C Chapel,York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk. £5.00

In 2010 the European Early Music Network REMA (Réseau Européen de Musique Ancienne) celebrates its 10th anniversary. With over 60 member festivals from across 21 European states and with membership growing year on year, REMA is thriving – but is there still an ‘early music movement’ as such or is ‘historically informed performance practice’ so well accepted that there is no longer any need for a ‘movement’ at all?

work? Who was the music written for? Does it have any connection with the Virgin Mary?

Demythologising Early Music: The the Vespers End of a Movement? Is Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers actually a single

Join us for a discussion chaired by Professor John Bryan (University of Huddersfield) with guest speakers Graham Dixon (Managing Editor, BBC Radio 3); Robert Hollingworth (Singer and Director of I Fagiolini); Chiara Banchini (Educationalist and Director of Ensemble 415); Frans de Ruiter (President, European House of Culture) and Philippe Beaussant (Musicologist and Founder of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles).

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Graham Dixon looks at the strange history of one of the most magnificent, but also most misunderstood, works in the history of music.

Friday 9 July YE MF

EVENT 03

Saturday 10 July Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c9.10pm York Minster Reserved seating front nave: £25.00 (no concessions) Reserved seating rear nave: £15.00 (concessions £13.00) Unreserved seating side aisles: £12.00 (students £6.00) Judith Cunnold, Helen Neeves, Bethany Seymour sopranos Jason Darnell, Joshua Ellicott, Immo Schröder tenors Rupert Reid, Stephen Varcoe basses

Yorkshire Bach Choir with Monastic Cantors from Ampleforth Abbey Lucy Russell, Daniel Edgar, Nia Lewis violins Duncan Druce viola Rachel Gray,Tim Smedley ‘cellos Elizabeth Kenny, David Miller chittarones Pamela Thorby, Ailsa Reid recorders Roland Wilson, Arno Paduch, Jamie Savan cornetts Barrie Webb, Sue Addison, Stephen Saunders sackbuts Peter Seymour, Robert Patterson organs Peter Seymour director

Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine – Concert 1 Vespers: Psalms & Hymns We start our exploration of Monteverdi’s great sacred masterpiece in the magnificent central Nave of York Minster – the largest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps. Presented in the context of a liturgical sequence, with plainchant sung by the monks of Ampleforth Abbey and instrumental pieces taken from Cima's 1610 Sonatas, this first concert presents the five choral psalms, the glowing hymn Ave maris stella and the larger of Monteverdi’s two settings of the Magnificat, in seven parts.

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EVENT 04

Concert By Candlelight

10.00pm – c11.20pm Chapter House,York Minster £20.00 (concessions £17.00)

Friends Saver Ticket

Judith Cunnold, Helen Neeves, Bethany Seymour sopranos Jason Darnell, Joshua Ellicott, Immo Schröder tenors Rupert Reid, Stephen Varcoe basses Lucy Russell, Daniel Edgar, Nia Lewis violins Pamela Thorby, Ailsa Reid recorders Peter Seymour organ, director

Monteverdi:Vespro della Beata Vergine – Concert 2 Vespers: Sacred Concertos Join us in the more intimate confines of the Chapter House as we present the solo vocal concertos from the 1610 Vespers collection.These are often performed as part of the Vespers sequence but were more probably written for private devotions at the Gonzaga family's chapel at Mantua.This concert will also include Monteverdi's second Magnificat setting, for six voices and continuo. ‘an unbeatable combination of resilience and stamina ... exhilarating’ York Press www.yorkshirebachchoir.org.uk Supported by Best Western Dean Court Hotel www.deancourt-york.co.uk

By kind permission of the Dean and Chapter,York

'The performance (by YBC) proved that there can be no such thing as too much fine choral singing' The Guardian The Festival is pleased to present Monteverdi’s 1610 publication Vespro della Beata Vergine in its complete form – the Vespers music itself, the solo sacred ‘concertos’ (or motets), and the Mass In illo tempore – over three separate but interlinked performances – marked in this brochure as Events 03, 04 and 13.

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Saturday 10 July North East Early Music Forum Workshop directed by Andrew Griffiths 10.00am for 10.30am - 4.30 pm St George’s (RC) Church, Peel Street

The Sonority of La Serenissima A day exploring Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 In a year that sees many opportunities to hear the remarkable collection of pieces that has come to be known as ‘Monteverdi’s Vespers’, here is an opportunity to explore and discover the marvels of this work at first hand – by performing it.

