Tag: Intesa

Posted on

Who will be performing at 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival from Dec 5 to 14?

Apollo’s Cabinet: Playing opening concert at 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 5

THE 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival will open on December 5 for a Yuletide feast of music spanning the centuries complemented by contemporary tunes.

Most concerts take place in the home of the National Centre for Early Music (NCEM), in the medieval setting of St Margaret’s Church, in Walmgate, where audiences can enjoy warming mulled wine and mince pies in “the perfect recipe for a heart-warming Christmas experience”.

NCEM Platform Artists Apollo’s Cabinet will kick off the festival with their Christmas edition of Apollo’s Jukebox Menu, where the audience will call the shots in this musical menu of Baroque favourites, bawdy ballads, delightful dances and streetwise scandals from 7pm to 8.15pm.

“Following their prize-winning successes over the past year, when they won the 2024 Friends Prize at our International Young Artists Competition ,and the launch of their debut album [Musical Wanderlust], we’re delighted that Apollo’s Cabinet are returning to the NCEM stage,” says festival director Delma Tomlin.

“They’re having a fantastic career already, appealing to a broad market, where they hit the sweet spot of entertaining as well as engaging audiences.

Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston: Presenting A Lyrical Interlude on December 6

“At December 5’s concert, you should forget stuffy concerts with velvet seats and polite applause. Apollo’s Jukebox takes you back to the 18th-century music rooms where tunes weren’t just played – they were ordered. It’s all about good music, great stories and a proper pint.”

Rory McLeery, artistic director of festival act The Marian Consort, will host December 8’s 10.15am Choral Workshop at Bedern Hall , where he will take a journey through music by members of the Bach family, Schutz and Palestrina, to be followed at 4pm by an informal concert performance by the participants, who have been sent music online to practise in advance.

McCleery will direct The Marian Consort in their December 8 concert with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, directed by Gawain Glenton, in a festive 6.30pm programmed entitled Looking Bach To Palestrina, marking Palestrina’s 500th birthday.

York Early Music Festival artistic advisor and mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston will team up with her regular pianist, Sholto Kynoch, for A Lyrical Interlude at the NCEM on December 6, when her 12.30pm programme will embrace 18th century works by Fanny Hensel, Felix Mendelssohn and Carl Loewe.

This will lead to Robert Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe as Charlston explores themes of love, loss, longing and the power of memory and imagination to shape experiences of love, its joy and pain.

The Marion Consort: Teaming up with English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble for December 6 concert. Picture: Ben Tomlin

Festival stalwarts Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque Soloists will unite once more under conductor Peter Seymour for Hayden’s 1798 magnus opus, The Creation, at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, on December 6 at 7.30pm.

“From its revolutionary ‘Representations of Chaos’ and the ensuing, electrifying arrival of light, the oratorio unfolds with boundless musical invention, painting vibrant sonic landscapes of land, sea, flora, celestial bodies, fauna and ultimately, humankind,” says Delma.

“Brimming with humanity and life-affirming joy, this work stands as a towering testament to the illuminating spirit of the Enlightenment.”

Reflecting on The Marian Consort’s December 8 programme, John Bryan, Emertitus Professor of Music at the University of Huddersfield, will give  a 10.15am talk on December 7 on Contrast and Continuity: From the Renaissance to the Baroque.

The Dowland’s Foundry duo of tenor Daniel Thomson and lutenist Sam Brown will present Facets Of Time at a sold-out Bedern Hall on December 7, when their 2pm performance will combine music by Dowland, Daniel, Ferrabasco and Morley and words by William Shakespeare.

Irish folk singer Cara Dillon: On song in Upon A Winter’s Night on December 13

The Chiaroscuro Quartet and the BBC New Generation Artists Consone String Quartet will make a rare appearance together at the NCEM on December 7 for a 6.30pm programme featuring one of the 19th century’s most remarkable works, Mendelssohn’s Octet in E flat major Op 20, composed when he was 16, preceded by Haydn and Beethoven string quartets.

