Quatuor Diotima: String quartet programme that took no prisoners. Picture: Michel Nguyen
A STRING quartet programme of Janáček and late Beethoven that takes no prisoners is both a compliment to the audience and a mouth-watering prospect. It did not disappoint, and for starters it added an unexpected bon-bon.
Schoenberg’s early Presto in C, written in the mid-1890s before he went off-piste, proved a delightful Haydnesque romp in rondo style. Delivered with panache, it was made to sound much easier than it is.
The second of Janáček’s two quartets, Intimate Letters, which was the last of his chamber works, was completed in 1928 a few months before his death. Astonishingly volatile for a man in his seventies, its emotions represent the culmination of his ten-year infatuation with a young woman less than half his age, Kamila Stösslová, as seen in his 700 or so letters to her.
Many of its most telling interjections occur in the second violin, and Léo Marillier certainly milked them for all they were worth, notably in the second of its four movements. The ensemble retained a decisive edge, bordering on the acidic, by minimising its vibrato – until the finale, where leader Yun-Peng Zhao brought a warmer tone to his high-lying melody.
But generally biting accents allied to ultra-smooth but sudden tempo-changes made this relationship an exciting, rollercoaster affair.
It was a treat to hear Beethoven’s String Quartet Op 130 in B flat with its original finale, the Grosse Fugue (often referred to as Op 133 and played as a separate piece). Some of the audience at its premiere in 1826 were nonplussed by this giant ending, which followed the fifth-movement Cavatina without a break (Beethoven obliged with a new finale a year later, only slightly shorter).
Stravinsky called it “more subtle than any music of my own century”. Either way, it’s a big listen. But this group made it as easy as it can be: the fugue subjects emerged with miraculous clarity, which was achieved mainly through extremely tight rhythms.
The Diotimas are unusual in that their leader appears to make no eye contact with his colleagues, but they listen to each other intently and their voices ebbed and flowed in and out of the texture. With tension almost at breaking point towards the end, the two principal themes made a triumphal final appearance, now fully reconciled to one another. Everest had been climbed, a very special moment.
At the opening of the work, there had been seamless alternations of fast and slow, revealing Beethoven in two minds. Both here and later, it was the Diotomas’ fearless, unapologetic stance that shone through. Some of the humour of the Andante might have been less forceful, but the two German dances were properly balletic and came as a welcome relief.
The Cavatina, a unique title in chamber music since it is normally a short song, was sublime, reminiscent of the variations at the end of the ‘Harp’ quartet, Op 74 which are also in the warm key of E flat. But it was the Grosse Fuge that took the breath away.
Ensemble Augelletti: BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Baroque Ensemble present their new Christmas programme, The Morning Star, at the NCEM on December 13at 7pm
CHRISTMAS festivities gather pace with a community pantomime, Early music festival, cabaret, Strictly dance king and a Muppet movie, as Charles Hutchinson reports.
Festival of the week: York Early Music Christmas Festival, National Centre for Early Music, Bedern Hall and Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, until December 15
YORK Early Music Christmas Festival 2024 is under way, presenting 12 concerts and one (sold-out) choral workshop led by I Fagiolini founder Robert Hollingworth in a celebration of the winter season, its festivities, traditions, darkness and light, mulled wine and mince pies.
Concerts by Solomon’s Knot (Sunday), Stile Antico (December 12), Intesa (December 15) and Awake Arise (December 15) have sold out but tickets are available for Love And Melancholy with soprano Emilia Bertolini (today, 12 noon); Siglo de Oro (today, 6.30pm); Sean Shibe & Aidan O’Rourke (December 9, 7.30pm); Green Matthews (December 11, 7.30pm); Ensemble Augelletti (December 13, 7pm); Contre le Temps (December 14, 12noon) and Yorkshire Bach Choir (December 14, 7.30pm). Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Micklegate Singers: A White Christmas lunchtime concert for York Late Music at Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York
Christmas concert of the week: York Late Music presents Micklegate Singers, A White Christmas, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, today, 1pm
MICKLEGATE Singers chart a journey from Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House through wintry landscapes to arrive at a Christmas prelude courtesy of Poulenc, Tallis, Vaughan Williams and more, including the world premiere of York composer James Else’s A Little Snow.
Among further works will be Holst’s Bring Us In Good Ale; Oliver Tarney’s The Waiting Sky and John Harle: Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Plum Pudding (Average Cost 3 Shillings And 6d). Box office: latemusic.org.
Rowntree Players’ principal panto players in Mother Goose, opening today at the JoRo
Let the egg puns get cracking: Rowntree Players in Mother Goose, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm, Sunday, 2pm and 6pm; December 10 to 13, 7.30pm; December 14, 2pm and 7.30pm
MEET Jack (Gemma McDonald), head of hens at Chucklepatch Farm, with its newest addition to the coop, Priscilla the goose (American Abbey Follansbee). Joined by mum Gertrude Gander (alias Mother Goose, Michael Cornell) and his sister Jill (Laura Castle), they head out on their panto adventure.
Desperate for showbiz, Gertrude gives up the Wolds for the bright lights of Doncaster. However, ever-nasty landlord Demon Darkheart (Jamie McKeller) and his assistant Bob (Laura McKeller) will stop at nothing to collect rent, but dishy farmer Kev, the King of Kale (Sarah Howlett) and Fairy Frittata (Holly Smith) will not let the dark side rule in a rollicking romp directed by co-writer Howard Ella. Tickets update: Down to last few tickets or limited availability for most performances on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Velma Celli: Xmas Roast cabaret songs, comedy and festive fruitiness at Impossible York
Christmas cabaret of the week: Velma Celli’s Xmas Roast, Impossible York, St Helen’s Square, York, Sunday 6pm, doors 5pm
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe, Velma Celli, hosts a fabulous evening of music, comedy and festive frolics. “Come and have yourself a merry Christmas,” says Velma, the Best Cabaret at Perth Fringeworld 2024 award-winning alter ego of West End musical actor and Atlantis Gay Cruises headline act Ian Stroughair, who promises “cabaret meets a partaaaaaay”. Box office: ticketweb.uk/event/velmas-xmas-roast-impossible-york-tickets/13855143.