Andrew Griffiths began his studies as a Quirister and Scholar at Winchester College, and gained a Choral Exhibition at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he held a Choral Exhibition. He now sings with the hugely successful vocal consort Stile Antico.

The workshop is open to all singers, and players of both modern and period instruments. (Wind & brass players may wish to check suitability before applying for a place). Pitch will therefore be at A=440. Singers who wish to be considered for solos should indicate this on the application form.

Participant places must be booked in advance (by 19 June to allow for full provision of music and parts): visit www.neemf.org.uk for full details and to download the application form.

Alternatively email chairman@neemf.org.uk or phone 07979 866303 for further details.

Stay in touch!

The NCEM sends out regular e newsletters about its activities. Email us at boxoffice@ncem.co.uk to keep in touch or sign up at www.ncem.co.uk

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EVENT 05

1.00pm – c2.15pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church Admission is free to those attending the Festival, but please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment. Limited to two tickets per person.

BBC Radio 3 Early Music Show Join us for a live broadcast of the popular Early Music Show presented by Catherine Bott, with guests including I Fagiolini with director Robert Hollingworth, Barbara Schlick, James Bowman, Peter Seymour, Roland Wilson and David Miller.

York Early Music Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Following on directly after the broadcast, Catherine Bott will be presenting the third YEMF Lifetime Achievement Award to James Bowman – who has been one of the world’s leading counter tenors for over forty years with a career spanning opera, oratorio, contemporary, solo recitals and a whole host of recordings made with all the major record labels under such directors as Britten, Harnoncourt, Mackerras, Leppard, Hogwood, Brüggen and Pinnock. Join us for a light-hearted celebration of this musical genius.

Supported by Hotel du Vin www.hotelduvin.com/york

Saturday 10 July YE MF

EVENT 06

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c8.40pm Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York Reserved seating: £20.00 (concessions £17.00, students £5.00)

I Fagiolini directed by Robert Hollingworth L’Amfiparnaso In this madrigal comedy, written just before the first opera,Vecchi brings alive the characters of commedia dell’arte: mean-hearted old Pantalone; the verbose Doctor (speaking minestrone); the over-amorous Spanish Captain and the ever-hungry servants – the zanni. Its originality lay in the marriage of the ‘Twin Peaks’ of comedy and great music: alongside the slapstick (the show features an actual slapstick),Vecchi writes bittersweet madrigals for the lovers worthy of Monteverdi.The performance will be staged using 16th-century Venetian masks and the fabulous original dialects will be retained, but to recreate the original’s wonderful wordplay, each scene is set up with English introductions: ‘Don’t despair, they do sing prettily: just lie back and think of Italy’.

‘I Fagiolini turn a silk purse into one beaded in gold… A highly enjoyable production which celebrates the immediacy, relevance and enjoyment to be found in a 400-year-old musical.’ Gramophone www.ifagiolini.com Supported by Lady Anne Middleton’s Hotel www.ladyannes.co.uk

Pre-Concert Talk Staging a 400-year-old comedy with unfamiliar characters, untranslatable jokes and obsolete cultural references in a piece which Vecchi implied should not be staged anyway, creates problems. Join us at 6.30pm in the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall as the performers explain how and why they have done this, what liberties they have and haven’t taken, and what they regard as intrinsic to the piece. With live musical examples. Admission is free to those attending Event 06.

Organised in association with

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Sunday 11 July YE MF

EVENT 07

Friends Saver Ticket

1.00pm – c3.00pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church £15.00 (concessions £13.00)

Barbara Schlick soprano James Gilchrist tenor Peter Seymour fortepiano

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EVENT 08

5.00pm – c6.00pm Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate £5.00 (Friends of York Early Music Festival free of charge)

A Festival of Marriage

To mark the 200th anniversary of Schumann’s birth, we present performances of two remarkable song-cycles Frauenliebe und -leben and Myrthen Robert’s wedding gift to his wife Clara - given by two of the world's finest Lieder singers.

The admired German soprano Barbara Schlick has worked with early music directors across Europe throughout her career and her interpretations are comprehensively documented through CD and radio recordings. We are particularly thrilled that we have this rare opportunity to hear her celebrating the work of Schumann.