“Effectively this is the highlight of the festival. Having these two absolutely world-class quartets play together is extraordinary on what will be a magical night,” says Delma.

“Both quartets have played here before, so we have a great relationship with them, and I’ve wanted to programme the Mendelssohn Octet in the festival forever.”

Apollo5 will conjure the wonder of the winter’s changing landscape through  contemporary choral writing for the season, interwoven with early music favourites by William Byrd and Guerrero in The Crimson Sun at the NCEM on December 9 at 6.30pm.

Lowe Ensemble, a Spanish family group, will perform Handel’s rare Spanish cantata No Se Emendara Jamas plus Iberian-Baroque festive music in Echoes Of The Baroque at the NCEM on December 12 at 12 noon.

Lowe Ensemble: Performing Echoes of the Baroque at York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 12

Fieri Consort Singers and Camerata Øresund will perform From the Church to the Tavern: Christmas Cantatas by Christopher Graupner and English Tavern Songs at the NCEM on December 12 at 6pm. Expect festive jollity as heard in the taverns of 17th and 18th centuries at this exclusive concert for the 2025 Christmas festival.

Irish folk singer Cara Dillon’s beloved Christmas concert, Upon A Winter’s Night , will blend ancient carols with modern songs and and Celtic rhythms at a sold-out NCEM on December 13 at 7.30pm.

The festival will conclude with Joglaresa’s Here We Come A’Carolling at the NCEM on December 14 at 6.30pm. “We’re delighted to welcome back this effervescent ensemble with a programme of music guaranteed to chase out the Christmas chill,” says Delma.

Summing up the 2025 festival, she says: “Once again, we look forward to welcome friends old and new to our Christmas festival, which is always a very special time for all of us here at the NCEM.

“The York Early Music Christmas Festival was created in 1997 to introduce audiences to the extraordinary wealth of music associated with Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, from the Medieval to the Baroque, intertwined with the sagas, stories and tales of the north. We hope you will enjoy this year’s wonderful line up of artists performing an array music through the ages.” Box office: 01904 658338 or https://ncem.co.uk/yemcf/.

Dowland’s Foundry to play free Baroque Around The Books shows in Explore York community library tour on Dec 8 and 9

Dowland Foundry’s Sam Brown, left, and Daniel Thomson

IN the latest National Centre for Early Music cultural wellbeing initiative, the NCEM and Explore York library service are bringing award-winning tenor Daniel Thomson and Sam Brown, “the Eric Clapton of the lute”, to York for Baroque Around The Books.

On December 8 and 9, the Dowland’s Foundry duo will present a mini-tour of Facets Of Time, a dramatic performance based around Elizabethan England’s most iconic artists, William Shakespeare and John Dowland.

Daniel and Sam will be staying in York for this short residency and musical tour of community libraries after their December 7 appearance at the 2025 York Early Music Christmas Festival at a sold-out Bedern Hall, when their 2pm performance will combine music by Dowland, Daniel, Ferrabasco and Morley with words by Shakespeare.

Dowland’s Foundrywill play Tang Hall Explore on December 8 at 11am; Clifton Explore, December 8, 2pm; Haxby & Wigginton Library, December 9, 11am, and York Explore, December 9, 2pm.

Tickets are FREE for these informal concerts – and no booking is required – thanks to this NCEM initiative,  working in association with Explore York, supported by the Mayfield Valley Arts Trust and funds raised in the 2025 Christmas Big Give Campaign. 

Thomson and Brown have performed widely across the UK. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Thomson is known for his expressive text-based performance with major groups across the UK, Europe and Australia.

Flutes & Frets’ Beth Stones and Dan Murphy: Played Baroque Around The Books tour shows in York in 2024

Brown is a graduate of London’s Royal College of Music and one of the leading chordophonists of his generation, admired for his sensitive interpretation of Elizabethan music in performances across Europe, China and Kenya.

Dowland’s Foundry are undertaking the third Baroque Around the Books tour, after successful tours in 2024 by Flutes & Frets (flautist Beth Stones and frets player Dan Murphy) and Intesa (European viol and vocal musicians Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti).

