3rd - 10th October 2010

A celebration of romantic music and composers in love, with our strongest ever line-up of performers to warm your hearts with lovesongs ancient and modern.

Darren Abrahams, one of the most charming singers I have ever come across, will lift our spirits with jazz classics and songs from the shows on Tuesday 5th October.

Tenor Mark Wilde and the eminent pianist David Owen Norris will give us a song recital including Schumann's beautiful Dichterliebe (a poet's love) under the stunning frescoes at Copford Church on Thursday 7th October.

Leading cellist Adrian Bradbury is joined by a stellar cast of chamber music players for the ever popular Schumann piano quartet on Friday 8th October.

On Saturday afternoon we present our first ever family concert, with brilliant local animateur Nigel Hildreth, Daisy Jopling, and the Roman River Wind Quintet, in a co-production with Colchester Arts Centre, on Saturday 9th October.

On Sunday 10th October in the atmospheric church at East Mersea, the celebrated baroque violinist Margaret Faultless will play sublime Bach at 11.30am - a perfect way to build up an appetite for oysters at the famous seafood restaurants nearby.

Please scroll down or click on the menu on the right for details of each concert. We are repeating our amazing offer of £5 tickets to anyone aged 30 and under.

The final day of the festival coincides with 10:10:10 day, and we'll be joining in by encouraging everybody organising wine and nibbles to source as locally as possible and generally operating in a way which means we can continue the festival for the foreseeable future!

I'm very much looking forward to seeing you at the concerts. Please book tickets in advance as there are only a handful of tickets left for each concert.

Orlando Jopling

Artistic Director

Sunday 3rd October 2010

Opening concert - Jopling Trio

4pm Great Wigborough Church

SOLD OUT

Daisy Jopling violin

Juliet Jopling viola

Orlando Jopling cello

Bach Goldberg Variations arranged for string trio 80'

No interval

£10/£5

St Stephen's Church, Church Lane (off School Lane) Great Wigborough, Colchester CO5

Please stay on after the concert for an aperitif and some nibbles to celebrate the start of the Festival. All proceeds from the drinks will go towards the restoration fund for Great Wigborough Church.

Where to eat lunch: The Peldon Plough, Lower Road, Peldon, Colchester CO5 7QR 01206 735 808

12.30-2pm (closed for dinner on Sundays).

Tuesday 5th October

Jazz classics and songs from the shows

8pm Messing Church

Darren Abrahams (right) voice

Jack Ross guitar

Darren Abrahams is one of the most engaging and charming singers I have ever worked with. He is equally at home in opera, jazz and musicals, and tonight he pairs up with jazz virtuoso Jack Ross in a new partnership. They have put together a heart-warming programme of jazz standards and songs from the shows, with some surprises thrown in. The email Darren sent me after their first rehearsal was buzzing with excitement, and I can't wait for this evening of romantic songs.

“It’s a long time since I’ve heard such infectious joy in the sheer pleasure of being able to sing it well.” The Express

£10/£5

Where to eat: The Old Crown Inn Lodge Road, Messing CO5 9TU

01621 815 575 info@oldcrownmessing.co.uk

20 yards from the church. Open for food from 6pm

Wednesday 6th October

Collegium Regale - the choral scholars of King's College Cambridge

SOLD OUT

8pm Layer Marney Church

This is the real thing - the pick of the choral scholars from the most famous choir in the world. This fantastic group have agreed to take us on an exhilarating journey from the eternal beauty of medieval church music to the latest popular classics.

Music by medieval master Perotin, twentieth century classics from Poulenc and Whitacre, spirituals, and a selection of pop classics.

£15/£5

St Mary the Virgin, Layer Marney Tower, ESSEX CO5 9US MAP Directions

Where to eat: The Hare and Hounds, Layer Breton, CO2 0PN

01206 330 459 Open from 6pm

Thursday 7th October

Schumann Dichterliebe

8pm Copford Church

Mark Wilde tenor

David Owen Norris piano

Clara Schumann Three Romances Op. 11

Variations on a theme of Robert Schumann Op. 20

Robert Schumann Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love)

Mark Wilde, one of my favourite musicians of his generation, sings Dichterliebe in a brand new translation by one of our most eminent writers on opera, Amanda Holden.

David Owen Norris is a household name among classical music lovers, and we are very priviledged to have him appear at the festival.

Once again, Norris's pianism is past praise in its scrupulous poise, immaculate touch and attention to dynamic nuance. What's more, he displays an acute intellectual and emotional understanding ... artistry of a very high order. Gramophone 2009

£15/£5

St Michael and all Angels Church, Copford Green, Essex CO6 1DG

MAP

The stunning 12th century wall paintings are one of our national treasures.

Where to eat: The Barn Brasserie, Great Tey (3 miles)

Open from 6pm 01206 212 345

Late evening - for something a little different, The Alma in Copford Green will be hosting their regular open-mic night. School Road, Copford Green CO6 1BZ

Friday 8th October

Chamber concert

8pm Peldon Church

Brahms Sonata for viola and piano in Eb major

Gideon Klein String Trio

Schumann Piano Quartet

Mia Cooper violin

James Boyd viola

Adrian Bradbury cello

James Baillieu piano (above)

The wonderful Schumann Piano Quartet needs no introduction - it is one of the most enduringly popular pieces of classical music. Brahms' viola sonata is one of the most beautiful, tender pieces written for the instrument, and Klein's string trio is fiesty and dramatic, written in the Nazi concentration camp at Terezin and rescued recently from oblivion.