“James Gilchrist is unsurpassed among lyric tenors in sweetness and technical security, and for his musical intelligence”The Independent

Pre-Concert Talk Join us at 12 noon at the NCEM as Peter Seymour illustrates and explains some of the ideas, images and hidden ciphers – many of them secret messages from husband to wife – in Schumann’s songs.

Admission is free to those attending Event 07.

Supported by The Grange Hotel www.grangehotel.co.uk

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The Minster Minstrels,York’s early music ensemble for young people, directed by Ailsa Reid and Andrew Passmore, explore music that was associated with marriage from the 14th-century to the 18th, including English opera, Florentine intermedii and Scottish folksongs.

The Minster Minstrels is run as a partnership between the NCEM and the City of York Council’s Arts Academy with support from the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust. If you are interested in joining this dynamic young group, please contact us for further information by e mailing education@ncem.co.uk

Sunday 11 July

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EVENT 09

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c9.30pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church £15.00 (concessions £13.00)

London Baroque Ingrid Seifert violin Charles Medlam bass viol Terence Charlston harpsichord

Mariage à la mode Rameau

Pièces de Clavecin en concert No.2 in G major

Mondonville Pieces de Clavecin avec violin Op.3 1734 Leclair

Sonata No. 8 à Trois in D major (Livre II)

Marais

Le Noeud d’Amour

Forqueray

La Leclair

Rameau

Pièces de Clavecin en concert No. 5 in D minor

The 18th-century Parisian music scene was a tightknit web of husband-and-wife teams, mini-dynasties and close working friendships. London Baroque treads an intricate course through this maze as Rameau honours Mondonville's wife, Jean-Baptiste Forqueray's niece and Marin Marais’ son, with Leclair (a witness to Forqueray's second marriage) also in attendance. The result may look like a soap opera, but it's all in the best possible French taste!

‘London Baroque is more than equal to the expressive and technical challenges of Rameau's music; the poise, delicacy and sheer enjoyment they communicate is a constant delight. ‘ BBC music magazine www.londonbaroque.com Supported by the Park Inn www.york.parkinn.co.uk

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Monday 12 July

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EVENT 10

Friends Saver Ticket

12.00 noon – c1.00pm Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate £12.00 (concessions £10.00, students £5.00)

Compagnia d’Istrumenti Ailsa Reid recorders Daniel Edgar, Nia Lewis violins Tim Smedley cello Peter Seymour harpsichord

A Stylish Marriage In his 1729 autobiography,Telemann boasts that his ‘accomplishment with respect to musical style is well known’: this programme showcases his gift for marrying the contrasting national traits of the Baroque into a cohesive and eclectic language, integrating the poise and grace of French dance, the lyricism and expression of Italianate music and the energetic, folk-influenced Polish style.

‘Inspired and talented players’ BBC Radio 3

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EVENT 11

2.00pm – c2.45pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church Admission is free to those attending the Festival, but please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment. Limited to two tickets per person.

Around the World with Francis Drake: A Musical Circumnavigation Francis Drake was a musical man who took four viol players with him on his travels (see Event 15). Join Francis Pretty, one of Drakes ‘Gentlemen at Arms’, as he recounts his voyage around the world with the great mariner.

Working alongside musicians from the National Centre for Early Music, children from Lord Deramore’s Primary School relive his dramatic adventures with songs and instrumental music of Elizabethan England, and from many of the lands he visited.

The NCEM produces a number of learning resources for Key Stage 2 teachers – particularly focusing on the Tudor era – for details, please log on to www.ncem.co.uk

Monday 12 July YE MF

EVENT 12

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c8.40pm Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York Reserved seating: £20.00 (concessions £17.00, students £5.00)

Ensemble Lucidarium Bruna Gondoni, Marco Bendoni dancers Gloria Moretti, Enrico Fink voice VivaBiancaLuna Biffi voice and viola d’arco Avery Gosfield, Marco Ferrari wind Francis Biggi colascione, cetra, lute Massimiliano Dragoni hammer dulcimer, percussion Elisabetta Benfenati Renaissance guitar

Kehi Kinnor: Celebrating a Jewish Wedding in the Renaissance Marriage has been a cause for celebration at practically every era in every culture. Accounts of marriages and dancing, payment records for musicians and the many examples of wedding songs that have come down to us in Renaissance sources prove the importance that marriage, and its celebration, had in the Jewish community, reflecting both the universal nature of life-cycle observances and the substantial role they play in Jewish life and thought – not least as a source of income for musicians!

