A Time for Songs!: Musical Lives in the Mediterranean, 1100-1300
Performed by Paul Bentley-Angell (tenor), Hannah Ely (soprano), Rebekah Nießer-Jones (mezzo-soprano), Jonathan Pratt (bass) and members of the UKRI-funded Musical Lives team
When: Wednesday 08 July, 20.30-22.00
Where: School of Music: Clothworkers Centenary Concert Hall
Open to: All Welcome (IMC Delegates and the Public)
Price: £17.50
How to Book: Advance Booking Required via IMC Registration or Book Tickets via Open Up
Lonesome lovers. Beguiling songsters. Provocative nightingales. Friends at play. Lords and ladies in debate. These are a just few of the characters you will encounter in this programme of songs and poetry that once resounded across the medieval Mediterranean. As well as giving voice to feelings of universal appeal, tonight's concert tells stories about peoples' lives as told through and with their songs. It thus charts a medieval love-affair with the medium itself, one forming joyful and creative connections among makers, performers, and audiences, across time and space.
The programme is part of an innovative collaboration between singers from the vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro and scholars from the UKRI-funded Musical Lives project at King's College London. Join us for a programme breathing new life into songs and poetry rarely heard today, with performances of an eclectic selection from traditions of medieval French song, interwoven with recitation and narration.
About the performers
Described by Gramophone as 'confident, sonorous, and full of character', Siglo de Oro is an adventurous vocal ensemble based in London. Led by its director, Patrick Allies, the group is known for its golden tone, fresh interpretations, and innovative programming. In recent seasons, highlights have included a three-concert residency at Wigmore Hall, a collaboration with composer Caroline Shaw, concert tours of the US and Canada, and appearances at festivals across the UK and in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
Since 2024, members of Siglo have enjoyed a partnership with the UKRI-funded project, 'Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1100-1300', to develop a new model for co-created performances of medieval French songs (trouvère song). The approach combines research and practical expertise from singers and scholars (of literature, history, and music) to learn more about the historical practices of trouvère songs and the people and communities who first made and encountered them. The approach extends also to recitation of texts without music, with the MUSLIVE team trialling performances of Arabic poetry and Latin charters, areas of equal interest in the project’s research. The Siglo-MUSLIVE collaboration now comprises a collective of some 20 scholars and performers, together also committed to developing accessible performances and methods for learning and teaching medieval songs and poetry.
For a 'behind the scenes' look at the programme, join the singers for the 'Build a Song' workshop on Monday 06 July!
Funded through 'Musical Lives: Towards an Historical Anthropology of French Song, 1100-1300' (EP/X022501/1) UKRI Frontier Research Grant and the International Medieval Congress.