The Hollywood Sisters: Cat Foster, left, Rachel Higgs, Henrietta Linnemann and Helen “Bells” Spencer
Fundraising festive concert of the week: The Hollywood Sisters & Friends, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Sunday, 7pm
THE Hollywood Sisters, the York vocal harmony group with vintage Hollywood vibes, have added extra tickets after selling out Sunday’s show. Expect a cabaret evening of music, song and a sprinkle of festive cheer featuring the luscious close harmonies of Helen “Bells” Spencer, Cat Foster, Rachel Higgs and Henrietta Linnemann and guest appearances by The Rusty Pegs, Mark Lovell, Phoebe Breeze and Anthony Sargeant.
All profits will go to the fundraising campaign for a new sensory room for dementia patients at Foss Park Hospital, in Haxby Road, York. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Anton du Beke: Christmas song and dance with the Strictly Come Dancing judge and Friends at York Barbican
Dance show of the week: Anton du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 10, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke glides into York in his new festive tour show, joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers for an evening of song and dance with added Christmas dazzle.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing a big Christmas show as it’s the best time of the year, so this is a real treat for me,” says the ballroom king. “It’s the show I’ve always wanted to do with some old faces and some new!” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Jools Holland: Playing to a full house at York Barbican
No year would be complete without…Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, York Barbican, December 11, 7.30pm
BOOGIE woogie pianist supreme Jools Holland makes his obligatory winter outing to York in the company of his top-notch rhythm & blues players and vocalists Ruby Turner, Louise Marshall and Sumudu Jayatilaka.
His special guests will be Soft Cell singer Marc Almond, who previously toured with Holland in 2018, and blues guitar prodigy Toby Lee, his guest on last year’s tour too. Holland will be performing songs from the former Squeeze keyboardist and television presenter’s long-running solo career. Box office for returns only: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Marc Almond: Jools Holland’s special guest at York Barbican. Picture: Mike Owen
Christmas film double bill: Friargate Theatre, York, presents The Muppet Christmas Carol (U), today, 2.30pm, and Die Hard (15), today, 8pm
FRIARGATE Theatre serves up a double dose of holiday cheer and action-packed excitement, opening with Kermit, Miss Piggy and the Muppet gang being joined by Michael Caine’s Ebenezer Scrooge as they re-tell the Dickens tale with a whimsical and heart-warming twist.
Let’s leave the debate over whether John McTiernan’s Die Hard is or is not a Christmas film to another day. Instead, revel in Bruce Willis’s John McClane battling with terrorists in a high-rise building on Christmas Eve. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk.
Mat Jones in A Christmas Carol for two nights at Friargate Theatre. Picture: Vintage Verse
Solo show of the week: Mat Jones in A Christmas Carol, Friargate Theatre, York, December 13 and 14, 7.30pm
RING in the Christmas season with Mat Jones’s spellbinding rendition of Charles Dickens’s Victorian festive classic, brought to life in vivid detail from Dickens’s original performance text as Scrooge encounters the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet To Come en route to the redemption of London’s most miserable miser.
“A Christmas Carol is not just a story; it’s a celebration of the human spirit and the power of kindness,” says Jones. Box office: 01904 613000 or friargatetheatre.co.uk.
York artist Jo Walton setting up her exhibition at Bluebird Bakery, Acomb
Exhibition of the week: Jo Walton, Steel, Copper, Rust, Gold, Verdigris, Wax, Bluebird Bakery, Acomb Road, Acomb, York, until January 23 2025
WHEN Rogue Atelier artist, interior designer, upholsterer and Bluebird Bakery curator of exhibitions Jo Walton asked poet Nicky Kippax to put words to images she had sent her, she responded with “The heft of a cliff and a gathering of sea fret”. Spot on, Nicky.
Into the ninth month of recovery from breaking her right leg, Jo is exhibiting predominantly large works that utilise steel, copper, rust, gold, verdigris and wax in the bakery, cafe and community centre, whose interior she designed in 2021.
STRICTLY Come Dancing judge and dashing dancer Anton Du Beke glides into York Barbican next Tuesday in his new festive tour show, Christmas with Anton & Friends.
Anton, 58, will be joined as ever by elegant crooner Lance Ellington, a live band and a company of dancers to create an evening filled with song and dance with added Christmas dazzle.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing a big Christmas show as it’s the best time of the year, so this is a real treat for me,” says the king of the ballroom. “It’s the show I’ve always wanted to do with some old faces and some new!
“Don’t forget to bring your voices for a mega sing-a-long with some of my favourite Christmas songs. It’s going to be lots of fun and full of Christmas cheer.”
In the past few years, Anton has been appearing in pantomime over the winter months, making his debut as Buttons in Cinderella at Richmond Theatre in 2021-2022, followed by protagonist Jack in Jack & The Beanstalk at Churchill Theatre, Bromley, in 2022-23 and Smee alongside Paul Chuckle’s Starkey in Peter Pan at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking, in 2023-24. “Only goodies! I can only play goodies,” he says. “It’s fun but it’s a lot of time to spend away from my children.”
Hence his decision to launch Christmas With Anton & Friends, whose tour runs from November 24 to December 21, hot on the heels of his autumn terpsichorean travels in Showman: An Evening With Anton Du Beke.
The tour poster for Anton Du Beke’s Christmas show
He was still on that song, dance and chat tour when conducting this interview on November 19, on top of his Strictly judging commitments for the BBC.
“I’m on the road at the moment, and then we’ll do four weeks of the Christmas show,” he said at the time. “So we’ve been rehearsing the Christmas show in the day and doing the Showman show at night.”
Exit the Showman, enter the snow man. “I used to do Christmas shows at the Royal Albert Hall and loved it,” says Anton. “Now I’m doing this new tour. It’s all Christmas songs, and it’s going to be such fun. Lance Ellington is with me again, the band, and I’ve got my wonderful dancers and a female singer too.
“This one has been done with the team: Kelly Chow, our dance captain, has sort of put it together choreographically; my musical director, Clive Dunstall, has done all the arrangements, writing all this stuff while being on tour with me. It’s been quite the task but so exciting!
