Preview Ripon International Festival
An international arts festival on our doorstep in September
Preview: Ripon International Festival
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Like plenty of others, you could cast your eyes 200 miles north or south, with travel and accommodation arrangements to make, to the Royal Mile or the Royal Albert Hall, for your classical music in the coming days, or you might lend your ears to Ripon and its much-overlooked International Festival.
Like events at the Henry Wood Proms, the musical provision is of a high calibre, fewer in number, of course, but with no less a diversity of forms, and like Edinburgh, music takes its modest place amongst the overall offerings, but with sheltered, beautiful venues guaranteed. Ripon’s programme involves exhibitions, family days, puppet workshops, historical tours – by coach or on foot – and the inevitable ‘Evening With Gervase Phinn’, but, if it is classical music that prompts your attendance, you will surely not be disappointed.
Greek guitarist, Dimitris Dekavallas (Sun 5tg Sept, 7.30pm, Great Northern Wine Co.) appears for the second year, with the anticipation again of a second concert being needed for the following night to satisfy demand. Works by Granados, Turina, Mertz, Lauro, Morel, Villa-Lobos and the lately-fashionable Paraguayan Agustin Barrios are featured. Souza Winds (Wed 8th Sept, 7.30pm, Markenfield Hall) will play Quintets and other combinations by Debussy, Pärt, Arrieu, Patterson and an arrangement for wind of Dvo?ák’s American String Quartet.
Early music, both instrumental from 17th century Scotland by Pantagruel Renaissance Musicke (Thu 09 Sep, 2.30 and 7.30pm, Markenfield Hall) and ancient harps, percussion, viols and flamenco from ‘Eclipse in Spanish Harps’ (Fri 10th Sept, 7.30pm, Holy Trinity Church, HG4 2EY), and choral – Victoria, Palestrina and Lassus – from the Cathedral Choir in ‘Stile Arctics By Candlelight’ (Thu 16th Sept, 7.30pm, Ripon Cathedral).
The splendid Ripon Cathedral (Sun 12 Sep, 7.30pm) is also the venue for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert, under conductor Janusz Piotrowicz, in a programme featuring Mozart’s magnificent Jupiter Symphony, flanked by Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and his ‘apotheosis of the dance’ Seventh Symphony.
5-23 September, various venues across Ripon, www.riponinternationalfestival.com
Posted on Monday 23rd August 2010
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