… is the inspiration for a series of radio plays by Lewes author Charlie Dobres: set in the late 14th century, Charlie provides a retelling of the famous Northumbrian legend with a contemporary twist. David and Ruth are recording the incidental music for the series using 14th century instruments and repertoire. The project is due to be released later this year: in the meantime, here are some samples from some of the tracks.
Tuesday 18 June 6.30pm Gray’s Inn Chapel
With Michael still hors de combat, David and Ruth will be taking two thirds of Faronel to central London to perform for the Bar Musical Society at Gray’s Inn Chapel in June. Our programme includes music from 13th century England and 15th century France, together with Tudor works by Cornysh (who was imprisoned a stone’s throw from the chapel) and from the Mulliner Book (possibly compiled less than a mile away).
Our member Michael is still hors de combat for the time being, and so we regret that we will not be able to present live concerts until later in the year. We wish him a speedy recovery.
In the meantime, we have recently set up a YouTube channel where you can hear some examples of our music. Some of the videos were made during lockdown for the 2020 Medieval Music in the Dales festival, which was held online that year, and some are more recent. In some of them we discuss how we arrive at our arrangements of the repertoire, and we will hope add to these from time to time. The channel may be accessed here.
It was a great pleasure to return to St Matthew’s, Redhill in December 2023 to present a programme of medieval and renaissance carols from around Europe. You can hear some clips from the concert on our YouTube channel.
We have three concerts coming up over the next few months that may be of interest. Do join us if you can!
Thursday 16 November 7.00pm
Uckfield Music Club, Bridge Cottage, Uckfield, East Sussex
We will be examining Henry VIII as a musician and composer, discussing the musical education he received as demonstrated by the Henry VIII Book (Lbl. Add. MS 31.922), and his ability as a composer. The concert will feature works by Henry himself and other composers at his court. It will be preceded by a short AGM meeting of the Uckfield Music Club (non-members may enjoy refreshments during the meeting).
Thursday 21 December 1.10pm
St Matthew’s Church, Redhill, Surrey
A Christmas programme featuring medieval and renaissance carols from around Europe with instrumental accompaniment. From the sublime beauty of late medieval polyphony to the rumbustious yuletide carols of the fireside and tavern, the music reflects Christmas cheer from the four corners of the continent.
Sunday 3 March 2024, 3.00pm
We very much regret that we have had to cancel this concert due to illness. We offer our sincere apologies to Crowborough Arts.
Green Cottage, Crowborough, TN6 2DF
We are delighted to have been invited back to perform for Crowborough Arts. Their request was for a light, mainly secular programme featuring as many different instruments as possible: now there’s a challenge we couldn’t resist! The works will be drawn from across Europe, focussing particularly on music for dancing, feasting and entertaining.
Faronel at Bolton Castle
David and Michael will be performing at the Medieval Music in the Dales festival at Bolton Castle in Yorkshire in early September. See www.medievalmusicinthedales.co.uk for more info on the concerts, workshops and talks that form this year’s programme.
Sunday 28 May 3.00pm, Green Cottage, Crowborough, TN6 2DF
Our next concert for Crowborough Arts features music from the 12th to the 16th centuries reflecting themes that were important in medieval and renaissance everyday life, from love to war and devotion to dancing. We will also include a brief foray into the 1620s to honour the tercentenary of Thomas Weelkes with one of his more unusual works: The Ape, the Monkey and the Baboon. This reflects the popularity of these animals in Jacobean life (although, as you can find out, it wasn’t much fun being an ape in those days…).
Henners Vineyard, Herstmonceux, Saturday 18 June 7.00pm
We are delighted to be performing very close to home at an unusual wine-tasting event to herald the beginning of English Wine Week at the wonderful Henners vineyard in Herstmonceux in June. The evening will consist of a tasting session of the vineyard’s excellent wines complemented by medieval and renaissance music carefuly selected to reflect the history or character of each wine. The music will range from the court of Henry VIII, via the homeland of the wine god Bacchus himself, to the heartlands of Burgundy (home to the Chardonnay grape). Hosted by the vineyard’s resident wine expert and cellar door manager Rebecca Apley, the evening will be a celebration of the arts of the viticulturist and musician that will appeal to the palette, nose and ear alike!
Tickets and more details will appear on the Henners website.
Alt J’s album The Dream topped the UK album charts back in February. The opening track, Bane, featured David on crumhorn, rackett and medieval pipes. In this podcast, you can hear the group and producer Charlie Andrew explaining how the sounds of the instruments were incorporated into the track during the editing process.
St Margaret’s Church, Buxted, Saturday 16 July 5.00pm
On July 16 we will be contributing to a concert in memory of Martin Eastwood as part of the Uckfield Festival. We played with Martin and his wife Jane for many years in the ensemble Schola Noctis and have many happy memories of a fine musician and consummate gentleman. Martin is pictured second left below – back in the days when we did costumed gigs!