“There’ll be Christmas trees on stage and everyone in Christmas jumpers and hats. We’ll have a big medley at the end, about nine minutes long, starting with Mariah Carey [All I Want For Christmas Is You] and ending with Slade [Merry Xmas Everybody]. Six songs in all.”
The show will span Christmas classics to more contemporary numbers, from It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year to Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire. “There’s a lovely song called [Everybdody’s Waiting For] The Man With The Bag. It’s a classic, not that new, but rarely played…so Lance and I will be doing it as a duet,” says Anton.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing a big Christmas show as it’s the best time of the year,” says Anton Du Beke. Picture: Bev Comboy/Plank PR
Summing up the show, he says: “I love Christmas so much and everyone in the show is so looking forward to doing these shows. If you love Christmas as much as I do, you will have a great time.
“I love Christmas songs! My producer doesn’t entirely love them and my wardrobe mistress is much more into Halloween than Christmas, but I love Christmas much more than Halloween.”
Showman, now Christmas With Anton & Friends and Strictly, of course: Anton is busy, busy, busy. “Yes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Strictly is great because I don’t have to do anything now other than turn up, judge and leave! I’m not choreographing, like when I was one of the professional dancers. I just turn up on Saturdays and that’s lovely,” he says.
“I just feel like everyone else is doing the work and I do my bit with the other judges, and it’s a very exciting series this year. The standard is so good that I’m at the stage where I’m waiting for a mistake because you don’t expect someone to do something wrong.
“It’s difficult to say who’ll win. The great thing is that the winner is not decided by the judges but by the public.”
How does judging contrast with dancing with a celebrity partner each year? “I’m enjoying it enormously because I can make the joke that I now make the final every time!” says Anton.
Together again: Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice will reunite for 2025 tour, visiting York Barbican on July 18. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk
“That’s the big thing: I’m now involved for the whole series, even if it’s only 25 seconds of chat per couple, not dancing. That’s the joy for me, always being involved, whereas I never wanted to be voted off when competing because I loved being in it.
“Not one of those couples would rather be out than in, regardless of the circumstances, even if they know a dance has not been great, because the best thing is to be in it. There’s no fun when you’re out.”
His 2025 diary is filling up. “Next year is working out already,” he says. “I’m doing the Strictly tour, January into February, then a spring tour, Anton: The Musicals, a celebration of big musicals with great numbers from the shows and a lovely combination of old and new.”
Look out too for Anton & Giovanni Together Again, The Live Tour, when Du Beke and Pernice play York Barbican on July 18 2025 at 7.30pm.
Anton Du Beke in Christmas With Anton & Friends, York Barbican, December 10, 7.30pm. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Velma Celli: Chestnuts toasted cabaret style at the Xmas Roast
YORK’S international drag diva deluxe, Velma Celli, hosts a fabulous evening of music, comedy and festive frolics in the Xmas Roast at Impossible York, St Helen’s Square, York, on Sunday at 6pm.
“Come and have yourself a merry Christmas,” says Velma, the Best Cabaret at Perth Fringeworld 2024 award-winning alter ego of West End musical actor and Atlantis Gay Cruises headline act Ian Stroughair, who promises “cabaret meets a partaaaaaay” with sing-alongs too.
“It’ll be a Xmas Roast with all my favourite chestnuts. Very exciting!” he says. “My costume is being made Chloe Moore, who made the black costume for my Show Queen! show at York Theatre in May. I asked her if she could now make one in red and it looks fabulous.”
Velma Celli in the Show Queen red dress designed by Chloe Moore
Recorded in Woodthorpe, York, with The Dandys’ Andy Firth – who also produced fellow York singer and good friend Jessica Steel’s 2022 album Higher Frequencies – it features piano arrangements by Scott Roberts of It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, The Christmas Song, Last Christmas, Joni Mitchell’s River and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Looking ahead, Velma will be heading out on the road in 2025 for regional and West End dates. These include: March 14, Velma Celli’s God Save The Queens!, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarbough, tickets fromhttps://shorturl.at/JwAHA; March 15, Show Queen!, Skipton Town Hall, tickets from https://shorturl.at/MJVaO; March 29, Show Queen, The Welsh Millennium Centre, Cardiff, tickets from https://shorturl.at/Fv0LR; April 4, A Brief History Of Drag, The Playhouse, Sheffield , tickets from https://shorturl.at/hDDiv, and April 18, Show Queen!, The Beggars Theatre, Millom, Cumbria, tickets from https://shorturl.at/U4W9J.
Velma Celli’s Show Queen tour poster
Further shows follow on May 24, Show Queen!, Cowes Fringe, Cowes, Isle of Wight, tickets on sale in the New Year; May 23, Show Queen, The Stage Door, Southampton, tickets from https://thestagedoor.org.uk/product.php/950; June 2, Show Queen!, The Duchess Theatre, West End, London, tickets from https://shorturl.at/XbL27; June 13, A Brief History Of Drag!, Hull Truck Theatre, tickets from https://shorturl.at/2saW5, and June 20, Show Queen!, Dudley Town Hall, tickets from https://shorturl.at/rnCQX.
In 2024, for a fourth year, Velma participated in Yorktoberfest in the Clocktower Enclosure at York Racecourse, playing to 600 to 1,000 revellers at each party. “It’s chaos but it’s great fun,” says Ian.
Unlike in 2022 and 2023, however, he will not be hosting Castellana in the Sophia Gardens spiegeltent in Cardiff this Christmas season. “I travelled back and forth to Wales for two years for these Christmas shows but there’s only so long you can do five-hour commutes to Cardiff, so I’m not doing Castellana this year,” he reasons.
THE Ebor Singers serve up a festive treat of choral favourites in A Christmas Celebration – Handel, Chilcott and Rutter at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, on Sunday.
Directed by Paul Gameson and accompanied by organist David Pipe, the York choir will be joined by a string quartet for Part One of Handel’s Messiah. Solos will be taken on by choir members Amy Walker, Hugo Janacek, Jason Darnell and Jonty Ward.
“Part One of Handel’s Messiah takes us from prophecy to the birth of Jesus, and Handel draws on the most popular musical genres of the day for his Messiah: part-German passion, part-Italian opera, part-English anthem,” says Paul.
