SHIPSTON SONG 2023
I sang it under the wild wood tree…
Following the success of the inaugural festival in 2022, Shipston Song 2023 ran from 22nd to 24th September and will paint a vivid image of humanity’s place amongst the breadth and diversity of the natural world around us.
Uniquely, Shipston Song made a commitment in 2023 to programming an equal number of songs by male and female composers, as well as featuring contemporary song in all recitals, commitments which culminated in the world premiere performance of a new cycle by Anna Semple. This wide range of repertoire, languages and styles, along with an exploration of neglected and newly-emerging corners of the repertory are the hallmarks of Shipston Song.
CONCERT ONE
BOYHOOD’S END
7pm, Friday 22 September 2023
Sweeter than Roses - Purcell arr. Tippett
Mad Bess - Purcell arr. Britten
Boyhood’s End - Tippett
Songs - Rachmaninoff
Songs - Lili and Nadia Boulanger
Folksongs in French and English arr. Josephine Stephenson and Britten
An exploration of the loss of innocence and an experience of awakening desires in nature, marking anniversaries of Tippett and Rachmaninoff, as well as less often-heard French song by Lili and Nadia Boulanger and Benjamin Britten. Laurence Kilsby, ‘A young singer to watch’ (The Times), recently won First Prize at both the Wigmore Hall Song Competition and 'Das Lied' in Heidelberg. He is joined by the first of our Shipston Song Rising Stars, soprano Henna Mun.
CONCERT TWO
SONGS OF A WAYFARER
7pm, Saturday 25 September 2023
Lieder, Op.10 - Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel
Songs - Wilhelm Stenhammar
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen - Gustav Mahler
Lieder by Clara Schumann and Alma Schindler-Mahler
Songs from ‘The Isolation Songbook’ by Joshua Borin and Richard Barnard
Songs, Op.44 - Amy Beach
Music for wandering: Mahler’s celebrated Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen is the focal point for this programme immersed in isolation and solitude from BBC New Generation Artist Helen Charlston. Evocative atmospheres from Sweden, lyrical songs by Fanny Hensel and Clara Schumann, plus works by Mahler’s wife Alma complete the programme alongside new works commissioned by Helen for her celebrated ‘Isolation Songbook’ project. Acclaimed for her musical interpretation, presence and ‘warmly distinctive tone’ (The Telegraph), Helen Charlston is quickly cementing herself as a key performer in the next generation of British singers.
CONCERT THREE
THE ELEMENTS
3:30pm, Sunday 24 September 2023
Songs for Ariel - Michael Tippett
New work - Anna Semple world premiere
Earth and Air and Rain - Gerald Finzi
plus songs by Ina Boyle, Joan Trimble, Dilys Elwyn-Edwards,
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Francis George Scott and Rebecca Clarke
Roderick Williams takes the much-beloved cycle by Gerald Finzi ‘Earth, Air and Rain’ as the starting point for a programme of English song encompassing music by Michael Tippett, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Irish composers Ina Boyle and Joan Trimble, as well as the world premiere of a companion piece for Finzi’s cycle by Anna Semple.
Joined by two of our Rising Stars, the programme is completed by songs of the sea by Welsh, Scottish and English composers.
Followed by a post-concert reception.
THE VENUE
Set deep in rural Warwickshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, just 30 minutes by car from both Stratford-upon-Avon and Banbury, the private venue on the outskirts of Shipston-on-Stour provides an evocative and peaceful backdrop perfect for the intimate, small-scale performances of Shipston Song.
PAST CONCERTS
ON WENLOCK EDGE Sunday 25th September 2022
James Gilchrist - tenor
Daniel Barrett - baritone Shipston Song Rising Star
Ensemble Kopernikus
Ian Tindale - piano
Ralph Vaughan Williams Songs of Travel
Rebecca Clarke Songs
Percy Hilder Miles Piano Trio in B minor
Ralph Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge
‘MY SONGS ARE MY DIARY: DISCOVERING JOSEPHINE LANG’ Saturday 24th September 2022
Harriet Burns - soprano
Jess Dandy - contralto
Ian Tindale - piano
A lecture-recital presenting the life and music of the nineteenth century pianist and composer Josephine Lang.
“We were taken on a wonderful journey through her life and work. Stunningly performed, as we knew it would be, but the music itself was a revelation to us.”
— audience member
THE SOUL’S EXPRESSION Friday 23rd September, 2022
Julien van Mellaerts - baritone
Annabel Kennedy - mezzo soprano Shipston Song Rising Star
Ian Tindale - piano
Richard Rodney Bennett Songs Before Sleep
Eleanor Alberga The Soul’s Expression
Brahms Lieder
Schumann Dichterliebe