The 2022 Bradfield Festival of Music is now over. This was a glorious return to great performances and satisfied audiences after two years of COVID cancellation. There were pictures, comments and reviews in addition to the music: click here for some memories on what you missed or shared!
The 2022 festival will run from 25th June to 2nd July 2022.
After two years of postponing the Bradfield Festival of Music due to COVID safety concerns, we arrive at the 25th year of the festival in its current format. There were festivals dating from the late 1800’s and we are very pleased to be able, finally, to pick up in 2022 where we left off.
We are very happy that many of the artists who were hoping to perform in 2021 have continued to remain committed to the festival and will now appear in 2022. As always, the performances will be held in St Nicholas Church, High Bradfield with its extraordinary acoustics and soul-feeding views over the undulating landscapes of the Peak District.
Read an interview with two of our musicians performing this year: Jeneba Kanneh-Mason and Paul Cassidy of the Brodsky Quartet.
All programmes are subject to confirmation.
To buy tickets, please click here.
Saturday 25th June, 7:30pm – Apollo5
The international award-winning British a capella ensemble are known for their wide repertoire from renaissance, classical and contemporary choral music to folk, jazz and pop. They have recently been included in Gramophone magazine’s favourite albums of 2021 with their new album ‘A Deep but Dazzling Darkness’: a collection that invites you to ‘coorie doon’ and enjoy music of comfort and joy.
Where all Roses Go
The title of the programme refers to that most potent symbol of love and its transience: the rose. Apollo5 explores this idea through a varied collection of repertoire spanning 500 years and several musical styles. The release includes works by composers as broad-ranging as Francisco Guerrero, Eric Whitacre, William Byrd and Michael McGlynn. The programme also features arrangements written especially for Apollo5 and several new commissions from contemporary composers such as Paul Smith, Toby Young and Taylor Davis. Apollo5 unites this diverse collection of choral music, from some of the earliest known polyphonic writing through to the world of pop, in an energetic exploration of the joy and despair of human love.
William Byrd (1543-1623) Vigilate
Emily Dickens – Ave Maris Stella
William Byrd – Civitas Sancti Tui
Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599) O Virgen
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) Salve Regina
Claude Debussy (1862-1918) Dieu! Qu’il La Fait Bon Regarder
Emily Dickens – Ave Maris Stella II (harmonised by Josh Cooter for Apollo5)
Francisco Guerrero – Virgen Sancta
Thomas Tallis (1505-1585) Psalm 2, the Third of Nine Tunes for Archbishop Parker’s Psalter
Paul Smith – Lost Innocence (for Apollo5)
Eric Whitacre (1970-) This Marriage
Gerald Finzi (1901-1956) Haste on, My joys!
Taylor Scott Davis (1980-) Music, When soft Voices Die (for Apollo5)
Fraser Wilson – My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose
Traditional Irish – The Last Rose of Summer (arranged by Fraser Wilson for Apollo5)
Michael McGlynn (1964-) Where All Roses Go
Elton John (1947-) Your Song (arranged by Matt Greenwood for Apollo5)
Jerome Kern (1885-1945) & Dorothy Fields (1904-1974) The Way You Look Tonight (arranged by Matt Greenwood for Apollo5)
Vince Clark (1960-) Only You (arranged by Deke Sharon & Anne Raugh)
Toby Young (1990-) Hold Your Breath (for Apollo5)
Marta Keen (1953-) Homeward Bound (arranged by Paul Smith for Apollo5)
Sunday 26th June, 6:30pm – Choral Evensong
With the Choir of St Nicholas’ Church, Bradfield and preacher Rt. Revd. Richard Blackburn, retired Bishop of Warrington.
Monday 27th June, 7:30pm – Brodsky Quartet
The Brodsky Quartet is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, “We like to think we still look young enough for that to be almost unbelievable!” The Brodsky Quartet have over 3000 concerts and more than 60 recordings to their name. A natural curiosity and insatiable desire to explore has propelled the group in many artistic directions and continues to ensure them not only a place at the very forefront of the international chamber music scene but also a rich and varied musical existence. Their energy and craftsmanship have attracted numerous awards and accolades worldwide, while ongoing educational work provides a vehicle for passing on experience and staying in touch with the next generation.
“How has it been 50 years since we started this lifelong journey together? Looking back, I find it wonderful that 10- and 12-year olds were already infused with passion and belief in the longevity that is now playing out. Two of us remain from the beginning, one joined as we turned professional 40 years ago, and our new fourth member has had her own similar path in the endlessly rewarding and fascinating life that is the String Quartet! ” – the Brodsky Quartet
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) Chaconne
James MacMillan (b. 1959) For Sonny
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) String Quartet No. 3
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) String Quartet
Tuesday 28th June, 7:30pm – Jeneba Kanneh Mason
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason is nineteen years old and holds the Victoria Robey Scholarship to The Royal College of Music, studying piano with Vanessa Latarche. Jeneba was a Keyboard Category Finalist in BBC Young Musician 2018, winner of the Murs du Son Prize at the Lagny-Sur-Marne International Piano Competition in France, 2014, and The Nottingham Young Musician 2013. She was also winner of the Iris Dyer Piano Prize at The Royal Academy of Music, Junior Academy, where she studied with Patsy Toh. She has played numerous concerts in England, Wales, Paris and the Caribbean, as a recital and concerto soloist and as a chamber musician.
For the Bradfield Festival of Music she performs a solo piano recital.
JS Bach (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue in C# major.
WA Mozart (1756-1791) Sonata in D major, K. 576.
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) Piano Sonata No. 2.
