featuring performances & workshops by

Stile AnticoPhantasm

Nicholas MulroyElizabeth Kenny

International Baroque PlayersEnglish Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

Sally DunkleyOxford Baroque

and more...

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OXFORD EARLY MUSIC FESTIVAL15-17 MAY 2015

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WelcomeIt gives us great pleasure to introduce the programme for the 2015 Oxford Early Music Festival. � is year’s festival features concerts given by some of the foremost historical performance specialists active today, alongside participatory workshops led by respected experts.

Oxford is a city virtually synonymous with history, music and ideas. � e Early Music Festival was born out of a conversation about just how many ensembles, now famous across the world, originated in the city. � e Festival aims to celebrate this rich musical heritage, by presenting performances in some of the city’s most beautiful and resonant spaces.

We are thrilled to present early music vocal ensemble Stile Antico (17th May), ten years a� er this group of friends started singing together for fun in Oxford. On the opening night (15th May), we welcome the Eng-lish Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble and the International Baroque Play-ers, for what is set to be an unforgettable performance of Monteverdi’s much-celebrated 1610 Vespers. � ey join three fantastic Oxford choirs; Ensemble 45, Magdalen College Choir and Frideswide Voices and a team of star soloists.

A host of other recitals, alongside workshops on facsimile singing and viol playing for beginners o� er many musical treats to enjoy and stimu-late. We do hope that you will join us!

Kate Ashby, Laura Ashby, David LeeCo-Artistic Directors

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Claudio MonteverdiVespro della Beata Vergine (1610)University Church, High Street, 7:30pm

£22/£15 (£5 students)� e 2015 Oxford Early Music Festival opens with a gala performance of Mon-teverdi’s sumptuous Vespers of 1610. Lavishly scored for ten-part chorus, strings, cornetts, sackbuts and seven soloists, the Vespers juxtapose intimate, prayerful moments with rich, virtuosic music, creating a dazzling demonstration of the genius of Monteverdi, the ‘Father of Baroque Music’.

Coming together under the direction of Daniel Hyde, tonight’s world-class musi-cians include the combined forces of the International Baroque Players, Ensemble 45, renowned early brass group the Eng-lish Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, the Choristers of Magdalen College Choir and new girls’ choir Frideswide Voices – with a team of � rst-class soloists. � is is sure to be an unmissable concert!

Emily van Evera, Cecilia Osmond sopranoNicholas Mulroy, Nick Pritchard tenorEdward Grint, Giles Underwood bass

Daniel Hyde director

Ensemble 45International Baroque Players

English Cornett & Sackbut EnsembleChoristers of Magdalen College, Oxford

Frideswide Voices

“In performances this fi ne, Monteverdi challenges the mind, stirs the heart and caresses the soul, which is about all you can ask of music...the shining soprano of Emily Van Evera stood out.” New York Times

Emily van Evera Cecilia Osmond Nicholas Mulroy

Nick Pritchard Edward GrintGiles

Underwood

Friday 15 May

English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble

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Workshop: Try a viol!The Bate Collection of Musical Instruments, St Aldate’s2-4pmAdmission free

Festival Evensong with PhantasmMagdalen College Chapel, High Street, 6pm

Admission freeJoin us for a special Festival Evensong, featuring the music of � omas Tomkins and John Ward, with Magdalen College Chapel Choir and elite viol consort Phantasm. Phantasm have been con-sort-in-residence at Magdalen College since 2010, during which time they have performed and recorded multiple times with the Chapel Choir, including a critically-acclaimed disc of Ward’s music. With the residency drawing to a close, this evensong will be one of the last chances to see these ensembles perform together. All are welcome.

In the Tudor era every noble household would have owned a chest of viols, and pro-� ciency in playing was an expected part of being a gentleman. � is free introductory session gives you the chance to try your hand at Renaissance string playing. Rhiannon Evans, early music specialist with the Oxfordshire County Music Service, will lead sessions at 2, 2.30, 3 and 3.30pm, introducing novices to this fascinating instrument. All abilities and levels of experience are welcome!

“Phantasm is simply the best viol consort around.” BBC Music Magazine

Saturday 16 May

Phantasm

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John Butt plays BachThe Queen’s College Chapel, High Street, 7:30pm

£10 (£5 students)We are delighted to welcome internation-ally acclaimed Bach interpreter John Butt to give an organ recital on � e Queen’s College Chapel’s Frobenius instrument, with works including Bach’s virtuosic Prelude and Fugue in E minor (BWV 548) and the highly inventive ‘Kleines harmonisches Labyrinth’ (BWV 591). � is concert is a co-promotion between Oxford Early Music Festival and � e Queen’s College, Oxford as part of their 2015 Frobenius at 50 celebration series.

