The EMF was delighted to be able to stage two joyous Christmas concerts on 17th and 18th December in the beautiful environment of St Mary’s Church, Horsham.
The centrepiece of these concerts was A Christmas Garland, a cornucopia of works written specially for this concert by a number of today’s leading composers, including David Matthews, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Cecilia McDowall, Roderick Williams, and Sir James MacMillan. Alongside this glorious new work, which celebrates Christmas in all its aspects from snowy melancholy through to rapture at the Holy Birth, we presented Sir Hubert Parry’s youthfully energetic Freundschaftslieder (“Songs of Friendship”) for violin and piano as well as a number of attractive and seasonal works for harp, played by local harpist Heather Wrighton.
The second concert brought the sparkle and joy of Christmas to our audiences, with Oxford Liedertafel featuring in a programme of favourite Christmas carols and much-loved part-songs, from Vaughan Williams’s Linden Lea and Elgar’s As torrents in summer through to choral works by Tallis and Byrd. They were joined by celebrated counter-tenor James Bowman as guest reader.
Both concerts were filmed and are now available for viewing on this website. We are making a small charge for these, which will help to offset the costs to us involved in making and editing the films; we will also, however, be paying a proportion of the ticket sales to the artists in order to help support them further during what continue to be very difficult, uncertain and worrying times for musicians. If you would like to purchase tickets to watch the concerts, please visit the online Box Office — the full programme is given below to whet your appetite!
ELIAS PARISH: Alvars — Romance in F for harp
PAUL LEWIS: Four Anticke Dances for harp
JOHN RUTTER: Interlude from Dancing Day
BENJAMIN BRITTEN: Interlude from A Ceremony of Carols
HARRIET ADIE: Festive Fantasy for harp
JOHN THOMAS: Cambria for harp and piano
SIR HUBERT PARRY: Freundschaftslieder for violin and piano
A Christmas Garland
New works from RICHARD BLACKFORD, PAUL CARR, THOMAS HEWITT-JONES, GRAHAM KEITCH, PAUL LEWIS, SIR JAMES MACMILLAN, CECILIA MCDOWALL, DAVID MATTHEWS, RICHARD PANTCHEFF, JOHN PICKARD and RODERICK WILLIAMS
EM MARSHALL-LUCK | speaker
HEATHER WRIGHTON | harp
RUPERT MARSHALL-LUCK | violin
DUNCAN HONEYBOURNE | piano
BORIS ORD: Adam lay ybounden
TRAD. arr. RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: The Truth from Above
GUSTAV HOLST: In the Bleak Midwinter
THOMAS TALLIS: Hear the Voice and Prayer
THOMAS TALLIS: A New Commandment
THOMAS TALLIS: If ye love me
WILLIAM BYRD: Ave Verum
TRAD.: Coventry Carol
WILLIAM CORNYSH: Adieu, my Heartes Lust
THOMAS CAMPION: Never weatherbeaten sail
JOHN DOWLAND: Come again, sweet love doth now invite
HENRY VIII: Pastime with good company
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Linden Lea
SIR EDWARD ELGAR: As torrents in summer
SIR ARTHUR SULLIVAN: The long day closes
TRAD. arr. RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: O little town of Bethlehem
SIR ARTHUR SULLIVAN: It came upon a midnight clear
TRAD.: Hark! the herald angels sing
OXFORD LIEDERTAFEL
with guest reader JAMES BOWMAN
Following the success of the Christmas Concerts in Horsham on 17 and 18 December, we are pleased to announce that the films of the performances are now available for viewing on this website. We are making a small charge for these, which will help to offset the costs to us involved in making and editing the films; we will also, however, be paying a proportion of the ticket sales to the artists in order to help support them further during what continue to be very difficult, uncertain and worrying times for musicians. To buy your film tickets, please click here!
The 2021 May EMF is scheduled for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend (28 to 31 May) and will most certainly be going ahead if public gatherings are permitted. However, due to the ongoing situation relating to COVID-19 and, in particular, the uncertainty regarding physical-distancing rules and other restrictions that may still be in place at that time, we are, sadly, not able to announce the programme at present, as has hitherto been our custom. We intend, however, to publish this on 1st March, with booking opening two weeks later on 14th March.
If you would like more details about our Friends’ Scheme, please follow this link to our ‘Friends’ Scheme’ page for a description of the tiers and their benefits, together with information about how to join.