Friday 7 June 2019

North London's 'quirky and friendly' Stroud Green Festival starts today

The Bloomsbury Quartet
The Bloomsbury Quartet
Today (7 June 2019) sees the start of North London's 'quirky and friendly' Stroud Green Festival. Between now and 23 June the festival will be celebrating women and women composers, with a lively programme of folk, jazz, classical, early music, art, poetry and theatre at eight venues across Harringey. Artistic director Clare Norburn has become known for her concert-plays and four are featured at the festival, varying from the imagined testimony of Hildegard of Bingen, to Beethoven and the late quintets with actor David Timson and the Dante Quintet, to the secret life and love of medieval Amy Winehouse, Beatriz de Dia, and Prosper Merimee's Carmen with music by Bizet and from Spain.

Hildegard of Bingen stays in focus at the festival as ensemble Vox Animae perform her allegorical drama Ordo Virtutum. There will be music and readings from Shakespeare's plays with a focus on Shakespeare's women, whilst guitar and flute duo Flaugissimo's concert will include music by Clara Schumann, Anna Amalia of Prussia and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel.

Lux Musicae
Lux Musicae
Last year, Stroud Green Festival saw its first ensembles competition in which four of London’s most exciting ensembles won two years of mentoring and engagements in the festival as resident ensembles. This year’s resident ensembles are Lux Musicae London and Bloomsbury Quartet. Lux Musicae's concerts include the story of the roots of Flamenco music, and an exploration of the music and vocal art of Francesca Caccini (1587-1641) and Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677). The Bloomsbury Quartet will perform quartets by Elizabeth Maconchy, her teacher Vaughan Williams and daughter Nicola LeFanu as photographs and Maconchy’s writings are read and projected. Plus, a pre-concert installation will introduce Maconchy through film and photography while the audience is free to interact with musicians and listen to examples of her music.

Full details from the festival website.

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