Messiah Part One will be complemented by carols by John Rutter and Bob Chilcott. “The Christmas music of Rutter and Chilcott carols, both highly distinctive and accessible, have been a perennial feature of Christmas concerts and services for the past 40 years,” says Paul.
“We will perform some of their favourites, including Rutter’s The Angels Carol and Chilcott’s The Shepherds’ Carol.”
The Ebor Singers’ 20th -anniversary season will continue next year with Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater on March 8 and music from the English Civil War and the Siege of York May 17, both at York Minster.
Tickets for Sunday’s 7.30pm concert are on sale at eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ebor-singers-messiah or on the door.
Intesa’s Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti: Baroque Around The Books mini-tour
MUSICAL duo Intesa will embark on a Baroque Around The Books mini-tour of four community libraries after their appearance at this month’s York Early Music Christmas Festival.
This National Centre for Early Music cultural wellbeing initiative on December 16 and 17 is a partnership between the NCEM and Explore York Libraries and Archives.
Suitable for all, the initiative began early this year and now returns with the involvement of NCEM Platform Artists Intesa, the young European viol and voice duo of Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti, who will be staying on in York for a short residency and library musical tour after their December 15 festival performance at Bedern Hall, Bedern.
At 11am that day, Intesa will present A Merry Conceit, exploring the theme of seeking light in the midst of dark and wintry weather in a programme of Dowland, Hume and Cuccini works alongside a selection of Armenian folk songs.
Musaelian and Giorgetti, who met at the Royal Academy of Music, formed their musical partnership in 2023, Intesa being the Italian word for ‘understanding’ or ‘a meeting of minds’. They share a passion for the sound of the viol and its combination with the voice.
Intesa’s Lucine Musaelian
The workshops will provide the communities of York with an opportunity to celebrate and discover Early Music with these two talented young performers. In turn, Baroque Around The Books reinforces the NCEM’s ongoing commitment to support, encourage and nurture the skills of emerging artists in the UK and beyond.
On December 16, Intesa will tour Tang Hall Explore at 12 noon and York Explore at 2.30pm (both free entry, no booking required); on December 17, Acomb Explore, 11am (booking required; acquire free ticket at Acomb Explore or online at tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1145052), and Clifton Explore, 1.30pm (free entry, no booking required).
Tickets are free for these informal concerts thanks to an initiative by the NCEM, working in association with Explore York, supported by the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “Intesa are one of three ensembles from Europe performing at this year’s York Early Music Christmas Festival, and it’s a pleasure to welcome them to York for this brilliant tour.
“Baroque Around The Books concerts are free of charge and it’s wonderful to be working with our partner Explore York once again. We look forward to sharing the wonderful world of Early Music with new audiences from York communities.”
Explore York chief executive Jenny Layfield says: “This partnership with the NCEM is truly inspiring. There’s something wonderful about bringing such talented musicians into library spaces, offering our communities the chance to stumble upon a high-quality experience.
“I had the pleasure of attending one of the sessions organised by NCEM earlier this year and I absolutely loved it. If you have the opportunity to attend a performance at one of our Explore centres this December, I wholeheartedly recommend it!”
The Brook Street Band: Working with young composers at the 2025 award day
THE National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award 2025 has been launched on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.
Each year, the award is presented by the NCEM in association with BBC Radio 3. For the 2025 award, young composers will be working with the baroque instrumental group The Brook Street Band.
Composers are invited to create a short work for two violins, cello and harpsichord – one of the most popular chamber music groupings of the late 17th and early 18th centuries, reflecting the extraordinarily inventive musical heritage of Purcell, Corelli and Handel – wrapped in a 21st century response.
The Award Day will take place in York on Thursday, May 15 2025 when Dr Christopher Fox will lead a daytime workshop for shortlisted candidates. In the evening, the compositions will be performed by The Brook Street Band at the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate.
The winning works will be premiered by The Brook Street Bandin October 2025 as part of the love:Handel festival and will be recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.
This major national annual award is open to young composers up to the age of 25 resident in the United Kingdom and is divided into two categories: 18 years and under and 19 to 25 years.
NCEM director Delma Tomlin says: “We’re very excited to welcome The Brook Street Band as our partner for the Young Composers Award 2025. This ensemble is not only one of the leading exponents of Handel’s music, but also has set up its very own festival, love: Handel, where the winning 2025 compositions will be performed.
“The Young Composers Award is one of the most important dates on the NCEM’s calendar and continues to grow from strength to strength, attracting more and more entries from aspiring young composers from all over the UK.
“Taking part in the award has been an important step in the careers of many successful composers and we are looking forward to hearing this year’s new compositions.”
Les Pratt, producer of The Early Music Show, says: “BBC Radio 3 is delighted to continue to support this award, now looking ahead to its 18th edition. It’s hugely important to challenge and nurture young talent, and what’s most gratifying is seeing past winners and entrants who are now making their way in the professional world.
“We are really looking forward to sharing next year’s compositions for The Brook Street Band with our audiences at home on The Early Music Show.”
Tatty Theo, cellist and director of The Brook Street Band, says: “We’re thrilled to have the privilege of working with young composers, giving life to brand new music that will showcase the varied colours and rich character of our old baroque instruments.
“Handel’s music is at the heart of our music-making, and we cherish this opportunity to explore the creativity it inspires and unleashes in a new young generation of composers.”
Registration closes at 12 noon on Friday, February 7 2025, with the deadline for submission of scores on Friday, March 7. Shortlisted candidates will be informed by Friday, April 4 and will be invited to attend the Award Day May 15. The NCEM will meet reasonable travel and accommodation costs from within the UK.
The Brook Street Band cellist and director Tatty Theo
NAMED after the London Street where George Frideric Handel lived from 1723 to 1759. Formed by baroque cellist Tatty Theo, rapidly establishing itself among the UK’s leading Handel specialists, winning grants, awards and broadcasting opportunities from organisations including BBC Radio 3 and the Handel Institute.
Enjoyed an unusually stable core membership, its players working together for more than 20 years in the form of violinists Rachel Harris and Kathryn Parry, cellist Tatty Theo, harpsichord player Carolyn Gibley and flautist Lisete da Silva Bull. This longevity has enabled it to develop a style of performing and music-making that is precise and spontaneous, the musicians able to react instinctively to each other and play as one.
