Winter Festival photographs are here!

We had a fantastic time during the Winter Festival, and we hope those who attended did also. Here are a few photos of our favourite festival moments and events:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photograph credits: Celine Smith and  Sabine Tilly

Intern Diaries: Michael’s Winter Festival week

And with around 150 participants taking their final bow at Fables – A Film Opera, the first part of the Winter Festival drew to a close. (Well sort of; there were of course lots of things to do such as tidy up, and battle with the weather).

The Festival week has been a whirlwind of an experience, with daily meetings, and mucking in on a mixture of jobs. The past seven days has seen me (and everyone) stewarding, transporting, sitting in a very cold foyer, and fetching forgotten equipment(!), as well as all the usual things which occur week to week.  It has also meant being able to see bits and pieces of the performers both in concert and rehearsal.

Winter Songs Image:Celine Smith

Particular highlights for me have included watching Tower Voices make their debut in Winter Songs, hearing Caius College Choir & Consort’s sensitive performance of sacred madrigals in Madrigals Transformed, catching Carmina rehearsing the stunning music of An Icelandic Songbook, and of course the momentous premiere of Fables – A Film Opera.

Fables Image: Celine Smith

With only a month left to go until the end of my internship, it’s back to the grindstone (well at least for a few pre-Christmas days!) to prepare for the second part of the Winter Festival in January. I’m especially looking forward to Paul Agnew’s concert Monteverdi, Opera & Beyond. But for now, Merry Christmas!

Michael Duffy
Marketing & Communications Intern

Our Winter Festival so far…

Its been an extremely busy week for us all with Week One of our Winter Festival sadly at an end. Its been a huge success, and a highly eventful week. The performances have been so exceptional, that we couldn’t sum up in one sentence all the incredible highlights, so we thought we would share a few of our staff comments.

Carmina Choir Image: Celine Smith

“Despite the cold, a hot Festival!“

“A fantastic cocktail of performances! A particular highlight for me was Carmina’s Icelandic Songbook, a sumptuous hour of pure voices coming together in sparkling harmonies.“

“A week of artistic excellence and a creative buzz!”

“The overall programme has been beautifully unusual and very inspiring. Behind the scenes I think there’s been quite a fun sense of controlled craziness, and I’ve had several good giggle moments that have added nicely to the festive atmosphere.“

”A filetta - stunning“

Winter Songs Image: Celine Smith

“Exhilarating, spine tingling and chocolate fuelled.“

“Inspiring, energetic and intimate….following our choirs from Aspirations, Christ Church and Hague schools and Corsica and Iceland I’m listening to music in an entirely different way”

“Cold, warm, loud, quiet, high, low, fast“

“I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much at a piece of music, than I did when watching Flam by Orlando Gough.“

“Eccentric; enthralling; exciting; engaging and exhausting!“

Fables Image: Celine Smith

“Madrigals and Fables: fabulous to watch 60 primary school children sing some challenging lines of their own making- about Orpheus and Eurydice- with confidence and enjoyment, filling Christ Church Spitalfields with their sound.”

We’ll be back for round two of the Winter Festival on 5 January.

Winter Festival: 13-18 Dec & 5-7 Jan 2011
Box office: 020 7377 1362/ spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk

Less than a week to go!

Our Acting Executive Director, Sarah Macnee shares with us a selection of the treats on offer at this year’s Winter Festival.

This is my first Festival with Spitalfields Music, and I could not be more excited. Our Executive Director, Abigail Pogson, has just had a baby, and I have stepped into her shoes; being here for the Festival is one of the best parts of my temporary role.

I have yet to meet so many of the people who will be making the Festival a success, including all of the volunteer stewards – we couldn’t do without them. I am also beginning to become aware of the great work done by the temporary team who join us and manage the events to make them work technically, creatively and logistically, ensuring that the audiences have a wonderful hitch-free experience.

