We hope you all have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Box Office holiday opening times:
Phone: 020 7377 1362 – Closed Saturday 23 December
until Tuesday 3 January 2012
Online: Booking available at spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk
throughout this period

Booking for Summer Festival 2012 opens late January

EUBO

Mercy & Grand/I Fagiolini The Independent 4****/5*****
“Walker may be primarily an opera singer, but her cabaret instinct is wonderfully sure“

London Contemporary Orchestra The Guardian 4****
“Its [Vivier's Pulau Dewata] alternately florid and simple ideas rang vividly around the church, the generous acoustic of which gave warmth to the players’ keen attack.“

I Fagiolini’s 25th Birthday Cocktail The Guardian 5*****
“This was a meaty programme for such an occasion, with substantial elements as well as some purely entertaining ones“

To read the rest of the Festival reviews click here

Christmas Market – Homeless Oratorio
Open Ears – Schools Project at Shoreditch Church
Neighbourhood Songs – Spitalfields Singers at Bishopsgate Institute A Musical Rumpus – The Brady Centre
Open Ears – Schools Project at Shoreditch Church
Neighbourhood Songs – Spitalfields Singers at Bishopsgate InstituteA Musical Feast – The Sixteen at Galvin La Chapelle
Mercy & Grand: The Tom Waits Project
A Musical Feast – The Sixteen at Galvin La ChapelleA Musical Rumpus – The Brady Centre
Christmas Market – Crispin Place, Spitalfields E1
Mercy & Grand: The Tom Waits Project

All photographs credit James Berry www.mrnovemberphotography.co.uk

For thinking, meetings and catching up with friends: Skylight Cafe

I’m always on the lookout for great meeting spots, and I’ve recently discovered the fantastic Crisis Skylight Cafe on Commercial Street.  The cafe is just beyond the hustle and bustle of the market, and has plenty of space to spread out! They have amazing coffee and cakes; lunch here is also delicious!  Recent meetings have included discussions with potential Associate Artists and there’s usually a whole bundle of folks catching up and planning projects.  It’s an inspirational space, which also happens to provide on-the-job training and experience for homeless people and ex-offenders.  If you’re in need of a still point in a mad world of shopping, sightseeing or planning your next project, then Crisis Skylight Cafe is your thinking place.

For people watching, chilling out at lunch and spotting interesting Art:  Bishops Square

There’s always something going on at Bishops Square. On the rare occasion that I can pause for lunch, it’s my top place to sit and watch the world go by.  Recent activity has included a new installation of butterflies in jam jars, with confuses city workers and tourists trying to work out whether they’re real or not (they’re not)…the wonderful Spitalfields E1 Routemaster is often parked outside and there’s a real sense of relaxation before the onslaught of the afternoon stint of work.  Grab a falafel wrap from Pilpel, or a hot sandwich from Golds and watch the world in microcosm!

Christmas lights are up in Spitalfields Market

It has been really busy here at Spitalfields Music HQ. The Winter Festival now the Winter Festival is in progress and I am really excited as this is the first time I’m working at our various venues in Spitalfields!

I also recently attended the City of London Sinfonia’s first ever CLoSer event! It was amazing and had a really relaxed atmosphere. After the main performance, individual musicians were available for informal Q&A sessions. The Strings Masterclass event was held at Village Underground which is a great venue (it used be a Victorian warehouse!) I also discovered that the trains on top are actually offices used by the Village Underground staff. There are two more CLoSer events coming up in 2012; head over here to find out more.

I have also been working on our Winter Festival Learning and Participation events’ inserts, and they have been sent to the printers which is very exciting! The festival has an awesome mix of events for the whole family which means we will be drawing in great crowds – I can’t wait!

Niharika Jain
Marketing & Communications Intern

The Winter Festival is now on with tickets available from £5! See our website spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk for further details on contact the Box Office on 020 7377 1362 (Mon-Fri, 10am-6pm).

The group, directed by Belinda Sykes have been performing their mix of ancient and traditional music since 1992 combining elements of Medieval, Middle Eastern, Flamenco and Celtic sounds. Their Winter Festival programme includes English, Spanish and Italian carols from the twelfth century to the sixteenth. Originally these carols (made up of song and dance) would have been rooted in pagan traditions and had no religious connections but, as most carolling was done on religious feast days the church gradually stifled the carol until nothing was left other than a religious song to be performed. What I love about Jogleresa is the way they embody the boldness and raw sounds of the original carols whilst mixing in hints of their multicultural backgrounds creating a unique and exhilarating sound!

Rebecca Steel
Communications Manager

Have a listen to some of Jogleresa’s tracks on this Spotify Playlist

Yoolis
Monday 19 December 7.00pm
Shoreditch Church
Tickets: £5 – £15
www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk/yoolis

]]> http://spitalfieldsmusic.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/staff-pick-yoolis/feed/ 0 spitalfieldsmusic HappyBagpiping http://spitalfieldsmusic.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/staff-pick-christmas-market/ http://spitalfieldsmusic.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/staff-pick-christmas-market/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:48:24 +0000 spitalfieldsmusic http://spitalfieldsmusic.wordpress.com/?p=2529 Continue reading →]]> With the Winter Festival starting in under 24 hours(!), our Development Administrator, Camille De Groote, shares why she thinks our opening event is not to be missed.

We are now well into December and as we all know, in London, I feel even more than anywhere else, there is absolutely no chance of escaping the Christmas madness that takes over the city – reindeer petting, fun (and slightly dangerous) ice skating, crazy shopping sprees, and much, much more …  For some, it’s a bit too much. For others (like me and I know at least one of my dear colleagues), it’s the best time of the year! So I will go around quite a few Christmas markets, but the one I look forward to the most, is our very own in Spitalfields!

Spitalfields Music’s Christmas Market will feature a gospel choir, a string quartet, a brass band and a magical puppetry group, and excerpts from the acclaimed Homeless Oratorio so it is fair to say that it is going to be one of a kind! Taking place in Crispin Place (part of Spitalfields Market), the market is free for all to enjoy. We will be raising funds for Crisis, a national charity for single homeless people, based just around the corner from Spitalfields, which does incredible work in the local community.

I am particularly looking forward to the performance by the Crisis puppetry group. I recently joined them for a rehearsal and I was mesmerised by the striking life-like characters of the puppets (which are handmade at Crisis!) and the touching acting of the puppeteers.

Come and join us for the festive launch of the festival. I promise, the groups performing will leave you with plenty of warmth to get you through the cold days!

The Christmas Market is from 12-4pm tomorrow, Saturday 10 December, in St Crispin’s Place, Spitalfields E1 Market.

P.S. don’t miss the Water Poet’s Christmas Fayre on Folgate Street after the Christmas Market closes!

So, Gallicantus may be one of this festival’s lesser known artists, but are most definitely one of the most unmissable! Their early-seventeenth century programme is taken from a period of national mourning (for Henry, Prince of Wales) that has probably never been matched or produced such a large extraordinary outpouring of grief-stricken and wholly beautiful music.

What is also striking is the sheer variety of what emerged  (as the selection for this concert demonstrates), with lute songs such as John Coprario’s O Grief, lamenting madrigals like Tis Now the Dead Night by Thomas Ford and sacred anthems using texts describing King David’s loss of his son Absalom. Some of the works may be familiar, but many won’t and are a treat to discover.

Gallicantus deliver this with ease and clarity – do check out their tracks on our Spotify Winter Festival playlist (some of which are in their Dialogues of Sorrow programme).

Gallicantus perform on Thursday 15 December, 7.00pm at Shoreditch Church (St Leonard’s). Book your tickets online.