18th century chamber repertoire has always been The Brook Street Band’s driving passion, focusing particularly on Handel’s music, building up a reputation for its fresh, innovative performances, zingy communication style and sense of fun.
Alongside its chamber music schedule, The Brook Street Band works regularly with soloists, conductors, choirs and venues for larger-scaled orchestral and vocal projects.
Passionate about exploring new repertoire written especially for period instruments. Composers including Errollyn Wallen and Nitin Sawhney have written for the band with repertoire ranging from songs to trio sonatas, with commissions for UK festivals, including London International Festival of Early Music.
As part of a large-scale education project, the band commissioned Matthew King’s Il Pastorale, L’Urbino e Il Suburbano, a community-based oratorio for chamber group, electronics, vocal soloists and choir, composed in response to Handel’s L’Allegro, Il Penseroso ed Il Moderato.
The band performs and teaches throughout the UK and Europe. Established love: Handel music festival, held biennially in Norwich, incorporating wide-ranging educational work supported through its charitable trust.
Regularly broadcasts for BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM. World premiere recording of Dragon Of Wantley, an English opera by Handel’s bassoonist J F Lampe, won the Opera Award in the 2023 BBC Music Magazine Awards.
The band featured in “Handeliades”, immersive four-day events of concerts, masterclasses and talks given by Handel experts in 2021 and 2023. More information: www.brookstreetband.co.uk.
Shepherd Brass Band and NCEM win National Award for Band Project of the Year for I Can Play with Brass Roots
SHEPHERD Brass Band and the National Centre for Early Music have scoopedthe National Award for Band Project of the Year at the Brass Bands England Conference for I Can Play with Brass Roots.
The annual conference, held at the City of London School, London, was attended by more than 150 delegates representing brass bands from all over the United Kingdom.
Based in York, I Can Play with Brass Roots began in September 2023, inspired by the National Centre for Early Music’s long-running I Can Play, an innovative project that creates music-making opportunities for D/deaf young people.
Led by Sean Chandler, Deaf musician, professional trumpeter and qualified teacher of the Deaf, these sessions take place each month at York Music Centre.
Sean, who is principal cornet in Shepherd Brass Band, had the idea for I Can Play with Brass Rootsand works closely with Brass Roots leader Audrey Brown to deliver the project.
Together they ensure that the young D/deaf musicians receive additional support before and throughout rehearsals to help them become fully integrated into the band.
Audrey has been teaching families to play brass instruments for many years in the York area, most of whom continue to play today. At the age of 80, she took on the challenge of learning BSL in preparation for welcoming D/deaf musicians to Brass Roots and the Shepherd band family.
During the past year, the flourishing project has enabled several young D/deaf musicians to become members of the junior group Brass Roots, where they have the exciting opportunity to develop their musical skills as a vital part of mainstream music-making.
Five different bands, who all operate under the umbrella of Shepherd Bands and rehearse on Mondays, are extremely proud of gaining this award. Brass Roots leader Audrey Brown says: “We are very excited to receive this prestigious award recognising the importance of the work of I Can Play with Brass Roots.
“This important initiative enables D/deaf young musicians to develop their musical talent and gives them the valuable opportunity to perform with fellow brass musicians.
“I would like to say a special thank you to the Shepherd Brass Bandfor their invaluable support with getting the project off the ground. I would also like to thank Sean, whose amazing idea has gone from strength to strength, and the I Can Play team at the National Centre for Early Music for their ongoing support and encouragement.”
Did you know?
I Can Play is run by the National Centre for Early Music with support from the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust, Harrogate Deaf Society and Ovingdean Hall Foundation.
Quinn Richards in Be Amazing Arts’ promenade production of A Christmas Carol in Malton
’TIS the season for pantomime, festive exhibitions, ghost stories, a snow bear and an elf as Charles Hutchinson welcomes winter.
Promenade festive experience of the week: Be Amazing Arts in A Christmas Carol, Malton’s streets and buildings, starting at Kemps Books, until December 23
MALTON theatre-makers Be Amazing Arts return for a fourth season of immersive A Christmas Carol performances “truly made for all the senses”, where Charles Dickens invites you to a reading of his latest work, transforming into Ebenezer Scrooge (Quinn Richards) for a promenade production, written by Roxanna Klimaszewska, with a cast featuring Katy Rattigan, Kirsty Woolf and David Lomond.
The ticket price includes a food platter from The Cook’s Place as revellers celebrate with the ghost of Christmas Present and a warm winter drink to toast to the goodwill of Christmas. Ticket advice: book promptly as past years’ shows sold out. Box office: tickettailor.com/events/beamazingarts/1275175.
Isobel Staton’s Mary in York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust’s A Nativity for York. Picture: John Saunders
Christmas message of hope of the week: York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust presents A Nativity for York, St James the Deacon Church Hall, Acomb, tomorrow and Friday, 7.30pm; St Oswald’s Church Hall, Fulford, Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
PAUL Toy’s community production recalls when the Mystery Plays were banned in the 17th century for being too Roman Catholic. Performers were forced to perform illegally in the houses of sympathisers, always looking out for establishment forces.
“Although A Nativity for York reflects the experience of those dedicated but frightened performers, the story itself mirrors the trouble many people are experiencing today: a homeless couple, seeking shelter, with their new-born child being forced to flee to another country, but there is news of great hope and joy,” says Toy. Box office: 0333 666 3366, ympst.co.uk/nativitytickets or on the door.