Oxford BaroqueCouperin - Trois Leçons de TénèbresMagdalen College Chapel, 9:30pm£12 (£5 students)

“Charpentier’s music has an enticing strangeness... and Oxford Baroque captured the nuances perfectly.” The Telegraph

Rapidly gaining attention as one of the most promising and exciting early music ensembles in the UK, Oxford Baroque pres-ent Couperin’s masterpiece in the intimate late-night setting of Magdalen College Chapel.

� is stunning work for two soprano soloists and basso continuo sets the texts of the les-sons for the � nal service of the day on Holy Wednesday. Traditionally, � � een candles were extinguished one by one, with the service ending in darkness, setting the tone for the services leading up to Easter. � e Old Testament text mourns the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, and Couperin creates an intensely moving setting, mixing recitative and virtuosic arioso passages.

Saturday 16 May

“...there is brawn, wit and chutzpah be-hind pretty much everything Butt does.” The Herald

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Esther Brazil

John Butt

Emily Atkinson sopranoEsther Brazil soprano

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Sunday 17 MayLute song recitalThe Rise of the ‘Loud Tenor’ Worcester College Chapel, 1pm £15 (£5 students)

Tenor Nicholas Mulroy and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny, two of the UK’s leading exponents of seventeenth-cen-tury music, give a recital of ravishing music for lute and voice, featuring music from a golden age of song, as the tenor voice became more declamatory. Exploring the in-extricably intertwined torments of love and melancholy, they trace the exchange between Italian and English traditions, including music by Monteverdi and Giulio Caccini, alongside songs by Alfonso Ferrabosco, Henry Lawes and Henry Purcell.

“Tenor Nicholas Mulroy...his narration direct yet dramatically motivated, and infl ected with many memorable moments.” The Guardian

Workshop: Singing from facsimileled by Sally DunkleySt John the Evangelist, 2:30-5:30pm£15 (includes refreshments)

Early-music specialist Sally Dunkley leads a workshop introducing singers to reading Renaissance notation. Using facsimiles of Tudor partbooks, participants will sing music by composers including Byrd and Tallis from the original notation. Sally has enjoyed a distinguished career as a consort singer, musical editor and vocal teacher.

� is workshop is open to anyone with experience of choral singing. Reserve your place by emailing info@oemf.co.uk, stipulating voice-part.

“When I fi rst heard this I repeated it fi ve times over and was still entranced. Throughout the recital Elizabeth Kenny complements the voice with taste and sympathy.” Gramophone

Elizabeth Kenny

Nicholas Mulroy

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Stile AnticoMusic for Compline

Internationally renowned vocal ensem-ble, Stile Antico, perform works written for the monastic O� ce of Compline.As the darkness folded around the pillars of their churches, mediaeval worshippers gathered for the service of Compline, commending themselves to God’s

protection through the long watches of the night. It was an occasion that inspired the great English composers to some of their most intimate and upli� ing music. � is programme features music by the great composers of the Tudor era, includ-ing Byrd, Tallis and Taverner.

“The singing is staggeringly beautiful...” The Sunday Times

St John the Evangelist, 7pm£30/£20/£15/£10 (£5 students)

All tickets are available via Tickets Oxford at the Oxford Playhouse, or on the door at each event, subject to availability. Advance booking is recommended.

By Phone: 01865 305305Online: www.ticketsoxford.comIn Person: � e Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LWEmail: info@oemf.co.uk

ConcessionsStudents and Under-18s: £5 all ticketsLimited mobility: 50% discount (when buying 2 tickets)

To reserve places on either of the workshops, please email info@oemf.co.uk, stipulating your voice-part for the Singing from Facsimile session.

How to book

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Sunday 17 May

Stile Antico

Venue locationsUniversity ChurchHigh StreetOX1 4BJ

The Bate CollectionMusic FacultySt Aldate’sOX1 1DB

Magdalen CollegeHigh StreetOX1 4AU

The Queen’s CollegeHigh StreetOX4 1EH

Worcester CollegeWalton StreetOX1 2HB

St John the EvangelistIffl ey RoadOX4 1EH

Friday 15 May7:30pm Monteverdi 1610 Vespers University Church

Saturday 16 May2:00pm Try a viol! workshop � e Bate Collection6:00pm Festival Evensong with Phantasm Magdalen College Chapel7:30pm John Butt plays Bach � e Queen’s College Chapel9:30pm Oxford Baroque - Couperin Magdalen College Chapel

Sunday 17 May1:00pm Lute song recital Worcester College Chapel2:30pm Singing from Facsimile workshop St John the Evangelist7:00pm Stile Antico - Music for Compline St John the Evangelist

OEMF 2015 at a glance

www.oemf.co.uk @OxEMF OxfordEarlyMusicFestival