York Early Music Christmas Festival
Friday 6 December – Sunday 15 December
Spiritato
Friday 6 December 6.30pm – 8.30pm
£35.00 (£33.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Kinga Ujszászi violin, director
Magda Loth-Hill violin
Joanne Miller, George Clifford violas
Jacob Garside viola da gamba
Sergio Bucheli theorbo
Catriona McDermid bassoon
Nicolás Mendoza harpsichord, organ
Northern Light
Between 1640 and 1720 the immigrant German Düben family produced three generations of Capellmeisters at Sweden’s wealthy and fashionable Royal Court, where they amassed a huge collection of printed music and manuscripts. Baroque pioneers Spiritato explore this unique treasure trove, setting the Düben’s rare jewels alongside those of Northern Europe’s best known master musicians. Uncovered by Director Kinga Ujszászi during research for the group’s last album, this is a showcase of daring virtuosity and wonderful invention at the outset of the Baroque period, featuring works by Kirchoff, Thieme, Pachelbel and Bach.
“fascinating to watch… devoutly alone with their music, playing with total commitment and fervour.” Bachtrack
Love and Melancholy
Saturday 7 December 12.00pm – 1.00pm
£22.00 (£20.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Emilia Bertolini soprano
Sergio Bucheli theorbo
Lucy Chabard harpsichord
A musical journey into the complex world of human emotions presented by the winner of the 2024 Corneille Competition New Voices in Normandy.
Inspired by the haunting melodies of Henry Purcell and the French court tunes of the 17th century, this evocative programme immerses us in an exploration of love in all its forms, from joyful ecstasy to poignant melancholy.
A delicate conversation between England and France, which connects us with our own emotions, inviting us to let our hearts resonate not only with the beauty of music, but with the richness and depth of experience of the human soul.
Presented in association with Le Poème Harmonique
Siglo de Ora
with Spinacino Consort
Sunday 7 December 6.30pm – 7.30pm
£30.00 (£28.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Fiona Fraser soprano
Stephanie Franklin alto
Chris Fitzgerald-Lombard tenor
Patrick Allies baritone, director
Ben Rowarth bass
Eric Thomas lute, theorbo, director
Aaron McGregor violin
Claire Horáček viol
Hey for Christmas!
Imagine that we have arrived at your relatives’ London house at some point in the mid-17th century. They had twelve days of revelry lined up with feasting, but more importantly lots of wonderful music - carols, raucous ballads, beautiful folk songs, and lively dances.
“Confident, sonorous and full of character” Gramophone
Choral Workshop
Sunday 8 December 10.15am – 4.00pm
£20.00
Venue: Bedern Hall
led by Robert Hollingworth
On the exact day of the Marian feast of the Immaculate Conception, we invite you to join us in a celebration of Marian motets from the 16th century and settings from the Song of Songs used in her praise. Join I Fagiolini director Robert Hollingworth to explore a soprano canon by Guerrero, daker-hued Gombert, music by Vivanco, Aleotti and of course Palestrina. As a bonus, a Christmas motet with the second bass part emphasizing the rustic shepherds!
Solomon’s Knot
Sunday 8 December 6.00pm – 8.00pm
£30.00 (£28.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35
Motets by Johann Sebastian and Johann Christoph Bach
Elements of JS Bach’s motet style can be traced back to the previous generation of his family, when his father’s cousins Johann Christoph and Johann Michael Bach experimented with soprano chorale cantus firmus and audacious harmonic language at the service of the text. Alongside Johann Sebastian’s well-known masterpieces, Solomon’s Knot perform a number of works by the ‘profund’ and ‘expressive’ Johann Christoph, as JSB himself did in Leipzig in the final years of his life.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Fürchte dich nicht;
Komm, Jesu, komm;
Jesu, meine Freude;
Der Geist hilft unser Schwachheit auf;
Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied
Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703)
Fürchte dich nicht;
Lieber Herr Gott, wecke uns auf;
Herr, nun lässest du deinen Diener in Friede fahren;
Der Gerechte, ob er gleich zu zeitlich stirbt;
“one of the UK’s most innovative and imaginative ensembles” The Observer
Sean Shibe guitar
Aidan O’Rourke fiddle
Monday 9 December 7.30pm
£20.00 (£18.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Lùban
This new project brings together two extraordinarily talented Scottish musicians who are both embedded in their own traditions. Sean Shibe, a former BBC New Generation Artist, carries a torch for classical music and Aidan O’Rourke (Lau) is deep-rooted in Scottish folk culture. Join them to find out where they might meet midst Dowland, Johnson, O’Rourke and Cage – sharing the language they find in the backstreets, byways and marginalia of ancient Scottish lute and fiddle manuscripts.
