Mediaeval Baebes bring 25th Anniversary Celebration Tour to Horsham
Monday 20th December
St Mary’s Church, Horsham
Celebrating their 25th Anniversary year in true Mediaeval Baebes style; the classical chart-topping choir will be weaving its story-telling magic once again this Christmas. Traditionally a time for reflection and celebration; tickets for this remarkable evening of music, dance and theatre, on Monday 20th December at St Mary’s Church in Horsham, are now on sale.
Accompanied by a dazzling array of exotic and period instruments; carols, traditional folksongs, and innovative settings of ancient and romantic poetry will be revealed in a spirited performance of beguiling choral music. For this Silver Jubilee celebration, the band will premiere compositions from their latest album of ethereal plainsong ‘Prayers of the Rosary’, alongside exciting new arrangements of Christmas favourites.
When a group of friends broke into a graveyard 25 years ago to sing mediæval songs and make merry; no one could have predicted the epic journey they were embarking on. Over a quarter of a century later, the Mediaeval Baebes have released 10 studio albums and won an Ivor Novella Award for their performance on the BBC serialization ‘The Virgin Queen.’ They have also received 2 Emmy nominations, and a Royal Television Society award alongside composer Martin Phipps, for their soundtrack to ITV’s hit period drama, ‘Victoria.’
Established as one of the most successful female-led, early music and folk ensembles in Europe; their lush, ethereal harmonies will transport the listener through a myriad of ancient and forgotten languages.
Come join the Mediaeval Baebes, as they enchant and uplift their audiences once again with a glorious Christmas time celebration. Tickets are now available from www.mediaevalbaebes.com at a cost of £25 each.
ENDS
For further information, please contact: Heather Joy – JoyStars
Phone: 01403 790146
Mobile: 07968 805422
Email: heather@joystars.co.uk
Note to Editors:
Doors open at 7.00pm. The concert will commence at 7.30, break for a short interval and close at 9.30pm.
2021 December Tour Dates:
5th
Acapela Studios, Cardiff
7th
The Stables, Milton Keynes
9th
Bolton Parish Church
10th
Leeds Minster
11th
Stoke Minster
13th
The Church of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich
16th
St Nicholas Newcastle Cathedral
17th
St John the Baptist’s Church, Glastonbury
18th
St Mary’s Arts Centre, Sandwich, Kent
16th
Colchester Arts Centre
20th
St Mary’s Horsham
21st
Heath Street Baptist Church, London
The Mediaeval Baebes are:
Katharine Blake Musical Director, vocals, recorder, violin
Josephine Ravenheart Vocals. foot percussionist, hurdy-gurdy, recorder
Marie Findlay Vocals
Sophaea Halberstam Vocals, recorder, chanter
Fiona Fey Vocals
Tbc Vocals, cellist
Musicians:
Charlie Cawood Oud, daruan, lyre, acoustic guitar, saz, liuqin, saz, cuatro
Ben Woollacott Drums, percussion
Michael J York Bagpipes, duduk, whistle, recorders
About the Mediaeval Baebes
The Mediaeval Baebes exquisite storybook opened its pages in 1996, when a group of friends broke into a North London cemetery and sang together, clad in flowing white gowns and crowns of ivy.
The unique, classical chart topping choir Mediaeval Baebes was conceptualised and formed in 1996 by musical director, composer and producer Katharine Blake. The group have released 8 studio albums, won an Ivor Novella Award for their performance on the BBC serialisation “The Virgin Queen” and received two Emmy nominations and a Royal Television Society award as the featured artist alongside composer Martin Phipps for the theme tune of ITV’s hit TV show “Victoria”.
Throughout their many incarnations, the Mediaeval Baebes’ haunting classical vocals have led them to tour the world, including UK, United States, Canada, Asia and Europe, in venues ranging from castles and caves to cathedrals & Glastonbury. They have toured with Jools Holland and played at the Royal Albert Hall, Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall, Jersey Opera House, Tewkesbury Abbey, supported Michael Flatley in Hyde Park, and performed at the legendary Lilith Fayre.
Most recently they were invited by enthusiast Iggy Pop to perform on his Radio 6 Christmas Day special.