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EVENT 13

Concert By Candlelight Friends Saver Ticket

10.00pm – c11.00pm St George’s Church, Peel Street £12.00 (concessions £10.00, students £5.00)

University of York Chamber Choir Robert Hollingworth director Roland Wilson, Arno Paduch cornetts Sebastian Krause, Cas Gevers, Peter Sommer trombones

Monteverdi: Vespro della Beata Vergine – Concert 3 Monteverdi: In illo tempore Gombert: In illo tempore Although known as the ‘1610 Vespers’, Monteverdi actually billed the collection as ‘A mass for six voices, with some vespers psalms’. The mass was Monteverdi’s way of showing his skill in the old style of counterpoint and was based on ten themes from a Gombert motet. It is written neither in the new seconda prattica style nor as a true recreation of the older prima prattica. It is rather an affectionate look backwards with a strong eye for what might be well received in conservative ecclesiastical circles.

Supported by Royal York Hotel www.royalhotelyork.co.uk

‘The Ensemble Lucidarium have an exceptionally varied and colourful set of textures and timbres from which to draw and arrange their instrumental and vocal performances … the playing and singing is wonderfully alive and full of adoration and devotional feeling, as well as respect and reverence for the music.’ Hi-fi+ Classical and Audiophile Music Review www.lucidarium.com The Jewish community were not visible in York by the Renaissance. Join us later in the Festival (Event 20) for Sarah Rees Jones’ explanation of why this vibrant group were effectively expelled from the City in the Middle Ages.

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Tuesday 13 July YE MF

EVENT 14

Friends Saver Ticket

12.00 noon - c1.00pm All Saints Church, North Street £12.00 (concessions £10.00)

Fermate il Passo A dramatic recital by VivaBiancaLuna Biffi viola d’arco, voice The early Renaissance Italian frottola is arguably the musical form that led eventually to the birth of Italian opera. In this performance, a series of frottole in three ‘acts’ describe different moments of the day – sunset, night and morning – as metaphors of love-moods: falling in love, love-torment and the victory of love over troubles.The Prologue and the Epilogue provide the voice of cynical reality: life is short and love is uncertain.

Supported by Kilima Hotel www.kilima.co.uk

Young Competition

2011 Image: Holbein,The Ambassadors (detail) c The National Gallery, London

CALL FOR APPLICANTS!

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If you are a young early music ensemble aged between 17 and 35, focusing on historically informed performance practice – and you want to make your name on an international stage the York Early Music International Young Artists Competition is a must for you.

Previous winners of the competition - and the associated Friends Prize - have included Stile Antico, Florilegium, Le Jardin Secret, I Fagiolini and in 2009, Ensemble Meridiana Visit www.ncem.co.uk or email education@ncem.co.uk

Tuesday 13 July

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EVENT 15

Friends Saver Ticket

8.00pm – c9.15pm | The Gallery, Harewood House Reserved seating: £20.00 (concessions £17.00) including a glass of wine on arrival

Fretwork Wendy Gillespie, Susanna Pell, Asako Morikawa, Richard Boothby, Richard Campbell, Richard Tunnicliffe viols

The World Encompassed: Sir Francis Drake’s Circumnavigation of the Globe 1577-80 When Drake set sail from Plymouth on 15 November 1577, he took with him four viol players: Simon Wood,Thomas Meckes, Richard Clarke & “George”. The viols played music to accompany Drake’s private worship and they entertained him while he ate; he also used the music to impress the natives. Fretwork has commissioned composer Orlando Gough to use these scant facts to create a journey in sound that charts Drake’s remarkable feat. Music from the 16th century by Parsons,Taverner and Tye is woven seamlessly into a through-composed piece of music inspired by this significant cultural exchange. www.fretwork.co.uk Supported by Middlethorpe Hall Hotel and Spa www.middlethorpe.com

TRANSPORT TO HAREWOOD Please see page 22 for coach details

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The NCEM is working with Harewood House as part of the New Worlds programme to marry music together with some of the artefacts from this magnificent collection. Join us before the concert for a special curator’s presentation of Harewood’s 'Woman in Miniatures' exhibition – scheduled to open to the public on 22 August – to gain an insight looking at how women were positioned within the political, social and domestic structures of the British Empire in England and India in the 19th century – some 300 years after Frances Drake circumnavigated the world.