Wicked return: Paul Hawkyard takes to the dark side again as Abanazar in Aladdin at York Theatre Royal
Look who’s back: Aladdin, York Theatre Royal, until January 5 2025
PAUL Hawkyard’s villain returns to York after a winter away doing panto in Dubai to renew his Theatre Royal double act with Robin Simpson’s dame, playing bad-lad Abanazar to Simpson’s Dolly (not Widow Twankey, note) in the fifth collaboration between Theatre Royal creative director Juliet Forster and Evolution Productions script writer Paul Hendy. Look out for CBeebies’ Evie Pickerill as the Spirit of the Ring. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Dani Harmer’s Fairy Bon Bon in Beauty And The Beast at the Grand Opera House, York. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
Changing of the old guard to the new: Beauty And The Beast, Grand Opera House, York, Saturday to January 5 2025
EXIT the Dame Berwick Kaler, Martin Barrass, David Leonard, Suzy Cooper and AJ Powell era. Enter Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer as Fairy Bon Bon; Jennifer Caldwell, from SIX The Musical, as Belle; Samuel Wyn-Morris, from Les Miserable, as The Prince; comedian Phil Reid as Louis La Plonk; dame Leon Craig, from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, as his larger-than-life mum, Polly La Plonk; Phil Atkinson, from The Bodyguard, as dastardly Hugo Pompidou and David Alcock, from SAS Rogue Heroes, as Clement. George Ure directs 2019 Great British Pantomimes Award winner Jon Monie’s script. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
The principal players in Rowntree Players’ pantomime Mother Goose at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre
Let the egg puns get cracking: Rowntree Players in Mother Goose, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Saturday, 2pm and 7.30pm, Sunday, 2pm and 6pm; December 10 to 13, 7.30pm; December 14, 2pm and 7.30pm
MEET Jack (Gemma McDonald), head of hens at Chucklepatch Farm, with its newest addition to the coop, Priscilla the goose (Abbey Follansbee). Joined by mum Gertrude Gander (alias Mother Goose, Michael Cornell) and his sister Jill (Laura Castle), they head out on their panto adventure.
Frustrated with life on the farm and desperate for showbiz, Gertrude gives up the Wolds for the bright lights of Doncaster. However, ever-nasty landlord Demon Darkheart (Jamie McKeller, alias Dr Dorian Deathly from the Deathly Dark Tours ghost walk) and his assistant Bob (Laura McKeller) will stop at nothing to collect rent, but dishy farmer Kev, the King of Kale (Sarah Howlett) and Fairy Frittata (Holly Smith) will not let the dark side rule in a rollicking romp directed by co-writer Howard Ella. Tickets update: Down to last few tickets or limited availability for most performances on 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Tom Mordell’s Polaris the Snow Bear and Danny Mellor’s Sammy the Seal in Badapple Theatre Company’s Polaris The Snow Bear. Picture: Karl Andre
Children’s play of the week: Badapple Theatre Company in Polaris The Snow Bear, The Mount School, York, Saturday, 3pm and on tour in Yorkshire and beyond until January 5 2025
MEET Polaris, the travelling snow bear and star of Kate Bramley’s new family Christmas show for Green Hammerton’s Badapple Theatre Company. On his journey to find renowned naturalist Mr Hat-In-Burrow, many complicated and comedic adventures ensue as Polaris (Tom Mordell) tries to put everything right, saving the Polar world in time for Christmas with the help of reluctant sidekick Sammy the Seal (Danny Mellor). For Yorkshire dates and tickets, go to: badappletheatre.co.uk or 01423 331304.
Time to deliver: E(s)mereld(a) The Elf And Father Christmas at Milton Rooms, Malton
Festive family show of the week: Epic Adventure Parties present E(s)mereld(a) The Elf And Father Christmas, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm; Sunday, 10.30am, 12 noon, 2pm and 3.30pm
IN Malton company Epic Adventure Parties’ interactive show, E(s)mereld(a) The Elf And Father Christmas, the friendly Elf must sort out all the Christmas letters in time. She means well but alas she can become very muddled. Can your family help her?
Each show lasts around 20 minutes, to be followed by family visits to Father Christmas and a gift for every child. Box office: ticketsource.co.uk/epicadventureparties.
Guy Masterson in his solo performance of A Christmas Carol, on tour at Kirk Theatre, Pickering
Solo ghost storyteller of the week: Guy Masterson in A Christmas Carol, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, December 11, 7.30pm
OLIVIER Award winner Guy Masterson, veteran of such solo works such as Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm and Shylock, presents his spellbinding take on Charles Dickens’s festive fable, adapted and directed by Nick Hennegan with original music by Robb Williams.
Noted for bringing multiple characters to life, Masterson conjures Scrooge, Marley, the Fezziwigs, the Cratchits, Tiny Tim et al in his dazzling, enchanting performance. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.
Prima Vocal Ensemble artistic director and producer Ewa Salecka
PRIMA Choral Artists will perform two Family Christmas concerts at St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, on December 14 and 21.
“As the festive season approaches, I’m thrilled to present a new series of two very special 4pm concerts in the heart of York,” says Prima Vocal Ensemble artistic director and producer Ewa Salecka.
“Residents and visitors alike are warmly invited to join the Prima Choral Artists, New World String Quartet, pianist Greg Birch and guest musicians for two afternoons of Christmas music for all ages.
“These feel-good, one-hour concerts of instrumental and choral music guarantee high-spirited festive favourites, from Carol Of The Bells, Sleigh Ride and The Sussex Carol to stunning choral arrangements of much-loved seasonal pieces from respected contemporary choral composers.”
On the billboard: Prima Vocal Ensemble in New York
Uplifting music, including pieces by Tchaikovsky and Vladimir Rebikov, will be performed by New World String Quartet, while audience carols will include Hark The Herald Angels Sing, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and Ding Dong Merrily On High.
Under Salecka’s baton, Prima Vocal Ensemble, a progressive mixed-voice York choir with a reputation for musical diversity, have enjoyed a typically exhilarating year of events in 2024, fuelled by her desire to push the boundaries of choral performance.
“With consecutive sell-out events at home and exciting collaborations in the United States, Prima continue to attract talented singers and raise the bar for choir experiences in the area,” says Ewa, who combines all-embracing creative concert programming with modern and effective vocal coaching and more than 20 years of conducting experience.
“Since the pandemic, I’ve worked passionately on a gentle re-profiling of the choir. For the singers, this has meant embracing new challenges, with ever-higher standards of performance.
Prima Vocal Ensemble members in New York in June 2024
“And they rise to each and every challenge! When I reflect on the sense of excitement and commitment each person shows every week, superlatives fail me. I’m so extremely proud of this group and their constant open-minded approach to new ideas, new genres and new projects. I feel very fortunate to lead them in creativity.”
