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2004’s Birmingham Early Music Festival theme, To Set Before The King… explored music from the Royal Courts of Europe. The Festival took audiences back to the time when music and marriage were the principal tools of statecraft and promotion of the ruling elite. Advantageous liaisons between the royal houses built up empires across anything we would recognise today as geographical or cultural boundaries. Better for the common man than invasions or war? Different, at least, and usually more conducive to the creation and use of music than national referenda.

The nucleus of the Festival consisted of four concerts in two different venues between 23 October and 27 November 2004. The venues – the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Birmingham, and St Philip’s Cathedral, in central Birmingham, were selected for their ambience, accessibility and to cater for the expected audiences numbers attracted by the specific programmes and performers.

Torrential rain and strong winds, did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the audience members at the Festival opening concert at the Barber Institute on 23 October, where The Gonzaga Band, under the direction of Jamie Savan in a varied programme of music from the Court of the Hapsburg Archduke, King, and Holy Roman Emperor, Maximilian I (1459-1519). As an elected Emperor, Maximilian spent his life on the road, moving from court to court on what has been described as a permanent political ‘campaign trail’. The performers reflected the kind of music that might have been played by the musicians accompanying him in his peripatetic retinue. At the centre of their accomplished performance was the Missa Carminum by Maximilian’s court composer, Heinrich Isaac (c.1450-1517). The Mass movements were interspersed with instrumental settings of popular ‘carmina’ (a generic term for secular songs and instrumental pieces) of Maximilian’s day, in an exploration of the subtle interplay between composition and improvisation, and between themes sacred and profane. In the second half, a wind band played loud, vibrant ceremonial and dance music, and in contrast we heard intimate ‘after dinner’ settings of songs and dances. When not performing as an ensemble in their own right, the five-piece instrumental line-up of cornett, bombarde, sackbut, lute and chamber organ provided accompaniment for: soprano Fay Newton; Tenors Steven Harrold and Andrew Carwood; and Bass Robert Macdonald.

From the Holy Roman Empire, the Festival moved closer to home on 6 November, with an enchanting evening of music from the Court of Ferdinand and Isabella (1469-1516), performed by the four members of Concanentes. The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella changed the course of Spanish history and saw a great flourishing of the arts. The bulk of the programme was taken from the ‘Cancionero musical de Palacio’ a collection of 463 pieces from the composer Juan del Encina and his contemporaries. From this manuscript we heard works for all occasions: love, wars and politics, songs for Court, as well as religious music. Readings from the period and accounts of life at court punctuated the music.

The Festival returned to St Philip’s Cathedral on 20 November, when the Warwick-based Armonico Consort directed by Christopher Monks, set out to prove to the audience, that ‘There’s Something About Mary…’. The short reign of ‘Bloody’ Mary Tudor (1553-58) was a tale of religious intolerance and personal tragedy. However, her marriage to King Philip II of Spain and her efforts to return England to Catholicism encouraged a much more elaborate musical environment. In a candle-lit programme crammed with gems by English and Spanish composers (Tallis and Sheppard; Victoria, Guerrero and Lobo), Armonico Consort recreated the sounds of a Christmas Mass and other music from this brief but powerful moment in history.

This year’s final concert, held at the Barber Institute on Saturday 27 November, featured soprano Emma Kirkby OBE, accompanied on lute by ‘modern day minstrel’ Anthony Rooley. Former Classic FM Artist of the Year, Emma explored patronage within the Court of Elizabeth I, foremost in the music of composer John Dowland. This wonderful programme contained humour, creative energy and immense charm.

The Birmingham Early Music Festival continues to demonstrate its commitment toward education, with a series of projects in early 2005 involving pupils from across the city. In the summer of 2004, Christopher Monks in association with the Birmingham Early Music Festival brought a music and theatrical improvisation project to Primary schools in Harborne, Hamstead and Winson Green. Half of Year 4 spent an hour with two members of the Playbox Theatre, acting out a story set in a Royal Court. At the same time, the other half of Year 4, accompanied by Christopher Monks, learnt songs to illustrate the story.  After a break, the children swapped places and the singers became the actors and vice versa. The finished story was performed to the rest of the school.

Early in 2005, Birmingham Early Music Festival has arranged for Christopher and members of the Armonico Consort to return to those schools with a further musical project to build upon the achievements so far and develop the relationship with these educational establishments.

As in previous years, the 2004 Birmingham Early Music Festival enabled the people of the city to hear first-rate period musicians staging inspirational and often moving events. The Festival set out to bring performers into the heart of the city to entertain us with tales of courtly love, humour, ritual and intrigue from the Royal Courts of Europe. Audience reaction suggests that the performers achieved this aim magnificently and the Festival has once again been a huge success.

Pat Ryan
Festival Administrator

Last updated: 9 August 2008 · Website design: Duncan Designs