WORLDS

To view the miniatures in comfort, we ask that you book a free time-ticket in advance of arrival.Tickets are available to concert goers only with a limited number of tickets available per viewing – book for 7.00pm; 7.10pm; 7.20pm; 7.30pm or 7.40pm.

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Wednesday 14 July YE MF

EVENT 16

Friends Saver Ticket

1.00pm – c2.00pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church £10.00 (concessions £8.00, students £5.00)

University of York Baroque Ensemble and Chamber Choir Three Weddings and a Birthday The popular University ensemble presents music from Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, a colourful musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.This performance will feature a masque entertainment of songs and dances, celebrating no fewer than three marriages, as well as Oberon’s birthday.

Supported by

Friends Supper Party Wednesday 14 July | 9.30pm Bedern Hall, Bedern | Friends £15.00 Guests £20.00 The Friends are dedicated to supporting the summer Festival. Membership brings many benefits including advance bookings, discounted tickets, reserved seating (wherever possible) and of course the annual supper party.

To join the Friends, please contact the administrator, Jillian Johnson, at: friends@ncem.co.uk or ring 01904 658338

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Wednesday 14 July

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EVENT 17

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c9.15pm | Chapter House,York Minster | £20.00 (concessions £17.00)

La Capella Ducale Monika Mauch, Constanze Backes sopranos Markus Brutscher, Julian Podger tenors Harry van der Kamp bass with

Musica Fiata,Köln

Roland Wilson, Arno Paduch cornetts Anette Sichelschmidt violin, viola Adrian Rovatkay dulcian Sebastian Krause, Cas Gevers, Peter Sommer trombones Axel Wolf chitarrone Christoph Anselm Noll organ Roland Wilson director

Wedding Motets and Songs of Love During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), even composers of the calibre of Schütz, Scheidt and Schein had few opportunities to publish their works. High-society weddings provided possibilities not only to perform works, but also to get them printed at their patrons’ expense. Some of these are works performed here, complemented by erotic motets on texts from the Song of Songs by Schütz, taken from his Symphoniae Sacrae I, written shortly after the death of his wife.

‘Excellent singing and playing’The Observer Supported by Monk Bar Hotel www.monkbarhotel.co.uk

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Thursday 15 July YE MF

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EVENT 18

Friends Saver Ticket

EVENT 19

10.30am – c11.30am Bedern Hall, Bedern £7.50 including coffee on arrival

1.00pm – c2.00pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church £15.00 (concessions £13.00)

A Marriage of Musical Methods

Hopkinson Smith

John Bryan, Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield, investigates the writings of Georg Muffat (1653–1704), to see what a well-travelled baroque musician can tell us of his attempts to marry the best of French and Italian styles, and his advice on how to perform this music in good taste. See Event 21.

lute and vihuela Milano: Milan Italian Franceso da Milano and Spaniard Luys Milan were the two greatest lute virtuosi of their age, each publishing important collections of their music in 1536. These books bore witness to a remarkable marriage of two apparently opposing musical styles – improvisatory freedom and strict counterpoint – and giving birth to the flamboyant form of the fantasia. ‘without doubt the finest lute player in the world today’ San Francisco Chronicle ‘the supreme ‘poet’ of the lute.’ Gramophone www.hopkinsonsmith.com Supported by Pavilion Hotel www.yorkpavilionhotel.com

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Thursday 15 July YE MF

EVENT 20

5.00pm – c6.00pm Bedern Hall, Bedern £7.50 including a glass of wine on arrival

York and its Jewish community in the 12th and 13th centuries Sarah Rees Jones, Senior Lecturer in History at the University of York, looks at York between the 1170s and 1290 when the City was the home of one of the largest and most important Jewish communities of medieval England.These were times of great change: of invasion, destruction and civil conflict but also eventually of political innovation, economic recovery and growth.The story of York’s Jewish community reflects these uncertain and difficult times.

Sunday 11 & Sunday 18 July

York Mystery Plays 12 plays from the famous York Cycle will be performed on wagons moving through the City streets - organised by the guilds of the City and accompanied by musicians from across the UK - a vivid spectacle of colour and sound. Performances start at Noon and will finish around 6.00pm.

Contact the Visitor Information Centre on 01904 550099 for tickets.