In June, the choir enjoyed a reunion concert with double Grammy-winning composer Christopher Tin at New York’s iconic Carnegie Hall, strengthening Salecka’s already phenomenal connections with American choral producers.
On November 23, Prima performed Opera Nights, Broadway Lights! at the National Centre for Early Music, York, showcasing the best of opera and musical theatre. “This concert sold out two months ahead of the event and due to its popularity may be repeated,” says Ewa.
Next year will mark the 15th anniversary of Prima Vocal Ensemble. “We are always happy to hear from new singers who wish to add their voices to this progressive group,” says Ewa.
Prima Vocal Ensemble taking part in a concert at Carnegie Hall, New York in June 2024
“All voice types are welcome to apply. There is a waiting list for sopranos and altos, but if any tenors or basses would like to sign up, you can be sure that I am always on the leading edge of contemporary choral trends. There are no formal auditions and you are guaranteed a brilliant time. Please email info@primavocalensemble.com for more details.”
To find out more about Prima and the opportunities to be enjoyed with the choir, visit primavocalensemble.com.
Family Christmas with Prima Choral Artists, St Olave’s Church, Marygate, York, December 14 and 21, 4pm to 5pm; doors 3.30pm.Tickets update: selling fast for both concerts, available from primavocalensemble.com in the final chance to experience Prima until 2025.
PHOTOGRAPHY, 3D imagery and video complement live performance in Art Sung’s exploration of Edith Sitwell’s iconic work Façade in Saturday’s concluding concert of York Late Music’s 2024 programme.
Edith Sitwell, Behind Her Façade is a semi-dramatised song recital that looks at the unusual and eccentric life of the flamboyant 20th century poet.
At 7.30pm, Art Sung tell Dame Edith Sitwell’s story in her own words, both spoken and sung, beginning with her troubled childhood at Renishaw Hall in Derbyshire, where she fell in love with a peacock, leading to a life of celebrity and notoriety in London, Paris and the United States of America.
It encompasses her encounters with various celebrities, most notably Noël Coward, with whom she was on non-speaking terms for 30 years after he parodied her in a West End revue, and Marilyn Monroe, with whom she got on famously, much to everyone’s surprise.
Edith also became a favourite subject for painters such as Wyndham Lewis, Roger Fry, and Russian painter Pavel Tchelitchew. The aesthetics of the art world from this period are the inspiration for the bespoke visual material that accompanies Saturday’s recital.
Woven through the narrative of the recital will be the story of Façade, the extraordinary musical entertainment that Sitwell created together with the then unknown composer William Walton.
His jazz-inspired music accompanied her poems that she recited through a megaphone from behind a curtain backdrop. The Sitwells saw this as an abstract method of providing poetry to an audience, without drawing attention to themselves. Ironically it had the opposite effect of turning them into celebrities.
“Saturday will be a multi-media performance with dance, animation and the interweaving of new music and poetry with excepts from Walton and Edith’s Façade and music by Britten, Bernstein and Satie, among others,” says Late Music co-programmer, composer and lecturer Hayley Jenkins, from the York St John University School of Arts.
“Elizabeth Mucha, the director, has cleverly interwoven these elements to illustrate Edith’s story via multiple characters performed by tenor Michael Gibson and contra-alto Lucy Stevens as Edith.
“This will be an evening with a difference for Late Music: we haven’t had a production on this scale for a very long time,so we are very excited to host it after such excellent reviews from Buckingham Festival, Barnes, New Malden and London Song Festival.”
Here Art Sung’s founder, Scottish-Polish pianist Elizabeth Mucha, discusses Edith Sitwell, Behind Her Façade
Art Sung founder Elizabeth Mucha
What songs from this iconic work will be included in the programme?
“There will be movements from Façade by William Walton and Edith Sitwell, arranged for piano duet by Walton’s great friend Constant Lambert. These will include Popular Song, Fox-Trot, Swiss Yodelling Song, Scotch Rhapsody and Valse.
“There will also be music for piano duet, played by myself and Nigel Foster: extracts from the ballet Parade by Erik Satie and Leonard Bernstein’s America from West Side Story.
“The programme also includes songs by William Walton, Benjamin Britten, Ned Rorem, Michael Head and Noël Coward, as well as songs specially commissioned for this programme by Dominique le Gendre and York Late Music’s very own Hayley Jenkins.”
What is Art Sung?
‘”We are an ensemble of singers, pianist, actor and visual artists that creates connections between music, art and story in a series of semi-dramatised song recitals. Our projects have focused to date on women whose artistic careers have not received the recognition they deserve.
“Their stories are told in their own words drawn from first-hand sources, such as diaries and letters, with songs and music which reflect, comment or elaborate on the narrative, together with the creatively projected artwork.”
What is the story behind the Art Sung – Edith Sitwell: Behind Her Façade project?
“In 2022, I formed a piano duo with Nigel Foster (director of the London Song Festival). We are the London Piano Duo and one of our programmes that year included several movements from Façade by Walton.
“As we both have a huge interest in adding context to programmes through narrative and visuals, we thought it would be a great idea to join forces to create an Art Sung to tell the background story of how Façade came into being. And so, Art Sung – Edith Sitwell: Behind Her Façade was born as we joined forces with the London Song Festival in 2023 to create it.
“This is Art Sung’s fourth production and celebrates the premiere of Edith Sitwell’s collaboration with composer William Walton in 1923 on the musical entertainment Façade, as well as exploring her colourful and dramatic life.”
Who is involved in the Art Sung project?
“Lucy Stevens is both a singer and actor, who is touring with her one-woman show about singer Kathleen Ferrier. Last year, she was nominated for an OffFest Award (Edinburgh Fringe 2023) for her one-woman show about singer/actress Gertrude Lawrence.
“Michael Gibson is a tenor whose many roles have included: Borsa (Rigoletto), Young Servant (Elektra), Normanno (Lucia di Lammermoor), Heinrich (Tannhäuser), Pong (Turandot), Gastone (LaTraviata) and Ruiz (Il Trovatore).
“Pianist Nigel Foster is director of the London Song Festival, a prestigious festival that showcases the song repertoire and provides a performance platform for young singers. He has broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and on television in several European countries.
