The Tudor Fair Blog
Everything New is Old Again: The ORA Choir launch
In about a week and a half I’m going back to London to attend (and write about) the launch of the ORA Singers, a new choir that is based on commissioning contemporary composers write reimagined reflections of Tudor masterworks. Full disclosure – I know Suzi Digby, the founder. About 5 years…
Winter Music: The Irony of Harsh Darkness and Cozy Delight
It’s winter. Even here in Andalusia, the nights are bitterly cold, and the rain we got at the beginning of the week soaked through my bones and practically froze me. It’s time for big pots of chili and hot cocoa. Now that the holidays are over, we can get thoroughly…
It’s that time of year! The Trinity Carol Roll and caroling in general
The Caroling season is beginning! A month from now, many of us will be attending candlelight Christmas Eve services where, if you’re like me, you’ll end up a bit weepy as the church goes dark, and you try to sing Silent Night in your voice part because you’ve sung it…
My love affair with William Lawes
One of my favorite programs on the radio is the Millennium of Music with Robert Aubry Davis. I first discovered it late one Sunday evening on a road trip to Yosemite on the siriusxm radio in the car. Now that I’m living in Spain, I don’t have it in the…
7 Reasons to Visit Ely
Many people who are doing the tourist circuit of England hit Cambridge, but most will leave without journeying the 17 or so miles to visit the hidden gem that is Ely, just to the North. It’s one stop I demanded be included on our Spring Cathedrals and Choirs tour for…
Stile Antico rescued my Music Drought
About 7 years ago I went through a Music Drought. Have you ever been in one of those? Months, or even years go by, and you realize that you haven’t listened to anything new, or even anything that you love and makes your spine tingle in ages? Yeah, well, that…
The Atheist’s Favorite Service: The Wonder of Choral Evensong
Here’s a niche audience waiting for a need to be met: If you’re in the UK, AND you want to hear choral evensong services near you, there’s a new site called choralevensong.org. It’s a searchable directory of evensong services throughout England. If you’re into choral music, there’s no better place to…
Gesualdo: when Really Bad Men write Really Good Music
I’ve been communing with a crazed murderer lately, and it’s actually been an uplifting experience. It’s not often I write something like that. We often put composers and artistic performers up on pedestals. They are somehow closer to the angels. More in touch with Source. A channel for divinity. And this…
Melancholia and Euphemisms from the 17th century to now: John Dowland and Sting
Lasting art is startling in its provocativeness and sensuality, whether it’s just been released, or if it’s 500 years old. Music is especially striking because it is living – each time it is performed it is renewed, recreated, regenerated. No two performances are exactly the same, and it’s that living, breathing…
Staying relevant in pop culture after 500 years: Tallis and Spem in Alium
A few months ago I went to pull up a recording of Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium, his famous 40 part motet written for 8 5-part choirs. I hadn’t listened to it in a while, and it was the kind of day that called for some later Tallis. The recording that came…
Anne Boleyn’s Songbook: sharing the intimate emotions of a Queen
I posted recently about my interview with Dr. David Skinner, an eminent musicologist based out of the College of Sidney Sussex, Cambridge. When I posted before it was about the logistics of my interview (getting caught in the rain, microphone not working, etc etc). But now that his CD is…
These things seem wondrous: Weelkes and the giddiness in late 16th century England
Last week when I was interviewing Suzi Digby for my podcast episode on her Los Angeles based project The Golden Bridge, which pairs choral music of the English Renaissance with that of contemporary composers, she mentioned a madrigal by Thomas Weelkes called The Andalusian Merchant. Since I live in Andalusia,…