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EVENT 21

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c9.30pm St Michael le Belfrey Church, High Petergate Reserved seating front nave £20.00 (no concessions) Unreserved seating side aisles and balcony £17.00 (concessions £15.00)

The Bach Players Nicolette Moonen, Rodolfo Richter violins Rachel Isserlis, Rachel Stott violas Kinga Gáborjáni viola da gamba, bass violin Silas Standage harpsichord Jakob Lindberg theorbo

Friend or Foe?: Italy versus France Programme to include: Lully Ouverture & Chaconne from Le Bourgeois gentilhomme Rebel Tombeau de Mr. de Lully Muffat Blanditiae from Florilegium secundum Corelli Trio Sonata, Op. 2 No. 12 Couperin L’Apothéose de Corelli Muffat Sonata No. 2 from Armonico Tributo The two main musical languages from the years around 1700 – French and Italian – court each other in this programme of baroque chamber music at its most eloquent. Frenchmen Rebel and Couperin pay tribute to the competing styles' great representatives, Lully and Corelli, while Georg Muffat sets out in a typical spirit of reconciliation to celebrate both sides of the musical argument.

‘The Bach Players, a London-based collective formed in 1996, reach the music’s emotional heart with tremendous conviction’ Classic FM Magazine www.thebachplayers.org.uk Supported by Holiday Inn www.holidayinn.co.uk

Artist In Residence Alfred Hackett, an artist who specialises in painting musicians, has been invited by Kentmere House Gallery to act as artist in residence during this year's Festival. His paintings will go on show at the National Centre for Early Music in December. Preview Thursday 2 December at 5.30pm www.kentmerehouse.co.uk

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Friday 16 July YE MF

Friends Saver Ticket

EVENT 22

12 noon – c1.00pm Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate £12.00 (concessions £10.00)

Mahan Esfahani harpsichord The first early keyboard specialist to be a member of BBC Radio 3's New Generation Artists scheme performs music from the heart of the harpsichord repertoire, ranging from works by Froberger and Louis Couperin – two of the 17th century's subtlest masters – to one of the great ‘English Suites” of Bach. In between comes one of Johann Kuhnau’s extraordinary 'Biblical Sonatas', often cited as among the earliest examples of representational programme music. ‘...nothing could have prepared me for the brilliance and artistry of Mahan Esfahani, who, despite his young age, played with the musicality and virtuosity of a master .. not a single phrase lacked purpose or direction.’ Keyboard Magazine

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EVENT 23

3.30pm – c5.00pm NCEM, St Margaret’s Church Admission is free to those attending the Festival, but please do book a ticket in advance to avoid disappointment.

Limited to two tickets per person.

BBC Radio 3 Discovering Music As an introduction to this evening's concert in York Minster, Catherine Bott presents an edition of BBC Radio 3’s popular “Discovering Music” in conversation with Harry Christophers.

Together with members of The Sixteen, they explore the background and musical ideas behind three of the pieces in this evening’s programme:Thomas Tallis’ Miserere Nostri; William Byrd’s Infelix ego and John Sheppard’s monumental Media vita in morte sumus.The programme will be recorded for future broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

Supported by The Queen’s Hotel www.queenshotel-york.com

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Box Office 01904 658338

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Friday 16 July YE MF

Friends Saver Ticket

EVENT 24

7.30pm – c9.20pm The Nave,York Minster Reserved seating front nave: £25.00 (no concessions) Reserved seating rear nave: £15.00 (concessions £13.00) Unreserved seating side aisles: £12.00 (students £6.00)

The Sixteen directed by Harry Christophers The Choral Pilgrimage 2010

Supported by

Ceremony & Devotion Music for the Tudors

www.harrowells.co.uk

Plainsong processional William Byrd Thomas Tallis John Sheppard John Sheppard William Byrd Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis William Byrd

Veni creator spiritus Laudibus in sanctis Jesu Salvator saeculi, Verbum Patris Media vita in morte sumus Sacris solemniis iuncta sint gaudia Haec dies Iam Christus astra ascenderat Miserere nostri Infelix ego

Music both celebratory and introspective by three extraordinary Tudor musicians who lived through decades of religious turmoil in 16th-century England and expressed their devotion to the Catholic faith in very different, but entirely compatible ways. This is music written for the glory of God, and here married to one of the world’s finest acoustics. www.the-sixteen.org.uk ‘the choral sounds were wonderfully clear and unfailingly precise … Christophers’ group can be just as impressively extrovert as they had been austerely restrained’ The Guardian

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Saturday 17 July YE MF

EVENT 25

10.30am – c3.30pm | NCEM, St Margaret’s Church £20.00 (no concessions) including lunch. Please note that advance booking is essential

The Sixteen Insight Day Join musicologist John Milsom, music editor Sally Dunkley and members of The Sixteen as they explore the music of the 2010 Choral Pilgrimage – the musical masters of the Tudor world, Byrd,Tallis and Sheppard.