“Shibe’s performance was mesmerising” The Scotsman
Aidan O’Rourke “a feast for the ears” The Guardian
seanshibe.com
aidanorourke.net
Green Matthews
Wednesday 11 December 7.30pm
£20.00 (£18.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Gaudete!
Gaudete! is an expanded lineup playing new and exciting arrangements of Chris and Sophie Green’s popular festive fare with Emily Baines on early woodwinds and Richard Heacock on violin. Their music is lush, rich and heartwarming – perfectly evoking the Spirit of Christmas Past over 600 years from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Gaudete! brings the festive season to life in a riot of sound and colour!
Stile Antico
Thursday 12 December 6.30pm – 8.30pm
£35.00 (£33.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
This Joyful Birth: A musical journey through the Christian story
Stile Antico recounts the journey to the manger in a glorious sequence of music from mediaeval and Renaissance Europe. Our 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. Nearly every major composer of the period is represented in a feast of festive music: highlights include Victoria’s intimate O magnum mysterium, thrilling motets by Byrd, Lassus and Sheppard, mediaeval carols, and irresistible dances from Spain and Germany.
“The singing is staggeringly beautiful, the balance meticulous.” The Sunday Times
Ensemble Augelletti
Friday 13 December 7.00pm – 8.10pm
£22.00 (£20.00 concession | £7.00 under 35)
Olwen Foulkes recorders
Ellen Bundy violin
Toby Carr lute
Benedict Williams harpsichord
The Morning Star
We are delighted to welcome BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Baroque Ensemble back to York as they present their new Christmas programme.
On the 23rd December 1784, a letter by York-based astronomer Edward Pigott recounting his discovery of a new variable star made York the centre of the astronomical world. In this programme Ensemble Augelletti celebrate some extraordinary stories of 17th- and 18th-century astronomers with music named after stars, angels, and 17th-century Christmas sonatas. Programme to include music by Corelli, Schmelzer, Uccellini and settings of ‘How beautifully shines the morning star’.
“this is a group whose enthusiasm is infectious” Martin Dreyer
Contre le Temps
Saturday 14 December 12.00pm – 1.00pm
£22.00 (£20.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Karin Weston, Cécile Walch, Julia Marty, Amy Farnell singers
Ubi sunt mulieres
Woman has inspired thinkers, poets and creators for thousands of years with tenderness and charm, beauty and dedication, fragility and sensuality. This talented young vocal quartet turn their kaleidoscope on the Middle Ages, where Mary is enthroned in glory as the virgin, mother and love incarnate. Works by Guillaume Du Fay – the man who heralded the Renaissance – and Hildegard von Bingen, herself one of the most acclaimed women in music history, complete this dazzling tableau.
“they captivated their audience with their medieval artistry” L’ Alsace
This concert is possible thanks to EFFEA’s artist-in-residence ‘Discovery’ programme, in partnership with Flanders Festival Antwerp and European Festival Fund for Emerging Artists.
Yorkshire Bach Choir & Yorkshire Baroque Soloists
Saturday 14 December .30pm – 9.30pm
£35.00 (£32.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Bach at Christmas
Bach Magnificat in D, BWV 243
Bach Cantata ‘Unser Mund sei voll Lachens’, BWV 110
Bach Cantata ‘Gloria in excelsis Deo’, BWV 191
With its exuberant choruses, colourful orchestration and beautiful solo writing, Bach’s Magnificat captures perfectly the divine joy of a pregnant Mary. Two Christmas cantatas, Unser Mund sei voll Lachens (first performed on Christmas Day in 1725) and Gloria in excelsis Deo, complete this spectacular programme.
Presented in association with York Concerts and Yorkshire Bach Choir
Intesa
Sunday 15 December 11am – 12.00pm
£22.00 (£20.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35)
Venue: Bedern Hall
Lucine Musaelian and Nathan Giorgetti viols, voices
A Merry Conceit
Explore the theme of seeking light in the midst of dark and wintry weather with this exceptional young duo of viols and voices. Formed just last year, Intesa are already making their presence felt on the concert platform and we are pleased to be welcoming them to York for a short residency. Join us here for a concert of Dowland, Hume, Caccini, alongside a selection of Armenian folk songs.
“These two artists are supreme performers with style, a smile and profound skill.” La Dépêche
Awake Arise
Sunday 15 December 6.30pm
£20.00 (£18.00 concessions | £7.00 under 35
In an unmissable collaboration, Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith and Lady Maisery bring you Awake Arise – A Christmas Show For Our Times; celebrating the riches of our varied winter traditions and reflecting upon the hope and resilience in music and song that can bring joy to us all in the darkest season.