Each one brings free and accessible Early Music performances to the communities of York in a unique opportunity to celebrate and discover Early Music with two talented young performers.

“The NCEM is dedicated to promoting the extraordinary array of talent from Europe’s vibrant Early Music scene and Baroque Around The Books reinforces our ongoing commitment to support, encourage and nurture the skills of emerging artists in the UK and beyond,” says NCEM director Delma Tomlin.

“It’s wonderful to be working with our partner Explore York Libraries & Archives once again. Sam and Daniel have developed a sincere love and understanding of lute song that we look forward to sharing with new audiences from York communities.”

Explore York chief executive Jenny Layfield enthuses: “This partnership with 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 Baroque Around The Books sessions organised by the NCEM last 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.”

Reactions to 2024’s Baroque Around The Books tours by Flutes & Frets and Intesa

Intesa musicians Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti

“Uplifting, beautiful. Exquisite singing and playing. I felt privileged to experience this in a local library.”

“It was an unexpectedly moving experience.”

“I cannot tell you how glorious the last 20 was. I called in to collect a book and thought I’d gone to heaven.”

“It was truly beautiful and amazing that we could see this at our local library!”

“This was a delightful surprise as I just popped in to get a book. Even though I had other things to do, I stayed for the whole performance, which I loved. A quality experience.”

‘‘It was wonderful, it felt like it was a gift to York. Thank you so much. Thes are difficult times for many of us. This really felt so positive and generous.”

For more Baroque Around The Books details, go to: http://ncem.co.uk/baroque-around-the-books/.

Posted on

REVIEW: Martin Dreyer’s verdict on Intesa at York Early Music Christmas Festival

Intesa’s Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti

NCEM Platform Artists:  Intesa, A Merry Conceit, Bedern Hall, Bedern, York, December 15

IT is rare, even under the umbrella of Early Music, to encounter a concert as wide-ranging as this. Intesa, who are Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti and combine playing bass viols with singing, roamed as far back as 5th-century Armenia while including a 21st-century piece by Musaelian herself in this mid-morning recital.

The programme was devised to show the coming of light to a dark and wintry world and had an appropriately religious flavour. Armenia became the first officially Christian state in AD 301, when its king was converted. Its largely musical liturgy depends on eight basic modes (octoechos), considerably pre-dating Gregorian chant, which were reformed in the 12th century by St Nerses IV, who was nicknamed “Shnorhali” (Gracious).

So it was fascinating to begin with one of Shnorhali’s own pieces, Aravot Luso (O Morning Of Light), which involved hypnotic drone under sinuous soprano. It was quite a stretch to Morley’s duet madrigal Miraculous Love’s Wounding immediately afterwards, although we needed to hear a little more from Giorgetti’s light tenor.

Lucine Musaelian: Fiery melismas

Two more traditional Armenian songs proved catchy, especially when jazzed up with plucked viols, as in Shogher jan, which marks the return of friends along with the cool weather. They were preceded by the superb Maria, Dolce Maria by Francesca Caccini, the first woman known to have composed operas, where Musaelian’s fiery melismas – bunches of notes to a single syllable – added considerable intensity.

At the centre of it all lay a touching Canzonetta Spirituale by Tarquinio Merula, an extended rocking lullaby over a bass ostinato that presages the Christ-child’s ultimate fate. That still left Dowland’s timeless lute song Time Stands Still, one viol simulating a lute, and two gamba duets by Tobias Hume, where Intesa’s virtuosity really had a chance to blossom.

Muselian’s love-song to her own poetry, Morning Light, was gracefully dusted with both syncopation and viol harmonics, the latter a first in my experience.

Finally, Intesa took us to Wales, with All Through The Night. We had traversed eight countries and 16 centuries, a tasting menu if ever there were. Tasty too.

Review by Martin Dreyer

Posted on

NCEM Platform Artists Intesa to undertake Baroque Around The Books informal tour of Explore York libraries with free admission

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!”