YE MF

EVENT 26

Friends Saver Ticket

7.30pm – c9.30pm | St Michael le Belfrey Church, High Petergate Reserved seating front nave £20.00 (no concessions) Unreserved seating side aisles and balcony £17.00 (concessions £15.00)

Theatre of The Ayre Sophie Daneman Venus Giles Underwood Adonis Rachel Podger, Clare Salaman violins Alphonso Leal del Ojo viola Pamela Thorby, Catherine Latham, Merlin Harrison recorders Allison McGillivray viol, bass violin Elizabeth Kenny, David Miller theorbos, guitars James Johnstone harpsichord Elizabeth Kenny director Cupid, and Little Cupids, selected from the Minster Minstrels Vocal Ensemble Programme to include: Instrumental music by Robert de Visée and Marc-Antione Charpentier Ayres from Michel Lambert's Livre d'Airs de Cour John Blow’s Venus and Adonis John Blow’s Venus and Adonis is not a good advertisement for marriage. Charles II’s mistress Mary Davies, as Venus, advises Cupid that the best way to keep a man is to ‘use him very ill’.

Cupid was played by their daughter Lady Mary Tudor, fourteen at the time. Davies later married recorder virtuoso James Paisible. And yet anyone who has heard Venus’ searing howl of anguish on learning of Adonis’ death is left with a deeply troubling sense that great cynicism and love go hand in hand. That stroke of genius is Blow’s. ‘..audience and performers were wreathed in smiles during the brilliantly devised masques and antimasques of English songs and instrumental music of the 17th century.’ The Times Recorded for broadcast by BBC Radio 3 as part of a major series of opera programmes starting May 2010

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Dates for your diary Friday 28 – Sunday 30 May

Beverley & East Riding Early Music Festival Guest artists include the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment;The York Waits; Stile Antico and the Dunedin Consort & Players.

new WORLDS

They Will Always Be Together

Friday 25 June

Catherine Bott & Shirley Collins

The NCEM is working with the National Media Museum as part of the New Worlds programme to marry together music and media.

A Woman’s Life and Loves in Song.

For over 150 years, photography has been used to commemorate and celebrate marriage or partnership.

For many of us, our wedding photographs are among our most treasured possessions.The exhibition at the NCEM – which runs throughout the 2010 Festival brings together a fascinating selection of weddingrelated photographs from the world-class collection of the National Media Museum, Bradford.

Thursday 2 – Saturday 11 December

York Early Music Christmas Festival Guest artists to include Florilegium with Emma Kirkby,The Burning Bush, Stile Antico, I Fagiolini and the European Union Baroque Orchestra.

The movement of South Asian communities to Bradford forged a ‘marriage’ of cultures which is explored by both the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in programmes throughout 2010.

Look out for a new exhibition entitled The Sacrament of Marriage at Cartwright Hall running from 9 July – 5 September 2010 which brings together their collection of textiles, jewellery and paintings and provides glimpses of how this benign infiltration transformed the identity of the region for ever. Join us in the autumn for a performance at the National Centre for Early Music by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance Third Year BPA (Hons) students who will join with University of York MA and Phd students to take part in a collaborative music and choreography project also based on the Sacrament of Marriage.

New Worlds is part of the imove programme, funded by Legacy Trust UK,Arts Council England and Yorkshire Forward.

The NCEM has a new website The new website now offers reserved seating at selected venues as well as tickets for all festival events.

You can also use the quick links to go to the early music, teaching and learning resources sections.

Box Office 01904 658338

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Booking Information Booking opens on Monday 22 March to Friends of the Festival and on Monday 29 March to the general public Box Office: The National Centre for Early Music, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York YO1 9TL To book by telephone: Please ring 01904 658338 On-Line: Visit our web site at www.ncem.co.uk and use the secure on-line booking service.