“Roxani Eleni Garefalaki is a performance artist, director and movement instructor from Athens, based in London. She has directed the previous three Art Sung productions and is part of the visual team that creates the bespoke imagery.
“James Symonds is the videographer. Under the guise of Symian, he mixes digital filmmaking, sound production, programming and 3D design to produce large-format exhibition work, theatre staging and ‘live’ visual events for companies.”
And yourself, Elizabeth?
“I am a pianist, scriptwriter and producer. I have been fortunate enough to perform throughout Europe, the Americas and the Far East as a song accompanist, chamber musician and solo pianist. I have broadcast on the BBC and other classical music stations in Holland, Brazil, Canada and the Philippines.
“I also had the great pleasure of performing at Late Music in 2019 with baritone Robert Rice. I’m very much looking forward to performing again at Late Music.”
For more information and tickets and to download a free programme, go to: latemusic.org. Elizabeth Mucha and composer Hayley Jenkins will give a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm with a complimentary glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. Box office:https://latemusic.org/product/art-sung-concert-tickets-sat-7-dec-730pm/
William Walton (1902-1983) and Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) – Popular Song (extract) from Façade
Hayley Jenkins (b.1990) and Olivia Diamond (b.1947) – Be A Strange Bird In A Tame Pond
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Fox-Trot (extract) from Façade
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Old Sir Faulk (extract) from Three Songs
Michael Head (1900-1976) and Edith Sitwell – The King Of China’s Daughter
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – En Famille (extract) from Façade
William Walton and Anon – Rhyme from A Song For The Lord Mayor’s Table
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Daphne from Three Songs
Ned Rorem (1923-2022) and Edith Sitwell – You, The Young Rainbow
William Walton and Charles Morris (1745-1838) – The Contrast from A Song For The Lord Mayor’s Table
Erik Satie (1866-1925) – Extracts from the ballet Parade: Prélude du Rideau Rouge; Petite Fille Américaine; Rag-time du Paquebot
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) and Anon – Rats Away (extract) from Our Hunting Fathers Op 8
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Tango-Pasodoblé (extract) from Façade
Hayley Jenkins and Olivia Diamond – Edith Regina
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Valse (extract) from Façade
Robert Marchant (1916-1995) and Edith Sitwell – When Sir Beelzebub
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Popular Song (extract) from Façade
Interval
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Popular Song (extract) from Façade
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Valse from Façade
Noël Coward (1899-1973) – Poor Little Rich Girl from On With The Dance
Ned Rorem (1923-2022) and Edith Sitwell – The Youth With The Red-Gold Hair
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Swiss Jodelling Song from Façade
Dominique le Gendre (b. 1960) and Olivia Diamond (b. 1947) – Pavel…You…
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) and Edith Sitwell – Canticle III, Op 55 – Still Falls The Rain
Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) – America from West Side Story
Lloyd Moore (b. 1966) and Edith Sitwell – Bells Of Grey Crystal
Joseph Horovitz (1926-2022) and William Shakespeare (1564-1616) – Lady Macbeth (extract)
William Walton and Edith Sitwell – Scotch Rhapsody from Façade
Roxani Eleni Garefalaki: Director and movement director
Edith Sitwell (1887-1964): the back story
BORN into an aristocratic family in 1887, she shot to fame in the 1920s through her unique and inventive collaboration with composer William Walton on her poems Façade. She was a favourite subject for portraitists of the 1920s, including John Singer Sargent, Roger Fry, Wyndham Lewis and Pavel Tchelitchew and was immortalised in black and white by society photographer Cecil Beaton.
Together with her brothers, Osbert and Sacheverell, the Sitwell literary trio became trend setters in the 1920s and 1930s, considered by some to rival the Bloomsbury set.
Her address book read like a 20th-century Who’s Who. She knew poets and writers such as Siegfried Sassoon, Dylan Thomas, W B Yeats, T S Eliot, Aldous Huxley, D H Lawrence, Robert Graves and Virginia Woolf, along with Noël Coward, Alec Guinness and Marilyn Monroe.
Descended from Plantagenet royalty, she flaunted her unusual looks with her unique fashion sense. Her six-foot frame was encased in bohemian or medieval garb, complete with feathery hats and colourful turbans. Her hands, considered by her to be her best feature, were laden with enormous rings.
Her motto was: “Why not be oneself? That is the whole secret of a successful appearance. If one is a greyhound, why try to look like a Pekingese?”
Edith’s early poems developed from fantastical, whimsical experiments with rhythm, texture and sound during the Roaring Twenties, through to her more serious poetry of the 1940s, coloured by the Second World War and the dropping of the atomic bomb, in works such as Still Falls The Rain and The Shadow Of Cain.
In the latter part of her life, she wholeheartedly embraced a return to spiritual values, both in her poetry and by converting to Roman Catholicism. By the time she died in 1964 at the age of 77, she had been made a Dame, held five honorary literary degrees from Durham, Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield and Hull and was considered the high priestess of English poetry.
In 1962, not only was a memorial concert held for her at the Royal Festival Hall, London, attended by 3,000 people, but also she appeared on the ITV programme This Is Your Life. However, only a few years after her death, her reputation crashed. She had clashed with critics publicly for more than five decades (whom she dubbed the “pipsqueakery”) and was now no longer around to defend herself as she had done so colourfully during her life.
Last year marked the centenary of the premiere of Façade in 1923. This year marks the 60th anniversary of Edith Sitwell’s death.
Did you know?
WHEN Edith Sitwell recited her Façade poems through a megaphone at the private premiere in 1922, she did so from behind a curtain backdrop designed by English artist Frank Dobson. Art Sung are “immensely grateful to film director Tony Palmer for loaning us this curtain, which was entrusted to him by Edith Sitwell’s nephew, Francis Sitwell”.
A further three curtains were designed by different artists in Edith’s lifetime, of which the John Piper curtain, created in 1942, is now considered to be the iconic Façade curtain.
For Art Sung’s performance, video artist James Symonds continues this tradition of reinventing the background to Façade with his own digital version of a curtain. Symonds visually interprets Edith’s poetry by weaving in the experimental and abstract video work by photographer Etienne Gilfillan and creates a series of animated sketches to illustrate Edith’s reminiscences.