£15/£5

St Mary's Church, Church Road, Peldon CO5 7PT

Where to eat: The Peldon Rose 01206 735 248

Saturday 9th October

Bach at Abberton
11.30am Abberton Church

Bach Partita for solo violin in E major

Mia Cooper violin

For our annual visit to the beautiful church overlooking the reservoir, we have managed to entice Mia across from Dublin where she is the phenomenally successful concertmaster of the RTE concert orchestra. Here she shines in the eternal beauty of probably the best-known Bach solo violin partita.

FREE ADMISSION WITH RETIRING COLLECTION

St Andrew's Church, Rectory Lane, Abberton CO5 7NJ MAP

Need lunch? The Langenhoe Lion is a few minutes drive away.

A free house serving local ales and seasonal food.

12-2.30pm 01206 735 263 Mersea Road Colchester CO5 7LF

The Fat Goose, Tendring, is worth a detour. Fantastic food 5 miles the other side of the Colne valley.

Saturday 9th October

FAMILY CONCERT - Peter and the Wolf

Nigel Hildreth

The Roman River Wind Quintet

Daisy Jopling

Peter and the Wolf arranged by Ostermeyer
The Ugly Duckling in a special new arrangement by Nigel Hildreth

Nigel Hildreth's family concerts are legendary and this time we have given him a fantastic wind quintet and one of our star performers from last year to play a brilliant and witty version of Peter and the Wolf. For any age but especially fun for 5-12 year olds! This event is likely to sell out as the venues are not huge!

11:30am Greenstead Community Centre

Tickets from 01206 791979

and

4pm, Abberton and Langenhoe village hall

£5/£2.50 Includes a glass of squash and something to eat

Tickets from the Roman River Box Office 01206 729 356 (twenty tickets left)

A CO-PRODUCTION WITH COLCHESTER ARTS CENTRE

Saturday 9th October

Artist spotlight - Adrian Bradbury and Alasdair Beatson

SOLD OUT - RETURNS ONLY

We are offering a limited number of extra seats in the choir (behind the performers) at £10

8pm Fingringhoe Church

Adrian Bradbury (R) cello
Alasdair Beatson piano

Chopin Polonaise Brilliante
Schumann Adagio and Allegro
Chopin Cello Sonata


£15/£5

Adrian has developed an international career in chamber music, regularly appearing at major festivals all over Europe together with a busy recording and broadcasting schedule. He is in demand as a guest principal with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic and London Sinfonietta. He also holds a degree in natural science from Cambridge University and has collaborated with neuroscientists in studies on behavioural and neurological changes in string players in performance.

A sought-after chamber musician, Alasdair's appearances have included performances in Weill Hall, Carnegie, the Recital Hall of Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, in Pekka Kuusisto's Festival at Lake Tuusula, Finland, and alongside such musicians as Pekka Kuusisto, Steven Isserlis, Lawrence Power, Tim Hugh and the Doric String Quartet. Outstanding ... here is a a young artist of exceptional talent and confidence, making musical sense of all he played The Independent on Alasdair Beatson

St Andrew's Church, Fingringhoe CO5 7BG (MAP)

Where to eat: The Whalebone 01206 729 307

Just opposite the church. Open from midday.

Sunday 10th October

Baroque violin and harpsichord

11.30am East Mersea Church

Music for Awhile

Margaret Faultless violin

Dan Tidhar harpsichord

J.S. Bach 1685 - 1750 Sonata for violin and harpsichord no 4 in C minor BWV1017

Largo - Allegro - Adagio ma non tanto - Allegro assai

François Couperin 1668 - 1733 Three pieces from the Sixth Ordre

Les Moissonneurs
Les Langueurs Tendres
Les Baricades Mistérieuses

Heinrich Biber 1644 – 1704 Sonata Representativa

Recital given by two eminent specialists in the baroque repertoire. Maggie Faultless's natural musicianship and flair has meant that she has constantly been in demand leading period instrument ensembles in the UK and giving recitals.

Sublime music in a very special church. The perfect way to start a Sunday.

This concert has been supported by the Cecil King Memorial Foundation.

£10/£5

St Edmund's Church, East Mersea CO5 8TJ (MAP)

Where to eat lunch: The Mersea Oyster Bar 01206 381 600 or the Company Shed, 129 Coast Road, West Mersea 01206 38270 MAP, both across the Island in West Mersea. You may have to queue as neither take bookings but it is worth it!

10th October is 10:10:10 day - click here for more details.

Sunday 10th October

Tango evening with dancers

SOLD OUT - RETURNS ONLY

6pm Fingringhoe Village Hall, including supper in the interval

Subitango - the heartstopping show from Tango Siempre

Alexandra Wood and Giraldo Escobar dancers

Julian Rowlands bandoneon

Ros Stephen violin

Jonathan Taylor piano

Tango Siempre are the UK’s leading tango ensemble, described by the Sunday Times as “…an effortless fusion of Latin Passion and jazz virtuosity” They usually play in large venues for a week at a time, so we are incredibly lucky that they have agreed to come to Fingringhoe with two amazing dancers, to give us an evening of tango, the most romantic of music.

The dancers have previously appeared in BBC Strictly Come Dancing, Tango Por Dos, the Channel 4 film Dance, Sally Potter’s Covent Garden production of Carmen and Madonna’s film Evita.

Their shows have had fantastic press reviews ...

intense, epic and beautiful Independent on Sunday

a brilliant fusion of tango, jazz and roots The Guardian

simply electrifying ... major virtuosity shines throughout The Scotsman

Virtuoso displays of traditional tango dance, the exquisite sounds of 1930’s Buenos Aires and the powerful Nuevo Tango music of Astor Piazzolla.

£20 including supper. This evening sold out last year so make sure you get your tickets early.

Fingringhoe Village Hall CO5 7BG (MAP)

10th October is 10:10:10 day - click here for more details.