Edington Festival

This year's Edington Festival runs from Sunday 17th August to Sunday 24th August, as usual there is a packed programme of music and services. The Messiaen anniversary is commemorated with a performance of his popular motet O Sacrum Convivium. Other more contemporary pieces include 2 from Matthew Martin, a festival commission from the young American composer Nico Muhly, and John Tavener's A Hymn to the Mother of God.

Masses include Lassus's Bell'amfitrit altera, Sheppard's Missa Cantate, Kenneth Leighton's Mass for Double Choir and Byrd's 5-part mass.

Composers include a wide range of eras and styles, though there is something of an emphasis on late 19th/20th century figures such as Stanford, Rachmaninov, William Harris, RVW, Poulenc, Walton, Britten, Leighton, Howells, Bainton, S.S. Wesley and Philip Radcliffe.

There are a total of 14 services with polyphonic music plus daily matins and compline sung to plainchant. Plainchant, of course, is a fine feature of the whole week with Mass X(Alme Pater), Mass III (Deus dempiterne) and the Kyrie from Mass IV (Cunctipotens genitor Deus) all featuring.

Full information from the leaflet (pdf) here.