Now that we’re getting closer, I can ruminate on what I’m most looking forward to, although in truth I want to mention all of them!

There are five concerts featuring the work of Monteverdi, and our opener on Monday 13 December promises to be a great introduction to the baroque form with La Nuova Musica’s performance of songs from the Book Seven of Madrigals, illuminating the turning point from renaissance to baroque. We are also delighted to welcome a filetta from Corsica and Carmina from Iceland. I can’t wait to hear Carmina’s interpretation of renaissance polyphony in their performance of songs from two renowned Icelandic songbooks.

I have a deep rooted affection for fables of all kinds, so it is a great pleasure to be able to host the premiere of Fables – A Film Opera on Friday 17 December. The whole event, part film, part opera, is created by Streetwise Opera and promises to be a magical experience. I’m also looking forward to hearing other fabulous work from the composers involved with Fables, in Songs in the wires a couple of nights earlier.

The great thing about all Spitalfields Music Festivals is the way they mix great artists, amazing and diverse locations and engage the local community as participators and performers as well as audience members. I know that local primary school children, our young musicians and our community choirs have also been hard at work preparing seven fabulous free events. I’m particularly looking forward to Spitalfields Soundings where our winter stage will play host to musicians and bands performing in the market, enticing shoppers to stop and listen for a while.

Spitalfields Music Winter Festival
13 – 18 December & 5 – 7 January

Full listings here.

Book your tickets now!

[ A filetta photographed by J M Colonna ]

60 seconds with… Árni Heimir Ingólfsson

Welcome to the first installation of our new feature ’60 Seconds with…’! Over the coming weeks we will be posting quick and quirky interviews with the people behind the music at the Winter Festival. There’s no hard and fast rule with what we ask – most questions come from members of the team – though if you’d like to contribute, leave your questions in the comments section. Enjoy!

This week, we spoke to Carmina director, Árni Heimir Ingólfsson.

Bach or Handel?
Bach. His music is a never-ending source of fascination, delight, and solace.

Morning or evening person?
I try to be a morning person. Really, I do.

Red or white (wine)?
Both! I used to enjoy red more, but lately I have begun to understand the appeal of a good Sauvignon blanc.

What’s your favourite venue to perform in?
Carmina’s first concert was in Skálholt Cathedral in southern Iceland, and we have returned many times since. It has a lovely acoustic and the place itself is quite magical.

What’s the strangest think you’ve read about yourself?
Nico Muhly once blogged about the time I played harpsichord for his album, Mothertongue. He had found a rather chic-looking photo of me on the internet which he duly posted on his blog along with the following comment: “I only have this outrageous glamour shot of Árni and I’m sure he will never forgive me for posting it but such is the way in which the ice-wafer crumbleth.” Nico was, of course, forgiven.

What did you want to be when you were at school?
I remember a period when I was around 14 years old when I really wanted to become a composer. I did write a few pieces, all of them fairly awful, and quickly realized that I could lead a far more fulfilling life performing all the wonderful music that already exists.

What’s the most played track from your MP3 player/CD collection?
Mouth’s Cradle, from Björk’s Medúlla. A close second is Bach’s 8-part motet, Singet dem Herrn, in a deliciously alert performance by Trinity Baroque.

Do you have a favourite piece or repertoire to perform, if so what?
Some of the most enjoyable moments in my life have been singing Renaissance polyphony. I’m very fond of British composers of that period, above all William Byrd. I also try to play some Bach and Mozart on the piano daily so that my fingers don’t get too lazy.

Why did you want to take part in the Winter Festival?
It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to bring to our programme to London. I have spent quite a bit of time in England in the past few years, including a stint at Oxford as a British Academy fellow, but have actually never performed in England until now.

What inspires you?
Mountains. Hiking in the Icelandic mountains on a beautiful summer’s day gives me enough inspiration to last the whole year – at least!

Árni and Carmina will be performing in ‘An Icelandic Songbook‘, click here to book tickets.