Katharine Blake is known for her unique choral writing style, sourcing lyrics from mediaeval and romantic texts which she sets to original scores, as well as reinventing traditional and folk songs, often accompanied by the Mediaeval Baebes’ plethora of mediaeval and folk instruments. Whilst singing in an array of obscure and ancient languages, the Baebes offer a beguiling musical beauty and ethereal talent. The choice of mediaeval texts are mythological, philosophical and dark in topic, meditating upon the inevitability of death, the pointlessness of material possessions, the agony of unrequited love or the dangers of vinous hallucinations. The more familiar material, such as their classic anthology of Christmas Carols “Of Kings and Angels” offers a refreshing and exotic twist to well-known classics
Katharine Blake is also known as the lead singer and song writer of 90s avant-garde rock band Miranda Sex Garden, and has worked with Nick Cave, Michael Nyman and John Cale
2019 saw the release of the group’s ground breaking and fantastical nursery rhyme album, which celebrates the contrast of child-like innocence with the surreal and dark content inherent in these ancient rhymes. To mark this long-awaited release, the Baebes are be embarking on a Christmas UK tour, where they will be performing material from this album alongside many seasonal favorites
Horsham Chamber Choir Concert of Christmas Music- Saturday 4th December
We are delighted to Welcome the Horsham Chamber Choir back to St Mary’s for an afternoon concert of reflective music for Christmas, with audience carols and warming mulled wine.
Reserve your tickets now, by emailing information@horsham-chamberchoir.org.uk
Horsham Music Circle Concert at the Barn – Sunday 19th September
As part of the launch of Horsham Music Circle’s 80th Season we are delighted to be asked to host a concert by the Fontanella recorder ensemble in their UK tour. This remarkable recorder ensemble features four of the UK’s leading players – Rebecca Austen-Brown, Louise Bradbury, Sarah Humphrys and Annabel Knight. The group have been praised by the critics for ‘the quality of their ensemble playing … like a bit of magic’ . Equally at home with specialist early music audiences, music clubs and festivals and in the recording studio, Fontanella has performed across Britain and Europe, including special festival appearances in Italy, Iceland and Finland and concerts in all corners of the UK. The individual members of the ensemble also all have diverse and busy performing careers.
They appear on Sunday 19th September with their programme ‘The Delightful Companion’. Fontanella entertains audiences of all ages in programmes designed to bring the history of the recorder to life. The programme paints a colourful landscape of musical life in post-Restoration England! Performed on an array of instruments from the tiny garklein to the great sub-contra bass. This concert is Supported by a grant from the Continuo Foundation. There will be two 1 hour performances at 4.30pm and 7.00pm at the Causeway Barn.
Audience attendance will be limited to between 40-50 per concert dependent on household booking numbers. PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE (No tickets on sale at the door) by phone 01403 252602 (answer machine), email horshammusiccircle@gmail.com, or online at wegottickets.com/HorshamMusicCircle.
Stane Street Sinfonietta at St Mary’s
Amore – Summer Music for Strings
Saturday 17th July – 2.00 – 4.00 – 6.00
St Mary’s Church, The Causeway, Horsham
The Stane Street Sinfonietta strings return to the concert stage with a fantastic programme that’s perfect for the summer.
Sandwiched between the Concertino for Clarinet, Gordon Jacob’s delightful arrangement of music by Tartini, and Greig’s much-loved Holberg Suite, is the very beautiful Amore by Robert Hanson, originally composed for the Allegri String Quartet and arranged for string orchestra in 2011.
With the fantastic players of Stane Street Sinfonietta and featuring the orchestra’s conductor, Steve Dummer, as soloist, what better way to bring some calm and most importantly, some Amore to your lives!
Tickets – £12 and £5 for under 18s – only available in advance.
Choose from three different performance times – 2.00, 4.00 and 6.00
Because of the uncertainty regarding the end to lockdown regualtions, tickets are limited to 75 per performance to allow for socially distanced seating. We’ll update here if there are any changes.
Many thanks for your support! It’s been a very difficult time for many in the arts and the loss of earnings due to closed concert venues and theatres continues to have a detrimental affect. Things will soon start getting back to normal but for some of our players it will take a long time for their earning potential to return to anything like its pre-lockdown levels. Please consider making an extra donation to support our musicians.