Posted on

Spotlight turns on young international talent at York Early Music Christmas Festival. Who else will be performing? UPDATED 4/12/2024

Australian soprano Emilia Bertolini. Picture: David Caird

INTERNATIONAL young musicians will take centre stage in the York Early Music  Christmas Festival from December 6 to 15.

The National Centre for Early Music (NCEM) continues to support exceptional young talent in the field of Early music by welcoming three ensembles from Europe under the NCEM Platform Artists spotlight.

Taking part will be Australian soprano Emilia Bertolini, winner of the 2024 Corneille Competition New Voices in Normandy, promoted by Le Poème Harmonique; Contre le Temps, a medieval vocal ensemble from France, supported by the EFFEA’s artist-in-residence Discovery programme, in partnership with AMUZ, and Intesa, a duo of Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti, who met at the Royal Academy of Music.

Musaelian and Giorgetti will be staying on in York afterwards to work on Baroque Around The Books, a musical tour of York libraries in a short residency with Explore York. They formed the duo only last year and are already making their presence felt on the concert platform.

Contre le Temps: Medieval vocal ensemble from France

The NCEM has a hard-earned reputation for its support of emerging talent across Europe, running both the biennial International York Young Artists Competition and until recently they were a key partner within the Creative Europe EEEmerging programme.

Ensembles showcased by the NCEM over the past few years include Protean Quartet, Sollazzo Ensemble, winners of two Diapason d’Or de l’année awards, and BBC New Generation Artists Consone Quartet.

NCEM Delma Tomlin MBE says: “The York Early Music Christmas Festival is a firm favourite on the city’s calendar. This year I’m thrilled to welcome three ensembles to York who will no doubt be a fabulous addition to this year’s spectacular programme. 

“The NCEM is dedicated to promoting the extraordinary array of talent from Europe’s vibrant Early Music scene and we are grateful to be able to continue to celebrate their music in York.  We hope that this will be a regular feature in our festive programme in the years to come.”

York Early Music Christmas Festival director Delma Tomlin

The concerts from the NCEM Platform Artists will be led off by Love And Melancholy, featuring  Emilia Bertolini, soprano,  Sergio Bucheli, theorbo, and Lucy Chabard,  harpsichord, in a musical journey into the complex world of human emotions at the NCEM on December 7.

Inspired by the haunting melodies of Henry Purcell and the French court tunes of the 17th century, this evocative 12 noon programme explores love in all its forms, from joyful ecstasy to poignant melancholy.

Contre le Temps, featuring singers Karin Weston, Cécile Walch, Julia Marty and Amy Farnell, present Ubi Sunt Mulieres at the NCEM on December 14 at 12 noon.

Women have inspired thinkers, poets and creators for thousands of years with tenderness and charm, beauty and dedication, fragility and sensuality, prompting this talented young vocal quartet to turn their gaze on to the Middle Ages, focusing on works by Guillaume Du Fay and Hildegard von Bingen, one of the most acclaimed women in music history.

Intesa’s Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti

In the third concert, at Bedern Hall, Bedern, on December 15 at 11am, Intesa’s viol and voice duo of Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti reflect on the theme of seeking light amid dark and wintry weather with music by Dowland, Hume and Caccini, alongside a selection of Armenian folk songs, in a programme entitled A Merry Conceit.

Spiritato, featuring University of York alumnus Nicolas Mendoza on harpsichord and organ, open the festival with Northern Light, their 6.30pm programme of Baroque works by Kirchoff, Thieme, Pachelbel and Bach on December 6 at the NCEM.

 “This extraordinary jewel of baroque music comes from the Royal Court of Sweden, and the wealth of that court, with all the musicians and composers that flocked up there, and now these neglected pieces have been rediscovered and what glorious pieces they are,” says Delma.

Siglo de Oro will be joined by Spinacino Consort for Hey For Christmas! on December 7 at the NCEM for a 6.30pm celebration of carols, raucous ballads, beautiful folk sonhs and lively dances, as if “we arrived at your relatives’ London house in the mid-17th century for 12 days of revelry”.

