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Suffolk Villages Festival

Now in its thirtieth year, the Suffolk Villages Festival brings high-quality performances of early music to rural East Anglia. Its principal venues are the fine historic wool churches in the Dedham Vale area: Stoke by Nayland, Nayland, Boxford, Hadleigh, Dedham and Sudbury. Here are two highlights: 

On Sunday 12th November, 6pm Reformation & Counter-Reformation: Great sacred music spanning the religious divide, from Monteverdi to Handel, will be at St Peter’s, Sudbury. 

The event is in memory of Nigel Rodley (1941–2017) and will have a pre-concert talk at 4.30pm in Gainsborough’s House by Professor Stephen Rose. The performers are: Claire Coleman soprano ; Psalmody, The John Jenkins Consort. Directed by Peter Holman.

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Almost exactly 500 years ago Martin Luther began the Reformation as a protest against the abuses of the Catholic church. The Reformation and the subsequent Counter-Reformation divided Europe into hostile armed camps for generations and led eventually to the 30 Years War, the most destructive conflict before modern times. But musicians continually crossed the religious divide and the great composers produced a creative synthesis of Protestant and Catholic sensibilities, often vividly reflecting the turmoil of the time.

This unusual and fascinating programme, much of it for divided choir and six-part strings, ranges from Michael Praetorius’s extraordinary italianate setting of the Lutheran chorale ‘Wachet auf’ to Agostino Steffani’s great Stabat Mater, probably composed in the 1690s as part of a plan to reconvert northern Germany. The theme is explored further in music by Heinrich Schutz and Handel (both eloquent prayers for peace in wartime), Johann Rosenmuller (a Protestant in Venice) and J.S. Bach (a reworking of a grand Sanctus by the Catholic Johann Caspar Kerll).

On Sunday 10th December, 6pm, Gabriel’s Message: Festive Music from Medieval England will be at St Mary’s Church, Dedham. 

The performers are: Mediva: Ann Allen & Adrien Reboisson (shawms & recorders), Corina Marti (recorders & clavicymbalum), Natalie Carducci (fiddle), Erwan Picquet (voice), Max Fiorani (percussion) with a childrens’ choir from local schools. The show is directed by Ann Allen.

Ann Allen’s Baroque group Syrinx made a great impression when it was in residence during the 2016 Festival. Now she returns with the international line-up of virtuosos that is Mediva, one of Europe’s most accomplished and innovative Medieval groups. It has appeared in many of the major music festivals in Britain and on the Continent, receiving enthusiastic reviews for its recordings, most recently a CD of music by Hildegard of Bingen and the contemporary composer Hugh Collins Rich.

Gabriel’s Message is a vivid celebration of Advent and Christmas. Songs, carols and dances from Medieval England evoke the sounds of winter, from harsh winds to crackling fires, from a peal of bells to a baby’s cry. In this special concert Mediva performs with a choir of children drawn from local schools and trained by Tom Stapleton as part of our developing education programme.

‘Played and sung with much beauty and impressive commitment in a voyage of discovery for composer, performers and listeners alike’ – Choir & Organ

For more information or to book, visit www.suffolkvillagesfestival.com.

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