Samuel Coleridge Taylor (1875-1912) details to be confirmed.
Franz Liszt (1811-1886) Vallee D’Obermann.
Franz Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
Wednesday 29th June, 7:30pm – Benjamin Frith Piano Quartet
The Benjamin Frith Piano Quartet was formed in 2001 by a group of like-minded musicians who wanted to explore the wealth of wonderful music written for the piano quartet medium. The group comprises the pianist Benjamin Frith, violinist David Le Page, violist Robin Ireland and cellist Richard Jenkinson.
The quartet has given numerous concerts throughout the UK as well as making frequent appearances on BBC Radio3.
In their first year they appeared at the Bradfield Festival of Music, and we are delighted that the Quartet is able to return to play here once more.
Since its formation the Quartet has performed the complete piano quartets of Brahms, Dvorák, Fauré and Mozart. However, it has a particular interest in performing works that have hitherto been largely ignored including piano quartets by Mendelssohn, Mahler and Richard Strauss.
Members of the Quartet are also keen to perform works by British composers; their repertoire includes quartets by Arthur Bliss, Frank Bridge and William Walton as well as contemporary composers.
Benjamin Frith has made numerous recordings, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Gould Piano Trio. The Quartet has also recorded works by Walton, Bridge and Lekeu.
Note that for personal reasons, David Le Page will not be able to perform tonight. Instead, we welcome the outstanding Zoe Beyers, who leads the Dante String Quartet, to take his place.
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 87.
Joaquín Turina (1882-1949) Piano Quartet, Op. 67.
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Piano Quartet Op.3 in B minor.
Thursday 30th June, 7:30pm – Jean Johnson and Danny Driver
The clarinet and piano duo of Jean Johnson and Danny Driver perform a concert of music from the late 19th century to the present day.
British-American Clarinettist Jean Johnson is an international collaborator in chamber music programs and as such has played in some of world’s finest venues notably the Concertgebouw, Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts. As part of her varied music life, Ms. Johnson is a member of the critically acclaimed trio ensemble, ”Metamorphoses”and forms a duo with pianist Steven Osborne. She has collaborated with chamber music groups around the world and has been a concerto soloist with leading orchestras throughout the UK, Spain, Netherlands, and America.
Acclaimed British pianist Danny Driver is recognised internationally as an artist of sophistication, insight and musical depth. His studies at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music inspired his uniquely holistic approach to performance and have enabled him to cultivate an enviably broad repertoire encompassing works from Bach and Handel to Ligeti and Adès. In 2021, Driver released his latest album of Ligeti’s Etudes on the Hyperion label to unanimous high praise, with BBC Music Magazine writing, ‘The Études require even more virtuosity…of a brain-teasing sort, and Danny Driver supplies it all.’ Despite the difficulties of lockdown, Driver has given four live streamed recitals from Wigmore Hall, some also broadcast by BBC Radio 3.
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) Sonata Op. 129
Arthur Bliss (1891-1975) Pastorale
John Ireland (1879-1962) Fantasy Sonata in E flat
Colin Riley (b. 1963) Shenanigans
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Sonata in E flat Op. 120 No. 2
Friday 1st July, 7:30pm – Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber
In this intimate evening with Julian and Jiaxin Lloyd Webber, Julian introduces his fellow-cellist wife Jiaxin in a programme of three of Bach’s most popular Suites for Cello alongside the Fantasy for Cello by Malcolm Arnold which was composed for Julian in 1987.
JS Bach (1685-1750) Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
JS Bach Cello Suite No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1008
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) Fantasy for Cello, Op. 130 (1987)
JS Bach Cello Suite No. 3 in C major, BWV 1009
Saturday 2nd July, 7:30pm – Bella Tromba
Bella Tromba is a unique brass ensemble performing chamber music extensively in the UK and abroad. The Royal Opera House, Cheltenham Music Festival, the South Bank, Classic FM and BBC Radio 2 and 3 have all featured Bella Tromba.
Winners of the Park Lane Group Young Artist Award, the quartet has been active in the performance of many new works. They have commissioned and premiered works by Paul Edlin (Purcell Room), Howard Skempton (Cheltenham Music Festival) and Bruce Nockles (Stretton Arts Festival).
London based freelance trumpet players; the members of Bella Tromba have the combined experience of playing for Britten Sinfonia, English National Ballet, London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique.
Bella Tromba were presented with Recommended Artists status by Making Music and were invited to the International Women’s Brass Conference in Toronto, Canada to perform as Guest Artists.
The support of Denis Wick Ltd, Ralph Vaughan-Williams Trust and the Britten-Pears Foundation has ensured a wealth of repertoire for this distinctive ensemble.
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) Vespro della Beata Vergine (1610): i. Deus in Adiutorium meum intende; ii. Duo Seraphim. Arranged by Jo Harris.
Imogen Holst (1907-1984): Deddington Suite (1947): i. Fairly Slow; ii. Quick and light; iii. Slow; iv. Quick.
Lucie Vellère (1896-1966) Deux Essais (1965).
Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) Troubled Water (1967).
George Enescu (1881-1955) Au Soir (1910);Nocturne for Four Trumpets.
Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) Suite for Three Trumpets (1964) i. Havanaise; ii. Lento Egeen; iii. Danse Bolivienne.
Traditional Cornish Sweet Nightingale. Arranged by Becca Toft.
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) Caprices en forme de valse Op.2 (1832) i. Andantino; ii. Allegretto; iii. Allegro.
Nacio Herb Brown (1896-1964) My Funny Valentine (1937)
George Gershwin (1898-1937) I Got Rhythm (1930)