By Telephone: Please contact the box office on (01904) 658338.Tickets can be booked by Visa, Mastercard, Access and Maestro. Please note that surcharges apply.

By post: Write to the NCEM Box Office, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate,YorkYO1 9TL enclosing an SAE. Cheques should be made payable to the National Centre for Early Music.

In person: The box office is open Monday – Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm.

Seating: All seats are unreserved except for topprice seats in York Minster, St Michael le Belfrey Church, Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall and The Gallery, Harewood House.

Reservations: Tickets must be paid for within three working days of reservation and at least 24 hours prior to the performance. Any remaining tickets will be sold at the venue immediately prior to the performance.

Entry to Venues: Please note that, due to limited turnaround time during the Festival, entry to performances will not be granted until the conclusion of rehearsals and tuning. We thank you for your patience.

Concession prices: These are shown in brackets.

They apply to over 60’s and registered disabled and their carers. Students and young people’s tickets are shown as applicable.

Friends of the Festival: The Friends enjoy additional discounts, priority booking, reserved tickets (wherever practicable) and good company.

Please ring 01904 658338 for details or email friends@ncem.co.uk 22

Box Office 01904 658338

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Friends of the Festival Saver Ticket: This applies to Events 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 24 and 26. Friends of the Festival are welcome to buy tickets for these 17 concerts subject to availability and save money with a reduced cost of £255 (concessions £225). All 17 concerts must be booked at the same time to take advantage of this offer. Please note that the Saver Ticket is not available to buy online.

Refunds: We regret that refunds can only be given if the concert is sold out and we are able to re-sell the ticket.

General enquiries: Please ring 01904 632220 for general information.

Party bookings: Special savings can be made for those bringing a party of 10 or more, in which case we offer an additional seat free.

Photography/Recording: Please note that the use of cameras/recording equipment is prohibited.

Accessible facilities: The Festival offers a warm welcome to everyone.The NCEM website www.ncem.co.uk is accessible to the partially sighted and the NCEM has the benefit of an RNIB Braille map of York available on request from the box office.The York Blind and Partially Sighted Society has installed a number of ‘talking signs’ around the City giving information on directions to buildings, public loos etc. Assistance Dogs are welcome at concerts. For detailed information, please ring 01904 632220.

The NCEM is a Typetalk Approved business.

Transport: Harewood House is 20 miles to the west of York. A festival coach will leave Union Terrace Coach Park (see map) at 6.15pm and return to York after event 15. Coach tickets cost £5.00 and should be booked in advance.

Visitor Information The York Visitor Information Centre offers help with accommodation and general information about the City.

Ring 01904 550099 or email info@visityork.org

Map of Venues 1 National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate YO1 9TL

7 Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate YO1 8NQ

2 C4C Chapel,York St John University YO31 7EX

8 All Saints Church, North Street YO1 6JD

3 York Minster YO1 7JN

9 Harewood House, Harewood LS17 9LG

4 St George’s Church, Peel Street YO1 9PZ

10 Bedern Hall, Bedern YO1 7AL

5 Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall YO10 5DD

11 St Michael le Belfrey Church YO1 7HH

6 Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate YO1 9XD

12 Union Terrace Coach Park,YO31 7ES

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Box Office 01904 658338

GRIMSTON BAR

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9 - 1 7 J U LY 2 0 1 0

Festival Highlights Friday 9 July

Wednesday 14 July

Yorkshire Bach Choir Monteverdi 1610 Vespers Saturday 10 July

University of York Baroque Ensemble La Capella Ducale & Musica Fiata

Early Music Show I Fagiolini

Thursday 15 July

Sunday 11 July

Hopkinson Smith The Bach Players

Barbara Schlick & James Gilchrist London Baroque

Friday 16 July

Mahan Esfahani The Sixteen

Monday 12 July

Compagnia d’Istrumenti Ensemble Lucidarium Tuesday 13 July

Saturday 17 July

The Sixteen Insight Day Theatre of the Ayre

VivaBiancaLuna Biffi Fretwork The York Early Music Festival is administered by the National Centre for Early Music through the York Early Music Foundation registered charity number 1068331.

All details are correct at the time of going to the press but YEMF reserves the right to amend the published programme if necessary.

Box Office 01904 658338

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