‘Everlasting Gentle’
A collection of live shows within the historic church buildings of the Metropolis of London:
18 – 27 June 2025
Venues:
St Giles-without-Cripplegate, Fore Road, Barbican EC2Y 8DA
St James Garlickhythe, Garlick Hill EC4V 2AF
St Mary Abchurch, Abchurch Yard EC4N 7BA
St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, Bishopsgate EC2M 3TL
Kestrel Music presents its seventh annual pageant, ‘Summer time Music in Metropolis Church buildings’, 18 – 27 June 2025 – an eight-day celebration of music within the Metropolis of London. Choral requiem settings type the cornerstones, inspiring this 12 months’s theme ‘Everlasting Gentle’. Visitor artists are drawn from the best musicians performing internationally at this time, together with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Metropolis of London Choir, conductors Sir John Rutter and Daniel Hyde, and soloists together with guitarists Jack Hancher and Gus McQuade, pianists Iain Farrington, Lucy Parham, Mark Bebbington and Viv McLean, and singers Eleanor Grant, Edward Grint and Rachel Nicholls. Embracing the theme of ‘Everlasting Gentle’ – dawn, moonlight and mirrored mild in nature, in addition to the eternal mild of remembrance – dwell music takes place in 4 of the historic church buildings within the Metropolis of London.
Pageant Director Ian Maclay mentioned: ‘We’re delighted to welcome some very thrilling new younger artists this 12 months alongside plenty of the pageant’s best associates. We’re grateful to all of them for his or her imaginative concepts for programming on this 12 months’s theme, ‘Everlasting Gentle’. Equally, our audiences know in addition to we do what a wonderful venue St Giles Cripplegate is for making music; we look ahead to being again there each night, and likewise to internet hosting wonderful lunchtime live shows in some actually lovely church buildings which are new to us this 12 months.’
Elevating the baton for the opening live performance at St Giles Cripplegate is Sir John Rutter; one in all this nation’s most revered choral composers and maestros, and this 12 months celebrating his eightieth birthday. He’s joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and Metropolis of London Choir (CLC), for reflective French repertoire to incorporate Debussy’s beautiful Danse Sacrée et Danse Profane for harp and strings along with Fauré’s luminous Cantique de Jean Racine and his timeless and ethereal Requiem, each within the orchestration by Rutter himself. Rutter may even conduct the RPO in his personal pleasant Suite Vintage for flute and strings. Soloists featured on this programme are soprano Hannah Dienes-Williams, baritone Edward Grint, flautist Emer McDonough and harpist Suzy Willison-Kawalec.
Closing the Pageant in a blaze of glory, at St Giles, CLC additionally performs Verdi’s Requiem full with all its ardour and drama within the association by Richard Blackford for 2 pianos, organ and percussion. Daniel Hyde, the not too long ago appointed conductor of CLC, directs with Iain Farrington and Libby Burgess at two pianos, Paul Greally on the organ and Tristan Fry taking part in percussion. Soloists are soprano Rachel Nicholls, mezzo-soprano Claire Barnett-Jones, tenor David Kim, and baritone Edward Grint.
On the choir’s behalf, Director Jenny Robinson mentioned: ‘The Metropolis of London Choir is worked up to be singing a number of the most significantly beloved choral repertoire within the opening and shutting live shows right here within the Metropolis this summer season. Richard Blackford’s association of the Verdi Requiem has had great critiques; it’s thrilling that it’s now attainable to carry out that roof-raising piece in an intimate house like St Giles Cripplegate. And the choir is delighted to be performed by the legendary Sir John Rutter for the primary time, particularly within the great Fauré Requiem which is so carefully recognized with him.’
Famend for his or her pellucid sound, Corvus Consort, directed by Freddie Crowley, fill St Giles with mild once they sing Requiem Mass settings by Duruflé and Morten Lauridsen (finest recognized for his lovely setting of O magnum mysterium), in a programme entitled Lux Aeterna. The revolutionary choir additionally embrace a brief piece with the identical title by up to date composer Britta Byström.
Pianistic excellence types a central a part of the Pageant programme and acclaimed pianists featured this 12 months at St Giles embrace Mark Bebbington who joins principals of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to carry out a programme of works by Poulenc, John Eire, Manu Martin, and Schubert’s pleasant ‘Trout’ Quintet evoking bucolic sunshine.
Extra evergreen repertoire follows in Viv McLean’s Moonlighting, following his sell-out efficiency in final 12 months’s pageant; a programme of piano solos for a midsummer evening, with works by Debussy, Fauré and Robert Schumann alongside ever-popular crowd-pleasers: Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata and Nocturnes by Chopin.
Rêverie – The Life and Loves of Claude Debussy is pianist Lucy Parham’s extremely acclaimed portrait of the ground-breaking impressionist composer. Taking the type of a private journal, learn by actor Henry Goodman and punctuated with lyrical piano solos, Rêverie depicts Debussy’s complicated mental and emotional world, full with entangled love life.
Returning to St Giles by widespread demand, the brass gamers of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra current a lustrous number of music entitled Shining Brass, with Walton, Prokofiev, Mahler, Rachmaninov, and Wagner in regal and celebratory mode, and extra reflective works by Morten Lauridsen, Bruckner, Fauré and Bach.
Lunchtime live shows are a very accessible attraction each for Metropolis staff and guests. This 12 months Tier3 Trio – Joseph Wolfe (violin), Jonathan Ayling (cello) and Daniel Grimwood (piano) – returns to St Giles, in a programme Gentle and Shade; eloquent works by three good younger composers confronting tragedy – Mozart, Lilli Boulanger and Smetana.
Pageant favourites, string quartet Brother Tree Sound – Anna de Bruin (violin), Thea Spiers (violin), Triona Milne (viola) and Clare O’Connell (cello) – carry out Dawn and Sundown: Haydn’s magical ‘Dawn’ Quartet and Mendelssohn’s final work, his Sixth Quartet, written after the demise of his beloved sister and shortly earlier than his personal. Hear them at St Mary Abchurch.
Breaking down musical limitations over at St James Garlickhythe (appropriately nicknamed ‘Christopher Wren’s lantern’ attributable to its profusion of home windows), rising stars Eleanor Grant (voice and double bass) and Gus McQuade (guitar) deliver a delightfully eclectic programme specializing in hope and luxury to be discovered round us in mild. This efficiency coincides with the discharge of their debut album Seasons in Time.
Underneath the barrel-vaulted ceiling of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, award-winning classical guitarist Jack Hancher performs solo works programmed round a theme of remembrance, together with works by Debussy, Ravel and Antonio José. There’s additionally the chance to listen to excerpts from his new album The Reminiscence Backyard, named after a fee from Laura Snowden, and Dani Howard’s You Don’t Have To Inform Me Twice, replete with the guitar’s richest tones and colors.
Tickets (together with a pageant season ticket) are on sale from the web site right here and are half-price for college students and under-30s.