Stile Antico: Performing This Joyful Birth: A musical journey through the Christian story at the National Centre for Early Music on December 12

The choral workshop led by Robert Hollingorth, founder/director of I Fagiolini, at Bedern Hall on December 8 from 10.15am to 4pm has sold out. Hollingworth will explore a soprano canon by Guerrero, darker-hued Gombert and music by Vivanco, Aleotti and Palestrina.

Solomon’s Knot, who perform everything learned off by heart, will perform Motets by Johann Sebastian and Johann Christoph Bach at the NCEM on December 8 at 6pm.

A new project brings together two Scottish musicians embedded in their own traditions: former BBC New Generation Artist Sean Shibe, who carries the torch for classical music on his guitar, and Aidan O’Rourke, the Lau fiddler deep rooted in Scottish folk culture. Together they present Luban at the NCEM on December 9.

Join them at 7.30pm to find out where they might meet midst Dowland, Johnson, O’Rourke and Cage as they share the language they find in the backstreets, byways and marginalia of ancient Scottish lute and fiddle manuscripts.

Green Matthews: Gaudete! concert at National Centre for Early Music

Green Matthews make a Christmas return to the NCEM with an expanded line-up for Gaudete!, featuring new arrangements of Chris Green and Sophie Matthews’s festive fare, embellished with Emily Baines on early woodwind and Richard Heacock on violin on December 11 at 7.30pm.

Their lush, rich and heart-warming music evokes the spirit of Christmas over 600 years from the Middle Ages to the 20th century in a riot of sound and colour.

Stile Antico take a journey through the Christian story to the manger in a glorious sequence of music from medieval and Renaissance Europe in This Joyful Birth at a sold-out NCEM on December 12.

The 7.30pm programme follows each scene of the Christmas story, beginning in Advent and moving through to the Nativity, the visits of the Shepherds and the Wise Men, and finally to the Feast of Candlemas. Highlights include Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium, motets by Byrd, Lassus and Sheppard, medieval carols and dances from Spain and Germany.

Ensemble Augelletti: “How beautifully shines the morning star”

Ensemble Augelletti, BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Baroque Ensemble, return to York to present their new Christmas programme, The Morning Star, at the NCEM on December 13 at 7pm, with Olwen Foulkes on recorders, Ellen Bundy on violin, Toby Carr on lute and Benedict Williams on harpsichord.

On December 23 1784, a letter by York astronomer Edward Pigott, recounting his discovery of a new variable star, made York the centre of the astronomical world, prompting Ensemble Augelletti to celebrate extraordinary stories of 17th and 18th astronomers with music named after stars, angels and 17th-centyry sonatas. Works by Corelli, Schmelzer and Uccellini will feature alongside settings of How Beautifully Shines The Morning Star.

Festival regulars Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque focus on Bach’s Magnificat in D and two cantatas, Unser Mund Sei Voll Lachens and Gloria In Excelsis Deo, conducted by Peter Seymour at the Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, on December 14 at 7.30pm.

“With its exuberant choruses, colourful orchestration and beautiful solo writing, Bach’s Magnificat captures perfectly the divine joy of a pregnant Mary,” says Peter.

Spiritato: Opening York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 6 with their Northern Light programme

Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith collaborate with Lady Maisery to close the festival with Awake Arise – A Christmas Show For Our Times at the NCEM on December 15. The 7.30pm programme “celebrates the riches of our varied winter traditions and reflects on the hope and resilience music and song that can bring joy to us all in the darkest season”.

“York Early Music Christmas Festival is the perfect choice for an atmospheric Yuletide evening away from the crowds, with this year’s festival featuring both Early and folk music performed by an array of talented artists,” says Delma.

“Most performances take place in the intimate surroundings of the National Centre for Early Music’s home, St Margaret’s Church, off Walmgate.  Mince pies and mulled wine available at most concerts.”

York Early Music 210214 runs from December 6 to 15 at National Centre of Music (St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate), Bedern Hall and Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York. Box office: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk. Full programme is available at ncem.co.uk.