In Pictures: Winter Festival 2012

It’s a new year with lots of new performances to come, but before we leave our end-of-2012 indulgences behind, we wanted to share some of our favourite moments the Winter Festival with you, courtesy of our Festival photographer, James Berry.

If you came along to any of our events, then why not share your experiences with us below.

London Handel Players with Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas. Image: James Berry

A Holographic Opera. Image: James Berry

Storyteller Stefan at Shoreditch Church. Image: James Berry

Our newest venue Hoxton Hall. Image: James Berry.

Trainee Music Leaders James, Abimaro and Ignacio in “But who knows the East End?” Image: James Berry

Early Opera Company and Christian Curnyn. Image: James Berry

Enjoying Scottish Reels and Winter Riffs. Image: James Berry

Alan Gilbey on tour. Image: James Berry

Toujours et Pres de Moi: A Holographic Opera. Image: James Berry

Behind the magic. Image: James Berry.

Walking through the East End Backpassages. Image: James Berry

Matthew Robins and I Fagiolini in the little match girl passion. Image: James Berry

I Fagiolini. Image: James Berry

Audience enjoying Vivaldi’s Angels at Christ Church Spitalfields

Matthew Robins in performance

Women sing in performance. Image: James Berry

Scottish Reels and Winter Riffs. Image: James Berry

Storyteller Sarah in Shoreditch Church. Image: James Berry

Alan Gilbey and ‘The Visual Aide’. Image: James Berry

Women sing East perform Vivaldi’s Glora. Image: James Berry

James Weeks conducts EXAUDI at Hoxton Hall. Image: James Berry.

EXAUDI. Image: James Berry

the little match girl passion. Image: James Berry

Tambourines at the ready in Shoreditch Church. Image: James Berry

An Unexpected Journey

Prior to their performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria in Vivaldi’s Angels at Christ Church Spitalfields, one of our Women sing East members reflected on the journey on which putting the work together has taken them.

Working towards our performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria has been, for this member of Women sing East at least, a series of small shocks. The first of these occurred when the idea was mooted towards the end of the Summer term – it felt rather like a tunnel into which we would enter at the beginning of the Autumn term with no way out until it ended with a concert, and the tunnel felt narrow… just one piece of music? For some the unfamiliarity of baroque music has caused anxiety or even temporary departure. For me it has been a return to ‘safer ground’, a sound world more familiar than that of much of the music we have sung in the past. I have been unsure, though, about defecting from the choir’s perceived strength of delivering stomping performances of jazz and blues with a folk tune or two thrown in and perhaps a classical number when pushed, all of which I have so loved being part of.

Women sing East perform Vivaldi’s Glora. Image: James Berry

More recently I was startled to tears by a brief recording of one of our rehearsals made on an iPhone at which we sang the Cum Sancto Spiritu for the first time, albeit in Christ Church Spitalfields and accompanied by Jonathan Williams. Although the timings were a little muddy, the purity of sound – the one voice – was literally overwhelming.

Just last week I migrated from practising at home on Dropbox to plugging headphones into the CD deck and playing the Andrew Parrott recording with the volume turned right up straight into my head. I was thrilled anew by this glorious music that so lifts the spirits and no longer seems quite so impenetrable.

Finally last night’s rehearsal with Christian Curnyn drew us all upright and removed us from the security blanket of the score for most of the evening, releasing a much more confident, positive sound in all four parts.

The final shock will come at the performance when accompanied by trumpets and confronted by a full church but whatever the outcome, the singing will be the wholehearted culmination of a term’s committed energies on the part of everybody, not least Laka, Jonathan, Becks and all the Spitalfields Music team urging us on!

Women sing East member

Trapped in the Tower: A Survivors’ Account

Getting locked up in the Tower of London would have been a circumstance of great misfortune for many who were part of the landmark’s 1000-year history, but luckily not for us, as we enjoyed an enlightening insider-view of the Tower on day two of our Winter Festival.

We had been working on the evening concert Orgelbüchlein, a celebration of organ miniatures centered around works by JS Bach in the Tower’s Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, which had been a wonderful success. We were packed up and ready to go.  But, now, audience long-departed as the clock struck a half-past nine, we found ourselves the wrong side of the Tower gates, separated from colleagues and loved-ones.

We soon learnt that every night at 9.30pm sharp, an age-old locking-up ceremony takes place known as the Ceremony of the Keys, and during this nobody goes in or out and no visitor can move around freely.

Camille with Yeoman Warder Peter

Luckily, a new-found friend, Yeoman Warder Peter spotted us sulking in the Chapel and offered us an insightful and intimate tour of the deserted Tower by night and a rare insider view of the traditions of this ancient space. It was one of the most interesting history lessons either of us had ever had. Guided across the cobbles in the freezing winter air, we watched as a platoon of the Queen’s Household Foot Regiment marched past Tower Green to intercept the gate-keeper who they met with cries of:

-‘Halt, who goes there’
-‘The keys’
-‘Who’s keys?
-‘The Queen’s keys!’

The ceremony has taken place for 700 years with few interruptions, and continued during the blitz when several ravens lost their lives during air raids. We also heard of the reality of family and community life within the walls of the Tower where Beefeater and their kin reside, work and relax in such a way as has seen little change in centuries. Most remarkably, perhaps, was a story of the exclusive members club (only 38 members and one honorary) which is run and staffed by the Yeomen and has seen scores of celebrity guests including presidents, royalty and pop stars (sadly, our invite is yet to arrive, but we are still holding out hope!)

Camille De Groote (Development Manager) & James Calver (Programme Manager: Festivals)

On the twelfth day of the Winter Festival…

Spitalfields Music sent to me… twelve images from the Winter Festival.

It’s the last day of the Festival today which  means its our last ‘gift’ post sent to you. We’ll be bringing you more pictures, reviews and sounds from the Winter Festival soon, but in the meantime you can always revisit the 12 days of the Winter Festival here on the blog.

But who knows the East End? An Exploration – credit James Berry

Musical Rumpus

But who knows the East End? An Exploration credit James Berry

Shoreditch Church credit James Berry

The Little Match Girl Passion credit James Berry

Scottish Reels & Winter Riffs credit James Berry

Scottish Reels & Winter Riffs credit James Berry

Musical Rumpus

Toujours et près de moi credit James Berry

Toujours et près de moi credit James Berry

But who knows the East End? An Exploration credit James Berry

The Little Match Girl Passion credit James Berry

On the eleventh day of the Winter Festival…

Spitalfields Music sent to me… video highlights from The English Concert.

The English Concert return to Christ Church Spitalfields this evening with a programme of seasonal splendour, including Corelli’s Christmas Concerto and JS Bach’s marvellous Magnificat. They were kind enough to share some video footage with us, including some from a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria, which you can hear tomorrow night with our own Women sing East.