SHIPSTON SONG 2026
ROOTS & EVER GREEN
We celebrate our fifth festival with a weekend of music that explores our collective roots and heritage. Continuing the theme of our launch concert with James Gilchrist, we look to the past and forwards to the future in songs from the 16th to 21st centuries.
Three of classical music’s finest singers join Artistic Director and pianist Ian Tindale and collaborate with Dr Katy Hamilton, who shines a light on these programmes throughout the weekend.
PRE-FESTIVAL TALK: WHAT’S IN A SONG?
6.45pm, Friday 18 September 2026
Shipston Song 2026 commences with a pre-festival talk from presenter Katy Hamilton, who will act as our guide into the world of ‘song’. For new audiences and experienced listeners alike, Katy will offer insights and an approachable introduction to this corner of classical music, as well as selected highlights of some of the repertoire we’ll hear this weekend.
Tickets free; booking recommended.
THE DANCE CONTINUED
7.30pm, Friday 18 September 2026
Photo credit: Nick James
Till Earth Outwears - Gerald Finzi
Oh Fair to See - Gerald Finzi
plus songs by Holst, Gurney, Farrar and Howells
Nick Pritchard tenor | Ian Tindale piano
New beginnings blur with old memories in this programme where both words and music paint the passing of time. Gurney, Farrar, Holst and Howells are framed with music by Gerald Finzi, whose songs are embedded in the pastoral landscape of both Gloucestershire and Hardy’s ‘Wessex’. This recital features highlights from Nick and Ian’s forthcoming album celebrating Finzi’s 125th anniversary and includes a selection of his early songs that have never before been performed.
Duration: c.60 minutes
TIME IS THE VERY LENS
7.30pm, Saturday 19 September 2026
The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation - Purcell arr. Britten
She Never Told Her Love - Haydn
Shakespeare settings by Dove, Maconchy and Arne,
plus songs by Huw Watkins, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Victoria Wood
Harriet Burns soprano | Ian Tindale piano | Katy Hamilton speaker
We look through a modern lens at music by Purcell and words by Shakespeare in this multifaceted programme that blends the old with the new. Ian Tindale is joined by his long-standing duo partner Harriet Burns for a song journey through the past, present and future, and Katy Hamilton leads them in discussion towards some more lighthearted takes on how we experience time.
Duration: c.75 minutes, with a short interval
Photo credit: Benjamin Ealovega
DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN
3.30pm, Sunday 20 September 2026
Photo credit: Gerard Collett
Die schöne Müllerin, D.795 - Franz Schubert
James Newby baritone | Ian Tindale piano | Katy Hamilton speaker
This is the evergreen story of the young travelling miller - naive and troubled - whose destiny is to fall in love with the beautiful millermaid. Schubert’s masterful depiction of the boy’s inner turmoil, as well as his companion streams and millwheels is performed by James Newby, one of the finest song singers of his generation. This recital marks the start of our Schubert Cycle Series, which will see Schubert’s three great cycles performed and will culminate in 2028, the bicentenary of Schubert’s death.
Duration: c.75 minutes, with a short interval
THE VENUE
All our events take place at the beautifully restored St Kenelm’s Church, Church Enstone, OX7 4NN - just 10 minutes’ drive from Chipping Norton, and 25 minutes from Shipston-on-Stour. The train station at Charlbury is just 12 minutes away by car.
The special acoustics, elegant surroundings, and modern facilities make this venue the perfect location for song, and we know our audiences love this peaceful and intimate space. Our e-tickets come with full directions to this beautiful corner of the world, including details of roadside parking available and places to eat and stay while you're in the area.
PAST CONCERTS
SHIPSTON SONG 2025
Robert Schumann | Dvořák | Barber Katie Bray
Ireland | Waley-Cohen | Vaughan Williams Roderick Williams
Brahms | Schubert | Mendelssohn Maryam Wocial, Angelina Dorlin-Barlow, Guy Elliott, James Emerson & Matthew Clemmet
SHIPSTON SONG 2024
Beethoven | Ravel | Samuel James Atkinson & Ellen Pearson
Bronsart | Dove | Grieg Bethany Horak-Hallett & Eyra Norman
Fauré | Hahn | Britten | Wallen Ruby Hughes & Redmond Sanders
SHIPSTON SONG 2023
Nadia & Lili Boulanger | Rachmaninoff | Tippett Laurence Kilsby & Henna Mun
Fanny Mendelssohn | Stenhammar | Mahler Helen Charlston & Sam Hird
Finzi | Semple | Boyle Roderick Williams, Dafydd Jones & Francesca Lauri
SHIPSTON SONG 2022
Alberga | Brahms | Schumann | Rodney Bennett Julien Van Mellaerts & Annabel Kennedy
Lang | Brahms | Mendelssohn Harriet Burns & Jess Dandy
Vaughan Williams | Clarke | Hilder Miles James Gilchrist, Daniel Barrett, Ensemble Kopernikus
“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