Discovering Music

BBC Radio 3 features The Sixteen in the current Discovering Music programme, unravelling some of the works in our Choral Pilgrimage programme. Catherine Bott explores some of the joys of English polyphony with Harry Christophers, Sally Dunkley and The Sixteen in an exploration of music by Byrd, Tallis and Sheppard. The programme was recorded at the National Centre for Early Music in York as part of the 2010 York Early Music Festival and unpicks some of the working and ideas behind three contrasting masterpieces from 16th century English chuch music. William Byrd's "Infelix Ego" is a meditation on Psalm 50 written by the Italian friar Girolamo Savonarola shortly before his execution for heresy.

Thomas Tallis's short but intensely expressive "Miserere Nostri" is an intricate web of musical games and devices around the words "have mercy on us lord, have mercy on us".

Finally John Sheppard's "Media Vita" is a setting of plainsong and text based around the Nunc Dimittis, the traditional song for evening prayer, composed by Sheppard on an uniquely grand scale.

Harry Christophers, the director of The Sixteen, and Sally Dunkley who sings with the group and prepares many of The Sixteen's editions, discuss and illustrate with Catherine Bott some of musical thinking behind these pieces.

Listen here (until 3 October).

Wells Cathedral

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday morning than gazing for a couple of hours at the West Front of Wells Cathedral (alternating with staring at the laptop screen). Our Choral Pilgrimage hotel here is The Swan, which has a spectacular view from its lounge. The present cathedral was begun around 1180, on a new site to the north of the old. Started nearly 10 years before Lincoln and more than 40 years before Salisbury, Wells was the first English cathedral to be built throughout with the pointed arch, shafted column and ribbed vault of the Gothic style. A great setting for last night's packed concert. Off to Tewkesbury now.

Stained glass windows in Swansea

Four Choral Pilgrimage concerts coming up this week, in Swansea, Wells, Tewkesbury and St Asaph. The Collegiate and Parish Church of St Mary in Swansea has a fine collection of stained glass windows, including the Millenium Window by Martin Donlin.
My other favourites are John Edwards' Baptistry Window:And finally, John Piper's Creation window:


Tickets for Swansea (16th), Wells (17th) and Tewkesbury (18th) are available from the National Centre for Early Music on 01904 651485 and for St Asaph (19th) from the North Wales International Music Festival box-office on 01745 584508.
Limited availability for all four concerts.

Marketing classical music

How can the classical music industry reach new audiences? Jon Jacob speaks to marketeers from three London orchestras and writer and broadcaster Tom Service to find out, in an interesting discussion from the BBC Proms background series on YouTube.

Recent TV coverage in France

France 3 video news item about our recent concert in St Paulien during the Chaise-Dieu festival; the chap from the Mairie made a brilliant speech at the post-concert reception which for a long while seemed to be about the opening of a new swimming-pool - had he got the wrong speech out of his pocket, we wondered? But no, with the panache of a French philosopher, he was making the point that both physical and mental culture were crucial in these straightened times and that the French must continue to invest in culture - I can't say I've heard many local politicians in the UK say the same.

Returns only at Southwell Minster tonight

The Choral Pilgrimage moves on tonight to Southwell Minster. The concert is sold out, although there might be a few returns at the door. There are still tickets available for tomorrow night's performance in another magnificent building, Peterborough Cathedral. Tickets available from 01733 452336.

We have a big party of Art Fund members coming tonight, and we are delighted that our partnership is working fruitfully.

We are recently back from the festival in La Chaise-Dieu, where we gave the French premiere of James MacMillan's Miserere in the beautiful Saint Georges de Saint Paulien near Le Puy. Great response from the audience and a splendid post-concert champagne reception at the Mairie. Brought back down to earth the following morning by a 3-hour delay on our BA flight back from Lyon..............